Chapter 1209 Interception (Fifteenth)

"Damn it, the German planes fly too high, we can't reach them at all!" A pilot of the Russian Air Force said helplessly. Although he had already driven the plane to an altitude of 8,000 meters, he was still a long way from the bomber fleet of the Luftwaffe.

"Try again and see if you can go up a distance. If you go up to just over a thousand meters, maybe you can use a machine gun to attack the bottom of the German bomber!" An officer said.

"Comrade Major, if I continue to take the risk of ascending, the engine may stop, and I will fall!" the pilot said in horror. He didn't want to try such a dangerous move. If he is not careful, he may fall directly.

"Execute the order!" The major officer said coldly.

They were flying P-40 fighter jets aided by the Americans, with radio communication equipment on them, so that the commander's orders could be conveyed to the ears of every pilot. If it is their I-16 fighter jets, they have to rely on signal flares to transmit orders.

It's just that even the American P-40 fighter jets are still powerless against the German Air Force's bomber fleet above 10,000 meters.

Despite reluctance, the Russian pilot continued to drive the plane up. He looked at the altimeter worriedly, fearing that the engine of the fighter plane would fail due to the high altitude.

When the altitude reached 9,000 meters, the engine suddenly made an abnormal noise. Then even the propeller stopped spinning. After losing power, the plane plummeted to the ground at once.

"Damn it, my engine stopped!" the pilot yelled in horror.

In order to survive, the pilot chose to parachute to escape. The plane fell to the ground and became a pile of scrap metal.

The other pilots of the Russian Air Force, seeing this situation, immediately descended and did not dare to go up again. They don't want their plane to be crashed too.

Seeing such a situation, the pilots of the Russian Air Force could only follow the German Air Force fleet below. Wanting to intercept the Luftwaffe fleet is simply a dream.

This situation was quickly reported to the Russian Air Force Command.

General Astakhov and General Zavoronkov both wanted to cry when they learned of this situation. Because the P-40 fighter is already the best fighter they have equipped. Even the P-40 fighter jets have nothing to do with the Luftwaffe's fleet. Is there any way to intercept the Luftwaffe's bomber fleet?

"Comrade Commander, what shall we do now?" Admiral Zavoronkov asked.

"It would be great if our Yak-1 fighter jets could serve," Admiral Astakhov said.

The maximum ceiling of the Yak-1 fighter can reach 10,000 meters, which undoubtedly poses a certain threat to the bomber fleet of the Luftwaffe. Unfortunately, mass production of the Yak-1 Combat has only just begun.

"Order the fighter jets to take off and wait for the opportunity. Once the German bomber group starts to descend, attack them! Minimize the German bombing damage to us as much as possible!" Admiral Astakhov ordered.

"Yes, Comrade Commander." Admiral Zavoronkov nodded.

At this moment, a staff officer hurried in.

"Report, now we can determine the attack target of the German fleet. There is a high possibility that they want to bomb Kazan!" the staff officer said.

"What?" exclaimed both Astakhov and Zavoronkov.

Kazan is undoubtedly a very important industrial city for Bu Russia. Especially for the Russian Air Force, it is undoubtedly crucial. Because most of the parts factories and assembly factories of the Yak-1 fighter are located there. If those factories are destroyed, the service of the Yak-1 fighter jet may have to be further postponed.

"Damn it, the Germans want to destroy our air force so that we can no longer threaten them!" Admiral Astakhov cursed.

But even if they understood the intentions of the Luftwaffe, there was still nothing they could do.

"Order all our fighters, at all costs, to intercept the German bomber fleet!" Admiral Astakhov ordered. Now, they can only pin their hopes on their own fighter jets.

Although when the German fleet was flying at an altitude of 10,000 meters, their P-40 fighter jets and I-16 fighter jets had nothing to do with these bombers. But it is impossible for the bomber fleet of the Luftwaffe to stay at an altitude of tens of thousands of meters. Otherwise, dropping bombs at such a high altitude would not be accurate at all. Therefore, when the bomb is dropped, it will definitely drop in height. And that is undoubtedly the opportunity for the fighter pilots of the Russian Air Force. If grasped well, combined with ground anti-aircraft firepower, it should be able to cause considerable casualties to the Luftwaffe's bomber fleet. With any luck, they might even be able to keep their Yak-1 fighter factory.

At 8 o'clock in the morning, the bomber group of the Luftwaffe was only an hour away from Kazan. However, the pilots discovered that a large number of Russian fighter jets were following behind the fleet. Obviously, these Russian fighter jets are waiting for an opportunity. This is undoubtedly a great threat to the bomber fleet of the Luftwaffe.

"Hmph! Do these Russians still want to attack us while we are bombing? They don't know what to do!" said German Air Force Lieutenant General Otto Desloch, who was in charge of commanding this operation, coldly.

"When can the auxiliary fuel tanks of the escort fighter jets be thrown away?" Lieutenant General Otto Desloch asked.

"General, in fifteen minutes, the fuel in the auxiliary fuel tank will be exhausted!"

"Very good, after fifteen minutes, get ready to fight and get rid of the Russian fighter jets following us!" Lieutenant General Otto Desloch ordered.

The fighting performance of the BF-110 fighter is no worse than that of the BF-109 fighter. Even a little stronger in some performance. Of course, the real combat power cannot be compared with the FW-190 fighter, but the range is more than twice that of the FW-190 fighter. Therefore, they became the long-range escort fighters of the Luftwaffe.

However, before the battle, the auxiliary fuel tank must be thrown away. Otherwise, it will seriously affect the performance of the fighter.

At this moment, there are more than 300 fighter jets of the Russian Air Force following the German bomber fleet. These aircraft are almost all P-40 fighter jets. The I-16 fighter jet has a short range, and it will not play a big role in such a long-distance raid. Moreover, the maximum speed and other performance are far inferior to the P-40 fighter. Therefore, in order to intercept the bomber fleet of the Luftwaffe this time, the Russian Air Force dispatched almost all P-40 fighter jets.