Pokryshkin, who took the lead and rushed to the front of the entire fleet, was the first to put a German Stuka in the fighter's aiming ring. The firing advance data estimated based on previous combat experience instantly became clear to his mind and he was convinced.
Pokryshkin, who was sure to hit the target, pressed the fire button without hesitation.
Dong dong dong——
Da da da--
The roar of a 12.7mm Berezin machine gun and two 7.62mm Shkas machine guns firing simultaneously broke the silent sky that had just cleared up after the snow. Anti-aircraft bullet chains mixed with tracer bullets to correct the trajectory accompanied Pokresh.
Jin's hand movements came out in an instant, and in less than a blink of an eye, he accurately hit a German fighter plane that was about to swoop down to launch a bomb attack.
The fragile surface skin of the aircraft body could not stop the blazing tongues of flames coated with tracer incendiary agents. After tearing off the surface skin of the aircraft body, the barrage of flames pouring into it crazily destroyed everything around it, including the main wing spars and the wing control steel.
The poor Stuka, which was instantly destroyed, immediately lost control, and the wing that was torn into two pieces immediately spiraled with the fuselage and fell to the ground.
"I was hit! Russians, there are Russian fighter jets in the sky! It's those MiG-3s!"
The loud exclamation from the radio communication channel in the ears was like the wail of hell, which instantly woke up other Stukas in the sky. The group of German pilots who set off immediately after the snow stopped did not expect that they were always used to arriving late.
The late Soviet aviation actually arrived so quickly this time!
In order to reverse the situation in time before the ground battle completely collapsed, the first wave of German fighter planes that hurriedly took off from the field airport were all Stuka dive bombers loaded with various types of aerial bombs.
Such a sortie formation cannot be said to be the result of the Luftwaffe's indifference in escorting. It is just that it is difficult to fly more fighter planes at the same time on a field airport runway with limited take-off capabilities. In order to rescue the German Air Force, which is about to collapse on the ground, it does not care.
There were so many, so the first Postuka was released directly. After the formation was completed in the sky, it immediately turned around and headed straight for the battlefield.
According to the assumptions made by the Luftwaffe when arranging combat missions before the attack, the ground attack formation that rushed out as soon as the snow stopped will definitely be able to take advantage of the slow-to-react Soviets.
The Stukas, whose ground attack only took twenty minutes to end the battle, could theoretically withdraw from the battlefield before the Soviets arrived.
Only this time, the German's "theory" seemed to be a little out of whack, and the final result of this failed prediction was undoubtedly catastrophic.
With Pokryshkin's first strike, he successfully shot down a German Stuka, and the remaining dozens of MiG-3s that followed also joined in this one-sided encirclement and annihilation battle.
The crackling sound of aviation machine gun fire, accompanied by the roar of fighter jet engines, resounded throughout the sky. The Stukas who had just been killing the Guards heavy tank breakthrough group led by Malashenko on the ground were now completely in trouble.
Although the Stuka is only equipped with two 7.92mm wing-wing aviation machine guns, it has certain air combat capabilities in theory, but it would be a fool's errand to really drive this heavy steel monster into a low-altitude dogfight.
The aerodynamic shape of the fuselage was not designed for air combat at all. It can be said that the Stuka could not even defeat the biplane fighters of the First World War. The Stuka fleet without fighter escort was completely destroyed by the impact of the Soviet MiG 3 fleet.
It was a chaotic mess, and there was no trace of the arrogance that he had when he was licking the ground just now.
The MiG-3 fleet that attacked at the same time only had one encounter, and seven Stukas that were caught off guard were caught on fire, smoked, or disintegrated and fell on the spot. Before the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War, this type had the largest number of equipment in the Soviet fighter aviation unit.
Although the modern low-wing monoplane fighter is not good at fighting for low-altitude air supremacy.
But in the face of these German Stuka fleets, which are like lambs to be slaughtered and have no fighter escort and almost no resistance, the MiG-3, as a high-altitude fighter, can naturally make a cameo in the field of low-altitude dogfighting that it is not good at.
Well, professionals beating amateurs is basically a matter of holding a snail between three fingers - holding it firmly.
Taking advantage of the altitude, Pokryshkin dived straight down. After successfully shooting down a German Stuka with one blow, he did not indulge in dogfights and fell into a low-altitude turning dogfight.
Pokryshkin, who has been flying a MiG-3 since the war began, knows very well that the MiG-3, which is designed for high-altitude combat, will face very serious maneuvering problems in low-altitude airspace where it is not good at it.
Difficulties in fuselage control are only one part of it. The extremely unfavorable large turning radius and extreme speed energy loss in low-altitude airspace are the most serious problems. Once the MiG-3, as a high-altitude fighter, falls into the wrong low-altitude circle dogfight
The MiG-3, which has exhausted its body energy and is on the verge of stalling, will become a hopeless brick. At that time, the MiG-3 may really be overtaken by dogs and shot down by a Stuka.
In the past battles, he has deeply understood all the advantages and disadvantages of the MiG-3. Pokryshkin, who knew how to use his strengths and avoid weaknesses, immediately accelerated and continued to dive after a successful attack. The MiG-3, which still had energy in the body, relied on its powerful acceleration
The potential of the dive reached a higher level, and the dive at a speed of nearly 600 kilometers per hour was like a pair of big hands that firmly buckled Pokryshkin to the seat, unable to move.
"It's almost done, now!"
After he was sure that he had gained a sufficient distance, Pokryshkin suddenly waved the flight joystick in his hand to steer the fighter. The MiG-3, which had strong flight energy in its body, immediately became a little clumsy with its not very dexterous movements.
The ground swung past the fuselage. Pokryshkin, who accurately grasped the radius of rotation and separation distance, saw in front of his eyes the group of Stukas that were still barely avoiding the massacre by the Soviet army.
"Second round, German guys, here comes the ace pilot Pokryshkin!"
The MiG-3, which was designed as a high-altitude fighter, had a very good climbing efficiency in 1941. Pokryshkin, who headed straight up from a lower dive airspace, drove his War Eagle, and once again defeated another fighter in just one shooting window.
The fleeing German Stukas caught fire and smoke.
Seeing that the Stuka immediately burst into flames after being penetrated, the Stuka was completely hopeless. Pokryshkin, who still maintained the climbing attack window, was not greedy for fighting and entanglement, and immediately leveled the aircraft and accelerated to fly away from the combat airspace to prepare for the attack.
A wave of attack windows.
Within thirty seconds of each other, the same Soviet MiG-3 shot down two Stukas one after another. A loud and panicked cry soon erupted from the radio communication channel of the German fleet.
"Be careful of that Zvezda No. 5 MiG-3! He is more difficult to deal with than the other MiGs!"