Chapter 257: Bottle Operation

After seeing off Xu Guozhang, the command post briefly returned to quiet.

Jiang Anguo rubbed his swollen temples, and his gaze fell again on William.

The young squadron commander was not only his left and right arm, but also the sharpest knife in his hand, and its blade had to cut in two directions at once.

Song Yunfei was to be responsible for the sky security over northern Myanmar.

"William," Jiang Anguo's voice steadied, "the reconnaissance over Yichang is only one of your tasks. Support for the Tertiary War Zone is equally important, even more perilous."

He walked to another map hanging on the side wall, which marked the complex terrain of Zhejiang and Jiangxi.

"This area differs from Changsha," Jiang Anguo's finger traced a sharp arc on the map, "Chief Xue in Changsha can forgo escort, or use only a few fighters to dogfight. But the Zhejiang‑Jiangxi area cannot; Shanghai, Nanjing still have Japanese Army airfields in operation, and their 'Hayabusa' and 'Zero' fighters can take off at any time. Our transport fleet is the fattest lamb in their eyes."

Now all Japanese Army air bases in Central China have been destroyed; if the Japanese want to deploy aircraft, they can only do so from South China or the Lanzhou direction.

Changsha lies very close to Changde; if time permitted, supplies could be moved by Transport Vehicle, but Jiang Anguo lacks time, so he still uses transport aircraft for the supplies.

William nodded gravely; the problem had been troubling him.

"Commander, our P-40 range is too short; even taking off from the nearest airfield we cannot escort the C-47 transport deep behind enemy lines for the whole trip. Perhaps we could land at Quzhou airfield!"

The P-40's range is 1,100 km, while the distance from Changde to Jinhua is 700 km.

Hmm, it can make it, but it would have to make a forced landing halfway.

Jiang Anguo's mouth curled into a mysterious smile, "No, no landing needed; I've swapped you a different fighter."

He turned, took a document from Xiao Si's hand, and handed it to William.

William opened it puzzledly; when he read the contents, his eyes widened instantly and his breath caught.

The document's title read: P-38 "Lightning" twin‑engine fighter, 18 units, with pilots and ground crew assigned.

"Commander... this... this is..."

"Exactly, the P-38 'Lightning'," Jiang Anguo's eyes glittered with excitement, "Twin‑engine, combat range over 1,700 km! What does that mean? It means our C-47 can fly as far as it can go! It can not only escort, but after reaching the target it can turn around and give the Japanese airfield below a 'surprise'!"

He watched William's shocked expression and continued, "The key to timely resupply for the Tertiary War Zone rests on this fighter. William, I want you to form a 'Ghost' squadron. With these 18 'Lightning' aircraft, carve a blood‑stained path for us over the Zhejiang‑Jiangxi line!"

The P-40 was the Thunder Squadron, and now that Jiang Anguo has switched to the P-38, the name naturally needs to change.

William clutched the document tightly, as if he could feel the P-38's cold, powerful metallic texture.

He suddenly straightened his posture, rendered a standard military salute, his voice trembling slightly with excitement:

"Yes, Commander! 'Ghost' squadron, mission guaranteed!"

May 26, 08:05 a. m.

At dawn in Changde Airport, the thin mist had not yet lifted, and the roar of engines already tore the silence.

At the runway's end, each P-38 "Lightning" with its distinctive twin‑fuselage silhouette loomed in the morning light like a coiled beast. Beside them were twenty C-47 transports laden with hope, their massive bodies casting heavy shadows on the runway.

"Ghost squadron, attention, the 'Bottle' operation commences now!"

From the control tower channel came William's calm, steady voice. William sat in the cockpit of the lead P-38, scanning through the canopy at the massive formation of thirty‑eight fighters.

These are all the aircraft he can command for this mission; perhaps the Little Devils hadn't imagined until yesterday that the Chongqing side ever had such a strong air force.

One must know that the Little Devils merely bully with their numbers, usually sending only a dozen or twenty fighters and bombers in a sortie—just petty.

Yet that petty force simply cannot form any notion about him!

"All crews, check heading, target Quzhou!"

At William's command, the engines' roar on the runway merged into an earth‑shaking wave. The first to roll out were the P-38 "Lightning" fighters, their twin engines howling in unison, pulling their noses up at astonishing speed like streaks of black lightning piercing the sky, swiftly forming a tight escort formation.

Immediately after, the twenty C-47 transports roared into the air one after another, forming a massive aerial dragon under the "Lightning" escort, heading southeast.

Operation code‑named "Bottle", the mission could not be simpler: airdrop of supplies.

In the cabins of those twenty C-47s were mountain‑piles of Ammo Boxes—one million rounds in total—plus food, medicine, and the like.

When the Military Commission learned of the Japanese Army's frequent activity toward Hangzhou, it reinforced the Tertiary War Zone by deploying the 74th Army, the 26th Army, two main forces, and the well‑equipped reserve 5th Division from the th War Zone.

One could say the Tertiary War Zone in the Zhejiang‑Jiangxi campaign received reinforcement, while the th War Zone's forces under Xue Yue were considerably weakened; yet despite that, Xue Yue still believed they should seize the opportunity to counterattack Yueyang.

Before moving to the Tertiary War Zone, Wang Yaowu of the 74th Army requested four million rounds, but with the Myanmar Campaign underway, supply from Chongqing became difficult.

And the ammunition under Xue Yue could not be fully allocated to Wang Yaowu, so the 74th Army's ammo was insufficient.

William's gaze swept over the instrument panel, the range indicator ticking steadily. A 700‑km range was enough for them to penetrate enemy rear, reach the target, and return safely.

The P-38 "Lightning" fighter's 1,700‑km endurance was exactly what Jiang Anguo needed; he had been eyeing advanced aircraft without looking back. Though the P-38 will eventually be phased out, for now it is the most suitable for supporting the Zhejiang‑Jiangxi theater.

Even if a Little Devil's aircraft dared to appear, William would hunt them down one by one like shooting a turkey.

Pilots have their own pride; destroying ground targets is merely to accomplish the mission.

Only in the air, taking down the opponent, is one a true knight!

Their target is Quzhou.

After the Japanese Army's tumultuous Zhejiang‑Jiangxi campaign, Quzhou city changed hands several times, yet now Chinese troops still hold a firm line inside, like a nail nailed into the Japanese supply routes. This air drop is to deliver fresh strength to that nail.

"'Bottle' squadron, maintain altitude, watch for enemy aircraft. The higher we fly, the harder the Little Devils below can spot us," William reminded over the channel.

The formation flew smoothly at ten‑thousand‑meter altitude, below an endless stretch of mountains, rivers, and shattered land.

To the countless people on the ground, they were merely a fleeting flock of iron birds, but for William and his "Ghost" squadron, they bore the fate of an entire war zone, soaring toward an unknown battlefield.