The Rise of the Third Reich

The high-low double-group formation tactic invented by Lieutenant Colonel Nowotny made its debut in the "Newfoundland Air Battle" on April 8, and achieved satisfactory results. The German's 12 Me262T squadrons are divided into 36 4-aircraft high-low double-group formations, and each high-low double-group formation is dedicated to fighting one F7F. First, the attack was launched by two Me262Ts flying in front and at high altitudes. They relied on their excellent high-altitude performance and speed to fly over the target and launch a dive attack - the F7F did not have a cannon on its back. If it wanted to feint, it would be at an altitude of 10,000 meters. They couldn't fly at all, so they were left to be beaten. In the blink of an eye, seven or eight F7Fs were hit by Me2 cannons, making their bodies burst into flames and falling straight down, dragging black smoke.

The F7F, which had a faster reaction, began to dive, and it hit the muzzle of the "low group" of the Me262T's high-low double group formation. The F7F piloted by Thom, who had a pair of farsighted eyes, also unfortunately collided with two Me2-caliber MK108 aircraft carriers, smashed them into a sieve, and then spun and fell down.

Captain Bush had good luck (the luck of two US presidents) and was not targeted by the Me262T. However, he witnessed one of his wingmen being beaten by two Me262Ts that flew like lightning. Fireball.

"No match at all!" Captain Bush muttered to himself through gritted teeth.

The F7F is also a very good heavy fighter, perhaps the best in its class. But at very high altitudes, it is no match for jet aircraft. The latter's speed is almost 300 kilometers per hour faster than it, and it can easily seize a favorable position and fire. Moreover, the Me2 cannon is too brutal, and the F7F cannot withstand it no matter how strong it is.

escape! We must escape to medium and low altitudes! Captain Bush quickly made a decision in his mind. While reporting the situation of the Me262 ambush to his superiors through the radio, he drove the F7F into a rapid dive, trying to get rid of the Me262T.

Almost all the surviving F7F pilots in the sky had the same idea, so the encounter at an altitude of 10,000 meters quickly turned into a one-sided pursuit. From time to time, a diving F7F was hit by the Me262T cannon, or crashed dragging thick smoke, or volleyed into a fireball. Horrified screams kept coming from the headphones worn by Captain Bush, some of which were the pilots of the hit planes howling in despair - this was not over Newfoundland, below was the endless north. The Atlantic Ocean, and the current water temperature is still very low, it is difficult to save the pilot who fell into the water! Others were pilots who were frightened by the death of their comrades and were shouting.

However, Captain Bush did not panic. He was a veteran of the air attrition war in the Hawaiian Islands. He had shot down and damaged 27 Japanese aircraft. He had also been shot down by the Japanese five times. He had no idea why he was afraid. It's happened.

But at this moment, the real crisis has emerged. Captain Bush's eyes suddenly started to turn red and his vision became very blurry - this is the so-called "red vision", a physiological phenomenon caused by the overload caused by the aircraft's accelerated dive. If the "red vision" intensifies further, it is likely to cause fainting. Without the German Me262 attack, Captain Bush's plane will also crash because there is no one to pilot it.

Bush, who knew he might faint, did not immediately pull up the fighter jet that was diving at high speed, because he knew that black vision and red vision (which tend to occur when suddenly pulling up after a large angle dive) were not only experienced by American pilots, but also by German pilots. to such trouble. Now it depends on who can pull up the plane first!

In addition, the F7F has excellent dive performance and its body is very strong, so it can reach speeds of 900 km/h without any problems. Although the Me262T can fly faster in theory, there is a limit to the endurance of the airframe and pilot. Therefore, the Me262T is not stronger than the F7F when comparing dive capabilities.

Therefore, Captain Bush's choice was completely correct, and he also achieved the expected results later. The two Me262Ts chasing him dived to an altitude of about 7,500 meters, then pulled up their noses and flew away - in fact These Me262Ts were ordered by Hersman Jr. to support the Me264 fleet that was about to be attacked by P-47s.

At an altitude of about 7,200 meters, Captain Bush, who almost fainted, finally pulled up his F7F. It did not fly levelly, but continued to descend at a smaller angle and slower speed. Then he looked back, and there was no sign of Me262 in his dark eyes, so he breathed a sigh of relief, finally escaping from death!

Being ambushed by a Me262 jet fighter at a height of 10,000 meters should be the most feared thing for all American pilots. But where did they come from? It is close to Newfoundland, and there are no German-controlled islands nearby.

Where did these jets, which are similar in size to the F7F, come from? Did it take off from a German aircraft carrier?

Captain Bush, who had not fully recovered from the black vision, was dizzy and thinking about the origin of these damn Me262s when an unknown voice shouted in his earphones: "Enemy plane! It's a Fokker plane!" "

Fokker aircraft?

The groggy Captain Bush suddenly became excited. As a veteran of the Pacific War, how could he still know the reputation of the Fokker aircraft? The Fokker Zero (Americans also call the Japanese Zero Fokker aircraft) was an ace model that could conquer the world in the early days of the Pacific War. On the Atlantic battlefield, the Fokker 636 once again reappeared the Fokker myth. It is the king below 5,000 meters, and at medium and high altitudes of 5,000-7,000 meters, the Fokker 636 is still one of the best fighters. As for the distance above 7,000 meters, the winner is undoubtedly the Me262 jet fighter!

"Captain, the Fokker aircraft is climbing at 9 o'clock." Captain Bush's navigator, Sergeant Halton, shouted loudly.

Captain Bush looked to the left and found four Fokker 636s climbing, about 6,000 meters away.

The climbing performance of the Fokker 636 is very good, which is unmatched by twin-engine heavy-duty aircraft such as the F7F. As for fighting in circles, even the P-51 can't deal with it, let alone the F7F? Its only weakness is that its high-altitude performance is not particularly ideal, but...

Captain Bush did not know that the Me262 in the high altitude had flown away. But even if he got the report, he didn't dare to fly too high. Those terrible jets had shaken him out of his mind.

"Captain, they are almost climbing over our heads and are about to dive and attack!" Sergeant Halton, Bush's navigator, shouted again.

Bush, who was still a little dizzy, knew that he could not climb like his opponent, let alone dive again. Firstly, his body had not yet recovered, and secondly, he would be no match for the Fokker aircraft at medium and low altitudes. However, Bush, as a veteran, still had a solution. He looked at the altimeter: 7100 meters. This is the airspace where the F7F can reach its maximum speed - Bush is flying a medium-high-altitude F7F, not a medium-low-altitude F7F used to attack surface fleets, so this aircraft can fly at the maximum altitude of 7,400 meters. Fast speed.

In addition, both engines of the F7F are equipped with combustion-supporting devices, which can obtain short-term additional power by adding a mixed liquid of water and methanol to the engine cylinder. And this system that "drugs" the engine is not effective at all altitudes. The airspace of 7,000-9,000 meters is the altitude where it works.

Through the afterburner of the combustion device, the F7F driven by Captain Bush can achieve a top speed of nearly 760 kilometers per hour in 10 minutes, which is enough to get rid of the Fokker 636, which focuses on medium and low altitudes (the top speed of the Fokker 636 is not slower than the F7F, but The maximum speed is 6,000 meters. Above 7,000 meters, its engine performance has declined).

So Captain Bush immediately made the most correct choice - to fly levelly at high speed.

"Nick, sit tight, we are going to fly!" Bush turned on the combustion and afterburner system, and the aircraft engine suddenly roared loudly, and the propeller speed also accelerated suddenly, generating huge forward momentum, and the attempt was thrown away in the blink of an eye. The tail-biting Fokker. Although during this process, two Fokker aircraft that used dive acceleration to chase for a while and fired a 20mm cannon, in the end, because the distance was too far, Bush was not injured even half a hair.

But not all F7Fs made the right choice the first time, and not everyone was as lucky as Bush. Therefore, the Fokker 636's robbery at an altitude of 7,000 meters still achieved good results. Just when it was beaten by the Me262 above 10,000 meters, the F7F fleet was severely damaged again. In just ten minutes, seventy or eighty The F7F was beaten until it was covered in smoke. The results of these Fokker aircraft even exceeded the previous Me262!

At this time, more than a hundred Me262s, which had killed a handful of F7F fleets, encountered P-47Ds who were preparing to attack the Me264 fleet. Although the high-altitude performance of the P-47D is much better than that of the F7F, it is still not enough to encounter jet aircraft above 10,000 meters.

The P-47D, which was originally intended to be a hunter, suddenly became a prey and no longer had the intention to attack Me264.

At the same time, more than 300 Me264s that were originally flying at an altitude of 7,500 meters suddenly began to dive at a 45-degree angle, rushing down to medium and low altitudes below 5,000 meters.