The MiG pilot accelerated and performed extended maneuvers to increase the intersection angle as much as possible, destroying the Mei-type's shooting intention.
Hartmann's eyes wandered back and forth between the MiG and Levi C12D sights, and he always paid attention to the surrounding situation to avoid being missed by other Soviet fighters.
Hartmann pushed the throttle, and the Hornets got closer and closer.
Finally, the tail fin of the MiG fighter jet was filled with Levi C12D sights.
Hartman fired.
"Da da da……"
The May-style cannonball licked the wooden monocoque tail made of pine and plywood, and sawdust splattered instantly. Hartman, who was so frightened and delighted, quickly pressed the stick and rolled to avoid it. Even so, he could still feel the splatter of sawdust. On the fuselage, thankfully these are wood chips instead of iron chips.
Hartmann was shocked when he hit an enemy plane for the first time. The MiG pilot was even more frightened. He felt the fuselage tremble and a puff of black smoke appeared in the rearview mirror. He knew that his fighter had Being attacked, he pushed the joystick violently in panic, pushed the throttle all the way, and fell headlong to the ground, trying to force Messerschmitt behind him to give up the pursuit.
The MiG's tail was damaged and it could no longer perform rolling maneuvers. It could only rely on diving to gain speed to get away from the enemy.
Hartmann would never let his victory fly away again. At this time, he calmed down and did a side roll to make sure that he would not be missed by other enemy planes. Then he pressed the stick to change the trajectory, and then pushed the stick, Mei Diving and clenching.
MiG fighters fled desperately.
Messerschmitt pursued fiercely.
Hartmann glanced at the Levi C12D sight out of the corner of his eye.
God!
The entire tail of the aircraft in front was in the scope, emitting black smoke, so there was no need to aim at all.
"Da da da……"
Hartmann pressed the launch button again, and flames spurted out and hit the smoking wings.
This time, Hardman was on guard, and the fuselage was not hit by the bleeding splash from the MiG's tail.
The rear fuselage of the MiG was made of pine spars and plywood. After two rounds of bombardment by artillery shells, very little of the entire tail was left.
Hartmann was overjoyed to receive his first victory. He pressed the launcher with his thumb and continued bombing.
"boom……"
Several shells hit the fuel tank of the MiG, which was stalling and spinning and falling to the ground. The fuel tank exploded, and burning gasoline sprayed like a sea of fire onto the belly wall of the HOME aircraft. Hartmann was so frightened that he quickly pulled the lever and made a jump. .
Hartmann did not want to be burned to death in the air. He was helpless and shouted: "Damn it... I shot down an enemy plane, but the belly of my plane was ignited by the enemy aircraft's oil... Major Herabach..."
There was no response from the colonel.
"Major Herabach..."
Hartman once again screamed for help.
An aircraft on fire is completely different from an injured aircraft. An injured aircraft can be forced to land, but a pilot on fire may be burned to death at any time. Hartman is not sure whether he should parachute now. He needs someone to see the fire in the belly of his aircraft.
Major Dietrich Herabach's voice finally came through the earphones, very urgently: "Hartman, I see you, speed up and leave. There is an enemy plane behind you, about one thousand meters away from you."
"Damn it."
Hartman felt terrible. If time could be turned back, he would rather not have that damn victory. He would not even join the Air Force and sit in this damn cabin.
But now is not the time for regrets.
Hartmann took a deep breath and did a side roll. Sure enough, a Soviet fighter plane flew from behind. It was apparently attracted by his smoking belly and picked it up.
Hartmann quickly retracted his head behind the bulletproof plate, thinking that it was all over now, the enemy was going to fire at me, and he quickly pulled up, hoping to fly into a cloud on the upper right to avoid and throw away the opponent.
At this moment, Hartmann felt for the first time that the Mei style was flying really slowly.
"Don't be afraid, Hartman, I'm flying over to rescue you. The fire in your belly is not big, but you can't fly into the clouds to get rid of your opponent. That will burn you to death. You should dive to increase your speed and get rid of your opponent." , what’s chasing you is an old I-16, he can’t keep up with you.”
The experienced Major Dietrich Herabach knew how to comfort the rookie. He asked Hartmann to dive. Another advantage was that he could make an emergency landing at low altitudes at any time, and Soviet fighter jets did not dare to dive and shoot at low altitudes.
Hartman broke out in a cold sweat again. He was afraid of the mistake he had made just now. He wanted to fly into the clouds to avoid his opponent, which was simply suicide.
The clouds in the early morning are all filled with small water droplets. When gasoline touches the water, it will instantly spread in the clouds, ignite the cabin, and burn him alive in the cabin.
Hartman quickly recovered from the climb, dived on the putt, and then looked back: "Damn, the Russians are still chasing."
Obviously, the Yi-16 is not willing to let go of the fat in his mouth. Although the speed is not as fast as the Mei style, he can chase slowly. The injured enemy aircraft is covered in black smoke and has nowhere to hide.
At this moment, Hartmann saw the MiG whose tail was hit by him falling to the ground, exploding, catching fire, burning, and thick smoke billowing.
A thousand meters above the sky, a white umbrella flower bloomed.
Major Herabach's voice was calm: "Hartman, turn right so that I can get close to you and intercept the I-16."
Upon hearing this, Hartmann immediately turned right and looked back: "Damn it, the Soviets also turned right." He became anxious, increased the throttle to the maximum, dived to a low altitude, and flew towards Mount Elbrus in the west. , far away from the air combat scene, but that damn I-16 is still chasing after me.
During the flight, Hartmann kept changing the flight path and looked back to check on the pursuing Soviet aircraft. Fortunately, the I-16 finally got farther and farther away from him.
After a while, Hartmann heard the voice of Major Herabach, saying that the I-16 plane had left, and the Soviets gave up knowing that they could not catch up.
"God bless!"
Hartmann made the sign of the cross repeatedly to determine his position above the German troops. After the fighter plane flew over the Elbrus Mountains, he readjusted his position and found a soft farmland to land on. As soon as it hit the ground, the soft earth immediately extinguished the fire.
Just a few minutes later, a German military vehicle sped over. A dozen soldiers with live ammunition jumped out of the vehicle and surrounded the aircraft. Then they looked at Erich Hartmann, who was sitting in the farmland and smoking slowly. .
"God!" The leading German second lieutenant put his pistol in his waist, walked up to Hartmann, and reached out to take the cigarette handed over by the pilot. "You are really destined to die, man. Just a few minutes ago, there was a gunman more than ten kilometers away. One of the planes had a big roof, and there was nothing above the pilot's neck."
"I just shot down a Russian." Hartman looked at his own men, relieved, and stretched out his limbs comfortably, "It's a beautiful day."
"But you were shot down by yourself, sir."
The German second lieutenant shrugged his shoulders and said in a joking tone.
Hartman held a cigarette in his mouth, opened his arms and waved in the air, his baby face beaming: "But I'm still alive, and my plane can still be repaired and fly again."
The second lieutenant directed the soldiers to cover the area where the plane was smoking with soil to prevent the smoke from attracting Soviet bombings. Then the soldiers took off the camouflage net from the car and hid the injured Messerschmitt until the battle. After that, people will come to dismantle the fighter plane and transport it away.
Ten minutes later, the military vehicle carried Hardman to the station of JG52 Wing.
The air combat came and went as quickly as it came.
When Hartmann was returned to the base, Major Dietrich Herabach had already led the fleet to land.
When Hartmann made an emergency landing, Major Dietrich Herabach could see clearly, but the fighting was fierce and he was unable to fly at low altitude to see if Hartmann was dead.
Major Herabach judged based on the location of the aircraft's emergency landing that Hartmann had a narrow escape. In that case, most of the aircraft would have been jacked up, and the dirt accumulated during the forward thrust of the aircraft would have killed the pilot's piston in the cabin. .
Seeing that Erich Hartmann had returned safely, he opened his arms and shouted loudly: "Tonight, I will hold a birthday party for Hartmann to congratulate him on his new life."
In the German Air Force, once a pilot survives a crash, the wing will hold a birthday party for him to congratulate him for surviving the disaster.
