The pilots on the second line of defense must not be as aggressive as those who take the initiative, because there are precious bombers behind them.
It is extremely difficult for the Sixth Air Force to maintain the dispatch of 699 "Flamingos" fighter jets and 387 "Black Pepper Albatross" fighter jets to escort bombers at one time.
Although there are as many as 2,000 "Flamingo" fighter jets put into operation, the frequency of bomber dispatches is too high. As personal bodyguards, they naturally have to take off frequently and escort the whole process.
More than half of the "Flamingos" were used to escort the bomber formation bombing Prague, while the more numerous "Black Pepper Albatross" took on the triple mission of escort, ground attack, and air control.
Thanks to the desperate efforts of the ground crew of the Ming Air Force, the fighter unit can ensure an attendance rate of about 70%, which is completely different from the opposite.
The Holy Roman Empire's air force was able to put 3,000 fighter jets into combat at one time, not because its fighter jets performed better than those of the Ming Dynasty, or because its ground crews had higher maintenance levels.
The main reason is that Crown Prince Joseph deliberately conserved his strength and only let the Air Force fight once in a large fleet mode. After losing nearly 700 fighter planes, it ceased.
The rest of the fighters are engaged in hit-and-run aerial guerrilla warfare in small batches, so the success rate will naturally not be low.
Now, the moment has come to determine the future direction of the two countries' air forces, and even the fate of the two empires!
Before the new fighter fleet of the Holy Roman Empire Air Force officially exchanged fire with the second batch of Ming army fighters, more than seventy of them had been knocked out by the "Black-footed Albatross" chasing from behind.
At this time, the "Black-footed Albatross"'s advantages of large bomb load and long duration of firepower are fully demonstrated. They can chase the enemy aircraft's butt and beat them up.
The "Falcon" fighter is a single-seat fighter. Only the twin-engine "Eagle" fighter has a machine gunner, but the firepower of the machine gun cannot match the ferocious firepower of the "Blackfoot Albatross" nose.
Before being outflanked, the Holy Roman Empire fleet was forced to make its first maneuver, either rolling or climbing, but not diving.
Because the Ming bombers are still climbing high, it will be extremely difficult for you to dive first and then climb to a height where you can fire.
In order to save the life of the crew, the Ming bomber pilots could not lower their flying altitude. They could only fly higher and higher, and eventually they would maintain the maximum altitude.
Although doing so will result in insufficient engine air intake and reduce the speed of the bomber, the safe height will most likely allow it to successfully avoid sneak attacks by enemy aircraft.
In order to protect our own bombers and buy them time to climb, the "Flamingo" fleet carried out a wall-mounted attack on the invading enemy.
The entire fleet of aircraft flew in a multi-layered formation towards the enemy aircraft fleet that was flying closer and closer.
There may be unlucky Ming pilots who died heroically in the first round of shooting, but since joining the Ming Air Force and becoming a pilot, it is impossible to be afraid of death, otherwise they will be frightened during high-altitude training on the ground. Peed.
Simple! direct! rough!
This is the most distinctive feature of fighter combat!
Biting dog fights are a thing for another time. You have to survive the shooting stage first.
Fortunately, the Ming fighter's cannons and machine guns have a longer range, higher accuracy, longer continuous firing time, and are less likely to jam than the opponent's similar products.
On the battlefield, an inch long means an inch strong!
My shooting range is farther than yours, which means I might kill you first!
Six hundred and ninety-nine "Flamingo" fighter jets engaged in a large-scale exchange of fire with less than 800 enemy aircraft. The numerical disadvantage was not great, because it could be offset by the advantage in firepower.
What's more, there are more than two hundred "Black-footed Albatross" behind the enemy aircraft, cooperating with them to attack these uninvited guests.
There are more than a hundred "Black-footed Albatross" that are entangled by the "Albatross" around them and cannot escape temporarily, but this just satisfies the desire of some pilots to chop melons and vegetables.
What's funny is that the "Albatross" wanted to catch up with the Ming army's bomber formation, but due to the speed and ceiling limit, the possibility was slim.
A showdown with the Ming Army's fighter force seems to be a more realistic goal...
Fortunately, the paints of the fighter planes on both sides were quite distinct, so the Roujiamo tactics did not cause large-scale accidental damage.
The pilot's vision can detect targets twenty kilometers away. If the opponent is a large fleet, there will be a "cloud of suspicion" in the sky!
The jamming of the cannons used by the Holy Roman Empire Air Force fighter planes has not yet been solved, which directly caused them to suffer heavy losses in air combat.
The jamming will not be resolved after just one or two rounds, so there is no need to equip this machine gun at all.
But the pilot was in the middle of fighting, and suddenly found that all that appeared in front of him were machine gun bullets...
The battle on the second line of defense can basically be regarded as a relatively fair and reasonable duel!
After one round, the Ming army shot down or damaged (lost combat effectiveness) more than 500 enemy aircraft at the cost of losing about 140 "Flamingo" fighter jets.
Under the influence of turbulence, the sky was filled with fighter plane fragments, broken limbs, and pilots who had not yet opened parachutes after exiting the cabin.
The less than 300 Holy Roman Empire Air Force fighters that were lucky enough to break through the defense line still had to face the "Black-footed Albatross" chasing them behind them.
Now every "Black-footed Albatross" that can continue to fight will not give up the prey in front of it easily. If it finally closes the distance, it cannot give up halfway.
At the same time, seeing that there were no enemy fighters in front of them, and that the bomber formation was not far away, the remaining "Falcon" and "Eagle" pilots were absolutely unwilling to give up their prey.
They have no intention of fighting with enemy fighter jets. At this time, as long as they shoot down a Yellow-skinned Monkey bomber, they will receive a commendation from Crown Prince Joseph, and they will never have to participate in the war again.
In this way, the Holy Roman Empire Air Force fleet was rapidly approaching the Ming Army's bomber formation, bearing the consequences of constant fighter planes being shot down.
At this time, the machine gunners on the "Hercules" bomber could also visually see the enemy planes rushing towards them, and the machine guns suddenly fired a series of bullets...
The "Hercules" bomber is not a very sturdy large aircraft. In fact, the body structure per unit area is more fragile than the "Flamingo" or "Black-footed Albatross".
It is common for the enemy plane's cannon to carve out a huge hole, or even have the tail or a wing knocked off, depending on whether the crew members are tough enough.
When bombers face attacks from enemy fighter jets, they cannot maneuver to avoid them. They can only maintain their established flight path and use machine guns to drive the opponent away.
Obviously, this method is a last resort and should only be used when there are no other options.
The scene that the Holy Roman Empire Air Force pilots have been waiting for has appeared!
One after another, Yellow-skinned Monkey's bombers were hit and burst into flames. They soon lost their speed and balance and fell to the ground...
In the end, 752 bombers returned to the airport, which meant that as many as 113 bombers were shot down.
After subsequent inspection, it was determined that 35 of them were directly scrapped and 48 of them had to be repaired immediately. This battle set a loss record for the Ming Dynasty Air Force.
However, the results achieved were also relatively fruitful, with at least more than 2,300 fighter jets shot down, setting a record for the Ming Air Force's single air combat results.
After receiving the report, Zhang Huangyan believed that if the battle loss ratio was true, then the losses in this air battle would be completely worth it.
One's own side can bear the loss of two to three hundred bombers and five hundred fighter jets at one time, but the other side will never be able to bear the loss of two thousand fighter jets.
According to intelligence and previous accumulated battle results, Leopold and his son only had at most 6,000 fighter jets left in their hands.
In this battle, more than one-third of the opponent's fighter jets were destroyed in one battle. I am afraid that after another large-scale air battle, the Holy Roman Empire Air Force will exist in name only.
Crown Prince Joseph was very happy after receiving reports that his own air force had shot down about 200 enemy bombers and 400 fighter jets.
Later, I was shocked by the huge number of losses. 3,008 fighter jets were dispatched, but only 424 returned, most of which were old "Albatross".
This is equivalent to saying that in this air battle, our side lost 2,584 fighter jets.
More than 600 fighter planes were lost in the previous air battle, and nearly 2,600 were lost this time. The scattered losses on the eastern front also totaled 500. The Ottomans on the southern front against the northern invaders consumed nearly a thousand more fighter planes.
This means that he only has about 1,300 fighters left in his hands that can be put into combat, and he is already in a very dangerous situation.
Fortunately, about a thousand fighters supported by friends led by France have arrived, including 300 French "Falcon" fighters, which are the "Falcon" fighters produced by our own side.
It is expected that the second batch of aid will be available within half a month. The relatively effective foreign aid has somewhat enhanced Crown Prince Joseph's confidence in continuing to resist the yellow-skinned monkeys.
What worries him most is the current messy war situation. After the fall of Bratislava, the Ottoman army on the southern front began to besiege Vienna again.
According to intelligence, the Ottomans dispatched more than half a million troops this time, including many Tatar cavalry units that had previously surrendered to them.
Joseph is well aware of the dangers of the Tatar cavalry. These enemies never engage in large-scale field battles, and mostly focus on ambushes, sneak attacks, and guerrillas.
Wherever they go, they take away everything that can be snatched, and destroy or destroy everything that cannot be snatched away. They are a veritable group of locusts!
The main force of the Ottoman army was fighting in Austria, but the Tatar cavalry had penetrated deep into South Germany.
Because the opponent's tactics are exactly the same as those many years ago, they all attack in a dispersed manner, making it difficult for our own troops to guard against them.
Had it not been for air cover, the Holy Roman Empire's troops in the hinterland would have been completely contained by this enemy.
Crown Prince Joseph wanted to wipe out all the Tatar cavalry invading the hinterland within a month.
But he also knew that this idea was completely unrealistic, and the opponent was harder to catch than a fox.
Our own fighters did not dare to fire easily, because most of the Tatar cavalry below had hostages in their hands.
They don't care about the so-called chivalry at all. The more despicable and shameless the behavior is, the more willing they are to engage in it.
According to reported statistics, at least 60,000 to 80,000 Tatar cavalry appeared in South Germany.
Some second-line troops with little combat effectiveness, with the cooperation of light tanks, cavalry and fighter planes, are attacking these damn Tatars!
What worried Crown Prince Joseph even more was that with the surrender of the Prague garrison, the Vienna garrison was almost unable to withstand the attacks of Ottoman bombers and heavy artillery.
By April 20, Vienna had been subjected to twelve large-scale bombings and hundreds of artillery shellings.
Fortunately, the intensity of the Ottoman army's siege does not seem to be as strong as that of the yellow-skinned monkeys, and the defenders should be able to hold on for about a month.
But if reinforcements are not sent, the final result will be surrender to the opponent!
To repel the Ottoman army besieging Vienna, it would probably take at least 300,000 elite troops, or six armies.
To increase the chance of victory, it is best to have ten armies, about half a million people, 3,000 tanks and 1,500 fighter planes.
But this will inevitably weaken the defensive power of the Eastern Front, especially after the fall of Prague, the threat of yellow-skinned monkeys is increasing.
Joseph wanted to maintain the eastern front first, then quickly defeat the Ottoman army on the southern front, and then turn around to deal with the yellow-skinned monkeys on the eastern front.
The plan is good, but the number of troops and heavy equipment on hand does not allow achieving these two goals at the same time.
Once they stop blocking the Ming army's aircraft group, the opponent will inevitably use Prague as a base to launch air attacks on Dresden, Chemnitz, Regensburg, and even Vienna.
Joseph believes that the Ming army's bombers, with their combat radius and damage effects, pose a greater threat and loss to their own side than even the opponent's 100,000-strong army.
If we can shoot down as many Yellow-skinned Monkey bombers as possible first, so that they don't dare to fight easily, then the situation on the Eastern Front may really be able to temporarily come to a stalemate.
On March 25, the Yellow-skinned Monkeys surrounded Dresden, and after the Prague garrison surrendered, the city was heavily bombarded.
The opponent's next target is also obvious, Chemnitz, which is not far from Dresden.
It is expected that it will take about a month before the temperature reaches the standard for the outbreak of the plague.
As for surviving this month, Crown Prince Joseph still has no clue...
Based on summaries from various ministries and information provided by the Ottomans.
Zhang Huangyan believed that before May, his side and his allies had advanced as far as they could in the last war.
The coalition had at least a month to waste before summer arrived in Europe.
Zhang Huangyan is not sure whether it will destroy the Holy Roman Empire or simply severely damage its vitality.
Because the sudden outbreak of the plague last time made him feel a little scared. Fortunately, he retreated quickly enough, otherwise the troops would also be infected.
With technological weapons at an advantage, the battle to destroy the country would eventually turn into a tug-of-war. This was something Zhang Huangyan never expected.
Fortunately, the emperor was his respected master. He not only believed in himself, but also continuously brought equipment and supplies.
If it were another dynasty, if he were beaten like this, he would probably be...
