Bismarck

ps: I don’t know whether the aircraft carrier can carry seaplanes. This is not clear and is purely my own fabrication. However, this thing is really good for rescue.

Chapter 247: Different Paths

Bismarck was once worried that on his way back he would happen to encounter a fleet of returning British planes, and in that case he would end up being rescued instead of being able to save anyone.

Fortunately, the British never showed up again. They must have flown away in another direction.

The Ar196 landed steadily on the sea next to the aircraft carrier, and then a crane lifted them all up and placed them on the deck.

"Instructor, are you okay?"

"Instructor, how are you?"

"Instructor..."

When the pilots heard that Zeppelin had returned, they all rushed to the deck and surrounded the entire seaplane tightly. Even Lütjens and Bonte were watching with interest on the bridge.

"I didn't expect Zeppelin to be so popular among the guys." Lütjens was a little surprised. "I thought that with her straightforward personality, the pilots would scold her to death."

"You said I'm a young man." Bangtai replied with a smile, "Of course I'm welcome."

"Hahaha." Lütjens was stunned at first, and then he laughed. Isn't it the same for his own secretary on the ship?

"But, Bontai, don't you have any pressure?" Lütjens patted his subordinate's shoulder and teased.

"What pressure?"

"You see, the boys are young and energetic, and we are old."

"I do not understand···"

"You and Zeppelin?" It was a rare joke for Lütjens, but his serious subordinate looked puzzled, so he had to give him another hint.

"Oh, this, Commander, you know it." Bangtai said with sudden realization, "I'm already married, and my son looks the same age as Zeppelin. Even if there is something wrong, it won't be appropriate."

Now it was Lütjens' turn to touch his nose in embarrassment. He was just joking at first, but Bonte's last sentence - Lütjens' daughter is almost the same age as Bismarck.

"Hehe, Commander, I didn't say what you meant, it's just that it's really not suitable... No, what I mean is, my situation is not suitable. Yes, I have a wife." After Bontai said this, he remembered the relationship between Bismarck and Lütjens and hurried to make amends.

But why does it feel like the more I explain, the worse it gets?

Lütjens waved his hands helplessly, "I understand what you mean..."

-------------------

The cabin door opened and the pilots were stunned.

Is the person in front of me Instructor Zeppelin? !

Who is this woman who is covered in dirt and tatters?

Where is that noble and elegant goddess with a cold aura who can kill people from five meters away?

Give me back Instructor Zeppelin!

The surroundings were in a daze, with many eyes focused on the innocent-looking Lidman, who also helplessly spread his hands and shrugged. In fact, he couldn't believe that this woman was Instructor Zeppelin... But that was the fact, what could he do?

"I say, you're blocking the door because you don't want me to get off the plane?" Zeppelin glanced coldly at everyone with the only pair of eyes that were left that could be clearly seen.

Very good, very powerful, it is undoubtedly Instructor Zeppelin...

The pilots stepped back.

"Can you let me go now?" Bismarck said, patting the dirty hand on her waist. Along the way, Zeppelin's hand not only hugged her waist, but also moved upward from time to time. She felt that her sister's dignity was challenged, but she did not dare to struggle violently, so she had to endure it...

"Oh, I almost forgot." Zeppelin said seriously, then let go.

The "petite" Bismarck twisted a few times and jumped out of the plane. Seeing Zeppelin also wanted to come down, she slammed the cabin door shut.

"Bismarck's Secretary and Zeppelin's Instructor..."

"Did Secretary Bismarck come back sitting on Instructor Zeppelin's lap? Isn't she the older sister?"

"Are you stupid? How can a short person hug a tall person? It's obvious that the instructor is taller."

"Instructor's legs... I also want to sit on them, I'm so envious..."

"Your thoughts are really real, be careful the instructor hears them!"

Bismarck glanced speechlessly at the pilots who had just noticed him, then stepped onto the bridge.

"Is that Zeppelin?" Bontai said in disbelief on the bridge.

"How come he is darker than Africans?" Lütjens glanced at Bismarck and said, trying hard to hold back his laughter.

"Africans still want Zeppelin?" Bismarck said something inexplicably that left the two generals puzzled.

"What do you mean?" asked Lütjens.

"It's nothing. When Zeppelin was hit, the oil line caught fire and then it became blackened..." Bismarck explained.

"Hahahaha." Bangtai also laughed unkindly. "Where is she now?"

"She asked me to let her know first that she was going to take a shower and come over later."

"Well, let her take a shower first. There's nothing to worry about anyway." Bangtai nodded.

After nearly half an hour, Zeppelin finally hurried to the bridge.

————————————————————

"How does it feel?" Bangtai asked.

"Not bad." Zeppelin was a little surprised to see that everyone was staring at his face.

"Captain, is there something on my face?"

"It's gone now, but it was there just now." Bonte said with a smile, "Come on, follow me to the chart room, the commander and Bismarck are there too."

"Bismarck." Zeppelin's lips curled up slightly. It feels good.

"Although the Zeppelin was built in Kiel, I asked and found out that it can also be repaired in Wilhelm, so you can go to Wilhelm with Tirpitz when the time comes," said Lütjens.

"Yes." Bangtai agreed on the side.

"But Commander, if we go back like this, do you think we can explain to the marshal..." Bangtai asked uncertainly.

We had finally escaped the British pursuit, but the thought of going back to report the results of the battle to the marshal made it seem unreliable.

Originally, he shouldn't have said these words, but Lütjens and the two ship girls were all his own people, so he had no scruples about saying it.

Bonte knew that Lütjens supported joint sea-air operations, and so did he. Otherwise, he would not have taken on the position of aircraft carrier captain, but would have been content to be the commander of the destroyer fleet. But he also knew that Field Marshal Reger was very reluctant to have a relationship between the navy and the air force, and he and Goering did not get along well.

"You all fought very well this time, especially Zeppelin, your carrier-based aircraft, which caused heavy damage to them. Don't worry about such a record, the Führer will be very happy." Lütjens smiled and patted his subordinates and said, "Besides, I will be the one to report the results of the battle. I am the commander-in-chief of this battle."

"That's what I'm worried about." Bangtai shook his head helplessly.

The Führer would be happy, right? After all, although he failed to meet the expected target, at least Zeppelin fought one against three and dealt a heavy blow to the British. Of course he was happy.

But what about Regal?

Bismarck also remembered what Bonte said, while Zeppelin looked at the two generals thoughtfully.

Bismarck guessed Bonte's concerns based on the evaluation of Reger by later generations. In the eyes of Marshal Reger, the planes on the aircraft carrier belonged to the Air Force and his enemy Goering. The warships sunk by the planes were of course the achievements of the Air Force. In this battle, almost all the results were achieved by carrier-based aircraft. Whether it was the destruction of the three British aircraft carriers, the large warships destroyed on the slipway, or the Hood and Reputation that were finally damaged, they had little to do with the warships...

That's not all. In this battle, not only did the traditional surface warships fail to achieve any results, but a number of destroyers were sunk. The heavy cruiser Hipper and the battleship Tirpitz were also damaged. The navy suffered heavy losses in the Battle of Newcastle, which was a serious blow to the German Navy, which was not very strong to begin with. Raeder would definitely be very dissatisfied with this - and it was the British carrier-based aircraft that caused all this.

You can imagine how angry Reger would be.

The aircraft carrier was supported by Lütjens single-handedly. At that time, he even had some unpleasantness with Reger. Although the formation was finally formed, it was impossible for him to have no grudges in his heart. Moreover, this time - I am afraid that in Reger's view, the aircraft carrier is clearly a "spy" sent by the Air Force to the Navy, who wants to seize the glory and achievements of the Navy!

The person who caused all this was precisely Lütjens, who did not listen to his plan to build an aircraft carrier battle group...

But the most irreconcilable problem is that the Battle of Newcastle showed that the detection range and attack power of aircraft carriers were enough to completely threaten battleships. And what Raeder, who came from a battleship background, didn't want to see the air force overwhelm the navy. Whether it was the change in naval warfare thinking that aircraft carriers could threaten battleships, or the political strife between the navy and the air force for power and profit...

Political stance has nothing to do with specific right or wrong. In the eyes of politicians, only those who follow me will prosper and those who go against me will perish...

Well, it seems that the captain is in real trouble, Bismarck thought silently. For someone like Reger who is more of a politician, she really doesn’t know what to do.

Judging from the captain's expression, he doesn't seem to be completely clueless about what will happen after returning to port. Could it be that he already has a plan in mind?

Bismarck said silently in his heart, "I don't understand any of this, so I can only follow the captain."

"What are you worried about?" Lütjens patted his shoulder with a smile. "I know what you mean. I have a good relationship with Reger. Don't worry. Although Reger is conservative, he has to admit the importance of aircraft carriers in naval battles based on the battle reports. Therefore, the transformation of sea-air integration is an inevitable trend and no one can stop it. He won't hold on to this matter."

Is that so? Bismarck asked himself.

"Well, I was just worrying too much." Bangtai nodded.

"Zeppelin."

"exist."

"You will be the one writing today's battle report. After all, Flensburg is not here, so you are the acting commander."

"Yes." Zeppelin nodded.

Speaking of Flensburg, everyone was in a bad mood. This was a chivalrous officer, and they got along very well, but...

"Forget it, let the past be the past. Bangtai, sail to William at full speed and return to the port as soon as possible. We all need to make major repairs."

"understand!"

"Go away."

ps: Qianqiu hasn't looked at the monthly ticket list for a long time... I saw that Bismarck is already at 20th place... Ah, Persian Cat is very unhappy, please give me monthly tickets = =

The preview, political struggles and the like... may be a little childish, so just take a look~

Chapter 248: Return to Hong Kong

The fleet finally crossed the Kiel River and returned to Wilhelmshaven.

This was the first time that Wilhelmshaven welcomed such a large fleet - an aircraft carrier, a battleship, a heavy cruiser and several destroyers.

The size of this fleet may not be impressive in the eyes of naval powers, but for Germany, whose navy was declining, it was indeed a large fleet. At least a lot of citizens rushed to the dock to welcome and watch. They were all informed by the news in the newspaper that the German war navy had once again won a major victory and defeated the British, whom they hated so much.

Perhaps, no one noticed the slightly tired expressions of the crew members on the battleship amid the ocean of laughter and joy.

The warships slowly sailed into the port amid the sound of whistles. Even though each of them was injured, they maintained an iron will, and then docked with the help of tugboats.

There was only a slight vibration when the Zeppelin's huge hull came into contact with the cushion, but only after feeling this vibration did Bismarck breathe a sigh of relief.

"You're finally back." She said to Zeppelin with a wry smile.

"Yes." Zeppelin nodded, her eyes looking out the window. Tirpitz was anchored not far away. She was also seriously damaged in this battle, especially by the attack of the British carrier-based aircraft group. She was hit by multiple torpedoes and must be docked for overhaul. As for herself, she was not much better. There were damages in various places. The flight deck was patched up, the steering gear was seriously damaged, and the side was hit by a large-caliber naval gun...

"You all need to go into the dock for overhaul," said Bismarck.

"And you haven't fixed it yet." Zeppelin continued smoothly.

"So the navy actually has no ships left to use."

"Actually, I'm fine." Zeppelin shook his head. "I basically can't stay in the shipyard for a long time. I'll be out in more than a month. It's mainly Grapes. Those torpedoes have a greater impact on her than my shells. I don't know how long it will take."

"But it shouldn't be more serious than mine. Two or three months will be enough." Bismarck thought about how miserable he looked at that time, and Grape was obviously much better.

"How were you at that time?" Zeppelin asked with rare curiosity. When Bismarck was fighting in Iceland, she was still working on timber ships in Gdansk. They had never met before, and what she saw later was her projection. She had never seen Bismarck's real body in Hamburg.

"It was a horrible sight. When I returned to Hamburg, the ship was in ruins. Even the director had fallen off it. There were only a few usable main guns left, and the armor belts were pierced. So I am still lying in the Voss shipyard. How could I not be there in such a battle?" Bismarck shrugged helplessly, indicating that he did not want to be in such a situation.

"But I took some time to go back and take a look. The progress is faster than expected. Maybe I can leave the factory with you." Bismarck estimated optimistically.

It was 1941 after it was manufactured, which was the year of the Rhine Exercise in later generations. However, history had changed so much that Bismarck was not really worried. Sometimes she would wonder if the history of her time really existed, as if it was a lifetime ago.

It is indeed a lifetime apart.

"I hope that one day, the three of us can go out together." Zeppelin smiled and patted her shoulder.

"There will definitely be a chance." Bismarck nodded.

"But Zeppelin, what are you fighting for?" she asked. "As a warship, we always have a goal. What is your goal?"

"Goal?" Zeppelin tilted his head. "Probably for Germany to win."

"For Germany?"

"kindness."

"why?"

"Germany created me and let me see the world, why shouldn't I fight for her?" Zeppelin seemed to be stating a common fact. "From the moment I entered the water, I knew I would fight to the end for the ocean and the sky."

"Why do you ask that, Bismarck, aren't you?" Zeppelin looked at her seriously.