Bismarck

On the radio, Hake was turning the direction so that his rear machine gunner could better exert his firepower, and at the same time he was shouting to his two subordinates: "Remember this! The enemy aircraft carrier is now 45 degrees northeast of us, 15 to 20 nautical miles away! After flying up, calculate the position yourself and guide the main force to bomb!"

.....................................

"What an admirable opponent..." In the cockpit of a pursuing Fulmar, Eric Brown couldn't help but sigh as he watched the three JU87Cs still maintaining their formation and desperately trying to get above the clouds. Even as an ace pilot who had seen a lot of fighting, Eric Brown couldn't help but sigh.

"Yes, and they also severely damaged the Fury..." Another pilot was also slowly choosing the attack angle.

"...I said, why are you still chatting? The main German aircraft group is only 15 minutes away from the fleet, and you will encounter them in five minutes! Why don't you shoot them down quickly?!" Just when they were halfway through their conversation, the furious voice of the British fleet aviation commander came from the radio, scaring several pilots so much that they quickly responded with "Aye aye sir", then pulled the joystick and approached at a more aggressive angle.

In front of the four British fighters, this small formation of only three planes was only barely resisting, and now that the British began to attack with all their might, the Germans became helpless...

The clouds are right above my head, yet they seem out of reach...

Under the attack of two groups of British fighter planes, soon, a terrifying "clang clang clang..." sound came from behind Rudel's seat - it was the sound of machine guns hitting the fuselage! Along with this sound, there was a slight groan from the rear machine gunner... Rudel was startled and began to dodge while desperately shouting the rear machine gunner's name.

But... there was no more movement from either the rear machine gunner or the rear machine gun...

There was no time to mourn for the lost comrades, because the firepower of the British fighter planes in the rear never stopped!

Under continuous shooting, Rudel's plane was soon hit by several bullets. With a few more "clang clang" sounds, the bullets fired from the rear passed by Rudel's scalp, and almost at the same time, the vertical tail had lost control. Although he could still use the roll and horizontal tail to control the pitch, the flight stability had become very poor...

"Oops! We have to rescue Rudel immediately!" Hake and Soren had just repelled another attack from two other Fulmars, but they found that Rudel's vertical tail had been riddled with holes! !

The two rear machine guns quickly turned and fired at Rudel's rear. Under the cover of the staggered fire, the two British Fulmars finally gave up shooting at Rudel.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Hack quickly gave Rudel an order:

"Rudel, there's no time. Now you have to climb directly, rush out of the clouds and help the main force locate the British aircraft carrier! Soren and I will cover you! -- Remember, after rushing above the clouds, immediately go to help the main force locate the British fleet! They are now 45 degrees northeast of us, 15 to 20 nautical miles away. After flying up, calculate the position correction yourself! "

At this point in the battle, everyone knew that it was a life-or-death struggle for only two planes to fight against four Fulmars! But Rudel had already lost his combat effectiveness, and Captain Hake would never abandon his comrades and leave alone!

Even if, in practical terms, abandoning Rudel is more in line with the interests of the situation...

However, comrades-in-arms are not something that can be measured by reason.

"Captain... Soran... I..." Rudel's voice on the radio was a little choked, he knew what the captain was thinking.

"Hurry up and lead the main force to fight back! This is an order! You little brat, why don't you get out of here? Hurry up!"

In addition to Captain Harker's roar, the radio also heard the sound of machine gun fire and bullets hitting the plane...

There is no time to be sad, no time to be moved, no time to be angry.

Rudel quickly rolled over and adjusted his posture, wiped his eyes, and then pulled the joystick hard: "Yes! Captain, Soran, you must come back!"

The battered JU87C dived into the thick clouds, and behind it, two equally battered JU87Cs were towing four Fulmars with all their might, fighting their final battle for their comrades who had broken through and for victory in the battle.

Rudel's JU87 climbed while looking behind him until the dense fog completely obscured the silhouettes of their two planes...

High in the sky above the clouds, the eight BF109Ts that had come all the way at full speed were now facing a full twenty Fulmar fighters, and everyone's face was filled with anger and sadness.

Looking at the complacent fulmars in front of him, the leading Zeppelin's eyes became fierce, and he pushed the throttle to the bottom, his cold eyes fixed on a British fighter plane on the opposite side. His slender fingers pressed the button for the machine gun to fire, and a precise tongue of fire directly enveloped the angry rain of bullets towards the lead of the opposite plane.

The Falcon, which only has eight light machine guns, has an intimidating number of bullets, but in terms of the truly crucial power and accuracy, how can it be a match for the 20mm Axis gun?

A 20MM shell accurately blew up the propeller of the fighter plane. The propeller shaft was stuck and could not rotate. The propeller blades were blown away and the plane immediately became a dead chicken without power. But Zeppelin's anger and murderous intent did not diminish at all. A cold female voice that was originally cold and pleasant, but now filled with anger and outburst, suddenly came from the radio:

"Revenge for Captain Harker!!"

"Revenge for Captain Harker!!"

She was responded to by the other fighter pilots' equally cold or angry voices.

Although they were much fewer than the enemy, they rushed in like a tiger into a flock of sheep! Zeppelin, Heinz Bahr, Hans Marseille, Gerhard Barkhorn, Alfred Grieslavsky... And fifteen kilometers behind them, the last 186 JU29C dive bombers of the GR500 carrier-based aircraft wing that could be dispatched were also under the leadership of Flensburg, solemnly preparing to meet the crazy attacks of those fulmars...

ps: Some people may say that in that case, wouldn't it be better to leave Rudel's other two intact planes behind and go back? Why bother to save a disabled plane... However, don't look at the relationship between comrades from a God's perspective. The above is ~

Asking for monthly ticket

Chapter 231: Action in Progress (VI)

The clouds in the sky seemed to be becoming thicker, and coupled with the light-blocking effect of the clouds, at an altitude of more than 3,000 meters, only a hint of faint blue could be seen through the shadows in the gaps in the clouds.

The sky is as pure as a sapphire.

However, in this holy space where few people have set foot, the war eagles of the two countries shuttled between the magnificent clouds as towering as mountains, soared above the endless pure white sea of ​​clouds, and launched a life-and-death battle with red eyes.

It has nothing to do with justice or morality. At this moment, all the pilots have only one belief - to fight for their fleet, to fight for their country, to fight for their comrades - and to fight for themselves, to be able to survive the cruel war!

Eight German fighter planes made a lead turn and opened fire instantly. With a few rapid long bursts of fire, the boom boom boom sound first echoed in this open area.

Several British fighter planes were unable to dodge and were hit one after another, but then they began to counterattack with the crisp sound of machine guns.

After the first round of fighting, the German fighters turned the two Fulmars into roasted chicken wings with smoke and fire. Moreover, the fierce Iron Eagles continued to rush past the British interceptor group, and then they did an Immelmann somersault or an upward combined maneuver to pull back and fiercely pounce on the Fulmars that tried to intercept the JU87C.

The speed difference is totally different, which makes BF109T fully confident in itself. It can ensure that it can defeat the British halfway before the fat and bulky Fulmar reaches 87 meters in front of JUC!

But not all British fighter planes were weaklings that were hit at the beginning. In fact, although there was a gap between the Fulmars and the German Warhawks, many of them still managed to dodge and start counterattacks thanks to their good technology.

Looking at the German fighter planes approaching from behind, Lieutenant Colonel Richard Coke, the commander of the British carrier-based aircraft, who had just dodged a round of 20mm shells, frowned and gave an order into the radio: "Stanley Orr, Graham Hauge, Charlie Evans, the three of you, take your wingmen and follow me! We must hold back the German fighter planes! The rest of you continue to attack the Stuka! Smash their Stukas for me!!"

"Yes!"

(These well-known people are all historical trump cards of the British HNA... Anyway, they are powerful passers-by)

Eight Fulmar fighters flew out from the British fleet, and relying on their advantage in hovering, they began to turn towards the six o'clock direction of the BF109T chasing them from behind. The other ten Fulmars were divided into five two-plane teams, and continued to boldly pounce on the JU87C less than ten kilometers ahead from several directions.

"Everyone, pay attention. British fighter planes are starting to turn around behind us!" A pilot saw the British intentions and began to remind everyone on the radio.

"Humph, you want to interfere with us?" Barr snorted coldly and turned on the microphone of the onboard radio: "Major, I suggest that we ignore the ones behind us now. The ones in front are a big threat to the bomber group. It is more important to deal with them! Anyway, these British fighters can't catch up with us."

"Yes, but make sure to cover the bombers!"

In the cockpit of another unnumbered fighter plane with an edelweiss painting, Zeppelin also nodded. "But you must always pay attention to the situation... After this charge, Grislavsky and I will stay behind to cover you, and the others will attack!"

"Okay!" Bal pushed the accelerator and said, "Brothers, follow me!"

"Roger that!"

Flensburg was also staring solemnly at the front, where the fulmars were divided into several two-plane teams and were approaching from different directions.

Although the performance of the Fulmar is not worth mentioning compared to the BF109T, it is a very formidable opponent for the JU87C.

The two sides were about to engage in a head-on shootout, but the Fulmar had as many as eight 8MM machine guns, while the JU7.7 had only two 87MM machine guns. What was more crucial was that the JU7.92C with bombs hanging on it had no maneuverability at all. It was completely unable to keep up with the Fulmar's rhythm, and it could not dodge its attacks... It could be said that they were a bunch of stationary targets.

and…

"The sea below is not visible due to such dense clouds. Now we can only locate the British fleet by finding Rudel. Although I just contacted him on the radio, with such thick clouds and being chased by British fighter planes... Rudel, where on earth are you now..."

A few traces of sweat ran down his cheeks, and Flensburg was filled with anxiety.

But it was too late to think about it, the Fulmar was already right in front of us...

The moment they crossed each other, balls of fire exploded on the wings of the Fulmars, and an almost one-sided massacre began with the sound of machine guns "da da da... da da da da da..."!

Fierce and dense rain of bullets hit the planes, penetrating through the fuselage with a "duh, duh..." sound. Three JU87Cs were hit and crashed to the ground with smoke and fire. Several other planes were also damaged.

The formation was somewhat scattered and the radio was filled with all kinds of shouts.

"Help, help, I'm going to crash--"

"I've been shot--ah--"

"Help—"

Although the two front machine guns on the wings of the JU87C and the rear machine gun of the radio operator in the back seat were desperately making high-speed firing sounds, this symbolic counterattack firepower had no effect on the rapidly killing fighters...

The BF109Ts that were chasing behind were furious. The targets they were protecting were constantly suffering losses under the attacks of the British. This was simply a slap in their faces!"

Led by Barr, the BF109Ts passed by their injured bomber comrades at a speed much faster than the Fulmars. Between the blue sky and white clouds under the sun, the 20MM thin-shell high-explosive bombs emitted blue tracers, dragging clusters of tail smoke, and flew towards the Fulmars that were still showing off their power a second ago. The two Fulmars that were just so arrogant were like ignited gunpowder barrels on the spot, and turned into black smoke falling over the North Sea in a ball of fire.

For a moment, the dive bomber pilots and radio operators all cheered for the fighters.

"Good fight! Revenge for Roberts!"

However, the British reacted not slowly. The eight remaining Fulmars began to perform defensive maneuvers. While avoiding the shooting of German fighters, they also tried to pull the BF109Ts into a melee that was more advantageous to them, which the pilots called a "dogfight."

The pressure on Flensburg was also not relieved. Although the eight Fulmars that had previously tried to get behind the BF109T could not catch up with the German Iron Eagles, they happened to form a second wave of attacks on the JU87C formation!

Another hail of bullets came at him, and Flensburg subconsciously bent down and hid behind the dashboard, and then there was a crisp sound.

Flensburg, who had finally struggled to raise his head from under the dashboard, saw at first sight several bullet holes on the glass of his cockpit, and through the bullet holes, cold wind from an altitude of three thousand meters was blowing into the cabin.

He looked at his seat with some fear. There were several bullet holes on the back cushion. If he hadn't dodged quickly, those holes would have been in his body or head.

"God bless you." He silently made a cross in his heart.

Looking around, there were three fewer JU87Cs in the sky, but even though his subordinates had suffered heavy losses, no one turned around and fled. Even those planes that were already injured or even emitting smoke still silently persisted in the team.

Flensburg couldn't help but think of his own mood when he made the final mobilization at the mobilization meeting less than an hour ago: For the sake of victory, no matter what, even if it means a collision, we must make these British bastards pay the price in blood!

but…

Flensburg couldn't help but look back. The culprits who caused this wave of damage were just like the bastards in the previous wave. They were rampantly rushing through the carrier-based dive bombers, and... it seemed that they were planning to take advantage of the BF109Ts that were attacking the first wave of British carrier-based fighters?

Flensburg turned on the radio: "Attention fighters, eight British fighters are coming at you at six o'clock, be careful to avoid them!"

"Understood!" Barr's voice responded on the radio. The German fighters began to look for opportunities to break away. Two fighters that did not seem to attack before broke away from the formation. They turned behind the British carrier-based fighters with an Immelmann turn. However, Flensburg did not have time to pay attention to how many Fulmars were shot. He moved the joystick with one hand, tilted his fuselage and scanned the clouds below. At the same time, he turned the radio channel knob with the other hand: "Rudel, where are you now? Have you flown up?"

"Captain, he's on the other side of you! He's already flown up, and there are British fighters following him!" But it was Zeppelin's voice that came from the channel.

Without time to think about why Zeppelin, who was supposed to be fighting with the British fighters in the rear, knew about Rudel's situation. Flensburg quickly tilted the plane to the other side. Just three or five seconds later, a damaged JU87 emerged from the clouds. The strong wind from the propellers seemed to have pulled a vortex eye out of the clouds. And then rushed out of the clouds, the fierce sound and shadow of three British carrier-based fighters were closely biting behind Rudel. The machine guns on the wings were still spewing flames from time to time, covering the clumsy Rudel in a light green tracer fire net.

"Rudel!!" The angry Flensburg gritted his teeth and called out his subordinate's name.

But he could only watch. Not to mention whether he could defeat the three Fulmars, his JU87C was still carrying heavy bombs, and was going to bomb the British fleet...

Behind him and his fleet, a fight had already broken out, but the situation was not good...

Although the six BF109Ts have an absolute advantage in performance, the number of British aircraft is more than twice that of German aircraft! The British carrier-based fighters are divided into two groups, one of which is biting at the back of its own formation, and the other is fighting with the BF109Ts. Moreover, there seem to be several ace pilots in the group behind...

The situation is really bad.

But Zeppelin's voice on the radio was still clear and calm, as if she always remained calm no matter what the circumstances.

Listening to the flat female voice on the radio, strangely, all the pilots felt a sense of trust and peace of mind.

They believed in Major Zeppelin!

Zeppelin commanded each fighter to attack, evade, and counterattack, constantly creating all kinds of troubles for the British fighters. However, in order to cover the dive bombers, the BF109T could only keep driving away the skuas that were attacking the JU87C.

The constant maneuvers and dogfights also made the fighter planes constantly consume energy, and there was no way to make use of their speed advantage. Although they could rely on diving to escape in an emergency, the pilots of the BF109Ts fought to the death in order to cover the Stukas. With the British having almost double the force advantage, the battle was very difficult.

After two rounds, although there were four or five fewer British fighters in the sky, two BF109Ts were unfortunately shot down by the British in the dogfight, and JU87s were also hit, injured, smoking, separated from the team, and lost control one after another in the dense fire net of the British fighters that were chasing them. In the end, they either fell headfirst or became immortal in a gorgeous fireball...

If a plane crashes under such circumstances, there is almost no hope of survival.

Even so, the German carrier-based bombers were trying very hard to maintain their formation, and even the scattered planes were consciously and desperately trying to regroup. Moreover, no one dropped the bomb that was completely a burden in front of the enemy fighters!

But... the disadvantage is too great... In just three minutes, the entire fleet has lost one-third of its troops. There were 29 planes when they were dispatched, but now there are less than 20 left...

Flensburg watched in pain as a dozen British carrier-based fighters spread out a web of fire, enveloping the German fleet in the middle.

The fire net was getting tighter and tighter, the losses were getting more and more serious, but he could do nothing...

"Hoo...Hoo...Captain, the British fleet is...hoo...45 degrees northeast of us, about 30 nautical miles...Haaaa!..."

Due to excessive mental stress and physical exhaustion, Rudel's voice on the radio was already hoarse. While he was gasping for breath, he was still using his hoarse voice to try to find time to report to Flensburg the coordinates that several comrades and predecessors had exchanged their lives for. He was also trying his best to pull the joystick to avoid the pursuit of three flames from behind...

A fulmar suddenly appeared behind him, and Flensburg watched helplessly...

"Rudel——"

ps: Is Rudel dead, dead, or dead... I'm going to give him a bento!!! If you don't give me a monthly ticket, you'll get a bento, hahahaha

Chapter 232: Attack! (I)

Eh? What's the twist?

Just when Flensburg thought Rudel was doomed, two blue tracers with smoke trails swept down from the front and upper direction of the British carrier-based fighter planes.

Precise shooting!

It was just a moment, and no one reacted, including Flensburg. After he blinked, the two British fighter planes that were shooting wildly turned into two fireballs!

"This is--" Flensburg looked up suddenly.

Two black figures swooped down with smoke trailing behind them, like falcons staring at their target, with fierce momentum. After they swooped down, they pulled up neatly along the cloud layer, and the whistling wind brought by the aircraft rolled up a layer of spiral smoke.

Just as they were about to attack the remaining British plane, the remaining British fighter plane saw that the situation was not good and dived directly into the clouds, disappearing without a trace.

"Sorry, I'm a little late, but fortunately, I made it." It can be heard that there is a sense of relief in Zeppelin's voice. "Are you okay?"