With the end of the "Second Battle of El Alamein", the tide of the battle was stabilized.

The British, having suffered heavy losses, were no longer able to launch a new offensive, and they were forced to move from an offensive to a defensive one.

In the same way, the Germans were also unable to seize Egypt before Iran had completely fallen into German hands.

Now, the two sides are bound to enter a relatively long period of confrontation

Wang Weiyi's strategic goal has been achieved.

Stabilize the situation in Africa, then open the Iranian line and launch a strategic Armageddon against Russia!

Then, the Second World War will go on according to its own vision

And with the turn of the tide of the war in North Africa, according to Ernst. On the orders of Field Marshal Braim, the German offensive against Malta was also resumed.

In fact, Malta is the most important link in the entire African war.

In the autumn of 1941, the German and Italian supply forces bound for North Africa suffered a devastating blow, forcing the German High Command to send another air force to Sicily. At the beginning of 1942, with the beginning of the Second Battle of Malta, the fleet to Africa became increasingly safe.

Therefore, there should be absolutely no mistake in the interrelationship between Malta and North Africa. The more intensified the attack on Malta, the more abundant the supplies of the German Afrika Korps became. The reason why Rommel was able to attack from the Gazala front was also the result of the intensified German attack on Malta.

At that time, the conclusion that Malta should be occupied from the sea and air was theoretically reached, but it was not put into practice. April 1942. After the Luftwaffe carried out a massive bombing of the island, it was a good fighter, however. But it was easily let go. Although Hitler handed over the implementation of the Malta landing operation to Italy, he did not believe that the Italian army had staying power. On the contrary, he was convinced that Rommel would be able to reach the banks of the Nile in one fell swoop after the rapid capture of Tobruk. Therefore, after the last time, he gave up the "Martial Immortal Battle" plan.

In order to ensure this key operation, Rommel demanded that all air forces in the Mediterranean theater be committed to North Africa. His demands were agreed to by Hitler. However, instead of reaching Cairo, the Germans quickly increased the island's strength by ceasing their attack on Malta. Heavy losses were inflicted on the sea supply lines that reinforced Rommel

In the Battle of Malta, the Luftwaffe was quite clear in its tactics, that is, it concentrated on sending a large number of bombers to attack the enemy's airfields and ports and other key targets.

This was much more effective than the kind of bombing with numerous single dives that the chief of the General Staff of the Jeshunek Air Force stubbornly insisted on. The beginning of the Second World War. The first "carpet bombing" against military targets was carried out on the island of Malta.

And now, the bombing of Malta has resumed

Sicily's rainy days have cleared up, revealing a beautiful spring scene. The Luftwaffe bomber formation flew south over the azure sea with white spray.

The German bombardment of Malta intensified week by week. The bombing was divided into dawn, day, dusk and night. So. This British fortress island in the Mediterranean is always sounding the alarm. Most of the bombing missions came in small groups of bombers.

Major Gilles, an intelligence officer of the British 231st Infantry Brigade stationed in Malta, said: "The Germans were cautious at first, using only three to five JU88 bombers at a time, escorted by many fighters. Up to eight invasions a day. They just bomb military targets such as airfields and docks. ”

The Luftwaffe dispatched such a small number of aircraft, not because of the weather, as in the past, when it could not use large fleets of aircraft. The advantage of this tactic is that it does not give the enemy a chance to breathe, and the disadvantage is that the enemy can concentrate the entire air defense system against the invading few bombers. The two are contradictory. In particular, the JU88 aircraft had to descend in altitude under the intensive fire of the Maltese anti-aircraft artillery group, and as a result, the losses were so great that almost none of the aircraft did not return with injuries.

"I'm on the left side of the squadron leader's plane." One of the captains of the JU88 aircraft, Gerhardt. "I'm relieved that there are Messerschmitt planes everywhere," Xiao said. Besides, the weather is so good. ”

The 2nd Squadron of the 1st Flight Training Regiment, to which Shotanfu belonged, was under the command of Captain Lutter. Departing from Catania, it is flying to Malta. Their mission was to dive and bomb the British Lucca airfield, blowing up the British Bryham and Wellington bombers parked at the airfield. The escort was carried out by Messerschmitt aircraft of the 3rd Group of the 53rd Combat Aviation Regiment commanded by the famous Captain Wilk.

The southern coast of Sicily was ninety kilometers from the target of the attack. It takes 15 minutes to fly. Today, the island of Malta is a rocky castle. It wasn't long before the huge harbor of the capital city Valletta and the three deep concave harbor naval bases were seen.

There was a flash of fire on the ground, it was the fire of heavy anti-aircraft artillery. Shells exploded in the rear of German bombers, and black smoke appeared in the blue sky. A strong wave of air shook Second Lieutenant Xiao Tanfu's JU88 plane.

Mechanic Gerk humorously said: "If the range of the anti-aircraft artillery is thirty meters higher, we should see God!" ”

Germany's bomber units had been taught the power of Maltese anti-aircraft artillery since the spring of 1941. At that time, most of the bombers who went to bomb the island were dive bombers. Every time the British shelled it, hundreds of shells were fired, and there was no doubt that it was under the unified command of the central command. Under such powerful artillery fire, the dive bombers had to turn and quickly change altitude and direction to avoid artillery fire. Such maneuvers can only be done by the small, maneuverable JU87 aircraft. The bomber formation had just flown away fifty seconds before a loud explosion sounded from behind.

The anti-aircraft fire of the British troops was not only concentrated, but also distributed at various heights. When the attacking planes carried out a dive, the three-layer fire network of 3,000 meters, 2,000 meters, and 1,500 meters opened fire at the same time. The last layer of the firepower network consisted of light anti-aircraft guns deployed on the ground and on warships moored in harbors.

"This kind of anti-aircraft artillery fire is really powerful!" Captain of the 3rd Group of the 1st Dive Bombing Aviation Regiment Helmut. Captain Melk said afterwards.

He fought in the battle on February 26, 1941. The anti-aircraft shell punched a large hole in the right flank of his plane. Relying on his luck and skill, he finally flew back to Sicily.

Now, a year later. The anti-aircraft artillery fire of the Maltese fort has not only not diminished in the slightest, but has become more powerful.

Second Lieutenant Xiao Tanfu shouted, "Rush over!" ”

Piloting the JU88 aircraft, he broke through the British army's firepower network in one go. At this time, the squadron leader was turning into the attack. So, Xiao Tanfu released the resistance plate. Closely behind the squadron leader, he dived down. Two intersecting white lines are clearly visible, and this is the runway at Lucca Airport.

As the distance decreased, the runway became clearer and clearer in the sights. It turned out that there was only one runway, and at the end of the runway were neatly parked six bombers.

The halo of the sight was aimed at the bombing target, and the navigator in charge of aiming constantly reported the altitude. Suddenly, he knocked on Xiao Tanfu's knee and shouted, "Vote!" Xiao Tanfu immediately pressed the red button on the steering stick with his left thumb. The bomb left the plane. The JU88 pulled up automatically.

Then. Xiao Tanfu found that the squadron leader's plane was like a drunk, one moment there, the other right. One moment high, one moment low. This is the "Flak Waltz" coming. After a few more seconds, Xiao Tanfu was also surrounded by artillery fire. "It seemed to me that there was a black wall with flashes of light in front of my eyes," he said. There is no longer a choice. Only the breakthrough was made. ”

Suddenly. With a "snap", as if a slap in the face, the plane shook violently. Xiao Tanfu knew that the road was not good, and the plane was shot.

"Oops! Maybe the landing gear is out. Gelk shouted loudly below. Fortunately, the plane was only injured in the ailerons, which protruded outward. The landing gear did not come out and was still tucked away in the wing. Otherwise, the plane will have to slow down very quickly. And at this moment, speed is very important. Xiao Tanfu thought to himself. As long as the engine doesn't break, it's okay. At this time, the correspondent Nosinsky reported:

"Three 'Hurricane' fighters were spotted in the rear right!"

British fighters, waiting outside the fire network, began to attack the German bombers who were escaping the fire. Xiao Tanfu immediately increased the throttle to the maximum, and the altitude was reduced to almost grazing the sea. At this time, Noshinsky, who was sitting in the back seat, reported on the thrilling battle:

"The Brit in the lead has an ME109 plane firing from behind." The Hurricane fighter was shot down. Ah! The pilot parachuted and the plane plunged into the sea. Dangerous! The enemy's second plane rushed over again, five hundred meters, four hundred meters! The ME109 bit it again. The Hurricane fighter was hit and caught fire. The enemy's third plane made a sharp turn and fled. Count it as fate! ”

Half an hour later, Second Lieutenant Shotanfu's plane hovered over the Catania airport, and because the hydraulic pipe had been punctured, the landing gear could not be lowered, and the hand-cranked oil pump was still useless, and the plane was in danger and had to make a forced landing with the fuselage. The plane flew over the roof of the hangar. Xiao Tanfu saw a flare on the ground, which showed that everything was ready at the airport, and ambulances and fire trucks had also arrived. Second Lieutenant Xiao Tanfu described the scene as follows:

"We fastened our seatbelts and prepared to land. Since the flaps could not be put down, the landing speed was too large. I was trying to adjust, and suddenly, the fuselage was hit with a terrible noise. It's rubbing the roof, it's dangerous! So, I pulled up the nose of the plane, and the plane drifted again. At this point, there was only a short section of the runway left, so I had to land immediately. There was another terrible thud from the plane, and the sand rolled up by the ground impact was deafening against the cockpit. The concrete wall in front of me was rapidly approaching, and I quickly braked, but the brakes also failed. So I kicked the right rudder, and the plane came sideways, and finally stopped three meters away from the concrete wall."

Xiao Tanfu said it so easily, this kind of scene seemed to him to be commonplace. After the forced landing, he reported to the captain, who squinted his eyes and said:

"Malta, it's not easy to deal with, is it? Now, you go and take turns with the combat staff officer on duty, and when this battle is over, you can go and get a new plane. (To be continued......)