Iron Cross

Novikov was also surprised that Vasilevsky, the chief of general staff, did not stay in Moscow and actually appeared in the 8th Air Force Army. He was sensitively aware that something important might have happened.

"What happened in Moscow?" he asked nervously.

"Moscow is fine, but something happened on the Don River." Vasilevsky briefly introduced the situation of the war. "Now Comrade Zhukov is taking command at the center, and I will serve as the representative of the base camp to go to all fronts for coordination and communication. I think the solution is The enemy warships in the Don River waters are a top priority, so the first stop is coming to you. "

"We have received relevant situation reports and orders, and have just arranged an air strike plan... However, the group army is currently insufficient in strength. It has to deal with enemy aircraft in the direction of the Black Sea and Caucasus, and also needs to cover our troops in the direction of the Don River. The number of aircraft is stretched thin. "Sokolov reported and waved Vasily to retreat, but Novikov caught a glimpse of his movements and asked, "We are not strong enough. Have Major Vasily's formations been sent out?"

"Um...no." Sokolov replied awkwardly.

Novikov said angrily: "Destroying the warships on the Don River and seizing air supremacy in the meander of the river are the highest tasks at present. Since the strength is insufficient, any force must be fully utilized. I will never allow anyone to sit idle and watch the fun. ”

Seeing that Sokolov was about to explain, Vasilevsky stopped him, and after thinking about it, he said: "In fact, it is okay to arrange for Comrade Vasily to carry out this task."

"It's more dangerous. Can we arrange for him to perform other tasks?" Sokolov glanced at Vasily and expressed his concern.

Although Vasily stood motionless by the side, he did not wander away but listened carefully to their conversation. As a big figure in the power circle, when he saw the Air Force Commander and Chief of General Staff appearing at the Air Force Group Headquarters, He immediately understood the importance of this mission. He had the urge to take risks in his bones, which was created by his rebellious mood. Otherwise, he would not have applied for flight school in the first place. As far as he was concerned, he actually did not refuse to fly out to perform the mission. Besides, Covering bombers to deal with warships in the Don River did not seem to be particularly difficult in his opinion, so he had the urge to try it.

Vasilevsky stared into his eyes and asked: "Comrade Vasily, can we believe you?"

"Commanders, I am willing to carry out this mission and I promise not to disappoint you." After Vasily's serious reply, he just slapped his chest and said, "It's on me."

"This is not a small matter." Novikov explained with a frown, "It is not an opportunity to show off and be in the limelight."

"I know very well that our formation is all veteran pilots. I can't say what their level is, but at least they are experienced. And I resolutely obey the command."

"Okay, you go prepare immediately." Vasilevsky ordered, "Discuss a more feasible plan and then implement it, the sooner the better."

"Is he okay?" Looking at Vasily's back quickly disappearing at the door, Novikov asked doubtfully, "Don't let the Germans shoot him down carelessly then. How can we be worthy of Comrade Stalin?"

"Just ask Comrade Sokolov whether his technical and command capabilities are adequate."

"This, maybe...maybe...probably...okay." Sokolov spoke hesitantly, not daring to admit it directly. He came to a conclusion after using three vague words.

"You can neither say it will work, nor you can say it won't work." Vasilevsky said with a smile, "Everyone shares my concerns, but I don't think the entire responsibility should be placed entirely on him, just like the commander who directed the Great Patriotic War. The glorious mission cannot all rest on Comrade Stalin. We must make use of his drive and experience while overcoming his recklessness and impatience.”

"Do you have any good plans?" After hearing what Vasilevsky said, the other two people came to their senses and immediately asked.

"Let him command the escort formation to cover the bomber group before setting off for bombing, but we should make it clear that such an important task cannot be completed by his team alone. His greatest value is to undertake the decoy task, allowing him to attract the German firepower. Create opportunities for comrades in other formations.”

"Is this feasible?" Novikov turned his attention to Sokolov.

"Theoretically it is completely feasible, but..." Sokolov obviously did not dare to have high expectations for Vasily.

"If the Germans are fooled, regardless of whether Comrade Vasily can cover the fleet, he will have accomplished a meritorious service first; if he is not fooled, his life will not be in danger. At most, he will let other formations charge."

"That's it." Novikov weighed it and finally decided on the plan.

Vasily also held his breath when he retreated. He desperately wanted to prove himself, partly because he wanted to show Novikov some color with facts, and partly because of the unique competitive character of young people. Although he is a playboy and alcoholic, he still has a sense of mission and honor, and he does not bother to say bad things behind his back to frame Novikov - he knows that his father will not listen to him easily, if he can With this kind of influence and ability, he would have stayed in the center of power in Moscow rather than being sent abroad as an air force major.

Almost at the same time Vasilevskiy deployed the aerial bombing mission, the JG52 wing, which had been providing air cover for Army Group South, also received the task. After the battle began, the task of the unit was particularly important. It had to do everything possible to cover its own warships on the Don River. , but the focus is still on protecting the army troops in the bend of the Don River from the opponent's air attacks. After the order to attack was issued, everyone became a little calmer, because at first everyone did not understand why they had ignored the pontoon bridges built by the Red Army in the Hebend for some time - this was obviously against common sense.

Lieutenant Gunter Lal, captain of the second squadron of the third battalion of the wing, received the task of patrolling over the Don River and holding up an air protection umbrella for the warship formation.

As the top pilot of the wing, he did not choose the commonly used BF-109 aircraft. Instead, he chose the latest experimental BF-119. It is said that this is an improved aircraft based on the Japanese Zero aircraft and uses a star-shaped gas. Although the cold engine has a maximum speed of only 617 kilometers per hour, which is 30 kilometers per hour slower than the BF-109 fighter commonly used by the JG52 Wing, it is really easy to use in other aspects, especially the low-altitude dogfighting that Soviet pilots like most. , this new aircraft is accurate at first glance, and its ability to hover at low altitudes is particularly outstanding. What is even more amazing is that the BF-119 can stay in the air for up to 4 hours without an auxiliary fuel tank. When describing the characteristics of the aircraft, the engineer specifically stated that the Japanese often flew this kind of aircraft over more than 1,000 kilometers to fight in the Pacific. This made All the German pilots felt crazy - this was equivalent to the combat distance from Warsaw to Moscow. The poor BF-109's flight time without attaching the auxiliary fuel tank was only 2 hours, and the maximum range after attaching it was only over 1,000. Kilometers, not to mention returning home, there is not enough spare fuel for combat time after reaching the target.

Everyone is saying that if such aircraft had been available during the Battle of Britain, those clumsy BF-110s would not have been used as targets by Hurricanes and Spitfires, and the Stukas' loss rate would not have been so high. , maybe the Sea Lion plan to land in the UK will be successful. I heard that the Japanese were very dissatisfied with the 1,500-kilometer range. Their original model had no armor, self-sealing fuel tanks, and even tried their best to drill holes in the beams to reduce weight. , everyone has a more thorough understanding of the crazy energy of the Japanese.

Now Gunter Lal is flying this improved aircraft that is more than 200 kilograms heavier than the original design to perform patrol missions. He is reluctant to throw away the auxiliary fuel tank under the belly of the aircraft - which means that his airborne time can reach BF- The 109th group carried out two waves of missions, and he was ready to retreat with them after the second batch of companions was completed.

Not far behind him, the rookie pilot Erich Hartmann of the 7th Squadron of the 3rd Group was flying a BF-109 closely behind the lead aircraft Lesmann. He also performed this kind of warning flight together. member, before departure, the commander repeatedly warned this pilot, who had excellent training results but lacked actual combat experience, to pay attention to what was going on around him - "...be smart, don't let the Russians kill you in the first round, if you fall into the Don River If it doesn’t drown you, it will freeze you to death.”

While he was looking around, the lead plane's voice suddenly came from the earphones: "There are enemy planes at the front and lower left. Get closer, take up positions, and prepare to attack." Poor Hartmann couldn't find the enemy plane, and even distanced himself from the lead plane. After some searching, he finally found two green planes appearing in front, less than 500 meters away. He thought of the word "attack", but he did not expect that the lead plane said the words "prepare to attack".

His heartbeat quickened and his blood surged. He completely ignored the command from the captain and rushed over. He fired continuously from a distance of 300 meters and used up all the bullets at once. Unfortunately, they all missed and he almost hit the enemy. machine. After Hartmann nervously maneuvered the plane to avoid it, he realized that he was actually surrounded by enemy planes, and the lead plane was missing - yes, he rushed into the formation commanded by Vasily after charging fiercely. .

Looking at the dark surroundings of Red Star planes, he was so scared that he hurriedly dived downwards. After breaking through the clouds, he breathed a sigh of relief when he found that no enemy planes were following him. In fact, not only Hartmann was so nervous, but Vasily was also frightened to death by this German pilot who was so bold that he was almost lifeless. Not to mention the violent but inaccurate bullet, the moment Hartmann rushed over just now, he was frightened to death. Everyone thought the two were going to collide. When he gathered his mind and prepared to teach this daring German pilot a lesson, the enemy had already disappeared.