Battle of the Third Reich Chapter 434: Dignity (Part 1)
"Red Number Three, found them. At three o'clock, look down." The voice of the fourth team leader came from the headset.
The radio signal was slightly disturbed, and some inexplicable static noise appeared after flying over the Aostar Peak. Lieutenant Colonel Hans Wolfgang probed the probe to the side of the cockpit, looking for traces of friendly forces reported by his subordinates.
"It is indeed them. Let us go up and say hello." Wolfgang stretched out his hand and tightened the straps of the oxygen mask, and swayed the wings twice to signal his subordinates to follow the lead plane to change course and altitude. ready.
The 54th Wing was transferred to Austria only a week ago. It is important to know that transferring a main flying Wing was not as easy as people thought.
Basically, the Luftwaffe's flying brigade has its own dedicated airport. They can recruit troops and get daily supplies from the local area. The three brigades in the wing are usually scattered and concentrated only during combat.
Mainly because the scale of the German air force base was not very large at that time, only a few bases could be used by wing-level troops, because this required a large amount of material reserves and ground personnel, and administrative management Put additional pressure on.
In fact, most of the European Air Forces were the same at that time. The air force units were dispersed and arranged as much as possible, which not only reduced the burden on the airport infrastructure and logistics system, but also ensured the normal life and training of the troops.
The transfer of the flight team is a task that tests the abilities of the administrative and logistics system officers. It is not just a simple task of arranging a safe and convenient route. The ground crew and administrative personnel will bring spare parts and spare parts for each team. The technical equipment will be released in advance, and prepare to move in to the destination airport. At the same time, the brigade also needs to contact the airport where the stopover is arranged to arrange the pilot's board and lodging. In addition, there are issues related to navigation, communication, safety, etc. that must be arranged in advance, such as applying for a dedicated frequency for transfer flights, arranging guidance for each navigation station along the route, confirming the command and delivery location of each air control zone, and selecting There are a bunch of alternate airports that you can choose when there are problems on the way.
The report application and the filled-in form alone are enough to make the administrative officers of the coalition stricken eyes. But once the flight team starts to move, the entire operation cannot be stopped, so it must be well prepared before problems arise.
Because most of the ground equipment and supplies could not be transported by air, the 54th Wing's troops occupied two entire trucks, from the warm French coast to the cold Austria, and almost crossed most of Europe to reach Austria. After Sbruck, it took almost a whole day to mobilize the two car regiments of the 6th Army before transporting all the materials and personnel to the airport outside the city. The entire journey was 1,200 kilometers, and the whole journey was It took almost two weeks on the road.
In order to accommodate the one hundred and twenty-six aircraft of various types of jg.54, the air force’s base construction engineering corps has been busy here for more than half a month, and finally built it around the original airport before the arrival of the wing. Three new field runways and a whole row of tall hangars were built. Because the priority was to build military facilities, until the war broke out, the camp area for the wing personnel had not been completely completed, so that there were a considerable number of logistics personnel. For the time being, I can only live in tents built on the side of the runway.
This is only the jg54 wing. In the combat plan of the command headquarters, almost half of the aviation team was mobilized. One can imagine how much manpower and material resources the Third Reich would consume in this work.
Austria’s aviation force itself is very weak, and basically all rely on German technical support, so there is not much difference in infrastructure facilities. The Luftwaffe does not need to modify it specially, and it saves a lot of effort.
This time the German army deployed four fighter wings in Austria, designated jg3, jg26, jg53 and jg54, all of which were the main alliances that participated in the British air combat. The number of ace pilots produced together can make up one brigade. .
These troops are generally equipped with Messerschmitt 1o9 fighters, and most of them have been upgraded to the latest e11 type. This is a number that has never appeared in history. From a certain perspective, it looks like the historical F type. The primary version.
According to the internal news of the Air Force, it is said that the next version of 1o9 will be replaced with a new type of motivation. Compared with the Emily E-type that everyone is used to, the Frederick F-type will have a big change. , Can almost be regarded as a brand new model.
Because the production is still very limited, currently only the JG2 Richthofen Wing of the Luftwaffe is equipped with two f19o brigades. The 2nd Wing stays on the western front at this time, and they will take off from the French base to the western coast of Italy. When attacking from the region, the Roman capital is within their range of attack.
The German Air Force Staff estimated that the struggle for air supremacy in the Po Plain area was sufficient only by relying on four wings. Afterwards, it proved that their judgment was generally correct, but it was suspected of overestimating the combat effectiveness of the Italian Air Force.
In this war, the German 6th Army Air Force officially stepped onto the stage for the first time, and the 6th Army finally had close-range ground support firepower that could be conveniently dispatched. These pilots are still wearing Air Force-style uniforms, but they have been replaced by the ranks of the 6th Army on their shoulders.
These aviation units have been transferred to the 6th Army and began to receive monthly salaries as officers and soldiers of the 6th Army. The 6th Army attaches great importance to this newly-built unit, so the benefits are as equal as possible to the Air Force. Some personnel The wages have even increased.
However, at present, this force can only operate in the area where the Air Force occupies air supremacy. They lack independent combat capabilities. Each time they are dispatched, they need air force fighter units to provide cover, given that they have already grabbed so much fat from the air force. Meat, the 6th Army can only pinch the nose to accept this somewhat embarrassing situation.
Lieutenant Colonel Wolfgang is leading a squadron of fighter jets this time. The task is to **** a 6th Army aviation squadron. These Stuka are going to provide air support to the German troops fighting fiercely near Venice. Various types of bombs hung under the fuselage and wings.
These seemingly obvious Stukas fly very slowly. This is when they are the most vulnerable and the most vulnerable to attack. The heavy load makes them lose their ability to maneuver, and they are dull like a group of food. The ducks, if you encounter the Italian fighter force~IndoMTL.com~, the number is not too much, only three or four mr.42s will be enough to eat them all.
"Green Elf, this is Firefox 4. We are in your six o'clock direction. Let the lads take their fingers off the machine gun trigger. Let's lean over." Wolfgang adjusted the radio to the predetermined frequency. , To communicate with the command aircraft of Stuka Squadron.
"This is the Green Elf. We have already found you. I am very happy to be able to fly with you." The voice of the commander of Stuka Squadron sounded very happy.
Sixteen me1o9s lined up in two rows, passing high from one side of Stuka squadron, and then making a sharp turn in front, turning back to the other side of the dive bomber squadron, lowering the flight. Pass side by side with these Stukas.
The pilots waved hello to the friendly forces close at hand in the cabin. A few months ago, they all belonged to the Luftwaffe. Many of them might still be trained in the same junior aviation school.
"Here has entered the Italian air defense zone. It is very likely that you will encounter Italian fighters. It is great that you can arrive in time." The commander of Stuka Squadron was obviously relieved.
"We are now responsible for the escort. I hope everything goes smoothly." Wolfgang raised his hand to salute the opponent's cabin, then swung the wings and led the squadron to climb upwards, reaching the target area for a long time. The 1o9 squadron must maintain a high degree of vigilance.
The second squadron began to perform a figure dance over Stuka in accordance with standard **** procedures.
The air force lieutenant colonel didn't know at this moment. Right in front of them, a fighter group of the Italian Air Force was heading toward them. The two units that once fought side by side were about to fight for their dignity and glory.
ps: There was a problem with the network, and it finally came up.