Chapter 53: Ace vs. Ace

  The next morning, the 55th Squadron received another escort mission, this time to Dunkirk, the port of embarkation for Operation Dynamo. The Anglo-French army chose to evacuate from this port because it was the narrowest point in the English Channel. From an airfield near London, it took less than half an hour to get here.

  No. 55 Squadron now has a total of 14 Spitfires and 18 Hurricanes, but due to the loss of one pilot yesterday, only 31 aircraft can be deployed today. The commander of this bombing mission is Colonel William, with a total of 30 Wellington bombers, accompanied by No. 85 Squadron's Spitfire fighters on escort duty.

  After taking off, Liu Zhesen only knew that there was another bomber formation heading to the important port of Cherbourg on the French coast for a bombing mission, so the bomber formation he escorted today had shrunk. A few minutes after flying over the British coastline, Liu Zhesen saw the port of Dunkirk. The German army apparently did not learn from yesterday's experience, and there were still no patrolling fighter jets in the air. Due to the consideration that Dunkirk is relatively close to the UK mainland, the German army has assembled a large number of small ferries here for shuttle transportation tasks, and these ferries are now parked at the berths in the port.

  Zheng Songting flew the Spitfire fighter jet for the first time today, leading the Black Dragon Squadron. Lin Heng, having lost his wingman, was reassigned to the Red Dragon Squadron as Liu Zhesen's wingman, finally ending Liu's days as a lone swordsman. Near the port of Dunkirk, several German anti-aircraft artillery units were deployed, setting up shells with proximity fuses that exploded in mid-air, releasing clouds of smoke to greet Colonel William's bomber formation.

  As Wing Commander Willet led the bombers in their attack on Dunkirk harbour, Lyne sent two squadrons of Hurricanes to deal with the hundreds of barges moored offshore, while the remaining Spitfires of 55 Squadron and those of 85 Squadron circled above. The Luftwaffe reacted quickly as several Gruppen of Kampfgeschwader 2 and 3 were stationed in northern France. Lyne saw a large group of black dots approaching in the distance and hastily called up the Hurricanes, which were still at low level over the sea, to climb to altitude.

  In less than 10 minutes, the Hurricane fighter had already gained a great advantage in its attack on the ships at sea. The 8 machine guns on board launched a frenzied attack on the barges that were anchored and unable to escape. These barges did not have the thick armor of warships, nor did they have complex watertight compartments; some were even originally used for inland navigation, so it was difficult for them to withstand the machine gun fire, and they sank one after another. Especially yesterday's modified Hurricane, with its 4 large-caliber machine guns, had a firepower that far exceeded the 8 machine guns, and almost every dive-bombing attack would sink a barge, with very good results.

  When the Blue Dragon and Green Dragon squadrons of Typhoon fighters returned to an altitude of 3000 meters, the Spitfires of No. 55 Squadron and No. 85 Squadron had already begun dogfighting with incoming German Luftwaffe Bf 109s. Ryu Chul-sung scored a hit on one Bf 109 in a head-on attack, while Lin Heng's subsequent shooting sent the Bf 109 plummeting towards the sea surface, trailing black smoke. Next, Ryu Chul-sung pulled the control stick to the left while correcting his course with the right rudder, quickly taking aim at another Bf 109 that was firing wildly without noticing the threat from its rear flank. After taking aim, Ryu Chul-sung scored a precise shot that shattered the tail of this aircraft.

  "Captain, watch out!" Just as Liu Zhe-sheng was searching for his next target, Lin Heng's warning voice came over the radio. A BF109D fighter with a red "R" embedded in a white shield on its tail wing was quietly approaching Liu Zhe-sheng from above. Lin Heng had bitten onto the tail of this BF109 while issuing the warning, but he helplessly discovered that another BF109 had bitten onto his own tail. Thus, four planes lined up in a row in mid-air, but the situation was unfavorable for Liu Zhe-sheng and Lin Heng. Liu Zhe-sheng saw this situation from his rearview mirror and quickly pushed down on the control stick to make the plane dive and gain speed. The BF109 followed him into the dive, but the Spitfire's speed was slightly faster. Then he pulled up the plane until its direction was opposite to what it was before, and performed a horizontal roll - this was his specialty, the Immelmann turn. When he completed these maneuvers, he ended up biting onto the BF109 that was about to attack Lin Heng. The opportunity was fleeting, and before the enemy plane had even entered the Spitfire's gun sight, Liu Zhe-sheng pressed the firing button. Sure enough, the enemy plane moved right into position, and the bullets fired hit it squarely. This German air force fighter may have been hit by multiple bullets in its oil tank, causing a huge fire, and Lin Heng was no longer threatened.

  When Hauptmann Helmut Wick, the Gruppenkommandeur of I./JG 2, saw his target disappear in front of him, he realized that something was wrong. Sure enough, a call for help from his wingman soon appeared on the radio, and before Wick could even turn around, his wingman had been hit and was burning in mid-air. Wick was amazed at the technical skill of their opponents today, but his competitive spirit was also ignited. In less than a month of fighting on the Western Front, Wick had achieved 14 victories, making him JG 2's top scorer, and earning him an Iron Cross First Class. And now, in the Battle of Britain, Wick's personal score had reached 32, with another Spitfire shot down just earlier.

  Vic could be said to be a born pilot, with an acute sense of every technical movement. However, even so, he was still shaken off by the red-painted Fokker Dr.I triplane earlier, and that guy even had the leisure to attack his own wingman. The Fokker's exquisite aerial combat skills gave Vic the thrill of meeting a worthy opponent, and he quickly turned around, trying to cut inside again and frame the agile Fokker in his sights.

  Liu Zesheng had just wounded another BF109, but unfortunately found that the German fighter with a white shield and R on the tail wing was chasing him again, and he couldn't help but get angry. He ordered Lin Heng to attack freely, and he himself prepared to have a good fight with this German pilot.

  The two then unfolded a series of flight performances like pursuits. From 5,000 meters to the sea surface, and from the sea surface to 5,000 meters, the two planes have already made dozens of internal cuts, all wanting to bite each other's tail from behind. However, the nearly perfect flying actions of the two were very similar, and they had a strong feeling of attack, so neither succeeded.

  Liu Zhe Sheng was circling with Vic's BF109 while observing the battle situation in the air with his spare vision. His own 55 Squadron Hurricane fighters had already climbed to a high altitude and were circling in the distance, which was a pre-planned strategy. The Hurricanes' performance couldn't compare to the German BF109 single-engine fighter, so they retreated far away for now. Meanwhile, the Spitfires of 55 Squadron and the 85 Squadron were engaged in fierce combat with the German fighters. Thirty British bombers had completed their mission and began climbing altitude to return home, leaving behind a Dunkirk port that was spewing thick smoke everywhere. From the air, it could be seen that the docks and embarkation channels of the port suffered severe damage, estimated to be out of use for some time, while multiple warehouses were engulfed in raging fires.

  As more and more German fighter planes arrived, Ryu Jeong-saeng was still entangled with Vick's fight, unable to extricate himself, watching the situation get worse and worse.

  "Red Dragon II!" Liu Zhe Sheng decided to abandon the chivalrous code of conduct and take advantage of Vic's solo state to launch a group attack.

  "Received, Red Dragon One, need assistance?" Lin Heng had actually never left Liu Zhe Sheng far.

  "Right, remember when we trained like that? Let's do it again!"

  "Got it!" Lin Heng quickly dove down to take up a advantageous position.

  Vic had been circling for dozens of laps, and even with his excellent physical condition, he was starting to get a bit exhausted. However, the Fokker Dr.I in front of him had just revealed a clear weakness - it was a fraction late on a right turn, allowing Vic to make a beautiful inside cut. He was about to close the distance when his emotions surged and all he could see was the growing shape of the enemy plane in his sights. Unbeknownst to him, another Fokker Dr.I had already slipped into position on his right side, ready to fire.

  Vic was about to press the fire button, and honor was about to shine again. Suddenly, a string of bullets came from the side, breaking through the cockpit cover, smashing the instrument panel in front, and Vic's thigh was also hit by the ricocheted bullet. Vic was startled by this sudden attack, seeing that the plane was out of control, he could only push open the broken cockpit with great effort, put on his parachute and jumped out.

  Liu Zhe Sheng, who had escaped, hastily gathered his comrades to regroup and retreat from the skies of Dunkirk under mutual cover. The German air force now held a numerical advantage, and Colonel Wilhelm's bomber formation had already retreated out to sea, so it was not worth continuing to fight the Germans.

  In the air, Liu Zhe Sheng counted his own fighter planes. The Typhoon was intact without any losses, while two Spitfires were on fire and it was unclear whether they could fly back to the airport. The 85th squadron may have lost several Spitfire fighters, and Liu Zhe Sheng saw that Major Alade's Spitfire tail wing seemed to be only half left.

  Two P-47s of the 55th squadron did not make it back to the airfield, losing power just after crossing the strait and were forced to glide and crash land in a paddy field. Ryu Tesso circled above them for a while, confirming they had safely exited the cockpit before leaving, and the two poor souls could only wait for ground troops to send them back.

  The 55th squadron's campaign was still fruitful, and by now the entire squadron had achieved more than 60 victories, with an average of two enemy planes shot down per person. Liu Zhaosheng harvested his 10th victory, while his wingman Lin Heng also shot down two enemy planes. Zheng Songting happily harvested his first victory in flying a Spitfire fighter plane.

  The bombing of the past two days has caused heavy losses to the German landing fleet and material. In Dunkirk, 84 German ships were sunk or damaged. In Cherbourg, a large military arsenal was destroyed, a large military food warehouse was burned down, and several ships and torpedo boats were sunk. The continuous attacks over the past two days have enraged the German army commanders, who have complained to Hitler one after another. One of them even said: "If we continue to gather troops for landing, it's better to send my soldiers directly to the meat grinder." Hitler had no choice but to order a halt to the gathering. The Germans finally realized the importance of air superiority, and G?ring, the fat man, was under tremendous pressure, ordering fighter jets to prioritize providing air cover for ground troops in northeastern France, Holland, and Belgium. For some time to come, the skies above Britain will be calm.