Towed by a tractor, the plane came to the take-off line, and with the rumbling roar of the turbines in the tail, the engine was successfully started.

After more than two years of tackling key problems, the life span of 300 hours and the thrust-to-weight ratio reached 3, which was proposed by the Führer Cirek at the beginning, and finally reached.

This is all thanks to the good news that just last month, a new titanium alloy metal has been successfully smelted under the development of a group of material experts, and the temperature resistance has been increased by 50 degrees compared to before.

Fifty degrees does not sound high, and the temperature in the combustion chamber is not more than 1,000 degrees now, which is quite low compared with the temperature of 1,500 degrees or even 1,78 degrees in later generations, but it is already a great progress in this era, and German engineers are also at the world's advanced level in the research of heat-resistant materials.

In this way, the performance of the engine has been greatly improved, and the goal set by the Führer Ciric has finally been achieved.

At the same time, compared with the previous direct use of high-grade aviation gasoline, the current jet engine has begun to use aviation kerosene specially produced by the chemical department, and it is more adaptable to jets than aviation gasoline.

All these changes indicate that Germany's jet technology is gradually maturing, if ME262 is still an infant child, then the current storm bird, can finally stand up and walk, and even trot all the way.

The ground crew carefully observed the color of the tail flame and made sure that both engines were working properly, and Walter released the brakes.

The right hand softly refueled the throttle, the horsepower was turned on, the color of the tail turned orange-red, and the sound of the turbine passed through the sound-isolating earbuds, entered the inside of the ear, buzzing.

Releasing the brakes, the Storm Bird glides quickly down the track, and when the lever is pulled back, it flies with ease.

One, two ...

All of the 24 jets of the entire flight group have taken off, and thanks to the unremitting efforts of the ground crew, their aircraft are in a very good state of maintenance.

The 24 silver-white fighters, under the illumination of the sun, turned into dazzling bright spots, and when they climbed to an altitude of 9,000 meters, they had already accelerated to 900 kilometers per hour, and when they reached an altitude of 14,000 kilometers, the speed had exceeded 1,000 kilometers per hour.

Yes, in other propeller aircraft, when they are trying to break through 700 kilometers per hour, the Storm Bird has already broken through the limit of the maximum speed of 1000 kilometers per hour, setting a new aviation record!

In the past, the Me262 was limited by the shape of the fuselage and the thrust of the engine, and the maximum speed was about 800 kilometers per hour, but now the Storm Bird uses an engine with a thrust-to-weight ratio that is three times that of the previous one, and it is not surprising to obtain such a speed.

This is also the reason why this fighter was immediately deployed to Finland after it was developed.

It is better to call it an interceptor than an advanced fighter, because it has a fairly high speed, and can reach the battlefield in the shortest possible time after discovering the target, and if a large number of bombers come, they will be the first to arrive at the battlefield.

Now, the Mustang fighters that took off from Greenland, which have just left the base for two or three hundred kilometers, are flying within the Arctic Circle, which should belong to the area of absolute safety, and in order to reduce fuel consumption, they are still flying at high altitudes.

They did not know that the United States had deployed long-range radars in the far north of Finland to monitor the situation over the Arctic, nor did they know that the German interceptor fleet was flying faster than they had imagined.

Due to technical limitations, only large aircraft can be equipped with airborne radar, and at the same time, the MiG-15 has a fuselage structure with air intake in the nose, resulting in no space for airborne radar.

This is also a last resort.

In the early days, the nose was intake, but later, in order to free up the nose to install the radar, a new layout of the side air intake and belly air intake was used.

The air intake on both sides will block the air intake on one side when cornering, while the air intake on the abdomen will block it when diving, resulting in insufficient engine thrust and even the risk of surge.

Only the way of air intake in the nose can meet the needs of various maneuvers, and when you are just in contact with the jet, the design of the air intake is just beginning, and the simplest is the easiest to succeed.

The two jets behind him were still roaring, and in Walter's soundproof headphones, the voice of the ground guidance station was heard: "Attention, the target is a hundred kilometers north of you, with an altitude of ten thousand and a speed of six hundred, and it is flying eastward." Please turn fifteen degrees to the right. ”

Now, the target group is due north of them, and if they continue to fly, they will fall behind, turn fifteen degrees to the right, and they will meet the opponent exactly now, and moreover, in the rear hemisphere of the opponent!

"Understood." Walter was on the radio, giving an order to his troops: "Attention, turn fifteen degrees to the right, throw the auxiliary fuel tank, and prepare for battle." ”

Although in terms of thrust-to-weight ratio and life, the data requirements put forward by Ciric have been realized, but in terms of fuel consumption, it is still high, as a fighter, it is impossible to increase the range of the aircraft by increasing the volume of the fuselage and increasing the capacity of the fuel tank, which will lead to a decrease in maneuverability.

Therefore, when performing interception missions, the Storm Bird will carry two auxiliary fuel tanks on both wings.

At the time of takeoff, the fuel of the auxiliary fuel tank is used first, and the two auxiliary fuel tanks, each with a fuel carrying capacity of 600 liters, rushed to the sky above the battlefield, the fuel of the auxiliary fuel tank has just been consumed, and the auxiliary fuel tank is thrown away, reducing the resistance outside, and the battle is more smooth.

Under Walter's wings, two silver-white auxiliary fuel tanks swayed and fell, and the fuselage became lighter and began to turn and accelerate lightly.

24 fighters, forming a large formation, flew in the clear sky.

Every pilot has a pair of sharp eyes, and now, with ground guidance, they can more effectively visually search the airspace where the enemy appears in front of them.

"Discover the target." Before Walter could find it, his wingman, Carl Snow, was already shouting over the radio: "About fifty kilometers, lower right!" ”

At present, the Storm Bird group is at an altitude of about 14,000 meters, and the target is flying at an altitude of 10,000 meters, which is absolutely condescending.

"Attack, two-plane formation, pay attention to cooperation! Don't let one go! Walter shouted.