Stalemate (The Red Gambit Series)

Stalemate (The Red Gambit Series) by Colin Gee Read Free Book Online Page B

Book: Stalemate (The Red Gambit Series) by Colin Gee Read Free Book Online
Authors: Colin Gee
in the night skies.
    The Soviets, in an attempt to gain some sort of inroads into the Allied mastery of the night sky, had devised a simple solution.
    During the German War, the Luftwaffe had inadvertently provided the Red Air Force with a lot of quality equipment, left behind by retreating forces or overrun when the red tide swamped the front.
    The two blips that were the focus of King’s attention were very dangerous beasts. No longer in their Luftwaffe markings, the two Heinkel 219 A-7’s boasted the simple colour scheme of the Soviet Air force, and their sole purpose in life was to kill enemy night-fighters.
    The Soviet aircrew had received a crash course on their new aircraft and were keen to test their skills against the despised Allied night fighter force.
    Radars described the battlefield, painting the displays with light , each pinpoint signifying a target, the remainder of the screen dark and insignificant.
    The three aircraft closed rapidly.
    The lead Soviet pilot caught a movement against the last vestiges of the dying day, and flicked his aircraft into the right angle, sending a stream of 20mm cannon shells at whatever it was that had attracted his attention.
    The majority missed, but his excellent reactions bore fruit as three 20mm shells hit the Beaufighter’s starboard wing and engine hard, the final shell striking the propeller, causing one of the blades to immediately detach and spin away.
    Clark suddenly had major problems to deal with. He shut the damaged engine down, the distorted propeller causing numerous handling issues until it was feathered.
    The three aircraft swept past each other, with only the lead Heinkel engaging.
    The Beaufighter was now down on speed, its single Bristol Hercules engine straining to the limit to provide a s much assistance as possible for the coming fight.
    King called in the enemy positions and Clark manoeuvred to get in a shot. Every time he tried, the faster Heinkel would move away , or the second aircraft would get in a position that threatened the Beaufighter.
    The Soviet pilots had learned their lessons well, and the previously unblooded second Heinkel got in a long burst of cannon fire, ripping into the ‘Gypsy Queen III’ from nose to tail.
    Shells ruined the radar equipment and much of the Beaufighter's necessary instrumentation. Other shells ripped open sections of the port wing, damaging the fuel tanks and sending the main aileron flying off like a piece of chaff.
    The tail area , with its converted dihedral planes, received a lot of damage, but the control surfaces remained functional, a testament to the ruggedness of the design.
    King was hit by two shells, explosive 20mm cannon shells, which transformed him into so much butcher’s meat in the blink of an eye.
    Clark was hit by only one, and it was one of three shells that did not explode on impact with the USAAF night fighter. Dud or not, the impact of it turned the pilot’s left knee into mincemeat, the unexploded shell held in place by a few intact vestiges of gristle and bone.
    The American pilot felt little pain. He had only survival on his mind now, and he struggled with the Beaufighter, expertly milking all the speed he could from the damaged bird.
    Some sideslipping provided Clark with the comfort that he would not be an easy target, and he broadcast in clear, calling for help from his fellow nighthawks.
    A Heinkel slid down the port side, easily outpacing the stricken Beaufighter.
    Trained to be aggressive at all times, he considered attempting a shot, but the speed advantage of the ex-Luftwaffe aircraft was too great.
    He could not see behind him, and his attempts to raise the observer had not borne fruit.
    It would not have mattered.
    A thousand pairs of eyes watching his tail would not have done the job.
    One pair of eyes looking down might have.
    In the German War, the Luftwaffe devised a weapons system that exploited the major weak spot of Allied heavy night bombers, namely the belly.
    With the

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