World War Three 1946 Series Boxed Set: Stalin Strikes First

by Harry Kellogg

  Found - One Stalin’s Stinger - X4 Missile

  The missile was in pristine shape. It was found in a field in France near Toulouse. It apparently fell to earth after expending its fuel chasing after an encounter between Soviet fighters and some RAF bombers over the Pyrenees. It had taken nearly a month to make the 100 km or so through the fighting in the Pyrenees and finally onto the BB-64 USS Wisconsin on station off Perpignan covering and anchoring the East end of the Pyrenees Line. Deep in the bowels of the great ship a laboratory had been set up and Jeff Montgomery had been flown in from the states. Jeff was the premier expert in the US stable of weapons specialists and was particularly knowledgeable in regards to the German version of the X4 air to air missile. And now he had his hands on an actual Soviet version.

  His hands trembled at the thought of actually dissecting the object of his dreams that had eluded him for the past 3 months. He was about to discover what the worlds experts could not. Inside this metal streamlined bullet shaped object held the secret of how the Reds had done what the experts said could not be done. What was the guidance system that had baffled the British experts? Every jamming scheme had been tried and nothing had worked. They had even sent up a raid just to test out various inventions and nothing had worked. They had lost 6 bombers in that one.

  So far the Soviet missile look very similar to its German cousin. It was larger and had a rounded nose with what looked like a large tinted dome. It seemed to be made out of the same material that aircraft canopies were made of but tinted so he could not see inside. So they are using optics was his initial thought. Some kind of television camera system or something similar he wildly guessed. If it was anything like the German version he had to work from the middle of the rocket in disassembling the unit and eventually getting at the guidance system.

  He noted that the Soviets has switched to a solid propellant rather than the caustic liquids used by the Nazis. He had heard that they were moving in that direction as well. Luckily the war had ended. Come to think of it maybe it wasn't luckily. The Reds or the God Damn murdering Krauts. Nice choice of who should be using these guided bullets. Concentrate you idiot.

  "Sam bring me the long tweezers and a wire cutter and hold the flashlight for me!"

  What the hell is this?! That isn't usual on these...

  "A little to the left Sam. Thanks.. that's better. While I'll be a son of a bitch they have booby trapped this thing! Well I supposed that makes sense. I guess I would too."

  "Stop messing with it then Jeff. You're not a bomb expert! Close it up and we'll get an expert in here to disarm the thing."

  "I didn't travel half way around the world to stop now."

  "Commander get in here this idiot is going to try and DISARM THIS THING!"

  "SHUT THE HELL UP SAM!"

  "STAND DOWN NOW!"

  "Aw shit...I mean yes sir."

  "Now step away and explain the situation."

  It took another two days for the bomb expert to arrive. It took him another 3 hours to disarm the small bomb contained within the missile. It was designed to explode when the panel was opened and it had failed to arm itself. Luck was with Jeff Montgomery and Sam that day. Despite getting dressed down Jeff was still the guidance expert.

  Finally after cooling his jets in confinement aboard the battlewagon for a few days he was allowed to get back to work. The disassembly went fairly quickly and then disappointment. He had removed the unit that contained the guidance system and there it was. The same old Kehl-Straßburg FuG 203/230 that had guided the Fritz X bomb![lxxiii] How in the hell could this old system be ignoring the jamming put up by the best electronic experts in the US and Britain! How can this piece of shit ignore physics!? He sat there staring at what he considered an antique for what seemed like hours trying to figure out what the hell was going on. He was totally confused and without any kind of explanation or answers. What was he going to tell...well anyone? He had hit the lowest point in his life after anticipating the highest. He just didn't get it. How were they doing it? His mind went blank and he again sat there in silence until he was physically shaken by Sam.

  X-4 Air to Air Missile

  Soviet Occupied Toulouse

  In a small bunker near the Soviet Army area HQ

  Two men sat by lantern light drinking vodka, not their first of the night.

  "Well Dmitri how goes the disinformation campaign?"

  "The stupid Frogs and Amerikosi have only discovered and smuggled out one of the missiles so far. They are amazingly incompetent. We almost caught them with that one as well. A last minute call was required to allow the fool NATO spy to get through the checkpoint. Yuri was keeping track of their progress when they bumbled straight into a checkpoint in Limoux. He had to quickly find a phone and distract the guards so the fools could continue on. I just don't see how they were able to catch every German spy sent to England with such fools as agents."

  "Maybe we are just so much better or they are so bad. It certainly makes one wonder."

  "Anyway we have planted fully a dozen of the decoy missiles and that was the only one they have found and tried to smuggle out. I had heard that the vaunted British experts that figured out some of the wars greatest works of espionage actually got most of their information from a group called MI 19. All they did was to record captured German conversations, overhearing many of the secrets that they claimed to have figured out. An example would be the electronic beams the Germans were using to guide the bombers to their targets. The so called Battle of the Beams was actually just based on an overheard conversation caught on tape at some prison full of German Generals housed in a mansion. Luck if you ask me is more like it. But then again what is most of this business but luck."

  "So what is the end game in this project of yours?"

  "The decoy missiles contain various antiquated German systems for guided bombs. It should drive the NATO pigs crazy trying to figure out why their jamming efforts have no effect. It defies physics as they know it. Maybe it is a bit of subterfuge to confuse the issue and it could help to cause them to reject the real system if they ever get their hands on a working model."

  "Maskirovka at its best ..."

  "Maskirovka at its best indeed, Dmitri."

  Quality Control

  The wheel bearing on the right rear inside tire of the tank transport trailer started to heat up within 15 minutes of the day's first hour. A crack had allowed the lubricant to leak out as the bearing got hotter and after another 30 minutes it had seized. The co-driver saw the smoke coming from the trailer and warned the driver. The driver cursed a blue streak as he maneuvered the heavy tractor trailer and its cargo to a wider spot in the road. He knew if he stopped the convoy for anything but death he would indeed end up dead. The other trucks and their cargos of Stalin’s Fire Wasserfall Ground to Air missiles pulled far over to the left to squeeze past the stalled M-19 and its cargo of missile launchers and their missiles. Each of the trucks and trailers along with others supported the dozen Wasserfal missiles in the battery.

  These special transport units were based on the German Vitalwagen and Meillerwagen33 but on a smaller scale. The Soviet version of the Wasserfall or Stalin's Fire as it was being called officially, was much more compact than the V2 and much easier to transport and use. The Transport trailer was used for long range transport and was lighter of the two. Once the missile got to within 50 KM of the staging area it was transferred to the much more complex Launching trailer. The Launching trailer was a complete mobile launching pad and fueling solution for the Stalin's Fire ground to air missile system.

  After the Launching trailer was close to the launch point, the Firing Platoon Truck Section took charge. The Launching trailer was moved via hand winches to the firing stand and then leveled via the two extendable outriggers with end-jacks. When vertical, the rocket was suspended above the firing stand, which was raised to touch the rocket fins like its bigger brother the V2 was and the rocket was fueled from supplies on the Launch trailer. The whole proc
ess could be done in less than 90 minutes from arrival.[lxxiv]

  As with the German version of the larger unit the Launching trailer acted as a gantry, lifting frame including a number of work platforms for the crewmen to service the rocket. Just like its larger German cousin, it carried a number of accessories for both itself and the rocket such as a toolbox, snow chains, tire pump, tools, blast shields with special carriers for the graphite steering vanes and the guidance system.

  A repair unit showed up within 30 minutes and started the repairs. This was all reported up the chain of command and ended up on Sergo's desk. He would find out who and where the wheel bearing had been made. What shift and what crew. They would be evaluated by Georgie and may or may not live to tell about it. Georgie was not capricious about quality control. If the workers made an honest mistake or the metal they received was inferior then they would be forgiven and humanely retrained. If they performed sabotage Georgie would kill them on the spot with such casualness that it was most terrifying to all who watched. He usually garrotes them very quickly and efficiently right there on the shop floor. His move is so fast and practiced that no one has even been able to effectively fight back. The fact was that the majority of the time the workers had just done something in error. It was therefore corrected with no one being physically harmed.

  The workers in Sergo's realm are thoroughly tested and chosen for their jobs. If they do a good job they are rewarded if not they are retrained using standard methods pioneered in the West. The quality of the weapons systems under the control of Sergo and Georgie are quickly matching their counterparts in the West. Many people in the West believe that the Soviet worker is incapable of quality work. This is not the case. Some point to the IL2 or T-34 from early on in the war. What the West called poor quality was actually very pragmatic.

  For example the average T-34 in 1944 had a life span of a little over 2 weeks from the time it left the factory. Why bother with quality. T-34s were destroyed because they were on the offensive and you would expect to lose 3 to 1 against a dug in and hidden enemy. Not many T-34 were lost because they broke down or wore out at the wrong time.[lxxv]

  Now it was different. Quality mattered. It took a long time to train a good pilot and the pilots coming out of Sergo's training program were on par with any Western trained pilot. After all the US Army Air Force trained many of the trainers and during the six months of peace leading up to May 1946 they could take the time to train them properly. In 1941-44 this was not possible but now it was. With 10s of thousands of properly trained replacements in the pipeline Sergo felt that they were more than a match for the USAAF and the RAF. The recent battle over Britain had shown that. And once again under Sergo the pilots were tested and place in the proper training program. It was true that the RAF was out maneuvered, out foxed and overwhelmed by sheer numbers. The information Beria delivered truly amazed Sergo. The Capitalist pigs must surely be doing something drastically wrong in order to spawn such a stable of traitors.

  That undisciplined and almost useless "hero of the Soviet Union", Perl, had indeed produced a treasure trove of knowledge about the Yankee YP-80 and in particular their engine. In addition he was an expert and greatly assisting MiG with its newest swept wing jet. The Jumo was still useful especially since he had demanded that the foremost metallurgists find a way to improve the live span of the parts. The new Jumo model being produced now went an average of 100 hours before a major overhaul was needed. A 400% increase over the 25 hours previously required.

  Back at the M-19 lend lease tractor the repair unit had replaced the wheel bearing and it was once again on its way South. Dozens of caravans and train loads of missiles and their support units were streaming from France and Germany towards the Black Sea. It seems that Beria and Novikov had finally realized just how vulnerable the Southern door and its oil fields were. Despite having no concrete intelligence about a threat, Beria's nose was itching. Novikov took a little more convincing but as the RAF disappeared from the skies over the British Isles he too overcame his reluctance to move his defensive shield to the most vulnerable areas of the USSR.

  What had set Beria's nose to twitching was a very late report from the Valley of the Kings south of Cairo of large and very strange bombers flying high over the area going south. He quickly calculated the distance that the B29 could effectively perform a bombing run and came to the frightening conclusion that the vital oil fields of Baku among others were within range of the giant bomber and they were possibly being stationed in Egypt. He then recalled a plan that had reached his desk from his web of spies that mentioned just such a contingency. He cursed himself for not seeing it earlier and being more concerned about the disappearance of the Amerikosi bomber from the skies over Europe. They had only to deal with the venerable B-17 and medium bombers. All of whom were of no great concern and could be defended by the majority of frontline propeller driven fighters of the VVS. Having the B29 in their possession since early 1944 did wonders in planning for its destruction and also sent shivers up your spine when you realized that you did not have all the eventualities currently in place needed to defeat this truly wondrous machine.[lxxvi]

  He knew that Novikov coveted the Super fortress but Sergo and Stalin had decided to concentrate on defensive weapons and the missile as the weapon of the future. Both claimed the era of the manned strategic bomber was over. He had a clandestine meeting with Novikov and it had taken a number of hours to convince the big oaf that it would not be wise to inform Stalin at this time about the possible growing threat from the Pyramids. Not until they had the defenses in place. They had both agreed that the warnings and reports from Maslennikov, the Commander of Transcaucasia Front, must be redacted and kept from Stalin's eyes. Maslennikov had warned of this very danger and if it came to pass that he was correct...he had to be eliminated. It was either him or us Beria argued. It was not like this kind of thing had not happened thousands of times in the past and both of them had partaken of this effective solution many times in their collective careers. Trump up charges and a few sessions in one of Beria's chairs and the problem was solved.

  Meanwhile Novikov was moving heaven and earth to bring in all the assets needed to defend the south. The new missiles coming off of Sergo's assembly lines in the Urals were being diverted from other cities and rushed towards the South starting with the Baku area. They both agreed that finishing off the RAF would take precedence and the large scale movement of long range interceptor and fighter units would wait. All jet aircraft and some of the newest point interceptors coming off the factory floors would however make their debut in the South. They would cut their teeth and train in the Black Sea area. Two advantages of this would be that the newest creations of the Soviet Design Bureaus could be tested away from the prying eyes of the West and if the B29 was to show up they would be the perfect counter against such a contingency. They would collectively look like geniuses and masters of strategy in the eyes of Stalin.

  Many of the new creations that Sergo had pressed into service were not that new. Mostly point defense weapons that were inexpensive to make and the Germans had pioneered. When you made a list of the weapons Sergo had championed you come to the inescapable conclusion that he had invented nothing new. He was a master of taking a good idea and bringing it to completion. Hence a longer range version of the German He 162 Salamander renamed the Borsch for its simplicity and being inexpensive to make.[lxxvii] The Soviet version had taken the advice of Eric "Winkle" Brown of the RAF who did extensive test flying of captured He 162 and found them "delightful to fly" but a design flaw in its tail had killed another test pilot. Mr. Brown had thoughtfully published his thoughts on the He162 for all to see. And all the wrong people saw it. Beria passed this on to Sergo who found the right person to redesign the tail in the defector Perl and these changes had been incorporated in the new design. Georgie made the necessary changes in manufacturing and the Borsch was ready for combat.

  Starting with the B variant of the German version the Borsch had
twice the range and endurance of the A variant. It was designed to reach for the stars with a rapid ascent to the required height make 3 or 4 passes at the bomber stream and return under power. Unlike the original who's pilots often lost their lives when forced to perform dead stick landings while under constant attack by enemy fighter bombers. The Borsch was designed for one thing. To destroy a B29 as fast as possible and then return to do it again. Unlike the German version this one was designed to bring the pilot home to fight again and unlike the German version this version would be piloted by trained pilots. Pilots who were trained well and expected to live as well.

  The Witches Fly Again

  The team of Williams and Johnson had made triple ace status in the last war by being able to see in the dark. Combining the Mosquito and radar had created a killing machine that owned the night. Some of the new US planes designed specifically for night fighting might have a future advantage but for now the Mosquito Night fighter was the best there was in the battle space now in contention over Western Europe and Britain. They owned the night and Williams and Johnson were considered among the best.

  They were perfectly matched with the pilot Williams’s proclivity for taking the occasional chance and Johnson there to reign him in when he started to wander too far from the garden path. Tonight was like many others with one glaring exception...TARGETS! From the airfields across the Channel in enemy territory close to a hundred echoes bounced back to warn Fighter Command that something was rising into the night. Exciting times if you were a night fighter but puzzling none the less. Why now?

  Since the inception of the battle the VVS had declined to fight at night. The RAF had conducted many raids and created many widows and the response had been muted to say the least. Even the Night Witches had ceased to fly. It was widely surmised that the Soviets had no expertise, equipment or the training to fight at night. They had no need to swirl about in the pitch dark. Their night defying missiles had put a stop to any large strategic bombing raids for now and the pin pricks visited upon their airbases at night were a mere nuisance and not worthy of concerted effort in the large scheme of things. Similar to Washing Machine Charley[lxxviii] or their own Night Witches. An irritant but not a strategic or even a major tactical concern.