In the early morning of June 4th, the sky was just hazy, and there was still a moment before the sun rose, Tobinka Airport. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 infoThe comrades of the workers who arrived from the small town of Tobinka have just finished a whole night of emergency repair work, the craters on the runway have been filled and compacted, and the ones on the tarmac have no time to deal with. The comrades on the ground were also busy almost all night, and now everyone is in a strong spirit.

The pilots emerged from their makeshift tents and appeared in front of Pokryshkin with a tired face - yesterday they were put to the real test! Most of the buildings at the airport have been bombed into ruins, and the most "lovely" canteens and dormitories in the early morning have been reduced to a pile of burning wood in the bombing by the Germans, but fortunately the semi-underground ammunition and oil depots are still there, otherwise Pokryshkin and his men would have had to change the airport.

Yesterday the fighters of the Tobinka airfield took part in the air "strangulation battle" coordinated by the 109 regiment, and several times a day, the planes were not destroyed on the tarmac, but they also lost almost half of their men. Moreover, the German dive bombers nevertheless took advantage of the gap in the air battle to attack the airfield, which caused Tobinka heavy losses.

"What will happen today?"

Pokryshkin had shot down 7 German planes so far, but he was not at all happy - many good lads were bloodied, and even veterans like Lieutenant Mironov were shot down, and they were lucky enough to make a successful forced landing. Doctors said he would have to stay in the hospital for several weeks before he could return to the army: he was lucky with two broken ribs.

Speaking of luck, Pokryshkin is still very sure - luck has always been with him, and he was unscathed in the fierce air battle, so he doesn't know if he will be the same luck today.

But it was not without good news, the Brest side withstood the attack of the Germans, cooperated with the right-wing army group to drive the Germans back to the west of the Bug River, and completely annihilated a German armored division, and even captured the fascist flag!

While having breakfast in the makeshift open-air dining room, the pilots talked about the "latest news" they heard on the radio and from local comrades.

"North of Brest we lost more than 20,000 men yesterday, a full 20,000!" Lieutenant Pankratov, who has always been well-informed, "But we still defeated the Germans!" Just now the comrades in Tobinka said that they had someone to help transport the wounded, and there were dead bodies and tanks of the German SS everywhere, and they were all reimbursed. ”

"The 3rd Mechanized Corps has been awarded the title of Guards, but it has also lost more than half of it, so it would be nice if we could also be promoted to the Guards." Young Sasha said something from the side.

Pokryshkin interrupted this somewhat dangerous topic: "It's better to think about when you will become a Hero of the Soviet Union!" ”

As soon as the subordinates heard the words of the deputy captain, they all knew that it was a little dangerous, and Pankratov changed the subject: "I heard that shooting down twenty German planes will be awarded the title of "Hero of the Soviet Union", Pokryshkin, you will be in a week, and the regimental headquarters should send a report commending you, right?" ”

Last night the regiment called to count the situation here, and Panfilov reported the results of Pokryshkin's battle, estimating that he could win a "Red Banner Medal" for the deputy captain.

"I think you're going crazy about medals, and you're going crazy to defeat the Germans."

The mood of the pilots is heavy, many friends and comrades-in-arms around them will not come back today, if today's breakfast is still eaten in that canteen that no longer exists, it is estimated that everyone will not talk about it like this. But what can you do without saying something easy? Indulge in the sadness that affects the battle, and the lads know how to adjust their mentality.

After breakfast, the pilots walked to their respective planes after cleaning up, and Pokryshkin saw that the mechanic Vakhnenko was busy in the cockpit of his MiG, the roar of the engines around him was tearing the air, and the mechanic was conducting a test firing, and the tracer bullet cut through the newly awakened sky, knocking a target paper a hundred meters away into holes. Vakhnenko saw him coming over and jumped out of the cabin in a very chic manner: "Deputy Group Leader, the plane is ready, and the jammed machine gun has been troubleshooting." ”

In peacetime, it is forbidden for such a hasty weapon test-firing mechanic to jump out of the cockpit, but now that it is war, the regulations need to be changed in due course - where will the right hangar target be found?

Yesterday, after the pilots had gone to rest, the mechanics remained busy, and today the mechanics got up much earlier than the pilots.

In fact, few people slept well yesterday, everyone had friends who died, and the ground crew also sacrificed a few in the bombing. These people are the hardest, people will only remember the heroes of the air, and how many mechanics can remember these mechanics who silently supported the pilots? Without a mechanic, a pilot is nothing.

Seeing Vakhnenko glancing at the cover of the plane spread under the wings, he said: "Comrade Deputy Captain, you can take a little more nap." ”

Pokryshkin's eyes would still be bloodshot, and neither would the mechanic. Shaking his head: "You lie down, I've slept enough, go see how the others are doing." ”

"Comrade Deputy Captain", these words made Pokryshkin think of his responsibility: Deputy Captain, he is responsible to everyone in the brigade, and not blindly pursue only his own results.

As soon as Vakhnenko saw that the deputy captain did not want to sleep, he got into the mask himself, he was really tired.

The roar of the engines on the airfield was mixed with the crisp bursts of machine gun fire, and Pokryshkin really admired the mechanics, and the environment was still sleepy.

The officer on duty came to report that the regimental headquarters had asked Tobinka to send two planes to ascertain the movements of the German troops west of the Bug River -- since yesterday's great battle on the east bank, the Germans seemed to have stopped moving in this area: not a single shell had flown since yesterday afternoon's nightfall, and the assault on the Brest fortress had stopped, and it was not known what the Germans had planned.

The regimental headquarters asked Pokryshkin and Lieutenant Semyonov of the 1st Squadron to carry out the mission, and this let him know that there must be some other plan from above: Pokryshkin already had two regular wingman pilots, Giachenko and Dovbunia, who was an experienced pilot, had fought two battles with enemy planes yesterday, and even the German devils issued him a certificate. ”

Lieutenant Semenov had a reddish, oval-shaped scratch on his chin, as if he had been burned by a scorching iron bar: it was a memento of a bullet scratch. The lieutenant also shot down two German fighters yesterday, but the most important thing was that he was rigorously trained in aviation target designation.

Sure enough, the order from the regimental headquarters also included an order for them to adjust the communication frequency to the general frequency band of the army - if the Germans were mobilizing on a large scale, the long-range artillery would give them a hard blow!

The morning sun shrouded the vast grassland, and two MiG fighters flew over the plain, turning to level flight when the planes climbed to an altitude of 1,500 meters. This time it was a reconnaissance mission, and this flight altitude was the most advantageous: it was convenient for observation, for air combat, and for evading enemy anti-aircraft fire.

When approaching the Bug River, the enemy's anti-aircraft guns on the other side of the river opened heavy fire on the two MiGs, and a few clouds were scattered in the air, and although the planes were flying over the eastern bank of the river, it was still possible to see the situation on the other side of the river: no German troops were found that seemed to be preparing to cross the river and attack again.

"Semenov, let's go up and have a look."

"Yes, Deputy Captain."

The two MiG-1s began to climb in large circles at high speed, and Pokryshkin liked this feeling - the vertical performance of the MiG-1 was the best among Soviet aircraft, and it took a while to climb to a high altitude, and yesterday he relied on this to get rid of the entanglement of four Messesmit.

At the height of 4,000 meters, you can see farther away, and those small-caliber anti-aircraft guns of the Germans are no longer of much use to themselves. The plane turned due north, and Pokryshkin and Semenov's heads spun back and forth like a drum, for fear of missing the target that should have been discovered. However, apart from a small number of German infantry in the west, not even a large artillery position was found, let alone a German tank cluster.

"Inform the Army that we have not detected a large tank cluster and artillery position within 20 kilometers, except for infantry positions."

"What are the Germans doing?" Pokryshkin couldn't figure it out at once, and it was up to the commanders of the army to analyze the situation.

"Nine o'clock direction, German fighters, two batches."

Looking at that, there were 3 Messerschmitt fighters, flying at the same altitude as their own, and two more at a slightly higher level, a total of 5! You have to decide what to do immediately: reconnaissance is reconnaissance, you can't fight!

Messerschmitt approached at high speed, and it was obvious that it would not work to continue to passively fly forward, and the two MiGs made a high-speed turn, followed closely by Semenov. Two higher-altitude 109s approached from the left flank at high speed - apparently preparing for an attack. But Pokryshkin could only keep an eye on the long plane of the three-plane formation that I had discovered first, because the Germans were rushing head-on!

Changing the angle of attack of the propeller blades, pushing the throttle stick to the maximum throttle position, the MiG quickly accelerated and rushed towards the enemy aircraft: "Semenov, kill the Germans!" “

2 to 5, it's impossible to withdraw all at once now. Just now, Semenov reported the unfavorable situation he was facing into the intercom, and it was estimated that the plane at the airport was taking off urgently.

The planes of both sides were rushing head-on at maximum speed, and the Messerschmitt swelled up in front of Pokryshkin's eyes: both planes opened fire almost simultaneously! Pressing the launch button hard, the trajectory marks were clear, and a string of bullets and shells whizzed over the heads of both sides almost simultaneously: at this moment, neither side would take the initiative to withdraw from the battle!

It seemed to hit one, but there was no time to see it, and at the end of the head-on attack, the two MiGs took what they did best - they pulled the joysticks sharply, and the plane rushed almost vertically into the air!

Hanging upside down with his head down, he had a limited field of vision and could not see anything, but the Germans could not pose a threat to the two MiGs either. Press the joystick to the right, and the fighter rolls to the right around the longitudinal axis -- after a head-on attack, the Messerschmitt fighter must make a sharp upward turn to the left, so that it can go around behind them!

After the two MiGs were changed to level flight, they saw that Messersmitt had been left behind - Pokryshkin's eyes were blackened by the sharp jump action that had just been almost vertically sprinting to a high place, but the MiG-1 made such a sharp jump right turn that the Germans could not do and could not keep up with.

Now the German planes are only waiting to be beaten!

Biting the tail, he tightly put the last enemy plane in the sight, and a point shot hit it to make it emit black smoke! "There's a German guy in the back!" Semenov's shout came from the headphones, "Go up!" "The two MiGs had to climb again with great speed towards the air: the Germans behind were firing, and only by doing so could they get out and continue to maintain their superiority - the advantage of the MiGs was at high altitudes, not in a dive, which the Germans wanted to do!

The speed of the plane continued to decrease during the rapid ascent, until the moment when the plane was about to fall into a spiral, and the steering stick was slammed to make the plane roll: "Come on, free boys! Damn dog robbers! We are the masters of the sky! ”

Pokryshkin's eyes were black just now, but the "inhumane" anti-load training of his own troops all this time was not in vain - few Germans dared to do this! (Don't think that propeller fighters were less loaded with heavy maneuvers than jet fighters decades later, when Soviet pilots were trained to resist loads and daunt pilots from other countries.) ）

"Deputy Captain, my plane is wounded!" Looking back, Semenov's plane was smoking, "How?!" ”

"The engine is dying!"

"Skydive right now, get to the bottom and start again! I'll cover you up! ”

A 109 has already been killed, and if this will open the parachute, not to mention the lack of oxygen, the Germans may attack Semenov! Forced landings are also unrealistic, and the Germans will not spare the injured MiGs.

Watching Semenov fall out of the cabin upside down and fall like a stone: this will take care of yourself!

The three-and-a-half-ton MiGs were constantly maneuvering violently to get rid of the German planes behind, and now they were a pair of four! Suddenly, there was a short and crisp pop, and out of nowhere, such a huge force overturned Pokryshkin's plane, and the head was hanging upside down!

As soon as the plane leveled out, it was found that a 109 was rushing forward at high speed from the side - the German attack cut a few holes in the MiG's body, and the high-speed crossing of the two fighters made Pokryshkin break out in a cold sweat - "Damn the Germans, you want to knock Lao Tzu down like this?!" ”

Of course, the Germans will not have an "Ivan-type" impact in 41, apparently the Messesmitt did not estimate the distance, and it is estimated that the Germans will also be afraid. (To be continued.) )