Chapter 929: Odin

A German “armed helicopter” patrolled over the plains. Compared to ground patrol cars and infantry patrols, this newly born weapon seemed to have a unique advantage in dominating large areas. It could patrol an entire region at super-high speed, using its carried weapons to quickly suppress partisans attacking the railways or roads.

Compared to modern attack helicopters, this Odin helicopter, despite being Germany’s second-generation helicopter, was still brutally simple. This aircraft only had armored steel plates for protection in some important areas, and it could only protect against ordinary rifle and small-caliber machine gun bullets. As for places like its windshield, it was still fragile and vulnerable.

Of course, compared to the Crusader helicopter, which was practically a convertible, this Odin helicopter had already been greatly improved. At least in terms of defensive level, the two pilots inside were no longer nearly naked. And the biggest improvement was in its weapon system, which had been greatly enhanced.

First, this aircraft was equipped with two eight-tube rocket pods. Although their accuracy was not great, firing them all at once could still cover a large area. At least for mountain troops and reconnaissance patrol and security units that lacked artillery support, this fire support was already very “powerful.”

Moreover, this helicopter had two 20mm cannons. This weapon was not very successful in experiments because, based on an aerial cannon, its muzzle velocity had been reduced (to reduce recoil). Therefore, these two cannons were not ideal in anti-tank combat, but for supporting infantry and clearing fire points, they were a divine weapon.

In addition to this, there was the 7.92mm G42 machine gun mounted on the side of the helicopter. This weapon was very useful when hovering to cover troops, as it could effectively use its altitude to suppress various enemy fire points.

Overall, the combat effectiveness of this so-called “armed helicopter” was not much stronger than an attack aircraft like the Stuka II, and in some areas, it was even far inferior. For example, when this helicopter faced enemy attack aircraft or fighters, its self-defense means were very limited, and it was easily shot down by various enemy fire.

But by virtue of certain advantages, this aircraft had still received a large number of orders from the German military. The users included the SS, the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force. Almost everyone had gotten a piece of the pie from the orders for this aircraft.

This aircraft did not require large airport facilities, and its takeoff did not have high terrain requirements. It could provide the troops with the ability to vertically transport equipment, could hover at a designated position instead of just flying past… In short, there were many features that made everyone love it, so everyone was happy to be equipped with some of these aircraft.

And among the many military units, the one that was equipped with the most of these aircraft was the German Army. These army generals were keen on building a three-dimensional rapid reaction force, using helicopters to strengthen the firepower of their troops, in order to realize the operational concept of a super-strengthened blitzkrieg for the army at some point in the future.

For those who understood, all of the above were just excuses. To put it bluntly, it was just that the army intended to get a piece of the pie from the air force’s support function, to use this emerging means to increase its own power. The subtext was simple: “The army must also have an army that can fly.”

Sometimes this kind of thinking is incredibly childish. But one had to admit, at least in the current situation, this was how Germany’s Odin helicopter came to be. And with a market and room for development, the German engineers also had a more relaxed environment to develop better helicopters.

The truth is actually very cruel. Even 70 years later, an armed helicopter, compared to a true tank-killer attack aircraft, does not actually have a great advantage. Comparing the relatively mature A-10 and SU-25 attack aircraft with the AH-64 Apache, they each have their own advantages. It is not to say that armed helicopters have an overwhelming combat advantage in anti-tank warfare.

As for why they gritted their teeth and insisted on using them, the reason was just the competition between the services. This might be very ruthless for the soldiers fighting on the front lines, but for the entire service branch, it was in this blind persistence that they could take the first step towards three-dimensional warfare.

If this competition was kept within a limited degree, then it would be a benign leavening agent for tactical fermentation, allowing the troops to endlessly explore new tactical areas. Of course, if this competition became shameless and a vicious cycle, it would be the root of the Japanese Army and Navy’s foolishness, a disgraceful cycle of mutual undermining.

“This is Argus 3, this is Argus 3. I am patrolling sector K! All clear,” the pilot in charge of flying the aircraft said over the radio to the nearby Army Aviation command post. For the different services, this new branch had simplified many of the steps for the army to request air support from the air force, which could be considered a kind of progress from another perspective.

“If there’s nothing, just fly a circuit along the pre-set route and come back… There are two ground patrols in sector K. Do you want to say hello to them?” by the radio equipment in the ground command center, a duty German officer was stirring his coffee, which was laced with sugar. The treatment of the Army Aviation was based on that of the Air Force, and was even much better than that of the armored forces, so even in a place close to the front, most people could occasionally drink the luxury of coffee.

“Alright, you can give me their channel…” the pilot said with a smile, adjusting the helicopter’s flight altitude, locking it at a relatively high position. At this position, the threat from ground weapons to the helicopter was relatively small, and they could fly the entire course in a relatively safer manner.

“Hey! Look over there! There’s something on the ground!” the weapons operator in the co-pilot’s seat shouted into his throat mic, calling his partner, hoping to get the pilot’s attention. He had clearly seen something and needed the pilot to readjust the flight path to confirm.

“Where?” The pilot adjusted the two control sticks above his head, slowing the helicopter down. He then adjusted the control stick in his hand, pointing the nose of the helicopter in the direction the co-pilot had indicated.

Soon, he saw what was happening on the ground. Some German soldiers were firing, and opposite them were some gunmen in civilian clothes. The two groups were firing at each other from behind their respective cover. Tracer rounds drew bright but very short straight lines on the ground.

“Command! Come in, please! Command! Come in, please!” the pilot shouted, while operating the aircraft to slowly descend. He was contacting his ground command. Hearing the duty officer’s reply in his headset, he continued, “I see troops engaged in a firefight on the ground. Please verify if there is a situation in the vicinity! Please verify which unit is in combat.”

The voice that came through the headset almost made the duty officer swallow his spoon. He quickly stood up from beside his radio, shouted, “I’ll go and verify,” and then, pulling off his headset, he ran quickly to the patrol detachment’s command radio in a room not far away.

He then ran back in a panic, picked up the microphone, and shouted, “A squad in sector K has been attacked. Those idiots forgot to notify us… Distinguish between friend and foe and open fire! Fire!”

“Argus 3, roger!” the pilot replied. He then gave the attack order to his co-pilot. “I’m descending. You find a chance to open fire! Finish off anyone not in a German uniform! Pay attention to the surroundings! Watch out for an ambush.”

“Alright! Tell the men in the back to stay safe! I’m using the rockets!” the weapons operator in the co-pilot’s seat shouted. Behind him was a partition. Behind the door were two machine gunners strapped in with safety belts. They were also responsible for search and reconnaissance in normal times, and for operating the machine guns to attack during combat.

Without the slightest hesitation, this German helicopter aimed its nose at the target on the ground. After a slight adjustment of the nose’s direction, the weapons operator in the co-pilot’s seat pressed the rocket launch button. The entire helicopter began to shudder, and with this shudder, one after another of the rockets rushed towards the target area several hundred meters away.

The accuracy of these rockets was not particularly good, so in order to increase their hit probability and to control their dispersion, the German helicopters would generally compress the firing distance to within one kilometer. In most cases, they would fire within a range of several hundred meters to achieve the accuracy they wanted.

As a dazzling light flashed in the air, a German soldier, who had ducked behind a rock, held his helmet and watched the flames spewing from the helicopter fly towards the enemy’s direction. His gaze followed the rockets as they cut through the sky, and then he poked his head out to look at the other side. That place was instantly engulfed in a sea of fire from the explosions. The machine gun nest that had been so ferocious just a moment ago was instantly silenced.

“I’m turning the fuselage sideways. They need continuous suppressive fire,” the pilot said, looking at the open area of the explosion. These exposed individual targets in the open were a rare target. A helicopter had no difficulty dealing with such targets. He adjusted the helicopter’s nose direction, and the side machine gun got a firing angle. And so that machine gun began to spit fire, and tracer rounds rained down on the ground.

On the ground, the German soldiers, watching the helicopter swagger, were immediately filled with fighting spirit. They had been miserably suppressed by these damn Soviet partisans just now, and now they finally had a chance for revenge.

Someone shouted, and everyone raised their weapons. “Charge!”

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