World War Three 1946 Series Boxed Set: Stalin Strikes First

by Harry Kellogg

  The total superiority of the Spitfire Mark XIV was evident immediately. They could out turn, out accelerate and just plain out-maneuver any of the Yak and Lag models. They could boom and zoom or burn and turn with impunity. It was like the Marianas Turkey shoot the US experienced in the Pacific in the last war. The Tu2 bombers were sitting ducks a full 100 kph slower than the Spits and lumbering along at medium altitude in formations that stretched from horizon to horizon. It was like shooting ducks in the proverbial barrel. The .23mm cannons firing from the dorsal and tail guns seemed to have no effect. The Soviet gunners were so bad you could come right up behind the Tu2s and blow them to hell.

  Hell you could throttle back and weave through the waves of bombers and just jink to the left or right and take down another bomber. When the Yaks finally got into the fight it was child’s play. They would scream into defend their bombers and end up in front of your Hispano cannons and just a touch of your trigger and they would explode faster than the Zero fighters in the Pacific. It was surprising how easy they exploded. It got so easy that he switched to just his machine guns to save cannon rounds for the bombers.

  He was getting 3 kills a mission. Larry was getting 5; it was insane. His plane was grounded for much needed maintenance. He decided to assist with a 3.7” AA gun crew just to see how things were going. When the first raid of the day was detected the crew started to pile up the shells and performed some minor tweaking of the sights, adjust the radar, lubricate the gears, test out the loading mechanism etc. HQ past word down that it looked like their airfield was going to be the target. The radar stations were getting so accurate that they could tell what kind of planes were coming. The Soviets had tried a few fighter sweeps but they were detected and ignored for the most part. The tension started to mount as they did the hardest thing you do in a combat situation…wait.

  Then they heard it. The drone of internal combustion engines power propellers tearing through the air towards you. It was thrilling in one sense and ominous in another. Then the dots start to appear. Next came the flaming wrecks dropping from the sky as the dots got bigger you could see the RAF dots tearing into the flights of bombers. Each followed by a black contrail leading to the ground. You could start to see the tracers from the Spitfires and a few Tempests reaching out into the hapless Soviet machines. Then the RAF fighters had to turn back as they entered the zone set aside for the flack traps. The Soviet squadrons came straight for them and straight to their deaths. The 3.7” guns reached out guided by radar and the aided by the proximity fuse. Once again it was a slaughter. The bombers just kept on coming. They didn’t even make it to the airfield. The 3.7” guns reached out and swatted them down at long range. Then the Bofors 40mm started to reach out on the surviving planes and more fell as the almost continuous firing of the Bofors defended anyone within close range. Then the 20mm started in.

  The bombers were like a flock of drunken birds hitting a clean window. It was as if they hit a wall and dropped piling up on each other on the ground. It was sickening even if you were on the winning side to see so many beautiful planes being slaughtered one after another.

  Bomber after bomber played follow the leader and followed their leaders in dropping from the sky. Not one made it through the explosive curtain put up by the flack trap surrounding the airfield. It was as if a force field from the science fiction books, had been placed over the field and plane after plane hit it and slid to the ground. Only the fact that the smoke from the burning wrecks started to waft over the field made it clear that there was no force field.

  Just as the last bomber fell from the sky and the guns fell silent they heard a kind of roaring and swooshing sound coming from far away and more dots started to appear. These dots were closer than the previous for two reasons. They were much faster than the others and they were shaped different. So different that coming head on they had to be very close before their distinct shape could be discerned. Even the radar didn’t pick them up until too late. When the 3.7” antiaircraft guns finally started to fire something seemed wrong. Their shells that had shot down the other bombers like magic didn’t seem to work very well. Oh sure a few of the bats were hit and fell in flames but nowhere near the numbers need to stave off an attack of this magnitude. And bats are what they reminded you of. They were the oddest planes he had ever seen. No tails and no rudders. Just wings…swept back wings. Then he remembered he had seen photos of these apparitions before. They were that German plane found near the end of the war, the Horton Flying Wing. Nasty creations with 30mm guns and an internal bomb rack. And here came those bombs. By the hundreds he could see them coming down through the whiffs of smoke caused by their dead brothers in arms. He could see the bomb that was coming for him. It seemed to be coming straight for his forehead and going to hit him right between the eyes.

  Then he heard the warning sirens going off from far away, getting louder and louder until he couldn’t ignore them and he woke up with a start. Damn, the sheets were all bunched up and he had started to sweat. What had been a nice dream had turned into a nightmare. He guessed by all the commotion, that another raid was spotted by the radar forming over France. They always had plenty of warning and for the last two weeks they had all been for nothing. The VVS just seemed to be practicing…constantly practicing. He started to put on his clothes and knew he had to get to the bomb shelter. Unlike his dream, he was a mechanic. Just as necessary for the war effort as the pilots, but without the guts or glory involved. At least he hoped he saw no guts especially his. His place during a real raid was in the bomb shelter getting ready to help out with the wounded. Again not very glamorous, but needed just the same.

  Ireland by Deathscompanion

  De Valera was having a really bad week.

  The NATO Allies were breathing down his neck to use Ireland as a base, while the Soviets were screaming at him to release all their airmen. Things had only gotten worse, when a flight of Soviet bombers got “lost” and bombed Dublin yesterday. That morning, he had summoned the Soviet Consul, and demanded an explanation. The Soviet Consul had offered his condolences, stating that it was a tragic accident, however, he had the gall to suggest that if Ireland was to avoid further “accidents” of that nature, they might consider joining the glorious world revolution of the proletariat.

  De Valera’s meeting with Gray had gone just as badly, with ominous talk of the Americans taking matters into their own hands if Eire didn’t stand up to the communists. To top it all off, the IRA had been transformed overnight. Someone had flooded their coffers and supplied them with modern weapons. Most likely, it was the Russians, as they had only, so far, attacked British installations in the North.

  The Dail had started grumbling and, unlike before, he didn’t think he had enough support to call a new election. Fianna Fail was now being seen as a communist puppet by some and a British puppet by the rest. He had to do something he would go to the radio and appeal to all those nations engaged in the war to respect neutral nations he would appeal to the U.S. public. If the Soviets could be won over via concessions, he would save Eire!

  At the American embassy:

  David Gray, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, was also considering the situation. Ever since Roosevelt’s death, he had much less contact with the White House, apart from orders to gain the Irish ports “via all possible measures of persuasion”. That was, of course, until today. A man, calling himself Lynch, came, with orders directly from the President of the United States. It had been decided that Eamon De Valera was too unreliable, and that Richard James Mulcahy, leader of the Fine Gael, had been judged more suitable. Gray was absolutely astounded, and demanded to speak with the representative from the State Department. Lynch informed him that doing so would be seen as his resignation, and replacement by a man less knowledgeable on Irish affairs. Seeing no choice, Gray agreed, and suggested consulting with the British about the operation. He was flatly told that Britain would have absolutely no part in this, and any communication would be seen
as treason. Although Gray had severe doubts about the plan and Lynch, he felt that there was no alternative.

  Outside Leinster House, in Dublin:

  De Valera had decided to visit his family, and rest for a day, as he prepared to lead Ireland through its greatest crisis, since the civil war. He had little time for his family recently, and had grown distant from his sons. His wife had pleaded with him to try and fix it, and he decided now was the time to do so, as he may not get another chance. He had told his secretary where to find him, if necessary, before she left for the night.

  The coup went well at first, with dozens of CIA men, and Garda officers, who had been sounded out beforehand, arrested the entire Dail, except for De Valera. Then, things started to go wrong. They could not find De Valera, and to their absolute horror, Mulcahy refused to have anything to do with the coup...at first. Afterwards, he appeared to reconsider, and asked to phone his wife privately. The Garda officers who were guarding him, allowed him to do so.

  Within the hour, the House was surrounded by soldiers, and the CIA men, along with their accomplices, were all arrested.

  However, when De Valera ordered a new election, in hopes of capitalizing on the failed coup, he found that he had misjudged the situation very badly. The coup had, in fact, discredited him, and Mulcahy won by a wide margin. The Irish people had been impressed by his calm refusal to join a coup that would have put him in power, and how he helped De Valera regain control.

  The Soviets, feeling that now was the time to put serious pressure on the new government, ordered the IRA to launch an armed revolt, murdering many. Leaders spoke out against it as national suicide. The Soviets felt that, as they would soon control the Irish government, the IRA would be a liability, and would soon be destroyed by the fighting, the consensus was that the doomed revolution was a means to an end.

  Mulcahy reacted quickly, deploying troops and ordering that all IRA men would face military tribunal for crimes against the state. He immediately handed over control of all the ports and airfields to the Allies, but not before evacuating every civilian possible to the countryside. He then told the Soviet Consul that an attack on Eire would bring Ireland in as a belligerent. He also negotiated the ports deal with NATO to come with a secret clause that brought to an end to partition, after the war's end. As a sop to the Soviets, who were still reeling from their gross miscalculation, he offered to release all interned Soviet airmen, who requested such repatriation.

  When the Soviets found out about the ports agreement, they realized that they didn’t have the resources to invade, and that diverting air assets from the coming battle would not be worth it. Ireland was safe, for now, but the future looked bleak. The IRA splintered into a pro-Soviet faction and an anti-Soviet faction, which proceeded to murder and terrorize each other.

  The Soviets, through their fantastic spy network, soon found out about the partition deal and, through back-channels, informed and agitated the Unionists. Having been thus informed at being sold out to the Irish for their ports, many Unionists began rioting and sabotaging the war effort. In Britain itself, despite massive censorship, it soon became apparent that the Americans felt no need to consult Britain about interfering in its domestic affairs. This, in turn, would lead to problems in the future. The only bright spark was that now the NATO Allies knew for sure that, at least, some of the spies at the highest level, had survived. However, none of this would matter, if Britain did not survive the coming attack.

  Phony War

  Well it seems its back to the old phony war like after the blitzkrieg through Poland in 39. This time however both Germany and France were occupied. So far it was a different kind of occupation from what the Germans went through. Some French embraced their would be liberators from the bonds of capitalism. All took a wait and see attitude. The Résistance had many dedicated communists in its ranks and they were now the Mayors and police chiefs of the towns they lived in. They have been placed in many positions of power in the national government. It would take time for any kind of dissension to take hold in France. The French have had enough of war. They will wait and see what the future of their newly minted socialistic government brings. The war profiteers were starting to get nervous as the communist version of the Milice started to ask questions and poke around in their business papers.

  It was a full week since the raids on the British Maintenance Units and bone yards. The fires had finally stopped and the RAF was madder than a wet hen. They mounted a few raids of their own which did not produce great results. Like the Germans in the Battle of Britain they had no assets on the ground to speak of in France. Most of the trained spies were communist sympathizers and the new amateurs were not up to the task yet. Basically the Resistance had to start from scratch and this meant that the high flying reconnaissance planes could see only so much. These are the same planes that failed to discover the buildup before the Battle of the Bulge.

  The Soviets would send up a few Wasserfal missiles that would cause the high flying recon planes to change course and interrupt their shot tracks and their images. Even a Spitfire has to turn slow and easy at over 40,000 feet and a number of Spits and Mosquito recon planes panicked and turn a little too fast and stalled spinning tens of thousands of feet before they gained control and some never did. Dropping 10,000 feet in a flat spin makes you pretty vulnerable to a high flying Yak 9PD and a number where shot down that way. All in all the raids and their effects were not very fruitful and every British plane shot down over France was one more lost for the upcoming battle over Britain. For the damage done it was not a good exchange and the RAF leadership realized this after about two weeks.

  So here we are. The Sitzkrieg once more. The calm before the storm. The spasm before the bile rises. Rises from deep down in the gut and up through the throat to full regurgitation.

  Training at high altitude

  Chapter Nine:

  The Plan

  Soviet VVS Lend Lease B-25J

  ***

  This from the diary of an unknown bomber pilot in the VVS

  ***

  My Name is of No Importance

  We had just got back from deep inside the Ukraine. Our mission had been very secret. We had tested the jamming capabilities of the American electronics that had been provided for us to install in our Lend Lease B25J bombers.[li] For the first time we flew the jamming device turned on and it worked! They shot actual shells at us. 3.7” British made shells with the magic VT Proximity fuse attached. Needless to say before the first test we were very nervous despite the assurances of the scientists in their white coats and even after a speech by Novikov himself we were very skeptical to say the least. It worked, it really worked.

  The magic shells were actually worse than a regular 3.7” shell because the jammer send out a signal that made them detonate far below us…a full thousand feet below us. It was very funny to see the crew jeer and shout insults at the gunners below. Now the strange semi dome formations made sense. Now the emphasis on the other planes staying as close as possible to us became clear. Now we knew our true mission. Now we were heartened at the prospects of our survival and the bombers that surrounded us. The months of practice would soon be demonstrated for all to see. Not for some parade but for a practical reason, a very lifesaving reason.

  We were cautioned that we would have a very limited opportunity to use our jammers to their greatest extent. The RAF was sure to change their tactics and even the use of conventional fuses would spell the doom of many of our comrades. The first week of the Battle would be critical and the focus of our efforts were to be the 3.7” heavy AA guns and their crews. These guns were the only ones who could stop the first waves of TU2s Bats from completing their mission. We were to ignore enemy fighters or bombers and concentrate on finding and drawing out into combat the heavy AA guns that used the VT proximity fuse. These were our enemy and we had to make them show their positions so the IL10 Beasts and other forms of ground attack units could destroy them.

  Only the hea
vy AA guns were radar controlled and could see in the night and clouds. Only the 3.7 AA ammo was equipped with the VT proximity fuse. Our mission was to draw them out to make them give up their positions to the waves of explosives and fire that would seek them out. Death from above meted out by our ground attack brothers and sisters to those who would end our existence. The initial waves of Tu2S Bats that would be surrounding us had their own mission, but I will let them tell their story for themselves.

  Mission for Bats

  The NATO designation for the Soviet Tu2S medium bomber is Bat. This plane was first sent into combat in 1943 is considered by many to be one of, if not the best, medium bomber of WWII. It saved Andrei Tupolev from prison with its brilliant design. Not even Stalin could ignore its genius. It was almost as fast as some of the frontline fighters of its day and could carry up to 8,000 lbs for over a thousand miles

  This was the equal to the normal load and range of the B-17 heavy bomber which carried 7,000 lbs for a range of 800 miles. [lii]Now the Flying Fortress could be called upon to carry up to 17,600 lbs and could fly 2000 miles with 4500 lbs and had much more defensive armament thus the designation heavy bomber. The Tu2S Bat relied on being faster and being more maneuverable. It was used as a heavy fighter and did attack other bombers with its 2 forward firing 20 mm cannons.

  The initial mission for the Bats in the Second Battle of Britain was to lay down a smoke screen from on high. They had two models of smoke bombs that they were going to be using. One was based on the US E44 Smoke Bomb Cluster and other the German N C 50 Smoke Bomb. Now in today’s vernacular a smoke bomb does not sound very dangerous. These bombs will prove to be very dangerous to the light antiaircraft guns all over Britain.