novelaction Chapter 153: Ghost strikes again, goes deep behind enemy lines and blows up the railway bridge
Chapter 153: Ghost strikes again, goes deep behind enemy lines and blows up the railway bridge
The success of this operation is related to the subsequent major strategy.
Therefore, the troops dispatched were also the Fourth Squadron among the Ghost Special Forces, which was the best at infiltration operations.
This squadron is also known as the Ghost in the Ghost Special Forces, code-named Phantom, and is also called the Phantom Squadron.
However, this mission does not require an entire squadron, only one of the squadrons will be enough.
Before the war, all members of the 12th Squadron of the Dark Squadron boarded specially modified PBY Catalina seaplanes.
The PBY Catalina seaplane was also the most widely used seaplane during World War II in the original time and space.
It adopts an aerodynamic overall layout with a high-wing ship-shaped fuselage, a single vertical tail, and a three-point landing gear.
The power system is two 1200 horsepower Double Wasp 14-cylinder engines.
The reason why PBY seaplanes were used in this operation instead of C-54 transport aircraft was also because of the Yenisei River.
The river has many places for seaplanes to take off and land.
Moreover, the maximum range of this PBY seaplane can reach 4000 kilometers, which is one of the reasons for choosing it.
However, the one-way range of this mission is about 2200 kilometers, which is definitely not enough for a round trip.
So these PBY Catalina seaplanes have undergone special modifications.
The most effective way to increase range is to reduce weight.
So the three machine guns on the fuselage were also removed.
In addition to removing the weapons, basically everything that could be removed was removed. At the same time, they also found a way to install two 200-kilogram primary auxiliary fuel tanks on its weapon racks.
There is also a 400 kg fuel tank inside the cabin, which adds 600 kg of fuel at one time.
It is these extreme additions that have increased its single-trip range to 2600 kilometers.
With a total range of 800 kilometers of redundancy, even a small deviation is of no concern.
In addition, to ensure the success of the operation, the crews of the seven PBY seaplanes were carefully selected veterans from the Air Force.
Especially the navigator who is responsible for navigation is particularly critical.
We also looked for a navigator who had never made any mistakes.
By the time these preliminary equipment were completed, it had already taken more than 5 days.
On July 7, the demolition operation officially began.
Operation Demolition is also the name of this operation.
Seven PBY Catalina seaplanes took off one after another from a military airport in Guiyuan Province.
During this trip, they will cross the entire Mengyuan Province, and then enter the airspace of Tsarist Russia from the northwestern part of Mengyuan Province.
After entering the airspace of Tsarist Russia, they were only less than 700 kilometers away from their target.
Of course this is assuming no yaw occurs.
Once the course is deviated, you may have to take a lot of detours.
At the same time, there is a risk of being discovered at any time during the process.
Fortunately, the PBY Catalina seaplane has the advantage of speed.
Its maximum flight speed can reach 314 kilometers per hour and its ceiling is 4000 meters.
The most advanced I-5 biplane fighter of Tsarist Russia had a maximum flight speed of only 278 kilometers per hour.
This does improve security a bit.
The crew chose to depart during the day.
Although it is riskier to depart during the day, you have a better field of vision during the day and are less likely to deviate from your course. You can also detect the risk of being discovered in advance and avoid it.
Seven PBY Catalina seaplanes flew at an altitude of 7 meters at a cruising speed of 200 kilometers per hour.
They flew over the entire Mengyuan Province, and no accidents occurred during the 7-hour flight.
Because there were not many Tsarist Russian troops stationed in the entire Mengyuan Province, and no fighter jets were deployed.
In addition, the area is vast and the population is sparse, with the total population of the entire Mengyuan Province being only a few million.
This is not just the case in Mengyuan Province. The entire Siberia is vast and sparsely populated, so the risk of being discovered is actually not high.
But more than two hours after the fleet entered the Russian airspace, a fatal accident occurred.
"Fuck them! Why is there a Russian barracks on the route? How did you plan the route?"
When they could see the Far Eastern Railway winding across the ground like a giant dragon in the distance, they discovered a barracks in the jungle not far ahead.
Judging from the size of the camp, there is at least an infantry regiment stationed here.
The appearance of the PBY Catalina seaplane fleet naturally attracted the attention of the barracks.
Many Tsarist Russian soldiers looked up curiously at the group of planes flying towards them.
"Don't panic, just fly over. If you see them saying hello, wave your wings in response."
The navigator did not explain, but spoke calmly.
After hearing what he said, the pilot understood what he meant.
"All crew members, listen up! The Russian barracks are below. Do not make any unusual movements. Just flap your wings a few times as you fly over the camp."
This trick really worked.
When the lead plane flew over the camp and shook its wings a few times, the Tsarist Russian soldiers in the camp below also waved their hats or hands in response, and the atmosphere was still very lively.
Obviously they regarded the PBY fleet as their own.
In fact, this is also a normal thing.
This place is located in the heart of East Siberia, and there is no possibility of enemies appearing here.
Therefore, the barracks here did not report this situation to the nearby air force base.
The PBY fleet survived the crisis without any danger and continued to fly forward.
When they flew over the Far East Railway, it meant they were very close to their target.
The landing site they chose was in a body of water about 27 kilometers upstream from Krasnoyarsk.
The Yenisei River here can be up to 6 kilometers wide, with a water depth of at least 3 meters, and is far away from human habitation, making it very suitable for landing and hiding aircraft.
The first PBY Catalina seaplane came into close contact with the water surface and stopped steadily in the water after gliding for hundreds of meters.
Then one PBY seaplane after another landed in the waters.
By the time all the planes reached the shore, more than half an hour had passed.
Wen Tonghe, the captain of the Netherworld Squadron, glanced at the mechanical watch in his hand and silently calculated the time difference in his mind.
There are still more than two hours before dark, so there is plenty of time to prepare.
After dark, after leaving behind the crew members and members of one team, the remaining two teams all paddled out of the water on hovercrafts.
Wen Tonghe, who was also paddling hard on the boat, glanced at the primitive jungle on both sides and couldn't help feeling a little scared.
A distance of 27 kilometers is still a long way for a hovercraft that uses oars to move forward.
Fortunately, we were moving along the water and there was not much drop, so the speed was 12 kilometers per hour.
They paddled hard on the river for more than three hours before they finally saw the Yenisei River Railway Bridge hidden in the darkness in the distance.
This railway bridge is a double-track railway bridge with six thick concrete load-bearing columns standing on the water. It is half a century old.
They originally thought that such an important railway bridge would be guarded by soldiers, so they chose to infiltrate by water.
But when they rowed very close, they still didn't see any light.
This also made Wen Tonghe very surprised.
"Is there no one guarding this railway bridge at all?"
Seven hovercrafts rowed directly under the railway bridge. Wen Tonghe was basically sure that there was no one guarding the bridge, and he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
But we should not let our guard down because of this.
"Team One, follow me up. You guys load the explosives and row under the support column."
Wen Tonghe, dressed in black combat uniform, led a dozen people to climb up the gentle slope under the bridge.
More than 20 minutes later, Wen Tonghe and others appeared on the bridge.
"Damn it! There's really no one guarding it! These old Russians are so unprepared."
"This isn't the front line. It's over 2,000 kilometers away. Why are they going to all the trouble to defend it?"
Wen Tonghe agreed with what the team member said after hearing it.
Yes, this place is so far away from the front line, there is almost no possibility of danger.
Since there is no danger, who would be willing to guard it day and night?
This made it easier for them to act.
"Stop talking, team up in pairs and start moving!"
6 Each group took action quickly.
Each pier of the railway bridge has a passage that can be lowered, which is convenient for the staff to carry out maintenance.
Half an hour later, six action teams were in place one after another, and high explosives were hoisted up with ropes and firmly installed on the bridge piers.
The installation locations were determined by experts before the war to ensure that the piers could be destroyed with the minimum amount of explosives.
Then all the personnel were lowered onto the hovercraft via ropes.
"It exploded half an hour later and all personnel evacuated as quickly as possible."
The bomb was set to go off in half an hour, which was enough time for them to travel some distance.
It’s not that we can’t set a longer time, but there is no need to do so.
Because they also need to determine whether the bridge piers have been blown up.
So the distance must not be too far.
Half an hour is neither long nor short.
After they had rowed a few kilometers, they suddenly heard a series of loud noises behind them.
Huge fireballs rose from the direction of the railway bridge, shining particularly brightly in the dark night.
The thick bridge piers collapsed in the violent explosions, and the railway bridges also began to collapse.
Countless pieces of rubble, railroad tracks, etc. fell on the water, causing countless water columns.
"It looks like the mission is accomplished."
After seeing this scene, Wen Tonghe smiled and completely relaxed.
Even if their evacuation fails, the trip will be worth it.
The retreat went smoothly. One PBY seaplane after another took off after gliding on the water for a distance, and then disappeared into the night sky.
When the fleet flew into Mengyuan Province, it rendezvoused with the P-51D Mustang fighter group.
There is no need to hide anymore at this time.
At the same time, Jiang Hua also received the news that the mission was completed.
This also means that in the next one or two months, the Far East Railway will be paralyzed.
This is definitely bad news for the entire Far Eastern Front.