Arc of Fire

Wang Zhong laughed.

When he first played "War Thunder," the game only had aerial combat, and Wang Zhong was all about that. Back then, he was a German aficionado, so he chose the ID Manfred von Richthofen, the famous Red Baron.

In those days, the game’s historic air battles were divided strictly according to historical reality. Germans could only team up with the Japanese and Italians, facing the large squadrons of the United States, United Kingdom, and Soviet Allied Forces.

The Americans had just released a premium plane called the XP50 that you could buy with real money—it climbed really fast, often suppressing the German Air Force by a 1000 meters in altitude.

So, Wang Zhong had to master the art of low-altitude defense—it was that or quit the game.

"First go, we’ll approach each other like this," Amelia picked up a model plane painted like a Spitfire.

"Okay!" As Wang Zhong responded, he sneakily lifted the plane to the height of his chest.

Amelia frowned, her gaze lingering on Wang Zhong’s face.

Although Amelia was rather tall, she still fell short compared to Wang Zhong’s towering stature. She had to stretch her arm high to simulate attacking from above.

The next moment, Amelia grabbed a chair, stood on it, and held the plane model over Wang Zhong’s Spitfire nose model.

Wang Zhong quickly said, "You win! Now come down, you can’t simulate the plane’s forward movement standing on a chair."

This sort of aerial combat simulation with models usually required both people to walk forward, simulating the planes’ advancement, and not just stand still.

As Wang Zhong spoke, he lowered his plane to just below his waist.

Amelia remarked, "You’re being intentionally difficult with girls, just like a boy on his first Scout Camp."

In the United Kingdom, there is a Scouting Culture where kids participate in communal living at Scout Camp before starting school.

Her words essentially amounted to calling out Wang Zhong for acting like a kindergarten kid.

Wang Zhong felt a bit embarrassed; he had only intended to tease Amelia, not thinking too much of it, much like how he usually joked around with Nelly but didn’t expect Amelia not to indulge him.

"Come on, let’s start the simulation, get in position quickly," Wang Zhong urged.

Amelia lifted her model higher than Wang Zhong’s Spitfire nose and said, "I’ll enter from here, what’s your move?"

"I need to adjust the propeller pitch, change the fuel mixture," explained Wang Zhong. "The pitch should be set to..."

As Amelia listened to the numbers Wang Zhong rattled off, she gasped in surprise, "You... have flown a BF109?"

Of course, I have—my BF109 scored 1000 kills! Even though in the historic flight mode each player kill counted for two, that’s still 500!

Amelia said, "Those propeller pitch and fuel mixture settings are what only seasoned 109 pilots would use!"

Wang Zhong replied, "Er, Vasily told me! He... he’s interrogated several Prosen pilots!"

"Would they really ask pilots those kinds of questions during interrogation?" Amelia mused.

Deciding to skip that topic, Wang Zhong urged, "Alright, let’s start. If I make a move that exceeds the capabilities of a 109, then it means I’ve managed to get 120% performance out of the engine and propeller through precise control."

"Alright, now I’m going to initiate the attack, I’ll roll right—" directed Amelia.

"I keep my course unchanged, my altitude is now 3000," Wang Zhong declared.

Amelia’s plane aimed straight at Wang Zhong’s, "I’ve got you in my sights!"

"I sense the threat, look up to spot you! So I quickly dive left, avoiding your narrow shooting window," countered Wang Zhong.

"I give up the attack, pull up to gain altitude, and tilt the plane to keep track of your position," continued Amelia.

"I resume level flight, climbing slightly to regain speed," Wang Zhong responded smoothly.

With a victorious tone, Amelia boasted, "Now I could easily get on your six, you don’t stand a chance."

"Then bring it on!" Wang Zhong laughed.

Amelia shook her head and said, "I pull the stick, entering a chase, while diving to recover the speed lost in the turn. I’m catching up."

"I’ve regained an altitude of 3000, I’ve got enough height for a Split-S maneuver! Now I’ve put you in a negative-G zone," Wang Zhong executed.

The negative-G zone can be simply understood as the aircraft’s "bottom" or "underneath," where any maneuver that dips the plane results in blood rushing to the head, potentially causing blood vessels to burst.

During positive G-forces, blood moves toward the feet, and the brain, due to a lack of blood, can experience things like tunnel vision. A normal person might black out around positive 8Gs, but can recover, and trained pilots might withstand up to 10Gs before losing consciousness.

However, with negative G-forces reaching 6G, those with more fragile blood vessels would begin to suffer from ruptures, and this process was irreversible; without timely treatment, death was inevitable.

This was why, in aerial combat, it was common practice to cut into the enemy’s negative G zone, ensuring that the enemy aircraft couldn’t immediately keep up with the maneuver and had to roll first.

To get his aircraft model into the negative G zone, Wang Zhong had to get close to Amelia, almost sticking to her, and his aircraft model was hovering near her front armor.

But Wang Zhong wasn’t looking at any front armor; he had ignited a pilot’s pride and only wanted to establish superiority over Amelia.

Amelia, "I’ve decided to give up following and look for a new opportunity."

Wang Zhong, "That’s a reasonable decision."

An aircraft in combat consumes its own energy, which could be potential energy from altitude, mainly provided by the aircraft’s flying height, or kinetic energy, mostly related to the aircraft’s speed.

Just now, if Amelia had chosen to roll and then pull back on the control stick to follow Wang Zhong’s maneuver, she would have been dragged into endless energy consumption until she was at the same energy level as him.

For Amelia to give up the attack to regain altitude and speed was a wise move, as Wang Zhong’s aircraft had also expended energy during the maneuver. By not following up, the energy difference between them widened.

Wang Zhong, after a moment’s thought, said, "I’ll continue to fly straight and climb shallowly to recover energy. At this point, our flight directions are different; if you don’t follow me, I’ll break contact, and you’ll never find me. If that happens, I win as the defender."

Real combat isn’t a game; there are no map boundaries, and Wang Zhong’s posed aircraft could keep flying and increasing the distance. Modern single-seater, single-engine fighters don’t have radar; trying to find an escaping enemy aircraft several kilometers away is not easy.

Amelia, "I know, so after regaining altitude, I circled left to confirm your position, then moved in the same direction as you, and did a shallow dive to accelerate."

The dive converts potential energy from altitude into kinetic energy, increasing the aircraft’s speed, and is a common way of recovering energy in aerial energy combat.

Wang Zhong was about to speak when Amelia reminded him, "Actually, the difference in altitude between us has increased, so if I shallow dive after you, I will eventually catch up."

"Don’t rush," said Wang Zhong. "I see you shallow diving to catch up, patiently waiting for that moment when you dive."

Amelia, "I’m diving now, you’re about to break into an S-turn again? This time you don’t have altitude, you might crash into the ground!"

Wang Zhong, "Of course not. I choose to roll and pitch the control stick slightly, entering a turn to dodge your fire line. Are you going to follow?"

While asking, Wang Zhong’s face carried a mocking smile that said, "You wouldn’t dare follow."

Amelia clenched her teeth, "I’ll follow! Remember, the Spitfire’s roll isn’t inferior to the 109’s!"

Thus, their combat entered a chasing phase.

Wang Zhong, "Your speed is faster than mine; you’ll get ahead!"

"I’m entering a high yo-yo. Now you’re in my gunsight again!"

Wang Zhong, "So I enter a defensive barrel roll; your energy is greater than mine, and the Spitfire’s pitch efficiency is inferior to the 109’s, especially when your speed is higher than mine. You can’t keep up."

As he spoke, his hand’s aircraft executed the maneuver, positioning him cleverly behind Amelia.

He almost whispered in the girl’s ear, "You’ve lost. You lost the moment you entered the barrel roll; you were too impatient. You should have disengaged and maintained the energy advantage to keep chasing me. After a few more repeats, my aircraft would be slow as if stuck in the sky."

Amelia shook her head, "This is aerial combat where both parties are aware of each other’s moves; it doesn’t count."

Wang Zhong continued to whisper in her ear, "In real aerial combat, the first time I entered your negative G zone, you would have lost track of me."

Amelia, "I’m a witch; no matter where you are, I can accurately find you."

Wang Zhong shrugged his shoulders, distanced himself, and spread his hands, "Okay, but this time I won. There’s nothing you can do if you don’t admit it."

Amelia, with a smile, "You didn’t just hear some air combat techniques from Vasily; you’ve systematically studied air combat, specifically the latest data on the Capital aerial battles of the United Kingdom."

Wang Zhong, "You’re giving me too much credit. I’m the last in my class at the military academy and a good-for-nothing playboy."

Amelia, "Is that so? Well, if you insist, then let it be that way. Oh, by the way, I’ve heard that the Federation has developed a new tandem aircraft battle tactic, which I’ve always wanted to witness. Could you perhaps demonstrate it for me?"

Wang Zhong, "I don’t know any tandem battle tactics. Not a clue."

Actually, he did know—it was the Thach Weave, with which the Federation severely beat the Japanese Zero with.

Amelia looked at Wang Zhong with a half-smiling gaze. At that moment, the communications staff officer entered, saluted and reported, "Report! The 393rd Brigade and the self-propelled anti-tank gun regiment have successfully landed on the beachhead and are advancing on Moha Port according to the plan!"

Wang Zhong clenched his fist, "Good! Excellent! We’ve cleared the first hurdle! Now we wait for the enemy’s armored counterattack. Among the enemy, there are organized Prosen forces; they’re bound to counterattack!"

Pavlov, "The anti-tank gun units come from the 225th Division, a reliable old unit. According to the plan, they should now be in this area setting up defenses, ready to intercept the enemy’s tank troops."

At this point, Colonel Benjamin of the United Kingdom expressed some concern, "Our Matilda tanks are decently armored, even the older models, but can they handle a 57 mm gun?"

Wang Zhong, "Don’t worry. This 57 mm gun’s penetration might even be better than the commonly equipped 76.2 anti-tank guns. Not just Matildas, even if Churchills come at us, we could hit their weak points."

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