Chapter 1010: Where Did It Come From?

In a newly built, concealed airfield in a region near southern Norway, two German officers jumped out of an open-top luxury Mercedes before the car had even come to a complete stop. Looking across the entire German military, only the wealthy Air Force would be equipped with such a luxurious car that so clearly displayed their status.

The other branches, because their combat environments were too harsh, would rather equip their high-ranking officers with off-road vehicles that could cross mountains, or with bulletproof armored command vehicles, than with this kind of almost-a-burden civilian luxury car. But the Air Force was different. Many of the rear-area air defense units had good roads to use, and to be equipped with civilian cars could alleviate the production pressure on military equipment.

From the rank of these two officers, one could tell that their level in the air force was not low. The rank of colonel was a very delicate existence in the military. A person with this rank was just one step away from becoming a true general. Usually, these people were responsible for the management of many practical matters within the military, and held great power. It could be said that a colonel was a special existence in the entire military component, one that rather conspicuously displayed one’s status.

“Colonel Hans. This place is ready as requested!” The person who had come to greet these two was the person in charge of the airfield, the group captain of the 133rd Fighter Wing, which had originally been stationed here. Although his rank was that of a major, and he had no need to be obsequious to a colonel from another department, the person who had given the order to have him move out of half of the airfield was his direct superior’s direct superior. So he had no choice but to respectfully greet the officer who had rushed here and to get on good terms with this kind of person with a background as much as possible.

“Very good! You also know that to strengthen the air defense of Norway is the Führer’s supreme command. My unit has been ordered to be stationed at this airfield to carry out daytime air defense missions. Your unit will be transferred to the north. Here are the orders,” the colonel named Hans said, taking out a command document, which was covered in many stamps and filled with signatures, from the leather bag that his aide was carrying, and handing it to the group captain of the 133rd.

Hearing this news, the 133rd’s group captain frowned. Norway was by no means a good place. It was far from being picturesque with spring all year round, and its infrastructure, compared to the true core of Europe, was indeed a notch below.

So most of the airbases here were in very poor condition and needed to be built one by one by the Germans. This secret airbase where he was, because it had just been completed, could be considered one of the better-conditioned ones in all of Norway. The repair facilities and the surrounding supporting facilities were also relatively complete. It was a rare, good place.

Because their wing had been formed relatively late, and their fighters were all the newer Ta-152 high-altitude fighters, they had been assigned to this well-conditioned airfield, responsible for the air defense of the south-central Norwegian airspace. But now the other side was, with a single order, telling his men to get lost, to go to the bitter, cold lands of the north. This had made him frown.

But thinking of the other’s background, this group captain still respectfully stood at attention, saluted, and agreed to the relocation request. “Colonel Hans, this order is from the High Command. I can only carry it out unconditionally. But I am very curious, and I would like to ask why you are having us move, and why we cannot use this airfield together.”

As he spoke, he pointed to the surrounding hangars and the wide runway and said with some reluctance, “You see, the number of planes that can be accommodated here is at least 150, and our wing only has a little over 60 Ta-152 fighters.”

“I’m sorry! I cannot disclose any news about the fighter units to be deployed here. This is a top military secret of the Empire. Everything here is strictly confidential, so a combat unit like yours can only be transferred,” Colonel Hans said, with no intention of taking back the order. He walked straight past the 133rd’s group captain and, with an inspecting gaze, walked towards a row of camouflaged hangars by the side of the airfield.

“What’s this! When has our 133rd ever been treated like this! They say we have to move, so we have to move?” the 133rd’s deputy group captain complained unhappily behind his commander. “Look at him, he’s practically walking sideways!”

“What can I do? Disobey a direct order?” The group captain shot his deputy a look and then turned and followed. He followed behind Colonel Hans, accompanying this arrogant officer on an inspection of the airfield facilities, and only then was this handover complete.

“You don’t have to be so unhappy! I’ll just tell you one thing. You can ask your superior about the rest,” Colonel Hans said, as if he had seen that the two men who had accompanied him on his tour were not very friendly. “The unit that’s coming has a national flag, cut into the shape of a shield, as its emblem. If you don’t understand, go and ask.”

The two officers of the 133rd behind him exchanged a glance, said nothing, but secretly memorized the strange emblem that this Colonel Hans had mentioned—a national flag cut into the shape of a shield. They had indeed never heard of this unit. After all, they had been training in Poland ever since their formation and had only recently been transferred to Norway.

After seeing Colonel Hans off, the 133rd’s group captain couldn’t wait to dial the number of his wing command headquarters. After a great deal of difficulty, he finally got his leader on the line and asked in a secretive tone, “I say, sir… have you ever heard of an air force unit with a national flag in the shape of a shield as its emblem?”

“Hmm? Are you saying that the unit that’s making you move is from Berlin?” the wing commander on the other end of the line asked in return. His voice seemed to have changed pitch. It was clear that the other was a unit with a great background, and that the wing commander knew of it.

“I didn’t say they were from Berlin. I just heard that the unit coming here has an emblem of a national flag in the shape of a shield,” the 133rd’s group captain quickly explained.

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line, and then he spoke, “Don’t ask any more questions. All I know is that that unit is all aces who have shot down more than 10 enemy planes. They’re the flight unit that guards the capital… Since they’re here, you just hurry up and pack your things, and get lost!”

Everyone is an ace pilot? It’s the ace flight unit that guards the capital? No wonder they were so arrogant. No wonder their transfer could alert the Air Force General Staff. The group captain swallowed hard, gave his leader a few assurances, and then hurriedly hung up the phone.

“What are you looking at! Hurry up and move! Their background is not something we can compare to!” the group captain lamented. He then hurriedly arranged for his men to quickly load all their things onto the trucks and leave. The fighters were easy, they could just be flown away. But there were many things that the fighters could not carry and could only be taken by truck.

In the afternoon, the entire airfield was left with only the garrison troops on guard around it. The wide runway was empty. The originally noisy parking apron was deserted, with only a brand-new refueling truck parked there.

On the contrary, by the side of the airfield’s landing runway, a crowd of technicians and apprentices was waiting for the unit to arrive. These men were to inspect and maintain these long-distance-traveling pieces of equipment after they had landed, to ensure that most of them could be put into combat in the shortest possible time.

A roaring sound suddenly appeared in the sky. This massive noise came from the distance, and soon the black dots on the horizon had grown into one after another of fighter planes. And these fighters, in their appearance, did not seem to be exactly the same as the ones flying in the sky now.

The wing commander of the 133rd had not been entirely forthcoming with his subordinates about some of the classified information. Because he had heard that that ace fighter unit that guarded the skies of the capital, Berlin, had already been re-equipped with the latest generation of super fighters, and that secrecy was the most likely and fundamental reason for them to have driven the other units away.

The first of Germany’s first-generation jet fighters, the ME-239, with its swept-back wings and jet engine, slowly lowered its landing gear, lined up with the runway, and continued to descend. Soon, the jolt of landing came from under the fuselage. The pilot in the cockpit struggled to stabilize the plane’s attitude and brought this astonishingly fast super-plane to a stop in the center of the runway.

“Number one has landed safely!” In the airfield’s control tower, Colonel Hans gripped the radio, loudly directing these precious pieces of equipment to land safely. This was also his first time leading men to fly outside of Berlin. This unit would soon, in Norway, be engaging the Allied bombers and reconnaissance planes that might come again.

The ground crew moved the landed planes to the empty parking apron. One after another, new planes landed on the runway. Compared to the ordinary fighter units, the number of their planes had been reduced, but their assessed combat effectiveness had increased. They only had 44 jet fighters, as well as 16 Ta-152 fighters for the air defense of the nearby airfields.

Of course, because of their speed, the jet fighters were definitely the first to arrive at the designated location. After all, the performance that these new planes were most proud of was their unparalleled speed advantage.

“If the Allied bombers dare to come during the day, we will definitely give these idiots a big surprise,” Colonel Hans said with a smile to his adjutant as the last jet fighter landed safely on the runway. He lowered his binoculars. “Two airfields, two groups, a full 88 jet fighters. We can definitely take out 100 enemy planes with ease.”

After speaking, he smiled, then walked to an SS colonel who was in charge of airfield security, and instructed him solemnly, “Everything here is a top secret of the Empire. For the Führer, you must ensure that there is no possible danger in the vicinity!”

The SS officer did not speak, but just stood at attention. He clicked the heels of his leather boots together, then raised his right hand in a German salute, and then turned and walked out of the command post.

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