Steinhoff took off first, and Messerschmitt climbed quickly, followed closely behind him by Buckhorn, the biggest rookie in the team.
Another former rookie, Hermann Graf, followed closely behind.
Hermann Graf's record at this time was 12. Before that, he was even worse than Gerhard Buckhorn. He had no record for two years until he entered the Eastern Front and the Soviet Union shot down an old I-15 3 Only later did the ace pilot find his shooting boots like a football player.
Steinhoff has always believed that as long as it is gold, it will always shine. In his opinion, Gerhard Buckhorn is not lucky enough. After all, every time he shoots targets, he is among the best in the entire league.
There was no record of flying into the sky 119 times. This is definitely not a problem of air combat skills, but luck.
but!
A pilot can survive 119 air battles without a single victory. Only God knows whether his luck is good or bad.
In this regard, Steinhoff is sometimes confused and has to name the super rookie before taking off every time.
Messerschmitt does not have high requirements for takeoff and landing. It can take off even in rice fields and wheat fields. Unlike the Spitfire and Hurricane, which are a bit pretentious and require a flat runway to take off, the fighter jets participating in the interception climbed into the air almost at the same time. .
During this interception, Steinhoff ordered three squadrons to take off. Including him, there were a total of 37 Mays, which was enough to deal with 9 Spitfires. Moreover, the Spitfires had to devote their attention to protecting the bombers.
This is a sure-fire deal.
The overall technology of the Soviet Air Force was rough and the aircraft performance was lagging behind. If it weren't for the fact that the pilot of No. 214 Spitfire was suspected to be the big devil Zhou Zhihan, two Mei squadrons would be enough.
The Bf 109E3 takes 7 minutes and 30 seconds to climb to 6,500 meters, while the Bf 109E7/Z with a new engine only takes 6 minutes and 40 seconds.
This almost 1 minute is like heaven and hell for the pilot.
Zhou Zhihan ordered all Soviet fighter jets to open communications. The encounter was right in front of them, and there was no need to keep communications silent.
Before that, he had contacted General Gromagin, who was waiting anxiously in Moscow, to inform him of the current location of the fleet.
General Gromagin immediately mobilized his troops and ordered the fighter planes of the Soviet fighter units stationed near Moscow to take off to respond.
The lineup of the Luftwaffe appears on Zhou Zhihan’s flight helmet.
Zhou Zhihan said to the team members: "40 kilometers ahead, the German Air Force has three squadrons. One of the squadrons is flying at an altitude of 4,500 meters to attract our attention. The other two squadrons are ambushing at an altitude of 9,000 meters, preparing to dive. Caught us off guard.”
The team members all know that this is the most basic tactic in air combat.
Ambush and dive at high altitudes are standard equipment for air combat troops.
But no one knows how this Chinese ace discovered the enemy 40 kilometers away.
However, all the pilots completely believed in Zhou Zhihan. With his amazing leadership last night when he led the fleet to break through the German aircraft defense line without firing a single shot, and arrive at the destination on time and safely, looking at the entire Soviet Air Force, no one can do.
Zhou Zhihan glanced at the secret documents that Puslav opened after taking off.
"Now, it's time to let everyone know the true mission of our trip."
None of the pilots spoke.
Finally, the mystery of this mission is about to be solved.
“Onboard the Red Star 9 we were escorting was a marshal who was about to command the defense of Moscow.
He was Marshal Zhukov, who was personally appointed by Comrade Stalin as the commander-in-chief of the Moscow Defense War.
Our mission this time was personally assigned by Comrade Stalin.
You are the elite of the entire Soviet Union, trusted and recognized by the country, so we must protect the safety of Red Star 9 at all costs. "
The team members immediately became excited when they heard that Comrade Stalin personally issued the order and that the country trusts you.
Yumashev, the hero of the Soviet Union who had been personally received by Stalin, even shed tears of emotion in an instant.
The team members know that the defense of Moscow is just around the corner. If the German cavalry is allowed to enter Moscow, the military morale of the entire Soviet Union will be hit unprecedentedly.
There is no time to delay in defending Moscow.
Marshal Zhukov was the commander of the defense of Moscow.
And they are now protecting Marshal Zhukov.
What a sacred mission this is.
At this moment, all Soviet pilots had a firm thought in their hearts: Even if they die in battle, they must protect Marshal Zhukov's safety.
Now, everyone finally understood why this trip to Puslav did not involve British pilots who knew the performance of Spitfires well, but allowed the Chinese Air Force ace to participate.
The British had a history of being erratic and untrustworthy, or rather afraid to trust them in such a major undertaking.
This Chinese air force ace is worthy of trust.
At this time, China and the Soviet Union were closely interdependent. To defend the Soviet Union was to defend China, and to defend China was to defend the Soviet Union.
Major Pisanko's blood surged: "Comrade Colonel Zhou, please give the order!"
"Please give the order!"
The pilots said in unison.
Speak slowly.
In fact, it only took less than twenty seconds from the time Zhou Zhihan told everyone that they were escorting Marshal Zhukov to the time when the team members enthusiastically asked him to issue orders.
Zhou Zhihan: "When you hear my order later, Pisanko, Yumashev, and Naidenko immediately cover the Red Star 9 to leave the group and fly between Tver and Smolensk, that is, I Last night, I led everyone through the route that broke through between the JG51 and JG52 wings.
After our attack to the east and west just now, that route is now the weakest point in the German air force's defense. If you rush there towards Moscow, our army will have fighter jets to meet you. "
The team members immediately understood Zhou Zhihan's tactic, which was to use Red Star 1 to attract the Germans' attention, cover Red Star 9, and safely leave again from the enemy's weakest defensive area.
"receive!"
Pisanko, Yumashev and Naitenko answered, and then began to change the positions of their fighters and move closer to Red Star 9.
Zhou Zhihan's plan of seducing the east and attacking the west is indeed a good idea!
high!
It’s really high!
This move directly tore apart the German Air Force's defense line.
If it hadn't been for the Chinese ace's first move of seizing the east and attacking the west, which completely disrupted the Luftwaffe's defensive tactics, the route they had flown last night would have definitely been the most dangerous route.
With one move, the two German wings focused their interception on their own wing and automatically opened up the defensive gap that the Soviet aircraft fleet broke through in the early morning.
In the morning, when they learned that the Soviet fleet broke through the gap between the two wings, the JG51 and JG52 wings were upset and deployed heavy troops on this defense line as if to make up for it. Now, after Zhou Zhihan's attacks from east to west, this line of defense once again emptiness.
Moreover, Zhou Zhihan had 11 fighter jets cover Red Star 1 and only three fighter jets cover Red Star 9. This would make the German pilots believe that the important secrets of the Soviet Union were in the heavily defended Red Star 1.
The Germans most likely believed that the Zvezda 9 was a decoy to attract the attention of Imperial pilots.
However, it is not without risks for the two bombers to separate. If the Germans find out, the risk will increase exponentially, but under the current situation, this may be the best choice.
Naitenko, Yumashev, and Pisanko are the three most powerful among the dozen Soviet pilots at the moment, so they are asked to protect Red Star 9.
Of course, it is impossible for the Germans to know how powerful the above three people are.
The enemy plane is getting closer.
Zhou Zhihan: "Attention, everyone, listen to my orders!"
