For a week Falkenburg made his ships run manoeuvres, firing blank shells at each other and practicing boarding actions. The F10N flying ship easily outgunned and outpaced the smaller craft. She could attack and beat all five of them when she flew without her balloon. With it she could still defeat any individual craft that came within her range but her speed in the air was compromised. Falkenburg was thinking about creating a cut away system where she could shed her balloon, this would leave the crew without a safety net though.
“Maybe you could give each crew member a steam jacket?” suggested Albert when he heard of Falkenburg’s dilemma.
“Ha,” he laughed, “how rich do you think I am?” He had developed a larger capacity steam jacket for himself and now he and Albert could fly back and forth to the airships.
On one such jaunt Albert noticed that there seemed to be a dark cloud towards the west. He flew toward it and espied it with his telescope. It was not a cloud formation but a group of ten airships, all with Union flags. Quickly flying to and boarding the F10N he warned the Captain.
Sounding the steam sirens the Captain gave the signal to bring the F10N up to full speed. When Albert looked back he saw Falkenburg catching up to them with his steam jacket on. Landing on the landing platform in the centre of the ship he entered the craft through a portal. “I must put a portal closer to the front,” he made a mental note as he ran towards the front of the ship.
Albert and the Captain greeted him.
“How many of them are there?” he asked.
“Ten sir,” replied Albert.
“Was it you who spotted them lad?” inquired Falkenburg.
“Aye, sir,” grinned the lad.
“Nice nautical speak. Now let’s see how many she can take out.”
The F10s had also started toward the enemy ships, once joined in battle they would be over the West End of London. “The nobs will be for it now,” thought Albert to himself.
As the Captain closed on the first enemy ship he ordered the forward guns to fire. One Hotchkiss revolving cannon and the two forward facing machine guns ripped into the canvas, oil soaked, balloon of the Union craft. As the British ship flew past the rest of the guns opened up on the port side and decommissioned the enemy steam room. In less than twenty seconds, not even firing a shot in return, the USS Prometheus was falling from the sky in a ball of flames. Some of the sailors on board jumped from the ship with parachutes on.
The ship behind the Prometheus, the USS Dauntless, managed to get a few shots off at F10N as she passed by but her armour was too thick for their ordinance to penetrate.
F10N fired on the last two ships as she passed by them causing them to crash into each other and entangle their rigging. For a thousand yards she turned to come back into action.
The Unionists were panicking, they were totally unprepared for such a powerful craft. One of the airships, which only had light damage, ran up the white flag before F10N was able to come fully round.
The F10s were finally getting into the theatre of combat. The Dauntless fired all cannons at the nearest and hit her balloon, the weakest part. The F10N started to go down slowly, the Captain trying to make an emergency landing.
The other four F10Ns saw this and brought their guns to bear on the wooden hull of the Dauntless.
Splinters flew from the starboard side of the Dauntless and three of her guns crews were killed outright. The Hotchkiss cannons carried on firing until there was a large explosion in her middle that also ripped through her balloon and sent her crashing into Hyde Park.
Within fifteen minutes three enemy craft were destroyed, two were out of commission and the rest had run up their white flags.
Falkenburg clapped the Captain on the back, “Well done Captain, we shall feast tonight to celebrate!”
Both he and Albert went to see those enemy captains who were still able to fly their craft and directed them to Hyde Park where they could land safely to be captured by the authorities. Those ships that were in difficulty were aided by the F10s and taken back to the factory where they could dock and unload their crews in a safer way.
The war would continue for many months but never again would the Union try to attack any factories in London.
