Chapter 836 Changing Target

At eight o'clock in the morning, the rain had become lighter, but the sky was still gloomy. The thick clouds covered the entire earth like a lid, as if to lock everything in it and trap or starve to death.

About 30 German Fokker triplanes appeared in the sky over the Le Francois area. Their red fuselages rolled in the air like a ball of flame or a red cloud.

That was the famous 11th Hunting Squadron of the German Army, commanded by the distinguished Lieutenant Richthofen.

At first, Richthofen was the only one in the squadron who painted his fighter plane red. He thought that this would make it easier for friendly forces on the ground to identify it and prevent accidental attacks.

"What I worry about most is my own people." Richthofen said confidently: "I never worry about the enemy discovering me. They are just my prey. The consequences of attacking are just like moths flying into a flame."

Later, his subordinates followed suit.

After Richthofen shot down 31 enemy planes, other German pilots also began to paint their planes red, believing it to be a lucky color.

(The picture above shows Richthofen, who set the record for the highest number of kills in World War I, shooting down a total of 80 enemy planes)

Richtofen glanced at the altimeter and saw the needle pointing to 5,100 meters.

This is close to the Fokker's maximum flight altitude.

To be exact, it is not the maximum flight altitude. The triplane flew to 6,100 meters during the test.

However, the triplane relies on the excellent turning and climbing performance provided by the larger wingspan area. When it reaches high altitudes where the air is thin, the wingspan area will not only not be a plus but will become a burden.

Therefore, a wise pilot would fly at 5,000 meters, dive to accelerate, and then engage the enemy at around 3,000 meters.

Otherwise, the triplane would have no advantage over the Camel.

Fortunately the enemy didn't know this, otherwise they would have only had to maintain their altitude to remain invincible.

There was no target, no threat, nothing, just white all around.

If it weren't for the wind and rain blowing in his face, Richtofen even suspected that his plane was standing still.

After thinking for a while, Richtofen raised his right hand and gestured to both sides, then took the lead in lowering the altitude of the fighter plane.

The altimeter needle slowly moved down.

4000 meters, 3000 meters, 2000 meters...

Finally, Richthofen saw the Meuse River.

As he had guessed, the fleet was above the Meuse River.

After hesitating for a moment, Richtofen raised his hand and waved forward, flying the fighter across the Meuse River.

He could feel the surprised looks of his men.

During this period they remained cautious enough. Although they defeated the British Air Force, it was the "British Air Force" and most of the fighter planes were destroyed on the ground.

No one knew the strength of the Charles Air Force, even though the French and British used the same fighter planes.

Now.

Crossing the Meuse River meant that the time had finally come to challenge Charles's air force for air supremacy.

Under the command of Richthofen, the fleet climbed to 5,000 meters again.

His target was Bizosai Airport.

If the Charles was unprepared, a single battle could decide the outcome, just as it had done against the British.

Suddenly, a vague figure of a "Camel" fighter plane came into Richtofen's sight.

He skillfully flipped the plane over and hung upside down to observe the situation below.

He could see clearly that there were four Camels in total. They were flying in the rain and fog at an altitude of about 4,000 meters and looked like a patrol team.

Richtofen quickly adjusted his flying posture and used gestures to convey the target situation to his subordinates on both sides.

The subordinate nodded and assigned 12 fighter planes from the first flight squadron to dive towards the target location.

Richtofen watched the battle from a high position with other fighter planes.

He didn't want the other side to escape with one of its fighter planes, because that would make the Bizosai Airport ready to fight.

However, the next second he found out that he was wrong.

Just as the First Flight Squadron was engaged in a fierce battle with the target, Richtofen suddenly felt a few faint lights passing overhead.

The light and shadow are so light and blurry that you can hardly see its existence. There is only a vague feeling of presence, similar to a sixth sense.

This was evidently a skill unique to Richthofen, for his men were unaware of it.

"Fuck it!" Richthofen cursed inwardly, "We've been fooled. Those four Camels are baits. The enemy's main force is hiding in the higher clouds, waiting for us to split up and fight!"

Richtofen had no time to give orders, so he immediately turned the plane around and climbed towards the enemy, making irregular left and right maneuvers.

This would be unexpected for the enemy, and the shooting window would be very short when the two planes were heading towards each other. Even if the enemy pilot was in a favorable position, it would be difficult for him to react and hit the target.

Sure enough, the bullets "da da da" left a trail of bullets around, but they just failed to hit Richtofen's plane. Soon a black shadow "roared" past him, and the two planes almost collided.

His men were not so lucky.

Two triplanes had their wings broken off on the spot and disintegrated in the air, while three others were hit somewhere unknown, lost their balance and plunged to the ground.

At that moment, Richthofen realized that the mission had failed.

He changed his goal: to bring as many of his men back as possible.

Under his control, the fighter plane somersaulted in the air and dived again.

At this time, Richtofen was surprised to find that he was facing another fighter: although it was very similar to the "Camel", its fuselage was longer and its wings were larger, and the roar of the engine was also different.

"No!" Richthofen cried out in pain, "This is Charles' new fighter. We are doomed!"

An expert like Richtofen can guess the performance of a new fighter jet based on its "differences" at a glance.

The larger wingspan means it is more maneuverable and has a smaller turning radius, just like a triplane.

A more powerful engine roar indicates that a more powerful engine has been replaced, so it has more power and a faster speed.

Its performance will completely crush the Fokker triplane, Richthofen judged, just as the "Camel" had previously occupied absolute air superiority.

Sure enough, one red tri-plane after another was shot down and destroyed in front of him, without any chance of fighting back.

Richtofen swallowed hard and changed his goal again: Be well, gentlemen. Returning alive is a victory!

At this moment, a shadow swooped down from the clouds behind him and grabbed his tail.

Richtofen hurriedly dived at full speed in his fighter plane. He didn't even dare to dodge the bullets, as he was worried that he would not be fast enough to escape.

The altimeter needle dropped as if it was broken, 2000 meters, 1000 meters, 500 meters...

Richtofen pulled the plane up suddenly, and the belly of the plane slid almost close to the ground before it was finally pulled up.

"Boom" there was an explosion behind me.

The enemy plane is faster and more difficult to pull up, so crash is inevitable.

(End of this chapter)