Munitions Empire-Chapter 752 : 711 Northern Air Combat

As the rain in the south became increasingly scarce, the skies in the north suddenly cleared once more. The dark clouds finally dispersed, allowing sunlight to penetrate through the gaps in the clouds and illuminate the damp earth.

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The soldiers of the Dahua Empire lifted their heads in the muddy trenches to gaze at the sky above, remembering what a swarm of planes, like locusts covering the sky, had looked like the last time it had cleared.

The terrifying howl of the Great Tang Kingdom's tactical bombers had kept them awake at night, and just recalling it made them shiver uncontrollably.

It was indeed an unforgettable memory; the Stuka Dive Bombers emitted a loud, piercing hum as they dived from thousands of meters above, causing everyone to cower in the trenches, resigned to their fate.

Now, only a few days later, with the skies clear once again, the air force of the Tang Country would surely visit their defensive lines again.

Swallowing hard, an older Dahua soldier couldn't help but look up at the sky once more, truly afraid that those terrifying planes would appear again overhead, circling like vultures.

"Don't we have planes too?" a young Dahua soldier couldn't help but ask his platoon leader, who was a bit tense and kept looking up at the sky, not even answering the question from his subordinate.

Soon, that familiar buzzing sound of engines faintly emerged in the sky, and everyone instantly tensed up, gripping their weapons, waiting for the enemy to appear.

The sound of the engines grew louder until everyone could clearly hear the terrifying noise of the propellers spinning, and then a Stuka Dive Bomber broke through the clouds and began its dive.

The sirens mounted on the landing gear started their long, terrifying screech once again, the noise echoing in everyone's ears, sending involuntary shudders through their bodies.

"Enemy planes! Enemy planes!" cried out some of the more fearful soldiers, pointing at the sky, and accompanying their shouts, a 500-kilogram aerial bomb smashed into a nearby position.

The huge explosion threw up a curtain of black smoke and dust that obscured the sun, and the soldiers could feel a violent tremor under their feet.

The soft mud somewhat mitigated the damage from the bombs, but the power of a 500-kilogram bomb was still formidable, and with the terrifying accuracy of the Stuka Dive Bombers, the destruction was still shocking.

More and more Stuka Dive Bombers began their descent, tearing through the clouds with their wingtips and aiming their noses at their respective targets.

The 20mm caliber cannons deliberately mounted under the wings began strafing during the dive, destroying any target spotted on the ground.

To be honest, due to the wartime experience from the Shireck, the air defense camouflage of the Dahua Empire was actually quite good, but they still couldn't really hide.

Many tents were still made of white cloth, and although many artillery positions were covered with camouflage nets, they were a slightly different color from the surroundings.

Altogether, when the Tang Army's planes strafed and dove, the defensive lines of the Dahua Empire inevitably fell into chaos.

One bomb after another was dropped, followed by the anti-aircraft guns on the Dahua Empire's positions starting to fight back.

It's just that these outdated, underperforming anti-aircraft guns couldn't really threaten the bombers of the Great Tang Kingdom.

There was no helping it; the improved anti-aircraft guns, which could adjust their aim fast enough to keep up with modern planes, were too few in number. Therefore, the majority of the anti-aircraft artillery used on the Dahua Empire's front lines were old anti-balloon guns that had been modified, serving only to a certain extent as a deterrent.

The Dahua soldiers operating the anti-aircraft guns were almost dislocating their arms turning the cranks, but they were still unable to target those Stukas that pulled up and away as swift as the wind.

This time, there were even more planes carrying out the bombing mission for the Great Tang Kingdom because the clouds in the sky had thinned, visibility had greatly improved, and the airfields deep in the Kingdom had more time to launch planes.

Hundreds of Stukas and more than 50 Butcher Fighters circled above the battlefield, tormenting the ground troops of the Dahua Empire.

Just as the Dahua troops on the ground were enduring the enemy's onslaught while cursing their own air force, the air force squadrons of the Dahua Empire finally appeared.

In the cockpit of a Butcher Fighter scouring the medium-low altitude for attack targets, the pilot was surveying the land below when a volley of bullets came from the side, startling the pilot into maneuvering his plane to dodge.

The bullets left a row of holes in his wing and tail, and even a chunk of the cockpit glass was shattered.

"I'm under attack! I'm under attack! Enemy planes! Enemy planes!" he quickly climbed with his plane while scanning his surroundings.

His aircraft was damaged, and he wasn't sure if the engine had been hit. So he was very anxious, reminding his comrades while calling for help over the radio, "I've been hit! The cockpit canopy has been pierced! Request to return! Request to return!"

Because pilots were too valuable, the pilots from Tang Country had all been instructed to avoid recklessness; if their aircraft malfunctioned or were hit, they must return immediately, without the need to continue fighting.

The wingman flying behind him climbed with him, seeing a faint trail of black smoke from the side of his leader's aircraft, he immediately said, "Lead aircraft! Lead aircraft! Your plane is slightly smoking! Disengage from the battlefield! I'll cover your exit from the battlefield!"

On the other hand, the Tang Kingdom Air Force, startled by the sudden assault from the Dahua Air Force, also swiftly recovered. They were all battle-hardened pilots and, in terms of experience, definitely more formidable than the rookies from the Dahua Empire.

Inside the cramped cockpit of the Butcher Fighter, a young pilot wearing an oxygen mask peered through the bright canopy, searching for his target.

He gently nudged his control stick, aligning his aircraft's nose with an enemy fighter that was preparing to attack a Stuka Dive Bomber.

In his sights, the enemy aircraft looked extremely ugly. He was familiar with the type of aircraft – Tang Country's intelligence department had thoroughly scrutinized the Dahua Air Force's fighter equipment.

This was a Shireck Type 1 fighter, with a top speed of only 200 kilometers per hour, basically the level of aircraft performance from the end of the World War I.

It also had an open cockpit, unable to fly too high, the engine performance was mediocre, and it was armed with two 7.92 mm caliber machine guns.

The enemy aircraft was circling, aiming its nose at a Stuka Dive Bomber that was far away diving, but its pilot hadn't noticed that above him, a Butcher Fighter had already targeted him.

"Too slow! You're too slow!" the young pilot with the oxygen mask muttered to himself, piloting his aircraft in a swift dive towards his intended target.

During the dive, his speed could reach up to 600 kilometers per hour, triple that of the enemy plane! The two aircraft were products of completely different eras, separated by an enormous chasm.

In a flash, the enemy aircraft in the young pilot's scope had become very large. He pulled the trigger, and a short burst from the 20 mm caliber wing-mounted cannon sent tracer bullets sparkling towards the Shireck Type 1.

To be honest, using a 20 mm cannon to shoot such an enemy aircraft seemed a bit wasteful. A few cannon shells hammered the plane, its wooden wings instantly shattered, breaking off in midair.

Adjusting his heading, the young pilot steered his fighter clear of the wingless enemy aircraft in his path, then lined up his sights on another same-model Dahua fighter in the distance.

The aircraft from both sides were very distinct; Tang Country's planes bore dragon emblems on their wings, while the Empire's fighters had white pentagrams painted on theirs.

"Ratatat!" At a close distance, the young pilot in the Butcher Fighter pulled the trigger again for another short burst. Three cannon shells plunged into the enemy plane's fuselage in an instant, tearing the aircraft in two.

The young pilot began to climb with his aircraft, and while climbing, he continued to look for his next target through the glass of the canopy.

"Your instructors were all my apprentices... You should be calling me 'Great Uncle Master!' But sadly, you no longer have the chance..." He mumbled to himself, piloting his aircraft in a circle before elegantly rejoining the melee.

Soon, he found a third enemy plane and turned it into pieces. He could even sense the enemy pilot's nervousness and despair, for it seemed as if they had given up struggling as he dove.

Quickly, more fighters from the Dahua Empire appeared in the skies, and additional Tang Kingdom fighters also joined the fray.

After a brief chaos from the initial surprise attack, the Tang Kingdom's Butcher Fighter troops quickly regained their composure. They had always been escort fighters, and now they finally had the opportunity to return to their old role.

Apart from two planes that returned with injuries and two others that followed for protection, the remaining forty-plus Butcher Fighters tangled with about a hundred Empire's fighters in a melee.

Then, another hundred-plus Empire's fighters arrived as reinforcements, and fifty Tang Kingdom fighters also joined the battle.

The roar of the engines echoed through the sky, with planes trailing black smoke falling from the heavens one by one. The aircraft from both sides entangled with each other, creating chaos in the skies.

The soldiers of the Dahua Empire on the ground were exhilarated by the sight of their planes, shouting out in excitement.

However, they quickly realized an embarrassing fact: the planes that seemed to be falling... were all theirs.

Then, the cheers stopped abruptly. The Dahua soldiers looking up at the sky seemed as if something had gripped their throats.