Soviet-occupied Estonia, on the airport of Otsay Island in Tallinn Bay.

Colonel Yekinny and his men stood in four columns, facing north, and focused on Vice Admiral Simon of the Soviet Naval Aviation at the front of the line. on Ronokov.

Behind them, ground crews were refueling bombers and refueling them.

As the commander of the 1st Torpedo Bomber Regiment of the Baltic Red Banner Fleet, Colonel Yekinny was full of expectations.

The majestic voice of Lieutenant General Ronokov spread throughout the small airfield.

"Comrades, I have just received an order from the Supreme High Command, personally signed by General Secretary Comrade Stalin, to carry out an honorable and arduous task of bombing Berlin, the old den of the German fascists, and to show the German fascists how terrible the anger of the Soviets was. Do you have the confidence to accomplish this task? ”

"Yes." The loud shouts of the pilots rang out at the airport.

Lieutenant General Ronokov's eyes were full of approval, and he looked at Colonel Yekinny.

"Very well, Comrade Yekinny, do you have anything to say about this task?"

"Comrade Chief, every Navy pilot you see has conducted targeted long-range raid training at sea and has more than 200 hours of fighter flight experience, and we guarantee that we will be able to turn the results of our training into the fruits of victory." Colonel Yekinny said loudly.

"Now that you have the confidence to win, I declare the official launch of the Otsay Plan." Lieutenant General Ronokov shouted.

Colonel Yekinny immediately ordered the disbandment of the preparations for war, and the queue dispersed, and the pilots ran to the bombers parked next to the runway. Colonel Yeginny walked up to Lieutenant General Ronokov.

"We've been training hard for more than half a year, and today it's finally time to strike. This bombing was our first bombing of the German mainland, and we must set an example for the troops who bombed the German mainland for the second and third times, and they can only succeed, not fail. Ronokov said.

"Carefully calculated. Our PE-8Z strategic bomber was fully fueled, and with the auxiliary fuel tank, as long as the bomb weight did not exceed 750 kg, it was completely possible to fly the round trip from here to Berlin, and there was still about 10 to 15 percent of fuel left. ”

Lieutenant General Ronokov said: "I know all these data, but this is based on the premise that everything is going well. If the pilot wastes time. It is not possible to go directly to the bombing and immediately return in a straight line. Even if there is a delay of twenty or thirty minutes during the flight, you will not be able to return to this airport. If you make a mistake in your calculations or are unlucky, the sky over Berlin will become your grave. As the regiment commander, you must make sure to drop the bomb in Berlin and bring the boys home safely. ”

"Comrade Stalin said that it is important to win, not to pay. As long as I can successfully drop the bomb on Berlin, I will do whatever it takes to complete the mission. ”

Lieutenant General Ronokov patted Colonel Yekinny on the shoulder.

"It's good to have the determination to not be afraid of sacrifice, but you can get the job done. It's better to be able to get back safely, and I'm here waiting for you to come back and then invite you to drink. ”

Half an hour later, the engines roared loudly at the airfield, and fourteen PE-8 strategic bombers turned their huge bodies, rushed out of the runway in line, soared into the sky, and then flew in a queue to the southwest.

In the cockpit of the long plane of the formation. Colonel Yekiny said to his co-pilot, Major Alafutsov: "It is a full nine hundred kilometers from Oser to Berlin, and it will take us about three hours to get there. Let's hope our aircraft engines will last until that time. ”

Major Alafuzov sneered, shook his head and said, "I hope so. ”

Seeing Major Alafutsov's lack of confidence, Colonel Yekiny was also very worried.

Four M-30B diesel engines provided the PE-8 strategic bomber with sufficient range, but with extremely poor mechanical reliability, the biggest trouble being that the engine's rotations fluctuated greatly, especially at high altitudes. The engine sometimes even strikes and stops.

This problem has not been solved since the advent of the PE-8, and the first head of research and development, Petlyakov, was even sent to a labor camp for this.

"God Comrade Lenin, what can our engines be capable of?"

Before Colonel Yekinny's verbal prayer was finished, a violent explosion suddenly sounded in his ears, and a huge fireball exploded in front of the right side of the plane.

Violent waves of air and countless shrapnel were heard along with the sound of the explosion. The knock on the aluminum fuselage clanged, accompanied by the sound of Major Alafuzov's teeth vibrating.

"This is anti-aircraft guns. We should be in the skies over Estonia now, has the German army already hit Estonia? There's no notification on the radio, huh? Colonel Yekinny's face was full of shock.

"I remember! The explosion stopped, and we were safe. Major Alafutsov shouted in surprise.

Colonel Yekinny looked out at the sky through the glass window, and sure enough, he did not see the fire of the shell exploding, and the sound of the clanging metal in his ears disappeared.

This shelling is inexplicable, it's really bad!

Colonel Yekinny stretched out his upper body and stared at the sky to the left of the plane, where a bomber pulled out billowing black smoke from its tail and was rapidly falling.

Colonel Yekinny shouted into the radio: "Traniv, Traniv, your tail is smoking. ”

"The anti-aircraft gun raised by the son of a bitch hit me, I'll try to see if I can make a forced landing on the sea, and the task of bombing the fascists will be handed over to you." Tranifer's angry shouts came.

Colonel Yekinny could do nothing but watch as the plane piloted by Traniv disappeared from his sight.

"I lost a bomber shortly after takeoff, damn it." Colonel Yekinny slammed his fist into the cabin wall.

On a Soviet anti-aircraft artillery position in the middle of the island of Saremaa in the northern Gulf of Riga, a Soviet major yelled at his subordinates.

"Do you have all eyes on your buttocks? Can't you see that these planes are coming from the east, and I can see the red star on the plane with my telescope, can't you see it? ”

In front of the 85-mm anti-aircraft guns, the members of the artillery crew were scolded bloodily, or looked down at the ground or looked up at the sky. Don't dare to look in the eyes of the major.

After scolding, the Major looked up at the sky again, and then covered his face with his hands and wailed loudly.

"You bastards, you actually hit, in such a short period of time, why didn't you usually train so well? My God. He fell. ”

The gunners looked at the sky in unison, and saw a plane dragging a black column of smoke down from the sky and plunging headlong into the sea to the northwest.

In the sky, Colonel Yekinny did not know anything about the episode on the island of Saremaa, and his entire energy was focused on radio.

After the unlucky Trraniv was shot down by his own men, another PE-8 strategic bomber had an abnormality, and the place where the abnormality occurred was Colonel Yekiny's most trusted engine.

"Vasily, how is the situation with your left-wing engine? Is the fault troubleshooting? Colonel Yekinny shouted into the radio.

"No, the engine is still stalled. It doesn't matter, I can fly to Berlin with three engines. ”

"Okay, continue to watch the engine and let me know as soon as the situation improves." Colonel Yekinny said.

"Understood."

Stopping communication with Vasily, Colonel Yekinny shouted again: "Traniv, Traniv, how are you doing?" Was the crash landing successful? ”

There was silence on the radio, and Yekinny asked twice. Still no response.

I am afraid that the Traniv crew will be more than lucky, and it is likely that he and the eleven comrades will say goodbye forever.

Come to think of this. Colonel Yekinny's face was covered with a haze.

Sensing his displeasure, Major Alafutsov did not speak, but stared at the dashboard in silence.

The cabin fell silent for a moment, with only the roar of the engine in their ears, until forty minutes later, when an exclamation broke the silence.

"Engine No. 2 went on strike. Damn"

It was Vasily's voice, and Colonel Yekinny hurriedly shouted into the radio: "Vasily, what's going on with you there?" ”

"Engine No. 2 under the left wing has also stalled, and I'm falling," Vasily's voice was full of horror.

Colonel Yekinny hurriedly looked at the left and right wings, but did not see any planes falling. Only then did he remember that Vasily's plane was flying behind him.

"Comrade Colonel, Vasily's plane is falling, oh my God, the plane is starting to roll, they don't even have a chance to parachute." On the radio, another voice full of horror reached Colonel Yekiny's ears.

"We can't save them, let's count the blood debt of these comrades on the heads of the Germans." Colonel Yekinny said.

Colonel Yekinny's voice had not yet dissipated, when he suddenly felt a strange vibration from the fuselage.

"Where did the shaking come from? Find out the cause right away. Colonel Yekinny said to Alafutsov.

Alafutsov carefully felt the direction from which the vibration was coming from, and after checking it for a while, he scolded in a lost voice: "Damn, it's engine number one on the left, it's vibrating." ”

Colonel Yekinny, sensing that the shaking was becoming more and more violent, decisively turned off engine No. 1, and the plane immediately returned to stability.

"We can fly to Berlin with only three engines, and I am confident." Colonel Yekinny said.

Alafutsov, thinking of the scene that had just happened on the Vasily crew, opened his mouth and wisely chose silence.

In the dark, I don't know if God or Lenin blessed, the remaining twelve bombers did not fall again due to malfunctions.

In the boring flight, more than two hours of time flashed by.

Colonel Yekinny whispered to the navigator to confirm his position, and then shouted into the radio: "Comrades, do you see those lights on the ground ahead?" There is our destination, Berlin, and the time has come to avenge the sacrifice of our comrades, follow me, wait for my orders, and prepare to drop bombs. ”

In Berlin, in the office of the Chancellery, Hitler and Goering sat on the sofa.

Hitler lowered his head and stared at the coffee cup he was holding, his eyes vacant, not knowing what he was thinking.

Goering held the red wine glass in his right hand, and said with a fluttering eyebrow: "Since it has happened, you have to accept the reality, I guess Eva must be pregnant with a boy." ”

Hitler feebly put the coffee cup on the table and spread his hands to Goering, his face full of helplessness.

"I don't want to have children so early, I want girls."

"Why? You don't like boys? Goering asked.

"No, if it were a boy, I would not be able to resist using the power in my hands to cultivate him, and even have the urge to put him on the throne of the Führer. But I know very well that Germany is the Germany of the Germans, not my Germany, and not the Germany of the Hitler family. If I give birth to a boy, I have to try to restrain my selfish desires, but if I give birth to a girl, then all the contradictions do not exist, and I don't have to worry about it. ”

"You need a son to pass on the Hitler family." Goering said.

Hitler nodded silently, and suddenly asked, "What has Heinz been doing lately?" ”

Goering smiled and shrugged.

"What else can I do? Definitely playing a game of violent demolition with his new toys. ”

Hitler asked: "If Heinz had been here, would he have guessed whether Eva was pregnant with a boy or a girl?" ”

Goering first rolled his eyes, then suddenly laughed, and said in a colorful voice, following Chen Dao's voice:

"In Heinz's style, he would have said that I would like Eva to be pregnant with twins, a boy and a girl."

"That's really his style, me"

Hitler's voice stopped abruptly, frowning and pricking up his ears to listen to the voices outside.

Goering also restrained the smile on his face, clenched the wine glass in his hand, and tilted his head sideways.

Goering spoke first: "It's the air defense alert, could it be that the Russian bombers flew to Berlin?" ”

As if a spring had been installed underneath Hitler's buttocks, he jumped up from the couch and threw himself at the door.

"Eva, Eva, go to the basement, go to the basement."

Hitler shouted and disappeared outside the door, and Goering hurriedly followed.

In the blink of an eye, the basement of the Prime Minister's Office was filled with people.

Hitler sat on the innermost sofa in the basement with his right hand around Eva, and Goering sat to his left.

None of the three of them spoke, just quietly listened to the muffled noise coming from outside.

Goering listened to the explosions outside and the familiar sound of anti-aircraft artillery fire, his eyes glazed and he didn't know what he was thinking.

"Eva, you will leave for Bavaria after dawn tomorrow. I have a hunch that this bombing by the Russians is just the beginning, and that there will be more bombs to be dropped on Berlin in the future, and I don't want you to have any surprises because of your fright. ”

"The Führer is right, you should go to a safe place as soon as possible, and Bavaria is a good choice." Goering said.

"What about you? Where are you going? Eva asked.

"I'll leave tomorrow and return to East Prussia." Hitler said.

"Damn the Russians, a good family leave was interrupted, and I must make them pay for this operation." Goering said.

"Herman, you go and check tomorrow to see if any enemy planes have been shot down, and find a way to find out where these enemy planes came from, and we must retaliate." (To be continued......)