Chapter 396 Bloody Sky (Part 2)

Pokryshkin, who took the lead and rushed to the front of the entire fleet, was the first to put a German Stuka in the fighter's aiming ring. The firing advance data estimated based on previous combat experience instantly became clear to him and he was convinced. Pokryshkin, who was sure to hit the target, immediately pressed the fire button without hesitation.

Dong dong dong——

Da da da--

The roar of a 7mm Berezin machine gun and two 62mm Shkas machine guns firing at the same time broke the silent sky that was clearing after the snow. Anti-aircraft bullet chains mixed with tracer bullets to correct the trajectory accompanied Pokresh. Jin's hand movements poured out instantly, and in less than a blink of an eye, he accurately hit a German fighter plane that was about to dive down to launch a bomb attack.

The fragile surface skin of the aircraft body could not stop the blazing tongues of flames coated with tracer incendiary agents. After tearing off the surface skin of the aircraft body, the barrage of flames pouring into it crazily destroyed everything around it. The main wing spar and wing surface control steel The poor Stuka, which was instantly destroyed, immediately lost control. The wing that was torn into two pieces immediately spiraled with the fuselage and fell to the ground.

"I was hit! Russians, there are Russian fighter jets in the sky! It's those MiG-3s!"

The loud exclamation from the radio communication channel in the ears was like the wail of hell, which instantly woke up other Stukas in the sky. The group of German pilots who set off immediately after the snow stopped did not expect that they were always used to arriving late. The late Soviet aviation actually arrived so quickly this time!

In order to reverse the situation in time before the ground battle completely collapsed, the first wave of German fighter planes that hurriedly took off from the field airport were all Stuka dive bombers loaded with aerial bombs of various sizes.

Such a sortie formation cannot be said to be due to the Luftwaffe's ignorance of escort. It is just that it is difficult to fly more fighter planes at the same time on a field airport runway with limited take-off capacity. In order to rescue the German Air Force, which is about to collapse on the ground, it does not care. There were so many, and the first Postuka was released directly. After completing the formation in the sky, he immediately turned around and headed straight for the battlefield.

According to the assumptions made by the Luftwaffe when arranging combat missions before the attack, the ground attack formation that rushed out as soon as the snow stopped will definitely be able to take advantage of the slow-reaction Soviets. The Stukas, whose ground attack only takes twenty minutes to end the battle, can theoretically withdraw from the battlefield before the Soviets arrive.

Only this time, the Germans' "theory" seemed to be a bit out of order, and the final result of this failed prediction was undoubtedly catastrophic.

As Pokryshkin's first strike successfully shot down a German Stuka, the remaining dozens of MiG-3s that followed also joined in this one-sided encirclement and annihilation battle.

The crackling sound of aviation machine gun fire echoed through the sky along with the roar of fighter jet engines. The Stukas who had just been killing the Guards heavy tank breakthrough group led by Malashenko on the ground were now completely in trouble.

Although the Stuka is equipped with only two 92mm wing-mounted aviation machine guns, it theoretically has certain air combat capabilities, but it would be a fool's errand to really drive this heavy steel monster into a low-altitude dog fight.

The aerodynamic shape of the fuselage was not designed for air combat at all. It can be said that the Stuka could not even defeat the biplane fighters of the First World War. The Stuka fleet without fighter escort was completely destroyed by the impact of the Soviet MiG 3 fleet. They were in chaos, without any of the arrogance they had when they were licking the ground.

The MiG-3 fleet that attacked at the same time only had one encounter, and seven Stukas that were caught off guard were caught on fire, smoked, or disintegrated and fell on the spot. Before the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War, this type had the largest number of equipment in the Soviet fighter aviation unit. Although the modern low-wing monoplane fighter is not good at fighting for low-altitude air supremacy.

But in the face of these German Stuka fleets, which are like lambs waiting to be slaughtered and have no fighter escort and almost no resistance, the MiG-3, as a high-altitude fighter, can naturally make a cameo in the field of low-altitude dogfighting that it is not good at. Well, beating an amateur by a professional is simply a matter of holding a snail between three fingers - holding it firmly.

Taking advantage of the altitude, Pokryshkin dived straight down. After successfully shooting down a German Stuka with one blow, he did not indulge in dogfights and fell into a low-altitude turning dogfight.

Pokryshkin, who has been flying the MiG-3 since the war began, knows very well that the MiG-3, which is designed for high-altitude combat, will face very serious maneuvering problems in low-altitude airspace where it is not good at it.

The difficulty in controlling the fuselage is only one part of it. The extremely unfavorable large turning radius and extreme speed energy loss in low-altitude airspace are the most serious problems. Once the MiG-3, as a high-altitude fighter, falls into a wrong low-altitude dogfight and exhausts its body energy, the MiG-3, which is on the verge of stalling, will become a hopeless brick. At that time, the MiG-3 It may really happen that the tiger is bullied by the dog and shot down by the Stuka.

In the past battles, he has deeply understood all the advantages and disadvantages of the MiG-3. Pokryshkin, who knew how to use his strengths and avoid weaknesses, immediately accelerated and continued to dive after a successful attack. The MiG-3, which still had energy in the body, relied on its powerful acceleration The potential of the dive was even higher, and the dive at a speed of nearly 600 kilometers per hour was like a pair of big hands that firmly buckled Pokryshkin to the seat, unable to move.

"Almost, now!"

After making sure that he had gained a sufficient distance, Pokryshkin suddenly waved the flight joystick in his hand to control the direction of the fighter. The MiG-3, which had strong flight energy in its body, immediately became a little clumsy with its not very dexterous movements. The ground rotates across the fuselage. In front of Pokryshkin, who accurately grasped the turning radius and separation distance, the group of Stukas that were still barely avoiding the massacre by the Soviet army appeared in front of him.

"Second round, Germans, here comes the ace pilot Pokryshkin!"

The MiG-3, which was designed as a high-altitude fighter, had a very good climbing efficiency in 1941. Pokryshkin, who headed straight up from a lower dive airspace, drove his War Eagle, and once again defeated another fighter in just one shooting window. The fleeing German Stukas were on fire and smoking.

Seeing that the Stuka immediately burst into flames after being penetrated by the mailbox, it was completely hopeless. Pokryshkin, who still maintained the climbing attack window, was not greedy for fighting and entanglement, and immediately leveled the aircraft and accelerated to fly away from the combat airspace to prepare for the next attack. A wave of attack windows.

Within thirty seconds of each other, the same Soviet MiG-3 shot down two Stukas one after another. A loud and panicked cry soon erupted from the radio communication channel of the German fleet.

"Be careful of that Red Star No. 5 MiG-3! He is more difficult to deal with than the other MiGs!"