Chapter 49: China's Trump Card

  When he saw the magnificent sunset last night, Liu Zesheng knew that today must be a fine day, and the Chinese Air Force would make its first sortie. So early this morning, he dispatched two Hurricane fighters to patrol around the airport, lest they be suddenly attacked, as the Germans had done last month.

  As expected, shortly after breakfast, Squadron Leader Pickering informed them that Air Vice-Marshal Park had ordered all squadrons to be ready for action. The coastal radar stations and binoculars had already detected aircraft taking off from airfields in France. Although the British had acquired magnetron technology from the Chinese, it would take some time to test and use it to manufacture centimetric wave radar.

  After receiving the order to prepare for battle, Ryu Chul-soo and Jang Sung-tae ordered all pilots to report to the ready room.

  "We've just received the order to prepare for takeoff." Ryu Je-seong's one sentence sparked a huge reaction among the 30 pilots. Experienced pilots who yearned to prove themselves by shooting down enemy planes were exceptionally excited, while rookie pilots fresh out of flight school, although possessing all the skills required to fly fighter jets, felt somewhat tense as they had never participated in actual combat before.

  "What I said, I've already said during yesterday's practice. Everyone must remember that safety comes first and the two planes must cover each other. Be careful of the German fighters, they are not like the weak Japanese fighters after half a year of fighting in Europe. Prioritize protecting yourself before attacking."

  Here we can't get radar guidance, so everything relies on visual attack by everyone. Please note the differences. The topographic map should be familiar to everyone, as long as you don't fly out of England, if you get lost, you can find an airport nearby and land, but don't forget to show your ID sewn on the back and those life-saving phrases.

  Because not all pilots speak English, Zheng Songting ordered someone to embroider the ID on the inside of the pilots' vests to avoid being mistaken for spies in case of forced landing or getting lost, and also taught them a few explanatory phrases.

  "Don't worry, Deputy Commander Zheng, we will shoot down the enemy planes, we won't be shot down." A rookie pilot stood up, his name was Lin Heng, he had just graduated from flight school. He was the younger brother of the master architect Lin Huiyin, and in the original timeline, he would be shot down by a Japanese Zero fighter plane in the aerial defense of Chengdu next March, it was his sacrifice that inspired Lin Huiyin to create the poem "Crying for Third Brother Heng" three years later (see data). He Juncai deliberately chose Lin Heng to send to England in order to avoid this tragedy from happening again.

  Wow——, Lin Heng's speech made those old birds laugh endlessly. No one can guarantee that they won't be shot down, even Liu Zhesen and Zheng Songting have also experienced parachuting or forced landing. However, after experiencing the enhanced armor of British fighter jets, everyone felt at ease, which may be the secret to Britain being able to save most of its pilots and ultimately win the battle.

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  Squadron 55 had not received the order to take off. The two Hurricanes patrolling above reported seeing thick smoke in the distance, clearly the German attack had begun. Anxious Liu Zesheng urged Major Pack to call the 11th Squadron command post to inquire.

  At this time, the command center of the 11th Brigade in Uxbridge was already in a mess. Today, the German Air Force dispatched a large fleet of 200 bombers and 600 fighters to London, and Park had dispatched 19 squadrons with more than 300 fighters, almost all the forces of the 11th Brigade, but still could not stop the advance of the German Air Force, which was about to enter the Thames Estuary.

  Although Park was skilled at directing large formations of fighters, he found it difficult to cope with the sheer number of German aircraft. Moreover, Churchill's visit to 11 Group HQ today added to his stress.

  "Do you have any reserves?" Churchill asked, his brow furrowed in concern as he puffed on his cigar. Due to the lack of long-range early warning capabilities, it was no longer possible to assemble four large squadrons to counter the Germans as before. Now that the direction of the main German attack had been identified, the fighters of No. 12 Squadron were rushing to the scene, but like distant water they could hardly quench the thirst.

  "Perhaps there's more!" an aide chimed in after answering a phone call, "The 55th squadron is requesting to sortie, they claim to have 31 fighter jets on standby."

  "Number 55 Squadron? You mean those Chinese Air Force people?" General Park had initially ignored the newly formed squadron because he knew that Major Pritchard had only managed to scrounge up ten Hurricanes, and the Chinese had just arrived a few days ago.

  "It should now be called the Sino-British Air Force, under your command. What's the problem?" Churchill retorted, after all 31 fighter jets might be an important weight on the scales of war at this moment.

  "No problem, order them to go into battle immediately." General Park, although questioning the number of fighter planes and pilots in the Flying Tigers, could only make do with what he had. It would be clear whether it was a donkey or a horse once they were led out to run around. So he immediately ordered his staff to indicate the target and guide the 11th Squadron to meet the enemy.

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  "Depart!" Under Zheng Songting's order, the fighter jets that had been lined up took off one after another and formed a large formation in the air, heading towards the location of the aerial battle.

  "What a magnificent sight!" There were already over a thousand planes in the air, dogfighting. Some German bombers had smoke billowing from them and were dropping their bombs randomly as they turned to flee. The numerous German fighter planes were surrounding and attacking those British fighters that broke through the bomber formations, with planes being shot down on both sides. Just as Liu Zhesong was speaking, a Spitfire was hit by a German BF109, multiple 20mm cannon shells striking it and causing its left wing to break off, sending it plummeting from the sky.

  Neither side in the melee noticed these 31 fighter planes coming from high altitude. Seeing such a good opportunity, Ryu Jang-won immediately issued an attack order.

  "Disperse by squad, watch each other's backs! Prioritize taking down the bombers." The earphones were already a mess, Liu Zhe-sheng had to shout out orders, fortunately among the pile of English, Chinese was still relatively distinguishable.

  After issuing the command, Liu Zesheng pressed the machine head and rushed towards a BF110. This German Air Force heavy fighter was driving away a Hurricane without noticing Liu Zesheng's approach from behind. It wasn't until the two planes were within 200 meters of each other that the rear gunner realized death had arrived (the BF110 heavy fighter had three crew members). He warned the pilot while operating the tail machine gun to start firing. But it was already too late, Liu Zesheng skillfully dodged the incoming bullets in his Spitfire, aiming at the cockpit of the BF110. The close distance made the cockpit fill up the entire sight. As a fighter plane, the 16-meter-wide BF110 was a behemoth, with strong firepower and solid armor but poor agility. Liu Zesheng didn't hesitate to press the machine gun button, and the eight machine guns installed on the head and wings roared to life, shattering the cockpit and killing the pilot in his seat. This BF110 became Liu Zesheng's first victory in England.

  The other fighters of the 55th squadron also dived down to attack like hawks discovering prey, but unlike Liu Zesheng, they attacked in pairs. Lin Heng's wingman targeted a BF109 that was attacking, and Lin Heng followed closely behind to protect its tail. Taking advantage of the fact that the BF109 had not yet noticed, and was still chasing after the British fighter plane in front, Lin Heng quickly entered an attacking position and fired a long burst. However, the BF109 happened to make a left turn, causing most of the shots to miss, and Lin Heng lost his best attacking position. Seeing this situation, Lin Heng quickly adjusted his position, following the BF109's left turn with a small angle, switching to a formation where he was in front and his wingman was behind. This tactic had been practiced many times before, and now it came naturally. Lin Heng soon found the best attacking position, pressed the firing button, and the roaring machine guns caused the plane to vibrate slightly as they destroyed the BF109's tail.

  "Wow, great!" Lin Heng couldn't help but shout loudly over the wireless radio.

  "Watch out, sharp turn to the left!" The voice of the navigator suddenly reminded Lin Heng, who made an evasive maneuver under subconsciousness. A string of bullets whizzed past the cockpit, making him break out in a cold sweat. It turned out that the wingman of the BF109 they had shot down was coming for revenge. But in a two-on-one situation, this BF109 soon became another victim of Lin Heng's plane. Thanks to their mutual coordination and cover, so far, none of the 55 Squadron's Hurricanes and Spitfires have been lost, and instead, they have already taken down three BF109s and two BF110s.

  The arrival of 55 Squadron gave the RAF a temporary breather, and Group Captain Crossley, who was directing the battle from the air, whistled with delight as he ordered the British fighters to disengage and reassemble. The Germans now faced another embarrassment. The Bf 109s were running short of fuel and had to return home or risk crashing into the English Channel. The remaining 300-odd Bf 110s could not hold off the more than 300 RAF fighters in the air.

  The reassembled British fighters seized this chaotic opportunity, plunging back into the German air fleet and starting another round of melee. The 55th squadron also rushed up fiercely under Liu Zesheng's leadership.

  Because there was only one fighter plane, Ryu Chul-seong did not have a wingman. However, he alone fought like Zhao Yun of Changshan in the German aircraft group, killing several planes and coming out unscathed. He particularly liked to attack the German BF110, which was as clumsy as a bomber but lacked the thick skin and rearward firepower of a bomber. So he quickly shot down another lone BF110, hitting its engine with one accurate shot, and the plane crashed into the ground, spewing black smoke, and the pilots jumped out one by one. This was already Ryu Chul-seong's third downed aircraft, and after not participating in air battles for half a month, he was in top form today. Just as he had finished shooting down that BF110 and hadn't even had time to react, Ryu Chul-seong saw a British Spitfire passing quickly from left to right through his sight, and subconsciously pressed the firing button, and the bullets shot out indeed hit a BF109 following behind, which was penetrated by the suddenly incoming bullets from the head of the plane to the tail, and instantly disintegrated in mid-air.

  "Thank you!" The Spitfire fighter in front was driven by Colonel Crossley, who was in charge of air command. He was suddenly attacked by a German fighter while watching the battle and had to dive away. This was the first BF109 fighter shot down by Ryu Zesheng, and the aerial battle continued.

  Start work, go on a business trip!