The Rise of the Third Reich

There is no doubt that the F7F is an excellent fighter-bomber and interceptor. It has powerful firepower, strong horsepower, a sturdy body, and excellent climbing and diving performance. Some models also have excellent high-altitude performance. The only weakness is that it is a little clumsy and cannot engage in aerial combat with single-engine fighters.

This weakness is not a problem at all for experienced veterans. As long as they take a little risk of being killed, they can get a chance to get close to the target (bomber or surface ship). Moreover, the F7F is strong enough that ordinary aviation machine guns pose little threat to it. Even the ammunition of the 20mm cannon can be loaded with a few rounds. Unless it encounters the Me262 with a 30mm cannon or an aircraft carrying aviation rockets, otherwise It is not easy to be shot down.

However, rookie pilots who have just graduated from naval pilot school can easily fall into the F7F's only weakness. Because they are too easily "seduce" by their opponents to engage in aerial combat, and when rookies enter the battlefield, they will basically forget about the cooperation between the lead aircraft and the wingmen, often giving experienced enemies more opportunities to fight less. Once the huge but somewhat clumsy F7F is bitten by two or four flexible and fast Fokker fighters, it will be like a bull surrounded by wolves, and it will be difficult to escape the fate of being slaughtered.

"God, I'm hit!"

"Oh my god, there are four Fokkers chasing me!"

"What can I do? I can't get rid of them..."

"Help, who will save me?"

"Ah, it was hit, it was hit..."

The miserable screams soon reached Captain Bush's earphones. These people shouting in the sky were all Captain Bush's subordinates... But "Lucky Bush" had no intention of returning to the battlefield to save them. To Bush, most of them are dead! Once a rookie piloting an F7F is caught by a numerically superior Fokker fighter jet, he will not be able to run away, and the probability of being shot down is extremely high!

It is not easy to successfully parachute to escape on the battlefield. It requires enough composure and calmness, which is not easy for rookies. Most of them will panic the first time they are shot down and lose the best opportunity to parachute to escape. Moreover, the four 20mm cannons of the Fokker are also very powerful. As long as one penetrates the cockpit, most of the people inside will be killed.

So what Captain Bush needs to consider now is not to save people, but how to write a touching condolence letter to the families of the fallen pilots.

He is very talented in this area, and every time he can use touching writing to portray a rookie pilot who died in a useless state as a hero of the free world, making the family members of the deceased rookie burst into tears.

"Sir, it has been confirmed that two F-13 early warning aircraft of the Army's 8th Air Force have been shot down. All F-13s in the sky have lost the command of the early warning aircraft! Now they are simply unable to withstand the German Me262 and Fokker aircraft... "

"Sir, Captain Wayne of the Navy reported that the attack of the F7F fleet failed. Although it shot down a dozen Me264s, its own losses were several times higher, and it was not able to disperse the German bomber fleet.

The German bomber group has now penetrated into the sky over Newfoundland! "

Bad news of the defeat in the air battle reached the North American Northeast Aviation Command one after another. Lieutenant General Mad Harmon and General Clark both looked livid. Although they had long expected that it would be impossible to stop the German bombers with existing aviation forces, they did not expect that the battle situation would be so critical. The German fighter planes that invaded the sky over Newfoundland were almost unstoppable!

"Made, you can't do this..." Admiral Clark shook his head and said to Lieutenant General Harmon, "This is simply an egg against a rock!"

"No?" Mad Harmon didn't understand Clark's intention, "Matthew, what do you mean..."

"Let the aviation withdraw from the skies over Newfoundland." Matthew Clark frowned and said, "We should conserve our strength... Anyway, there is nothing on Newfoundland for the Me264 to bomb. If the Germans really want to bomb Newfoundland, When we land on Finland Island, we still need aviation forces to attack their ships. "

Until now, Matthew Clark still does not believe that the Germans’ main attack direction is Newfoundland.

And his view also makes sense, because the Me264 currently attacking Newfoundland is not a tactical bomber at all. This is a strategic bomber used to bomb cities, not a tactical bomber used to deal with army troops inside ground fortifications.

Although the Me264 can carry guided munitions, it is too uneconomical to use guided munitions to bomb tanks, infantry trenches or artillery positions on the ground.

Moreover, the U.S. ground forces stationed on the island of Newfoundland have quite concealed and strong defenses, which are not easily destroyed by aerial fire.

"Okay, I think so too." Mad Harmon immediately agreed with Clark's suggestion.

His aviation force suffered heavy losses during this period. If he does not conserve his strength, if the German army does land on Newfoundland or somewhere nearby, he will have no planes to send. Now the main fleet of the Americans simply does not dare to engage in a decisive battle with the European combined fleet, and the British Canadian fleet is even weaker. If there is not enough aviation power, there will be no way to transport the German fleet to transport the landing troops.

Just when Lieutenant General Harmon ordered the withdrawal of fighter jets from the sky above Newfoundland, another surprising news reached the North American Northeast Aviation Command.

"Sir, the F-13 early warning aircraft of the Navy's 1st Fleet discovered that a large number of bombers were taking off from the Azores Islands!"

"What? A large number of bombers took off from the Azores again?" Matthew Clark was stunned when he heard this. "They are still coming to bomb Newfoundland? Is there anything in Newfoundland worth bombing?"

What was discovered by the F-13 was actually the ZSO523 assault transport aircraft, but the American F-13 did not dare to come close for reconnaissance. There were He219s patrolling the air near the Azores Islands. So these F-13s cannot tell what type of aircraft took off from the Azores.

Of course, the Americans never imagined that there would be such a weird tactic as airborne tanks - if there were no airborne tanks, even if the Germans could organize hundreds or thousands of Fokker 42s, they would be able to airdrop tens of thousands of lightly armed paratroopers. Facing more than 200,000 US troops with a large amount of mechanized heavy equipment, tens of thousands of German paratroopers died in vain.

Therefore, the possibility of airborne landing on Newfoundland has never been considered by Americans. Therefore, the U.S. military's deployment of defenses on Newfoundland did not take into account the issue of enemy airborne landings.

"Probably so?" Mad Harmon nodded, "The Me264 taking off from the Azores can only reach Newfoundland, either by launching missiles, or... what new long-range bombers have the Germans equipped? ? Damn it, how come the Germans have so many heavy bombers?"

Matthew Clark shook his head and said, "Just wait, it will be clear in a few hours..."

…

"Ludwig, the Atlantic Front Command reports that there is no more American fighter jets over Newfoundland!"

When the good news reached the Joint Intelligence Command Center within the General Staff of the German Wehrmacht, Hessmann's tense nerves finally relaxed a little.

"Did we shoot down many enemy planes?" Hersman asked Marshal Kesselring standing aside while looking at the beautifully crafted model of Newfoundland on the sand table.

"I don't know the specific data," Kesselring replied. "Preliminary statistics indicate that less than 200 enemy aircraft were shot down, which is not a lot."

Hersman nodded: "The Americans withdrew from Newfoundland with little loss, which shows that they have not noticed our true intentions until now." He paused, "Now they are starting to bomb the airport?"

"It has begun." Kesselin said, "There are now more than 400 Me264 and Br.810, which will be divided into 15 attack groups to destroy 15 large airports. Since we have prepared a large number of remotely controlled missiles and munitions, it is completely The bomb can be dropped beyond enemy anti-aircraft fire and accurately hit the runway, so the air strike will not fail."

"What about the airborne troops?" Hersman asked again.

Kesselring said: "The ZSO523 air assault aircraft have already taken off and can land in 8 hours. The Fokker 42 transport aircraft is taking off and will start parachuting in 7 hours. At that time, the Fokker 636, Me262T and Br onboard will .810 will sortie again to provide air support."

"Where's the Navy?" Hersman turned the question to the Navy.

Redl replied: "The first batch of troops to land on Newfoundland from the sea have already boarded ships and set off from Iceland. They can arrive the night after tomorrow at the latest. Task Force 22, which supports the landing troops, will also join the landing ships. Get in place together.

In addition, the 155 U21 submarines responsible for blockading Newfoundland have now arrived at the designated location. They carry more than 5,000 oyster mines and ordinary anchor mines as well as a large number of torpedoes. Cooperating with the aviation force, Newfoundland can be completely blocked within a week. "

The more than 20,000 people of the 1st Air Assault Army were just the vanguard of the attack on Newfoundland. Their mission was to control a bay or port that could allow the landing fleet to enter and exit. After they complete their mission, the second and third groups of paratroopers (also part of the 1st Air Assault Army) and the landing force arriving from the sea will arrive. Within a few days, the total number of landing troops will be increased to more than 50,000.

At the same time, the Navy will blockade Newfoundland through aviation, submarines and mines to prevent Americans from sending additional troops to Newfoundland via sea.

Hessman nodded again. So far, everything has been progressing steadily according to the "Operation Columbus" plan, and it has been quite smooth.

Thinking of this, he smiled and said to the top leaders of the German military around him: "It looks very smooth... In 10 hours at most, we will be able to establish the final victory."