USSR 1941

  Chapter 796 Pit

   But in fact, the problem is far from as simple as John and Akadyevich thought. Even Churchill didn't realize that this was actually a pit when he received the information.

  If Shulka insists on asking Britain to hand over all the supplies, then the British can transport these supplies in a planned and step-by-step manner within the specified time, including many tanks and aircraft reinforced by the US military.

In fact, the fighter planes that the U.S. military aided the Soviet army at this time were not good... The fighter planes that the U.S. military aided the Soviet Union were mainly P39s. Maintenance is difficult, especially since the engine is located in the middle of the fuselage. Every time the engine is overhauled, the ground crew can't wait to dismantle this fighter.

   It is strange that Soviet pilots liked this aircraft very much.

   Shulka conjectures that this may be related to the characteristics of the Soviet Air Force at this time:

   Difficult to escape?

  Soviet pilots need to escape? !

   Complex structure and difficult maintenance?

   It's not a problem at all, they just need to be able to take the aircraft into the air to fight, and then... come back safely to need maintenance.

   Is it inconvenient to operate in a small space?

  Are you kidding me? The P39 has a complete communication system. No matter how inconvenient it is to operate, it can be compared to the Soviet Air Force that needs to use signal flares to communicate with each other? !

  The problem is that these equipment will be used in the African battlefield immediately after being intercepted by the British army. If used in the African battlefield, there will inevitably be losses, and any losses must be made up.

   Then John immediately found Shulka.

   "Comrade Shulka!" John said: "We have at least 200 fighters that can't get together, because they were shot down by the enemy in the African battlefield!"

The air battle between Britain and Germany in the African battlefield was very fierce, especially the air battle between the two sides for the island of Malta... This island straddles the Mediterranean Sea and stuck the supply channel of the German army from France to Africa, because the British have always firmly controlled it. Even borrowing the US aircraft carrier to transport fighter planes for the island of Malta, this made Rommel's Afrika Korps lack of supplies and eventually failed.

  From this point of view, it is understandable that Churchill would try every means to "appropriate" these US-aided fighter planes, because it is indeed related to the outcome of the African campaign.

   "So..." Shulka said, "What are you going to do?"

   "May I..."

   "No!" Shulka interrupted John: "Don't even think about it, we can't compromise anymore!"

   "I know!" John said, "So, we hope to fill those gaps with Hurricanes!"

   Needless to say, the reason for this is that if you want to use American P39 to make up for it, it must be shipped from the United States, and the British Hurricane fighter jets are available in Africa, and India also has a factory to produce them.

  John thought there would be no problem, because the performance of the Hurricane fighter was much better than that of the plague-stricken P39.

  But John was surprised to see Shulka frowning.

   "What's the problem?" John asked, "You know, the Hurricane is only better than the P39!"

"Perhaps you are right, Comrade John!" Shulka said: "The problem is... our pilots prefer the P39, so we trained a large number of P39 pilots in a targeted and batched manner, while the Hurricane fighter is not the case! "

"But…"

   "The performance is your problem!" Shulka interrupted John: "We only know which fighter the Air Force prefers to use, so... I still hope to get the P39!"

  John sighed, knowing that Shulka was telling the truth.

  After thinking about it, John said, "Comrade Shulka, can you... discuss it with your superior?"

   "Okay, I'll try!"

   Then Shulka went into the room and smoked another cigarette.

  When Shulka sat in front of John again, he said: "The superior is not very happy, Comrade John! But..."

   "But what?"

   "However, if 50 of the 200 fighters are Spitfires, the superior thinks it can be considered!"

  John couldn't help being dumbfounded when he heard this. You must know that the Spitfire is the most advanced fighter in the UK. Not to mention the American P39 and Hurricane, even the German BF109 has its own advantages.

  Looking at John's expression, Shulka spread out his hands pretending to be helpless, and said, "If you feel embarrassed, then..."

   "No, I will ask my superiors for instructions!" John quickly replied, "I think they will seriously consider it!"

  The British government really considered it seriously, and the result of the consideration was to agree to Shulka's conditions.

This made Beria overjoyed, not to mention Beria, even Stalin was shocked by it... because the Soviet Union at this time lacked such a fighter that could match the performance of the German army in all aspects, that is to say, as long as it is equipped with With excellent pilots and necessary training, these fighters will soon be able to fly into the sky and compete with the Germans for air supremacy head-on. The importance of this to the Soviet army is self-evident.

   In addition, these supplies also have vacancies in tanks... The African battlefield is a big consumer of tanks. Of course, the British will first use the intercepted American tanks to resist the German attack.

   So Shulka went to the room and smoked a cigarette again.

  Because British tanks are not at all more advanced than American tanks, the only thing that can satisfy Shulka is the quantity, so there are one hundred more British "Valentine" tanks in the supply.

For this reason, Beria even had some doubts about whether these were true. He came to find Shulka himself and asked: "Are they really going to do this? I mean, that's four hundred tanks. They promised us two The sum of monthly aid!"

   (Note: In the agreement, Britain aids the Soviet Union with 200 tanks per month)

   "I believe it's true, Comrade Beria!" Shulka replied: "And, it's really just the British paying their debts!"

   "That's right!" Beria laughed: "They haven't paid off yet!"

   The British did not pay off.

  However, if you look at the problem from the perspective of the United Kingdom, the "debt" and "blocking" of the United Kingdom are justifiable.

  Because Rommel is leading the Afrika Korps to pursue the British army fiercely, although Rommel's troops and supplies are seriously insufficient.

  Fortunately, the British army finally stabilized its position on the Alamein line of defense... If this line of defense is breached again, then Rommel's army will hit the Suez Canal to cut off the British army's supply line and completely occupy Africa.

  The British army could not compete with Rommel in terms of tactics and combat effectiveness. On the one hand, they could only desperately compress the enemy's supply line, and on the other hand, they tried their best to increase their own supplies and equipment.

   Only by forming an absolute advantage over the enemy in terms of supplies and troops, can the British army be able to defeat the feared African Legion.