As with the last time this happened, I decide we’ll tackle the escorts, hopefully leaving the bombers vulnerable to the next squadron to arrive. At first, I order the attack while still having Blue 1 targeted (to take the previous screenshot via an inverted player-target view) which may be why he is calling for help, long before the scrap has begun!



This time, half the Hun escort breaks aggressively right into us and the fight is on. They’re Me 110s, clearly, so I take a chance and break early, to avoid a head-on encounter with their heavy forward-firing batteries.



Formation is quickly lost and aeroplanes are suddenly all over the sky. I latch onto a solitary 110 and quickly chase him down. These fellows can be impossible to catch in a tail chase, if they just run away at full tilt. But here, I can cut across his turn. Which of course is what I do.



I slip in behind him rather than go for a deflection shot. After a couple of bursts from near dead astern...



...a large section of his starboard wing breaks off and down he goes!



I break right to clear my tail and get my bearings. I must be a good few miles south of the Thames Estuary. I think the airfield on the left is Rochester - in real life, site of the Short Stirling production line, wrecked by eighteen Dorniers of II/KG3 in a low-level raid on 15th August - which would mean that the base on the right is the Coastal Command station at Detling.



But enough sight-seeing. Where is everybody?

...to be continued!