Bismarck

Although due to continuous combat and logistics that only come once every few months, the number of aircraft actually stationed at these airports is generally not large. But this time...

Just a few days ago, a convoy broke through the weak interception of the overstretched Italian Navy and delivered a batch of weapons!

Thirty-six Spitfires took off from the USS Ranger, and forty handsome fighters were disassembled and transported from the transport ship! But the most important thing is that this time, there are also a batch of ten Beaufort-type reconnaissance bombers equipped with ASV mk2 sea search radar (176MHZ, 1.7-meter wavelength)!

And now, these planes, which were shipped from the UK at great risk and with great effort, have already been assembled at three airports and are waiting for their first attack!

The dim nighttime takeoff and landing lights were on at the runway and taxiway of the airport. One after another, the handsome fighters and Beaufort bombers that had just been assembled slid out of the aircraft shelters that were tightly covered by camouflage nets. They were well-trained and drove their vehicles silently, which could move freely even at night under the guidance of radar. They followed the taxiway lined with dim dark blue lights and slowly drove onto the end of the runway...

---

It was three o'clock in the morning, when everyone was already feeling sleepy. Even the most elite soldiers could not withstand the long-term vigilance and high nervous tension. Aimless defense was the most exhausting thing.

Therefore, this is often the best time to launch a sneak attack.

Many people fell asleep, but the destroyers were the only ones who were trying hard to keep their eyes open, listening to the sounds coming from the sonar from time to time to prevent sneak attacks by submarines.

The situation today was not so bad. A British submarine seemed to try to attack the convoy, but after being reminded by the "allies", it was quickly driven away by three destroyers.

Although until now, Major General Cassady is still confused about how the "allies" found the submarine...

However, Lütjens did not care about Cassady's doubts. Besides caring about Bismarck, he only cared about whether the transport team could arrive in Benghazi safely and unload the goods safely...

These goods are the key to the key, and even determine the outcome of the battle.

The pressure on the fleet commander is very heavy. Although the German Navy sailors are required to change shifts every twelve hours, they are allowed to take a nap or rest when they are free. But the fleet commander has to stay at the chart table to judge the battle situation no matter what, and he has to know everything big and small... The saying that the greater the position, the greater the responsibility is not just said in vain.

Although the scattered air strikes during the day did not have a big impact, it was still tiring. However, he could not rest at this time. Years of battlefield experience told Lütjens that the daytime was not scary, but the unknown darkness in the deep night was the scariest.

Lütjens, who was already yawning from exhaustion, took a deep puff of his cigarette to force himself to wake up. He looked at Bismarck who was sitting next to him with bloodshot eyes: "How is it? Is there anything wrong?"

"Nothing!" Bismarck reported, but seeing the captain's bloodshot eyes, he couldn't help but reach out and tug at the captain's sleeve: "Captain, go and have a rest. I'll be on duty here."

"I don't want to sleep, I can't sleep..." He took a deep puff of the last bit of cigarette and put it into the ashtray. "Speaking of which, I'm used to it. I always have this feeling when there is a war - I hope nothing will happen. The people in North Africa are relying on this batch of supplies to survive..."

"Oh..." Bismarck responded, and somehow, he felt his ears droop. But after thinking about it, he decided to persuade his captain to take a rest. But just as he stretched out his hand and was about to pull the captain's sleeve again, Bismarck seemed to sense something dangerous...

"Captain! Something's happening!"

"What's going on?" Lütjens turned around and asked, his aura instantly becoming fierce.

"150 degrees to the starboard right rear, true bearing 300 degrees west-northwest, distance 85 kilometers, altitude about 2000, organic group is approaching!! Speed ​​is... kilometers!!"

"Night raid bombers?" Lütjens frowned. "Notify Zeppelin and Tirpitz, and the Italian allies to prepare for battle! In addition, the enemy probably has radar, so get the electronic jammer ready!!"

"Yes!!"

ps: The Mediterranean dungeon is really of a very high level, so it's normal to look plain~

Chapter 429: The British Come at Night

PS: Explanation of the ordinary plot:

Mediterranean dungeon victory condition: Support a pig teammate named Rommel to capture the Suez Canal

Necessary prerequisite for victory in the copy: ensuring logistical supply (however, the logistical efficiency of Italy-Benghazi-El Alamein is Malta Fortress + 1400 kilometers of desert dirt roads + more than 35% truck failure rate + at least two months of transportation time and fuel consumption)...

---------

Under the night sky with a silver moon, forty-four British night attack aircraft groups, following the coordinates sent by the British submarine, pounced fiercely on the escort team!

Forty British fighter planes were arranged in more than ten columns suitable for low-altitude anti-ship attacks. In front and above them, four dispersed Beaufort reconnaissance planes were conducting search and navigation.

In the entire formation, except for the navigator Beaufortun, which had flares and some things like gasoline barrels hanging under its belly, all the British fighter planes had round black bombs or torpedoes under their bellies, flashing a dim cold light under the moonlight reflected from the sea!

"Everyone, listen up! The Mediterranean Fleet Headquarters has sent a report! The German battleships' anti-aircraft firepower is very fierce, so everyone should disperse their formations and attack separately! Do you understand?"

"Yes!!"

The British fleet, flying rapidly in the night, began to change their formation like a group of vampires in the night sky...

---------

"Air raid siren! Air raid siren!"

The shrill air defense alarm sounded above every ship in the escort formation. The well-trained sailors didn't say anything. They quickly put on their clothes, jumped off their beds and ran to the front of the responsible non-commissioned officers to report. Although the Italian sailors on the civilian ship woke up from their dreams, they had to run to their battle positions while cursing. Not to mention, there were sailors on the merchant ship to escort the ship and operate the weapons. Even the captain had to obey the command of these naval soldiers...

Even the perennially dozing "ship pet" on the Tirpitz was slapped awake by Lindemann, rubbing his eyes with a depressed look on his face...

On the aircraft carrier USS Zeppelin, ground crew members were busy mounting an external cannon on the wing of a BF109 fighter plane painted with white blooming edelweiss.

"Instructor, are you going to fight?" On the flight deck, several pilots and ground crews looked at the Zeppelin, who was already wearing full gear and preparing to board the plane, in confusion. Although these people have generally undergone night takeoffs, night landings, and even night navigation training, they can land on the flight deck with the help of navigation radar even if the weather is slightly worse. However, in this dark environment with only the faint moonlight overhead, going to fight a night air battle with the British fleet...?

Even if the pilots have good eyesight, in this environment, let alone being able to see the enemy planes clearly, there are many people who even mistake the reflection of the waves on the sea for the starry sky!

They are not the twin-engine large fighter jets at the land airport that are under the precise one-to-one guidance and command of the Tianchuang Night Combat Interception Command System and are specially equipped with air detection radars...

No matter how great you are, you still have to be able to see the target!

But Zeppelin was not worried about this at all. So she just calmly waved to the subordinates surrounding her.

"I know everyone is worried about my safety, but now the British can already carry out night formation anti-ship bombing, so I have to explore the experience and rules of night air combat!"

Seeing that his subordinates around him still had worried expressions, Zeppelin smiled nonchalantly and waved his hand generously.

"Alright, alright, you still don't trust my flying skills? - Well, it's time for me to take off, everyone get out of the way!"

The pilots and ground crew around hesitated for a moment, but finally made way for Zeppelin. Under everyone's gaze, the owner of the Edelweiss fighter climbed into the cockpit, closed the hatch, started the engine, and the humming propeller brought a strong wind, dragging the fighter and disappearing into the moonlight of the Mediterranean Sea...

-----

"According to the last intelligence sent by the submarine, the German-Italian joint escort team is in this area. Beaufort should disperse and climb to search, and report the location when the target is found! British fighter planes should lower their altitude, disperse in groups, and prepare for the assault!!"

"Yes!!"

Following the order of the British leader, the four British groups dispersed. However...

"Report! There's something on the radar display! We spotted a plane 60 degrees to the right, 4000 yards away! It's heading right towards us!"

"Plane?!" All the British pilots were stunned. Didn't the Zeppelin remember having a night fighter? Besides, there wouldn't be only one night fighter, right...?

But in the blink of an eye, the distance was already very close! Although the British fighter planes had air-to-air radars, the early radars had an air-to-air detection range of only 3660 yards (109 meters). Although Zeppelin's BF2T20 fighter plane was equipped with two heavy 450mm external cannons, at low altitudes with sufficient oxygen density, the powerful engine power completely ignored the weight of the external cannons of more than kilograms, and it easily flew to a high speed of KM/H!

Although the British fighter plane was the best multi-purpose twin-engine heavy fighter plane in Britain before and after World War II, and its frontal firepower was extremely powerful (four 20mm Hispano cannons and six light machine guns), its flight performance... can only be described as haha. Even the BF110, which was recognized as dull and bulky, and had nothing good except speed, and was even beaten by the Hurricane fighter planes in the Battle of Britain, the British fighter planes could only stand still and be beaten. Now they are facing the BF109, which is a fighter plane with performance that is enough to compete with the British main fighter Spitfire, and is piloted by Zeppelin with heavy firepower... How can it end well?

For a moment, a whole team of British fighter planes was beaten to a pulp. The opponent's Zeppelin was only slightly surprised that the British fighter planes were equipped with night combat radars. The other pressure...

While dodging a few panicked machine gun fire from the rear, he shot down a panicked British fighter plane with the firepower of three MG151 machine guns. On the other hand, the Zeppelin in the cockpit didn't focus on the air combat at all. What he was thinking about in his head was how to equip his minions with radar...?

"Well... let's do this. Anyway, the magnetron has been developed. It seems necessary to find Dr. Wolfe and his team again after returning and ask them to develop and purchase a small night combat radar that can be used by single-engine fighters." He nodded.

While he was distracted, another handsome fighter plane met with misfortune. Although under the command of the British leader, a team of British fighter planes had already dropped their bombs and turned around to try to hold back the Zeppelin. The remaining British fighter planes also began to move in parallel formations in pairs, trying to use the rear machine gun firepower that could cover each other to drive away the BF109 that was hiding in the night and might pounce and kill some unlucky guy at any time! - After all, although the radar of the British fighter planes could search the front angle of plus or minus 80 degrees, there was always a big blind spot behind them anyway...

But it didn't seem to be of any use. As usual, one British fighter plane after another was turned into a hornet's nest with smoke and fire by the sudden sound of 20mm machine gun fire from a blind spot in the rear!

"Damn the Germans! Fighter planes can fly like this in the middle of the night... Is it true that what I heard from the people in the Gibraltar Fortress was that there were evil spirits in the German fleet?..."

The British leader was desperately commanding his subordinates and trying to maintain the attack formation, while he was secretly complaining in his heart.

Seeing that the situation was extremely dangerous and the fleet was about to fly into the air defense circle of the Axis fleet, the Beauforts hovering in the sky all opened the "gasoline barrels" hanging under their abdomens!

Suddenly, clusters of foil instantly covered all the radar screens of the German and Italian fleets! And the same chaotic electromagnetic waves also filled almost all the communication channels!

Except for a few frequency bands that the British reserved for themselves, all the others were jammed! ——Although this had no effect on the three ship girls who did not rely on radar at all, but...Bontay, who was watching the main body for Zeppelin, and the Italians were at a loss...

"Damn it! What's going on? Radar soldier, do you have any solution?"

In the command room of the Duke of Aosta, Major General Cassady was stamping his feet in anxiety.

"General, this is chaff interference. They mentioned this during our training in Germany. The radar of targets behind the chaff cloud cannot..."

“Damn it!!…”

Major General Cassady, who had never seen radar before and had only heard about electronic jamming from radar soldiers who had been trained in Germany, was so anxious that he was at a loss. But just as he was getting angry, the signalman came over and reported: "Report! The Bismarck sent a light signal. They said they were responsible for air defense with searchlights and asked us to be on guard against British submarines. By the way, they also said that there is a British submarine less than five nautical miles to our right and 45 degrees ahead..."

"What?...Okay, order the destroyer to search for me..."

Before Major General Cassady could finish giving his order, a bright light flashed in the darkness outside the window!

The main gun of the Bismarck battleship fired!

-----

"Brothers! Hold on a little longer! The Beaufort reconnaissance planes have started jamming! They are right in front of our left... Danger! Everyone scatter and evade!" The British leader, who was shouting at the top of his lungs on the radio to cheer up his men, had just shouted halfway when he saw a brilliant light flashing in the distance!

That is... the muzzle flash of a Bismarck-class battleship!

The British lead plane also reacted quickly. It knew the situation was not good when it saw the flash on the sea. However... with the maneuverability of the British fighter plane, it couldn't turn at all... not to mention that it was carrying heavy bombs and torpedoes.

By the time the British leader realized this problem, it was already too late...

A violent explosion sounded in front of him, and the barrage of eight 380 high-explosive bombs, each with a charge of kilograms, covered the poor British fighter leader! The loyal British leader only had time to designate an acting commander before he fell into the moonlit Mediterranean Sea under the brilliant fireworks!

While the other British fighter planes had no time to mourn the commander who died on the spot, a ball of fire erupted on the sea in the distance!

Another evil battleship under Lütjens's command! Tirpitz!!

Moreover, just a dozen seconds after the Tirpitz fired, the Bismarck battleship, which had already reloaded its ammunition, fired again!

"Everyone! Attention! Spread out and avoid!"

Since the commander was killed in the first round of fighting, someone immediately took over the role of commander so that the fleet would not be leaderless.

He immediately ordered an evasive formation, but he soon discovered that it didn't seem to be of much use.

I originally thought that at night, and with radar interference, the fleet below would not be able to have effective anti-aircraft firepower...

But what's going on with these layers of dense firepower networks?

Not only were dense small guns firing, but even the battleships' main guns were aiming at them, making the British commander wonder if he was exposed under the searchlight.

Bismarck and Tirpitz kept firing, and the dense rain of bullets was not affected by the darkness at all, forcing the British to flee in panic.

"Deputy Captain! We can't hold on." Someone shouted in the channel. There was endless artillery fire outside.

Within a few minutes, another fighter plane was shot down, and everyone was under great pressure.

"Drop the bombs no matter what. Everyone be careful and stay safe!" shouted the acting commander. Although he felt his scalp tingling at the sight of the long line of fire and wanted to retreat, he couldn't make the trip in vain.

But be careful about this kind of thing, we can only rely on luck, under the artillery fire.

"understand!"

The British pilots were quite brave and they rushed forward upon hearing the order.

However, the anti-aircraft firepower inside is even more abnormal and intensive.

Bismarck even commanded the Italian warships.

Although the Italians did not have any radar, they were able to fight in an orderly manner based on the data input by Bismarck.

However, the British commander was beginning to feel overwhelmed...

Malta is still under the blockade of the Italian navy and air force, and the supply fleet takes several months to come. And these 40 British fighter planes are already the backbone of the Malta Fortress that can carry out long-range air combat and bombing.

But now, in just a few minutes, nearly ten planes have been lost...

At this time, there were still fighter planes that had not dropped their bombs.

The acting commander was anxious.

"Drop the bomb! Everyone, retreat quickly!" he yelled.

But... there are more than just British planes in the sky.

"What is that...? Everyone, pay attention! That damn German carrier-based aircraft is out again!"

"John was beaten down... Damn it! She came at me..."

"What? How is this possible? This is within the bombardment range of the German battleships! This guy is... is he trying to kill himself?!"

"Help! I'm shot!! Mom..."

"Oh my God...James is dead too..."

"Run!"

"Run away!..."

The short and intense night air battle ended just like that.

Twelve British fighter planes were shot down, including one at Beaufort! This was the first time the British used electronic jamming and night radar air strikes, and they were defeated so badly.

Maybe it will make the British doubt the effectiveness of this thing, Bismarck thought as he stopped firing and looked in the direction where the British were going away.

"Are you leaving?" Lütjens walked to the open armored door. There was still smoke in the air outside, and there was even some burning fuel on the sea in the distance.