On the evening of August 25, 1943, the conference room of the headquarters of the Eighth Air Force was brightly lit, and an analysis of the day's combat situation was underway.

"According to preliminary statistics, the fighter unit made a total of 3,435 sorties today, of which the P-51 and P-38 made an average of two sorties, and the P-47 made an average of four sorties, and a total of 133 large and small air battles took place. Our side was shot down in air battles with a total of 23 P-51s, 16 P-38s and 8 P-47s, for a total of 47. In addition, the aircraft were seriously damaged as follows: 12 P-51s were seriously damaged, the pilot was seriously injured 1 person, and 5 people were slightly injured; 20 P-38s were seriously damaged, 8 pilots were slightly injured, and 26 P-47s were damaged, 3 pilots were slightly injured. A total of 58 aircraft were damaged. There were permanent losses of 47 pilots and temporary losses of 17 pilots. According to our incomplete statistics, our results are as follows: Our side shot down a total of 190 enemy planes, including 136 of the BF-109 series and 54 of the FW-190 series, and damaged 315 enemy planes, including 170 of the BF-109 series, 140 of the FW-190 series, and 5 unidentified jet fighters. ”

A staff officer briefs the participants on the day's results.

"The bomber unit flew a total of 2,115 sorties, dropped 4,205 tons of bombs, and bombed 10 enemy airfields and two bearing factories. In the battle, 22 bombers were shot down, of which 16 were lost to enemy anti-aircraft fire, and 5 were lost to enemy fighters. One was lost due to mechanical failure. A total of 43 of our bombers were damaged, of which 16 were seriously damaged beyond repair. In air battles, our bomber units shot down 3 enemy planes and damaged 12 enemy planes. ”

On the first day of engagement alone, the U.S. Army Air Corps' Eighth Air Force lost (permanent losses plus temporary losses) 105 fighters and 64 fighter pilots. The bomber unit also lost 65 aircraft and lost 306 crew members. Looking at the losses alone, the losses of this day are not insignificant. But in this day's air battle, the losses of the Germans were even greater. Everyone present at the meeting knew that if such losses continued, it would not be long before the Germans would not be able to hold on. Therefore, when the staff officer reported the results of the whole battle, the whole venue was jubilant.

"Okay, don't be busy celebrating, the war isn't over yet." General Doolittle also smiled, "So, we still have to think about how to fight the battle in the future." Ron, you made this plan, you come and talk about your opinion. ”

"Yes, sir." Ron stood up, "Guys, let's imagine that we are German, what can we do?" ”

The following is a lot of discussion.

Ron smiled and continued; "If it were me, what I would think about most would definitely be whether I could not come out and fight, hide the plane, hide the pilot, and the factory will blow up and take care of my birds. But Hitler certainly wouldn't agree. If I dare to do this, he will surely arrest me and hang me. So, I had only two options: one was to take off as soon as I saw a fighter, as I did today - of course, the result would not make much difference; Another way is to see the bomber and then take off, which is tantamount to giving up the altitude advantage to our fighters. But if I had to choose the same, I would choose the latter. I don't think it's optimistic, but it's not completely impossible to fight. It's a pity that I still don't have enough fighters in my hands, or I can do a magic trick for them. ”

"The plane will be there, don't worry, it will be in a few days."

"Actually, we don't have anything to discuss in our fighter unit. Let's discuss which targets the bomber unit will attack tomorrow. I guess there won't be any oil or water at the airport tomorrow. ”

"I think it's a priority to hit jet manufacturers......"

"I think it's better to give priority to ......"

……

Like the US military, the Luftwaffe was also in session. And the people who participated in the conference had a much higher military rank than the Americans. The meeting was chaired by Field Marshal Speiler of the Luftwaffe Division.

Air Force Commander Goering has devoted more energy to political activities in the past two years, and has much less time directly managing the affairs of the Air Force. More often than not, the Air Force is all about Kesselring, Shipeller, Richthofen in operation. Today's air battles take place on the Western Front, which is within the scope of Speiler's competence. Today's battle report shocked Marshal Sperler.

Here's what the Germans told:

The results reported by the units were that a total of 138 enemy planes were shot down in air combat, including 96 fighters and 42 bombers. The Germans themselves were shot down 296 (some of the injured planes did not make it to the airfield and are therefore recorded as shot down in German statistics), and another 203 aircraft were damaged to varying degrees in air combat. In addition, in the subsequent bombing, more than 80 fighters were damaged to varying degrees, most of which were completely lost.

Obviously, such a ratio of battle losses is unacceptable. If this situation continues, it will not take two weeks for the Luftwaffe to completely collapse. This is absolutely intolerable!

"The enemy used new tactics in this operation. They took advantage of the range advantage of their fighters and sent fighter units in advance to control the airspace that the bombers were about to pass through. If our fighters take to the skies as they do today, they will take advantage of their speed and drag us around until we run out of fuel, and then they will pursue them. At the same time they will send bomber groups at this time. And our fighters are making an emergency landing due to lack of fuel, not to mention intercepting them, and they are even likely to be bombed by them when landing. ”

"So, how about we not take off and wait until the bombers appear?"

"That doesn't work, then our fighters will have to climb with the shells of enemy aircraft with altitude superiority. Moreover, in the process, we could not fight back with all our might, because that would interfere with the climb and prevent us from climbing to a sufficient height before the arrival of enemy bombers. In an air battle, the enemy is in a disadvantageous position, they can dive and flee, but we cannot chase because it will also interfere with the climb...... Nima's, can such a battle be fought? ”

"So how about we divide the planes into two batches?"

"It's useless! We have twice as many fighters. Divided into two batches, it means that every time you go out, you will let the family fight more and less. Besides, the high-altitude performance of other people's aircraft is obviously better, and if you do it like this, the result will not be good! ”

"Okay, don't complain, let's talk about what kind of conditions can be obtained if you can save the situation." Field Marshal Speller spoke.

"Unless we are greatly strengthened, we must have more than twice as many fighters as the other side!"

"In the long run, we need a fighter with good performance at high altitudes with a long range."

"None of this is a problem that can be solved in the short term. The question now is, what are we going to do if the Americans continue to do this tomorrow? ”

"Marshal, then you can only choose between today's practice and forcibly climbing in the face of enemy fighter fire." An officer shook his head helplessly.

"Actually, the best thing to do is to stay out of the fight. Wait until we've got enough new planes to fight back. Another officer timidly offered his opinion.

"Allowing the enemy to bomb? How is this possible? If you do this, the factory will be affected, and new aircraft will not be produced! An officer immediately stood up and retorted.

"Neither the Führer nor the Commander will allow it." Others are shaking their heads.

"Don't ramble," Marshal Sperler was a little annoyed, "the important thing is that we determine what to do tomorrow!" Will it take off early or climb in the air against a hail of bullets? ”

……

After a period of controversy, everyone basically unified their attitude. That is, if you must face it, then choose to climb against the rain of bullets. In addition, it was proposed that to perform such a task, they needed a very strong, sturdy fighter like the IL-2.

Field Marshal Sperler actually knew that this was the only option at the moment. In any case, it is better to stare at the rain of bullets and climb than to land behind the ass with a large number of enemy planes with a predominance in energy. (I can't climb up, but I can still run.) ）

Speeler asked the staff officers to sort out the minutes of the meeting, and then planned to make a phone call to Goering and ask again for more troops from the commander of the Air Force, the Reich Marshal, the second man of the Reich. But Shipper knows that this is often unattainable.

……

The nights in August were extremely short, and dawn came unusually early. The breeze is blowing gently, and the ancient continent of Europe is sleeping peacefully in the calm of the dawn. It's a rare tranquility. At dawn, thousands of U.S. Army planes of all kinds stirred up Europe like boiling water, and at night, RAF bombers continued to bring noise and death. It is only at dawn that there can be such silence.

But everyone knows that the silence is only temporary. As the sun rose the next day, the massive war machine roared again.

In fact, even before the sun had risen, the airfields of the Eighth Air Force were already busy. Yesterday, from the factories in the UK, an oversized batch of fuel tanks was urgently produced, and they were to be hung under the belly of the P-47. In this way, the short-legged P-47 could also fly all the way to western Germany. This also means that the number of fighters in Ron's hands that can be used in battle has risen again.

And across the strait, the Germans were also silently preparing. They spent the night attaching thicker armor to the Ju-88, BF-110 and FW-190, and tomorrow was going to be an extremely long and difficult day. Almost all of them are praying to God. Even Hitler was no exception. Some researchers told him that they had learned the exact location of the Holy Grail. Hitler believed that the Holy Grail would bring him the final victory.