Chapter 400 Friedrich

If it was a low-altitude dogfight, perhaps a few deceptive defensive maneuvers could be used to successfully counterattack and shoot down the Soviet MiG-3 fighter, which was not suitable for low-altitude dogfights.

But the MiG-3 flying rapidly above Rudel's head at this moment seemed to know what Rudel was planning in his mind. Pokryshkin, who accurately controlled every tactical maneuver of his plane, knew very well what the advantages and disadvantages of the MiG-3 were. Because it was impossible for Pokryshkin, who had been shot down twice and was more cautious, to get involved in a dogfight with the German Stuka because of greed for a momentary recklessness.

The death of the rear machine gunner and the Pokryshkin plane with the Red Star V hovering overhead, the miserable situation that made the situation worse seemed to have completely doomed Rudel to die here.

He had no idea that the predicament and experience he was facing was indirectly caused by Malashenko's butterfly effect. In the original course of history, he should not have encountered a perverted Soviet pilot like Pokryshkin under such circumstances.

Rudel, who knew nothing about the situation but had an extremely strong desire to survive, tried his best to control his fighter plane with a slightly clumsy maneuver in an attempt to avoid the impending death dive with a powerful posture that almost broke the joystick.

While stepping on the rudder, he swung the joystick in his hand, and Pokryshkin, who accurately controlled every flight action of the aircraft, drew a beautiful arc in the airspace above Rudel's head.

The MiG-3 dived straight down towards the earth again with strong gravitational acceleration potential energy. After the last brief fight, he had a preliminary understanding of Rudel's reaction habits. Pokryshkin, who would never fall again in the same place, vowed to completely destroy the Stuka in front of him this time.

The desperate and helpless defensive maneuver and the revenge dive with firm belief complemented each other.

Pokryshkin, who had already put his right thumb on the firing button, was about to press his finger, but a violent explosion from not far behind him instantly interrupted his concentrated thoughts like a disaster from heaven.

Boom——

The broken fuselage fragments mixed with large pieces of fuel that burned into blazing fireballs were scattered everywhere in the clear sky after the snow. The huge explosion that suddenly overwhelmed the roar of the propeller of the nose engine made his heart jump. Pokryshkin, who was very alert and realized that the situation had changed, immediately gave up the duck that was about to be in his mouth and pulled the joystick into his arms.

The Red Star No. 5 MiG-3, which was still in a state of rapid downward dive, immediately pulled the nose up instantly with its powerful energy reserve. The tracer bullet chain that whistled past the tail wing of Pokryshkin's plane less than one meter away finally failed to hit the target.

"Hmph, they came just in time. I thought the German fighters wouldn't come to rescue their bomber formation."

Driving his car, Pokryshkin escaped with his extremely fast and agile reaction and the principle of never seeking a lingering battle. In the climbing flight state, he had no extra leisure time to sigh at his fleeting luck. He turned his head slightly and saw the agile figure that flashed through the airspace where he was just now.

"Sorry we are late, the Stukas will withdraw from the battle airspace immediately. This is Colonel Yeter. We will deal with the Russian fighters!"

The firm and steady voice coming from the onboard radio beside his ear was like the sound of nature to Rudel at this moment. He swore that he had never felt so relieved since the launch of Operation Barbarossa. Rudel, who was holding the joystick tightly, couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief.

"Rudel, my plane is seriously damaged, and the rear-seat self-defense machine gunner Cole is seriously injured. We need to return and land immediately."

After saying this, he did not wait for his superior Captain Brückel to reply. He was eager to snatch the life of his rear-seat self-defense machine gunner partner from the hands of death. Realizing that he had little time left, Rudel immediately drove the plane with a tattered and leaking skin in the direction of the coming direction at a high speed.

Accompanied by the order issued by Colonel Yeter, who led the team to the battlefield, the Stukas, which had been slaughtered by the Soviet MiG-3 fighter group and lost more than half of their lives, immediately began to withdraw from the battle airspace under the cover of their own fighters to avoid the sharp edge.

On the other hand, the Soviet fighter group, which encountered the German BF109 fighter group that suddenly broke in and disrupted the battle situation, seemed to have been mentally prepared for this and did not panic.

After being attacked and losing two MiG-3s in an instant, the Soviet MiG-3 fleet, which was originally carrying out a unilateral massacre of the German Stukas, immediately abandoned its target and turned its guns around, heading for the German BF109 fighter fleet that was already close at hand.

Pokryshkin, who had gained a sufficient altitude advantage in his warplane, also began to level off at the same time. The large amount of flight energy lost in the rapid climb just now needed to be accumulated by leveling off the flight attitude.

Pokryshkin, who had a relative altitude advantage, joined his comrades beside him and rushed towards the German BF109 fleet that was the enemy in front of them. The German fighter fleet that had been expected to kill them halfway before taking off was just a plan.

The fierce and fierce air battle broke out in an instant.

The Soviet and German fighters, who were extremely jealous of each other, fought each other almost at the first sight. The hot tracer machine gun bullets flew across the sky like a meteor shower in the night sky. Pokryshkin, who also participated in this fierce air battle, soon made a very shocking discovery.

"Damn it! How did these German 109s become so flexible!? They are completely different from the 109s I encountered before!"

After only two encounters with the German fighters, Pokryshkin immediately discovered the strangeness of his opponent. These German BF109 fighters that were fighting with him seemed to be completely different opponents. The extremely flexible turning radius and rolling efficiency made Pokryshkin, who had caught the shooting window twice, miss the target.

Although from the naked eye it looked no different from the BF109 he had encountered before, Pokryshkin, with his heart already filled with rage, knew very well that the Germans, who were constantly innovating and coming up with all kinds of powerful fighter jets, were likely to use the latest modified BF109 in the battle this time.