"It is like a Matryoshka doll[lx]. One inside another inside another inside another."
"Yes a very deadly Doll. Paval a very deadly one for one side or the other."
Just One of Many
The fog had lifted just enough for him to use his flashlight to signal what he assumed was a Soviet sub. His red light was barely visible to someone on shore but readable for his intended target. If the coast was clear he was to pass on a short string of numbers by pointing his flashlight directly east from a certain point on the shore. He had no idea but he suspected that he was not the only one doing this. His handler said that some kind of vessel would be watching and when he got a message passed to him he was supposed to relay that string of numbers to the night on the exact minute past the hour that corresponded to yesterday’s date. He would get no response.
He was told that others would receive a response but not he and that would be the check on if his message got through. So far he and the other unknown communist sympathizers were performing as directed. His handler contacted him by what they called a dead drop and it was rotated. It was usually just a newspaper, a wadded up piece of butchers paper etc. just something innocuous that could be written on and a short string of numbers would sometimes be hidden in some other text or sometimes not. The hand writing seemed to be different every time. So far he had only been given and sent 13 messages.
The Home Guard had been given the task of once again patrolling the coastlines. He was a long time member of the Home Guard and hated the Nazis with a passion.[lxi] He also hated capitalism for the things it had done to his family. His father died in the coal mines that refused to install the safety measures that killed him. He was crushed in a cave in that was easily prevented. His brother was currently suffering from Black Lung disease and would not see another Christmas. To be fair he was a repository of hundreds of horrific industrial accidents and safety violations for the union and this tainted his view of the world. It was hard to look at report after report of severed limbs, preventable diseases, horrific working conditions and not be affected by what he saw. He was keeping a list of the names of the people responsible so that when the communists took over they could be prosecuted for their crimes.
And he wanted that day to come. Britain needed a cleansing like France during her revolution. The monarchy and the House of Lords would be the first to lose everything. He did not wish for their lives but he did wish for their being introduced to justice. He belonged to no Communist organizations and was approached after remarks in a pub far from home. He suspected that they had played on his position with the union and had been watching him. He was not outspoken and the Government could hardly lock up or prevent every union member from being in the armed forces or the Home Guard.
The Home Guard presented itself as the best way for him at age 54 to prevent the Nazis' from invading his homeland. It also was the best thing he could do to see that the communists, dealt out justice to those who deserved it. There were a lot of communist sympathizers in Britain than people realized but not many joined the party. Like him they were not that blatantly political and kept their cards close to the vest. He was assured that the Soviets would not invade but just wanted to force Britain into neutrality and to hasten a home grown communist government.
It took him 15 seconds to flash the message and then he continued his rounds. He made it look like he was urinating. Carrying the flashlight was not suspicious as it was part of his equipment. It was always the longest 15 seconds of his life and now it was over until the next time. He moved on and did his job just like always. He always took a piss at the same spot and always took 15 seconds.
He has no idea what he was sending. Just numbers to him but if he can help to bring the criminals to justice who have put so many families in dire straits by killing and maiming their men then he was glad to do it. Justice for the untouchable aristocrats had to be meted out. He didn't know the right communist terminology but he was all for it. The workers needed to be avenged and united against the aristocrats and the sooner the better. It was time for a change.
Little Ones Make a Difference
The Soviet version of the Seahund #28 renamed the Malyshka # 2 raised it periscope at the prescribed time and the commander of the 2 man crew turned to gaze due West. It was 5 minutes before the scheduled time but he did not want to be late. For the last 2 days they had seen nothing and would be going back to port with nothing to show for their 4 day voyage. A long way from the Uboat captains and their month’s long cruises with 10s of thousands of tons of sunk shipping in their log.
In talking with his other Seehund commanders, while waiting to go out again, he was always disheartened at the lack of success reported by all. The NKVD commander heaped praise on them for all the messages they brought back but it seemed like little consolation for living in a tin can submerged for days at a time dodging those damn planes and patrol boats. Very few ships had tasted the touch of their torpedoes. He himself had had only one chance and the firing mechanism on the torpedo tube had failed. He was so frustrated he screamed scaring the piss out of Victor...literally. It did not help the atmosphere in the crowded hull. The target missed was a beautiful Liberty ship full of who knows what. What a fat and tempting target.
It passed within easy torpedo range and by the time he was to attempt to shoot with the second shot it had slid out of correct resolution and when he had tried to correct the settings the knob had fallen off and with the periscope raised he could not reach it in time without putting the periscope down which by the time he was able to accomplish this it was too late. 14,000 tons sliding by within easy reach of his torpedoes and nothing to show for it.
He had heard similar stories from other commanders. It seemed like something always fell apart or failed to function at the most critical moment. He knew of at least two dozen stories of Little Sausages being in perfect position for an easy shot and something falling off or failing to connect etc. Thank goodness the Germans had worked out the basic hull integrity and surfacing abilities that keep the vessel safe and virtually undetectable when submerged. But the little things still plagued the machines and sinking’s by Seehunds were rare.
On the bright side it did keep the British busy trying to hunt them down and the appearance of the Little Ones in the Irish Sea must have been a major surprise to the Royal Navy. Their commanders insisted that their mere threat was enough to justify their cost but he was not convinced. He wanted to sink capitalist vessels and their supplies that were being used to kill his countrymen and comrades. He was happy that he did not have to experience the 8 day missions to the far reaches of the British Isles made possible by the refueling at sea of the Seehunds. The larger subs would leave you in a flash if they even imagined a destroyer or heard a rumor of a plane.
One commander said a sea gull had cut his fueling short. Imagine the idiot Captain's thoughts when he figured that out.
Some of the Little Ones were being trained to surface and loose what was probably a radio beacon for the upcoming battle for the skies of Britain or was it England? Who cares he was not involved. He couldn't even pickup any downed pilots. They were too small.
He had heard that some beacons would be placed in a special torpedo that would float when it ran out of air and then the beacon would ping away until some Limey tried to destroy it. If they got too close it would start up again. I bet that would scare the crap out of you. I wonder if they will let any of the Seehunds wait around to see if they can put a torpedo into a nice destroyer. He hated destroyers. Too many depth charges and too fast.
Perl
Well here he was in the Worker’s Paradise on the other side of the Ural Mountains. Not much but it beat a jail cell or firing squad back in the good old USA. It was early Fall so the cold had not set in yet. He heard it was much colder here than Cleveland even at its worse.
William Perl was in his element. The jet engine he was examining was close to the ones he had worked on for months at the NACA Lewis Flight Propulsio
n Laboratory. And now he was in Russia for god’s sake. Well it was his own fault for listening to Barr and Sarant. Maybe he should regain his real name of Mutterperl. It might be easier to hide his past. He’ll let the NKVD worry about that. He spent most of his time translating the English instructions so that they could follow the schematics he has provided over the years. He helped out with the metallurgy as well even though that was not his expertise. He made it become one…along with many others he dreamed of doing in the US. He was free here to do what he wanted just as long as he got results, and results he got.
He was unleashed here. Not held back by the older engineers in Ohio. Here he was the big shot and they listened to him. Maybe that’s what he wanted all along…to be the big shot. Is that why he became a Communist? Seems strange to pine for what was supposed to be an egalitarian society so that you could finally be in charge.
Compared to the average worker he was treated like a king here, which wasn’t saying much. He did have a great looking wife. He suspected that she was an agent sent to spy on him but she was a good actress and it was easy to believe she loved him. Man was she good in bed. He didn’t know such things could be done. And those legs went on for miles. He was head over heels and an egghead like him would never get a girl like that in the states or any girl for that matter. So yeah she had to be a spy. But what the hell, He had nothing to hide here.
He estimated that within 6 months they would be cranking out these engines on an industrial scale with that spooky Sergo guy working the angles. He only saw him once. Weird looking little guy to have all this power. I guess Stalin saw the potential and let the guy loose. His henchman Georgie was another matter. That guy got things done like no man he had ever seen even better than Boeing or Ford he bet. Certainly he was bigger. The guy was 6’ 6” and 300lbs. His voice was the loudest thing he ever heard besides this jet engine.
Most of the time he didn’t have to yell at all or even speak. He would just look and point and whatever it was it was fixed right away. No you did not… want to piss him off.
Sticking these engines in the MiG 9 was not the best solution but it would do until MiG came up with that swept wing beauty he had seen. Kind of looked like that German plane he examined…what was that number…oh yea… the TA 183. That swept back tail that NACA developed should come in real handy on whatever number MiG put on their new creation. It would be a real Shooting Star and Super Fortress killer that’s all he knew.
Hell when the US turned Communist he could go back and be king of the aerospace industry. He’d show those assholes who was in charge alright. It would almost make up for that trip through Mexico to this god forsaken place. God what a disaster of a trip that was. He still didn’t know why he didn’t get caught. He suspected that the Reds had someone on the inside in the OSS
He’d better get his mind back to work so he could get home quick. Zoya had promised him something special for tonight and he couldn’t wait to get between her long legs once more. Yea who needed Coca Cola and a Ford when you had a pair of legs like that wrapped around you every night? It was more than an even trade. Shit if he ever got tired of Zoya I bet they would set him up with a new one. As long as he produced they would provide. He was sure of it.[lxii]
La-7
Chapter Twelve:
Fore Play
Yak 3U
***
Know your enemy and know yourself and you can fight a hundred battles without disaster.
Sun Tzu
***
The Swarm
The swarm started to rise on the radar screens all over Britain. Ever since the attack on the Bone Yards this had occurred daily. Low level and high level radar picked up the now daily activity. It was obvious that the Soviets were trying to intimidate the British government as well as practice for the upcoming hostilities. Thousands of planes climbing for the sky and daily flying off to do practice bombing and strafing runs filled the skies of France and the Low Countries. On the radar screens it sometimes looked like a mayfly swarm rising from the waters of a clear mountain lake. Only it was September and these mayflies had the power to destroy a nation.
Novikov was in his element. Directing and choreographing on a macro level the deadly ballet that he had promised would lay waste to the Royal Air Force of Great Britain. This of course has been tried before and failed. Some say that Goering and the Luftwaffe came within a hairs width of defeating the RAF and some say the issue was never in doubt. By this time in history many a historian and military strategist had waxed eloquently on what the RAF did right and where the Luftwaffe efforts went wrong.
Novikov had read many of these essays and even interviewed a fair number of German and captured British commanders who fought in the first battle for the skies of Britain. He and his staff had immersed themselves in the history and lore of the Battle of Britain. A few very large and significant factors seemed to stand out.
As the Americans and the Germans found out, the range of their fighters must match the range of the bombers if they were to bomb in daylight. They must be escorted to and from the target. This lesson seemed clear.
Sergo and his minions had made sure that the VVS had competitive fighters that could range over the entire British Isles. In addition thousands of the acknowledged best fighters to come out of the last war would have their range extended by the use of drop tanks. The Yak 3s and Lag 7s would swarm the area over Southern England known as 11 Group. Not as well known in the West, these models were well known to the Germans.
The Yak 3U was a late war model that once the Germans got to know its characteristics the orders came to avoid engaging it below 5000 meters. It was considered too dangerous and they had no plane that could match its performance. It was easily competitive to the best of the US and UK fighters below 5,000 meters.
The Lag 7 had ended the vertical maneuvering superiority of the German fighters and was faster than the FW 190 fighter bombers who plagued the Soviet troops with their hit and run tactics. They could no longer run.
The Luftwaffe failed in the initial Battle of Britain because of situational awareness and lack of basic intelligence. They had no idea if their attacks were effective, what was working and what was not. Did a second raid need to be made or even the location of the targets themselves? Very often the wrong targets were hit and when the right ones were hit they did not know how effective the strike was. In addition no one of competence was given overall command.
This would not be the case in this battle. The excellent Soviet spy system had been feeding information to the NKVD and Beria for years. They knew the initial disposition of virtually every fighter squadron and its back up fields as well. Each factory location and what they produced there was carefully plotted. Their destruction carefully planned and their magnitude of importance to keeping the RAF flying carefully projected. The luxury of six months to plan was indeed a welcome change from the war years.
The VVS also had the luxury of not caring about the RAF bomber fleet and its demise. Their only concern was the destruction of Fighter Command. Their bombers were not going to be used for terror raids or shipping attacks. Their sole purpose was to either lure fighters into the air or to destroy them on the ground.
The elimination of the air defense system from the equation was well thought out. The British AntiAircraft Command was a formidable foe and the first 4 weeks of the campaign would be critical. The combination of defeating the VT proximity fuse and other planned innovations and tactics should be enough to accomplish the task of leaving the air fields of the RAF helpless for significant periods of time.
In the lower half of the British Isles this would once again be the time of the Sturmovik. With its range augmented by drop tanks the IL10 would range far and wide in southern England decimating anything that moved around the RAF fighter fields. Eventually it was planned that the regions known to the RAF as Group 11 and 12 would be devoid of safe places to land and gain respite from their relentless pursuers.
The other areas of
the British Isles that harbored fighter squadrons would fall to other models of Soviet planes but Group 11 and 12 would be the domain of the Sturmovik and its unrivaled variety of deadly ground attack ordinance. Once the initial attacks began there would be nowhere to hide for the fighters of Group 11 and 12. Every waking hour the skies would be filled with Sturmoviks on the hunt.
They would have to retreat, but where? If they failed to rise to the fight then the VVS had won. If they ran to Iceland or Spain then the VVS had won. The destruction of the British infrastructure would begin just like it had to a helpless and prostrate Germany and Japan. The TU2S held as many pounds of incendiaries as the B17 and Lancaster bombers that fueled a fire storm in Dresden. The TU2S could range all over the British Isles. The Tu2S was significantly faster than the B17.
With the British populace devoid of an air umbrella the Pe 8 and Pe 9 heavy bombers of the VVS could be used with impunity, dropping their full loads of 11,000 lbs of bombs on the helpless populations below.
If victory was not swift in coming the British would invent counter measures to the ones being practiced overhead. Novikov knew that for his own health and wellbeing, he needed the Second Battle of Britain to be over in less than a month. With 5 to 1 odds it was imperative that he defeat Fighter and AntiAircraft Command quickly.
Stalin’s goal was not to invade Great Britain but to take it out of the war effort…to make it a neutral observer. To prevent it from becoming the unsinkable aircraft carrier it became in World War Two. To let the internal communist sentiments rule over the unruly…to assist a nascent communist party in its efforts to gain control over the people of the British Isles…to have them join the workers’ paradise…to throw out the Capitalist dogs that have held sway over the world’s peoples for far too long.
World War Three 1946 Series Boxed Set: Stalin Strikes First Page 63
