Boom! Boom!
One dive bomber after another, one attacker after another, was struck by shells raining down from the sky. Trailing billowing black smoke, the planes plunged toward the ground.
Under the surprise attack of the German Navy's forty-eight carrier-based BF-109 fighter planes, more than twenty Island Nation Navy dive bombers and attackers were shot down. The remaining carrier-based aircraft were so terrified that they immediately scattered.
"Damn it! German fighter planes! Have four squadrons of Zero fighters engage them! The other fighters, cover the dive bombers and attackers and continue forward!" Colonel Yamashiro Ryutaro immediately ordered.
He knew full well that if they did not find a way to tie down those German Navy fighters, they would suffer even greater casualties. By then, their losses would only grow worse. Forget launching an attack on the German Navy's Capital Ships.
The Island Nation Navy's Zero fighters immediately gave chase to the German Navy's carrier-based BF-109 fighters, intending to shoot them down. However, their rate of climb could not compare with that of the German Navy's BF-109 fighters. They could only watch helplessly as the German fighters flew into the high altitude.
Rat-a-tat-tat!
Several Zero fighters opened fire. The 7.7mm aircraft machine guns in their noses were not particularly powerful, at most leaving a few insignificant bullet holes in the German Navy fighters. Their advantage, however, was their ample ammunition supply and sustained firepower.
"Sir, the German aircraft are climbing too fast. We can't catch them," an Island Nation pilot said.
"Damn it! Be careful not to enter high altitude, or the engines will develop problems."
Once the Zero fighter's engine entered high altitude, where the air was thin and oxygen scarce, it could malfunction and cause the plane to crash.
The Island Nation Navy's fighter pilots also knew of this