We will incarnate as historical figures to experience the whole picture of a series of important wars in history. Experience war with their experience, feel war with their feelings, think about war with their thoughts. I believe that the fascinating thing about history lies in the "story", not the "process"; in the "human nature", not in the "data". "Process" is a boring and tedious record of flowing water, "story" is flesh and blood ups and downs; "data" is cold and pure reason, "human nature" is suffering from gain and loss, entanglement and helplessness and letting go.
This time, we're going to get into the RAF squadron leader Douglas Budd for 242nd Squadron.
I got on the Hurricane fighter number V7467.
This is my third landline after the start of the war. As Major General Mallory said, it doesn't matter if the plane is lost, the key is to keep it. We now build airplanes much faster than we can train pilots. So I have also been teaching the team members that they do not need to reluctantly drive the plane back, do not hesitate when it is time to skydive, the government will not deduct wages.
"Reindeer squadron, reindeer squadron, I am the 'coolie', I am the 'coolie', forming a 'four-finger formation'."
The "four-finger formation" is the flying formation model we borrowed from the Germans. If the palms are laid flat and the fingers are folded together, the position of the 4 aircraft in the formation corresponds to the other 4 fingers except the thumb, hence the name. Such a flight formation is relatively loose and independent, and each aircraft can protect the rear of the previous aircraft, but the technical requirements for the pilot are relatively high. While the Royal Air Force still has some of its squads in old inverted "V" formations. This formation form is led by long aircraft, followed by 2 wingmen, although it makes the troops easy to control and is conducive to novices, but the disadvantage is that only long machines search for enemy aircraft, and wingmen can only bury their heads and follow long planes, and cannot assist in the search. In this way, the enemy aircraft will have a greater probability of spotting us first and thus occupying a favorable position to attack.
As soon as my squadrons were assembled, I ordered the 302nd, 310th, 611th, and 19th Squadrons to move closer to me and form the "Grand United" together. General Parker was right, it was really difficult to squeeze these unevenly skilled guys together. However, we finally managed to form a formation and sent reinforcements to London.
"Captain Reindeer, note that this is the top hat control center, and your target is the herd of bombers flying towards London. Enemy aircraft are now 25 miles (about 40 kilometers) away from you, in the direction of southeast. Heading 120, angle 20. ”
"'Coolies' received."
Soon, I found a large number of German planes in the lower left of the formation. The Bf-110 fighters maintained the same altitude as the bombers to escort them, while the more agile Bf-109 fighters patrolled in a trapezoidal formation above. One of my combat credoes: fly higher than the enemy and take control of the battle. Thanks to the radar's accurate forecast, we are now in a very favorable attack position.
"Spread out the formation and attack quickly." I gave orders to the formation.
Before the bombing of London on 7 September, enemy escort fighters were free to fight us as soon as they saw the RAF. When Hitler ordered the Luftwaffe to concentrate on bombing London, in order to protect the vulnerable bombers, Goering demanded that the fighters must surround the bombers. This tied the Bf-109's hands and feet, and its speed and flexibility were not fully exploited. I am certainly very satisfied with Goering's cooperation.
At this moment, about 160 fighters of various types of the Royal Air Force gathered over London, hunting and killing enemy aircraft. My "Grand Wing" had cut off the German escort fighter formations from the flanks. To win the battle against the devil, we must turn ourselves into devils, demons who are more vicious than devils.
German bomber formations began to disperse and drop bombs, which were immediately disturbed by ATTACKs from the Royal Air Force and ground anti-aircraft artillery, which hurriedly dropped bombs and turned to flee. Want to run? No way!
A twin-engine Messerschmidt Bf-110 fighter is retreating off the coast of France. It has a map of the British Isles painted on its fuselage and the words "London – August 15 – Finished". Well, let's finish it today! I adjusted my course and chased after me. I intended to pull up into the position between the enemy plane and the sun so that when I rushed in the direction of the sun, he could not see me.
The acceleration of the fighter was getting bigger and bigger, and I didn't care about the overload force that came with it. 2 gs, 3 gs, maybe 4 gs. 4 times the weight crushed me to the seat, and it was extremely difficult for my arm to move even 1 mm. It was a huge physical pain, and some pilots even went blind for a short time. At this time, they will envy me, a legless person. Without the legs, the blood will naturally not flow back to the feet, and the brain will not suddenly bechemia, which can greatly alleviate the "inconvenience" caused by overweight and allow me to stay awake for a longer time in the fierce battle. I use violent flying movements to maximize the performance of the landline. Only by treating yourself and the fighter with unusual brutality can you seize the opportunity in air combat.
I took precise control of the plane and quickly took up the attack position. Sunlight came from directly behind me, glaring at the Bf-110 below. The German pilots paid no attention to the "hunters" looking at the tiger diagonally above, which was the perfect time for a dive attack.
The more critical the moment, the more you must remain relaxed, otherwise the action will only deform. This is the second of my fighting credo. I'm no longer as nervous as I was 2 months ago to soak my gloves. I don't have time to be nervous, I have to stare at the "prey" that is still out of range. Closer, closer. Only by firing at enemy aircraft at close range can we hit accurately – this is the third tenet of combat.
I pressed the trigger confidently, and 8 ballistic tracks went straight to the Bf-110. Without waiting to see the brilliant explosion of fire, I rolled around and out of course, lest I turn myself into a large bomb and die with the enemy. I turned the nose of the plane to confirm the results of the battle, and this unfortunate enemy plane was dragging thick black smoke towards the ground. Two black dots jumped out of the plane, and one of them had a parachute that had not yet been opened.
Before I could sympathize with the pilot, I noticed an orange flashing from my left wing. It was a Messerschmidt Bf-109 fighter, and the fairing at the nose was painted in a very striking color. In addition to its ugly Nazi logo, its tail is painted with several thick vertical bars. I couldn't see exactly how many friendly troops its owner had shot down, but it certainly wasn't as good as my grades, and I decided to give him a glimpse of the strength of the real ace.
The pilot of the Bf-109 spotted me behind him and began rolling sideways, followed by a rapid dive, trying to get out of my tracks. I know that my engine's oil injection pump is not performing well, and when diveting at large angles, sometimes the oil supply cannot be guaranteed, resulting in air stalls. But at this critical moment, no matter how wonderful the enemy made, he still could not escape my shooting range.
We're chasing me at low altitude. The only clear object in my eyes was an enemy plane, and the earth and trees were passing fast, but it was this shadowy blur that gave me a sense of speed that I could not experience when flying at high altitudes. And there is another target ahead that needs to be captured, and that will be an unparalleled thrill.
Soon the Bf-109 got the same fate, only this time it was too close to the ground, and before the driver could parachute, it fell into the field and instantly turned into a ball of fire.
Good luck!
The biggest advantage of fighting on the mainland is the long stay in the air. I still had enough fuel to fight for another 30 minutes, and the Luftwaffe planes had reached the limit of having to return. Their formations had long been scattered, and they had no intention of fighting, so they fled to the base.
After some searching, I set my sights on a Heinkel He-111 bomber. The pilot was very cunning and kept flying in a different line, and my bullets were fed to the air. But I was much faster than the He-111, and when I approached 100 yards faster (about 90 meters), I confidently pressed the trigger.
The "Kata, Kata" machine gun didn't spew flames — the bullets ran out.
Instead of leaving the battlefield, I sped up towards the He-111 in an attempt to destroy the He-111's rudder with the propeller of the Hurricane. Come on, let's go to hell together!
"'Coolie,' watch behind you." Suddenly, a warning from a teammate came from the headset.
I subconsciously jerked the steering rudder to the right to avoid it, and an enemy fighter jet rushed down from behind and above me, and a string of bullets broke the cockpit cover, almost rubbing the headphones and flying by, piercing the front windshield again. Only then did I wake up, I was too impulsive. I insisted that the players should not be sacrificed easily, but I violated this rule.
In an instant I became prey. This time it was my turn to hold my head and run for my life. After rolling to the right, I cast another left roll, temporarily jumping out of the firing range of the enemy aircraft. At the moment of a thousand gunshots, a friendly plane fell from the sky. The enemy plane turned from attack to defense and abandoned us. I seized the opportunity to get out of the fight and landed safely on the mounted fighter plane.
On 15 September 1940, the Sunday that would later be known as Britain Air Battle Day, became the iconic anniversary of the battle.
This article is excerpted from Battlefield Deciders: Commanders, Warriors, and Culprits (all 2 volumes)
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