"Philip Jose Farmer - The Gate of Time" - читать интересную книгу автора (Farmer Phillip Jose)

mm. and 37 mm. guns. The freight cars on the railway sidings fell apart, and the 37 mm. cannons
previously hidden began to flash. The fields themselves suddenly exposed pits containing madly
firing machine guns. Ahead, 88 mm. and 105 mm. monsters, firing pointblank with short-fused
shells, made the air a white-and-black gauntlet. The red business for which the attackers and
defenders had prepared so long was now begun.
The Hiawatha shuddered at the burst of the great shells and then trembled as her own gunners
opened fire on the AA batteries with their twin .50s. The air was woven with a drunken pattern of
tracers and poignettes, so thickly intertwined it seemed that no aircraft could get through without
being struck many times. The uproar was ear-shattering with the bellow of 134 14-cylinder motors,
explosions from 88s fired only a few yards away, the shock of shrapnel blasts, and the insane
chatter of the two hundred and thirty machine guns in the B-24s themselves.
Roger Two Hawks kept formation and the fifty-foot height from the ground, but he also
managed sidelong flicks of his gaze. To one side, on a crossroad, the muzzle of an 88 flashed, and
he could see the dark blurred bulk of the projectile flying towards its rendezvous. He pushed the
wheel forward and dived a little, dropping to within twenty feet of the hurtling ground. The shell
went harmlessly by.
Refinery tanks exploded ahead, Himalayas of flame arose, and he eased the Hiawatha back to
fifty feet. It shook as a shell struck the tail but kept steadily on course instead of diving as he had
expected. The tail gunner called in to report that the left aileron and left rudder were gone. The ship
to Two HawksтАЩ right looked as if a huge sword had slashed at it, but it was maintaining formation.
The one on the left suddenly staggered, its nose enveloped in smoke, probably from a hit by an 88.
It dropped like a hammer, slid burning into the ground, rose upwards in many pieces, and then was
enveloped in a huge ball of fire.
 Pieces of aluminium and plexiglass, bright in the sun, rode by him. The smoke ahead parted to
reveal tanks and towers shrouded in flames; a bomber, on fire, headed towards an untouched tank;
another plane began to turn over, its two port engines flaming; a third, also aflame, rose to gain
altitude so that its crew could try to parachute. A fourth, to the right, released its bombs, and these
plumeted down striking several tanks, all of which exploded into flame; one took the bomber with
it. The huge ship, splitting in two, and also cartwheeling, soared out from the smoke and smashed
into an untouched tank. This went up with a blast that seized the Hiawatha and hurled it upwards.
Two Hawks and Andrews fought the grip of the wind and regained control.
There was a maze of tanks, pipes, and towers ahead. Two Hawks pulled hard on the wheel and
sent the Hiawatha upwards to avoid striking the towers. He yelled at Andrews, тАЬDump the bombs!тАЭ
Andrews did not question his decision to make the release instead of waiting for the bombardier.
He obeyed, and the plane rose up with increased power as the weight of the great bombs was gone.
The end of a tower tore a hole down the center of the HiawathaтАЩs belly. But she flew on.
OтАЩBrien, the topturret gunner, reported in his thick Irish brogue. тАЬGazzaraтАЩs gone, sir! He and
his turret just went down into the smoke.тАЭ
тАЬTail-End CharlieтАЩs gone,тАЭ said Two Hawks to Andrews.
тАЬHell, I didnтАЩt even feel the hit!тАЭ Andrews said. тАЬYou feel the shell?тАЭ
Two Hawks did not reply. He had already sent the Hiawatha down to avoid the murderous
barrage above the fifty-foot level. He drove the ship between two tanks which were so close
together that only a foot or so of space existed between each wingtip and a tank. But he was forced
to bring her up again so fast she seemed to stand on her tail to get over a radio tower, the tip of
which was wagging like a dogтАЩs tail from the flak bursts.
Andrews said, тАЬGod! I donтАЩt think we can make it!тАЭ
Two Hawks did not reply. He was too busy. He banked the plane to lift his right wing and so
avoided collision with the top of the tower.
The ship shuddered again; an explosion deafened him. Wind howled through the cockpit. A hole
had appeared in the plexiglass in front of Andrews, and he was slumped forward, his face a blur of