Transmigrated as the Crown Prince

Although the forwards of the German armored forces are all Panther tanks, their number is indeed not as large as that of the 104th Guards Tank Division. Therefore, the Soviets believe that even if the German tanks are powerful, they can still annihilate this forward after paying a certain price.

Just when nearly 300 tanks and self-propelled artillery of the 104th Guards Tank Division were dispatched in overwhelming numbers, preparing to eat up the German forward troops in one fell swoop, the first thing they encountered was a group of attack aircraft in the sky. Moreover, these IL-10 attack aircraft are all equipped with 40mm cannon pods. The unlucky 104th Guards Tank Division is about to experience firsthand what the terrifying "tank can opener" is.

In the original time and space of World War II, Germany had a famous "tank can opener" attack aircraft: the Hs-129 attack aircraft. This attack aircraft originated from the Spanish Civil War. At that time, the German Air Force came up with the idea of ​​developing a dedicated ground attack aircraft. The Hs-129 attack aircraft was the product of the German Air Force’s winning bid. However, the Air Force was not satisfied with the test flight results and did not accept it. The factory subsequently improved and launched the Hs-129A-1 in the autumn of 1940. However, it was still not favored by the Air Force. The Hs-129 was relegated to the sidelines and no one cared about it until the Soviet-German War. (So ​​when the Hs-129 was put into the battlefield, the Soviets unceremoniously ridiculed the Hs-129 as a poor imitation of the IL-2 and criticized its performance).

Although it encountered many problems at the beginning, such as the engine being too delicate and unable to adapt to the dusty field airports in Russia, the climate where dripping water turned into ice, etc., it gradually adapted to the battlefield environment after continuous improvement.

The Hs-129 attack aircraft is equipped with a 30mm aviation cannon on the belly. In addition to conventional ammunition, this 30mm aviation cannon can also use special armor-piercing projectiles, which can destroy the armor of most Soviet tanks at that time from the air. , causing considerable losses to the Soviet armored forces at the time.

The classic battle of Hs-129 was on July 8, 1943 during the Battle of Kursk. That day, an Hs-129 discovered during reconnaissance that a Soviet armored brigade had passed through the defense line and attacked the German flank. The attacking German armored forces did not even have any cover. The pilot immediately informed the base, and the German Air Force immediately dispatched 16 Hs-129s to join the battle, using a group of 4 aircraft to attack the Soviet tanks in turn. When the first Hs-129 fired its shells and left the target area, the second Hs-129 immediately followed up and attacked. , Soviet tanks burst into flames. The coordinated Fw-190 brigade blew up the Soviet infantry. After the German aircraft ran out of ammunition, it returned to the airport to replenish it and then took off again. On that day, various attack groups that participated in the battle were chasing Soviet tanks that escaped northward from morning to night. This force of 80 tanks was almost completely wiped out. The surviving Soviet troops fled into the woods in panic and hid for half a month before coming out.

As a single-handed victory for the Air Force, this battle has been unanimously recognized by the military community as a successful example of air anti-tank warfare.

With the emergence of Soviet heavy tanks, the firepower of the Hs-129 was not enough to penetrate the frontal armor of the new tanks, so larger caliber cannons (50mm and 75mm cannons) were installed. However, after being equipped with such a large-caliber cannon, the aircraft became very bulky. In addition, due to its slow speed, it was too easy to be beaten during missions. Its survivability was drastically reduced, and the gain outweighed the gain.

Comments on it in the West and the Soviet Union are completely opposite, but judging from its nickname "tank can opener", the Germans should be quite satisfied with it.

Although the German army does not produce Hs-129 today, the IL-10 is fully capable of being a "tank can opener", even better than the Hs-129.

These IL-10 attack aircraft are equipped with cannons modified from Bofors 40mm anti-aircraft guns, equipped with 50 rounds of special armor-piercing incendiary bombs; there are also 12 57mm rockets hung on both sides of the wings, plus The firepower configuration of the two 20mm cannons it comes with can be described as insane.

Soon, the Soviet troops on the ground also discovered these uninvited guests.

"Damn it!" Nomanov, the commander of the 104th Guards Tank Division who personally led the team, couldn't help but cursed. Even though they were ready to fight to the death with German tanks at any time, they didn't expect that the first thing they encountered was a fighter jet from the sky. . Although the Soviet tanks in the late World War II of the original time and space began to be equipped with anti-aircraft machine guns, the Soviet tanks at this time did not have these things and could only stare at the group of attack aircraft in the sky.

"..." Commander Nomanov suddenly fell into a dilemma.

Forward or backward? !

But they were on a bare plain. No matter whether they were advancing or retreating, there were mountainous areas only a few kilometers away. Only when they reached the mountainous areas could they hide in the woods.

After hesitating for two seconds, the German attack aircraft group was already close at hand. Commander Nomanov didn't care much and shouted an order. "Go at full speed and rush to hide in the woods ahead." The woods were seven or eight kilometers away from them. At the KV-1's pitiful cross-country speed (12 kilometers per hour), it would take more than thirty or forty minutes to reach it, and The IS-2 heavy tank is not much better, and it also takes more than 20 minutes to run.

But what can be done? You can't just stay where you are and get beaten, right?

In this way, nearly 300 tanks of the entire 104th Guards Tank Division "spiked" toward the woods ahead. The scene was very spectacular.

"Tsk, if I had known earlier that I would encounter a large Soviet tank force, I would have brought some PTAB with me. This number should be at least one tank division." The commander of the attack aircraft formation looked at the densely packed tanks below and couldn't help but be speechless. If hundreds or even thousands of PTAB anti-tank bombs were dropped, they could severely damage the tank unit below in an instant.

"These guys seem to be heading for our forward troops."

"Haha, they were unlucky to meet us. It seems they want to hide in the woods ahead and kill as many as possible before then."

One after another Il-10 attack planes began to swoop down, and the formation commander aimed at one of the IS-2 heavy tanks. Who makes these heavy tanks relatively large? It is difficult not to notice.

At a distance of five hundred meters, he gently pressed the 40mm cannon trigger.

Boo! Boo! Boo!

The first shell hit the front armor of the IS-2 tank. I don’t know where it bounced. The second shell hit the top of the turret. Although the top armor was not weak (30 mm), it still couldn’t withstand the 40 mm armor-piercing projectile. All of a sudden It was penetrated. Armor fragments rushed wildly inside the tank. The commander and loader were killed immediately. The gunner was also hit by fragments and let out a heart-rending scream.

The third shell hit the top of the power cabin (the armor thickness was 30 mm), igniting a raging fire that quickly spread to every corner of the tank cabin.

"Nikonov! We have to leave quickly! Nikonov!" shouted twice, but the gunner who had screamed just now did not respond. The driver did not care about anything else and hurriedly opened the safety door under the car. Escaped.