3:40.
Everyone in the 303 Squadron entered the cockpit of the aircraft. Next to the cockpit of each aircraft, there were ground staff to help them tighten their seat belts on their seats to prevent their bodies from swaying left and right during violent maneuvers, which would affect the observation angle and shooting accuracy. .
everything's ready.
"boom!"
The Dauntless starts first, and after two seconds the propellers appear to reverse, entering takeoff mode.
Ground crews remove safety wooden pads from the front and rear of the landing gear of two Dreadnought fighter jets.
Two ground staff in yellow shirts made Zhou Zhihan's original "take off" gesture. They squatted sideways and pointed forward with two fingers together. The Dreadnought took off first. 20 seconds later, the other two Dreadnoughts took off. He also flew into the sky.
Then came four Hurricane fighter jets, guided by the ground crew's "take off" posture, roaring into the blue sky in two batches.
Four Spitfire fighter jets took off in a two-plane formation, and finally the A214 Spitfire commanded by the commander took off.
Six minutes later, 13 fighter jets assembled in the air at 3,000 meters, formed three four-finger formations, and flew at cruising speed towards the coastal area from Boulogne to Ostend, where the German and Allied forces had This is a battleground for the Air Force. Since the legs of the German Messerschmitt are relatively short, if you want to bomb Dunkirk, the German fleet must pass through here.
The two sides of the English Channel are France and the United Kingdom. The widest point of the strait is 220 kilometers, and the narrowest point is only 33 kilometers from Dover to the Gray Nose Point in Calais, France. In the generator plan, this sea route was the Allied retreat. The best choice, but it was obvious that Germany had smelled the Allied plan to withdraw from Calais to the British mainland, so it stormed Calais.
In the tragic Battle of Calais, the Allied forces could not withstand the impact of the German tank corps, so they had to retreat and be compressed in Dunkirk. Now, only Dunkirk is the only lifeline left, which can save 400,000 Allied troops. Withdrew back to the British mainland.
So the sea area of Dunkirk became the best place for German bombers to harvest the heads of Allied soldiers.
Ten minutes later, the 303 Squadron flew over the English Channel. They flew toward the southeast with the sun on their side. The setting sun cast a layer of golden yellow on the sea, and the golden waves rippled. A group of white seagulls appeared on the shore, and the sky Quiet and lofty, the beautiful scenery of the setting sun now hides infinite murderous intent.
All fighters of the 303 Squadron are uniformly painted with the Royal Air Force logo TYPE-A-1 on their bodies and wings.
Where else on the fuselage? Let each pilot paint his favorite mascot? Of course, beach girls and the newly popular bikini girls are all fine.
Skalski, Poland's first ace pilot who flew the A202 Hurricane fighter, had five iron-black crosses painted on the tail of his aircraft, representing that he was the ace pilot who shot down five German fighter planes during the Polish Patriotic War. He came to the UK two days earlier than Zhou Zhihan. Last night, he was appointed by Zhou Zhihan as the deputy captain of the 303 Squadron, making him mainly responsible for the hurricane combat formation.
Nowadays, the 303 Squadron has many types of fighter jets made by IWC, with different performances. Is it difficult to coordinate a strong combat effectiveness? The 13 fighter jets in action today are all retired from other squadrons, and they are basically old, broken, and old. .
The squadron leader who flew the A201 Spitfire, Lieutenant Witold Dolbanovich, had two black iron crosses painted on his tail. During the Patriotic War in Poland, he shot down two German aircraft. Stuka dive bomber, he has rich combat experience, so he was entrusted by Major General Parker with the important task of serving as the squadron leader of the 303 Squadron? On his nose is a cartoon character that most pilots like.
The No. 214 Spitfire piloted by Zhou Zhihan had 7 black iron crosses painted on the tail. His record was 6.5. But at this time, when pilots from various countries marked the record on their fighter planes, 0.5 was counted as one.
The distinctive pattern on both sides of the No. 214 Spitfire's nose is tiger fangs.
The ground crew drew an abstract tiger head with a few strokes, revealing the murderous white tiger teeth. There was a drop of blood on the tiger teeth that was about to fall, revealing the aura of a king.
During the flight, Zhou Zhihan used the communicator to once again explain the actual flying method of the four-finger formation to the squadron and let the team members practice flying.
The distance between the fighters in a four-finger formation is 92 meters, which is exactly the sharp turning radius required by the Messerschmitt when circling at combat speed, and the Spitfire's turning radius is roughly the same as that of the Messerschmitt.
Compared with the above two fighters, the turning radius of the Hurricane fighter is much inferior, and the distance between the two fighters in the formation needs to be increased to 102 meters.
Two two-aircraft formations form a four-finger formation. The three four-finger formations are exactly the same squadron of fighters. They fly in a fan-shaped formation on three sides. The aircraft groups assist each other in defense. The area for searching for the enemy's situation is larger and the enemy's situation can be discovered faster. , if there is an enemy aircraft attacking behind you during flight, the two lead aircraft in front can quickly fight back to rescue the wingmen. This advantage is unmatched by the three-aircraft formation.
But any weapon has its advantages and disadvantages. The disadvantage of the four-finger formation is that it has low concealment and it is difficult to form a surprise attack on enemy aircraft.
In a traditional three-aircraft formation, the leader is in front and the two wingmen are behind. The leader is responsible for detecting the enemy and launching an attack. The wingmen are responsible for the safety of the rear hemisphere and wings of the formation. They also have to keep the formation neat and tidy at all times, which wastes a lot of money. The focus is on formation flying. When attacking, only one lead aircraft can attack, which is far less powerful than the attack power of two lead aircraft in a four-aircraft formation.
The Japanese three-machine formation was still popular in the early days of the Sino-Japanese War in 1937, but it is now outdated. In the subsequent Pacific War, the Japanese army still used the aging three-machine formation and was defeated by the United Kingdom and the United States.
The Germans once used a four-finger formation and two three-machine formations to simulate air battles, and many times they were tied and even the four-finger formation completely won. This shows the importance of the four-finger formation. In the early days of the French battlefield, Germany had an experienced four-finger formation. Refers to a formation, a three-machine formation that can often defeat two allied forces.
The four aircraft in the four-finger formation occupy positions almost in parallel, which can detect the enemy's situation faster. Then the four-finger formation can have time to choose whether to attack with the two lead aircraft, or split into a two-aircraft formation, with the lead aircraft launching the attack and the wingman taking charge. Guard the rear hemisphere of the lead aircraft and observe the surrounding air conditions, allowing the lead aircraft to boldly attack with all its strength.
The difference between the four-finger formation and the three-aircraft formation is that the three-aircraft formation has an additional lead aircraft, but its offensive capabilities are doubled. The wingmen on both sides become flexible due to the reduced defensive pressure and can insert variable speed aircraft at any time. The two lead aircraft with reduced energy lag behind to become wingmen and accumulate energy, waiting for opportunities to switch positions and attack at any time.
The Allies have long known that Germany's four-finger formation flying formation is ahead of the three-aircraft formation, and they have imitated it many times in drills, but they just can't figure out how to use the "cross-turn method" when approaching the enemy, so it appeared several times in the drill. After the two-plane collision, we had no choice but to give up.
The day before yesterday, Zhou Zhihan gave General Pike a detailed explanation of the flying method of the four-finger formation, especially the use of the "cross-turn method" when turning. General Pike and others were enlightened. In the past two days, each fighter group or squadron has been practicing the four-finger formation. , hoping to be used in future wars.
For the sake of safety, the squadrons of the Royal Air Force have not abandoned the inverted V three-plane formation they have been practicing before. Temporary change of formations before the war has certain risks. If the four-finger formation is used properly, use it. If it is unfamiliar, continue to use the inverted V formation. V three-machine formation.
British pilots are accustomed to the three-plane V-shaped formation. It is difficult for them to suddenly switch to the four-finger formation. They can only slowly adapt to the four-plane formation on the basis of using the three-plane formation.
Polish pilots are different. Before Germany's blitz on Poland, the Polish air force mainly focused on fighter interception and defense. There were few bombers to escort. Moreover, the country is shallow in size. Most of their usual drills were single-plane interception, and they rarely practiced inverted V-3. The aircraft flew in formation, so Zhou Zhihan taught them how to do it.
After having dinner yesterday, Zhou Zhihan and the 12 pilots of the 303 Squadron who were deployed today each rode a bicycle toward a bar a few kilometers away.
This may be the most unique teaching method in history, using a bicycle on the ground to simulate four-finger formation flying.
This was a teaching that was both joyful and romantic. Karen sat in front of Zhou Zhihan's bicycle. He almost half hugged her in his arms, smelling the light fragrance on her body that fascinated him.
Several Polish pilots invited several female nurses and doctors to go to the bar together. On a drunken spring night, a group of handsome men and beautiful women rode bicycles with their female companions in front. This unique teaching was very exciting.
12 bicycles rode forward in three four-finger formations on the wide road. Along the way, Zhou Zhihan explained to them the defense of the four-finger formations and how to use cross-steering techniques when turning to avoid possible collisions with the four-machine formation. During high-speed cruising in the enemy's area, members on the outside of the formation will fall behind when suddenly turning, and how to attack when encountering enemy aircraft.
Not to mention, this teaching method actually worked wonders. Because the bicycles traveled slowly, it was easier to explain when passing by, and the Polish pilots understood it more thoroughly.
Just about thirty miles away from the coastal area from Boulogne to Ostend, the sound of artillery rumbled. The 303 Squadron could see that the entire Port of Boulogne pier turned into a sea of flames, and thick smoke billowed straight into the sky. It's hundreds of meters high, and it's like the end of the world is coming, which is scary.
In the air in front of the sea of flames and thick smoke, there were dozens of black dots circling and chasing each other in the air, with tracer bullets flying intertwined and dotted.
In the telescope, several Spitfires and Hurricanes, as well as a dozen Messerschmitts that fought desperately against the Germans, were already at a disadvantage.
On the sea, a large transport ship full of Allied soldiers was fighting through the waves. Shells kept falling around the transport ship, setting off huge waves of tens of meters, beating wildly against the left and right sides of the ship. The huge waves rolled and almost half of the ship was submerged. The hull of the ship caused soldiers to fall into the water one after another on the overloaded ship.
More than a thousand meters in the air above this large transport ship, six Hurricanes were stalking a dozen Stuka dive bombers.
