Battle of the Third Reich Chapter 56: Royal Air Force

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"Did you see? Are they sure?" Lieutenant Henry Russell, the commander of the 603rd Brigade of the Royal Air Force, looked at the sky anxiously with a telescope.

Lieutenant Russell is thirty-two years old, and he is very young. The Russell family has a long history, talented people, and glorious glory. Although the lieutenant came from a branch, his family has many assets. Lieutenant Russell is young and rich, and his emotional intelligence is not low. He is good at managing interpersonal relationships. He has been managing up and down for many years. He is loved by all his superiors and superiors in the army and has established sufficient contacts in the army.

Due to the outbreak of the war, the former squadron captain led a squadron to attack, and as a result, all his crew were unexpectedly killed in Dunkirk. Lieutenant Russell was immediately promoted from the position of squadron deputy to flying squadron captain. Lieutenant. When the order was issued, the rest of the squadron rushed to report, and they were all excited, thinking that the superior had finally issued a good order and selected an excellent commander for the squadron. But no one knows how severe this order is to Lieutenant Russell's life. If he knows that he will suffer such suffering, he really doesn't want to be promoted.

Now, if anyone sees Russell, they probably won’t recognize him at all. This young officer has always been known for his bold shots, extraordinary demeanor, graceful temperament, and full of gentleman's taste. And now, the neatly combed blonde hair that used to be combed like a chicken coop is now messy, with black and brown oil traces on it. The navy blue officer woolen uniform is wrinkled like a rag, the blue shirt has an open collar, the blue-black tie is loosely tied around the neck, and the gold thread military rank marks on the sleeves are so dirty that they can’t be seen at all. The original material. The canvas parachute bag hangs heavily on his hips, and the straps of the parachute bag are tightly tucked between his shoulders, waist and shoulders. There are dust and oil stains on those fringe flight boots, and there is almost no blood on his pale face. , There are only dots of oil and dust, and two huge black eye circles.

"I have seen the second and fourth planes of team c, plus the previous two. Both teams have returned. We did not lose a single plane this time, squadron leader. This is really lucky Lieutenant Lancelow, the deputy captain, also looked at the sky with his binoculars. He said loudly.

"We didn’t get the next plane either. The guys were too tired. In just one morning, the squadron had been dispatched four times, and Team A had even dispatched five times. We don’t have any reserve pilots now. Fighter Command Already crazy, the Germans are also crazy, these **** are all lunatics! lunatics!" Russell stomped his binoculars and stomped at the team mate and roared.

"Squadron commander, we must obey the orders of the command. After all, no one but us can stop the German planes. They attacked all the targets they could find on the line from Dover to Portsmouth. I heard that the two airports near Hastings were under intensive attacks, and the four hurricane squadrons have been determined to be wiped out.” The adjutant intended to boost morale for the commander who was about to collapse, but he obviously did not grasp the trick.

While speaking, two Spitfire fighters staggered and slowly descended towards the airport runway. The lead plane lowered its flaps. Gently bounced a few times on the soil runway with sparse grass buds, and then stopped safely, then the pilot slightly increased the throttle, the aircraft slowly slipped out of the runway and stopped on the open lawn,

The ground crew attached to this aircraft did not wait for the engine to turn off, and despite the fact that the three blade-like propellers were still spinning, they crowded around, and the two ground crews climbed onto the wings and pulled the Spitfire push-pull forcefully. One of them bent down to help the pilot unlock the seatbelt lock on his chest. Then the pilot was pulled out of the cockpit forcefully, and then two people cooperated and put the pilot on the ground. The other two ground crews immediately took over and helped the pilot to the side of the recliner and let him sit down and rest. The squadron's medics and nurses ran over carrying the medicine box. Started to ask him if he was injured and if he was unwell.

At the same time, the ground crew standing on the wing has begun to get into the cockpit of the aircraft for inspection. The inspection cover on the fuselage and the inter-wing magazine cover were opened, and the armorer carried the bullet box and climbed onto the wing. An oil trailer was pulled over, and the fueler pulled out the rubber hose connected to the oil pump. Wait for the mechanic to open the fuel tank cap. Everything looks the same as usual, all work is being carried out in a hurry and orderly, but insiders can already see from the movements and expressions of these people that stress is accumulating quickly, whether in psychological or physical , The effectiveness of this force has begun to decline.

At this time, the wingman also entered the landing route, the plane wobbly made a turn, lowered the landing gear, and then began to slide towards the runway. A shrill voice shouted, and the busy people on the side of the runway couldn't help but look towards the place where the sound was sounding.

"Damn, he didn't put down the flaps, the angle was too steep, pull it up, pull it up! Go around! Pull it up, idiot!" The squadron captain ran towards the runway quickly, waving his arms frantically!

"Going around, blue number six, you are too fast, George! Pull up, George! For the sake of God!" the team deputy shouted with the radio microphone on the military vehicle.

Russell has run to the center of the runway. He raised his hands up and waved at the oncoming fighter, but the Spitfire did not see this scene at all. Lightning passed over the captain’s head, and then slammed heavily. On the runway.

The two sturdy landing gears of the Spitfire broke off instantly and separated from the fuselage. The fuselage tilted and hit the runway. One wing first touched the ground, then twisted and torn, and the fuselage began to roll. Everything followed. Moving according to the laws of physics, the force of the impact was so great that within a few seconds, this sophisticated and expensive killing machine turned into a pile of parts and aluminum pieces rolling on the ground. The engine smashed the cockpit and then tumbling. After rushing into the tarmac, fuel and oil followed the trench shoveled out by the plane and scattered half of the runway. Then it burned with a roar, and the scene instantly turned into a sea of ​​flames. Russell slowly climbed up from the runway, looking at the purgatory in front of him, the Royal Air Force lieutenant officer gritted his teeth, and he wanted to cry without tears.

After the Battle of Dunkirk, until the end of July of this year, the Royal Air Force did not have fierce conflicts with the Luftwaffe. Except for several attacks on the transport fleet, the Germans rarely even crossed the strait. In the center line, the Royal Air Force's strength was slowly restored, the situation seemed to have finally eased, and the most critical time passed. The British Aviation Department adjusted the production plan of fighter jets, and finally began to enter the state of wartime production.

The battle of Dunkirk and the previous French campaign against the Royal Air Force was almost devastating. When the battle ended, the number of single-engine fighters under the fighter command was only about 260, of which more than 120 were the latest Spitfire, and the rest were Hurricanes and other cannon fodder. Lord Dowding almost fainted at his desk when he saw the report. The sky of the British Empire at that time was almost defenseless.

At that time, the British air defense force was only left with a pile of anti-aircraft artillery under the air defense command. This air defense force belonged to the army, and the number reached a staggering 1,787, of which 1,200 Heavy-duty artillery, 578 small-caliber cannons.

The artillery was quickly distributed to major naval bases and cities in southern England. However, most areas such as the countryside and small cities, villages and towns are still blank, and at most only a few air-proof balloons can be hung on the coast to give some comfort. The air-defense balloons are managed by the Balloon Command. The total number reaches 1,400. The main body is a balloon filled with hydrogen, which is towed by an iron cable below. Its operational purpose is to prevent a low-altitude surprise attack by a Luftwaffe aircraft. If a German aircraft hits the balloon underneath The iron cable, wing and engine will be severely damaged and even disintegrate directly. Of course the premise is that the German pilot is blind like a bat. So the real role of this balloon is during night air defense. Therefore, the British army also specially blackened the iron cables with paint to prevent German pilots from detecting the reflection of the cables at night.

Churchill urgently established an aircraft production department in early May, and then appointed the capable Lord Beaverbrook to manage. The wartime production system established before the war finally came into play, and some civilian automobile manufacturers began to switch to military aircraft manufacturing. field. According to the original plan, the aircraft parts and engine parts produced by the major automobile manufacturers will be collected in the final assembly plant, and then the fighter planes will start to come out of the assembly workshop continuously and sent to the fighter reserve center for storage. After the test flight, Redistribute to various air bases.

But because of the rampant German submarine and assault fleet. At this time, the Royal Navy was unable to defend Britain's maritime transport lines, and the British Empire's merchant fleet suffered heavy losses. For every ton of materials brought in, 100 tons of cargo were sent to the seabed by the Germans.

Due to the shortage of fuel and raw materials. Coupled with the needs of military production, the shares of steel and non-ferrous metals have been largely occupied, and the civil shipbuilding industry has begun to shrink at a rapid rate. Between June and July, only 20 cargo ships were launched from the berth in the UK, and in these two months The number of cargo ships lost internally is more than ten times this number. The loss far exceeds the supplement, and the lifeline of Britain is slowly being cut off.

Duralumin and alloy steel necessary for aviation manufacturing need to be melted into several or even dozens of non-ferrous metals, some of which are rare metals. Although the UK has strategic reserves, most of them still need to be imported. The less the number, the strategic reserve will have to sit in the air. In addition to the aircraft manufacturing industry, the army and naval equipment also need these resources, especially the navy. The consumption is even more alarming. If you want to defend the lifeline, you must supplement the naval power. The hole in his weapon is huge, and it must be replenished as soon as possible, otherwise, he really can only use the cross sword and longbow to fight the Germans.

So although the production potential of the Aircraft Manufacturing Department is amazing, the output can only be described as a drop in the bucket. Due to the shortage of aluminum materials required for fire-breathing, the output can only reach 80 to 100 per month. The hurricane is finally a semi-hard shell structure, and a large number of cloth and wood are used, so that the output can be higher, reaching From 120 to 140 aircraft per month, the production of the remaining bombers and other types of aircraft was also seriously delayed. From the end of the Dunkirk battle until the end of July, the total production of British aircraft reached only 900. Seventy, of which six hundred were fighters, the rest were bombing night combat and land and sea transport aircraft types, while the most advanced Spitfire fighters produced only two hundred and seventy, all of which were allocated to the 11th and 12th Air Forces. It was the Eleventh Air Force, which was responsible for the defense of the entire Southern Front. It won more than half of them and formed eleven Spitfire squadrons, but some of them were dissatisfied with the squadrons. For example, Russell’s squadron had only three teams and twelve aircraft.

Lieutenant Russell led the entire squadron with a group of airport fire brigades and ground crews to extinguish the flames on the runway. After the entire squadron was scorched by smoke, every one of them looked like African refugees. Russell handed over the rest of the cleaning work to the airport staff. The body is impossible to find, but the wreckage and debris must be cleared as soon as possible. The runway is useless until it is cleaned up. Fortunately, it is a The base has three runways, and the squadron can still operate normally.

He no longer wants to investigate the cause of the crash of the Blue Six. It is either a mechanical failure or the pilot becomes unresponsive due to excessive fatigue. Similar things have happened many times in the past two days, but there have been casualties. , This is the first time.

Russell found a rag, took some water under the drinking bucket and wiped his face, took the aluminum water cup by the side of the bucket, filled it with a glass of water, and sat down on a recliner.

"How to write the report, squadron captain." The lieutenant found a Mazza on the side, poking it on the ground with an iron pipe in his hand.

"I will personally write to his parents to inform him that he was killed in battle. The plane was injured in battle and eventually lost control when it landed. He did not have time to escape."

"Everyone is really too tired. Whether it is a pilot or a ground crew, it has been three days in a row. Everyone has been on duty for more than 20 hours a day. The mechanical wear and tear of the aircraft is also very serious. The German aircraft seem to be endless. ~IndoMTL.com~ forced a group back, and broke up a team and then a team. Are they all iron men and will not be tired?" The team deputy finally showed a look of frustration and fatigue at this time.

At this moment, the shrill sirens suddenly echoed across the airport.

"The squadron commander, the command center ordered that all squadrons take off immediately. The large German fleet is flying across the strait. There are hundreds of planes in number. All squadrons in the Hornchurch Division are ordered to take off immediately and be assembled on standby." The staff officer ran towards Russell with a piece of paper.

"All squadrons are starting! A team follows me, team B is on the left wing, team C is the guard, move, board, board!" Russell threw away the water glass in his hand and walked to the runway to pick up his The umbrella bag, while tying the straps, rushed towards his landline.

The lieutenant threw away the iron rod in his hand, stood up slowly, looked at the group of running pilots and his squadron leader, and raised his hand in salute. This time, I am afraid that many people will never come back. (To be continued.)

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