The Rise of the Third Reich

In the sky above the new Asbania Air Force Aviation School Airport used by the 10th German Air Force Division on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, the sound of air defense sirens kept coming. On the runway and apron of the airport, there were a total of 80 Me262HG aircraft. The jet fighters were already lined up. Luftwaffe pilots wearing leather flight suits filed out of the lounge and ran toward their war eagles as if they were flying.

This era was the early stage of jet aircraft entering the war arena. This new weapon was not yet mature and could not pose a fatal threat to the piston-type fighter aircraft that had been developed to the extreme in all airspaces. However, at extremely high altitudes above 10,000 meters, the Me262HG jet fighter, which can reach top speeds of more than 900 kilometers, is definitely an aerial killer!

The powerful firepower composed of four MG108/30mm aerial cannons and 24 R4 air-to-air rockets can pose a fatal threat to any American heavy fighter. And the top speed of more than 900 kilometers that can still be reached at more than 10,000 meters allows the Me262HG to easily catch up with and get rid of any opponent. When attacking with one-shot tactics, the Me262HG is a powerful interceptor that is difficult to shoot down but easy to achieve results.

Of course, fighting the American P-51 at mid-to-high altitude or lower airspace is definitely not a job that high-altitude and high-speed aircraft like the Me262HG can do. In the tug-of-war over Guyana, many Me262A series fighters were attacked by American P-51s during takeoff or landing, causing certain losses. So after learning their lesson, the German Air Force and Naval Aviation adopted a special tactic - using fighter jets to cover fighter jets!

In other words, before the Me262 takes off or when it lands, the Fokker Zero or Fokker 636, which has excellent mid- and low-altitude performance, must take off first to provide cover. To prevent the American P-51 from taking the opportunity to make a sneak attack.

And because the Me262HG fighter still has no way to overcome the two major shortcomings of huge fuel consumption and weak endurance, the Me262HG is not a fighter that can hover in the sky for a long time like the Fokker Zero and Fokker 636.

So when most of the day fighters (mainly Fw-190 series and Fokker 636 series) belonging to the 10th Air Force Division of the German Air Force took to the sky and occupied favorable positions to prepare for the interception, the 7th "Hindden" jet fighter Major Walter Nowotny of the "Fort" Flying Group and his 79 elite subordinates were still sitting in the cockpit waiting for the order to take off.

Time passed by, and the air defense siren echoed endlessly in Nowotny's ears. Just when he was getting a little impatient with the harsh sound, the voice of his boss, Major General Garland, came from came from the headphones.

"Walter, we will start taking off in 5 minutes. The two groups will head to F airspace and G airspace west of Buenos Aires respectively, circling at an altitude of 11,000 meters. Electronic Eye 101 will be responsible for F airspace, and Electronic Eye 102 will be responsible for G airspace. air dispatch. Got it?”

Electronic Eye Nos. 101 and 102 are the numbers of the two Me264H radar early warning units assigned to the 10th Aviation Division. The Me264H, which is equipped with high-power S-band radar and a large amount of communication equipment, is also a rare thing in the German Air Force. Its number is even less than the number of Ar234 series jet bombers that are undergoing trial equipment for the army. Therefore, only the aviation divisions on the front line have it. and the Air Force Command can allocate 2-3 aircraft.

Although the number of Me264H early warning radars is small, they can play a key role in air combat - they can detect enemy aircraft in advance, and at the same time, they can also command nearby friendly fighters to seize advantageous positions through the radio equipment on the aircraft. Bit.

In addition, the use of radar early warning aircraft that can hover at high altitudes for long periods of time can also eliminate enemy radar interference methods (mainly throwing tin chaff strips), thus greatly improving the efficiency of our own fighters in air combat.

"I understand, I understand, sir." Nowotny pressed the throat communicator and replied, "I will personally lead the team to F airspace, and Major Hohagen will command the 3rd Group to G airspace."

The powerful jet engine began to roar, shooting high-temperature airflow backwards, generating huge thrust. Since the engine used by the Me262HG jet fighter is still relatively rudimentary and its acceleration is relatively slow, the nearly 10-ton aircraft taxied for nearly a kilometer on the concrete runway before slowly pulling up the nose.

The airport's two concrete runways began to release Me264HG fighter jets at a rate of two per minute. It took about 20 minutes for all 80 Me262HG fighters to rise into the sky. Looking at the jet war eagle painted in light blue and dark green colors in the sky, it flew higher and higher, and finally disappeared from sight. Major General Garland exhaled and asked Colonel Gordon Grob, the chief of staff beside him: "How far away are the American fleets?"

"There are still 280 kilometers away from the city of Buenos Aires and we will arrive in about 40 minutes." Gordon Grob said. "In 20 minutes, Me264 will launch the first round of attacks, using 30mm cannons and rockets to disperse them. The American bomber group, then our Fokker 636, Fw190 and Bf109K of the New Asbania Air Force will attack, and all night fighters will take off later to pursue the enemy aircraft when they return. "

Facing the thousands of American bombers, the strength of the German 10th Air Division and the fighter units of the New Azbanian Air Force still seemed insufficient. The former had only 160 daytime fighters (80 Me262HG, 40 Fokker 636 and 40 Fw190) and 120 night fighters (80 He21e410). The latter was even weaker, with only 120 Bf191.

The force seemed to be quite a lot, reaching 480 fighters. However, there were no all-airspace + all-weather fighters in this era, so the fighters were divided into three categories: high altitude, medium and low altitude, and night. Among the 480 fighters of the Germans and the New Azbanian Federation, there were 200 night fighters and only 280 daytime fighters, of which only 80 Me262HG and 40 Fw190D-9 fighters had outstanding daytime performance at high altitude.

It is obviously impossible to reach the 1,000 American planes attacking from high altitude with only 120 fighters.

However, the experienced Garland and Gordon Grob still developed a combat plan that was enough to severely damage the American bomber group.

The purpose of the combat plan was not to block the American planes outside Buenos Aires, but to destroy the American planes to the maximum extent. Therefore, all fighters were not concentrated to fight hard, but the tactics of interception first, then fighting, and finally chasing were adopted.

To be more specific, 80 Me262HGs were launched from high altitude to disperse the American planes with powerful firepower and high speed. Then Fw190, Fokker 636 and Bf109K attacked, but did not adopt the tactic of head-on blocking, but dispersed and fought in a 4-plane formation to attack the American planes dispersed by Me262HG.

However, these Fw190, Fokker 636 and Bf109K will not enter the airspace over the city of Buenos Aires, but will only move around the city.

The defense of the airspace over Buenos Aires was completely left to anti-aircraft guns and surface-to-air missiles. After the American planes dropped their bombs and evacuated, the Fw190 and Fokker 63e262HG, which were still fighting in the air and had a short range, should have landed. Then they would chase after the American fleet together with the twin-engine heavy aircraft such as He2191, which were night fighters, and hit the buttocks of the American fleet.

The core of this set of tactics is not to protect the city, but to shoot down a large number of invading enemy aircraft, so that the enemy cannot bear the losses and will stop the air raid on its own.

On the European battlefield, the Soviets used this tactic to deal with German bombers in 1943. Although it did not achieve the desired results, it still caused the German Air Force to suffer certain losses. At the same time, the Germans also learned this set of tactics and now use it to deal with the Soviet Union’s ally, the United States.

"Sir, radar has found a German fleet, more than 50, at an altitude of 11,000, right in front of us!" Chennault, who was riding on a P-61F, received a report from the radar operator on the plane at this time. The aircraft that was discovered was the Me262HG waiting for the American aircraft in front. "What is their speed?" Chennault asked. "700... My God, more than 700! What kind of aircraft is this?" The radar operator exclaimed. "It's a German jet!" Chennault's bumpy old face suddenly twisted into a ball. "We are in trouble now!"

More than 50 jet planes are no joke. Chennault did not dare to take it lightly and quickly ordered through the radio on the P-61F he was riding: "I am Lieutenant General Chennault. I order the 622nd, 623rd, and 624th squadrons to stop the enemy planes at an altitude of 11,000 meters in front of us. Stop them at all costs!"

He first sent out three squadrons equipped with P47 to stop the German Me262HG. At an altitude of more than 10,000 meters, even the P47 with a turbocharged engine would definitely not be able to beat the Me262, but it could be entangled for a while, so as to avoid the huge air strike group being disrupted by the Me262 - as long as the formation is not chaotic, it is difficult for the Germans and the piston fighters of New Asbania to shoot down heavy bombers such as B-17 and B-24, and the effect of the air strike will be more ideal.

Then Chennault ordered again: "The rest of the brigade lowered the altitude to 6,500 meters, and then maintained the formation, must maintain the formation... forward to Buenos Aires! God bless America!"