But in fact, the problem was far from as simple as John and Akadiyevich thought. Even Churchill did not realize that it was actually a trap when he received this information.
If Shulka insists on requiring the British to hand over all 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 provided by the U.S. military to the Soviet Union at this time were not very good... The fighter planes provided by the U.S. military to the Soviet Union were mainly P9s. This fighter plane had a small and tight space inside, making it difficult for the pilot to operate. The engine power was insufficient at high altitudes and difficult to control. It was also difficult to escape and had a complex structure.
, maintenance is difficult, especially because the engine is located in the middle of the fuselage. Every time the engine is inspected, the ground crew wants to tear the fighter into pieces.
The strange thing is that Soviet pilots liked this aircraft very much.
Shulka guessed that this may be related to the characteristics of the Soviet Air Force at this time:
Escape difficult?
Did the Soviet pilot need to escape?!
Is the structure complex and difficult to repair?
This is not a problem at all, they only need to be able to fly the aircraft into the sky for combat, and then... return safely before it needs maintenance.
Inconvenient to operate in a small space?
Are you kidding me? The P9 has a complete communication system. No matter how inconvenient it is, it is comparable to the Soviet Air Force and still needs to use signal flares to communicate with each other?!
The problem is that these equipment were immediately used on the African battlefield after being intercepted by the British army. When used in the African battlefield, there will inevitably be losses, and any losses must be made up.
Then John found Shulka immediately.
"Comrade Shulka!" John said: "We have at least 100 fighter planes that we cannot gather because they were shot down by the enemy on the African battlefield!"
The air battle between Britain and Germany on the African battlefield was very fierce, especially the air battle between the two sides over the island of Malta... This island straddled the Mediterranean Sea and blocked the German supply channel from France to Africa, because the British had always firmly controlled it.
, and even borrowed American aircraft carriers to transport fighter planes to the island of Malta. As a result, Rommel's Afrika Korps was severely short of supplies and ultimately failed.
From this point of view, it is understandable that Churchill would try every means to "appropriate" these US aid fighter jets, because it is indeed related to the outcome of the African campaign.
"So..." Shulka said, "What are you going to do?"
"Can you..."
"No!" Shulka interrupted John: "Don't even think about it, we can't compromise anymore!"
"I know!" John said: "So, we hope to fill these gaps with Hurricane fighters!"
Needless to say, the reason for this is that if the American P9 is to be used to make up for it, it must be shipped from the United States. The British Hurricane fighter jets are available in Africa, and India also has factories that can produce them.
John originally thought that this would not be a problem, because the performance of the Hurricane fighter in all aspects was much better than that of the plagued P9.
But John was surprised to see Shulka frowning.
"What's the problem?" John asked: "You know, the Hurricane fighter can only be better than the P9!"
"Maybe you are right, Comrade John!" Shulka said: "The problem is... our pilots prefer P9, so we have targeted and trained a large number of P9 pilots in batches, but this is not the case for the Hurricane fighter
!”
"But……"
"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 P9!"
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, let me try!"
Then Shulka went to the room to smoke a cigarette.
When Shulka sat in front of John again, he said: "The superiors are not very happy, Comrade John! But..."
"But what?"
"But if 50 of these 00 fighters are Spitfires, my superiors think they can be considered!"
John couldn't help but be stunned when he heard this. You must know that the Spitfire is the most advanced fighter jet in the UK. Not to mention the American P9 and Hurricane, even the German BF109 has its own merits in comparison.
Looking at John's expression, Shulka spread his hands pretending to be helpless and said: "If you feel embarrassed, then..."
"No, I'll ask my superiors for instructions!" John quickly replied: "I think they will seriously consider it!"
As expected, the British government seriously considered it, and as a result agreed to Shulka's conditions.
This made Beria overjoyed, not to mention Beria, even Stalin was shocked by this... Because at this time, the Soviet Union lacked such aircraft that could rival the German fighters in all aspects. In other words, as long as
Coupled with excellent pilots and necessary training, these fighter planes will soon be able to fly into the sky and compete head-on with the Germans for air supremacy. 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 large consumer of tanks, and the British will of course use the intercepted American tanks to resist the German attack.
So Shulka went to the room to smoke a cigarette again.
Because British tanks were not at all more advanced than American tanks, the only thing that could satisfy Shulka was quantity, so a hundred more British "Valentin" tanks were added to the supply.
For this reason, Beria even doubted whether these were true. He personally came to find Shulka and asked: "Are they really planning to do this? I mean, that's four hundred tanks. They promised us two
Total monthly aid!”
(Note: In the agreement, Britain assisted the Soviet Union with 000 tanks per month)
"I believe this is true, Comrade Beria!" Shulka replied: "And, this is actually 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 we look at the problem from the British perspective, Britain's "debt" and "blocking of flows" are excusable.
Because Rommel was leading the African Corps to pursue the British army fiercely, even though Rommel was seriously short of troops and supplies.
Fortunately, the British army finally stabilized its position on the Alamein line of defense... If this line of defense is breached again, Rommel's army will hit the Suez Canal to cut off the British army's supply line and completely occupy Africa.
The British army was unable to compete with Rommel in terms of tactics and combat effectiveness. It could only desperately compress the enemy's supply lines on the one hand, and try its best to increase its own supplies and equipment on the other.
Only by forming an absolute advantage over the enemy in terms of supplies and troops can the British army defeat the African Legion that scares them. (To be continued)