"Oh, by the way," just as Zhou Zhihan was about to go out, Podolsky patted his head and became even more shy, "Comrade Colonel, at 10 o'clock this morning, Comrade Tatiana Malokava is going to meet Together you patrol the skies above Moscow."
"Tatyana Malokava? Are you patrolling the skies above Moscow with me? Is she a pilot?"
Zhou Zhihan said and looked at the beautiful wreath on the table.
Seeing Zhou Zhihan looking at the wreath, Podolsky suddenly became smart: "Yes, comrade colonel! Tatyana Malokava is the female soldier who made the wreath for you last night, the 46th Guards Night Fighter Aviation The female pilot of the regiment.”
Zhou Zhihan nodded. When he heard the word "guard", he knew that the main duty of these female pilots was propaganda, not combat.
The German raid caused heavy losses to the Soviet Air Force. Aircraft could be produced or leased, but pilots were not so easy to train. Promoting these heroic female pilots could not only inspire soldiers, but also attract young people to actively sign up to join the aviation force.
Zhou Zhihan was also about to fly over Moscow to familiarize himself with the surrounding environment. He looked at his watch. It was 8:30 in the morning and asked, "Where is Tatiana Malokava now?"
Podolsky: "At 9 o'clock, she will be waiting for you in the airport readiness room, comrade colonel!"
Zhou Zhihan was a little crazy: "Comrade Podolsky, from now on you can just call me Colonel Zhou or Colonel, and don't bring comrades."
"Yes! Comrade Colonel Zhou!"
Zhou Zhihan "..."
Zhou Zhihan and Podolsky walked out of the tent. There was a military three-wheeled motorcycle parked at the door. Podolsky pedaled twice and made a sound. He started off skillfully and drove Zhou Zhihan to the airport, leaving a wave of air behind him. Yellow smoke.
The airport of the Sixth Fighter Air Force is set up in a remote place, and the various camouflages are well done. The runway can take off and land six aircraft at the same time, but it is very crude. This is mainly because the Soviet fighter jets take off and land in an unpretentious manner, and the fields are also Takeoffs are possible, with only one runway suitable for Spitfires and Hurricanes.
As soon as the three-wheeled motorcycle stopped on the simple runway, at the airport where no one could be seen at a glance, people immediately poured out from all around, many of them reporters with cameras and video cameras.
Zhou Zhihan understood that where there are reporters, there will be propaganda.
Sure enough, Major Pisanko, the leader of the 34th Regiment, told Zhou Zhihan that the headquarters requested to take some publicity photos to encourage the determination of the military and civilians to fight. As a representative of the Allies, he would fight with the Soviet people to resist the fascists.
At this moment, several pilots came out of the simple combat readiness room. The female warrior Tatyana Malokava, who had made a wreath for Zhou Zhihan last night and pulled him to dance around the bonfire, was also among them. , she is petite and exquisite. She changed into a flight suit today and looks so heroic!
The other female pilots are all slender, with long hair shawl-length, and pretty faces. They are wearing flight suits and look very handsome.
Zhou Zhihan glanced at Tatiana Malokava. Such a petite and beautiful girl might not be able to pull the operating lever of the I-16 or Yake.
This is normal. Since it is for publicity, it must be a beautiful female pilot. It will definitely not work if it is replaced by a Soviet aunt with big arms and round waist.
Major Pisanko introduced several pilots to Zhou Zhihan. Several female pilots, like Tatiana Malokava, were from the famous 46th Guards Night Fighting Aviation Regiment, including Natalia Meklin. , Bornozuva...
Several female pilots shook hands with Zhou Zhihan one by one, their faces full of admiration, and they all said, "Hello, Comrade Colonel!"
Now his name is known to everyone in the Air Force.
"...Hello, comrade!"
Zhou Zhihan smiled and shook hands with the female pilots, but in his heart he convinced himself that he would do as the Romans do, and from now on we will all be called comrades!
Major Pisanko opened his palms, pointed at a young pilot, and said to Zhou Zhihan: "Comrade Colonel, let me introduce you. This is Second Lieutenant Yumashev, the hero of the Soviet Union!"
The young Yumashev stepped forward, clasped Zhou Zhihan's hand with both hands, and said with a very excited expression: "Comrade Colonel, I heard about your heroic deeds yesterday. I was so excited that I didn't sleep all night."
This kind of handshake and conversation are standard, and they seem familiar.
Zhou Zhihan had heard of Soviet hero Yumashev before, but today he saw him in person. He was not tall and looked relatively simple.
Zhou Zhihan also held and shook Yumashev's hand vigorously: "I have also admired your name for a long time, Comrade Yumashev, Hero of the Soviet Union!"
I learned pretty quickly.
Yumashev had a shy and sunny smile on his face. Even the Chinese knew his reputation, which made him very happy.
Next, we started taking pictures of the group. Zhou Zhihan and Soviet hero Yumashev stood in the middle, and several female pilots stood on both sides of them. Everyone had a look of uprightness on their faces, with their chin slightly raised, their eyes firm, and they looked towards far away.
The propaganda meaning of the photo is obvious. Now the people of the world are united to fight fascism.
Next comes various poses.
As required, Zhou Zhihan's face was filled with determination to win. He stood in front of the plane in various postures, sat in the cabin, and looked forward with a bright and clear look.
Four I-16 fighter jets are lined up side by side. Zhou Zhihan, Hero of the Soviet Union Yumashev, Natalia Meklin, and Tatyana Malokava are sitting in the cabin, looking ahead.
Next, the four fighter jets took off together, and the reporters flashed their flashlights to snap shots of the takeoff.
Four fighter jets flew from the suburbs to the sky above Moscow, and Zhou Zhihan looked down.
There was a transport plane following behind, and several reporters accompanying the army kept taking pictures of the female pilot's heroic appearance in the air.
At this time, Moscow was ready.
When two German tank divisions suddenly bypassed Leningrad and the forward troops pointed at Moscow, Zhukov saw through the Germans' intentions.
Hitler and Goering once threatened to drown Moscow in a sea of fire through air strikes!
In order to support the German Army Group Center's attack on Moscow, Hitler also transferred several aviation groups and formed a "Special Aviation Group", commanded by the Second Aviation Commander Marshal Kesselring, whose subordinates had bombed London and Liverpool in 1940. , the 4th "Vewel" Bomber Group in Birmingham and other cities, and the 53rd "Combar Regiment" Bomber Group that bombed cities in Spain, Poland, Yugoslavia and Greece.
The newly built airfields of the Luftwaffe were also placed closer and closer to Moscow and continued to advance.
The German 28th Bomb Group was in the Bobruisk area, where hundreds of German bombers were assembled, including hundreds of Messerschmitt escorts.
The 55th "Groff" Special Mission Bomber Group was deployed at various airports in the Baranovichi area. More than 400 new German bombers and fighter jets were on standby, preparing to carry out devastating bombings on the Soviet capital.
Moscow clearly learned from London's experience. In order to confuse the sight of the Germans, all the obvious buildings in the capital, as well as all the squares in the city, were painted with a uniform camouflage color.
Within two hundred kilometers of Moscow, countless models of factories, airports, granaries and bridges appeared overnight. When the battle started, German aircraft were unable to launch precise strikes.
There are more than 700 air intelligence stations around Moscow. They are all young people with good eyesight and alertness who form a survey without blind spots. They can detect enemy aircraft within 200 kilometers of the city.
The radar that was so brilliant in the Battle of London was finally valued by countries around the world. The warning radar station set up on the line from Rzhevvi to Yazma can accurately locate the location and number of enemy aircraft and conduct surveillance within eight kilometers. track.
The entire Moscow is ready to deal with the invading enemy, just like London in 1940, and all citizens have joined in the defense of Moscow.
Men went to the battlefield with guns, the elderly and children worked overtime in factories day and night, and women formed hundreds of self-rescue teams and medical rescue teams, built thousands of air-raid shelters day and night, and practiced fire rescue, poison prevention, and anti-virus training every day. Risk and other emergency work.
Under the guidance of Soviet hero Yumashev, Zhou Zhihan flew a plane over Moscow to familiarize himself with the layout of the ground defense air force.
Moscow is surrounded by more than a thousand anti-aircraft guns, more than 500 anti-aircraft machine guns, and nearly a thousand searchlights that can shine into the sky at the same time. On the periphery of the city, there are countless blocking balloons specifically designed to intercept enemy aircraft that want to make low-altitude raids.
After flying around in the air, the four fighter jets landed one after another. People on the ground took photos one by one, followed by various interviews.
After finishing the meal at around 11 o'clock, Zhou Zhihan walked into the air-raid shelter. There was a large room inside. Podolsky said that the room was already full of flight instructors who had just arrived from various groups. They came specifically to listen to Zhou Zhihan's lecture today. , after attending the lecture, they have to return to their respective combat units. This is an emergency period of war, and the entire Soviet military and civilians are racing against time.
Yesterday, Zhou Zhihan's heroic performance over Kiev was reported by Major Pisanko to General Gromagin, the supreme commander of the Air Force. Later, General Gromagin received a phone call from General Potalov, who successfully broke through, praising him The pilot flying Spitfire No. 214 almost single-handedly saved more than 5,000 Red Army soldiers.
Therefore, General Gromagin ordered all air force units stationed near Moscow to send instructors to listen to Zhou Zhihan's lectures. Zhou Zhihan's outstanding performance yesterday made him proud. After all, he specially invited the people.
"stand up!"
Following the command of an adjutant, dozens of instructors and pilots in the room stood up and applauded under the leadership of Major Pisanko to welcome Zhou Zhihan.
After the applause, everyone sat down, and Zhou Zhihan clearly felt that many pilots did not come to listen to his lectures sincerely, but were just doing it as a matter of routine, and some had obvious signs of impatience on their faces.
As soon as he entered the air-raid shelter and was still far away from the lecture room, Zhou Zhihan heard many people whispering about him. Major Pisanko couldn't hear it, but it couldn't escape his keen ears.
