Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 1158

1158. Whose Responsibility Is It? Yours! (10)

After suffering significant losses in the initial aerial battles, the French Air Force quickly adapted their tactics.

What followed was a relentless back-and-forth struggle between them and the Imperial Skyray squadrons.

Under Count Montfort’s orders, the French fighters began deploying in groups of ten, operating in pairs of at least two to target the Empire’s Skyrays. In response, Duke Iche repositioned the Skyrays over Gibraltar.

This was a strategic retreat from the high-altitude battle zone, but it didn’t significantly hinder their ability to assess the battlefield. Instead, it created a more challenging situation for the French Air Force.

They now had to venture not just into areas held by the Spanish forces, but also into those defended by the Imperial army. Consequently, the French Air Force altered their tactics once more. While still deploying at least ten aircraft at a time, their mission shifted from shooting down Imperial Skyrays to intercepting Albatrosses attempting to strike Spanish positions.

“It’s like we’re not just fighting in someone else’s war, but our own…”

“The battle has become even more difficult.”

The French pilots lamented.

Whenever the Albatrosses appeared, the Kestrel fighters invariably followed, forcing them into aerial combat. This led the French Air Force to revise their tactics yet again.

-The survival of the Air Force is the top priority.

-Therefore, unnecessary engagements are to be avoided for the time being.

“The problem is, the Empire’s bastards aren’t the type to back down just because we’re avoiding them…”

Count Montfort muttered with a wry smile as he discussed the new tactics with his staff. However, he quickly composed himself and continued brainstorming new strategies with his aides.

The resulting tactics were as follows:

-Engage the Imperial forces primarily over friendly territory.

-Request support from the Spanish army to coordinate ground and air attacks.

One of Montfort’s staff members pointed out a potential issue.

“Will the Spanish army readily agree to our request?”

A senior staff officer responded on behalf of the Count.

“They will. Even though our fighters are struggling, our presence deters the Empire’s bombs from falling on unintended targets.”

As the senior staff officer noted, even if the Daedalus fighters were being pushed back by the Empire’s Kestrels, they were still proving their worth by intercepting Albatrosses. While they weren’t achieving many direct kills, the Albatrosses were forced to hastily drop their fire bombs and retreat when the Daedalus fighters approached.

The primary targets of the Albatrosses were the Spanish and French artillery positions, and considering the value of the artillery, this was enough to justify their efforts.

“Then, let’s finalize the formation of our Daedalus fighters.”

-Daedalus fighters should minimize exposing their flanks to the enemy.

-The fire wagons [early machine guns mounted on aircraft] positioned in the rear should focus on rearward firing rather than flanking shots.

-Daedalus fighters should maintain a formation that allows them to protect one another.

“Let’s start by operating under these guidelines.”

“Understood.”

“It’s fortunate that the reserve aircraft have arrived.”

The French Daedalus fighters were notoriously fragile. As a result, the French had initially sent 20 aircraft and were continuously sending new ones to reinforce their numbers.

“The problem is the pilots…”

Count Montfort trailed off, his expression filled with regret, before turning to his senior staff officer.

“When did they say the new pilots would arrive?”

“They said 20 more would arrive within five days. However, the transfer of experienced pilots stationed in the Lorraine region has been limited to four.”

Count Montfort shook his head slightly and muttered.

“It seems they’ll be receiving their finishing training from the Empire’s forces rather than the Habsburgs [referring to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, implying the pilots will learn through harsh combat experience].”

* * *

With these revised tactics, the French Air Force faced the Empire’s Skyrays once more.

The Imperial forces’ combat approach at the front lines was as follows:

-First, the Imperial artillery would target the Spanish army’s front lines and rear artillery positions.

-After the artillery barrage ceased to allow the cannons to cool, the Albatrosses would swoop in to attack the artillery batteries.

-While the Spanish and French artillery crews were attempting to repair the damage from the Imperial artillery and bombing, the Imperial artillery, having cooled their barrels, would resume their bombardment.

-This cycle of attacks would be repeated two to three times.

Because this process occurred at roughly the same time each day, the Daedalus fighters could time their interception of the Albatrosses accordingly. As soon as the Daedalus fighters moved to intercept, the Empire’s Kestrels would immediately engage.

When the Empire’s Kestrels entered the fray, the Daedalus fighters would immediately split into two groups, one focused on evasion and the other on attack. Four aircraft would engage the Albatrosses, while the remaining six would split into pairs of two to disrupt the Kestrels. Having received ‘finishing training’ from the Kestrels, the French pilots’ skills were rapidly improving. As a result, the Albatrosses were forced to drop their bombs haphazardly and flee. Once the Albatrosses retreated, the surviving Daedalus fighters would also quickly turn and begin their retreat. During the retreat, the Daedalus fighters’ rear gunners would create a wall of fire to deter the Kestrels from approaching.

In response to the French Air Force’s countermoves, the Kestrels introduced a new tactic: approaching the Daedalus fighters from a higher altitude and attacking head-on. This exploited the Daedalus’s lack of forward-facing fire wagons. The Kestrels’ new tactic proved to be devastating.

The Daedalus fighters had to immediately break formation and scatter to evade the line of fire. As the Daedalus fighters dispersed, the Kestrels, living up to their name [Kestrels are known for their swift and precise hunting skills], used their swift movements and sharp “talons” to hunt them down. The Daedalus pilots were forced to desperately maneuver their aircraft in a fierce struggle for survival.

However, at least one Daedalus fighter was invariably shot down. And, at some point, the French Air Force pilots and soldiers began to refer to the Kestrels’ tactic by a nickname.

-12 heures haute (12 o’clock high) [French for “12 o’clock high,” referring to an attack coming from directly above].

Some time later, Hyang received the related reports and muttered with a peculiar expression.

“12 o’clock high? Sounds like a movie title.”

Although casualties had decreased, the continued unfavorable war situation led everyone from Count Montfort to the lowest-ranking mechanics to reach the same conclusion.

“We can’t win with just rear-mounted fire wagons! We need to mount fire wagons on the front too!”

If the Imperial soldiers had heard this, they would have scoffed, ‘Took you long enough to figure that out,’ but the French Air Force was serious and determined.

“We have to find a solution!”

To overcome the continued defeats despite the arrival of new aircraft and pilots, the French were becoming desperate.

First, Count Montfort sent a report to Paris.

-Our aircraft have a critical flaw.

(Omitted)

-Therefore, we need new aircraft to address this issue.

At the same time, pilots, mechanics, and artisans on the ground began to brainstorm solutions. The first idea was to mount fire wagons on the wings.

“But won’t the wings’ structural integrity be compromised?”

“The section connecting the wings to the fuselage should be strong enough.”

The mechanics and artisans added a steel structure to the underside of the uppermost of the Daedalus’s three wings and then secured the fire wagon to it. However, the results were far from satisfactory.

-Ejected casings sometimes strike the pilot.

-There is no space to attach the ammunition drums. There would be space if the fire wagon were mounted to the side of the aircraft instead of along the centerline, but this would disrupt the aircraft’s balance.

-There is no way to resolve the feeding issues.

During rapid maneuvers, the ammunition belts would become tangled or break, causing feeding problems.

Surely, they couldn’t expect the pilot to undo his safety harness, stand up, and fix it mid-combat?

The artisans, struggling to resolve this issue, shifted their thinking.

“A light fire wagon is still a fire wagon!”

Light fire wagons used magazines. Magazines, which used springs to push the rounds forward, were generally less prone to feeding issues. Upon hearing the artisans’ suggestion, the pilots pointed out the biggest problem.

“Even a large magazine only holds 20 rounds, doesn’t it? Are you suggesting we fire 20 rounds and then stand up to replace the magazine?”

In response to the pilots’ concerns, the artisans brainstormed again and implemented three solutions simultaneously.

-Link the magazines together to create a 40-round magazine.

-Attach a steel track between the fire wagon mounting point on the wing and the cockpit, and place the fire wagon on this track.

When the fire wagon ran out of ammunition, the pilot could pull the fire wagon down the track to quickly replace the magazine and then push it back into position.

-Move the fire wagon mounting point from the underside of the wing to the top of the wing. This would reduce the chance of ejected casings striking the pilot.

The pilots who test-flew the modified aircraft all gave positive reviews.

“It’s surprisingly useful!”

Encouraged by the pilots’ praise, the artisans and mechanics began mounting light fire wagons on the wings of the Daedalus fighters. The Daedalus pilots were even more daring.

They removed the rear gunner.

-There’s no point in firing the fire wagon from the rear; it only serves as a deterrent.

-The Daedalus is slower and more sluggish than that damned Imperial aircraft.

Therefore, it needs to be as light as possible.

-Without a rear gunner, more aggressive maneuvers are possible.

-Conclusion: You’re out!

This was the French pilots’ conclusion.

Three days later, six Daedalus fighters that had undergone the modifications were deployed to the front lines.

* * *

-Enemy sighted.

The squadron leader of the Kestrel squadron, who was patrolling the skies over Gibraltar, confirmed the signal flare sent by the self-propelled aerial observation Skyray and began to gain altitude, signaling his squadron members. Soon after, the squadron members also began to gain altitude, following their leader.

Other Kestrel squadrons also gained altitude, and upon seeing this, the Albatross squadrons also began preparing for battle. A moment later, the Daedalus fighters began to appear in the distance, and the squadron leaders signaled their squadron members.

Clack! Clack!

Upon confirming the signal, the squadron members moved the levers on their fire wagons to load them and took a deep breath. The skills of the French aircraft pilots had been steadily improving recently.

They were moving cunningly and skillfully to lure the Kestrels into the wall of fire they had created.

The tactic of diving head-on at the enemy aircraft, aiming for its nose, was also becoming less effective than it had been in the beginning. As a result, comrades were beginning to suffer minor and major injuries, even if they weren’t being shot down. Since some time ago, the Kestrel pilots had been saying the same thing every time they held a post-battle debriefing.

“Those bastards know what their biggest weakness is, and they’re doing everything they can to fix it. If they find a solution, even if it’s just a temporary fix, that’s when the real fight will begin.”

“The problem is, we can’t tell if they’ve found a solution or not.”

One pilot pointed out, and one of the squadron leaders immediately responded.

“It’ll be surprisingly easy to tell. If they’ve found a solution, they won’t run away as soon as they see us; they’ll attack us instead.”

“Ah!”

Remembering that, the Kestrel squadron pilots carefully observed the enemy’s movements.

“They’ve been running away until now; will they run away today too?”

The Kestrel pilots’ feelings were a mix of anticipation and concern as they watched the approaching Daedalus squadron. And, as six of the approaching enemy aircraft rapidly gained altitude and approached, the Kestrel pilots all came to the same conclusion.

-Those bastards have found the answer!

-Now the real fight begins!

“Alright! Let’s go!”

The six Kestrels flying in the lead performed impressive aerial maneuvers and dove towards the approaching Daedalus fighters.

The full-scale aerial battle of Gibraltar had begun.