The efficiency of the German Ministry of Propaganda was remarkably high. By noon, major German media outlets were reporting extensively on the situation in Belfast. Goebbels himself took the pen, using sharp, acerbic language to thoroughly criticize Churchill and the British government, condemning them in the harshest terms.
Subsequently, many countries issued statements condemning the British government's shameless act of involving civilians in the war. Irish Americans were particularly incensed, loudly denouncing the British government's actions and despising the British Army for being cowardly, hiding among civilians to shoot in the back. If you have the guts, fight openly like a real soldier!
The British government seemed powerless to respond to these accusations, maintaining silence in the face of criticism from all sides.
At four in the afternoon, several Il-2 attack aircraft flew over Belfast, dropping leaflets all over the city.
The content of the leaflets was simple: urging residents to leave the city immediately as Belfast would be leveled in 24 hours.
Panic ensued in Belfast. Residents who hadn't left before, thinking the city would be "peacefully liberated" like others, were shocked that the defenders had ambushed German tanks within the city.
Now, the Germans were seeking revenge, planning to destroy the entire city. Cursing the defenders, people hurriedly packed their belongings and fled with their families. Fortunately, being a port city, they could take boats to the other side or simply run out of the city to the pre-arranged evacuation points set by the German forces.
By the evening of the next day, Wilhelm and the Elizabeth family were having dinner in the dining room when Queen Elizabeth seemed visibly distracted, several times wanting to speak but hesitating.
Wilhelm took the initiative to say, "Your Majesty, you need not worry; there are no civilians left in Belfast now." Of course, even if there were, not leaving by now would equate to being an enemy. "This is a warning to the British government, telling them that if they dare use such despicable tactics again, we will flatten every city. We have the capability to do so."
At that moment, in a secret base in southern Germany, a super bomber was preparing for takeoff on the runway.
Truly a "super" bomber, this was a replica of the original timeline's American B-36 bomber, with a length of 49.4 meters, while the He 177 bomber was only 22 meters long; meaning it was longer than two He 177 bombers combined.
In the original timeline, the B-36 long-range strategic bomber was the primary nuclear weapon carrier for the U.S. military. Its dimensions were impressive, with a body length of nearly 50 meters and a height of 14.25 meters, slightly surpassing even the B-52, the mainstay of the U.S. Air Force, and its wingspan of 70.12 meters was significantly larger than that of the largest strategic bomber, the Tu-160.
Its maximum takeoff weight was 186 tons, equivalent to three WWII-era B-29 bombers; it could carry 39 tons of bombs, which is like lifting a fully loaded B-24 while also carrying a P-47. Its ten engines could generate 44,000 horsepower, equivalent to nine locomotives or 400 military trucks; the fuel it carried was enough for a diesel locomotive to travel around the Earth ten times; its de-icing system could provide heat for a hotel with 600 rooms; its wingspan was twice the distance of the Wright brothers' first flight in 1903!
Powered by six piston engines (each with 3,800 horsepower) and four jet engines (each with a maximum thrust of 23 kN), it could reach a top speed of 685-700 km/h, comparable to the fastest WWII fighters, with an operational ceiling of 13,700 meters, and was armed with 16 defensive cannons (six remotely controlled turrets each with two 20mm cannons, and two 20mm cannons each at the nose and tail).
Of course, compared to other bombers, the B-36's most significant advantage was its payload and range: even the best WWII bomber, the B-29, had a maximum payload of only 9 tons, while the B-36 could carry four times that amount (including the heaviest nuclear bombs at the time); the B-29 had a maximum range of 6,400-6,700 km, whereas the B-36 reached an astonishing 16,000 km—meaning virtually no target on Earth was out of its destruction range.
Ironically, this aircraft, meticulously designed for nuclear warfare, was nicknamed "Peacemaker" by the U.S. Air Force, which is quite interesting.
"Tower, Tower, 'Harrier' is ready for takeoff, requesting permission!"
"Clearance for takeoff granted."
With the tower's command, the six engines started one after another. Interestingly, the B-36's propeller engines were mounted behind the wings, with the propellers reversing. This design was supposedly because the wings were too thick, and placing the engines behind minimized power loss. However, this layout had its drawbacks, including poor heat dissipation. Americans described the B-36 thus: "Two engines are overheating and smoking, two engines are burning, two engines are destroyed." Despite this, 386 B-36s were produced, which was still a considerable number.
The B-36 bomber began rolling forward, steadily accelerating amidst the roar of its engines. The runway was 3,000 meters long, which was quite rare during WWII. After taxiing nearly 2,000 meters, the bomber finally lifted its nose.
"Engines 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 are all functioning normally. Shall we start the jet engines?" The co-pilot checked all the instruments and asked. The four jet engines on this bomber were mainly for takeoff, reaching extreme altitudes, and quickly crossing enemy airspace. However, even without starting the jets, the six propeller engines could still take off, albeit requiring a longer runway.
The captain shook his head. "Let's not start them yet; we're carrying 30 tons of bombs. If anything goes wrong, the consequences would be unimaginable. We'll test them after we drop the bombs and return." This was their first test flight with an actual payload, although they had flown many test flights before, none were with such a load of real bombs.
Wilhelm hadn't decided whether to mass-produce this bomber. After all, the financial investment for such a giant was substantial. In the original timeline, to prioritize the B-36, the Pentagon significantly cut the Navy's budget (the Army and Air Force were less affected due to historical ties), even canceling the construction of the CVA-58 "United States," the first supercarrier planned by the Navy.
"That makes sense." The co-pilot nodded in agreement.
Following this, a squadron of He 177 heavy bombers took off, while at an airfield somewhere in Ireland, a squadron of Mosquito bombers was also gearing up for departure.