mtl008 Chapter 1082 Airdropped Supplies and Rescue
Chapter 1082 Airdropped Supplies and Rescue
Half an hour after Zhang Yunhe gave the order, a B-29 carrying ammunition, food, fresh water, a small, mechanically powered iron-hulled boat, and a large barrel of diesel fuel arrived.
To prevent water from entering the power unit of the small boat during airdrop and causing it to fail to start, ground crew wrapped and sealed the engine completely with plastic film beforehand.
Three hours later, on the sea 340 kilometers northwest of Kaohsiung Port, three pilots were found lying on two pieces of wing debris. They were the three fighters from the escort formation who had parachuted after being shot down.
To prevent the two pieces of wing debris from being separated by wind and ocean currents, the three men worked together to tie them together with the parachute ropes.
Due to the influence of prevailing winds and ocean currents, objects on the sea surface in this area will drift northeastward without external force. Therefore, three hours after falling into the water, they drifted nearly 30 kilometers northeastward.
It was 1 p.m., the time when the sun was at its strongest. The three men lay listlessly on the floating wreckage of the plane. If it weren't for the parachute fabric they had cut off with a knife covering them, they would have been sunburned and dehydrated long ago.
After several hours without drinking a drop of water, the lips of all three began to dry out.
Pilot Wang Chao turned his head and looked around, then sighed, "No wonder not a single ship has passed by for so long!"
Pilot Liu Jun said, "You'd better pray you don't encounter any ships!"
"Why? If we find a boat, we can be rescued, we'll have water to drink, food to eat, and clean clothes to change into!" Wang Chao said. He was starving and a little dehydrated, and he really wanted to drink water.
Another pilot, Zhao Gongping, said, "Most of the islands in the Pacific are now occupied by the Japanese. Japanese warships, fleets, and reconnaissance planes are everywhere. Apart from their cargo ships, which country's ships dare to sail in these waters? Very few neutral cargo ships can navigate here."
"If we encounter a ship, it will most likely be a Japanese ship. At that time, what do you think will happen to you if you are rescued? They will definitely hand you over to the Japanese officers, and then you will be subjected to severe torture to make you confess everything you know. You can either tell them, which would mean you have betrayed the country, or you can stubbornly refuse to talk and you will be interrogated to death!"
Wang Chao fell silent. He didn't know if he could survive being captured and tortured by the Japanese, but the thought of the consequences still terrified him.
Liu Jun then said, "Don't worry, three hours have passed since we fell into the water. Every hour, our fighter jets have been searching for us, descending as low as possible to find us. This shows that the higher-ups value us and that we haven't been abandoned!"
"I believe that as long as we persevere, the higher-ups will definitely find a way to rescue us and bring us back!"
After hearing Liu Jun's comforting words, Wang Chao and Zhao Gongping felt a little more at ease, but they were still worried.
"The sun is too strong. You should put on some clothes. This will reduce the loss of water from your body. If you're exposed to direct sunlight without clothes, you'll lose water much faster!" Zhao Gongping said.
Previously, in order to prevent their body heat from being taken away by their wet clothes, they had all taken off their clothes. At that time, there was no wind on the sea and the sun was not very strong, so they took off their clothes and put them aside to dry. Then they used the fabric of the parachute to cover their bodies and block the sunlight.
After hearing Zhao Gongping's words, the other two immediately put on their clothes and then used the parachute fabric to cover their heads.
Just then, a series of booming sounds came from the sky.
What was that sound?
Upon hearing the sound, all three looked up at the sky. When they saw a B-29 bomber and two P-47N fighters flying in from the northwest, they all scrambled up from the floating wreckage and frantically waved the white cloth of their parachutes.
"These are my fighter jets and B-29s. Are they going to bomb Japanese warships?" Liu Jun asked in confusion.
Wang Chao didn't care about anything else. He frantically waved the white cloth and shouted, "Here! We're here!"
To everyone's surprise, when he waved the white cloth and shouted, the B29 bombers and P47N fighters in the sky did not fly away, but began to circle in the sky above them.
After circling three times, the three planes began to slowly descend, eventually flying towards them from a distance. When the planes passed overhead, they were less than 1000 meters away.
With a series of "thumps," several boxes were airdropped from the B-29 bomber. In addition to the boxes, there was also a small iron-hulled boat. The parachute opened, and the white parachute suspended the boxes, which kept floating in the sky.
"See that? I told you the higher-ups wouldn't abandon us! They've airdropped supplies for us! We're saved! We're saved! Hahaha..." Pilot Liu Jun was so excited he danced around, shouting and crying.
Pilot Zhao Gongping was equally excited and could hardly contain himself. "The higher-ups are so generous! They not only continuously dispatched fighter jets to search for us three little shrimps and confirm our safety and location, but now they've also sent bombers to airdrop supplies to rescue us. I'd be willing to die for this!"
After dropping the supplies, the three planes quickly gained altitude and circled in the sky a few more times before returning northwest.
As the plane flew further away, the airdropped supplies were already drifting close to the sea surface.
With several loud "booms," the crates filled with supplies landed on the sea, creating waves and spraying water droplets.
"What? They even airdropped a steel-hulled motorboat? My God, sir, you're awesome!" Pilot Wang Chao shouted excitedly.
"Swim to the iron-hulled boat quickly. Let's salvage all the supplies onto the boat first, before the waves wash them away!" Liu Jun said.
“Okay!” Zhao Gongping and Wang Chao agreed.
The three of them jumped into the sea from the wreckage of the aircraft wing floating on the surface, and spent three minutes swimming to the side of the iron-hulled ship and climbing aboard.
The three of them rolled over and lay soaking wet inside the metal motorboat, panting heavily. After resting for two minutes and regaining some strength, they got up again to check the condition of the motorboat.
They tore off the waterproof tape covering the motorboat engine, checked the engine, found nothing wrong, and tried to start it. After cranking the crank twice, the engine started running.
The diesel engine churned and spewed thick black smoke from its curved chimney.
Zhao Gongping manipulated the propeller control lever, plunging the propeller deep into the water. A surge of thrust propelled the iron-hulled boat forward, and the vessel quickly reached a wooden crate. The other two men worked together to drag the crate onto the boat.
Then, the other boxes were dragged onto the deck of the steel-hulled ship one by one. The three of them also put away their parachutes, which might come in handy on the way back.