1062 Fire on the Eastern Front

?In a hidden field airport in the southern theater of the German Eastern Front, a young pilot is talking with his captain. Surrounding them is a camouflage net supported by wooden sticks, which looks like a mass of weeds from the sky, but a charming TA-152 fighter jet is parked in this camouflage net, with a black flower painted on its nose tulips.

This aircraft, like most TA-152 fighters on the Eastern Front, has not changed any special structure. The only difference that can be said is that the record of this aircraft that should have been drawn under the cabin has been moved to the tail of the aircraft. The reason is that this aircraft has too many records.

A total of 190 aircraft, this is the current record of the German super fighter ace pilot Hartmann. He has only had one year since he started fighting. During this year, he spent almost one and a half days on average, Just be able to shoot down an enemy plane.

General Garland, the commander of the fighter force, once jokingly said to the people around him: "We don't need to produce fighter jets anymore, we only need to produce Hartman." This terrible record brought great glory to Hartman. The youngest captain fighter pilot in the Air Force and the first person in the Air Force to receive the Knight of the Iron Cross with jewels like leaves and swords.

Even Air Force Admiral Catherine commented on Hartman's personal honor enviously: "God, if I don't get promoted to Air Force Marshal in my lifetime, then I can't even be compared with Hartman. In terms of medals alone, he is almost more than me Double."

Of course, the object of his complaints was Admiral Doenitz, and this admiral also had a face of helplessness, and spread his hands to Admiral Catherine: "Do you think I don't have this problem? I have five subordinates. The captain of the submarine’s Iron Cross is of a higher rank than mine, not only your air force has a Hartman, but our navy also has a Prien.”

At this moment, Hartman's squadron leader is discussing the installation of jet fighters with this legendary pilot: "I heard that this new type of aircraft can easily fly at a speed of nearly 700 kilometers per hour. I believe that in the future this kind of aircraft can fly Faster and higher aircraft will definitely become the mainstream of the Air Force."

"If flying faster can shoot down the enemy, then what do we pilots do?" Hartman smiled and pointed to the towering 88mm anti-aircraft cannon not far away, and said to his squadron leader: "The shells Fly much faster than airplanes, but they can't turn."

"But I heard that the capital's air defense force has officially changed to jet aircraft, and it was an order from your most revered head of state." The squadron leader looked at the novice pilot trainees who were running training in the distance with his hands behind his back, and said yes Hartman continued: "Didn't you say that the words of the head of state are always right."

"Of course! The head of state is right." Hartman nodded, then stubbornly pointed to the TA-152 fighter behind him, which was called the Black Death by the Soviets, and said firmly: "Because good pilots cannot be mass-produced, Therefore, the head of state can only mass-produce faster aircraft to meet the needs of those rookies who can only dive and fire.

"

"Haha." The squadron leader laughed loudly, and then nodded Hartman with his hand: "You, when it comes to flying, you are as sharp as a killer. When you are in the dormitory, you should at least It's a hundred times softer than it is now."

Putting his smile away, the squadron leader looked at the fighter jet that had won countless honors for the entire squadron, the brigade, and even the entire Eastern Front Air Force, and asked solemnly: "So, Captain Hartmann, do you disagree with our squadron's Are you the first to replace the new me-9 jet fighter?"

"Yes." Hartman scratched his face with his fingers, and then replied: "At least after the other squadrons are equipped, we can apply again. After all, when flying old-fashioned fighter jets, we have more Experience. And I hate the new weapons, the feeling of being in the sky and waiting for the plane to fail."

It is necessary to know that a weapon equipment is not static in the process of being installed. On the contrary, this large-scale refitting is a long process that requires repeated revisions. It is not that Hartman despises new weapons and equipment, but The latest weapons and equipment are often synonymous with unreliability.

In the cold and thin air at high altitude, in the air battle that pulls and circles repeatedly, Hartman needs the plane he drives to maintain the best working condition at all times. Even a momentary hesitation may change the outcome of an air battle . The long-established sense of control between Hartman and his own fighter is definitely an indescribable and wonderful connection.

If you change a new plane, challenge the airflow and the enemy, a subconscious action will make you irreversible. When you reach out to touch a button but find that it is not there, this is definitely a terrible disaster. It's like the hopeless feeling of often typing wrong words after changing the keyboard unexpectedly.

Therefore, Hartman himself is very cautious about changing to a new jet. At least at this time, he is unwilling to take risks. As a fighter pilot who has spent thousands of hours in the sky, he seems to be more willing to give his life to the TA-152 fighter he is more familiar with.

"The order from above, we will strengthen the battlefield control of the southern airspace in the next few days." Ending the previous topic, the squadron leader began to talk about the recent mission arrangement: "It seems that the bomber unit is being transferred from the Western Front ...You know, our fuel is much more abundant than it was half a year ago."

"There is nothing wrong with that, as long as more fighter jets are sent on patrol. The Soviets rarely send out planes to intercept our fighter patrol formations. Recently, the Soviet Air Force seems to be concerned about the air defense around Kursk, where I shot down 6 A bandit..." Hartmann recalled.

"The two of us will fly again in the afternoon." The squadron leader patted Hartman on the shoulder, and then said falsely: "Hey, since we have replenished so much aviation fuel, it's not too much for us to fly one more time." As he spoke, he turned and walked towards the runway. The new trainee pilots had finished running and stood there neatly, waiting for their squadron leader to start giving lectures.

The Soviet troops in the direction of Kursk are shrinking. This is no news. General Guderian is slowly advancing the defense line of the G Group Army northward, biting Zhukov's armored cluster, and preventing this force from easily going north to Moscow. Everyone knows Zhukov's method of breaking up the armored forces to the south of Moscow, but the German army can't mobilize too many troops for a while to launch a fierce attack on the Soviet armored forces in the central region.

Since the last battle of Kursk, the German Group Army was forced to retreat by Zhukov's group, it has been healing its wounds. More and more Tiger King tanks were added, which also made General Guderian's waist harder and harder. His troops could not bear the loneliness more than ten days ago and began to tentatively advance northward.

Along the way, the German 1st Panzer Army was in full swing, capturing several important villages and strongholds, and tore apart a part of the Soviet flank's defense line, but it never encountered large-scale resistance from the Soviet Red Army. Compared with the gradually strengthening G Group Army, Zhukov's armored group is indeed in decline. At least in terms of the number of tanks, the Soviet armored forces can no longer gain an overwhelming advantage.

"Zhukov's troops are moving north. The number of troops he has transferred is not large, but they are all relatively elite main forces." Guderian pressed his palm on the place near Kursk in his armored command vehicle. He has been silent for almost a month, which made him, who is known as the "Double Wall of the Empire", feel uncomfortable: "What hinders our progress are some tank destroyers modified from T-26 tank chassis, and some scattered infantry units , we should quickly launch a tentative assault to figure out the location of the core line of defense of the Zhukov cluster."

"The 3rd Armored Division of the SS is already launching an attack to the northeast, and the farthest troops have arrived in this area." The chief of staff pointed to the map and reported the latest progress of the troops to Guderian: "The 1st Panzer Army The reconnaissance force encountered Soviet resistance in the eastern part of Kursk, and they reported that the enemy had T-34 tanks, which should be the main force of the Soviet Union."

"The air force is working hard to destroy Zhukov's communication lines. We have attacked the communication nodes, railway lines, and villages along the way. Several key areas that have been marked have also been dispatched -217 bombers to carry out carpet bombing. "Without waiting for Guderian to inquire, the liaison officer of the Air Force introduced the cooperation of the Air Force. In the past few days, he has also straightened his back. The reduction in the bombing scale caused by the lack of fuel has been completely alleviated. The current air force has dozens or hundreds of sorties every day, suppressing the Soviets.

"It's time to implement the No. 2 combat plan." Guderian nodded, and looked away from the map. He grabbed the walkie-talkie hanging on the bulkhead of the armored vehicle, and loudly ordered into the microphone: " I am Guderian, take me to the wolf den, Marshal Brauchitsch... I am Guderian, and according to the intelligence analysis fed back by the reconnaissance force, I feel that the time is ripe to implement the No. 2 combat plan."

Marshal Brauchitsch was silent for a while on the phone, and then he replied: "Then, General Guderian, you can prepare for the attack. I will report the situation to the head of state. If the Supreme Command does not I don't have any other opinions."

－－－－－－－－－－－－

I still want to apologize to everyone, I am really sorry for the update so late.