Chapter 685: Bloody Sky

A German Fw-190D roared its engine as it flew past an American B-17 bomber. At that moment, the American bomber’s guns were aimed at other German fighters on the other side. Before the American gunners in the defensive turrets could readjust their firing angles, the German fighter that had just flown past had already left a row of bullet holes in its target’s fuselage.

With a dense and fierce series of thuds, the bomber’s thick skin was pierced by the cannon shells. Metal fragments ricocheted throughout the plane, clanging against the steel plates protecting the crew. However, while these thick steel plates blocked the flying fragments, they could not stop the more powerful warheads.

And so, the originally thick steel plate was easily penetrated. These cannon shells, which were overkill when dealing with fighters, immediately showed their extraordinary effect when hitting the American bomber. It could be said that they were tailor-made, easily inflicting huge damage on the American bomber.

One cannon shell, carrying a large amount of metal fragments, pierced the protective steel plate, tore through the pilot’s lung, and smashed the plane’s instrument panel. After that, it still did not stop, continuing on to pierce the floor and then the armor behind the nose-mounted aiming compartment, shattering everything inside.

“Someone’s hit! The plane’s been pierced! I have to lose altitude! I have to lose altitude!” In the cockpit, the captain, seeing his co-pilot slumped in his chair with his face covered in blood, frantically shook his control stick. The instrument panel was covered in blood, and there was a hole in the co-pilot’s position that was constantly spewing electric sparks.

The turret on the back of the plane was still firing continuously, covering its own aircraft. But this B-17, with a row of holes in its fuselage, was still heavily damaged by the German fighter. It slowly descended, hoping to stabilize the damaged aircraft and allow it to fly safely back to the ground.

Unfortunately, the German pilot clearly had no intention of giving him this chance. Another German fighter with gray camouflage flew past this plane, the black Iron Cross on its wings clearly visible. This plane circled around the B-17, which had already begun to lose altitude and was emitting blue smoke, and left another conspicuous row of bullet holes on its wing.

And so, the engines of this B-17 began to burn, spewing thick black smoke. Its flaps had been torn off by the airflow due to the severe structural damage. And thick smoke also began to pour out from its engines, flames licking out from the gaps. It was clear that this fire could not be extinguished.

Just as the pilot of this plane was watching the German plane fly away from him in despair, a few hundred meters away, two German fighters had completed their dive and had shot down another huge B-17 bomber. The American radio communication channel was in chaos, everyone was screaming and cursing, and the entire American bomber formation became even more chaotic, its resistance becoming more and more disorganized.

Everything was in a mess. Everywhere was a scene of German planes chasing and killing American planes. The American pilots began to fly erratically after losing formation. This also brought trouble to the German slaughter operation. The planes flying all over the place also brought chaos to the Germans. The German planes, which had originally come from various fighter squadrons, already lacked a unified command. Now that they were in a complete mess, there was even less of a way to command them uniformly. Many fighter units would chase after a few planes, and after shooting them down, they would find that they had already detached from their own unit and could not find any other enemies.

What was even more frustrating was that because they were in a dogfight, many times two planes would chase each other’s tails for a long time before discovering that both planes were actually German. They could only laugh at each other and then go find other American fighters to trouble.

Although the entire sky was in a mess, the most conspicuous was still Hartmann’s black tulip-painted fighter. This plane was rampaging through the largest Allied formation. With a sudden burst of fire, it shot down an American fighter that was still stubbornly resisting. The P-40 fighter still had a fighting chance against the Japanese Zero, and the Americans had formulated corresponding tactics based on the parameters provided by the Germans, so they had once made up for their disadvantage in air combat. But today they finally saw the world’s top fighter and knew that the gap was so huge.

Because the desert climate was a huge test for the engines of fighters and tanks, the German Air Force, out of considerations for the secrecy and maintenance of its fighters, had so far not sent its most advanced Ta-152 fighter to Africa. So today was the first time the American pilots had seen this pinnacle of piston-engine fighters, and at this moment they knew just how fast and powerful a German fighter could be.

Before, they were still mocking the Soviet pilots as a bunch of idiots who, even with the aid of P-40 fighters, had not been able to turn the tide on the Eastern Front. Now they realized they had wronged their Soviet counterparts. These German ace pilots were truly like gods descending from heaven, an invincible and powerful existence.

In the dogfight, the American fighter pilots also showed a tough side. Compared to the gunners on the bombers, they had more fighting will and ability. At least in this situation, a few American fighters still achieved results, shooting down several German planes. The degree of their coordination was a world apart from the pilots the Germans had encountered before. At least they now had the level of the British pilots over London, and the fighters in their hands were much more advanced than the British Hurricane.

Just as the American aircraft formation was beginning to despair and was on the verge of collapse, another huge aircraft formation appeared at the other end of the sky. At least a hundred planes appeared at cloud level, and it was clear at a glance that these planes were not German equipment.

The huge wings were painted with a red five-pointed star pattern, and the escort fighters were also all P-40s, also with a green camouflage and a red five-pointed star pattern. These planes belonged to the Soviet Air Force, the slower Soviet bomber formation that was carrying out the second wave of bombing.

“It seems that today we are destined to add some more to our combat record!” Hartmann said, flying his plane around a burning and falling B-17. He gently pulled the control stick, letting the plane once again charge towards the approaching enemy formation.

And this time he was no longer alone, because behind him were a full 50 German fighters. They had been ordered to protect the oil facilities not far behind them. So at least in the sky, at least here, to fly through the area controlled by the German Air Force, one had to pay a heavy price!

“Didn’t they say the Americans had attracted the main force of the German Air Force in the south? How come there are so many German fighters here?” a commander on a Soviet fighter asked with a frown, looking at the burning sky in the distance, at the huge B-17 bomber burning and trailing thick black smoke as it fell from the sky. But it was clear that no one could answer this question clearly, and they could not turn around and flee back to the Soviet side.

“Avoid the American fighters and bombers. Everyone, prepare for battle! We will pass through the war zone from another direction. Our radio channel is different from the Americans’, and no one here speaks English… there’s no way to communicate,” he gave the combat order, and then he saw several German planes dive down from the sky, opening the curtain on a new battle here.

“Long live the motherland! Long live Comrade Stalin! For the motherland! Engage!” The Soviet pilots, flying P-40s, were also hand-picked elites. At least they still had the courage to fight the German fighters head-on. But when they saw that the German fighter charging towards them had a black tulip painted on its nose, they still instinctively made an evasive maneuver.

The American pilots might not have recognized this fellow. Even if they felt the opponent was skilled, they could still continue to fight. But the Soviet pilots knew what the black tulip represented on the Eastern Front. Speaking of which, among the Soviet pilots who could participate in the exhibition, there were many who had become elite pilots only because they had escaped from this plane’s clutches.

Only those who had fought against it could know how skilled this plane was, only when they were caught by its tail with an incredible maneuver and then shot to pieces could they know. And so, naturally, someone in the Soviet fighter channel let out a cry of alarm: “My God! It’s the Black Death!”

Although for a moment, all the Soviet pilots had the urge to turn and flee, they quickly overcame their fear. After all, when they came, they had been told the importance of this mission. The instructions from their superiors were very clear: “Only success is allowed, not failure!” If they were to flee back like this, not only would they themselves be held responsible, but even their families might be sentenced and sent to Siberia. In short, the Soviet Union was very fond of sending people to that place now.

Clearly, for those who had seen their comrades taken away by the execution squads, that kind of fear was not much different from facing death. And so, the Soviet fighter pilots summoned their courage, controlled their planes, raised their noses, and accelerated towards the direction of the German fighters.

Without even having time to rest, a second large-scale air battle began! And the dozens of remaining American bombers were delighted to find that they could already see the chimneys and factories on the horizon, emitting thick black smoke.

Published: 2025-09-18T11:06:43.000+00:00
Last Edited: 2026-02-22T19:42:16.000+00:00
URL: https://www.patreon.com/caleredhair/posts/mtr-c685-bloody-139175516

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