The Rise of the Third Reich

At 10:20, a fierce air battle was still going on over the German break-up fleet. Although the Royal Navy's carrier-based aircraft were terrible, their pilots still showed sufficient skill and tenacity.

Knowing that it could not defeat the Fokker Zero, none of the "Daou" dropped the bombs and chose to escape - if that were the case, the air battle would have ended 15 minutes ago. The "Swordfish" aircraft without the protection of "Big Europe" will be slaughtered by 20 Fokker Zeros in a few minutes. This kind of aircraft is too "old", almost like an old antique aircraft. It can't fly at high altitudes at all, so it can only rely on low-altitude and low-speed flexibility to deal with enemy aircraft, and that is what the Zero is good at. The "Big Ou" can at least threaten the Fokker Zero by pulling up and diving, but it is not of much use. It just uses its own sacrifice to win the opportunity for the "Swordfish" to launch an attack.

"Garand, Garand, don't let those damn dive bombers climb, get them all away!"

"Team Brandt! Keep the height and don't worry about the high altitude. With Garand here, there will be no problem at high altitude. Just focus on the mid- and low-altitudes and don't let those damn 'Swordfish' get close to the right side of the fleet!"

"Team Schwartz, cover the left side of the fleet and drive away the Swordfish planes!"

"Team Heinrich, cover the rear of the fleet and don't let the Swordfish get close."

"Team Hofer, you are responsible for the attack, double aircraft formation, fight 'Swordfish' style!"

Lieutenant Colonel Weiss, the aviation staff officer and aviation commander of the "Seidlitz", has become the busiest person in the entire fleet. He stays in the aviation command console, watching all directions and listening in all directions. He also has to give orders and command 5 4 aircraft. The formation resisted waves of attacks from enemy planes.

The tactics have been well practiced for a long time. Four formations are responsible for covering the left, right, rear and high altitudes, and a four-plane formation is responsible for shooting down the dispersed "Swordfish" torpedo bombers. "Swordfish" aircraft are an easy target to shoot down, especially when they are preparing to release torpedoes-this requires low altitude, level and low speed flight. For the "experienced birds" flying Fokker Zero, this is simply Easier than target practice. Almost every minute, a "Swordfish" or "Great Gull" plunges from the sky into the Atlantic Ocean.

However, these "Swordfish" and "Big Gull" refused to retreat and tenaciously organized wave after wave of attacks.

"These British guys are not afraid of death!"

Lieutenant General Machar stood in the command tower of the "Scharnhorst", looking at the fierce air battle outside, and he was a little confused. The British planes dropped like turkeys, but these clumsy little planes still pressed forward and continued to attack. A few planes seemed to have dropped torpedoes, but they were too far away to pose any threat. However, Lieutenant General Machar still felt a bit ominous!

Now, his three warships are attracting the hatred of the entire British Royal Navy in the Atlantic Ocean! Looking at the way these small British planes rush one after another, you can see how angry the British are.

"Lieutenant General, a group of unidentified aircraft was found in the southwest, distance 65, altitude 2000, about 15 in number!"

The staff officer's loud announcement suddenly made the atmosphere in the entire command tower even more tense.

Although 15 carrier-based aircraft are not many, they are definitely not the Fokker 99 Squadron of the "Seidlitz" but enemy aircraft! If there is a ship-borne aircraft carrier, most of the aircraft carriers will be accompanied by battleships/battlecruisers. This shows that there are at least two British fleets with aircraft carriers and battleships nearby!

"Did the reconnaissance plane find anything?" Lieutenant General Machar asked.

"No," Major General Leifman said. "After the nine Fokker 99s went on the bombing mission, we only had four Ar-196 seaplanes available."

This is the inconvenience caused by the small size of the break-up fleet. There are only three ships and naturally cannot carry too many seaplanes. The nine Fokker 99s are only part-time reconnaissance aircraft, and their real role is as dive bombers. Now that the Fokker 99 is sent to bomb the British AB-1 convoy, there are only 4 seaplanes left that can be used for reconnaissance, so it cannot cover a slightly farther area.

"There are at least two aircraft carriers, one of which should be the Ark Royal." Leifman added, "Admiral, should we retreat?"

"What was the result?" Machar asked, "How many planes did we shoot down?"

Leifman replied: "1 Walrus, 16 Swordfish, and 5 Great Gulls, a total of 22."

"Where's the loss?"

"A Fokker 99 was damaged during landing, and a Fokker Zero was shot down. However, the pilot escaped by parachuting and was rescued without any injuries."

"But we have backup aircraft, don't we?"

"Yes, they have all been replaced with backup aircraft."

"That's 22-0, we have an absolute advantage! I'm almost falling in love with Anthony Faulk, may God bless him." Marshall laughed, and the ominousness in his heart immediately dissipated, "Let's keep fighting! Let Faulk The K-99 Squadron loaded up the bombs and took off quickly. We must complete at least three more sorties before dark! "

…

"Admiral, the 'Walrus' monitoring the German fleet sent back a telegram. Their Fokker 99 has taken off again."

"Taking off again?" Admiral Forbes just nodded after hearing the report, "I understand, let's inform AB-1."

Several more merchant ships are going to be bombed! Everyone in the "Revenge" command tower felt their hearts tightening, and then they all looked at the sky outside. The morning hasn't passed yet, and it's still early before dark! According to the current attack speed, those damn Fokker 99s can still attack 2 to 3 more times...

"It seems that we need better carrier-based aircraft!" Charles Forbes said in a cold tone. "For Britain, such a request is not difficult. But today, even if we don't have good enough aircraft, we will still defeat the Germans. The more bombers they bomb now, the greater the chance we will succeed tonight."

At this time, the fleet's communications staff received the latest battle report, "Admiral, Fleet G reported that the attack by the carrier-based fleet of the 'Royal Ark' has ended. There are 19 'Swordfish' and 8 'Great Gulls' Lost contact."

57 aircraft were sortied, and 27 were lost... This does not include the damaged fighters. It was a huge defeat!

"Let the 'Ark Royal' stop air raids, and the same goes for the 'Eagle' and the 'Hundred-Eyed Giant'. After recovering the carrier-based aircraft, there is no need to arrange any more sorties." Charles Forbes said, "Because there will be a better one tomorrow. Chance!"

Admiral Forbes's order obviously saved the lives of many British pilots and also relieved Lieutenant General Machar on the "Scharnhorst". Although it is protected by the powerful Fokker Zero, there is no absolute insurance as long as it is being beaten.

"Admiral, the Seydlitz reported that a total of 27 Swordfish, 7 Great Gull and 1 Walrus were shot down, for a total of 35 shot down."

Major General Hoffman reported the latest results. Then he looked at the calm sky outside the command tower and exhaled: "It seems they don't dare to come again."

Counting the 15 "Swordfish" that arrived later (they were dispatched by the "Eagle"), the British dispatched a total of 72 fighters and lost 35 (actually 37 were lost, and 2 were injured and then recovered) Falling into the sea on the way back), it was definitely a disastrous failure.

"Admiral, the dive bomber fleet of the 'Sedlitz' sent back a telegram," another report was sent to Hoffman, "three more large merchant ships were damaged. In addition, the 'Leipzig' on the water The aircraft reported that five merchant ships in the British convoy were on fire."

"The British did not disband the formation?" Machar asked.

"No, the British just abandoned the five burning merchant ships and left them to fend for themselves. The remaining merchant ships still maintained their formation and sailed westward at a speed of about 13 knots."

Machar thought for a while and said to himself: "There must be British battleships in the west. They are going to join the battleships. Let the seaplanes conduct a focused search. If the 'Hood' and the 'Royal' are not found, The Ark has nothing to worry about. No, there is no need to worry about the Ark Royal now, the Hood is the only threat!"

Although the "Hood" in history was beaten into a "royal fireworks" by the cannons of the "Bismarck" and the "Prince Eugen", Lieutenant General Machar did not know that this was a big ship that was powerful from outside. .

In fact, for the German Navy, which relied on breaking diplomatic ties as a means to win, the "Hood", which had a high speed of about 30 knots, a displacement of more than 40,000 tons, and eight 15-inch cannons, was undoubtedly a nightmare among nightmares.

The "Scharnhorst", which only had a 280mm-caliber main gun, had no guts to fight it. If the "Hood" was now to the west of the AB-1 fleet, then tonight's night battle would not have happened at all.

At 4:20 pm, when it got dark, four Ar-196s had searched the sea area 100 nautical miles west of the AB-1 fleet, and only found the British I fleet with two "Revenge" class ships. There was no trace of the Hood or the Ark Royal at all.

"Two Revenge-class ships..." Lieutenant General Machar glanced at Major General Hoffman, "We need to be more careful."

The "Revenge" class is very slow and can only drive 21 knots, so it is impossible to catch up. And according to reliable information, this class of battleships currently does not have radar installed. In other words, it would be difficult for them to detect the three German destroyers at night.

"Lieutenant Admiral, you can let the 'Leipzig' go first, and the 'Scharnhorst' and 'Seidlitz' take the rear." Hoffman said, "If damaged British ships are found, let the 'Leipzig' The "Scharnhorst" should try not to fire, so as not to be exposed. "

Mashal thought for a moment, nodded and said, "Okay, let's arrange it this way!"