Chapter 359 Aerial Combat (1)

The radar, a source of pride for the British, was considered by the Germans today to be nothing more than a primitive product.

Compared to the small Eiffel Tower-like antenna in Britain, the radar antenna in Germany was only one-third of its size, yet its detection range far exceeded that of the British radar by three times. Moreover, Germany's radar employed the most "cutting-edge" PPI display, requiring only one display to simultaneously show the target's direction and distance. Compared to the traditional A-scope display, the image on the PPI display was more intuitive and easy to interpret, making it more effective when facing targets attacking from multiple directions.

In the newly built secret radar station in the Calais region, a radar operator sipped on ice coffee to cool down and stay alert, while his eyes remained fixed on the radar display.

After all, the radar operator's task was to watch the screen for aircraft—potential invading enemy planes, our own military aircraft, and various civilian aircraft off course. And the reason for cooling down was that these radar operators wore thick protective suits made of lead and copper wire. The breathability of this gear was a bit lacking, and it was very insulating, even causing some stuffiness in winter.

However, regulations explicitly required radar operators to wear this type of protective clothing while on duty because Wilhelm knew that during World War II, infertility, hair loss, and cataracts were professional hazards for radar operators. Staff engaged in radiofrequency operations often suffered from nervousness, irritability, excitability, hair loss, sweating, menstrual irregularities in women, decreased sexual function, decreased white and red blood cell counts, and other adverse effects.

The total number of radar operators in Germany was not very high, so of course, Wilhelm wouldn't stand by and watch these soldiers serving the country suffer from this occupational disease. First, he significantly reduced the working hours of radar operators, implementing a four-shift system where each radar operator only needed to work six hours a day. Additionally, every corner of each radar station was filled with radiation-resistant plants. Coupled with a specially tailored nutritious diet for radar operators, Germany's radar operators were the most comfortable among all branches of the military.

As the cold coffee flowed down his throat into his stomach, his pores seemed to contract, causing him to shiver involuntarily, instantly feeling much more awake. "Did you hear? London was bombed by us."

The engineer watering the plants didn't think much of it. "Hey, I heard about it a long time ago. What's new about that? And to be precise, it wasn't a bombing, it was a 'shelling.' We used artillery to shell London. If you have time, go take a look at Block B13; the cannon is laid out there along the hillside. It's quite spectacular."

"Really impressive. Shouldn't we call that cannon the 'London Cannon' then?" After all, the cannon named "Paris Cannon" from the last war, which attacked Paris, was named as such. So, this time, shouldn't the cannon that hit London also be called the "London Cannon"?

"In theory, that's what it should be called, but His Highness has already named it the 'V3 Cannon.' I guess no one will call it anything else."

"Your Highness truly is…" Just as he said this, he suddenly noticed an array of unidentified blips on the radar. "We have a situation! A group of aircraft taking off from mainland Britain!" He swiftly grabbed the nearby communication device. "Station B, Station B. This is Station A. Are you getting any readings on your radar?"

Upon confirmation, the radar operator grabbed the radio communicator and shouted loudly, "Calling Tower, Calling Tower from Station A. Radar is showing a large number of aircraft taking off from mainland Britain. Their flight direction is towards Calais."

A steady reply came through the headphones, "Tower received. How many enemy aircraft?"

"The first batch exceeds 200, altitude approximately 6000; the second batch exceeds 100, altitude approximately 5000."

"It seems they're coming to bomb the V3 Cannon, huh?" The engineer looked at the dense array of blips on the radar and muttered, "What fools. Don't they consider that if we dare to set up the launch base here, there must be defense forces?"

The radar operator shrugged. "What else can they do? They can only sit there and be bombarded by the cannon."

"I say the most sensible thing to do is to surrender immediately."

"If they were capable of surrendering, they would've surrendered after the Dunkirk evacuation."

"Woo...! Woo...!" Just as the two lamented the British's lack of understanding of the situation, accompanied by the piercing alarm, the pilots who had long been prepared swiftly climbed into their planes. Under the tower's dispatch, one plane after another took off, ready to intercept the incoming enemy aircraft.

At least 30 anti-aircraft units were on standby duty here every day, which meant that there were at least 30 pilots and 30 planes ready to take off at any time. These prepared aircraft would be fueled up and armed, ready on the side of the runway at the airport.

On the ground, the anti-aircraft positions were also making final preparations in an orderly manner. The long barrels of the cannons had been aimed by the gunners towards the direction of the incoming enemy planes. Loading personnel pushed shells into the chamber, while observers stood by with binoculars, scanning the distant sky. Germany still didn't have perfected fire-control radars, so anti-aircraft firepower still required manual command.

Torpedo boats and destroyers from the navy also sailed out of the harbor, one after another, ready to rescue any pilots who parachuted into the water.

Sitting in his Spitfire fighter, British pilot Albert felt the grandeur of his surroundings. The fighter planes beside him seemed endless, as if there was no end in sight. It was the first time he had seen so many fighter planes, which somewhat boosted his confidence in this escort mission.

Moreover, their Spitfires had undergone upgrades and improvements, fitted with the new Griffon XII engine; this engine boasted 1175 horsepower. Unlike the full ethylene glycol coolant used in the previous Griffon engine, the Griffon XII utilized a 7:3 mixture of water and ethylene glycol coolant. A brand new dedicated propeller was also designed, and the combination of propeller and engine allowed their fighter planes to exceed 600 kilometers per hour at an altitude of 5000 meters.

Another improvement was the installation of rearview mirrors, although these later cage-style rearview mirrors were replaced by simpler adjustable square rearview mirrors.

The installation of the new radio allowed pilots to hear commands more clearly to maintain formation.

All of this made him feel that he could now compete with the Germans.

Unfortunately, life always has its illusions. If Albert could travel to the future, he would find that their Spitfire MKII was no match for the German Bf 109F, not until the Spitfire Mk V entered service and gradually surpassed the Bf 109 series fighters.

Most importantly, this time the Germans deployed more than just the Bf 109F fighters.

"Be careful! Be careful! Enemy aircraft spotted! Prepare for combat!" Albert's headset relayed the alert message, urging them to be vigilant.

Albert gently maneuvered his control stick and looked through the cockpit glass at the distant clouds, where the first German fighter had already torn through the clouds and charged out aggressively.

With sharp eyes, he suddenly realized that it wasn't a German Bf 109; just by looking at the large, scoop-like nose, he knew it wasn't equipped with the Bf 109's liquid-cooled engine but rather a new type of fighter with an air-cooled engine!