Chapter 273 Channel Aerial Battle (1)

If possible, Dowding really didn't want to send his precious air force units to die in vain.

Although performance deficiencies could be compensated by quantity (within the same generation), and quantity shortages could be compensated by performance, now, the German fighters held an advantage in both quantity and performance.

However, in the current situation, he could only use 180 fighters to silence Churchill, while also securing his own position. Otherwise, if they appointed someone who only knew how to flatter and clap hands as the commander of the Fighter Command, the entire fighter force might be destroyed.

But he also took the opportunity to make a request. "Prime Minister, our fighter planes are far inferior in performance to the German ones. We need to improve and upgrade them as soon as possible."

Churchill, of course, was not a fool, nodding in agreement. "Very well, I will allocate funds as soon as possible." After all, he knew that the British fighter planes were not on par with the German ones. If improvements were not made soon, they might suffer significant losses in the future.

As Dowding issued the order, a massive formation of fighter planes, composed of five squadrons of Spitfires (60 aircraft) and ten squadrons of Hurricanes (120 aircraft), flew over the city. Many citizens waved and cheered at the sky, but no one noticed a middle-aged man who stopped in his tracks, scanning the sky with sharp eyes. He then turned and walked quickly in the direction he came from.

Soon, invisible radio waves transmitted from various locations in Britain.

The German radar had not yet detected any targets when the Air Force Command received the news of British fighter planes taking off – at least 150 of them!

In less than a minute, sorrowful combat alarms rang out at various temporary airfields on the frontline.

German fighter pilots shouted and rushed out of the duty room, heading towards their planes.

These days, British and French fighter planes had not dared to engage in air combat, and there had been no significant aerial battles. This situation had frustrated them. Thanks to Wilhelm's connections, the German fighter pilots were well aware of the performance of the British fighter planes. They knew everything in detail, from turn radius and climb rate to top speed, dive speed, weapon firepower, and the number of rounds. Even the entire aircraft structure and every screw used were meticulously known. Probably, the flight manuals distributed by the British didn't provide such detailed information.

Moreover, the secret German factories had even produced a batch of "Hurricanes" and "Spitfires" identical to the British ones for the fighter pilots to experience firsthand.

If they were shot down under such circumstances, it could only be blamed on their own bad luck.

Soon, a fleet of Bf 109F fighters soared into the sky, forming a massive formation and flying towards the distance.

However, it wasn't just the Bf 109F fighters taking off.

"What the hell, why is that guy flying so high?"

At an altitude of 11,000 meters, two fighters with slender wings, streamlined fuselages, and prominent auxiliary air intakes flew smoothly. Among them, the fighter with the number 001 painted on its fuselage looked up at a transport plane more than 1,000 meters above them and exclaimed. Unlike other transport planes, it had several thick antennas extending from the lower fuselage, pointing diagonally downward.

"Going so high doesn't need our escort. What kind of aircraft could threaten it at that altitude?"

When the flight altitude gradually increased, the air density would decrease with the increasing altitude, affecting the engine's intake. As the intake air decreased, the thrust would generally decrease. At a certain height, due to insufficient thrust, the aircraft would lose climbing ability and could only maintain level flight, and this height was the aircraft's ceiling.

For this reason, the combat altitude of fighter planes at this time was considered high at 6,000 to 8,000 meters, and 10,000 meters was almost the limit. The current Spitfire was not the later improved version, making it difficult to climb to an altitude of 10,000 meters for combat.

The pilot on the fighter with the number 002 smiled and said, "Isn't this the mission of our Imperial Guards X Unit? I guess we won't have a chance to fight the enemy in this lifetime." While speaking, there was suddenly a faint buzzing interference in their headphones. However, this sound was subtle and didn't affect their communication. "It looks like that big guy has started?"

Not only them, but the headphones of the hundreds of fighter pilots engaged in the melee below also heard piercing interference. However, the sound in the German pilots' headphones was very faint and didn't affect their communication. The British pilots, on the other hand, were in a sorry state. The sudden crackling electronic noise disrupted their attention, and several pilots, startled by this interference, were taken advantage of by the German pilots.

"Calling wingmen, wingmen, do you copy?! Julian, Frank, can you hear me? Please respond, Julian, Frank?!" Joseph shouted into the communicator, but the headphones continued to produce a continuous buzzing sound. He couldn't establish contact with his two wingmen. Helpless, he had to take off the annoying headphones and focus on dealing with the enemy aircraft.

The British pilots still adopted the compact three-plane V formation, which, although visually appealing, limited the pilots' visibility and maneuverability. Carefully flying close together was not an easy task, and the pilots had to be cautious not to obstruct each other, leaving little space for evading enemy attacks. The German pilots, having studied a dual-plane and four-plane formation tactics during the Spanish Civil War, maintained a larger separation, not worrying about colliding with teammates, and still maintained flexible cooperation. They could cover and cooperate in combat, with wingmen shielding the lead plane, allowing the lead to focus on attacking, or the lead and wingman could alternate between offense and defense. In short, formations were safer and more efficient than single aircraft. Even in the era of fifth-generation fighters in the future, dual-plane formations remained the most basic aerial combat tactic.

Combined with the current electronic interference from the German side, the British Royal Air Force had lost its ability to coordinate operations, completely disrupting their formation and rendering them into isolated individual fighters.

In the sky, aircrafts from both sides engaged in a chaotic dogfight, twisting and turning, accompanied by the deafening noise and the roar of the aircraft. In the heat of battle, one British aircraft continuously changed its flight attitude, attempting to evade the bullets of German aircraft. Unfortunately, while it avoided the enemy, it couldn't escape its own. In the end, in a panic, it collided with another friendly aircraft, and both planes instantly turned into fireballs, with fragments of aircraft wreckage and debris falling into the vast ocean.

"Hehe, that fool." The two fighters in high altitude witnessed this scene, and Number 001 couldn't help but mock, "The British are no match at all. Are they too inexperienced, or are we just too powerful?"

However, Number 002 shook his head with some confusion. "Something seems off. I've seen the casualty ratios from the last air battle, and although the British losses were much higher than ours, it didn't reach a point where they were completely overwhelmed. These British pilots don't seem like experienced veterans no matter how you look at it." He had noticed several British pilots making very childish and rookie mistakes, and even pilots with a bit of combat experience wouldn't make such foolish errors.

"Oh? Could it be that all the experienced hands in the British Air Force are dead, and they can only send out rookies?"