Steel Soviet Union

The truth is exactly as Pokryshkin guessed at this moment.

The German BF109 that was flying up and down and fighting fiercely with the Soviet MiG-3 was indeed no longer the BF109E series fighter that Pokryshkin had encountered earlier.

These latest BF109 variants, which have been deployed to the Eastern Front battlefields since August 1941, have been given priority to equip elite aviation wings. They are the BF109F fighter jets that are most famous in history and are talked about by later generations among the entire BF109 series of fighter jets.

It would be a mistake to distinguish this latest BF109 variant simply by the simple letter change from E to F. In addition to the overall aircraft architecture remaining basically unchanged, as the most advanced fighter technology of the German Air Force, The BF109F is almost a newly designed new air superiority fighter.

Almost all parts related to the performance of the fighter aircraft, from the aerodynamic shape of the airframe to the control flaps, have been redesigned. The BF109F, which is enough to compete for the best position in the entire BF109 series of fighters in terms of fighter flexibility, has almost hollowed out the BF109. There is room for improvement in all maneuvers within the fighter body frame.

Among the first batch of early BF109F1 fighter jets to be used in the Battle of Britain, a German ace pilot named Werner Modus once drove his car No. 5628 from October 11 to October 1940. During the air battle over Britain on the 29th, he shot down 4 Spitfires and 8 Hurricanes of the Royal Air Force in a row, and he himself was able to return to the airport unscathed every time.

Regarding his evaluation of the performance of the BF109F1 fighter he flew, Werner Modus made no secret of his strong praise for this latest BF109 fighter variant. He once wrote this in his feedback test flight report and battle summary .

"Unabashedly, this is the best fighter I have ever flown. It has great firepower and maneuverability, even against the latest Spitfires in the hands of the British. I thank us The German team of aircraft designers was able to condense such a perfect fighter. With it, I feel like I can do anything in the world.”

In fact, not only Werner Modus, who single-handedly slaughtered 12 Royal Air Force fighter jets, spoke highly of the BF109F fighter jet and favored it very much.

Almost all the ace pilots of the German Air Force who have personally flown this type of fighter have maintained a very consistent caliber: "There is no doubt that the F type is the best maneuverable and easiest to control fighter in the entire BF109 series."

Comments on this point are still firmly established even after the launch of the later BF109G series. A large number of German Air Force ace pilots have almost unanimous comments, which further confirms the powerful air combat maneuverability of this excellent variant. performance.

At present, the Soviet pilots who are still very behind in the fighter jets have to face this BF109 pinnacle fighter with excellent low-altitude combat performance and as maneuverable as a mad dog in the low-altitude airspace that they are not good at. The situation was tantamount to a disaster for the Soviet pilots who were not yet aware of the situation.

Since the full replacement of the latest BF109F2 fighter jets at the beginning of last month, Colonel Yettle and his German pilots, who swore that they had never experienced such a joyful soaring in the sky, have basically replaced this aircraft. The performance of the latest German fighter jets with extremely excellent maneuverability is completely understood.

Ever since the heavy snowfall completely blocked the airport runway and made it impossible to take off for air operations, I have been holding back my energy. I am very aware of the indescribable advantages of the latest car in my hand over the old Soviet fighter jets. I am eager to Colonel Yettle, who wanted to add a few more kill marks to his fuselage, immediately pushed the joystick in his hand and dived straight down.

"Sorry, Russians, low altitude is not your home ground!"

The soft whisper that he spoke made his finger that had already been on the fire button go straight to the MG151 15mm coaxial cannon installed directly in front of the nose of Colonel Yettle's aircraft, along with it mounted on the nose of the aircraft. Two 92mm MG17 aviation machine guns on both sides of the engine opened fire simultaneously.

The blazing tongue of flame instantly spurted out from the black hole of the gun was mixed with the bright and dazzling light produced by the burning tracer. The anti-air bullet belt with burning effect immediately tore through the fragile skin of the aircraft with extremely dense projected firepower. The Soviet MiG-3, which was panicking and trying to avoid the attack with a large turn maneuver, was immediately torn off its wings by intensive firepower. The completely out-of-control fighter was immediately like a flying swallow with broken wings, and the pilot looked frightened. Falling straight down towards the ground.

"About thirty-eight seconds. The first one. Let's see how long it takes for the second one."

He knew nothing about what Colonel Yetter was whispering to himself in the airspace of the battlefield. Pokryshkin, who was under great pressure both physically and mentally, was desperately controlling the joystick in his hand. The MiG-3 fighter, which was extremely clumsy at low altitude, finally exposed its most fatal flaw.

"Damn, these German fighters are so nimble!"

In many attributes related to specific air combat performance, such as turning radius and climbing efficiency, they were completely crushed by German fighters. Pokryshkin, who has extremely skilled air combat performance, is under unprecedented pressure at this moment. This is because of the fighter equipment. The hardware performance was far weaker than that of his opponent, which made Pokryshkin, who was tired of maneuvering, almost breathless.

"Whoops, hell, here we go again!"

Pokryshkin, who continuously performed multiple large-turn radius maneuvers, was severely exhausted due to the overload of his powerful machine. Pokryshkin's whole body was soaked as if he was soaked in water. His eyes were almost blurred to pitch black, and he was almost blind from the corner of his eyes, but at this most critical moment, he saw another German 109 rushing towards him.

The joystick, which was still tightly held in his right hand, moved in response with the last force exerted by all his strength. The MiG-3, whose speed had already dropped below the 350 kilometers per hour mark, turned to the left with an extremely heavy maneuver. With barely a blink of an eye, three tracer barrages of light flashed across his face, almost whizzing past Pokryshkin's face.

crack——哢——

The slight crackling sound that symbolized bad news echoed in Pokryshkin's ears almost at the same time as the German barrage. The cockpit glass that cracked like a spider web was almost so fragile that he could use his fingers to gently crack it. It can be completely shattered with one poke. Pokryshkin, who had no time to care about the situation, was still breathing heavily while still maintaining full maneuverability to avoid the barrage of German attacks.