Chapter 128
Since he decided to adopt Weiss' suggestion, Major Hagles quickly put it into practice. The transport ship turned around and flew south, leaving a long, gray-black arc in the clouds - a large amount of under-burned smoke and dust were generated when the coal-fired boiler was running at full capacity, and when the cold air was encountered, it formed suspended particles that had been resided for a long time. In this state, even if the transport ship had the opportunity to hide in the clouds, the enemy could still track its whereabouts through the long smoke traces.
More than ten minutes after turning, groups of enemy combat aircraft appeared on the other end of the sky, but this time the situation was very special: they chased after them for a while, and they were about to catch up, but they gave up halfway and retreated on their own. According to normal logic, these aircraft should have come from airports far away. In the process of chasing the transport ships, more than half of the fuel was consumed. If they forcibly launched an attack, the remaining fuel was not enough to support them to fly back to the departure airport. However, this seemingly reasonable logic has a serious flaw, that is, here is No.
In the Man Empire, even if the Norman planes ran out of fuel, they could still look for airports nearby. No matter how poor they were, they could find flat grasslands or roads to land. The only thing that could explain this contradiction is that these combat aircraft could not land at other airports or bases when performing combat missions. If there is a "misposition", it may cause some irreconcilable friction. In Weiss' cognitive system, the dispute over horse, land, and dung in the eastern island countries and the Goring disaster of Germany are living examples, and they are just like the Norman Empire, which are highly centralized military countries.
In any case, the transport ship turned south and wangqiang avoided a wave of attacks. The previous haze seemed to have disappeared. In the next two hours, they only suffered two waves of air strikes, and there were no more than 30 enemy combat aircrafts put into the attack at each time. Under such circumstances, the combatants used the few remaining ammunition to withstand the enemy's attacks and did not allow the transport ship to further damage during the breakout.
After entering the mountainous areas of the southern Norman Empire, the Norman planes completely disappeared from their sight. Without the threat of enemy air strikes, the soldiers of the Secret Service could take turns to rest while helping to transport ammunition and deal with the wounded. There was no need for Octavere and Weiss to stay in the command room. After they discussed, Octavere would rest first and then replace Weiss in an hour.
The military deployment in the southern part of the Norman Empire was weaker than in the north, which had been expected before. Not long after, another of the three tracked enemy flight ships seemed to have withdrawn from the pursuit due to mechanical failure. Turning back to the south was so good, the major's attitude towards Weiss also underwent some subtle changes. While Octavere was not there, he said with a smile that if Weiss could join the aviation force, he would become a rising star because his skills were not possessed by others, and his calmness, calmness and first-class judgment on the battlefield were better than many active warship commanders.
Weiss did not hold grudges, but did not give the other party a good look. He asked lukewarmly: "Are you poaching?"
"No, of course not." The major quickly defended, "I just recommend it. Out of public interest, I think you can display your talents better in the aviation force, that's it."
"In fact, I plan to retire after the war and return to my hometown Lorraine to do something meaningful, rather than accompanying these machines for killing all day long." Weiss expressed his disgust for the war machines.
The major seemed to understand his state of mind very much. He said almost without thinking: "Yes! After staying in the army for a long time, his mind was full of combat and training. It was really boring to think about it. If you could live a normal life, it would be a good choice. Unfortunately... not everyone has the courage and determination."
This kind of unintentional thing that a concubine has a lover is useless to say more, and the topic ends here. The major continued to focus his main energy on flight command, which was indeed a very technical and experience task. Not only the officers and crew in the command room, but also the personnel from the external observation deck and bow observation room were joined in, and they cooperated with each other like brain cells.
During this period, Weiss, who stayed in the command room, was considered a competent helper. He studied the labeled data representing the topography and landforms in front of the command room, and found theoretically feasible areas for reference by Weiss and his professional aviation officers. The latter judged and adjusted according to the observed situation. Finally, they selected a mountain with an altitude of nearly 10,000 feet as the first tactical turning point to shake off the tracker.
This majestic mountain does not exist independently, but forms an irregular lotus-shaped shape surrounded by mountains. Under the command of the major, the transport ship flew towards the towering mountains at full speed. Its route almost cuts through the ridge. When it flew past the projection of the mountains, it suddenly turned, and disappeared from the enemy's sight in the blink of an eye... Of course, this move was not enough to escape the enemy's pursuit. Next, the transport ship quickly lowered its flight altitude and entered the mountains surrounding the peaks. The major kept sending instructions to turn or adjust the flight altitude, and the Federal Army transport ship became a well-trained falcon, repeatedly flying over the steep mountain.
After turning left and right for a distance, a deep and wide valley appeared in front of him. The major made a quick decision and directed the transport ship to continue to descend, hiding his body in the valley. He also ordered all boilers to stop adding coal, and instead use diesel engines to drive floating equipment and horizontal thrusters. In this way, the speed of the transport ship was sharply reduced, which was different from the full speed that Weis and his friends originally planned. However, combined with the surrounding terrain, Weis knew that this was the adjustment made by the major based on his excellent command skills. The speed of the transport ship was getting slower and slower, and to a certain extent, the flight attitude stabilized again. At this time, the smoke emitted by the chimney was about one-tenth of that of the boiler when it was fully operated, which was very helpful in avoiding the enemy's vision.
After flying along the valley for about twenty miles, the transport ship turned into another narrower valley at the fork. During the turn, the hull almost hit the earth cliff on the right, but the major always sat firmly on the Diaoyutai. The transport ship flew lower and lower, almost flying close to the river. This state means a high degree of concealment, but it is also a huge adventure: if the enemy sees out its hiding route and chases it from a high altitude, then they can use naval guns to launch a ruthless attack on the transport ship flying close to the ground, and the accuracy of direct artillery fire is not comparable to that of a rookie pilot who throws aviation bombs.
After flying along the second valley for more than ten miles, the major commanded the transport ship to "jump out" the low-lying valley and pass through several steep peaks. At this time, Weiss deliberately went to the open-air observation deck above the command room, and the two enemy ships were completely gone. Obviously, the enemy lacked expectations for the bold route of the transport ship. At first, their towering peaks blocked the view. After bypassing the peaks, they found that the target had penetrated into the mountains. Of course, it was
The Normans would not foolishly follow the Federal Army's transport ships to dig into the valley, but it would be easy to lose their targets. Under normal circumstances, they only need to maintain their original course and altitude in the air to wait for the opportunity. Once the target appears again, even if the distance is widened, they can continue to follow them, use radio to inform friendly forces of their location, and adjust and deploy accordingly by the superior commander - as long as it is still in the territory of the Norman Empire, they will not escape the fate of rats in the cage and turtle in the middle of the cage.
When the transport ship left this mountainous "giant jungle", Weiss looked back again and could no longer see the enemy warships, but in his special field of view, the two Norman patrol ships were clearly distinguishable, which meant that they had not been completely thrown away. Compared with combat aircraft with inadequate tactics, the Normans were much more experienced in the use of flight ships. One of these two Norman warships was guarding a commanding height of nearly 20,000 feet, overlooking this mountainous and watery area, the other was cruising at an altitude of about 3,000 feet from the ground, and the lateral positions of the two warships were deliberately staggered. As long as the target was still there, they would be re-locked by them soon...
After exploring the situation between the enemy and us, Weiss quickly returned to the command room and suggested to the major that the transport ship continues to fly at low speed with diesel engines to avoid attracting the enemy's attention due to the smoke and dust generated by the boiler operation. However, the major told him with a depressed look that he had issued a full-speed order according to the previous plan. The furnace steward had already filled the new coal into the boiler, and there was no way to reverse the process at this time.
When Weis heard this, he hurried back to the open-air observation deck above the command room. The chimney of the transport ship was indeed spewing out of thick smoke and dust. Looking at the enemy patrol ships in the distance, the two enemy ships did not change at the beginning. After a few minutes, the one occupying the commanding heights was the first to adjust the course. Then, the one with a lower flight height also turned to a state consistent with the direction of the evacuation of the transport ship. The two abominable hunting dogs began to pursue their prey again!
What a pity! Weiss punched the railing. Although he had considered to get rid of the enemy through two "hide and seek" games, he had a chance to make a final decision and was wasted in vain.
Soon after, Octavell came to take over Weiss's post. Although Weiss didn't like to complain, in order to avoid making the same mistake again, he still complained to the female hero who was both a teacher and a friend.
"You've done a very good job," Octavere comforted. "We did take some more time and fuel because of this little negligence, but as long as the final result is as we wish, what's the price?"
Weis nodded. The continuous work made him feel tired, and he was a little worried that his nephew would feel nervous in a strange environment. He stopped saying anything and went straight back to the cabin before. He saw the little boy listening to the girl talking intently. He observed for a while in secret. She seemed to be telling him a story, and from time to time she gestured with her hands. The little boy listened almost the whole time, only asking one or two questions occasionally, which looked very well-behaved.
After a moment, Weiss walked over slowly: "What are you talking about?"
The little boy put away the ignorant and cute expression just now and faced his uncle whom he had just recognized with with a little adult expression.
"Ancient legends." The girl replied, "In a special era, people do not distinguish between races, classes, equality, help each other, and fight against all kinds of terrible creatures together. It was a dangerous era and a beautiful era. Perhaps in a few thousand years, people will usher in an era that does not distinguish between races and classes."
"Oh, you tell him this..." Weiss shook his head, implying that, how could a child understand such profound topics?
The girl asked, "Shouldn't the creed of peace and friendship be cultivated from an early age?"
Weiss was stunned for a moment and showed an awkward smile. Out of curiosity, he asked, "Are you a teacher?"
"Philosophy teacher." The girl replied very seriously.
Chapter completed!