It's a fine sight, as the boys charge the Dorniers, a seemingly-irresistible phalanx of Spitfires going straight in.



I've singled out a Hun who is straggling a little behind the rest. Somehow, he survives the mass attack, but several of his friends aren't so lucky. A couple of Dorniers on the left of the bunch are already falling damaged out of formation, while others have also been hit hard.



My own Dornier breaks right after my first burst, and I go with him



I break away after another another burst, and pull up only when safely out of range of the formation - lesson learnt! Now, where is my man?



There he goes! Both props have stopped turning and the crew hatch in the belly is open, ready for bailing out. He's a goner, clearly.



By now, the Hun formation has been pretty well shattered. Down over the Estuary, a couple - the first two to be hit, probably - are going down smoking. Up ahead of them, another pair looks like they're turning for home. The rest are carrying on, but we have severely whittled them down. Whatever they're attacking will catch a lot less bombs, courtesy of No. 65 (Fighter) Squadron.



No point in pushing my own luck, I decide. One wing is pretty well sieved and my poor Merlin is failing. Time to get down somewhere. Hopefully, Hornchurch is still close by



And so it is! I ease off on the throttle and begin to spiral down.



Lower down, the Dornier I attacked is doing likewise, but is in rather worse shape.



I keep an eye on my victim and have the satisfaction of seeing him hit the ground before I land.



My engine conks out before I get down but I'm more than close enough to Hornchurch when it happens.



It's been a red letter day for the squadron! Including mine, we're claiming no less than nine Dorniers destroyed - nearly half the formation - for no losses. Several Spits, including my own, have suffered various degrees of damage, but only one pilot has been wounded and then, only slightly. It's an outstanding performance, even if not all our claims are confirmed. Certainly, the absence of 109s had something to do with it, and we mightn't be so fortunate next time, in that regard, but for now, our tails are well and truly up!

[The only negative was serious stuttering during the squadron attack - maybe not quite as bad as pre-update 1.19, but still enough to make flying and shooting almost impossible for the few seconds it was happening.]