Iron Cross

Ps: Today's training didn't end until 11pm, and tomorrow and the day after tomorrow will be so late, so I guess there will be only one update these days, sorry... I'll make up for it next time.

"There are enemy aircraft carriers around us, but why the hell are there no reconnaissance planes sending back reports?" Rear Admiral Lewis waved his fist angrily to vent his anger, while ordering all the Swordfish attack aircraft on the aircraft carrier to take off - once the location of the enemy fleet was found, he was ready to launch an attack as soon as possible. He had a vague worry in his heart: the attack of this He-218 was just the beginning, and a large-scale attack like a storm would soon come.

20 minutes later, his worry became a reality, and another 6 He-218s gathered together one after another and began to attack the fleet. These were all He-218s responsible for the nearby search sector mission. After receiving the enemy situation notification from the mother ship, they quickly gathered together. Although there was no fighter escort, they still bravely attacked the British fleet.

After a warship was sunk, the W fleet woke up from their dream. The anti-aircraft firepower immediately became strict, and the fighters also increased the alert range. However, in the eyes of the He-218, such a defense system was far from enough, and the speed of the more than 20 European swallows was too slow. The six He-218s relied on the tacit understanding developed in daily training and immediately formed two three-plane attack formations to dive towards the escort aircraft carrier. From the first day of becoming the naval aviation, they were repeatedly emphasized that unless in special circumstances, the first target of any dive bomber would always be the enemy aircraft carrier.

During the rapid and fierce attack of the German army, the other two 10,000-ton escort aircraft carriers, the Avenger and the Deceiver, which had been releasing Swordfish attack aircraft, were hit by a bomb each. The former sank on the spot after the ammunition and fuel depots were detonated. Although the latter was still barely floating on the sea, it was like a patient who had been opened up but had not been sutured in time. From the deck to the bottom of the warehouse, it was blown into a mess, completely losing the ability to take off and land aircraft. The speed dropped to only 9 knots. The two warships only had time to take off 11 Swordfish in total. The remaining aircraft either sank with the warships or turned into rubble.

The European swallows finally achieved a result this time, but the remaining 5 He-218s still slipped away with their speed.

It was not until this time that Lewis received a report from a reconnaissance plane that had discovered an enemy aircraft carrier fleet. Three minutes later, the report was confirmed by a Sunderland seaplane reconnaissance plane that took off from the Faroe Islands. Although the two planes were quickly sunk by German escort fighters, the location of the German fleet clearly exposed the British - about less than 400 kilometers east of the W fleet and about 480 kilometers from the Faroe Islands. Facing this distance, Lewis could only smile bitterly: it was 4:17 now, and the slow Swordfish attack aircraft would take nearly 2 hours to fly over even if they found the target, and by then it would be completely dark. Although the Swordfish had carried out night attacks in the Battle of Taranto, they were the most elite carrier-based aircraft pilots in the UK, and the pilots on these escort aircraft carriers were obviously not at this level.

This concern lasted only half a minute before it was interrupted by the report of Major Johansson, the commander of the attack team in the air, on the intercom.

"Sir, we must launch an attack immediately. This is our only chance today."

"But it will be dark soon. Even if you can make it, you can't fly back."

"We can't give up. The boys have lined up." He gestured to the Swordfish attack aircraft group that was gradually forming a team in the sky and waved their wings. "The glory of the Royal Navy cannot allow us to retreat."

"But..."

"Sir, please! Even if we fall into the sea, we will find a way to swim back!"

"Once the attack is completed, fly to the Faroe Islands immediately - it is the nearest land base. I will ask them to turn on all the lights!" Lewis agreed to the attack request of these brave pilots with tears in his eyes.

"Sir, don't worry, we will definitely sink those two damn aircraft carriers."

At 4:23, all the remaining 20 Swordfish attack aircraft in the fleet gathered and headed east. Lewis made up his mind and took out 10 of the 21 European Swallows escorting the fleet to escort the formation.

But the Swordfish had just flown out for less than 10 minutes when the German Ju-98 attack aircraft formation arrived and collided with the Swordfish attack aircraft. Seeing the huge scale of the enemy, the escorting Bf-219 and European Swallows on both sides broke away from their own formations and attacked each other fiercely, and ended up getting mixed up. The Bf-219s not only had advantages in numbers and performance, but also had superior pilots. After a fierce fight, the German Navy only paid the price of one Bf-219 being shot down, shot down 5 European Swallows and killed 9 Swordfish by the way. Facing the remaining enemy aircraft, Lieutenant Colonel Hans sent a telegram to the mother ship to remind her to pay attention, and then flew towards Fleet W without hesitation.

There were still 11 European Swallows escorting the fleet, and they were no match for the 15 Bf-219s. Within 5 minutes, the Germans lost another Bf-219, but shot down all the European Swallows. Now the entire W Fleet was completely defenseless.

Although time was very tight and the remaining escort aircraft carrier was also very tempting, Lieutenant Colonel Hans, who was commanding the battle, was obviously not overwhelmed by the situation. He looked at the dense escort warships near the enemy aircraft carrier and decided to launch an attack on the left wing first, where the defense was relatively weak.

The four Ju-98s immediately began to descend and dropped torpedoes on the left wing of the Kenya. Although the latter twisted its body to avoid two of the torpedoes, it was still hit by two torpedoes. After two dull explosions, the 10,000-ton cruiser immediately began to take on water and slowly sank in less than a minute.

After the sinking of Kenya, the battleship Mississippi, which was originally on the inside, was exposed. The second batch of 6 Ju-98s swooped down to throw torpedoes. Although an O-class destroyer (HMS Coincidence) tried its best to fill the gap, it only blocked one torpedo for the flagship. This brave destroyer was immediately sunk. Dido (Dido-class anti-aircraft cruiser) tried its best to fight back in the air. Although it shot down a Ju-98, it was also sunk by the torpedo thrown by the attack aircraft. Relying on the cover of these two warships and the flexible operation of the engine soldiers, the Mississippi, which could only reach a maximum speed of 21 knots, avoided the remaining 3 torpedoes, but was finally hit by a torpedo on the bow, which blew up a nearly 3-meter hole, and more than 1,500 tons of seawater rushed in frantically. Although the damage control sailors closed the watertight compartment in time, the overall hull inevitably tilted 9 degrees and the speed dropped to only 17 knots.