Early in the morning, before dawn, Colden yawned and walked out of the tent, and stood at the door looking at the quiet camp for a long time before he realized that he was now at the field airfield in Allenstein instead of at the well-equipped Stettin Naval Shore-based Air Base.

If it were in Stettin, everyone would have been woken up by the wake up call, and then they were nervous and ready to go out for the. The camp was still asleep, though Colden knew it was just the calm before the battle.

The Navy's response was not unpleasant, and three hours after the call from the Army General Staff to the Navy General Staff for the secondment of two naval attack aircraft wings, Colden's 7th Torpedo Bomber Wing of the Naval Air Corps flew to Allenstein.

The Army's speed was no less slow, and when Colden and his comrades landed on the ground, they found that the field airfield had prepared a two-man tent for them with marching beds, bedding, and toiletries.

Unlike his base, this humble field airfield, which does not even have fixed barracks and a cement runway, is extremely busy. The ground crews trotted like someone was whipping them from behind to push the returning planes onto the tarmac, inspecting, refueling, and loading everyone to keep everyone busy.

The pilots who got off the plane walked staggeringly, many of them went back to the camp without even eating, and some of the guys from the army who walked into the canteen with their bodies propped up were only buried in eating, and had no desire to communicate with people at all.

From Colonel Funk of the 17th Field Aviation Wing of the Army Air Corps, who briefed the newly arrived naval pilots, it was learned that FFA17 has been conducting high-intensity continuous operations since the Russian invasion, and this full-front counteroffensive, FFA17 has made more than 150 sorties in just one day, and basically every aircraft that can be dispatched has taken off more than 3 times in this day.

If it weren't for the small rotation of the crew members in the wing who had been idle due to mechanical problems and damage in previous battles, Colonel Funk said that if the mission intensity was maintained, FFA17 would have been able to dispatch at squadron size in 48 hours to ensure that FFA17 would not be completely incapacitated, and the colonel's face was full of tiredness.

It is estimated that this is also the reason why the pilots have not been called up to exercise.

When the first rays of morning light shone on the airport, the wake-up call finally sounded, and the originally sleeping camp woke up in an instant. Running out of the tent in a hurry, the Army pilots who rushed into the cafeteria showed the Navy pilots such as Colden what orderly chaos was.

After breakfast, Colden, who had enough time to go to the tarmac and talk to the mechanic who had already been busy for a while, looked at the scene in front of him and muttered in a low voice: "Is this the state of wartime?" ”

The mechanic he had just met on the side laughed when he heard this: "You have to learn to get used to it, everything is different from your original common sense, you see less than one percent now, but soon you will be like them, a little fledgling of the navy." ”

For the name of the little chick, Colden didn't like it a little, but it was not easy to refute, after all, the entire Imperial Navy had not heard of any results until now, because the Russian fleet was even more shrinking in the depths of the Baltic Sea and did not show its head, and his wing was not much different from the peacetime after entering the war, they were all doing routine patrols with bombs in the Baltic Sea, and the pilots of the Army Aviation who had been fighting fiercely on the front line for more than a month were definitely incomparable.

However, the first actual combat of the pilots of the HNA was to support the army, and it was strange for Colden to throw off the title of little chick in the ground attack mission, just like the army pilots.

With this strange mood, Colden walked into the conference room, and his comrades had already arrived.

Colonel Funk, who was still tired, had apparently not slept well last night, and took a sip of the still fragrant black coffee, the smell of which made his brows furrow, but it also made his mind a little clearer.

"We're not in a big room, and I'm going to have to give my boys tasks later." Major Funk put down his coffee and walked over to the tactical board: "So we'll make a long story short. ”

"I'm sure you all know what you're going to do when you're here." Funk picked up the whip and pointed to the map mounted on the tactical board and said: "So why did you come and I won't say nonsense, your mission is to cover the battlefield from the southwest of Lake Masuri to the Sol Dao, and any Russian army in action is your target."

Unlike your HNA mission, we have to attack the target very closely, and the mission area is only 80 kilometers away from here, but don't think it's an easy task. If you want to prevent the Russians from retreating with nearly 200,000 troops in a group army through the mission area, we must ensure that our planes can launch an attack at any time over the area, and you now know the mission intensity of our land aviation, so you must be mentally prepared to be used as a mule in the next 48 hours.

There will be reconnaissance planes in the combat area for air guidance, and I will stay here with Colonel Carl to coordinate with you on the ground, which will also be a little different from your usual mission mode. However, aside from the intensity of the task, you may not be able to bear it, and the other requirements should not be too much of a problem for you.

The bombs prepared for you also have low requirements for bombing accuracy, and the bomb height is required to be more than 500 meters, no matter how you throw it, it will not be too outrageous, I think it should not be too difficult for you. Infantry moving on the ground is no more difficult to deal with than ships sailing on the sea, right?

These bombs were not very effective in attacking the trenches, but they were used against the infantry in the open field, and the Russians saw what hell was. For you, all we have been saving are treasures that we are not willing to use, but don't waste them on me. ”

Although it was not as straightforward as those mechanics who directly called themselves little chicks, there was still some disdain in Colonel Funk's words about the ability of the HNA pilots, and it was probably because he had to take care of the face of Colonel Karl, who was standing next to him. Even so, Colden could see his wing captain frowning, the muscles on his cheeks twitching violently, and he forcibly controlled it so that he didn't put on any ugly face.

"You take a two-plane formation as a group, fly according to the preset route, and find that the formed Russian army will immediately report and launch an attack, and return immediately after the attack is completed, and I will coordinate the standby aircraft in the nearby airspace to fill your flight path, and if the Russian army is large, it will be handled in the same way. Have more questions? ”

"Report, what is the situation with the air power of the Russians?" Someone raised his hand and asked.

"Ha, I forgot." Colonel Funk laughed: "I haven't heard of them having fighters after fighting the Russians for so long. And all the things they can fly into the sky have been beaten down by KEK. ”

"Hmm" Colonel Funk paused and thought for a moment, "I'm tempted to say you don't have to worry at all, but I guess you first-time guys don't really think so." Well, I'll reach out to KEK and ask them to leave a little bit of business aside from wasting bullets on the ground.

But the Russians don't have a good plane, and if they do, my advice is not just to run away while shouting for help, you can try to drop the bombs first, and then use your own plane to knock them down, I think it won't be difficult with the performance of the Bf-3B-1. If you really can't fight, it's never too late to escape, and the Russians' planes won't be able to catch up with you anyway. ”

"If the Russians are large in number and the bombs we drop don't have much effect, do we need to machine gun them in place before the friendly planes that come to reinforce arrive?" Colden asked, holding up his hand.

"No, I don't." Colonel Funk immediately responded: "The power of the bombs prepared for you will definitely give the Russians a taste of what it means to live rather than die." If such an attack has not achieved much effect, then the number of Russians will not be effective with those 3 machine guns on your plane, so it is better to come back and load the bombs and strike again. ”

Colonel Funk's words caused a small commotion in the conference room, and the pilots of the Navy, including Colden, still knew about the great results of the bombing of Baledik by the KG wing directly under the Army General Staff, and at the same time had a little expectation of the results they could achieve in today's sortie.

"No more questions?" Colonel Funk asked, "Colonel Karl, do you have anything to arrange?" ”

"It's nothing." Colonel Carr took a step forward, and his voice rose sharply: "Take out your skills, don't embarrass HNA!" Disband! ”

"Yes!"

This is a matter related to the face of HNA, and everyone's fighting spirit is burning. The HNA pilots who walked out of the conference room walked with a gust of wind, so that the Army Airlines pilots waiting outside the door could not understand what the HNA guys were fighting.

The planes, which had been prepared for a long time, were pushed out of the tarmac by the ground crew, lined up neatly at the end of the runway.

The Bf-3B-1, HNA's twin-engine torpedo attack aircraft is definitely a striking big guy at this ground airfield. The FFA17 used the Bf-1B-3, which was equipped with two 270 hp liquid-cooled engines and had an empty weight of only 1.9 tons, which was the latest modification of the Bf-1, which was not a success at the time, and the Army Airlines was only equipped with a few to eliminate the original Bf-1. Compared to the junior Bf-3B-1 produced by the same factory, it is simply an ugly duck.

With an empty weight of 2.4 tons and a wingspan of 18 meters, the Bf-3B-1 can reach a maximum speed of 175 km/h thanks to two 325 hp Siemens double-decker 18-cylinder star-cooled engines. The maximum ceiling is 4,500 meters, and the transfer range is 950 kilometers.

The maximum bomb load of 750 kg allows it to carry the Navy's 450-mm wet-type thermodynamic aerial torpedo against any large ship at a distance of 2,000 meters. The Bf-3B-1 also had decent self-defense firepower thanks to two 12.7mm heavy machine guns in the nose operated by the navigator-bombardier and a 7.62 light machine gun operated by the radio operator and self-defense machine gunner behind the pilot.

Walking to his landline, looking at the 500KG bomb under the belly, Colden was also a little curious, this one looked obviously different from the thick and short shape of the ordinary bomb, the middle was a long cylindrical shape, and it looked a bit like the iron bump that shortened the naval torpedo was really as powerful as it said.

The mechanic standing on the wing did a final check of the engine, then jumped off, took off his gloves and patted Colden on the back fiercely: "Go up and bring our great gift to the Russians!" ”

At 7 o'clock, as a green flare was fired from the wooden tower, Colden pulled the canopy and slowly pushed the throttle valve, and the roar of the engines began to increase violently, and the entire airport was enveloped in the roar of 128 engines.

Due to the proximity of today's mission, the Bf-3B-1, which had reduced the fuel in the tank and carried only one 500 kg bomb, was very light at this time, and the air flow was fast along the wings, and the lift of the air lifted the fuselage slightly. Colden could feel that his landline was in very good condition, and slowly pulled the joystick, and the body under the lower load reacted immediately, and the plane was already lifted off the ground after just 300 meters of taxiing.

It only took 40 minutes for Colden and his wingman to arrive in the intended airspace.

"This is the 7th Torpedo Bomber Wing of the Naval Air Force, Sea Eagle 03, which is approaching at high speed in order to delay the enemy forces in Area A, and calls friendly units in the nearby airspace."

"This is Swift 14, welcome to you, end."

"This is Sea Eagle 03, received, thank you. Please report the hostile situation, over. ”

"Here is Swift 14, the A-9 area found the Russian troops in action, there is about an infantry regiment, please go immediately, end."

"This is Sea Eagle 03, received, go immediately, end."

"This is Swift 14, good luck, end."

The advancing Russian infantry regiment also knew that it had been spotted by German reconnaissance planes, and immediately began to spread out to both sides of the road to conceal. Having fought the Germans for so long, the Russians also knew that once a German reconnaissance plane appeared overhead, it would not be long before either shells or bombs would fall.

The Russians were helpless about this, and they never thought that the place of war had not only stayed on the ground, but had risen to the sky. The Russian Army does not even have enough field artillery, let alone anti-aircraft guns. And the entire group army can fly into the sky only a dozen reconnaissance planes and a dozen artillery balloons, these things were beaten down by the Germans in less than a week after the start of the war, and the Russians have not yet figured out how to load machine guns on planes.

Therefore, once the Russians spotted the German plane overhead, they knew what to do. The scattered and concealed operations of this infantry regiment can also be called well-trained, scattered on both sides of the road, and some of them skillfully lay into the dirt pits on the side of the road, if it were ordinary bombs, the damage that could be inflicted on such scattered Russians would indeed be very limited. Today, however, the experience of the Russians will not save their lives.

"Already visually touching the target, there are still 20 to reach the engagement distance." The navigator in the nose shouted.

"Sea Eagle 04, this is Sea Eagle 03, find the target, distance 20, reduce the altitude to 600, prepare to drop the bomb, end."

"Sea Eagle 04 received, follow your plane to lower the altitude to 600, prepare to drop the bomb, end."

"Reach the target, drop the bomb!" As the navigator-bombardier pressed the bomb dropper switch, the 500-kilogram bomb left the belly and landed on the ground with a whistling sound. The Sea Eagle 04 followed closely behind and dropped bombs. The plane, which had thrown away its baggage, leaped upwards and then reversed, slicing a semicircle over the Russian's head, and Colden wanted to see if what he had thrown down was as powerful as he had claimed.

The Russians on the ground could only consider themselves unlucky, but they were relieved to see that the Germans only threw down two iron bumps, and the power of the two bombs could not kill a few people, as long as they were not the unlucky guys. Some of the brave ones even twisted their upper bodies and raised their necks to see where the bomb would fall, and if it fell off their heads, they might be able to lie in a different place first.

However, it was all in vain, and the Russians saw two bombs explode in the air, scattering hundreds of small things in the air, covering almost all the sky above the Russians, and then falling overwhelmingly.

In an instant, the Russians were baptized by a rain of steel. Each bomb was loaded with 300 1.3-kilogram bomblets, each of which was as powerful as a 60-mm mortar. A single attack by 2 Bf-3A-1s was equivalent to dropping 600 mortar shells on the Russians' heads, turning both sides of the road into hell.

Unlike being hit directly by heavy shells or bombshells, the situation of the Russians at this time was even more miserable. Large chunks of torn human bodies lay on the ground, and rotten flesh with the outline of a "human" twitched on the ground. The people who were still alive could no longer see their original faces, and lay on the ground and let out a miserable howl.

The Russians, who were far from being affected, rushed over and were stunned when they looked at the ground with minced meat and steaming internal organs. The dead are the lucky ones, and the Russians don't know how to save the wounded who are torn all over their bodies.

In just a few seconds, a battalion of Russians became completely history, and there was less than a squad of survivors. This infantry regiment of the Russians lost 25% of its soldiers under the attack of 25 aircraft!

Colden, who was circling around the heads of the Russians, watched this tragic scene and understood what Colonel Funk meant when he said that life is better than death, and the tragic scene below strongly stimulated the nerves of Colden, who had just stepped onto the battlefield.

"Is this war?" Colden whispered, enduring the twitching of his stomach, and he kind of understood the reason why the mechanic had to get used to it sooner.

There is no need to look any further, several other formations nearby are already moving closer here, the fate of the Russians on the ground is already sealed, Colden adjusted the course and began to return, this is only the first sortie today.

The suffering of the Russians is far from over.