254

Episode 254: Tug of war (7)

The U.S. military had excessive expectations for the 76mm Sherman, but that did not mean that they only focused on the 76mm main gun without any countermeasures.

There was discussion within the Ordnance Department about mounting a larger and stronger main gun than 76mm on the tank, and it led to actual action and even produced several finished products.

It's just that it has never seen the light of day due to its 76mm omnipotence.

However, now that it has been revealed through actual combat that the 76mm that I believed in so much is a herbal product, I can no longer buy it.

The Sherman, which was equipped with a 90mm main gun that had more firepower than the 76mm, was criticized for being difficult to load because the main gun was too large for the turret.

The newly manufactured turret was larger and wider than the previous Sherman's turret, allowing the 90mm main gun to be mounted reliably.

In order to ensure the tankers' visibility, the upper part of the turret was exposed, so the upper armor had to be manufactured and attached separately, but it was not bad for a hastily made item.

However, as it was predicted that the Sherman alone would be difficult to respond to the ever-changing battlefield, the Ordnance Department developed a completely new tank from the chassis to the turret.

The result was the prototype tank 'T26', which was released a month ago.

The T26's armor and firepower were well received by the Ordnance Department and army generals.

The 101mm 46-degree slope armor on the front of the hull and 76mm armor on the sides had protection greater than that of the German Panther, and the 90mm M3 tank gun could penetrate 143mm of vertical armor at 500m, theoretically destroying the Panther from the front within 500m.

The United States finally had a tank better than the Panther.

Except for one thing: there is a problem with the engine.

The T26's armor and firepower were beyond reproach, but its engine and mobility more than ate up all of the T26's strengths.

As the armor and firepower were strengthened, the weight of the T26 increased by 11 tons compared to the M4 Sherman, reaching 42 tons. However, because the engine had the same 500 horsepower as the Sherman, there was a major problem with reliability.

Even in a test drive on the road, it was moving at a speed similar to a slug, and the engine frequently shut off, so it was obvious what it would be like in the rough field.

One of the disadvantages of the T26 was that it weighed 42 tons, causing difficulties in loading and transporting it.

However, now that the true nature of German tanks and the lack of power of the 76mm main gun had been clearly revealed, it was no longer a position to choose between cold and hot.

Eisenhower immediately contacted his home country and requested that all Shermans and T26s equipped with 90mm guns be sent to Europe.

Everything from the M4 Sherman to the M4A3E2 Sherman, an assault tank with reinforced armor.

The M4A3E2 Sherman assault tank, also known as the Jumbo Sherman, has the same main gun of 75mm, but with additional armor attached, it was evaluated as being able to block 88mm from the front without difficulty.

If the distance is long enough, it will be able to block Panther's 75mm shells.

I don't like the fact that the main gun is 75mm, but it will be useful if it is replaced with a 76mm gun as soon as possible.

Still, in terms of penetration, 76mm is better than 75mm.

"If the 90mm had been sent earlier, at least 1,000 more people could have been saved… … ."

Even if I regret it now, it doesn't change the past, but I still feel regretful in a corner of my heart.

If we had paid a little more attention, if we had noticed the fear of German tanks earlier, we could have saved one or two more soldiers who died on the battlefield, and the fate of the fallen and their families would have also changed.

Eisenhower's mission was to help the British army drive out the Germans from England and bring victory to the United States, but it was also to safely return American soldiers deployed to Europe to their families.

Like other generals, he had a great interest in developing his military and had ambitions to enter the political world, but he did not think of soldiers as expendable items for his military.

Even if they were the lowest rank privates, they were all precious children of their respective families and citizens of the United States.

It is not a part that can be replaced at any time if it breaks down.

In order for even one more of them to survive and return safely to their families, they needed stronger weapons than they have now.

***

July 18, 1943

Air Force base near Sheffield, England

The RAF burned its spirit in the face of the overwhelming power of the Luftwaffe.

In factories in the rear, workers worked day and night, even cutting down tea time, which was the most precious thing for the British, to produce fighter planes for the front lines. The United States also generously sent its expensive fighter jets to Britain, which was in a difficult situation.

After the fall of London, bomber production officially ceased in Britain.

In fact, considering the war situation, it should have been stopped long before, but due to Arthur Harris's strong argument that if strategic bombing was stopped, even the fighter planes deployed to defend enemy cities would flock to England, bomber production has decreased in number so far. It continued.

However, despite Harris's efforts, the Germans eventually landed on Britain, and bomber production officially ended.

There was a shortage of materials to make fighter planes right now, and precious materials could not be allocated to producing bombers that were no longer useful.

The United States also no longer sent B-17s and B-24s to Britain, but sent more P-47s and P-51s.

However, even among the fighters that were barely made, 30 to 40 percent, or more than half, failed to return to base once they took off.

The difference in performance between fighter jets was large, but the difference in skill between pilots was so wide that it was impossible to fathom.

Britain, which had lost many skilled pilots in the French Blitzkrieg, lost many pilots again when the second war with Germany broke out.

In particular, Britain suffered from a pilot shortage due to the loss of many skilled pilots during the Dieppe landing operation.

It was a huge defeat that the remaining pilots were deployed in large numbers to the Middle East, Malta, and India after falling prey to Germany's sabotage operation.

After the German army landed on the island of Britain, they hurriedly called back to the mainland the air force deployed throughout the colonies, but not all of them arrived intact.

There were hundreds of pilots who were struck by torpedoes fired by U-boats and became lost in the water before they could even set foot on their homeland.

Even if they managed to arrive in England and take off in a fighter plane, they were often shot down by the latest aircraft piloted by German pilots with several times more experience and skills.

Even though fighter jets are produced in factories and receive support from the United States, the problem of pilots' skills was never a problem that could be solved overnight.

Rookie pilots had to sortie to fight the Germans without proper training, and were quickly melted down by German pilots who had become veterans after years of combat.

Dowding argued that sending young pilots to the front line before they even learned how to fly would be like telling them to die, and that they should complete the minimum training period, but the war situation did not allow this.

If the Air Force stopped sorties, the German army's advance would intensify and German bombers would leisurely fly in and burn British cities, so the RAF had no choice but to continue ordering new pilots to fly sorties, even though they knew it was suicidal.

The U.S. Army Air Corps and pilots from Poland, France, Czechoslovakia, and Benelux who had defected to England fought alongside the RAF, but despite their struggles, the Luftwaffe's dominance showed no signs of stopping.

There was a lot of jokes like this going around among Allied Army soldiers.

They say that friendly aircraft are invisible to the naked eye because they are painted in transparent colors... … .

"It would be better if I did that. "Ssibure."

Vader, the ace on crutches, spit out spit that had turned yellow with nicotine and lamented the reality the RAF was facing.

I can somehow endure the fatigue that builds up in my body from repeated sorties every day.

I had the benefit of the Benzerdrine pills that were given to me periodically to help me overcome fatigue (of course, there was no answer if I ran out of pills), but I became a pilot because I wanted to fly, so I didn't have any regrets about my choice.

The most difficult thing to bear was the constant war situation and the disdain from other soldiers and soldiers, including the infantry, even though they were fighting to the death every day.

"Fuck you. "We're having a hard time fighting with the Jerrys, but where are you Air Force bastards stuck so you can't even shine a light on your nose?"

"You damn flies. "He's usually like a pilot and just wanders around."

"If we lose the war, it's all because of you."

You fucking bastards. I didn't even know that I was still holding on thanks to the Air Force. The RAF pilots, including Vader, were going crazy and jumping around.

It cannot be said that Britain's survival to date is entirely due to the RAF's efforts, but if it had not been for the RAF's efforts, Germany would have advanced to Glasgow by now or would have occupied the entire UK and declared victory.

But no one knew this.

From the perspective of the Army, which was suffering from bombing by the German Air Force, they believed that they were suffering because the Air Force failed to do its duty, and when they said they were attached to German planes, they only saw friendly planes falling like leaves in a cold wind, so it is far from clearing the Army's misunderstanding about the Air Force. It seemed.

As Vader put the mast in his mouth and was about to light the match, a siren sounded. It was an emergency sortie situation that I had already experienced a hundred times.

As always, Vader was the first to take off from the runway. He was the first to spot enemy bombers and he was the pilot who first began engaging them.

"mother! "Fucking, fucking Jerry, you bastards!"

If it's a Bf109 or Fw190, it's worth trying with a Spitfire. The Griffon Spitfire equipped with the Rolls-Royce Griffon engine was never inferior to the two aircraft in terms of performance.

However, it was a tough fight starting from Ta152 and Do335, and with the Me262 driven by a veteran, it was fortunate that he returned alive.

That damn model called a jet boasted a much faster speed than regular prop planes.

The Griffon Spitfire's top speed was 721 km/h, while Schwalbe's was 867 km/h. So it was natural for RAF pilots to scream.

If only we had an aircraft like that. Vader was so jealous of the damn Jerrys that he was going crazy.

It was a useless imagination, but it was still an imagination, so he thought about this. What if Jerry's aircraft and our team's aircraft were swapped?

Our troops advance right in front of Berlin... … If not, at least the Jerrys would not have landed in Britain or the Hackenkreuz would have been swept up in London.

Envious guys. Do these guys even realize that they are incredibly lucky?

While he was thinking that, a Spitfire with a young ensign in it crashed. There was no parachute in sight. Perhaps the pilot also shared the fate of the aircraft.

-Fuck you! Somebody get rid of this guy!

What was this friend's name? Vader's memory faded. It was only after the owner of the voice uttered another harsh curse into the radio that Vader remembered his name.

William Putty. A captain from New Zealand, he was Vader's poker opponent. An unusual friend whose poker skills were excellent and he swept up the stake in every game, but he couldn't drink alcohol so he only drank apple juice.

"Hold on just a little while. I am going right now!"

Vader approached the rear of the Me262 pursuing Putty's Spitfire to rescue Putty.

But perhaps he was no ordinary person, he sensed Vader's approach like a ghost and quickly ascended the plane. Damn you.

"The performance is also a scam, how can we beat this!?"

Vader was angry. In the midst of a hectic battle, two Spitfires fell in succession.

The pilot who made an emergency escape succeeded in opening his parachute, but the other person's parachute did not open. It was a breakdown.

Another pilot passed away unexpectedly. Damn it. Shit.

No tears came out. All I can say is swear words out of frustration.

After much difficulty, Vader approached the rear of the Me262 and fired 20mm cannons and 12.7mm machine guns.

The Me262, which was elated after having just shot down a Spitfire, dived in surprise when an attack came from behind.

"Don't miss it!"

Vader also dived after the enemy.

A thin line of smoke came from the right wing, as if the enemy's wing had been damaged. The engine seemed to have taken a hit as well, and the speed seemed to have dropped further than before.

Yamche, who caught the prey that was almost like a catch, was Putty, whom Vader had rescued a little while ago.

Putty's Spitfire approached from the right and fired its cannons at the Me262, ultimately shooting it down.

-Gotcha!

"Well, that ungrateful bastard…" … "

Vader was dumbfounded and speechless. I thought about throwing out a bunch of curses, but Putty's Spitfire had a hole in it, so he went straight down.

Then, a Me262 came up from below.

"… … !!!"

Putty's Spitfire is now too small to follow with the eye. Soon a small explosion occurred on the ground.

While the Spitfires played a game of tag with the Me262s, the He 177s leisurely dropped bombs toward downtown Sheffield.

Sheffield, heated by the heat of summer, burned even hotter.

***

July 19, 1943

luton, england

"I don't know what kind of trouble this is."

Hausser, commander of the 7th Army, grumbled and waited for Himmler, who had said he would visit the front and encourage the soldiers during this busy time, to arrive.

After Hausser was promoted to SS Reich leader, Himmler distanced himself from Hausser, who had the same rank as him.

But today, perhaps due to a change in thinking, he suddenly visits the 7th Army headquarters and announces that he will encourage the soldiers who are suffering on the front lines.

Hausser suspected that Himmler, who felt pressured by him, had planned today's visit to solidify the fact that he was number one in the SS hierarchy.

It was quite reasonable for Himmler, who had a petty personality and was obsessed with holding office.

"If your Excellency were to take charge of the SS, there would be nothing more I could ask for."

Dietrich's words. The SS officers around him and even the Wehrmacht officers nodded in agreement.

"Hey man. Sounds like a big problem. "Don't go anywhere and say something like that."

Hausser was petulant, but not in a bad mood.

In fact, within the SS, there was an atmosphere of following Hausser, a complete talent with all the experience, experience, skills, and personality, more than Himmler, a eccentric maniac who was an occult enthusiast and obsessed with collecting government posts.

Hausser's reputation was well known even in the Wehrmacht, which had a strained relationship with the SS, and even the Wehrmacht officers who worked under Hausser seemed to recognize Hausser even if they did not know others.

Hausser checked the time on his watch. Three minutes later, the transport plane carrying Himmler will appear.

***

"Honey, is something good happening?"

His wife Lina asked Heydrich, who was humming.

"iced coffee. "Not now, but it will happen soon."

"It's coming soon?"

Lina tilted her head at her husband's ambiguous answer. Heydrich said with a smile.

"You will find out soon."