Another scout holding a telescope shouted loudly: "There is another one behind, two bombers."
The Spitfire team members were stunned when they heard this. Didn't they say they were going to protect one bomber? Why did two bombers come?
After landing at the airport just now, the team members learned that their mission today was to protect a bomber back to Moscow, and the order from the military was to do so at all costs.
at all costs.
In other words, the pilots have to protect the bomber even if they risk their lives.
But now that two bombers have arrived, the difficulty of escort will be doubled.
Was it a mistake?
The pilots all looked at the major and Zhou Zhihan.
Hearing the scout say that the bomber was coming, the major gestured and shouted: "Take off immediately!"
The pilots got it.
Apparently, the major knew in advance that two bombers were coming.
After Spitfire No. 214 took off first, it climbed into the air at full speed at the maximum elevation angle to serve as a warning.
Soon, all the fighter jets were in the air. Sure enough, two bombers were flying from the direction of Leningrad. Seeing their own escort fighters in place, the pilots of the two SB-2 bombers immediately changed their noses and flew towards Moscow.
Spitfire No. 214 led the team to follow. At this time, it was far away from Moscow and the fighter communicator was unavailable. According to the agreement before takeoff, Major Pisanko led the wingmen to advance 7 kilometers as the forward and fly at an altitude of 3,500 meters. If If an enemy is detected ahead, the aircraft will swing its wings left and right as a warning.
The bomber flies at an altitude of 4,000 meters and a speed of 400 kilometers per hour.
Major Naitenko, commander of the 37th Regiment, led his wingmen to defend the left wing of the bomber, flying at an altitude of 4,500 meters.
Major Fukin, commander of the 40th Regiment, led his wingmen to defend on the right wing, flying at an altitude of 5,000 meters.
Soviet hero Yumashev led Second Lieutenant Makarov to fly at an altitude of 3,000 meters behind and below the bomber to guard against ground artillery fire or sneak attacks from low-altitude enemy aircraft.
Another five fighters flew behind and above the bomber on both sides as a rear guard.
Zhou Zhihan piloted Spitfire No. 214 alone, 10 kilometers behind the fleet, flying at an altitude of 7,000 meters, and controlling everything.
This is a three-dimensional protective phalanx. No matter where an enemy aircraft appears from, the fighter jets can detect it in advance to ensure that the fleet will not be attacked by sneak attacks.
Now, what Zhou Zhihan was most worried about was not when German planes would intercept him ahead, but whether there would be pursuers in the direction of Leningrad.
There are still 600 kilometers from here to Moscow, and there are no German airports within 200 kilometers forward. In other words, it is unlikely that a German plane will intercept within these 200 kilometers, so the current flying altitude of the bombers is 4,000 meters.
If the two bombers were not discovered by the Germans when they took off from Leningrad, the interception in front of them would not be too great, and they might even have passed quickly by the time the Luftwaffe discovered them.
If the two bombers are discovered by the Germans after taking off from Leningrad, the pursuers will arrive soon, and the road ahead will be full of dangers, and fierce and tough battles are inevitable.
All the fighter planes surrounded the two bombers and flew towards Moscow at the bomber's maximum speed of 400 kilometers per hour.
The sun's head was still below the horizon, but the morning light was so bright that it turned half of the eastern sky into a golden color, making it extremely secretive to the fleet.
Everything was arranged properly. Zhou Zhihan, who was lagging behind, did not dare to be careless and opened his flight helmet directly. His heart suddenly tightened. 50 kilometers behind, two Messerschmitts were approaching quickly. Judging from their flight routes, It is not yet possible to tell whether it is a pursuer or a reconnaissance plane released by the German army on a routine basis.
Zhou Zhihan pulled the lever, and Spitfire No. 214 climbed upwards and entered a cloud dyed red by the rays of light to ambush. If it was a pursuer, it would be shot down. If it was a reconnaissance plane flying elsewhere, it would be let go.
Zhou Zhihan was well hidden and looked at the condensed contrails left by the aircraft fleet just after they flew over. At this time, they had gradually faded and would disappear completely soon. They would not leave any large tracking traces for the tracking enemy aircraft. This is why the aircraft fleet wanted to The reason for flying above 3500 meters is that it is not easy to leave a wake at this location.
The fleet continued to move forward.
Zhou Zhihan had made an agreement with everyone before. If there were pursuers behind him, he would send them all away. No matter what the fighting situation behind them was, the 13 fighter jets would not look back and would do their best to protect the bombers moving forward.
The two Messerschmitts were getting closer and closer. They were Bf 109E5 fighter jets, flying at an altitude of 2,500 meters, leaving two obvious condensed contrails behind them.
Zhou Zhihan was shocked in his heart. This was not a reconnaissance plane, nor was it the flying height of the reconnaissance plane. They deliberately left two condensed contrails behind to facilitate the tracking of their teammates who came later. This shows that after them, there will be more Support fighters soon followed.
Zhou Zhihan judged that it was most likely that the two bombers were discovered when they were flying out of Leningrad, and the German army immediately sent two fighter jets to chase them.
At this moment, the two Messerschmitts suddenly separated, one continued to track in the direction of Puslav, and the other tracked in the direction of the Soviet aircraft group.
Zhou Zhihan's heart twitched again. The ones chasing him were obviously two old birds. From this, it could be judged that if there were subsequent enemy planes to follow, they would be absolutely powerful.
Because the wake left by the Su plane had almost dissipated at this time, but experienced pilots could still find clues, so the two planes pursued them separately.
It can also be judged from this that the whereabouts of the escorting Spitfire group were not discovered by the German army, otherwise the German army would not have sent only two fighters.
Two fighters and two bombers are enough to chase the plane.
Zhou Zhihan decided to kill the Messerschmitt flying in the direction of Puslav first, so that the German fighter group that arrived later would take an unnecessary journey.
Because, in addition to the fighter jets in various countries that keep radio silence and do not contact the headquarters, other fighter jets have a prescribed communication interval with the headquarters. The German plane that was killed by him will definitely arouse suspicion if he does not contact the airport headquarters for a long time. The airport will guide fighter planes in the nearby airspace to check.
When the Messerschmitt tracking in the direction of Moscow passed, the No. 214 Spitfire turned sideways and rolled to change the direction of the nose, pushed the stick, dived and accelerated, and chased the other Messerschmitt.
In the east, the red forehead of the sun finally appeared above the horizon. The pilot of the Messerschmitt flying to Plasov was in a good mood. He judged that he could add another aircraft to his record today: "Headquarters, headquarters, I am 7033."
"7033 please speak."
"Two suspicious tracks were found at 57 degrees southwest of Leningrad. One was headed to the direction of Puslav, and 7033 went to follow it. The other one was heading to Moscow, and 7055 has gone to track it."
"Tower received. 7033, 50 kilometers behind you, there are 4 reinforcement fighters heading quickly."
"7033 received."
"The call is over! Please keep in touch."
"7033 received."
After No. 7033 Messerschmitt finished speaking, he rolled sideways, pointed the nose of the aircraft towards Puslav, and accelerated forward. The track he followed was exactly the track passed by the Soviet fleet, but the trace was too blurry. It was impossible to determine the direction and number of aircraft.
Zhou Zhihan pushed the throttle to the bottom, turned the ratchet with his right hand and used the cannon to attack. The No. 214 Spitfire quickly rushed towards the No. 7033 Messerschmitt.
