RM Vol 3: For a World without Boundary – Chapter 41-1: Flight of the Polar Bears (Part 1)

Author notes:

I am back! And boy, I think up next will be my first foray into another pretty unfamiliar but at the same time, not unfamiliar territory for me. Confusing? Yeah, it is confusing. Had to brainstorm a lot, and edited out a lot before turning up with the most recent chapter.

I fully intend on giving love to every branch of the armed forces so stay tune and watch me experiment with a bit of everything till something clicks in place :D

Yggdra's pictures (Spoiler: They're a bit saucy that Imgur may actually remove them lol) and Visual aid for Belka's strategic bomber

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Specifications (Gotha B-40)

General characteristics:

Crew: 5-8 (pilot, co-pilot, offensive systems officer, defensive systems officer, flight engineer, plus an additional gunner or three additional crew members depending on mission profile)

Length: 54.1 m

Wingspan: 70.10 m

Height: 6.185 m

Empty weight: 75,371 kg

Max takeoff weight: 186,973 kg

Powerplant: 6 × Gothaer R-4360-53 Wasp Major 28-cylinder 4-row air-cooled radial piston engines, 3,800 hp (2,800 kW) each for take-off

Propellers: 8-bladed HSP24F60-344, 4.65 m diameter contra-rotating fully-feathering constant-speed pusher propellers

Performance:

Maximum speed: 925 km/h

Cruise speed: 710 km/h

Range: 16,000 km

Service ceiling: 14,000 m

Rate of climb: 10 m/s

Armaments:

Six remote-controlled retractable gun turrets. Each is fitted with two radar-aimed 30 mm autocannons, for a total of 12.

Two internal weapon bays for 40,000 kg of mixed ordnance, bombs, mines, and missiles, in various configurations. (hence the designation B-40).

Avionics:

Forward-looking offensive passive electronically scanned array radar

Radar warning receiver and ECM equipment

Defensive management system (flares, chaffs, towed decoy)

Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod

Special equipment:

Mana condenser for passive aerial refueling

The Gotha B-40 "Polar Bear" is a strategic bomber built by the Gotha Aeronautic company and operated solely by the Belkan Air Force. The B-40 is the largest mass-produced piston-engined aircraft, with the longest wingspan of any combat aircraft ever built, at 70 m. It's of a strange design language, being the first mass-produced aircraft of a flying-wing design, and one of massive scale at that. And unlike many, many propeller aircraft out there, the B-40 employs its engines in a pusher configuration. These design choices, when combined together, have created a platform that can carry a greater payload faster, farther, and cheaper than a conventional bomber.

The B-40 is also the first bomber capable of delivering any of the WMDs in the Belkan arsenal from an internal weapon bay without aircraft modifications. With a range of 16,000 km and a maximum payload of 40,000 kg, the B-40 is capable of intercontinental flight without refueling and can stay aloft for as long as three days. The latter is only possible thanks to the built-in mana condenser system that passively recharges 1/4 of the amount of fuel that is lost at cruising speed.

With the advent of more and more precision-guided weapons, the B-40 Polar Bear can, by itself and provide there's no interception effort, strike globally, anytime, anywhere, and with superb accuracy. It's large, deadly, and marvelous. Naming it after the majestic beast that is the Polar Bear is only fitting, it also coincides with the anti-flash white paint scheme that all B-40s bombers are coated in.

Despite its impressive size, however, the Polar Bear's defensive armaments may seem lacking at first glance since there are only 12 guns aboard. That said, enemy pilots should learn to fear these gun turrets for they are automated, radar-aimed, and have built-in targeting systems. These 30mm are the same cannons used on the Phantom's infamous Gatling gun, fitted in a dual-barrel setup with a fast rate of fire. Being hit by a singular burst of these 30mm equals death for most aircraft. The six turrets are dispersed evenly across the bomber, with three on the ventral side and a similar number on the dorsal frame, providing a 360-degree field of protection for the Bear. Currently, Gotha is suggesting to the Reich Marshal to incorporate MANPADs into the Polar Bear, thus increasing the self-defense range of the bomber by three times. The development will allow for a significant weight reduction, thus showing promise. Nonetheless, Gotha is struggling to create an aerodynamic missile turret to replace the cannon turrets of the Bear. Without that ability, the mobility and range of the bomber will be compromised. The Reich Marshal has sent some help in this regard and the project is proceeding at an acceptable pace.

In the event that the guns and missiles fail to intercept a threat to the B-40, the Polar Bear is equipped with the largest and brightest chaffs and flares deployment system in the Belkan arsenal. Another surprising feature is the ability to deploy a towed decoy that can act as a radar and infrared trap, attracting enemy missiles to hit the decoy instead of the Bear itself. There's also the fact that the Bear has a reduced radar cross-section, however, due to the piston engines, the Bear isn't a true stealth aircraft.

That said, the Reich Marshal is tasking the brightest Belkan minds to come up with a new design for a stealth bomber plane that is based on the Polar Bear. Other notable variants are maritime patrol aircraft MB-40 and Airborne Operations Centers 'Doomsday Plane' AOC-40.

The B-40 Polar Bear is Belka's first and most powerful answer for strategic-level bombardment worldwide.

P.S: To aid with the crew's comfort, the B-40 features many design choices previously unheard of for a combat aircraft. The B-40 has a crew of 8 at maximum. The pressurized flight deck and crew compartment are linked to the rear compartment by a pressurized tunnel, running parallel to the normal walkway. This system is also connected to the two internal bomb bays, allowing the flight engineer to quickly address any issue that arises in either of them. In the B-40, movement through the tunnel is on a motorized wheeled trolley, but one can pull on a rope manually if they have to. The rear compartment features four bunks and a dining galley and can lead to the six automated turrets.

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Kaiserslautern Air Base, nickname K-Town, is the home of the 509th Bomb Wing, the very first Belkan Air Wing to be WMD trained. Aside from trainers in the form of two-seat Skyraiders and Phantoms, the unit operates 28 B-40 Polar Bears strategic bombers. It's currently 8 in the evening and right now, all 28 bombers are on the tarmac, with each awaiting their turn to use the four available runways of Kaiserslautern to sortie on their first offensive operation.

Last night, the 3rd Carrier Strike Group and the 131st Fighter-Bomber Wing eliminated all Erusean and Ustian radar installations. Paving the way for not just Operation Rolling Thunder but also future aviation operations. As part of the first opening move of Rolling Thunder against Sardegna, the 509th Bomber Wing is tasked with attacking Taranto harbor and the stationary Alexander Battle Fleet in conjunction with the air wings from the 1st Carrier Strike Group. Their ultimate goal is to completely decimate Sardegna's war material transport hub in the Mediterranean. This will be achieved by leveling targets that are marked by ONI's field agents and the recon flights conducted by Captain Lucas Schmidt. The war planners expected that with the loss of such a crucial harbor and another one of their major fleets, Sardegna would stumble in their attempts to assert dominance over Spain and the African continent, thus leading the way for further economic downfall.

Understandably, members of the 509th are excited over the prospect of being entrusted with such a critical objective. Hence, from the ground engineers to the flight chiefs aboard the bombers, each and every single soul strives their best to ensure everything will proceed without a single hitch. One such crew is stationed aboard their home-in-the-sky, the B-40 bomber that is named Enola May. The flight chief and pilot of the giant flying wing is swift to run the list with the rest of her crew. Surprisingly, the chief is a halfling, with a dwarven father and a beastwoman mother. It's thanks to the latter that she's passed the height requirement to join the Pilots Academy. Mother Goddess blesses her living soul.

"Offensive?" The halfling raised the question while holding up a notebook with a pen.

The offensive systems officer replies immediately with a big grin. "We're loaded to our full combat weight with two 20000 kg T-12 Cloudmaker seismic bombs. I've quadrupled-check the couplings and bomb bay doors, they're A-Ok! Once we're above the target, I can guarantee with my life that we will be cracking heads with supersonic ordnances."

As the 509th Bomber Wing has 28 B-40s, High Command divides the Wing into four smaller task groups, with each group performing different duties in the upcoming bombing mission. The first task group consists of 11 B-40s with each carrying eighty 500 kg low-drag general-purpose bombs. This group will be the first strike group against Taranto, with the second group trailing closely behind them. Unlike the first task group, the second group is armed eighty eight 450 kg incendiary bombs. They are tasked with firebombing Taranto and will be integral in truly razing it to the ground.

The third group won't be directly responsible for destroying the harbor, however. Rather, the five bombers assigned to this group will be deployed to drop forty CAPTOR torpedo mines each, totaling 200 mines that will blockade Taranto's sea-going access way. This means that if the Alexander Fleet decides to break away from the harbor, they will be sunk by torpedoes hitting their keels. That is if the wings from the 1st Carrier Strike Group haven't scrapped them all by then.

The last group, more like a singular plane and that is the Enola May, is assigned with the important objective of destroying the hidden naval base Southeast of Taranto. That's why the offensive system officer reported that there are two seismic bombs in the bomb bays. With a weight of 20000 kg each, the T-12 Cloudmaker is designed to be fitted together as a pair for a B-40 Polar Bear, thus completely filling out their max payload capacity. It's the biggest conventional bunker-busting option in Belkan arsenal, designed to attack targets invulnerable to other conventional "soft" bombs, such as extremely protected bunkers and viaducts.

It achieves this by having an extremely thick, hardened nose section, the best possible aerodynamic body, the greatest weight, and being dropped from the highest altitude. Penetrating deeply into the earth before exploding, the resulting shock wave was transmitted through the earth into targets for devastating effects like an earthquake. The resulting underground cavity and ground motion can also undermine structural integrity. The bomb is especially effective against hardened targets underground. This bomb can reach supersonic speeds, hence the name Cloudmaker, and has a JDAM kit installed to provide the best possible accuracy. One really doesn't want to misplace a 20000 kg special delivery. Coincidentally, the bombs in the bay have the names 'Big-bada-boom' and 'Wipeout Whitney' painted on them. Gotta keep up with the tradition and all that, you know?

"We're good on defensive?" The flight chief turns to the defensive systems officer. The man being addressed goes on to reply. "Turrets are loaded, chaffs and flares are stocked, decoy is in place if we ever need it... Yeah, we are all good on that front."

"Engineer, we A-Ok?"

The tanned woman by the MFD console that is displaying the status of the Enola May looks up at the flight chief. "All systems green, mana tanks and condenser are at nominal capacity. We're good to go, chief."

One by one, the chief ticks all the checkboxes. "All right, straps in guys and gals. Co-pilot, you're ready to take Enola in the air?"

"Ready when you are, chief."

"Grab the stick then, it's our turn to taxi. Let's ease her into the lane."

"You got it. Come on Enola, let's go for a nightly stroll."

As the chief increases the throttle, thus increasing the output of the engine strap behind them, she comments. "Purrs like a kitty, she is."

As the large aircraft is going to the takeoff lane alongside three others, the chief spots something that just gently landed on the cockpit canopy but quickly melted away. This happens a few more times before the chief speaks up.

"Wonderful, we will be taking off under the first sign of snow. Quite romantic if we aren't about to blow up thousands of souls."

The flight engineer follows up on that. "You can look at it this way, it's just like popping off a couple of fireworks."

The offensive systems officer chimes in. "It will be shock and awe if you haven't seen one before."

"But we saw a few of them when we're still in training though." Said the defensive systems officer. "Only this time I brought a recorder instead."

The chief raises an eyebrow at that but still keeps a keen eye on the runway as she maneuvers the Enola May. "Can you even snap a view 14 km up in the air?"

"I link it with the ventral turrets. That should give it both the zoom and the night vision recording capability."

"Just make sure it doesn't interfere with any of our systems." The chief reminded before warning. "Alright, we got the go-ahead for take-off so hang on to your teeth, people."

With the take-off flaps deployed, the chief pushed the throttle all the way in a calm manner. Despite its size, the Enola goes down the runway with a certain grace to it before softly lifting off under a light screen of snow. Its pusher engines echo in the night like a cacophony of dragons roaring. Soon enough the Enola May joins many of its brethren in a formation bound for Sardegnian soil. By a few hours later, Taranto will be welcoming an early daybreak, the first of many that the world has yet to see.