Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 700 First Flight of the Spitfire, Fang Wen's Dunkirk Air Combat, Lone Eagle Hunting Tactics
The reply from Berlin came faster than expected, but it was also more ambiguous.

The Nazi leader neither agreed to Rundstedt's request to withdraw from Dunkirk nor reprimanded Göring's Luftwaffe for its incompetence. Instead, he ordered that "land, sea and air forces work together to clear the remaining Allied forces from the encirclement within three days and not give them any further chance to retreat."

This ambiguous order became another catalyst for the conflict between the land and air forces. Göring interpreted it as "the Führer still trusts the air force to take the lead in the final stages," and ordered the assembly of all available aircraft on the western front overnight; Rundstedt, on the other hand, secretly ordered Guderian's armored forces to prepare for an offensive, so that if the air force failed again, they could force a breakthrough of the beachhead.

On the morning of June 1, the sky over Dunkirk was exceptionally clear. The thick fog from the previous night had completely dissipated, and the sun shone brightly on the sea, illuminating the Allied ships and the soldiers on the beach.

This is the perfect weather for an airstrike, and also the last thing the Allies wanted to see.

Across the strait at Ramsgate Harbor, Fang Wen gazed at the sky, lost in thought.

A chilling atmosphere of impending war hung over the entire Dover Strait.

The dispatching officer jogged over.

“Mr. Fang, a telegram has been received from London and it is for you.”

Fang Wen took the telegram.

The message contained only a brief message.

[The air transport partnership has ended, and the seaplanes will be taken over by the military. Your people can return to London in vehicles provided by the takingover personnel. As for your matter, we can discuss it once you arrive in London.]

After reading the telegram, Fang Wen said to Gong Xiuneng beside him, "Have our men assemble."

"Yes!" Gong Xiu ran off, shouting loudly.

After a short while, the 106 pilots assembled.

Fang Wen stood at the front of the line: "Our business is over. The British will take over all the seaplanes. We need to leave five pilots who know seaplane maintenance to provide after-sales service. Those whose names I call, please step forward."

He selected five pilots from Taishan Civil Aviation and asked them questions after they stepped forward.

"Staying here is voluntary, and you'll receive a special allowance. The London office will handle your living arrangements later. Is there anyone who doesn't want to stay?"

After receiving no reply, he continued:
"Alright, everyone else, disperse. Pack your things and make sure you don't forget anything."

The team disbanded, and the pilots happily returned to their temporary accommodations.

Fang Wen explained to the five people: "Actually, the work is not difficult. You mainly need to explain the maintenance of the Shuiyun-1 aircraft. They have professional mechanics and translators, so don't worry about communication problems."

One of the pilots asked, "When can we go back?"

Fang Wen thought to himself, if things follow the historical course, it would take five years.

But during this time, I will definitely return to Europe, and then I will naturally be able to bring the person back.

"I will take you back within a year."

With the general manager's promise, the five people had no more worries.

An hour later, the pilots packed their bags and bid farewell to the British pilots at the port.

The two sides collaborated over the past few days, developed a mutual respect, and even exchanged gifts.

Lieutenant Colonel Hunt, the highest-ranking British pilot, walked up to Fang Wen and took out a long wooden box.

"Fang, it's a pleasure to work with you. Together we've saved tens of thousands of soldiers. This is a small gift for you."

Fang Wen accepted the gift and opened it in front of the lieutenant colonel.

Inside the box was a Parker gold pen and a British Air Force badge, clearly a custom-made item.

The gift is wonderful and very meaningful.

Fang Wen also presented a gift in return: a custom-made flight commemorative badge from Taishan Airlines, originally intended for pilots coming to the UK, but there were a few left over as spares.

After receiving the exquisite commemorative flight badge, Lieutenant Colonel Hunter asked, "What does the writing on it mean?"

Fang Wen smiled and said, "Mount Tai is the name of my company and also a very famous mountain in China. I hope our friendship can last as long as Mount Tai."

The lieutenant colonel was very pleased with these words and carefully accepted them.

At this moment, the dispatching officer came over.

"The convoy has arrived."

Fang Wen nodded and instructed the pilots to line up and wait.

After a while, four passenger buses drove up.

More than 30 soldiers got out of the two vehicles in front, led by Major Spier, who had left after the failure of Operation Daylight.

Apparently, they were sent back because they knew how to pilot the Mizukumo Type 1.

Fang Wen shook hands with him and introduced the five remaining Eastern pilots to the major, thus completing the handover.

After the handover was completed, the 101 pilots boarded a bus and left the port under the watchful eyes of the British military.

Five hours later, the bus entered London.

Under the grey sky, the city did not descend into chaos due to the war in France.

At least for now, German planes are not flying across the strait to bomb this area.

The bus stopped at the Taishan Aviation office, and Fang Wen and the pilots got off.

The office manager rushed over: "General Manager, their accommodations have been arranged."

"Is the London office well-funded?" Fang Wen asked.

"The funds for this quarter's exclusive stores haven't been delivered to Paris yet due to the war, but headquarters has agreed to use these funds," the office manager replied.

Fang Wen nodded: "Prepare a car and a driver. If I don't come back, he can drive the car back."

"Yes."

The manager went to take care of something.

After a while, a black car drove up, and the driver got out of the driver's seat and sat in the back.

Fang Wen got into the driver's seat and drove towards Bentley Abbey in the suburbs of London, where the headquarters of the Royal Air Force was located.

The car stopped at the gate, the guards questioned and inspected it, and then reported it.

After a while, an officer came out and led him into the building.

The atmosphere here is much more tense than in London, with soldiers hurrying by.

Fang Wen was taken up to the second floor, to the third room on the right.

There, a man with the rank of major general introduced himself: "Hello, I am Ferguson. I am glad that you are joining the fight against the Nazis. I have a few questions for you. Why do you want to fight?"

“Because I like it,” Fang Wen replied without reservation. “Besides, I’ve never flown a British fighter jet before, so this is a very good opportunity.”

"You don't understand our fighter jets. Generally speaking, it takes time to master them."

In response, Fang Wen confidently replied, "I think I can get the hang of it very quickly. In the past few years, I have flown no fewer than 10 different types of aircraft. I have been exposed to all kinds of aircraft and I can quickly master how to fly them."

The major general nodded: "I've heard some of your stories. Well then, go to Hornchurch Airport, someone will take care of things for you."

"I have a request. I don't want to reveal my identity during this battle. Could you please do some disguise?"

"How to disguise it?"

"Wear a mask."

"can."

Hornchurch Airport is located 25 kilometers east of London.

Along with Biggs Hill and Manston, it forms the Kent airfield group and was a frontline operational airfield in the Dunkirk air battle.

At 1 p.m. on June 1, a military vehicle drove into the airport.

Two people got out of the car: one was an air force officer, and the other was Fang Wen, who was wearing a mask.

His appearance drew sidelong glances from the ground crew and pilots who were hastily preparing for the mission.

The two walked to a hangar, where the officer handed over the duties to the people inside.

"This is a special pilot; he will be flying this Spitfire. You all need to cooperate with him." After saying that, the officer stood aside and watched the show.

The ground crew in the hangar didn't know how to communicate with Fang Wen, so they just stood there awkwardly.

Fang Wen spoke up first, saying in English with a London accent, "I'll go on the plane and take a look."

As he spoke, he pushed the boarding ladder and boarded the plane directly.

Upon entering the cockpit, Fang Wen activated his mechanical senses to gain a comprehensive understanding of the aircraft.

The aircraft is 8 meters long, has a wingspan of 11 meters, and a height of 3.5 meters.

Its wide wingspan indicates good stability in horizontal flight.

As for the weight, the empty weight should be a little over 2 tons, and the payload is 3 tons.

The powertrain is a Rolls-Royce Merlin III 12-cylinder liquid-cooled engine.

Fang Wen started the engine and sensed its maximum power of 1030 horsepower, which was similar to the power of the improved Xiluo aircraft engine in Taishan.

With this configuration and considering the fuel tank capacity, the estimated range is 900-1000 kilometers, and the loiter time is approximately 1.5-2 hours.

As for weaponry, it has eight 7.7mm Browning machine guns (four on each wing) with 1440 rounds of ammunition.

In terms of protection, the cockpit is equipped with 8mm armor plates and the fuel tank has a self-sealing device.

After some mechanical perception, Fang Wen had already gained a fairly good understanding of the aircraft. The remaining two or three parts could be fully understood with just one takeoff.

But it can't fly yet; he discovered a small problem with the plane.

The landing gear hydraulic system is broken.

It is precisely because of this problem that the aircraft is parked in the hangar for repairs.

Fang Wen stood up and slid down the boarding stairs.

"Brothers, I know landing gear is hard to fix, but I have a little trick. Want me to give it a try?"

The mechanics, who were still confused about the situation, instinctively stepped aside.

Fang Wen walked to the broken left landing gear, took out tools from the toolbox next to it, and disassembled the outer shell.

The Spitfire fighter jet's landing gear employed hydropneumatic damping technology.

The landing gear retraction and extension are achieved using hydraulic cylinders, but to ensure safe and efficient operation, there are some ingenious improvements in the design of the hydraulic cylinders.

The landing gear has multiple axes of motion, different torque arms, and locking mechanisms.

All three landing gear struts are operated by the same control system consisting of pumps, valves, and fuel tanks.

The landing gear retraction and extension must be done simultaneously; either all of it must be retracted or all of it must be extended.

The problem lies in the torque arm of the left front landing gear, where a very small spring clip is stuck, preventing transmission.

Fang Wen removed the spring clip, adjusted it, and feeling that it wouldn't affect the take-off and landing, he put the outer casing back in.

He then stood up and said, "It's fixed. Now I want to test fly it. Please contact the control tower for me."

The officer who had been watching from the sidelines was astonished and incredulous: "Are you sure it can fly?"

“I’m sure that if anything goes wrong, I’ll take full responsibility,” Fang Wen replied, still wearing a mask.

Having said that, and given that it was arranged by the major general, the officer turned and left.

After a while, he returned with another officer in a flight suit: "This is the squadron leader of the 230th Squadron. I have already spoken to the control tower. You can take off from Channel 2 now. If you can fly well, you can join their squadron to fight."

The officer in the flight suit also spoke up: "Our squadron needs excellent pilots to participate in combat, if you are capable."

Fang Wen nodded and communicated with the ground staff in the hangar.

Immediately after refueling and clearing the ground, Fang Wen boarded the aircraft, started the engine, and steered the plane out of the hangar.

Ground control personnel outside guided the aircraft into flight path 2 using flags.

The aircraft then accelerated along the flight path and took off once it reached the required speed.

The British Air Force officers below, watching the plane perform its standard maneuvers in the air, no longer doubted Fang Wen's piloting ability.

These pilots performed even better than the average pilots in the air force.

November 6rd, 1:3 p.m.

A large formation of at least 150 aircraft departed from the direction of Berlin, consisting of He-111s and Ju-87s, escorted by Bf-109s.

When the aircraft group was 100 kilometers from the Dover Strait, it was detected by British radar. Although the exact number could not be determined, the Royal Air Force still dispatched a large number of fighter jets to intercept it.

German aircraft first appeared over Dunkirk.

The air raid sirens blared mournfully on the beach of Dunkirk, and the soldiers who had been boarding the ships in an orderly fashion were thrown into chaos. However, they quickly lay down or rushed to the air raid shelters on the beach at the officers' shouts.

On the sea, the Allied destroyers immediately changed course, and their anti-aircraft guns pointed straight up and fired.

The German bombing began, with large numbers of aerial bombs falling below.

Hornchurch Airport.

The battle sirens wailed.

The British 230 Squadron pilots immediately ran to their respective aircraft. Fang Wen, who had just joined the air force, also quickly sat in the cockpit of his Spitfire Mk.I. His mask covered most of his face, leaving only his sharp eyes visible.

There is a recessed area inside the cockpit specifically for housing the Taishan walkie-talkie as an airborne wireless communication device.

Fang Wen turned on his walkie-talkie, and the squadron leader's voice came through the loudspeaker, sounding somewhat urgent: "Attention all aircraft, the German air force is approaching Dunkirk and is bombing the beach convoy. The first wave of support has already departed, and we are the second wave. Take off immediately to provide support!"

One plane after another accelerated into the air, and soon it was Fang Wen's turn. He calmly operated the controls, and the Merlin engine emitted a deep roar. The fighter jet slid off the runway like an arrow and soared into the sky.

After the plane took off, the squadron leader's voice came through the walkie-talkie: "Ghost, you're in my group, four-finger formation, you're on the right, understand?"

Fang Wen replied, "Understood."

He then piloted the aircraft to the designated location.

The four-aircraft "finger" formation is the core formation of the British Spitfire fighter jets.

The four fighter jets were spread out in a fan shape, like outstretched fingers, with a distance of about 200 meters between each other. This allowed them to maintain visual contact without being too close to be hit by a bomb.

The entire 10th Air Force formed three four-plane formations and flew over the Dover Strait to the Dunkirk air combat zone.

Twenty minutes later, the air force arrived at the target area.

The battle ahead was incredibly fierce.

Thick smoke from explosions and the flashes of bullets filled the sky. Falling fighter jets, trailing long fiery tails, crashed into the sea or beach like meteors, stirring up towering splashes and dust.

A British Spitfire was sandwiched between two Bf-109s. Its wings were torn apart by machine guns. The pilot struggled to parachute, but as soon as the parachute opened, it was pierced by a stray bullet and instantly turned into falling shreds.

The German escort formation was tightly packed, with bombers dropping bombs in the middle and Bf 109s patrolling the perimeter, targeting lone British aircraft.

There are also lurking hunters.

Because it was so chaotic, even Fang Wen didn't notice.

The three four-plane formations of the 10th Air Force had just entered the battle when they were ruthlessly cut off by the German aerial hunters.

Four Bf-109s suddenly swooped down from the clouds, heading straight for the flank of the 10th Air Force. The four-plane formation couldn't react in time; the lead plane's wing was blown open, and the fighter rolled out of control. The three wingmen rushed to the rescue, and a gap instantly appeared in the formation.

Subsequently, another 10 Bf-109s stormed into the Tenth Air Force.

"Damn it! They're using lone eagle hunting tactics. We can no longer fight passively in formation. All fighters, use lone eagle hunting tactics too!" The captain roared over the walkie-talkie, followed by a burst of ear-piercing static. He was the first to break away from formation flying.

The lone eagle hunting tactic, also known as the single-aircraft hunting formation, is not a pre-set formation, but rather an independent combat mode that pilots are forced to adopt after the formation is broken up in air combat.

The German fighter planes did not play by the rules, but directly disbanded their formations and attacked with lone eagle hunting tactics, which was indeed surprisingly effective.

At this moment, due to the departure of the main squadron leader, Fang Wen, the wingman, was caught in the mid-air chaos and had no friendly forces to rely on.

He jerked the stick, and the Spitfire dodged the two rows of machine gun fire like a serpent. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw two of the squadron's fighters hit and explode into fireballs in mid-air.

(A Spitfire V-type fighter jet of the British 331 Fighter Squadron)
(End of this chapter)