Steel Soviet Union

The increasingly severe anti-armor combat needs faced on the frontline battlefield made the German army realize that unprofessional dive bombers like the Stuka alone were far from being able to suppress the Soviet army's steel torrent.

The HS-129B-2 ground attack aircraft, which began to be delivered to frontline air forces in May 1942, was the final masterpiece of the German army in order to suppress the torrent of steel on the ground and the vast ocean of T34 tanks of the Soviet army.

The extremely ugly HS-129 was nicknamed the "big yellow duck" by German pilots because of the large dark yellow paint on the nose.

The main anti-tank weapon initially equipped with this twin-engine heavy attack aircraft was a MK101 30mm short-barreled cannon. However, after this cannon was put into actual use, it was immediately exposed that the barrel was too short and the muzzle velocity was insufficient, resulting in armor penetration. The firepower is so weak that even a dive attack on the Soviet T34 tank cannot quickly destroy it.

In order to solve this problem, Henschel submitted two improvement plans.

First, the HS-129B-2 attack aircraft is equipped with the MK103 cannon, which is also 30 mm, but has a longer barrel and a higher muzzle speed, further increasing the armor-piercing firepower.

The second improvement plan is even more bold. The BK37 cannon modified from the Flak 18 37mm anti-aircraft gun is recommended to be moved into the belly weapon bay of the HS-129B-2 attack aircraft.

Both of the above firepower modifications are designed as complete weapon packages that are easy to replace, and can be modified for frontline modification without the need for frontline fighters to be returned to the factory.

These HS-129B-2 attack aircraft equipped with the latest weapons have basically never fought a decent battle.

Obviously, the unlucky Malashenko has unfortunately become the grindstone for the Luftwaffe to test the latest toy.

The big yellow duck swooped down from the sky directly towards Malashenko and his party, and the dull roar of the engine played by the aircraft even overshadowed the deafening sound of guns and artillery on the ground battlefield.

Realizing that something was wrong, Malashenko just grabbed the radio transmitter at hand and pressed the button. Before he could shout out, the first Big Yellow Duck's belly cannon sprayed out flames from the muzzle.

The powerful MK103 cannon pours out 30mm sub-caliber tungsten-core armor-piercing bullet chains crazily. The barrel length is up to 44 times the caliber, allowing the muzzle velocity of these armor-piercing shells to reach as high as 940 meters per second. It is still able to penetrate vertical armor with a thickness of up to 0 mm at a distance of 30 meters.

The armor-piercing projectiles hitting the T34 tank's front armor plate directly at a dive angle of more than 45 degrees almost completely offset the equivalent thickness of the T34 tank's proud 60-degree inclined front armor plate.

These sub-caliber tungsten core armor-piercing bullets, which were always difficult to use against the sloped armor of Soviet tanks on the ground and were prone to ricochet, finally regained their cards when attacking the ground by diving straight down from the sky.

In the face of the dive attack from the sky, there was basically only the 45mm physical thickness armor without angles to rely on. The 30mm sub-caliber tungsten core armor-piercing projectile with extremely powerful vertical armor-piercing power easily penetrated the front of the T34 tank. The upper armor plate is poured into it.

The driver and electromechanical personnel located at the front of the chassis were the first to die.

After penetrating the armor, the tungsten-core armor-piercing body still had strong kinetic energy, and the head melons were smashed into paste. The armor plate, which was seriously lacking in quality, collapsed inwards due to being penetrated. A large number of fragments collapsed almost simultaneously. The two people close at hand were swept into a sieve.

Almost all of the dozen or so shells penetrated the armor and poured into the tank, instantly forming a terrifying metal storm. The scattered armor fragments and tungsten core piercing body tore everything apart before the human brain could react.

None of the four members of the crew, including the gunner and loader, could escape alive. Just one dive attack proved the powerful power of the MK103, which is known as the most powerful 30-meter gun in the German army in World War II.

The seemingly intact T34 tank looked like a wild boar that was suddenly hit by an arrow in the heart while running wildly. After losing control and continuing forward for a certain distance, it finally became completely paralyzed, stopped in place, and died on the spot.

Not only was one tank destroyed by this dive attack, but as many as four T34 medium tanks in the vanguard were killed on the spot due to this "big yellow duck attack".

The frantic German army not only dispatched the Big Yellow Duck with the MK103 modification kit, but also the Big Yellow Duck with the BK37 cannon mounted into the battle.

The BK37 cannon, which is far more powerful than the 30-gun cannon, smashed the poor T34 tank into pieces like a beer bottle. If the German pilot's gunnery skills were good and the angle of entry was correct, it would only take two or three short bursts to destroy one tank. T34 tank.

After completing a dive attack, the big yellow ducks changed their attack channel at an altitude of 300 meters and began to pull up to prepare for the next attack. The extremely high-speed whistling sound and strong wind as they passed overhead at low altitude almost made Malashenko unable to open his eyes. .

Looking back at the big yellow ducks that were shaking their butts and turning their bodies to prepare for another round of dive attacks, Malashenko, who knew that escaping on the ground would have no effect at all, couldn't help but feel desolate and extremely annoyed.

The German plane is riding on his face and shitting at will. Where are those damn fighter aviation troops of our own side now? ?

What Malashenko, who was shouting manically deep in his heart, did not know at this moment was that the Soviet Fighter Aviation Regiment that came to support him was only a short distance away from the battlefield. The ace pilot of the Soviet Fighter Aviation Corps who was at the front of the fleet was Lieutenant Aleryukhin could already clearly see the figures of those extremely rampant German yellow ducks.

About an hour ago, Lieutenant Allelukhin, as the vanguard of the 9th Guards Fighter Regiment, flew to Stalingrad Airport for emergency support.

Lieutenant Allelukhin, who had been rushing to Stalingrad to report without stopping, had just parked his Lager 3 on the runway and jumped out of the cabin. He was going to find a water bottle and take a few sips to quench his thirst. He was already sitting at the airport. However, Colonel Sidnev, commander of the 268th Fighter Aviation Division, immediately called him over.

Lieutenant Allelukhin, who had just arrived at the airport command post, had not had time to take a breath. Colonel Sidnev, who got straight to the point, immediately pointed to the battle area marked with a red pencil on the theater map in front of him, and said to Allelukhin in a very solemn tone. Lieutenant Liu Xin said.

"Our counterattack has encountered trouble, Comrade Allelyukhin. The German invaders have dispatched a large number of bombers and attack aircraft to besiege our ground forces and are bombing continuously in this area. Our ground forces need cover, and you will be responsible for leading them. team to complete this mission.”

Although Lieutenant Aleryukhin, who was only 22 years old at the time, was even younger than Malashenko, he had already shot down two German BF109s alone, and was able to escape with maneuvers when being besieged by four BF109s at the same time. The trump card that came out, the order from Colonel Sidnev did not make the young face show the slightest fear.