I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France-Chapter 967: The Mongoose Behind

Richthofen’s idea was simple.

Concentrate all the German Army’s Fokker D.VIIs and lure enemy aircraft into ambush zones to annihilate them.

Whether it was the Camel or the Parasol.

Their performance was inferior to the Fokker D.VII, and if they were outnumbered by Fokker D.VIIs, the German Army could achieve victory without any pressure.

And it would be a resounding victory.

Richthofen hoped for a total annihilation, without letting a single enemy aircraft escape.

Because if he could achieve this, the French Army would never know what happened, and their planes would continue to be lured into the trap one batch after another.

If this happened often enough, the numerical disadvantage of the Fokker D.VIIs would be neutralized.

(Note: This tactic is called "concentration against dispersion," taking advantage of the fact that aircraft of this era did not have radios to report danger and intelligence back to HQ in real time.)

"Prepare for battle!" Richthofen raised his hand and ordered his teammates, quickly climbing his aircraft to an altitude of 5,000 meters to await the enemy’s entry into the trap.

The distance was closing.

Richthofen flipped his aircraft, hanging upside down and raised his binoculars to observe below.

Behind the red triplane were over thirty French Army aircraft, among which were likely a few Parasol models.

(The Parasol and the Camel were so similar that even Richthofen couldn’t distinguish them at a distance.)

A good start, Richthofen thought, fifty Fokker D.VIIs to encircle and destroy the thirty or so Camels and Parasols, just the right numbers.

He returned to a normal position after waiting a moment, then raised his hand signaling his men to get ready, before springing forward to lead the charge diving toward the enemy formation.

Speed increased, altitude dropping, 4,000 meters, 3,000 meters...

Just as Richthofen’s group was about to launch into the enemy formation to wreak havoc, a few black shadows suddenly swept overhead.

The sheer speed of the shadows startled Richthofen.

What was that?

It certainly wasn’t an airplane, because there was no aircraft on Earth that fast!

Otherwise, what he thought was the most advanced aircraft, the Fokker D.VII, would be no more than a chick under an eagle’s claw in front of it!

However, the fact left Richthofen in deep despair.

Because the "shadow" unleashed a burst of machine-gun fire overhead, producing a ripping "rat-tat-tat" sound like tearing cloth.

After the gunfire, one by one, the Fokker D.VIIs broke up in the air, some wailing and plummeting to the ground, others had half a wing sheared off, tumbling in the air like a wounded bird struggling.

Then with a "whoosh," they passed each other.

Due to their incredible speed, Richthofen had not even gotten a clear look at them.

In desperation, Richthofen pulled his aircraft around, and as the plane rolled, he finally saw the target clearly:

It was an unprecedented monoplane.

Damn, it was a new aircraft invented by Shire!

Its entire enclosed metallic fuselage gave off a blinding glare under the sunlight, instilling fear.

What shocked Richthofen the most was its wing, which extended downward in an arc like the wings of an inverted seagull, or perhaps a reaper’s scythe.

At first, Richthofen thought it was flying inverted.

Why did they design the aircraft in such a shape?

Why use an all-metal fuselage?

Was the engine powerful enough to support it?

...

A series of questions sprang into Richthofen’s mind, each shocking him profoundly, eventually combining into a sense of dejection, helplessness, and despair.

This was a war that couldn’t be won!

Germany was already behind, far, far behind, not even seeing the taillights of the French Army.

The laughable thing was that what Germany considered the most advanced aircraft, was just a target in the eyes of the enemy.

What he saw before him shouldn’t even exist on Earth!

...

This was the fighter plane first developed by the French Army.

With the technical foundation of transport aircraft and the success of the "inverted gull wings," there were no major difficulties in developing bombers and fighters.

However, its production wasn’t huge, a reason being as technology advanced, especially with the challenges in producing irregular "inverted gull wings," only ten could be built a month.

Carter, who had test-flown the aircraft, reported possible challenges to Shire in the pre-war meeting:

"Our new fighter has a crushing advantage over the enemy’s aircraft, there’s no doubt about it."

"But the problem is its limited numbers."

"If the Germans produce a new model made of wood, their output would be far more than ours!"

Shire asked Carter, "How do you plan to fight this battle?"

Carter pondered for a moment and answered:

"I think we should use the Camels and Parasols as bait, to lure the German aircraft into a melee."

"Then, we might be able to use the new aircraft to destroy the enemy’s most powerful forces."

"Once we achieve that, the Camels and Parasols could regain their numerical and qualitative advantages."

Shire agreed to Carter’s battle plan.

This resulted in the dramatic scene in the skies over Dussel: both sides trying to lure each other, each thinking the other took the bait, followed by the clash of the most powerful aircraft! 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

...

The ones clearly at a disadvantage were the German aircraft.

This French airplane, named the "Jeannie Type-A," had a top speed of 245 kilometers per hour, showing a generational gap from the German Fokker D.VII.

They circled around the German formation, occasionally turning their noses in to fire, with every pass, taking down a few Fokker D.VIIs.

And the German aircraft were helpless.

The speed difference was too great, they tried tailing targets to open fire, but within seconds realized the distance widened rapidly, and before they could take aim, the enemy was out of range, soon disappearing.

This wasn’t a battle; it was outright slaughter.

Richthofen used his excellent control skills, avoiding the enemy aircraft pursuit with feints twice in succession.

It was obvious the enemy pilots hadn’t had much flying experience with this plane, as their tactical maneuvers still appeared raw.

So, Richthofen decided to dive toward the ground then suddenly pull up, hoping the faster enemy aircraft would overshoot toward the ground...

However, during the dive, when he looked back, the enemy aircraft wasn’t following.

The next second, Richthofen understood why.

The enemy didn’t need to follow, the speed difference was too great, they didn’t worry about Richthofen escaping.

The Fokker D.VII couldn’t maintain a dive indefinitely; it eventually had to level out or pull up.

At that point, it would become a target for the enemy.

Richthofen sighed helplessly, manipulating his aircraft out of the dive, then looked up, waiting calmly for his fate to arrive.

Soon, a plane dived down from the sunlight, with the piercing whine of an engine and the fast-rotating "woo-woo" sound of a propeller.

Getting closer, and closer...