I Became a Tycoon During World War I - Chapter 243

Chapter 243: The Immelmann Turn

Pilots are lonely. The moment they climb into the cockpit and fly the plane into the sky, their fate seems to be tied to the aircraft, separated from everyone else.

Charles, with a low voice, warned the trainees: "You should get used to all of this, gentlemen. Learn to rely on yourselves, study the necessary knowledge, or train to fight independently. Only by doing this can you survive on the battlefield and eventually become a qualified pilot."

The classroom fell silent for a moment before it erupted in enthusiastic applause.

After leaving the classroom, Carter took Charles into his office.

The office could also be called the command center of Carter, the deputy squadron leader. It was still as messy as before. Even the chair he handed to Charles had just been cleared from the pile of junk.

Carter sat down in front of Charles, flipping through some documents while reporting: "Up to now, we have over three hundred veteran pilots, more than a hundred new trainees, and over three hundred fighter planes. At this rate, our club will need to expand. We won’t be able to fit so many people and planes!"

Charles nodded without speaking.

Expand?

Carter was overthinking. The reason they had not suffered any losses among the air combat pilots during this period was because there had been no aerial battles.

Once combat began, both planes and pilots would suffer casualties. It would be fortunate if the new recruits could fill the gaps.

Carter seemed to realize this, and asked with some concern, "The air battles are about to begin?"

He had picked up a few rumors from the recent newspapers, hinting that the flying squadron was considering absorbing army planes, which seemed to be preparing for aerial combat.

Charles did not answer, but instead asked, "Are you ready?"

Carter straightened up and answered confidently:

"Yes, Colonel, we are ready!"

"We’ve been practicing the eight principles of air combat. If the Germans don't have this experience, we believe they won't be our match."

Charles responded with a simple, "Mm."

"It may indeed be so at first, but once you apply your tactics on the battlefield..."

Carter agreed, saying, "The Germans will soon learn these tactics. The next time, they will use them against us."

"Yes!" Charles said. "So you must keep improving."

"Understood, Colonel!" Carter replied.

Carter stood up to make coffee for Charles. As he worked, he shook his head as if telling an absurd story:

"Many people ask me during practice what to do if the enemy locks onto their tail."

"I tell them to ask God about it, or just pray to Him!"

Charles didn’t answer. He suddenly thought of a tactic that could solve the problem of the enemy locking onto their tail, something that might further improve the squadron's combat ability.

Carter handed the freshly made coffee to Charles and said, "You aren't seriously thinking about how to solve this problem, are you?"

With that, Carter chuckled.

To him, it seemed ridiculous. Our side could also lock onto the enemy's tail, so considering how to deal with it was as absurd as figuring out how to dodge enemy bullets—it was impossible.

“There are no invincible people on the battlefield. No matter how much we practice, we can’t avoid it!” Carter took a sip of his coffee.

Seeing that Charles remained silent, his expression slowly changed. He looked at Charles with a mix of disbelief and anticipation in his eyes. "You don't mean... you really have a solution?"

"All I can say is that there’s a possibility of dodging," Charles answered calmly. "But it still needs practice."

"My God!" Carter jumped up, spilling coffee all over the desk. He hurriedly grabbed a cloth to wipe it up and quickly found paper and a pen from his drawer.

"You don’t need to take notes, Captain," Charles said, glancing to the side and picking up two model planes from the desk.

These models were scattered all around the flying club, likely from Carter's past "side job." The old flying club used to accept visitors and sell souvenirs, much like a tourist attraction.

"We’ll demonstrate, and you'll see what’s going on," Charles said, placing the models in front of him. He aligned them to mimic a tailing situation while explaining, "If the pilot trailing behind is skilled enough, no matter how we try to evade, they’ll always be able to follow our movements. Even if we feint, it will be very hard to shake them off."

"Yes!" Carter nodded.

Then he seemed confused. The scenario was already a deadlock—the pursuing aircraft only needed to pull the trigger and shoot. The leading plane would almost certainly not escape.

"We can try to climb higher, Captain!" Charles said.

"No, Colonel." Carter firmly rejected this suggestion. "Climbing will only get us killed faster. The enemy will choose to shoot at that moment when we climb."

Carter’s eyes showed disappointment. He thought Charles had made a mistake.

The recent tailing practice had taught him one thing: when an enemy plane is on your tail, the worst thing to do is climb.

Turning left, right, or down—all of these maneuvers are quick and might help evade the enemy's pursuit.

But climbing... due to the weight of the aircraft, the climb is very slow, and it exposes the plane’s large surface area to the enemy’s guns. This is almost like suicide.

But Charles insisted. Calmly demonstrating and explaining, "Of course, we can't climb directly. Before climbing, we first make a dive..."

"A feint?" Carter was confused. He had already assumed that the enemy pilot was a skilled one, someone who wouldn't be fooled by feints.

"This isn't a feint, Captain," Charles replied. "It’s the standard procedure for climbing. After the dive, we immediately raise the nose at a steep angle. You will see that the plane no longer climbs slowly at a shallow angle but climbs at an almost vertical angle. It will rise much faster than before, and the enemy will often be caught off guard."

"Will... will it really work like that?" Carter asked, stunned. He had never tried this maneuver before.

"Yes," Charles nodded. "You’ll know once you try it. After the climb, the plane will be in an upside-down flying position, with the belly facing upwards. Then, after a roll, it will return to the normal flying position..."

Carter couldn’t help but exclaim, "That’s when we’ll have the height advantage! With just a dive, we can turn the tables and lock onto the enemy's tail!"

Charles gently nodded.

Of course, this maneuver wasn't invented by Charles. He knew nothing about aircraft mechanics.

It was a move first developed by Germany's earliest ace pilot, Immelmann, and was later named the "Immelmann Turn" or "Vertical Reverse."

Even today, this maneuver is still commonly used in dogfighting training or aerial stunt performances.

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