This time, the German Air Force's eight air fleets had truly committed their full strength. More than 2,500 FW-190 fighters alone had taken off. Adding together all the Dive Bombers and ground-attack aircraft, there were nearly another 2,000 planes.
However, Dive Bombers and ground-attack aircraft could not take part in aerial combat. Their air-combat capabilities were far too weak; once they encountered Russian Air Force fighters, there was only a dead end waiting for them. Therefore, in the takeoff order, the FW-190 fighters always departed first, relying on their superior speed to reach the battlefield ahead of time and clear out the Russian Air Force's aircraft.
After being loaded with bombs, Dive Bombers and ground-attack aircraft were naturally much slower. They would arrive at the battlefield afterward. If everything went smoothly, the German Air Force would have cleared out most of the Russian Air Force's fighters by then. At that point, they would only need to attack the Russian Air Force's airfields under fighter cover.
"Attention, all squadrons! Attention, all squadrons! We are about to encounter the Russians. Within half an hour, we must wipe them out and clear this section of airspace!" a Squadron Leader of a Fighter Group ordered.
"Understood, sir!" the squadron commanders answered one after another.
A few minutes later, they encountered Russian Air Force fighters in the sky. The German Air Force's FW-190 fighters threw off their external fuel tanks and the bombs hanging beneath their wings. Those would become burdens in an aerial battle and hinder the fighters' performance.
"The Russians' new aircraft? We've never seen them before!" a German military pilot said.
This was their first encounter with the Russian Air Force's Yak-1 fighters.
"**These are the Yak-1 fighters the Russians have newly equipped. Their performance is a little stronger than the aircraft