Chapter 210 Aerial Combat (1)

The success of the "Granite", "Concrete", "Steel", and "Iron" assault teams officially signaled that the B Army Group had entered a state of war, launching a comprehensive attack against Belgium.

In the sky, formations of Stuka dive bombers, Mosquito bombers, and Il-2 attack planes, accompanied by a dense cover of Bf 109s, crossed the border and unleashed intense bombing on Belgium's airports, railway hubs, heavily fortified areas, and cities.

"Attention! We've located Airport A4!"

"They are preparing to take off!"

The airborne commander quickly assigned tasks. "Stuka First Squadron is responsible for the east side of the airport's anti-aircraft positions, Second Squadron for the south, Third Squadron for the west, and Fourth Squadron for the north; Bf 109 squadrons provide high-altitude cover." Today's sky was cloudless, so any approaching enemies could be spotted from a considerable distance.

"Understood!"

"Received!"

After receiving the orders, one after another, Stuka bombers began their dive. As their speed increased, the buzzing sound from their sirens, initially low and gradually rising, turned into a deafening hellish scream.

Most Belgians below were encountering Stuka dive bombers for the first time. The terrifying buzzing sound left them petrified, gazing in horror at those planes diving straight toward them!

"Oh God! The planes are coming! Run!!"

The airport instantly descended into chaos. Even the loud reprimands from officers went unheard. The anti-aircraft positions around the airport began chaotic counterfire, but for the Stuka pilots, this firepower was like a drizzle. Bomb after bomb was casually dropped, accurately hitting the anti-aircraft positions around the airport. Smoke, cries, and commands filled the air in a tumultuous mix.

Because the primary targets were the anti-aircraft positions, several Belgian fighter planes on the runway had luckily not been attacked yet. Ground crews swiftly started their engines, signaling to the pilots to take off, and frantic prompts from the control tower echoed in their earphones.

Although everyone saw German fighters circling in the sky, they knew that even if they forcibly took off, it wouldn't make much difference from struggling in vain. But they couldn't just stay on the ground waiting to be bombed; at the very least, they had to take off and fight.

As for the outcome, it seemed to be predestined.

These planes began to taxi forward slowly. Before reaching the halfway point, a cry of alarm came over the earphones from the control tower. "Watch out behind you!"

Several Stuka bombers, after dropping their bombs, didn't climb but headed straight for the fighter planes on the runway. Even though the bombs were already released, they still had two 20mm machine guns, more than enough to deal with Belgium's outdated biplane fighters.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" The 20mm machine guns roared, and two shots directly shattered the upper wing of a Belgian fighter plane into fragments. The aircraft immediately lost control, careened off the runway, and flipped upside down.

The remaining Belgian fighter planes attempted to take off forcibly, but even the most maneuverable biplanes couldn't take off in such a short distance. They could only watch helplessly as the terrifying tracers approached, eventually crashing into their own aircraft.

The exploded aircraft parts and burning fuel scattered on the runway, and there was no chance for other planes to take off.

The Stuka formation repeatedly climbed and dived until they ran out of 20mm ammunition, completely disabling the airport. Only then did the Bf 109s in high altitude notice the belated reinforcements in the distance.

Leading the group, Galland excitedly whistled. "Boys! Someone's here to deliver achievements!"

Wilhelm had set a rule that any pilot who shot down ten enemy planes had to go to the rear's flight school to become an instructor, sharing combat experience with trainees for half a month. So, after shooting down his tenth plane in Poland, Galland was sent to the rear. He had just finished teaching a few days ago and returned to the battlefield.

Now, he could finally take to the sky and beat the enemy, every pore on his body trembling with excitement.

The Bf 109 formation began to accelerate, and when Galland saw the approaching French MS.406 fighters at close range, he disdainfully snorted. "Trash!"

During the "Phoney War" (as the Germans called it, the "Sitzkrieg"), the MS.406 had only participated in a few direct engagements, mainly against German reconnaissance planes and Messerschmitt Bf 109D fighters.

In actual combat, the early monoplane MS.406 proved to be inferior in performance to the faster Bf 109D. Sometimes, even the Dornier reconnaissance planes were challenging to intercept. The MS.406's weaponry was too weak, and its efficiency was not great. Its 20mm machine gun had a slow rate of fire, and the two 7.5mm machine guns had insufficient power. Despite this, French pilots tenaciously piloted these fighters against Germany's Bf 109D.

However, the current Bf 109 had been upgraded to the 109F, fully capable of dominating these "roosters" of Gaul.

"Wingman, stay close to me. This is your first actual combat, no need to rush into attacking enemies. Just follow my every move." Galland advised over the communication system.

German fighter planes used a double-plane formation as the smallest combat unit, consisting only of a lead aircraft and a wingman. During combat patrols, the two aircrafts maintained a considerable distance. This way, both sides could easily see the situation behind each other, providing effective mutual cover. In flight, the lead aircraft was in front, and the wingman was behind. This allowed the lead pilot to concentrate on searching without worrying about blind spots behind, and during combat, the wingman covered the lead aircraft's rear. Usually, experienced pilots took on the role of the lead, leveraging their technical advantages to achieve better results. Additionally, every two double-plane formations could form a mutually supportive four-plane formation, further enhancing safety in aerial combat.

On the other hand, the British and French used a triangular formation of three fighter planes, a practice inherited from the First World War due to the interference caused by radio signals and engine noise, which made communication difficult. Pilots needed to fly closer to maintain visual contact for gestures and, sometimes, even use writing boards for communication. The three-plane formation was suitable for this type of communication.

Moreover, as the French and British air forces had long been unprepared for combat and unwilling to shed blood, their usual training did not focus on how to shoot down opponents in aerial dogfights or consider which formation would be more advantageous for air combat. Instead, they emphasized performing beautiful flight demonstrations. Even today, aerial demonstrations still emphasized flying in large formations. As a result, pilots accustomed to flying in large formations in allied countries would not think of the German formation.

The disadvantage of the three-plane formation was also evident. Pilots in a three-plane formation had to carefully control their aircraft because each pilot had to pay attention to the positions of two friendly aircraft in different directions to avoid collisions or contact between aircraft. Therefore, pilots had no extra mental energy to observe the battlefield environment. Thus, the combat agility of allied fighters was difficult to realize. Pilots either ended up injuring their teammates or were shot down by unexpected enemy aircraft. Furthermore, the dense formation made the entire group susceptible to being hit by ground anti-aircraft fire.

As a result, at the beginning, the German Luftwaffe overwhelmed the air forces of Britain and France, German pilots continuously achieving high scores while the air forces of Britain and France suffered heavy losses. Later, due to insufficient numbers of fighter planes, Britain had to form 1-lead-1-wingman formations for aerial combat.

"Wingman received." The wingman replied with a slight hint of nervousness.

The fighter planes on both sides began to climb, each trying to gain the advantage of altitude. However, the climbing speed of the French fighters was noticeably slower than that of the German fighters. What was initially an equal altitude quickly turned into a situation where the German planes held a significant altitude advantage.