Ace in a Day
I was just the new guy in the squad, well, we were all new. None of knew each other well; we had just met that day on the airfield. We had been assigned to our first assignment on the same day as well, offensive patrol over the English Channel. There was not much talking among us, as most were nervous, and an eerie silence had fallen in our common room. I had been in the Condor Legion before and had seen action, but did not score any victories. I was eager for my first kill. I knew I could be the best, and never doubted myself.
I had several hours to kill before going on patrol, so I went to the gun pits to practice my shooting. I had become very accurate before arriving, but practice makes good into great so I kept on shooting. After I went to inspect my first machine, she was a beauty. It was a BF109D
There was a parachute in my plane as well, a life saving device. Strangely there was a note beside it. It read, bring a pistol, shoot yourself if you are over the channel, you will drown. I scrunched up the note and threw it away angrily, and proceeded to each plane and threw the note out. A captain nearby came over after watching this.
“Why did you throw out those notes?” The captain asked.
“It is a bad idea, you guys trying to scare the new guys before a fight,” I replied.
“It is the truth sadly, bring a pistol, those parachutes aren’t going to save you.” He said.
“That is their purpose though! How can you say something so terrible?” I asked.
“My wingman went down over the channel, he didn’t drown, he burned, and the parachute looked like a roman candle.” The captain said dryly.
I stared hard at this man, he didn’t flinch.
“My name is King,” I said, “Who are you?”
“I am Lion, captain of Revolution,” Lion replied.
I quickly stood taller and looked down at my shoes, this man was a famous German ace, a terror in the skies and well known for his skills. I saluted and walked away. So that is an ace, a man that inspires, someone that gives hope, I didn't get much hope from him right there.
The hour had come for us to fly out on patrol. I got into my BF109 and started up the engine, there was a pistol in my cockpit. Soon we were in the air, I loved it, I felt free up in the sky it felt great every single time. We were on offensive patrol so we were looking for action. We were at high altitudes as our planes worked better higher, when our flight leader spotted a group of hurricanes twice the size of our squad. He signalled for us to attack them. We had been told the hurricanes were inferior machines to the BF109’s. We descended quickly and jumped the planes. I picked out a target and dove faster than the others. My flight leader yelled at me but I could not help myself from earning my first kill. I shot down my targeted hurricane with my machine guns quickly. I never knew killing was so easy. That proved to be a fatal mistake, I had gotten my kill but we lost the element of a group surprise attack.
The hurricanes broke formation, and my squad raced by. I turned my head and saw a collision between a hurricane and BF109, the explosion was huge and my plane shook a bit. From there I took the 6 from a hurricane and followed it intensely. I was thinking coolly and did not act rash again; I waited for an opening to fire. I found it and fired, 2 seconds up here was the meaning between life and death, and my bullets found their mark. I looked for another plane. There was a plane chasing a friendly BF109! I quickly went to help my fellow pilot. My ally gave him the opening as soon as he saw me tailing his stalker. The hurricane stopped moving too much and I fired a quick short burst into his engine, he went down in flames. My ally nodded at me and we both went after a lone hurricane flying aimlessly, an obvious pilot that was panicking. I quickly went head on and shot his wing off and the plane went twirling out of control. I risked a look around the battle, we were losing and the flight leader had been shot down.
Things did not look good, as numbers were quickly becoming the deciding factor. My ally and me split up and I managed to shoot down another hurricane. I looked in the rear mirror and saw a spitfire on my 6. I rolled and turned, but he would not get off my tail. Soon I saw a flight of planes coming from afar. I thought that our flight was doomed, and we would be an example of what not to do. The planes closed in, and I saw that they were BF109’s! They quickly swept up the area like it was nothing. Such skill and artistry of flying. They were the aces of the Luftwaffe, Revolution fleet.
We flew back to base and arrived safely. Our squad’s losses had been a staggering 75% KIA or MIA. The remaining of our squadron was at the bar later that day. There were congratulations from everyone for surviving the hard won battle, as we were new. Everyone was drunk. The air marshal, Canuck, stood up and the room went quiet.
“Many lives were lost today…but we took more!” He exclaimed. There was a roar of approval from the men.
“But there is one accomplishment standing out from the rest…a pilot has become an Ace in a Day, he shot down 5 planes in the battle, all were confirmed.” The room became a racket.
“Who is the skinny son of a gun?”
“Wow some new guy passed my score in one fight?”
“Everyone shut up! Haha,” Canuck yelled from over the crowd, “It was this young rat! His name is King!”
The room crowded around me and I got congratulations from everyone. I got bruises from the sucker punches, and got called a hero. I didn’t feel like one, I had chosen glory over the safety of my fellow pilots. When I fought, I fought so I can live. The meeting was over and everyone started to leave. I collected my thoughts. I had become one of the aces, the ones glorified in battle, the heroes, and the inspiration, someone who gives hope. I couldn’t stop myself from smiling though at the thought of me being an ace.
“Congratulations King, Ace in a Day, pretty impressive,” Lion said as I was walking to my dorm.
“Hello sir, thank you for saving me out there, found it was you right after we landed, I was too shocked to say it back then,” I replied sheepishly.
“To be straight forward, I see great potential in you, I would like to offer you a spot on my fleet, Revolution,” Lion said calmly.
My mouth dropped, stared at Lion and I stopped walking, I must have looked pretty dumb right there.
“Uh…um…” I stammered, “Yes very much sir, thank you sir!”
“Great! Another great pilot in our ranks of Revolution,” Lion said happily.
Today was a day to remember.
