In order to prevent being discovered by the German night patrol aircraft, Zhou Zhihan led the fleet into an altitude of 8,000 meters. At this position, the German radar could not detect it.
Since it was a top-secret flight, all the lights on the dashboards in the fighter cabins were turned off. Everyone could only use the faint purple light emitted by the reflective sight in the cockpit of the fighter ahead to keep the distance between each other.
We are still on the outskirts of Moscow and can use radios. After flying out of Moscow, if there is no important situation, everyone's radios will be silenced.
Although the lights are not turned on and the radio has to be kept silent for a while, this kind of night flight is not difficult for experienced birds, who have practiced it during their rookie days.
"Everyone, follow me!"
Five minutes after all the fighter jets left the airport, the cold pressure hit the ground, and Spitfire No. 214 took the lead in flying towards Leningrad.
All the pilots did not speak and followed silently. From the instructions stamped with General Gromagin's seal, they already knew that this was a top-secret flight. If the commander did not tell the specific details of the mission to be performed, they could not ask whether this was a military mission. regulation.
Zhou Zhihan said: "If something happens to me in battle, the command will be automatically transferred to Major Pisanko!"
This is also a routine that commanders need to do before every battle.
The advantage of this is that when a commander is killed or injured in an air battle, his replacement will immediately take over the baton, preventing the troops from falling into temporary panic.
"receive……"
Major Pisanco replied.
The pilots also responded one by one.
Then, Zhou Zhihan contacted Major Pisanko via a single line and told Pisanko the specifics of the mission.
At this time, the final destination cannot be told to all pilots, because any sudden situation may occur during the flight. If a pilot's plane is shot down or malfunctions, and he crashes on the German position in the dark and is captured, There would be a risk of leaks, which would put the entire team in trouble.
Major Pisanko was also curious as to why their 14 Spitfires were protecting one bomber, but he didn't ask, and Zhou Zhihan definitely didn't know either.
At this time, there were many German airports around Moscow. If you wanted to get to Puslav, you had to quietly break through the detection and defense of the German night fighter units.
After the Battle of Dunkirk and the Defense of London, the German radar technology became increasingly sophisticated, and the radar detection range above the nose of the Messerschmitt in night battles gradually became larger.
All Soviet pilots were already familiar with the specific locations of the various German flying groups and knew them without looking at a map.
Now everyone wants to know which German fighter force this ace pilot from China will lead everyone to fly over to their destination.
As soon as Zhou Zhihan read the secret instructions, he began to think about whether to fly to the destination from Tver or Smolensk.
In these two places, two German fighter wings are stationed.
In the direction of Tver, the JG51 Wing of Moldes is stationed.
On July 12, Richard Prela shot down the 500th Soviet aircraft of the JG51 Wing since the beginning of the Soviet campaign. This was also the Wing's 1,200th victory since World War II.
The pilots of this wing are all veterans from the Western European battlefields. The combat experience accumulated in the battles of Dunkirk and London has become the invincible confidence of these veterans. Their reputation resounds throughout the Soviet Union and is the heart of Soviet pilots. An indelible nightmare.
In particular, the reputation of the company commander Lieutenant Colonel Werner Molders was at its peak. On July 15, his record reached an astonishing 100 aircraft.
The Luftwaffe used a great deal of publicity on this day, making Moldes' name resound throughout the Soviet Union.
This is a statistic that makes Soviet pilots horrified and desperate.
This is a frightening top ace pilot with a formidable record. He commands the German 51st Fighter Wing that makes all Soviet pilots silently say it, but feel extremely fearful in their hearts.
Just in mid-September, Molders handed over the company commander to Major Friedrich Beck, and he took the post of director of the fighter branch, which made the JG51 wing even more powerful.
Because the director of the fighter arm of Moldes is not a idle position, he is responsible for the use of Germany's entire fighter arm, tactical research and development, and fighter aircraft research.
Those closest to the water first come first, so whenever Germany develops the most advanced tactics, they are handed over to the JG51 brigade, and Göring also believes that there is no bone that the JG51 brigade cannot crack.
In the direction of Smolensk, the JG52 wing was deployed that was about to suffocate Soviet pilots.
The current reputation of this wing is far less than that of the JG51 wing of Moldes. The main reason is that they were deployed in the southernmost part of the Soviet front before July, and their main task was to patrol the Black Sea coast.
There were very few fighter jets there, and the air combat was even more pitiful, so their record was the lowest in the entire Soviet battlefield. So much so that Reich Marshal Göring found that the company was lifeless and the fighting was tepid, so the angry Reich Marshal Göring found out in July On the 4th, a telegram was sent to the commander of the JG52 Wing:
Your unit has always been unique. What is unique is that it failed to shoot down enemy aircraft. How long will it continue for Soviet aircraft to enter your airspace without hindrance? ——Göring.
Although the JG52 wing is the least famous, Zhou Zhihan is not willing to pass over its air defense, because in this camp, there is a peerless master that all future pilots need to look up to - Gerhard Buckhorn
A super ace who ranks second among all pilots in the entire history of human war.
During the Battle of London, Zhou Zhihan had a fight with the African Eagle Marceliu. The top ace was the strongest opponent he had encountered so far, and his strength was definitely higher than that of Garland and Moldes. , at that time Marcelo had just made his debut, and his air combat technology had not yet reached its peak.
And Gerhard Buckhorn's strength is still above Marceiu.
So scary!
Zhou Zhihan didn't want to meet the super ace of the JG52 team too soon, or in other words, he didn't want to meet Gerhard Buckhorn today. Even if he had system assistance, he didn't want to meet such a super ace.
He was not afraid of anyone in a one-on-one air battle, but the top-secret mission they were carrying out now was no small matter. Once they met a super ace like Gerhard Buckhorn, it would be difficult to get rid of him in a short time.
Moreover, at this time, this little-known team also had two other super aces, Hermann Graf and Steinhoff.
It can be said that no one can survive the joint attack of these three super aces at the moment.
Therefore, Zhou Zhihan decided not to break through the JG52 wing.
Although the JG51 wing does not have super aces like Gerhard Buckhorn or top aces like Hermann Graf and Steinhoff, they have very rich combat experience. In the Luftwaffe Among them, only the experience of the Condor Legion can match it. It is obviously not wise to pass over this regiment.
But if you want to avoid these two wings, you must make a detour eastward to Yaroslav. From there, you will fly at least 400 kilometers around, and the Spitfire will not have enough fuel.
what to do?
