Chapter 232 The French Doomsday (2)

Hundreds of fighter planes, bombers, and attack aircrafts crossed the border in a massive wave, launching intense bombings on France's airports, railway hubs, and heavily fortified areas, including the Sedan Fortress.

Amid the fortress's piercing air raid sirens, General Henri-Jean Lafontaine, the commander of the 55th Infantry Division, remained calm. Unlike the Belgian Fort Eben-Emael with just a few anti-aircraft machine guns, the Sedan Fortress had considered air defense during its construction, deploying a significant number of anti-aircraft positions capable of low-altitude bombing defense. High-altitude bombing had little accuracy, making it nearly impossible to hit the fortress facilities precisely.

Furthermore, the French high command unanimously believed that Germany's move was merely an attempt to lure the main English and French forces in Belgium away, allowing them to execute a clumsy strategy of attacking Brussels.

General Lafontaine's thoughts were not wrong. The bombing accuracy of this era was indeed challenging against ground targets. However, this time, the attacking formation was the Stuka Squadron.

As the dense formation of Stukas approached the fortress, the anti-aircraft guns of the fortress retaliated, desperately firing volleys of shells into the air. Explosions formed a continuous series of black "roses" in the sky. Unfortunately, these efforts couldn't stop the "friendly greetings" from the Stuka bombers.

One after another, Stukas dove towards the ground, emitting a shrill scream that sent shivers down the spine. Bombs of various types accurately landed on the fortress's anti-air positions, almost every dive resulting in the silencing of an anti-aircraft site.

Listening to the continuous reports of lost anti-aircraft positions outside, General Lafontaine's expression became extremely grim. "Damn it, when did the German bombers become so formidable?!"

In less than half an hour, despite not shooting down many German bombers, half of the fortress's anti-aircraft positions were already lost.

The Stuka formation, having dropped all their bombs, departed triumphantly. Before the French forces inside the fortress could breathe a sigh of relief, the second wave of Stuka formations arrived, continuing to dive and bomb, destroying the remaining anti-air positions.

In less than an hour, all the anti-aircraft positions in the fortress were completely destroyed.

General Lafontaine stared in disbelief at the staff officer reporting to him, unsure of what to say. Intense unease surged within him. Without anti-aircraft defenses, wouldn't those bombers become even more unrestrained? How long could the fortress hold out? "Where are our fighter planes?!"

The staff officer looked mournful. "They arrived early, but they were intercepted by the German fighter planes and couldn't get through!"

General Lafontaine was somewhat incredulous. "Didn't we deploy the latest D.520 fighter planes? Can't they outmatch the German aircraft?" The previous dogfights had proven that the MS.406 fighters were no match for German planes. Consequently, they hastily introduced the latest D.520 fighter planes.

The D.520 fighter plane was independently designed and manufactured in France, boasting the best performance among domestically produced fighters. While its performance was comparable to the Zero fighter in many aspects, it had slightly better stability and protection. With a top speed of 534 kilometers per hour, the aircraft was armed with a 20mm cannon in the nose and four 7.5mm machine guns on the wings, making it a formidable force in terms of firepower.

However, compared to Germany's Bf 109F, the D.520 fighter plane only had an advantage in range (maximum range of 1530 km), falling short in other aspects.

Regarding the short-legged issue of the Bf 109, although aerial refueling technology emerged as early as 1923, it's not practical to perform mid-air refueling for hundreds or even thousands of fighter planes.

With current technology, the only way to extend range or loiter time is by mounting auxiliary fuel tanks.

Now, let's talk about the British.

While future discussions often highlight Germany's incredible black technology during World War II, the British also had their share of impressive innovations.

The Rolls-Royce Merlin liquid-cooled engine, coveted even by Americans, played a vital role. The Mustang fighter of the United States wouldn't have reached its pinnacle as a piston-engine fighter if it hadn't been fitted with the British Merlin engine. The Gloster Meteor jet fighter from Britain was the only operational jet aircraft on the Allied side during World War II.

The British invented onboard jammers such as "Window" and aluminum foil chaff, opening the curtain on electronic warfare. Sonar, anti-submarine searchlights, and Hedgehog anti-submarine mortar—all struck fear into German U-boats—were also British inventions.

The British army was no slouch either, developing various tank models, including the Comet tank capable of matching Germany's "Panther" and the post-war "Centurion" heavy tank, the most widely used heavy tank among Western nations. British infrared detection and night vision technology found applications in various fields. Sticky anti-tank grenades and collapsible military motorcycles were envy-inducing weapons for other countries. Moreover, Britain developed radar and radar-guided surface-to-air missiles. They even initiated a nuclear weapons development project, later merged due to security concerns and the U.S. Manhattan Project.

To prolong the fighter's loiter time over continental Europe, the British devised a clever solution: paper drop tanks.

These tanks were made from cowhide paper soaked in phenolic resin and divided into three main components: nose cone, tail cone, and body. To ensure uniformity, components were molded in wooden molds, a manufacturing process similar to today's composite components. After the drop tank's fabrication, it underwent pressure testing. Upon passing, two layers of cellulose paint and two layers of metal paint were applied.

These paper drop tanks were not only waterproof but also exhibited excellent tolerance to extreme cold and heat.

Although paper drop tanks had advantages like low cost, light weight, easy handling for ground crews, and significant savings in metal materials, they were not without drawbacks. The tank's glue would gradually dissolve in gasoline, causing leaks a few hours after fueling. Hence, paper drop tanks were disposable, intended for single-use only before takeoff. Additionally, the tank's strength couldn't support the aircraft's landing with the tank attached, so sometimes, even if the pilot hadn't used all the fuel in the drop tank, it had to be jettisoned before returning to ensure safety.

Overall, these paper drop tanks were well-suited for resource-limited Germany, significantly increasing the loiter time and range of the short-legged Bf 109, effectively intercepting the French fighter planes that came to support.

By the time the second wave of Stukas left and the third wave arrived, the French fighter planes couldn't break through the German fighter interception. General Lafontaine could only listen to the successive explosions, the sounds of the fortress's firepower being systematically destroyed by the Stukas.

At that moment, a staff officer rushed over in a panicked state. "General, General, something's wrong! German armored units!!"

"What?!" General Lafontaine was shocked. "German armored units? How could Germans appear here? Where did they come from?!"

"Ardenne Forest, they broke out from the Ardenne Forest!"