On the morning of May 22, 1933 GMT, Terceira, Azores. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ

"Up! Rise! Rise! Good! Now 50 cm to the right, stop, down! Put! Put! Good! ”

In a requisitioned German farm in the north of the island, a German non-commissioned officer directs his soldiers to lift the steel poles, which are taller than ordinary telephone poles, with truck-mounted cranes, placing them on pre-prepared pedestals, fixing them with iron frames and bolts, and then lifting a set of reticulated antennas and bolting them to the middle and upper parts of the poles.

Under the eaves of the farmhouse, several German officers in summer short-sleeved military uniforms raised their heads and silently stared at the strange-looking, large-bodied man-made object in front of them. Beside the farmhouse was a grass-green painted car, which did not look like a truck, and the passenger car did not look like a passenger car, and through the open windows the compartment was almost crowded with all kinds of machines and lines, except for the narrow aisles and a few seats.

When the antenna was set, an Irish captain in a boat-shaped hat got out of the car, walked straight up to the German officers, and said in fluent German: "Well, gentlemen, thank you very much for your help, our 'big bat' is already working." ”

The German officer at the head looked very young, and the epaulettes indicated that he was already a major. I saw him nod politely: "Can we go up and have a visit?" ”

The Irish captain smiled and made a gesture of please: "Of course! ”

The officers left the shady place under the eaves. At this time, the sun is in the sky, and people's exposed skin is quickly scorched, and the air seems to be stagnant, with only the occasional cool breeze blowing.

It's not often that the weather is so hot on this island in the middle of the Atlantic.

As soon as he got into the car, the German major frowned at the hot breath on his face, and he poked his head out of the open window and called out in an urn voice: "Steinhardt! Steinhardt! ”

The German non-commissioned officer who had commanded the soldiers to erect poles before heard the sound and ran upright: "What do you command, sir?" ”

The major said quickly: "First, immediately equip this car with camouflage nets, and it should be double-shaded; Second, inform the quartermaster to send a generator and ten electric fans here. ”

The non-commissioned officer puffed up his chest: "Obey!" ”

After speaking, the German major cast an indifferent glance at the Irish captain, and the expression seemed to say: Hey, brother, I'm covered here, don't worry about anything!

The Irish captain nodded to the other without humility or arrogance, and continued to stand by the door of the car to see the German officers board the car.

Ireland's electronic technology originated from Germany, and the German standard is still used, and the reason why it was able to independently develop first-class radar detection equipment is indispensable to the will of the top management. You must know that the Irish government has invested heavily in supporting talent training and technology research and development for many years, and has purchased patented technologies from French and American engineers several times for its own use.

Not everyone has a pair of discerning eyes in terms of technology, and the German major looked east and west in the car, and soon got out of the car with great interest, shrugged his shoulders at his Irish colleague, and said: "I really didn't expect the weather to be so hot today, it looks like there is going to be a heavy rain, and when it rains, it will be much cooler." ”

The Irish captain smiled: "It's indeed much hotter than Ireland." ”

The German major took out his handkerchief and said while wiping his sweat: "I heard that your electronic detection system can detect aircraft 300 kilometers away?" ”

The Irish officer replied tactfully: "That is the ideal state, and the actual effect has a lot to do with the weather." ”

"I mean, if you can monitor aircraft within 300 kilometers at all times, you know how you can let them successfully bomb Limerick if they fly together?" After saying this, the German major felt that it was inappropriate, so he lowered his posture and said: "I have no intention of belittling my allies. In fact, our detection equipment is only effective against targets within 100 km, and false alarms often occur in rainy and cloudy weather, so we feel that the effective detection range of 300 km is unthinkable. If we really have such equipment, we will be able to firmly seize the initiative on the battlefield today. ”

The Irish captain pouted: "In the process of repeated tests, there are indeed many times that the aircraft has been detected 300 kilometers away, and the display position of the detection is consistent with the pilot's real-time report. ”

The German major, apparently not paying attention to the explanation, digressed from the conversation about life on the island of Texel, and some of his officers, like him, had little interest in the equipment of the Irish, but others ignored the heat of the car, and looked at it curiously and asked questions. As people got out of the car chatted and waited in the shade, the German soldiers quickly covered the vehicle with radar equipment with a camouflage net. After a long time, the Irish non-commissioned officer in the car suddenly appeared at the door of the car with an uneasy face: "Captain! I thought you'd better check it out! ”

Without hesitation, the Irish captain left the German officers in the car.

"Something is wrong with the machine?"

The non-commissioned officer in the car shook his head: "The equipment is working fine, but we just found out about a strange situation...... Detection signals indicate a large group of aircraft coming from the north at a distance of 280 kilometres and an altitude of 1,000 metres. ”

"It could be a cumulonimbus cloud." The Irish captain said as he walked over to the device with the phosphor screen. The Irish soldier in charge of operating the radar was already sweating from the already hot weather, and the heat emitted by the machines in the car was already sweating, but he was still staring at the screen meticulously, occasionally adjusting a few control knobs on the equipment.

"But sir, this reaction is completely different from cumulonimbus clouds, and I'm afraid it's really an airplane."

"Let me see......" After staring at the screen for about half a minute, the Irish captain turned his head and asked the two German officers who remained in the car, "Do you have any air force exercises or other military operations today?" ”

One of them replied: "Every day there are planes patrolling the perimeter, but as a rule, there are no more than two in a group. ”

The Irish captain frowned: "We have detected dozens of planes flying from the north!" ”

The two German officers in the car invariably showed unbelievable expressions.

The Irish captain hurriedly squeezed past them, and got out of the car straight to the German major: "Major, we have detected a large group of planes flying from the north, and now it is less than 300 kilometers away from here!" ”

"What?" The German major's eyes widened, based on the previous conversation, he was skeptical, but seeing that the other party was so serious, and now that it was a time of war, he still looked at the matter very carefully.

"Steinhardt!" The German major called, "Is the telephone line working?" ”

The non-commissioned officer just now quickly appeared: "Yes, sir, keep it open at all times. ”

"Give me the No. 3 air defense alert station! Instantly! ”

In order to protect the radar station, the Germans deployed anti-aircraft artillery and anti-aircraft machine guns around the farm, built defensive bunkers according to field standards, and covered them with camouflage nets, in which field telephones were placed. The German major followed the non-commissioned officer to the bunker, and the German officers who remained by the car craned their necks one by one, their expressions growing anxious as time passed. After about four or five minutes, the major walked back with a solemn expression, stretched out his hand and said to the Irish captain: "Our air defense guard station is working normally, and nothing abnormal has been found at present. ”

"That's because you have ...... detection range."

The Irish captain was about to defend when the German major interrupted him: "Although I have no way of judging whether your detection results are reliable or not, but these are extraordinary times, and we must not risk the safety of the Azores, so I made a report to the headquarters, and they will send reconnaissance planes to the north to patrol, and the air defense guard station is also monitoring that direction at all times." Once the enemy situation is confirmed, we will issue a combat alert as quickly as possible. ”

The Irish had just arrived, and the equipment had just begun to operate, and they were not completely sure of this anomaly discovery, so everyone had to wait quietly, chatting less and smoking more, and just like that, after about a cup of coffee, there was a sudden whimpering air raid siren in the distance.

The German major's face changed suddenly.

The non-commissioned officer he left on the side of the bunker rushed to the ground and hurriedly reported: "I have received a report from the No. 3 guard station that a large group of planes has been found a hundred kilometers to the north, and the number may be as many as 200, and they have reported to the headquarters. ”

"Damn it!" The German major, with his eyes wide and his fists clenched, showed a deep sense of shock, and he did not say anything more to the Irishman, but shouted for his officers to return to their station.

The air raid sirens were the battle cry, and at the military airfield east of Terceira, the pilots on duty rushed to board, and while most people were still wondering what was going on, two squadrons of fighters had scrambled into the air from here, while more pilots were rushing from the barracks to the hangar. The fighters of the non-combat duty units were parked in the hangars, and the ground crews carried out speed races as they did in daily exercises, filling up the fighters of their subordinate units with fuel and ammunition in the shortest possible time.

When the fighters on duty had assembled in the air and swept over the airfield in a neat tactical formation, the antiaircraft artillery positions were already busy boiling the pot, and quite a number of gunners went into battle bare-chested, unloading their gun jackets, turning wheel handles, and carrying ammunition so that they could make full combat preparations before the arrival of the enemy planes.

For reasons of all accounts, Germany only symbolically invited Allied troops to the Azores—an Irish naval detachment for maritime patrols, an Italian infantry battalion to maintain law and order south of Terceira, an Austrian artillery battalion to assist in air defense at the Angra Heroísmo air base, and a number of Ottoman and Spanish soldiers to defend the island of San Miguel.

That is, the German army was the absolute main force in the defense of the Azores.

The sound of whimpering anti-aircraft sirens echoed over the airfield and harbor for a long time, and Colonel Manfred von Richthofen, commander of the 33rd Fighter Wing of the German Royal Air Force, was anxiously waiting in the hangar for his subordinates to come and gather. Because of age and opportunity, this German soldier who was born in a Prussian aristocratic family and inherited the title of baron did not make a name for himself in the last war, but won the appreciation of his superiors with his excellent flying skills and self-disciplined character, and gradually advanced from an ordinary pilot to a squadron leader, group leader, and wing commander.

Unlike the highly decorated veteran flying wings, the 33rd Fighter Wing was established at the end of the last war, with only 14 shot down records in the merit book, ranking fifth from the bottom among all the Luftwaffe fighter wings, and you must know that the top ten ace fighter pilots have a single record of more than 19 aircraft.

Despite its humble history, the 33rd Fighter Wing has attracted many young pilots since its posting to the Azores due to its high overseas service allowances and ideally romantic conditions, most of whom remain among the elite of their peers. The extraordinary strategic value of the Azores has always been highly valued by the German leadership, so the German troops stationed here enjoy the same material support as the Guards troops. As early as the beginning of 1933, the 33rd Fighter Wing was fully equipped with a new generation of Fokker G-51 main fighters, and the replaced Fokker-XI was not shipped back to China, but was mothballed in the combat hangar. In other words, the five German air wings stationed in the Azores had the same number of strategic reserves as the fighters in service, in addition to the standing reserves. If the situation warrants, they can be refueled and ammunition can be refueled at any time and take to the air. Of course, this was only possible if there were pilots - the German garrison in the Azores did not have a similar strategic reserve in terms of personnel.

(End of chapter)