The gap between the Newport 11 fighter and the Fokker fighter in the French pilot's posture is multifaceted, in addition to firepower, the most basic aero engine and fuselage structure are behind Fokker. However, the Newport 11 was still a good military aircraft, and at the end of 1907, the French developed a prototype Newport based on the aircraft exported from China, but the military believed that the aircraft was too poor in performance and could only be used for sports and entertainment.

When the British obtained the aero engine technology of the Chinese F01 and the Germans also tested the advanced fighter jet, the French began to be anxious, but due to the backwardness of the aero engine, the Newport Aircraft Company has not been able to come up with a product that satisfies the military, until the Newport 11 appeared, this aircraft made the French military shine.

Although we do not know the development progress and performance data of German and British aircraft, after testing, the Newport 11 aircraft has reached about half of the level of the Chinese F01 aircraft. These old capitalist countries have extremely rich technological reserves, and the modern history of the West is actually the history of mechanical civilization, which has created a strong accumulation of technology and countless genius scientists. When the catalyst of China's advanced technology appeared, the speed of Europe's scientific and technological progress was greatly improved, of course, there will inevitably be many detours, but China's exports of aircraft, tanks and other advanced equipment have minimized the possibility of scientists from all over the world going astray.

By the time the war broke out, France had produced 470 Newport Type 11s and had trained a large number of pilots on them. The Air Force reported that this aircraft is light and agile, has a fast climb speed, and a small turning radius, but the problem of insufficient firepower still needs to be solved, otherwise it will be difficult to become a professional fighter.

The firing coordinator had already been broken through by the Entente, and scientists from the New York-based Military Research Council succeeded in replicating it in February. The F01 exported to various countries dismantled this key equipment, but scientists can study the mystery of the machine gun of the Huaguo fighter machine gun through the propeller according to the structure of the aircraft, and the most critical thing about this equipment is the idea, which does not require much advanced technology.

It's a pity that the Newport 11 fighters have been mass-produced, and after the outbreak of the war, all of them were transferred to the front line, and there was no time to install a firing coordinator. And this modification requires a change in the structure of the aircraft, an increase in the weight of the aircraft, and a redesign of the aero engine - no different from the redesign of a new aircraft.

As a result, the second Newport 15 fighter with a shooting coordinator is in full swing. In the Military Research Council, France and Britain exchanged some technology, such as the exchange of French tank engine technology for British aircraft engine technology, which made the development of the Newport 15 very fast, and the performance of the test machine was also outstanding.

It's a pity that the French fighters at this time can only use the Newport 11 against the German Fokker fighters, the light and agile Newport 11 faced the Fokker dive, the pilots failed to react at the first time, and before turning to dodge, there were already two Newports hit by Fokker, one of which was killed by the squadron leader Polk. Richthofen faithfully fulfilled his obligations as a wingman, but looking at the situation on the battlefield, it seemed that he did not need to do anything as a wingman.

Polk took out one and swung the lever lightly, and the nose of the Fokker fighter was quickly aimed at another fleeing French fighter, and it seemed that the pilot of the plane in front of him had not yet adapted to the rhythm of air combat, either panicked in the face of a sudden attack, or wanted to escape.

A string of bullets flew past the plane, startling Polk, the French plane he was pursuing, although it was at a good speed, was significantly different from his own Fokker, and the pilot did not perform at the maximum level of the plane. He expected his fighter to take it out in five seconds, but the bullets flying around him made Polk feel the urge to give up - it was obvious that he was also being targeted by French fighters!

Immediately after that, he heard a "sudden" sound behind him, followed by an explosion, and Polk knew that his threat was lifted, and now he was going to focus on the overwhelmed French plane in front of him.

The French plane slowly entered its sight, Polk opened fire suddenly, and at a distance of less than 150 meters, the machine gun bullet drilled into the fuselage of the target in a straight line, and then saw the French plane emit thick smoke, lose control and quickly fall to the ground, the French pilot in the plane was incompetent, and in desperation fell with the plane to the Belgian land.

"Squads, report the situation!" After taking out the second plane, Polk slowly climbed up, the plane became smooth, he saw that the last French plane on the battlefield was falling to the ground, and his fifth fighter squadron aircraft were also recovering their original formation, and after a preliminary look, Polk did not find that his squadron lacked fighters.

"The first squad shot down 6 enemy planes, and none of them were damaged."

"The second squad shot down 8 enemy planes and did not damage a single one of its own."

"The third squad shot down 6 enemy planes and did not damage a single one of its own. Squadron leader, you can take care of two by yourself, and Mr. Richthofen shoots down one! The relaxed voices of the pilots were heard over the radio, and even the pilots gave a thumbs up to the young Richthofen and bared their white teeth in the cold wind – the open cockpit allowed the pilots to communicate in a variety of ways, such as post-war celebrations.

It is not surprising that their own squadron has the advantage, the aircraft performance has an advantage, the number of aircraft has an advantage, there is a more advanced formation system, there is a more advanced radio command system, and it is not surprising that such a result has been achieved.

However, the first victory in the air battle was still worth celebrating, the pilots were crying over the radio, and Polk did not stop him, he looked at Richthofen flying not far from him, and gave a thumbs up across the sky, and Richthofen also excitedly turned his finger in response to the captain's congratulations.

My wingman is very good! Polk thought that as a wingman, Richthofen did almost perfectly, not at all like a rookie who had been training for less than a month and had just entered the battlefield, and was even more stable than some of the veteran pilots in the squadron. Judging from the attack, Richthofen was decisive, the timing was accurate, and the shooting accuracy was very high, and there was nothing to blame technically. His own wingman is simply a genius born for air combat!

The course and outcome of the air battle of the 5th Squadron had been made known to the airfield command, and upon their return, Polk and the others were briefly congratulated - the group leader and several staff officers were personally greeted, and at the same time they were given the order to rest for half an hour and then go out again. The squadrons fought their first air battles almost simultaneously, and the results were remarkable, but they didn't have much time to reminisce, and the intense battles quickly put them into the next air battle.

On this day, the Luftwaffe and Allied air forces dispatched a large number of aircraft to compete for air supremacy, and the fighters had to shoot down enemy fighters on the one hand and cover their own bombers on the other. The battle on the ground was as fierce and more tragic than in the air, and the main forces of the German right flank and the main forces of the coalition forces collided together on the Belgian battlefield, and whoever could gain air supremacy would be able to send more reconnaissance planes to obtain information behind enemy lines, and his artillery would be more accurate, and he would be able to bomb important targets such as enemy soldiers' assembly points, artillery positions, and rear material storage points.

Before the start of the war, no one thought that aircraft would play such a big role in the war, and the progress of technology and the improvement of aircraft performance allowed them to take on more tasks and play a more important role.

The German air force flew 250 fighter jets and the French and Belgian air forces 275 fighter jets, and the pilots, ground crews and commanders on both sides were exhausted by a day of fighting. After the battle, Richthofen gave up dinner and chose to sleep to replenish his strength. However, Polk still has to write today's operational report, his fifth squadron did not continue the myth of the first in the next few battles, three fighters were shot down, two pilots were killed, but the other survived and was rescued by German soldiers on the ground.

In imitation of the regulations of the Chinese Air Force, the Luftwaffe could become an ace pilot by shooting down five enemy planes, and today the Fifth Squadron gave birth to three ace pilots, namely Polk, Inmaimann and Richthofen, of which Inmaimann was proud of the entire Luftwaffe with a record of 8 aircraft.

Richthofen's growth was so gratifying that he shot down 5 enemy planes in today's battle as a wingman, and Polk even considered arranging a wingman for him in tomorrow's battle to make him a long-range aircraft.

The Anglo-French-Belgian forces were at an absolute disadvantage in today's air battles, and eventually lost air supremacy, and the loss of a large number of fighters and bombers made the coalition forces sad. The Coalition lost 133 planes and 115 pilots were killed or unaccounted for, so the Coalition planes withdrew from the battlefield around 4 p.m., ceding air supremacy to the Luftwaffe. The Luftwaffe also lost 31 fighters and 13 bombers today, the battle loss ratio is still acceptable, and the most important thing is to gain air supremacy on the battlefield, the Germans can recklessly release reconnaissance planes and bombers, and the allied land forces can only fight alone.

After the battle, Britain and France again mobilized fighter planes to the Belgian battlefield, and 20 large airships of the 1st and 2nd Airship Groups from British territory were also crossing the English Channel towards France, and they were dropping countless bombs on the Germans. (To be continued.) )