Chapter 246: The End of France (16)

The radio proximity fuze is also called the VT fuze (VT is the abbreviation of variable time). After the shell equipped with the radio proximity fuze is fired, the safety device is released, the fuze starts to be energized, and the vacuum tube is made into a radio frequency circuit to emit 180-220MHZ electromagnetic waves. When approaching an aerial target, the electromagnetic wave will be reflected back, and due to the Doppler effect, a frequency shift of hundreds of hertz will be generated. At this time, the shell shell itself constitutes an antenna to receive the reflected electromagnetic wave, and it is filtered and amplified through a filter and an amplifier. When the amplified current reaches the threshold (indicating that the distance to the target has entered the effective killing range), the detonation can be completed.

In 1943, about 9,100 shells equipped with proximity fuzes and 27,200 shells equipped with time fuzes were used in air defense operations in the Pacific battlefield, and about 1/5 of the results achieved by these shells were achieved by proximity fuzes. The best combat record of the proximity fuze was in an air defense operation, when American soldiers used artillery shells equipped with proximity fuzes to shoot down 91 of 130 incoming enemy planes.

In the late stage of the Pacific War, the islanders, who were unable to gain an advantage on the battlefield, finally came up with a bad idea of ​​using one person and one plane to launch a suicide attack to severely damage or sink the enemy's high-value targets. As a result, in front of the efficient proximity fuze, a pilot of an archipelago country had no time to perish with the enemy, and met with His Majesty the Emperor in the air in advance. The proximity fuze greatly reduced the losses of the Allies in the Pacific battlefield.

Therefore, the US military regarded it as a secret weapon with the highest confidentiality level. In order to prevent duds from falling into the hands of the enemy, the US senior officials made strict regulations on the use environment of the proximity fuze, and only allowed the US Navy and the British mainland air defense forces to use it when it was impossible for the fuze to fall into the hands of the enemy. Therefore, until the Battle of the Bulge in 1944, there was no combat record of ground forces using proximity fuzes. Historians believe that the proximity fuze is "undoubtedly one of the most important technological innovations during World War II" and has affected the course of the war to some extent.

However, Germany's electronic technology is now far ahead of other countries. As far as Yannick knows, even the United States has no research projects on transistors.

It is precisely because transistors effectively reduce the size that the 88mm anti-aircraft artillery shells are equipped with radio proximity fuzes, which are now used by the Guards X Force to deal with the British and French bomber groups.

A shell flew out of the barrel and flew into the sky at a speed invisible to the naked eye. The initial velocity of this FlaK 36 88mm anti-aircraft gun is 1050 meters per second, which means that in less than a second, the shell reached a height of one thousand meters and approached the target.

The radio signal emitted by the warhead began to be reflected back by the target.

As the distance between the shell and the target decreases, the Doppler effect causes the reflected radio waves to create a low-frequency signal of 200-800 Hz in the current of the transmitter. This signal is filtered and amplified, and finally, it meets the detonation requirements!

"Boom!" The shells burst suddenly, and dense shrapnel swept across like a storm, and the bombers in the killing range around experienced a terrible metal baptism.

Some bombers were riddled with holes, and many crew members died on the spot at their combat positions.

But this was just the beginning.

The terrible sound of anti-aircraft guns continued to sound on the ground, and shells cut through the dark night sky and flew towards the bombers illuminated by searchlights.

In addition to this terrible 88mm anti-aircraft gun, there is also the classic Bofors 40mm anti-aircraft gun, and the shells have also been improved, using trigger and electrostatic proximity double fuses.

In addition to these two anti-aircraft guns, the German army also has the "Cheetah" self-propelled anti-aircraft gun modified from the jackal tank chassis. The turret is equipped with 4 20mm aircraft cannons, which can fire 30 shells per second and deliver 1,800 20mm shells per minute. This firepower density and killing ability can be said to be very outstanding in World War II. Now the coalition bomber formation has dropped to a thousand meters, giving them a chance to show their skills.

"Damn it! The enemy's firepower is too strong! If this continues, we will be wiped out!!"

In a short moment, several bombers were shot down, which really frightened the bomber pilots and made them cry out in pain.

"!!" The air commander was also very entangled. The fierce ground firepower of the German army was completely beyond their expectations.

But the Meuse River is right in front of them. If they retreat at this time, wouldn't all their previous efforts be wasted and their efforts would be in vain? !

While hesitating, the fleet has already approached the Meuse River. At this time, the bomber formation has lost nearly a quarter of its troops, which can be said to be a heavy loss. However, the air commander can no longer care about many things and can only bite the bullet and continue to perform the mission. "Throw flares."

One by one, the flares, dragging dazzling light, flashing and slowly descending, illuminate the area below.

"Oh, damn!" The bombardier on the bomber couldn't help but let out a wail. He didn't know how many smoke canisters the Germans on the ground had brought. He could only see the thick smoke below, and couldn't see where the river was and where the land was, let alone find the pontoon bridge.

At this time, the anti-aircraft artillery group gathered on the other side of the river and had not had time to cross the river also began to roar. Although they were not equipped with artillery shells with proximity fuses, they were more in number, and the dense artillery fire woven a terrible firepower network in the sky.

"Drop bombs! Drop bombs! Get out of here!" The air commander shouted loudly as he watched the bombers around him fall one after another.

The bombardiers on the bombers didn't care what was below, they just pressed the bomb wrench and dropped all the bombs in the magazine.

When they hurriedly dropped the bombs and flew away from the anti-aircraft artillery fire range, the bomber formation was less than half of what it was when they set out.

"Report to the general, the British and French bombers have left the radar detection range!"

"Have we suffered any losses?"

"A light pontoon bridge was destroyed. Several soldiers were injured." These guys were lucky, and the bombs they dropped randomly hit a pontoon bridge.

Guderian nodded. "Build a heavy pontoon bridge as soon as possible. We need armored forces to cross the river as soon as possible."

There is an unnamed high ground ten kilometers south of Sedan, which is considered a dangerous place. If the French army occupies this high ground first, it can threaten the German army crossing the river. If the German army occupies it first, then the Sedan breakthrough can be consolidated. Although Guderian had already sent infantry to occupy the high ground, he had to worry about the French armored forces launching a strong attack.

The weather these two days was a bit hot and humid, and it seemed that it was going to rain heavily. Once it rained, the ground forces would lose strong air support, and the armored forces that failed to reinforce in time, the situation was not very optimistic.