The biggest problem with sleeping next to the airport is the noise. When sleeping next to the airport on a tropical island, in addition to the deafening noise, another problem is the mosquitoes that never seem to have enough to fill their stomachs but never know they are tired.
When Wei Ran was woken up by the roar of the plane again, his hands, neck and even face had been bitten by mosquitoes. Even though the mosquito coils under the bed were still burning, even though the mosquito coils were already burning around them.
There were a lot of mosquito corpses.
He couldn't sleep anymore, so he simply put away the mosquito coil canister, got out of the tent and looked at the airport runway outside.
In the rising sun that had just emerged from the horizon, he was also able to see clearly the Tanba that might take them on a bombing mission at any time.
In addition to the name given to it by the crew members, the nose of this B29 is also painted with an animated character that was just born in this era - Dumbo.
In any case, this is a weapon of war after all, so naturally there is an aerial bomb rolled on the long trunk of the Dumbo.
In addition to the above painting, there are also many ground crews carrying out maintenance work around the aircraft.
After raising his camera to take a photo of the bomber, Wei Yan took out the MK43 telescope belonging to Captain Evans from the gas mask bag and looked at the airport.
At this time, there were a large number of B29 bombers parked on the tarmac of the airport, and around them, ground crews were more or less busy.
Farther away, there were several trucks busy transporting truckloads of aerial bombs to various ammunition depots on the edge of the airport.
Obviously, the battle is already on the schedule, and the bombers here will soon have a feast.
Putting away his binoculars and gas mask bag, Wei Ran walked into the forest, chose the most eye-catching coconut tree and peed.
When he came back, Brad had already woken up.
"Let's go back"
Brad yawned while scratching the mosquito bites all over his body, "I seem to have done something stupid. There are too many mosquitoes here."
"What are your plans during the day?" Wei Ran asked as he followed the other person and climbed into the jeep.
"I don't have any plans"
Brad yawned, started the car and drove back while saying, "What about you? Mr. Reporter? Is there anything I can help you with?"
"I don't have any plans, maybe I'll just take a stroll." Wei Ran responded casually.
"If you want to participate in the bombing, you'd better not go far." Brad reminded.
"Of course, I won't miss the bombing."
Weiran suppressed his anticipation and replied, today is just March 8th, and the bombing will not start until tomorrow afternoon.
After driving back to the cabin, Brad lay down on the bed and fell asleep. Wei Ran, who was completely sleepless, got into the bathroom and took a cold shower that completely woke him up. Then he took the camera and drove the car alone.
Started wandering around this busy airport.
As he braked and pressed the shutter again and again, the Kodak camera in his hand also faithfully recorded the busy ground crew, the M47 incendiary bombs piled on the wall, and the E46s loaded with 38 M69 incendiary bombs.
type cluster bomb.
Of course, there are also various greetings written on these bombs with various colors of chalk or paint.
During most of the morning's wandering, he successfully found Grant at a location almost diagonal between the airport and the tent where he slept last night.
He was currently lying on a hammock pulled up in the shadows outside a bell-shaped tent, concentrating on reading a classic American novel "Moby-Dick".
Looking inside the tent, there are four folding single beds on the side. Some of the beds have a guitar, some have a palette and easel, and some have a radio and a baseball bat.
, or a baseball glove and a baseball.
It can be seen from these details alone that the people who usually rest in this tent have a very colorful spare time life.
But at this time, there was no one in the tent, but there were several flight suits hanging there.
"Victor, why are you here?"
Grant used a long coconut tree leaf as a bookmark to close the novel he had read for only one third of the time. As he sat up, he subconsciously asked, "Where is my brother?"
"Which question do you want me to answer first?" Wei Ran said as he stepped out of the car.
"Be the first one," Grant said as he greeted Wei Ran into the tent.
"I spent the whole morning wandering around the airport looking for people to interview, and then I saw someone here from a distance."
Wei Ran said, sitting down on a relatively clean-looking bed, "But I didn't realize it was you I met until you greeted me."
"Okay, it seems to be a coincidence. What about the second question?"
Grant said, pulling out a bottle of Coke from a wooden box containing ice cubes, opening it and handing it over.
"He's sleeping in the cabin."
Wei Ran took a sip of cold Coke, "How about I ask you now?"
"Of course." Grant also opened a bottle of Coke, took a sip, and sat down on the folding bed opposite Weiyan.
Glancing at the Kodak camera hanging around the other person's neck, Wei Ran asked curiously, "Do you usually rest here?"
"This is the tent for our five gunners."
Grant said, pointing to a bomber not far away, "Now each bombing mission only requires one gunner, so the other four will stay here. This tent is considered the residence of our crew."
"Moby Dick?"
Weiran raised the telescope hanging around his neck and glanced at the plane a hundred meters away. On the side of the nose of the plane, the name Moby Dick was written, and next to it was a picture of a flying communication device.
Headphones and a beluga whale holding an aerial bomb in its mouth.
"It's also the name of a white sperm whale in the novel I was reading just now."
Grant casually explained, "Our crew plans to run a whaling ship together after the war is over, so there is no more appropriate name."
"So where have all the whalers gone?" Wei Yan put down his telescope and asked curiously.
"The Labor Club," Grant pointed in the direction and said nonchalantly, "They went to please those sweethearts."
"What about you? Why don't you go?" Wei Ran asked while giving the other party a cigarette.
"Someone has to stay"
Grant replied casually, "And I have no interest in pretending to be a gentleman in front of those sweethearts. I would rather take care of the business of recruiting women."
"Is there still a recruitment of women here?"
“It’s in a town not far from the airport.”
Grant raised his hand and pointed in a direction, "If you are interested, just grab a bottle of Coke and two cans of spiritual meat to enjoy their services.
Of course, you have to be careful about getting sick. They basically all have sexually transmitted diseases, and the younger they are, the more so."
"I will go when I have time"
Wei Ran smiled and said, "Grant, how about introducing your crew? Or take me to the bomber?"
"Sorry, neither can do either."
Grant did not hide his defensiveness at all, "I don't want you to get to know them, and I am just a gunner. I have no right to take you to the bomber alone."
"It's a pity, but I won't break the rules."
Wei Ran wisely chose to give up. He stood up and walked out and said, "Okay, Grant, I'm going to continue looking for suitable interviewees."
"Wait a moment"
Grant stopped Wei Ran, then took off a keychain as thick as his wrist from the edge of the bedside mosquito net, and then took out a red safety pin pull-tab ribbon and handed it to Wei Ran.
"I learned this from my brother"
Grant said, "If you do follow the bombing, remember to bring a streamer to the sky. It will help you get back to the ground alive."
"Really?" Wei Ran asked with a smile as he took the keychain and ribbon.
"You can trust Brad when it comes to luck," Grant joked, "so bring it with you."
"Thank you for your blessing." Wei Ran shook the small gift in his hand, turned around and walked out of the tent.
After driving away from Grant's "residence", Wei Ran walked in circles to the kitchen, said hello to the black cooks who were already familiar with him, and exchanged for a sumptuous lunch.
Wei Ran found a shady spot at random, took out the sailor bag from the metal book, tied the hammock to two palm trees, lay on it and slowly enjoyed his lunch.
Overall, life here is so pleasant that it doesn't feel like being on a battlefield - except for the pesky mosquitoes.
After finishing his lunch slowly, Wei Ran assembled the ribbon Grant gave him to the huge keychain, and then hung it on his belt.
After packing up the hammock and driving back to the wooden house, he found that the wooden house was extremely lively at this time. In addition to Brad, there were five other people sitting inside.
These five people were all wearing flight suits, holding cold Cokes and holding thick cigars in their hands.
"Hey! Victor! You're finally back!"
Brad, holding a cigar in his hand, greeted Wei Ran warmly, then tapped an American lunch box with his fork, "Gentlemen, our reporter Mr. Victor is back."
"Hello"
Wei Ran took the bottle of Coke handed over by Brad, bit into it, and bumped into each other with the five people.
"Let me introduce you."
Brad threw the fork in his hand on the table, hugged a man with a goatee next to him and said, "This is the captain of the Dumbo bomber, Charles, and next to him is the co-pilot Baker.
"
After Weiran shook hands with the two of them one by one, Brad touched the third person with a Coke bottle, "This is the navigator Bob, next to him is the mechanic Arthur, and finally Dumbo's
Wireless operator Jack."
After Wei Ran and the three shook hands and got to know each other, Brad continued, "There are also their bombardiers and gunners, but they are having fun in the club now, and we will have the opportunity to see them in the future.
"
"That's right"
Captain Charles said excitedly, "Victor, you and Brad are welcome to take our Dumbo. We will provide the best service."
"That's right"
The first officer, or co-pilot Baker, was also a little abnormally excited, "We will let you take enough photos!"
"We have personally installed the shooting bracket in the cabin this morning," the mechanic Arthur said, and he seemed to be a little too excited.
"Did you give them drugs?" Wei Ran asked Brad.
"It's just some candy that makes people happy," the radio operator Jack defended, and he was also happy.
"Jack is right, they are just some candies that make people happy." Brad said innocently, "Victor, do you want one?"
"certainly"
Wei Ran replied without thinking, then took the pills offered by the other party and threw them into his mouth, but actually hid them between his fingers.
He "washed down" the non-existent pills with a sip of Coke, and put the hidden pills into his pocket without any trace with his other hand.
Although he was secretly cheating, his attitude obviously won the favor of Charles and others. Not surprisingly, the topic at the dinner table started with the free women in exchange for the unpalatable canned spiritual meat, and then talked about their bombers.
and bombing missions.
"I expect there will be new bombing missions soon."
Charles lowered his voice slightly, "And it must be low-altitude bombing, which is much more dangerous than high-altitude bombing. Brad, Victor, do you really plan to follow us on the bombing mission?"
"We already bought the tickets," Brad said, "right, Victor?"
"certainly"
Wei Ran responded, and then asked pretending to be curious, "Charles, is the news accurate?"
"Bob, please explain it to our reporter," Charles said.
"Yesterday we conducted several sorties of training."
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Navigator Bob lowered his voice slightly, "The training requires us to use radar to navigate from low altitudes and visually search for ground bombing targets."
"What height?" Brad asked almost subconsciously.
"5000 feet"
Wireless operator Jack replied, "The altitude of the crews participating in the training is basically within the range of 5,000 to 7,000 feet."
"We speculate that there is a high probability of a night bombing."
Co-pilot Baker guessed in a low voice, "Although this height can avoid most light anti-aircraft guns, it is still within the strike range of the heavy anti-aircraft guns. So I guess it must be a night bombing. If it is daytime, this
The height is too risky.”
"Only that Iron Ass (also the nickname of the barbecue master) loves us so much that he actually arranges such a death task for us." Arthur, the mechanic, complained.
"Now we can only pray that we can survive."
Charles' casual words made Brad stunned for a moment. At the same time, he also noticed the large keychain hanging on Weiran's belt and the safety pin pull ring ribbon on the keychain.
"We may have to pay attention to the mission situation."
Mechanic Arthur asked worriedly, "Brad, were you really a bombardier before?"
"Of course, although I fly a B17, we also use the difficult-to-use Norton sight."
As Brad spoke, he had already walked to the bed, opened his suitcase, and took out a photo of himself, his crew, and General LeMay and proudly displayed it.
In this era, there is no such thing as face-swapping with photos. These group photos undoubtedly dispelled the last worries of half the crew.
"I also flew the B17, and I was the first officer at that time."
Captain Charles said with emotion, "Even wearing a bloated B3 flight jacket, I still have the illusion that my bladder has frozen."
"I've flown too"
Mechanic Arthur said, "It was cold, but it was an excellent airplane."
"Did your B17 have any accidents?" Brad asked in a strange way.
"Of course, of course there were accidents."
Charles said with lingering fear, "One time we had to make an emergency landing and used the machine gunner on the belly of the aircraft as a brake pad. That incident gave me a nightmare for a long time."
"The B17 I was in, the last time I landed, only the captain and I survived." Arthur continued, "That was also the last time I flew a B17. After I recovered from my injuries, I started flying
Got trained by B29.”
Perhaps because he had gained inner balance, after hearing what the two of them said, although Brad said some regretful words of comfort, Wei Ran vaguely felt that the other party seemed to be secretly relieved.
The small action that confirmed his guess was that Brad subconsciously kissed the amulet he pulled out from his collar.
"I have never flown a B17, but I have flown a B24 bomber." Navigator Bob said.
"I've only flown our Dumbo," said wireless operator Jack, a recruit who worked in the post office before joining the Army.
When the topic turned to the types of aircraft they had flown, Weiyan was inevitably asked about his previous experiences.
"Did you participate in the Battle of Guam? Asan Beach?" Navigator Bob asked curiously.
"That's right"
Wei Ran nodded, "I was a medical soldier at that time, and now I have several friends serving in Guam."
"My girlfriend is in Guam. She is a nurse."
Navigator Bob said, "Maybe she knows you."
"What's her name?" Wei Ran asked almost subconsciously.
"Louise Garland"
Bob said, "It's a red-haired girl from Minnesota. Victor, do you know her?"
"Sorry, I don't know you." Wei Ran said apologetically.
"She also participated in the Battle of Guam"
Bob said happily, "And she survived without any injuries. She is still working in Guam."
"This is really rare," Brad said subconsciously.
"Indeed, her luck has always been very good." Bob said proudly.
As the conversation continued, the topic became more and more endless, and the food and drinks on the table became less and less.
Finally, having eaten and drank enough, Charles and others said goodbye and left the cabin, leaving behind two practical little gifts they had given them - two mosquito nets.
"I'm going to wait at the tent later."
Brad asked while clearing away the remaining garbage on the table, "Victor, do you want to come with us?"
"Do you think there will be a bombing mission tonight?" Wei Ran asked.
"Either tonight or tomorrow night, there will definitely be a bombing mission." Brad said firmly.
"In that case, I'm going to take a shower, and then we'll go there." Wei Ran said, taking out a towel and walking into the bathroom.
Less than 10 minutes later, the two of them drove the jeep back to the tent and installed mosquito nets on their folding beds to block mosquitoes.
Although he knew there would be no results today, Wei Ran and Brad waited patiently in the tent.
"Did you see Grant today?" Brad asked suddenly as he was lying on the bed.
"Did you see it?" Wei Ran asked.
"I saw the keychain and safety ribbon on your belt," Brad said.
"He said he learned it from you"
Wei Ran looked across the coat of arms at the other folding bed opposite, "Do you have any explanation?"
"I lied to him"
Brad smiled and said, "Grant will believe whatever I say. Lying to him is something that gives me a sense of accomplishment."
“You can tell”
"But I regret it"
Brad sighed, "I just wanted to gain admiration, but I didn't want my brother to yearn for the bullshit romance on the bomber. I was worried that he would die on the bomber."
"He won't," Wei Ran said almost firmly.
He knew that Grant would die on another battlefield after World War II, as an enemy for himself.
"I hope so"
Brad sighed, "Actually, I originally planned to buy the bombardier and gunner's tickets from his crew, but I failed."
"He will survive until the end of this war, and so will you."
Wei Ran said minding his own business, "Besides, Grant is not a child anymore. Compared to him, you may be more worrying."
Unfortunately, I don't know whether it was because he was too sleepy or he was trying to avoid it, but Wei Ran's response was the sound of snoring coming from Brad.
Wei Ran shook his head helplessly and closed his eyes. He also needed to recuperate.
On this day, Master Li Mei, who was far enough away from the two of them, finally gave the order to go to Beijing for the barbecue.
Before these specific instructions reached the ears of the crew members with the most peripheral nerves, this huge war machine had already started operating at full speed.