I was a tycoon in World War I: Starting to save France

Chapter 971 The oriole is behind
Richthofen's idea was simple.

Concentrate all of the German Fokker D.VIIs and lure enemy aircraft into the ambush to encircle and annihilate them.

Whether it's a "camel" or a "snipe" style.

Their performance was inferior to that of the "Focke D.VII", and if their numbers were also inferior to the "Focke D.VII", the German army could achieve victory without any pressure.

And it was a resounding victory.

Richthofen's goal was complete annihilation, meaning not a single enemy aircraft would escape.

Because if this could be done, the French army would never know what was happening, and their planes would be lured into the trap one after another.

With repeated occurrences, the numerical disadvantage of "Fokker D.VII" was evened out.

(Note: This tactic is to "concentrate forces to attack dispersed forces," and to take advantage of the fact that during this period, fighter jets do not have radios and cannot report dangers and intelligence back to command in real time.)
"Ready for battle!" Richthofen raised his hand to give the order to his teammates, and quickly pulled the fighter jet up to an altitude of 5000 meters to wait for the enemy to enter the trap.

The distance is getting closer.

Richthofen flipped his fighter plane upside down, raised a small telescope, and observed the area below.

Behind the red triplane followed more than thirty French warplanes, some of which should have been Sandpipers.

(The "spot" and "camel" are so similar that even Richthofen couldn't tell them apart from a distance.)
It's a good start, Richthofen thought. Fifty Fokker D.VIIs taking down thirty-odd Camel and Sandpiper planes is just the right number.

He changed to a normal posture and waited for a while, then raised his hand to signal his subordinates to get ready. He then waved his hand forward and took the lead in piloting his fighter jet to dive towards the enemy formation.

The speed was increasing, but the altimeter was decreasing: 4000 meters, 3000 meters...

Just as Richthofen's squadron was about to cut in and wreak havoc on the enemy squadron, several dark shadows suddenly swept overhead.

The speed of the shadowy figure startled Richthofen.

what is that?
It can't be an airplane, because there are no airplanes that fast on Earth!
Otherwise, what he considered the most advanced fighter jet, the Fokker D.VII, would be like a chick under an eagle's claws in front of it!

However, the reality left Richthofen feeling deeply desperate.

The "shadow" fired machine guns, creating a "rat-a-tat-tat" sound like tearing cloth overhead.

After the gunfire, one Fokker D.VII after another was hit and disintegrated in mid-air. Some crashed to the ground with a strange screech, while others had half of their wings cut off and tumbled and struggled in the air like wounded birds.

Then, with a "whoosh," the two passed each other.

It was moving so fast that Richthofen didn't even get a clear look at it.

Richthofen pulled up his fighter jet and turned around without hesitation. In the instant his aircraft rolled, he finally saw his target clearly:
It was a monoplane fighter that I had never seen before.

Damn it, it's a new type of fighter jet invented by Charles!
Its fully enclosed metal body gleamed blindingly in the sunlight, inspiring fear in those who saw it.

What surprised Richthofen most was that its wings extended downwards in an arc, like the wings of an inverted seagull, or like the scythe of death.

At first, Richthofen thought it was flying upside down.

Why did they make the airplane in this shape?
Why use an all-metal body?

Is its engine powerful enough to support it?
……

A series of questions popped into Richthofen's mind, each one shocking him, and ultimately combined to turn into frustration, powerlessness, and despair.

This is a war that cannot be won!
Germany was already far behind, so far behind that it couldn't even see the taillights of the French vehicles.

Ironically, what Germany considered its most advanced fighter jet was nothing more than a target in the eyes of the enemy.

What he was seeing was something that shouldn't even exist on Earth!

This was the first fighter jet developed by the French military.

With the technological foundation of transport aircraft and the success of the "inverted gull wing," developing bombers and fighters was not too difficult.

However, its production volume is not large because, with the advancement of technology, especially the production difficulty of irregular wings such as the "inverted gull wing", only 10 can be produced per month.

Carter, who had test-flown fighter planes, reported the potential difficulties to Sharl at the pre-war meeting:
"There is no doubt that our new fighter jets have an overwhelming advantage over the enemy's fighter jets."

"But the problem is that there aren't enough of them."

"If the Germans had new fighter planes made of wood, their production would certainly be much greater than ours!"

Charles asked Carter, "How do you plan to fight this battle?"

Carter thought for a moment and answered:
"I think we should use the 'Camel' and 'Sniper' as bait to lure the German planes into an attack."

"Only then will we be able to use new fighter jets to destroy the enemy's most powerful forces."

“Once we do that, the ‘camel’ and ‘spot’ types will once again have a quantitative and qualitative advantage.”

Charles agreed to Carter's battle plan.

Thus, the dramatic scene of the Battle of Düsseldorf unfolded: both sides were trying to lure each other, each believing the other had fallen into a trap, and then their strongest fighters collided violently!
……

The German warplanes were clearly at a disadvantage.

The French fighter, named "Jenny A," had a top speed of 245 kilometers per hour, which was a generation behind the German "Fokker D.VII."

They circled around the German aircraft, occasionally turning their noses to charge into the formation and open fire. Each time they broke through, several Fokker D.VIIs were destroyed.

The German warplanes were completely helpless.

The speed difference was too great. They chased after the target from behind, trying to fire at the enemy plane by hooking its tail. But after only a short while, they found that the distance was getting farther and farther. Before they could even aim at the enemy plane, it had already escaped beyond their firing range and then disappeared.

This was not a battle; it was a massacre.

Richthofen, with his superb piloting skills, twice evaded enemy aircraft by using feints.

It was obvious that the enemy pilots had only recently taken over the aircraft and had little flying experience, so their tactical maneuvers were still quite unfamiliar.

So Richthofen decided to do what he had done before: dive towards the ground and then suddenly pull up, "throwing" the faster enemy planes toward the ground...

However, when he looked back as he dove, he found that the enemy planes had not followed at all.

The next second Richthofen understood.

There was no need for the enemy plane to follow; the speed difference between the two was too great, and it didn't need to worry about Richthofen escaping.

The Fokker D.VII could not stay in a dive indefinitely; it would always have to level off or pull up at times.

At this point, it will become a target for enemy aircraft.

Richthofen sighed helplessly, maneuvered the plane out of the dive, and looked up at the sky, quietly awaiting his fate.

A moment later, a fighter jet swooped down from the sunlight, accompanied by the piercing roar of its engine and the whirring of its propellers spinning at high speed.

Getting closer, getting closer...

(End of this chapter)