I Became a Tycoon During World War I - Chapter 244

Chapter 244: German Fighter Aircraft

The sky was still filled with heavy snow, and the intense cold formed a thin layer of ice around the aircraft's body.

Major Godfrey, wearing his goggles, flew into the biting wind with a squadron of “Newport 10” planes towards the German forces.

As he gazed at the twin machine guns in front of him, Major Godfrey felt as though he were in a dream.

Two weeks ago, he was performing at an airshow in Lyon, but now he was the squadron leader of the 3rd Squadron of the Second French Air Division.

When Godfrey had first received the invitation, he had refused. He told the lieutenant who had come to him, “I have no interest in being a soldier, sir. I prefer a life of freedom, and being constantly ordered around will drive me mad!”

He added, “If I wanted to be a soldier, I would have joined Charles' flying squadron long ago.”

However, the lieutenant handed him a draft notice, saying, “You’d better accept my suggestion, sir. Otherwise, you will become an infantryman!”

This was Joffre's strategy. If he couldn’t recruit people with flight potential, neither could Charles.

In the end, Godfrey chose the former—or rather, he had no other choice.

After enlisting, Godfrey started as a second lieutenant, assigned to train people with no flying experience to pilot aircraft in the 3rd Squadron.

The squadron originally had 36 members, but two weeks later, only 28 remained.

Flying a plane was not like driving a car; any mistake during flight was highly likely to send the pilot plummeting to their death.

But this was not a concern for the military. They simply increased the casualty count, sent a 260-franc condolence payment to the family, and the matter was considered settled.

As for Godfrey, he soon became a major and led the remaining 28 pilots on their first missions.

Godfrey had a disagreement with Colonel Igg during this time. “They’ve only learned basic maneuvers, and some might even crash while landing. Now you want them to fly combat missions. This is too dangerous!”

“We don’t have time, Major!” Colonel Igg’s tone was unyielding. “Look at the battlefield. Just yesterday, we lost five reconnaissance planes to the Germans, and we couldn’t do anything about it!”

“What about Charles' planes?” Godfrey asked. “They’ve defeated the Germans several times. Why don’t you send them?”

“It’s simple!” Colonel Igg pointed at a map of the frontlines. “Look at this. Our defensive line stretches over 300 kilometers, with 51 infantry divisions stationed here and more being added. This doesn’t even count the troops we’ve called up from Africa. But Charles’ flying squadron has only one unit. This task must be handled by our infantry, do you understand? It’s up to us!”

Lies, shameless lies!

Godfrey knew what was going on. They were fighting for control over the air force, and they wanted to quickly establish an air squadron within the army, thus resorting to such extreme measures.

But orders were orders, and Godfrey had no choice but to obey.

Thus, 29 fighter planes, including Godfrey’s, took off from the airfield. Their mission was to patrol the Somme River area. If they spotted any German aircraft, whether fighters or reconnaissance planes, they were to shoot them down.

“As far as I know, German fighter planes usually fly in groups of four or eight,” Colonel Igg instructed. “As long as you stick together, you should be fine!”

Major Godfrey shook his head slightly. Colonel Igg seemed to think aerial combat was like ground combat, where numerical superiority and bravery could solve the problem.

...

At that moment, Squadron Leader Colanka signaled to Major Godfrey. Godfrey looked in the direction he indicated and saw a few German “Pigeon” reconnaissance planes fleeing from the area.

Without giving it much thought, Godfrey waved his hand and led the squadron after the German planes.

The reconnaissance planes would be good practice for his subordinates, Godfrey thought, and he could report some successful kills to Colonel Igg.

However, after following them for a while, Godfrey began to sense something was wrong.

These “Pigeon” planes should have been using their nimble bodies to make frequent turns to counteract the speed advantage of the “Newport 10,” but they were not doing so.

Godfrey furrowed his brow and muttered to himself:
“What’s stopping them from turning? What are they trying to achieve?”

Godfrey glanced around. When his eyes swept across the clouds above, his expression changed. He realized what was happening.

He hurriedly waved his hand to order the squadron to abort the chase, but his subordinates, whose eyes were only on the “prey,” had already pushed the throttle to full speed and didn’t notice Godfrey’s signal.

Godfrey shouted loudly, but the biting wind prevented any sound from reaching his subordinates.

It was as Godfrey had feared...

A dozen German fighter planes suddenly appeared from the clouds. They dove down, accompanied by swirling snowflakes, and unleashed a furious barrage of gunfire at the “Newport 10” planes.

Three “Newport 10” planes had no chance to react. They were struck immediately, losing their balance and plummeting to the ground. One even exploded mid-air and disintegrated.

The “Newport 10” squadron descended into chaos. They scattered like a flock of panicked flies, with no order or tactics, while the German fighters calmly pursued from behind.

“Da-da-da, da-da!”

The sky was filled with the sound of machine gun fire, and one “Newport 10” after another was shot down by the Germans, trailing black smoke as they plunged to the ground amidst the deafening noise. Some planes had their wings or tails shot off, spinning out of control before crashing.

Godfrey was terrified the moment they encountered the enemy. He had never experienced war and could hardly believe what was happening before him.

Fortunately, when a German fighter dove towards him, Godfrey sensed the danger just in time and snapped back to reality. He quickly steered his plane to avoid it.

At that point, there was no strategy, no tactics—only reflexes.

Major Godfrey struggled to pull the nose of his plane upward. He knew that maintaining altitude was the only way to avoid being hunted down by the enemy.

Suddenly, two “Newport 10” planes, which had been chasing a single German aircraft, collided mid-air. The scene was horrific. After a burst of flames, shattered aircraft parts filled the sky.

Godfrey swerved to avoid the debris, narrowly escaping the smoke, and then spotted a German fighter plane ahead.

He recognized it as a German “Albatros B,” a civilian plane that had been test-flown before the war, which had not been kept secret. Godfrey had seen it during a flight demonstration in Germany the previous year, but now it was his enemy.

Godfrey gritted his teeth, increased the throttle, and followed it. He squeezed the trigger, and the bullets from his gun sprayed into the “Albatros B,” sending wooden splinters flying.

Soon, the plane’s nose dipped, and it spiraled towards the ground in a plume of black smoke.

This was Godfrey's first confirmed kill, and it was also the only enemy aircraft shot down by the 3rd Squadron in this battle.

Table of content - Next Chapter >>>