Munitions Empire-Chapter 636 - : Continuously falling fireball

Chapter 636: Continuously falling fireball

For the pilots of the Tang Army, attacking a zeppelin, such a gigantic target, was practically a form of entertainment.

The Butcher Fighters turned in the sky and easily slipped in above the airship, a position where enemy fire couldn’t reach and where they could relentlessly attack the most vulnerable part, the top gasbags.

Knowing their target before taking off, the entire squadron of fighters was equipped with Tracer Bullets, which could ignite the hydrogen in the airship’s gasbags. Although not as effective as incendiary rounds, they were much better than regular bullets.

At that time, Air Force ammunition didn’t have incendiary bullets because there was no extensive need. So they had to make do with Tracer Bullets, which actually had a similar effect.

A Butcher Fighter thus dived in close, beginning to strafe along the spine of the airship at an extremely close range.

The bullets easily penetrated the airship’s hard shell, pierced the thin skin cover, and burst into the separately compartmentalized gasbags.

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Some bullets even cut through the supports of the hard shell, which when struck by the bullets created sparks, before quickly bending and breaking due to insufficient strength.

Accompanied by a squeaking and squalling noise, the gasbags began to collapse and were damaged, leaking hydrogen, which violently exploded and burned upon contact with the sparks, devouring everything around it.

In an instant, the top of the airship was engulfed in flames, and one could even see the as-yet-unmelted network of supports swaying in the shadows among the fierce flames.

The next second, the explosion consumed the cockpit attached to the bottom of the airship, followed by the bombs and hydrogen tanks in the magazine also detonating.

Within a mere ten seconds or so, the airship had already fallen into the sea, ending its brief brilliant existence. Until it smashed into the sea surface, it remained a ball of fire.

In the face of fighters, the fragility of the airships was completely exposed, unable to protect their large, slow, and vulnerable gasbags, which were the airship’s greatest weakness.

Because the attack was a long-distance surprise operation, and they had to navigate over the sea, it was impossible for these airships to deploy machine gunners above the gasbags for added defense. Therefore, they could only withstand the beating, helpless.

As for the machine guns mounted on either side of the cockpit, they were not meant for anti-air operations but for suppressing targets on the ground…

Expecting these weapons to pose any threat to the Butcher Fighters was overly optimistic. Without even basic anti-air sights, hitting the target depended entirely on the gunner’s snap judgment.

Yes, snap judgment. They hadn’t received anti-air training, and some were simply Infantry machine gunners.

Stationed at these gunner stations because they had been requisitioned, many were so fearful of heights that their legs turned to jelly, so who knew how much combat effectiveness they retained.

Soon, a third airship was ignited by Tracer Bullets. The enormous explosion once again lit up the sky, even casting the outlines of other airships into stark relief.

Because of too many fires, the surrounding clouds seemed to catch fire too. The scene before one’s eyes was so magnificent that it seemed completely unrelated to cruelty.

But in fact, to the airship crew members of Shireck, this sight was quite simply the gates of hell opening.

Standing at his command post, the commander of Shireck’s airship troops closed his eyes in pain.

Their assault had been predicated entirely on secrecy. They could not be discovered, or the mission would fail.

Now, they had been discovered, so at this moment, they had only one path left—to wait for death.

It was certainly a tragedy, the sorrow of knowing you’ve lost from the start, yet it took 20 minutes for you to choose death.

The Butcher Fighters had a ceiling that exceeded 10,000 meters, which the airships could never reach, so when the Butcher Fighters dove downward, those aboard the airships couldn’t even see who was attacking them.

Their only view was of the land below, so they were unaware if they were under attack until engulfed by the flames.

Comparing speeds was even more of a joke. Although they were faster than vessels on the water’s surface, airship speed was practically stationary compared to fighters.

Waiting for death was unbearable, this sensation of knowing you’re already dead but the grim reaper refuses to knock was maddening.

Some airship crew members, frightened of being burned to death, succumbed to the madness, opened the hatch and jumped from the airship, falling into the sea without a trace.

Jumping from this height, hitting the water was no different than hitting concrete. Those movie scenes where someone falls a thousand meters into water and emerges unscathed simply do not happen in reality.

The world record for high diving is around one hundred meters and that’s by professional athletes; this is already the limit height for a high dive, a bit higher and upon hitting the water, the body is nearly obliterated.

So, for the crew inside the cockpits of these airship troops, they now had three choices: jump to their deaths, wait to be burned alive, or wait to be set ablaze and then jump, enjoying double the thrill.

As one looked up from the airship while watching the brave (sha) souls (zi) splashing into the sea after leaping, they discovered that the roof of their cabin had already been melted by the burning flames.

Before they could even scream, they were engulfed by the flames, turning into curled and twisted char. Then, these charred remains, along with the deformed cockpit, fell and shattered before hitting the sea, ultimately sinking with the flames into the ocean.

“Tat-tat-tat!” A Butcher Fighter continued to dive, leaving a row of bullet holes in the shell of the airship.

He saw the fire bursting forth from these bullet holes before he pulled up, knowing his attack had been effective.

Seconds later, the now uncontrollable fire burst behind him, and even without looking back, he could feel a glow lighting up behind him.

Not far away, an airship seemed to have finally figured it out, as it began to lower its altitude, which might be its only chance.

If they could manage to land directly near the surface of the sea, they seemed to still have a sliver of a chance at life. The remaining options all led to certain death.

This chapt𝒆r is updated by frёewebηovel.cѳm.

This was a massacre, the slaughter of inferior weapons by superior ones. Facing World War II technology, World War I level weaponry didn’t even have the chance to fight back.

“Damn… we can’t even see them!” an airship operator desperately tried to make out what was happening above him.

But plastered against the airship’s glass, he could only see the edge of the rigid airbag. He could see Butcher Fighters diving onto other airships in the distance, but just couldn’t see if there were planes circling above his own head.

Soon, he found out.

Because the airbag above his head had started to catch fire. He could see the flames had devoured the airbag, and he watched as they were about to engulf the gas-filled airbag and spread into the airship’s cockpit.

“Lower the altitude! The commander orders all airships to lower altitude!” shouted the airship captain excitedly, having finally received a decent order since the battle started.

But as soon as he issued the command, he realized he no longer needed to carry out this belated order: the pipework above him had already caught fire, the air was filled with scorching flames, and his lungs felt as if they were boiling.

“Maintain continuous attacks! Watch the fuel!” commanded the Tang Army officer leading the battle, reminding his pilots as the fighters under his command tirelessly attacked the cumbersome, fragile airships.

“Understood!” replied the novice pilots excitedly, following their instructor’s orders—this was much more satisfying than target practice or dogfighting with each other, simple and spectacular!

At that moment, another squadron of fighters flew in from afar, the search squadrons from other areas rushing over.

Since the enemy had been located, staying in other regions was pointless. Coming over to join in the bounty seemed only natural.

Soon these planes had joined the fight, and the scene with too many monks and not enough porridge became somewhat chaotic. Everyone wanted to make their mark, leading to a frenzied scramble for contributions.

Shireck’s airship troops, trying to descend in altitude and seeking a glimmer of hope, despaired as their opponents gave them no chance to escape.

A few attacks could send an airship plummeting rapidly; the airships’ descent could not match the speed of bullets tearing across the sky.

Just as the Shireck commanders on the airships were falling into despair, a third squadron of Tang Army planes appeared in their view.

Was this necessary? For a moment, they felt the Tang Army’s overkill tactics were simply excessive. Could they not leave a way out? Could they not offer some dignity?

As they cursed bitterly in their hearts, their airships also began to burn. Now, the number of airships remaining in the sky was truly scarce.

The once-mighty formation of over fifty airships was now reduced to less than ten still airborne.

The airship troops, numbering over a thousand personnel along with so many costly airships, were obliterated in the brief span of less than twenty minutes in a location unknown to them.

“Damn it.” The Shireck commander cursed just before the flames turned him into char, and then his clothing suddenly ignited.

The wheel beside him and the speaking tubes began to warp and deform, and then, along with the burning debris, the falling cabin crashed into the sea, scattered and plunged into the dark abyss.

Two minutes later, the last of Shireck’s airships also crashed, and various debris floated on the sea surface—what remained of this airship unit in this world.

They bore witness to the existence of this airship unit, becoming their last proof of having been here.

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