At noon, the sun, which had been hidden for many days, finally appeared, sweeping away the low gray ice fog, and the sky began to clear. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 infoThe December sun shone on the snowfield, and for the Germans in the encirclement, the sun was a glimmer of hope; For the Soviet Air Force, the sun that appeared in the sky was the horn of battle!

All airfields on the Minsk front were mobilized, both fighter and bomber units, constantly sending aircraft to attack - bombing, combat patrols.

Yesterday, the ground crew was busy all night on and off, and all the planes and personnel that were able to attack today were fully prepared, and the availability rate of the planes of the first division reached an astonishing 95 percent! The newly arrived female pilots were assigned to the squadrons as the wingmen of the squadron leaders and matured in battle, while Lilia, as the wingman of the division commander, took off with the first wave of the same squadron to patrol the battlefield.

The radar station did not raise a combat alarm, but both Kobets and Sergei understood that the Germans would not miss this rare good weather, and the airfields would take action as soon as the weather improved, and a fierce battle in the air was inevitable today.

A large group of fighters took off, while a group of other planes and a group directly under the division headquarters were waiting on the tarmac, ready to take off at any time. The responsibility of the 1st Division today is the heaviest, because they are responsible for the daytime air supremacy of the entire encirclement.

Divided into 4 small formations, the aircraft groups dispersed in the air according to their respective patrol routes, and Sergey took directly to the west. At dinner yesterday, all the pilots once again familiarized themselves with the current situation of the enemy's deployment on the ground, and in particular, Sergei and the new female pilot focused on memorizing the positions of their own antiaircraft artillery group and the detected German antiaircraft artillery group, and marked them in detail on the aerial chart.

On the encirclement wall, which was 40 to 70 kilometers wide in three directions, the Red Army deployed a large number of anti-aircraft artillery units in order to prevent the Luftwaffe from providing air support to the encircled troops. Those anti-aircraft artillery can't be deployed in a ring, but are divided into clusters, and if you want to pass through their control airspace, you have to lose your skin if you don't die!

Their own planes will not be able to enter the airspace controlled by the antiaircraft artillery groups marked by their own side unless they have to, especially in a fierce battle -- once they fly at a slightly higher altitude, the comrades of the antiaircraft artillery units below will not be able to see whether they are their own people or not, and it will be uncomfortable to be shelled by their own people!

The cabin is well heated, and the temperature is rising rapidly under the sun, and the outside temperature is about -15 degrees Celsius in the sun. Sergey put on pilot's goggles, so that the sunlight from the south would interfere less with the view. Today all lagers are "lightly armed", except for the auxiliary fuel tanks under the belly, the wings are empty, the standard anti-aircraft combat weapon configuration.

Glancing at the aeronautical chart, "Heading 020, altitude 3000." ”

After adjusting the course, the front line of the army surrounded by ice and snow below is its own front, and then to the west is the German army in the encirclement. Visibility in the air was increasing, and Sergei did not need to pass over the German ground forces, he could see far enough in the sky and decided to adjust the course a little.

The patrol was monotonous, only the repetitive and endless engine noise filled the cockpit - the new engine was quite competitive, and today Sergei was not "fired" and ran smoothly.

At this time, a voice suddenly came from the earphones: "I am Big Eye No. 3, attention of all air defense forces, attention of all air defense forces, a group of German aircraft appeared in the sky 50 kilometers west of Stolbuch, the number is unknown, the altitude is 4500, the speed is 280, and the course is due west." ”

Ground-based radar stations kept repeating reports, and the news instantly spread to all air defense units, and today the second echelon of airfields was waiting in the cockpit of fighters. After receiving a radar report, the airfield again gave the order to take off.

There is no need to look at the air chart, Sergei already has a countermeasure in his mind: "I am Sergei, and each detachment intercepts the German aircraft group according to their own nearest routes." ”

The other 3 formations were within a few tens of kilometers and immediately accelerated in the direction of Stolbuch.

The crisp sound of short bursts of machine guns and machine guns sounded in the air, and the planes test-fired. Five minutes later, an 85-mm anti-aircraft gun position to the west of Stolbutch began to fire heavily into the air to the west, and clouds of black-brown smoke appeared in the air - a formation of German supply planes!

The Sergei formation climbed to an altitude of 5500 meters, and the pilots began to supply oxygen. Two small squadron fighters appeared in the distance on both sides, and the nearest detachment began to approach their division commander.

When the formation reached the sky northeast of Stolbutch, Sergei saw a group of German aircraft appearing in the distance.

There were constant reports from the headset that the fighters of various airports were assembling in the airspace, and Sergei exhaled: "Meaningless, just about 10 Junkers, up to 15 109." One squadron attacks the transport planes, and the two, three, four squadrons take out their fighters and attack at will! ”

The German aircraft group on the opposite side apparently also saw the Soviet planes, and the Red Army anti-aircraft artillery just now did not cause them much trouble because of their numbers, only a few Junkers fuselages were hit by a few shrapnel. The escorted fighters broke away from the Junkers formation and accelerated to meet the opponent.

Sergei still had the leisure to joke with his wingman: "Sayuri, keep up and don't fall behind." ”

At this time, Lilia was not as excited as she took off just now, but calmed down: "Yes, division commander." ”

Sergei didn't have his own air code name, because he didn't need it - he was the only one in the sky who could call Sergei! The "division commander" will reveal his identity, but he doesn't care, but he is afraid that the Germans will run away when they see him.

The fighters on both sides approached at high speed, and five kilometers away, the Germans had already seen whose troops they were facing - "Red Devils!" Attention, there's the Red Devil ahead! ”

The German pilots told each other in the intercom that it was not to run away, they were not so useless, but to remind each other: guys, take it easy!

Sergey didn't want to shoot head-on with the Germans yet, turning at a small angle, it seemed that it was just a blink of an eye, and the planes on both sides were intertwined! Swinging the joystick to the left and matching with both feet, the lager cut to the side of the two Messersmit 109s in a graceful arc.

109 tried to get rid of the Red Devil's tail bite, but Sergey was not so easy to get rid of! Hold on! At 200 meters, the index finger and thumb were pressed at the same time, and the machine gun and machine gun roared together! The tracer bullet left a clear trajectory, and Sergey seemed to see the shell eat the tail of the 109 in front of him in one square!

Like a drunk, 109 tumbled and fell.

Kicking his pedals out of the way, the No. 44 plane, which was behind him protecting the tail of the long plane, seized the fleeting opportunity, and Lilia turned to the right, and the second 109 entered its aiming ring.

Press the shooting button hard, and the whole rager is trembling slightly! Dense shells flew straight to the target 250 meters away!

The 23mm high-explosive bomb blew a hole bigger than a fist through the 109's body, and the 12.7mm armor-piercing blaster tore through its structure - just one second, the 109 exploded in the air!

Because of this second of shooting, Lilia couldn't keep up with the rhythm of the long plane, and made an arc turn with the pedal and joystick, and a kilometer away was the Junkers group, and she could already see the fiery red long plane rushing over there.

Lilia was excited as a fascist fighter exploded in front of her eyes! That moment was an indescribable taste! But she didn't realize that the shot would make her name forever! - She will already be the first female pilot in the world to shoot down an enemy plane!

The world will know Lilia Litwiak's name!

The tracer bullets in the air were all over the place, there were traces of black and gray everywhere, and about 20 fighter jets were still entangled, and just now Juncker had begun to lower the altitude, and the lead plane had begun to carry out airdrops.

The fighters seemed to be evenly matched, and the first squadron was also entangled in 109, and Sergei, who was closest to the side of the transport plane, decisively decided to attack the transport plane immediately, and killing those Junkers was the first priority. The fighters were either fighting higher and lower or lower, and it would take Sergei at least five minutes to help, and then Juncker would have turned around - the lad would be able to entangle those 109s.

The distance was getting closer and closer, and the speed difference of 200 kilometers had to make Sergey reduce the throttle and reduce the speed, quickly approaching the side and rear position, and at a distance where Junkers' characteristic corrugated skin could be clearly seen, Sergey pressed the launch button again!

The shells were like a hole drill, a three-barreled salvo, and for a time black smoke came out of the nose of the Junkers that he was on, and the entire front half of the fuselage was blown to pieces! Kick the pedals, turn left at high speed, 5 Gs, and the whole person is pressed against the bulletproof backrest of the seat!

Manipulate the joystick to level it out, and a Junkers will appear 100 meters away! Without hesitation, again fired fiercely, and the target's left-wing engine was torn off! Juncker immediately leaned to the left and lost his balance, and was hopeless.

Suddenly, the cannon was dumb and stuck!

Pull the discharge handle, it's useless!

"Lilia, I'll cover, you attack, my cannon is jammed!"

Sergei had already seen the wingman catch up from the flank at high speed, and with a turn of the joystick, the S-shape rolled around behind the wingman.

Juncker, who had lost an engine, no longer needed to waste ammunition, and Sergei circled around Lilia 200 meters to protect its tail.

In the next few tens of seconds, Sergei saw the ferocity of Lilia's Sayuri - one Junker was knocked off by her entire right wing, and after a large angle turn, Sayuri blasted the second Junker into a broken jar!

When they saw the Red Devil rushing towards the group of transport planes at high speed, the captains of the German transport planes felt their hairs stand upside down! More than a dozen planes scattered and separated, and before they even had time to drop all the supplies, they turned around and ran.

Everyone in the German pilots knew that the Red Devil was a madman, and the escort plane was entangled, and then it was impossible to reimburse all the money if it flew westward! The Red Devil will bite and hold on, and these transport planes will only be a feast for the devil without the protection of fighter jets!

Anyway, they were not the only group, and the captains chose to retreat.

"Sayuri, well done!" Sergey shouted at his wingman.

"Divisional commander, there seems to be a problem with my engine."

Looking left and right, the Junkers are fleeing, and in the distance their own reinforcement fighter formation is approaching at high speed, "Let's return, heading 170, maintain altitude." ”

"I'm Sergey, boys, give me a hard beating!"

He had ordered a free attack before the attack, and the other planes didn't need him to care, which would have to escort Lilia back to the airport safely, and his own damn cannon would have to go back and troubleshoot it.

What broke out today was not a group-type air battle, the Luftwaffe chose multi-directional, multi-angle, and airlift penetration measures at different heights in an attempt to disrupt the Soviet Air Force's air defense system. It can be said that it is wise to adopt such an approach in the Minsk direction: a single fighter division can gather hundreds of high-performance fighters, and if the old method is still used, it is very likely to be intercepted by a large group of fighters, and the losses suffered in a day may reach a level that the Luftwaffe can not bear.

Separated, looking at this airspace seems not large, but the sortie of Soviet fighters has become relatively passive, even if there is radar, not to mention that some formations are low-altitude penetration, and radar cannot detect it. Coupled with airfield preparation, aircraft endurance, time required for another sortie, and preparation procedures, the breakthrough of German aircraft through the blockade of the Soviet Air Force became more realistic.

And when the weather clears, the night will also be the time for the German transport aircraft formation to replenish in the air, and the Red Army obviously has a limited number of night fighters, and it is impossible to inflict a nerve-wracking blow on the German night fleet.

This time it was not only a battle of courage, but also a battle of wits -- a large group of aircraft attacked in a single force, which did not correspond to the actual situation faced by the Germans on the Moscow front.

Lilia's No. 44 engine doesn't work properly, and it turns and stops. Sergei, who received the report, told her to maintain altitude and breathe a little when the plane entered the airspace under his control.

Twenty minutes later, the plane arrived over a mass of airfields, and at this time the engine of the No. 44 engine stopped!

"Lilia, how's it going?"

"No problem, you can land." The voice of the reply was calm, and the plane completed the course correction without power, and glided silently towards the frozen airport.

Sergei had been watching from the air, and saw the wingman smoothly land and slow down before landing. As soon as the plane came to a standstill, the mechanics were already running to the edge of No. 44.

"Are there any injuries?"

"No, there seems to be a problem with the engine oil circuit, and the engine is stalled." Opening the canopy, Lilia said to the inquiring mechanic.

(May Day does not rest, ask for a monthly pass, double in 7 days, book friends, don't wait until the second half of the month, hehe.) (To be continued.) )