Airwar 1940
In 1940 the Germans had advanced their airbases to the coast of France. The Battle of Britain was about to begin.
One lone Hurricane fighter was on a test flight over Kent but a German fighter swarm on a fighter sweep had spotted the lone fighter and was getting ready to pounce. However, the Germans had been spotted by an RAF formation that was seeking to use their up-sun advantage.
The initial situation.
Two German aircraft miss when firing and the British fighter dodges the third, thereby surviving the initial attack and is now alerted to the danger while the support closes in on the Germans. The Germans continue to fire and continue to miss.
All the aircraft are now in combat and a whirling engagement develops. The Germans have positional advantage over their prey but generally miss when firing or the pilot, either clever or lucky, dodges their shots. Meanwhile 74 Squadron arrive and prove better shots, scoring hits to the discomfort of the Germans who find that they themselves are disadvantaged by the newly arriving RAF fighter formation.
The lone British fighter is assailed by the combined strength of the German aircraft and is finally hit and brought down.
The Germans, disadvantaged by the RAF flight, are under a great deal of fire and head for France for safety. The RAF pursue and eventually a German fighter is brought down by the RAF guns.
The relentless pursuit brings down another German.
In the end the Germans had shot down their target but had lost three of their four fighters in the flight to safety.
Positional advantage gives an attacker a significant advantage.
The Germans will find that that France and safety is a long way to go.
Comments
Post a Comment