Bismarck

(The MIG-15 with the first generation jet engine has an empty weight of 3.6 tons, a maximum take-off weight of 5.1 tons, a maximum thrust of 1 tons for the VK-2.6 jet engine, and a maximum range of 1740 km; the F-86 has an empty weight of 4.5 tons, a maximum take-off weight of 7.5 tons, a thrust of 47 tons for the J-2.5GE engine, and a maximum range of 2500 km. The Yak-004, which also uses the JUMO-10/RD15 and is of similar size, has a maximum take-off weight of 2.65 tons, 510 liters of internal fuel, a firepower of one 20-gun and two 12.7-gun, and a maximum range of 900 kilometers)

Another problem is that, although jet fighters have powerful performance, their efficiency when used on aircraft carriers is directly limited by the operation of steam catapults. For Zeppelin, who is used to taking off thirty or forty planes in a quarter of an hour just by taxiing, the one and a half minutes it takes to put a fighter on the catapult is enough to drive her crazy!

On average, we launch three planes every two minutes, so we can't launch two squadrons in a quarter of an hour! (Table flipping and shaking sound)

In addition, each catapult consumes a lot of steam, which directly affects the speed of the Zeppelin! According to the test data, if 32 consecutive catapults are carried out - after launching two squadrons with auxiliary fuel tanks and bombs, eight emergency take-off fighters without additional mounts are launched - even if the Zeppelin has a surging power of 200,000 horsepower, the speed will drop from 36 knots to 28 knots!

What’s even worse is that twenty-eight knots is just a theoretical value.

Since the launch of a large fleet of aircraft consumes a lot of steam pressure, the output wheelbase of the steam turbine after the launch will be very "weak". This means that as long as the sea conditions are a little bit strong, or the aircraft carrier performs a turning maneuver, the speed will drop further to 27 knots - even the Gneisenau may drop to 25 or even 24 knots!

And it will take at least half an hour to slowly burn the boiler and increase the steam pressure before the level can be restored to 30 knots!

It’s simply poisonous!

"So, I have really become an aircraft carrier cruiser now? But Bismarck has dismantled my 105 anti-aircraft gun and its director... What kind of cruiser is this!"

Looking at the six twin-mounted SKC33/105 anti-aircraft guns on the flight deck, three in front and three in the back, Zeppelin just wanted to complain.

Although the 105 anti-aircraft guns are no longer of much use to her, she is now equipped with short-range anti-aircraft missiles - the efficiency of air defense interception is much higher than that of the 105 anti-aircraft guns, and the increased parking space after removing the anti-aircraft guns can give her more space to accommodate carrier-based aircraft - the size of the TA-183 is even smaller than that of the BF-109. Even if part of the space at the rear of the flight deck is changed to an angled deck, sixteen TA-183s can be parked in the standby area behind the bridge. With the space behind the side catapults on the angled deck and an elevator, the number of standby fighters can reach more than twenty without affecting landing. And because the side catapults can take off in an emergency, when the entire front deck is used as a helipad, the number of fighters that can be accommodated at one time can reach more than twenty-five.

But...with so many happy things added together, why does it always feel like something is wrong?

Could it be that after staying with the Bismarck for too long, he became uncomfortable when he couldn't see the thick big pipe?

He shook his head vigorously, and quickly threw away the idea that people get red when they are close to red people and orange people when they are close to cats. He was an elegant aircraft carrier standing in the back with cards, not a battleship that would rely on its thick skin and flesh to grab a big pipe and engage in hand-to-hand combat when a disagreement arises!

But just when Zeppelin wanted to extinguish this sudden dangerous thought, Bangtai came over:

"Zeppelin, what are you doing?"

"Ah...no, it's nothing..."

Seeing her suddenly going offline, suddenly becoming dazed, suddenly having a vicious expression, and suddenly shaking her head desperately, the more he looked at her, the more she looked like her own aircraft carrier. Bangtai was completely confused and had no idea what she was talking about.

She was once a cool and beautiful goddess, but now she has turned into a crazy woman?

However, the problem now is not such a small matter...

"Zeppelin," Bangtai asked, "Do you think that after the jet modification, our combat operations will be more complicated and difficult to control than before?"

"This? Yes." After hearing Bangtai's question, Qi Bolin calmed down and said in a bad tone: "The time that carrier-based aircraft can stay in the air is barely enough for air combat, but it is still a little short for anti-ship attacks..."

To put it bluntly, the 293-kilometer range is only one hour of air time at most. If the HS1 air-to-ground missile weighing nearly one ton is mounted, the combat radius and air time will be even more discounted - even if the missile's own range is added, the attack range is definitely not farther than the V- Nemesis missile! Although fighter jets can be equipped with auxiliary fuel tanks to double their range, they cannot destroy the enemy's fortresses and naval fleets by air combat alone!

As an aircraft carrier, you can't just rely on anti-ship missiles to attack, right?

Not to mention, with only an hour's take-off and landing operation cycle, I always feel that it is a bit too tight.

Although she doesn't mind being nervous, but if she's this nervous... her tolerance for mistakes in combat is much lower than before!

But the good thing is that, at least for now, at least in terms of air defense, our strength is more than sufficient!

Even without mentioning the combat effectiveness of the jet fighters, just a glance at the missile arrays on the flight deck put Zeppelin's heart at ease again - those "Himmler Organ" short-range air defense missiles that can be operated by the crew and can intercept anti-ship missiles have truly improved her and their entire fleet's defense capabilities against anti-ship missiles. The nearly 400 Rhine Daughter air defense missiles on four battleships and a missile cruiser have proven their existence in the Bordeaux air raid off the coast of France!

Didn’t you see that the losses of the US Eighth Air Force stationed in the UK have exceeded half, causing the Thousand-Plane Aerial Battle to fall to the limit?

Bontai, who was communicating with Zeppelin, also noticed the gaze of his own aircraft carrier. The years of partnership made him instantly guess what the aircraft carrier was thinking - speaking of which, Bontai was also one of the participants in the Bordeaux air raid, and he was not worried about the defensive capability of the air defense missiles.

only……

"The problem now is that our attack power is not enough. We basically rely entirely on anti-ship missiles..."

"Captain! Can you please not talk about this issue?!" Zeppelin was going crazy.

She is an aircraft carrier with glorious military achievements, but now she has to rely on being an aircraft carrier cruiser to make a living!

Moreover, if we consider the number of missiles in the fleet, the attack power of missiles alone is indeed not enough...

She had sixteen V-1 Nemesis anti-ship missiles, Bismarck, Tirpitz, Hindenburg, and Ludendorff each had twenty-four, plus Prinz Eugen's thirty-six, and the twelve on the Gneisenau, which was converted into an aircraft carrier, totaling only one hundred and sixty anti-ship missiles.

As well as the 130 carrier-based fighters on the Zeppelin and Gneisenau - although from the two aircraft carriers combined, only forty to fifty aircraft can be deployed at a time.

In addition, there are twelve BF-1000G109 reconnaissance aircraft carried by the Zeppelin, with a reconnaissance radius of 12 kilometers and a flight time of five hours, as well as thirty-two FI-282 "Hummingbird" helicopters carried by the entire fleet - a first-generation ship-borne helicopter that can take off and land on the top of a light cruiser turret with a radius of four meters, but has a load capacity of only one hundred kilograms.

Although this thing can theoretically be used for close-range anti-submarine warfare, artillery correction, or communications, but... does the Evil Spirit Fleet need it?

I really don't know what the commander is thinking this time...

Zeppelin pouted his lips in frustration, and when he thought of what his captain Bangtai had just said, he felt even more depressed.

"Okay, okay, let's not talk about this anymore." Seeing Zeppelin going crazy, Bangtai, who knew that her pride was hurt, felt a little amused, but changed the subject without any change on his face: "Zeppelin, you said that now your jet carrier-based aircraft only takes an hour to bomb once, and fighter jets only take an hour and a half to fight in the air. Do you think the commander's idea this time is to rely on this and do a quick attack and quick retreat or something..."

"Yes, it is possible, but now we are sailing with the wind, and we have to turn around before we go into battle. In addition, the endurance of carrier-based aircraft is too short, so we have to get closer to launch carrier-based aircraft - and then after the catapult, my speed is only 27 knots, and Gneisenau is only 24 or 25 knots. In other words, I will be a sitting duck within two hours..." Zeppelin became more and more angry as he thought about it. He punched the railing of his original body with an angry expression on his face: "So why is it like this? We obviously have jet fighters, anti-aircraft missiles and anti-ship missiles, and we obviously have a second aircraft carrier... So many happy things added together, how can it become an aircraft carrier missile cruiser..."

"It's all you! It's all your fault!"

The mentally unbalanced Zeppelin bared his teeth and started shouting into the WIFI.

"Is it my fault?" A cat's meow came from the WIFI, sounding lazy and somewhat complacent.

Zeppelin stamped his feet in anger.

"How did you become a cruiser? Cruisers have main guns, do you have them now?" A naughty Persian cat made a face with a smile across several thousand meters of space - and gently shook the thick barrel of her rear main gun in front of her.

"Just wait for me! Next time during training I'll have those brats target you and blow you up!"

"Tsk~ When did you train anti-ship attack tactics without using me as a target? And I always cooperated with you, okay~"

Although Bismarck didn't know why Zeppelin suddenly had a brain attack and was inexplicably bickering with him, they had been quarreling with each other since the Gdansk Timber Terminal. They were both experienced soldiers and sisters, and they were quarreling to vent their stress and attack their sisters. Why didn't he just have some fun with her~

Only Bangtai, who was standing aside and couldn't hear the WIFI, looked at Zeppelin who suddenly changed his expression and "had an attack through the air" with a confused look on his face.

"Well, why is this girl so resentful? I'd better get out of the way first..."

I guess this will be a series in my lifetime...hahahaha

Chapter 872

"...Still haven't found Cunningham?"

"No, the reconnaissance plane has already reached its limit of range, but it still hasn't found it..."

At 3 pm in the Iberian Sea, just past Cape Feistra and even before reaching the northernmost Portuguese city of Porto, Lütjens on the flagship Bismarck waited for the reconnaissance plane to return, but did not wait for the whereabouts report of his old rival Cunningham. Even if Bismarck found Zeppelin to confirm again and again, the result was still the same.

At most, based on a combination of aerial reconnaissance and several reports from Spanish undercover spies, it was confirmed that the four giant light carriers of the British Mediterranean Fleet were still remaining off the coast of Gibraltar and were evacuating ships in the port into the Mediterranean.

When Bismarck, who was unable to get any intelligence, reported the news to Lütjens, the latter just nodded and solemnly began to predict the battle situation in front of the sea chart:

"According to the intelligence from our insider lurking in Spain, Cunningham's British-American joint fleet left the port at ten o'clock in the morning. And we sent out the reconnaissance plane at about the same time... Calculated from the distance between Gibraltar and Cape Feistra, Cunningham should have headed southwest."

Listening to the captain's analysis, Bismarck nodded - after all, he had traveled a lot and had been through many battles. The fact that the reconnaissance plane failed to detect the opponent's whereabouts could reflect some problems.

For example, Cunningham was maneuvering southwest with his Atlantic Fleet.

However, if Cunningham avoids to the southwest, the next battle will be difficult to fight!

Because of the three burdens, Scharn, Hindenburg and Ludendorff, the fleet could now only maintain a maximum speed of thirty knots - in other words, if it just pursued blindly, it would be difficult to catch up with Cunningham, whose speed was also around thirty knots.

However, if we don't catch up with Cunningham, we can't defeat Cunningham! If we don't defeat Cunningham, then even if we temporarily block the Strait of Gibraltar, it will be meaningless. Not to mention asking Portugal to give up lending the Azores to the Allies as a base.

Not to mention that according to intelligence, there is now a guard fleet defending the Gibraltar Fortress, which consists of at least four Giant-class battleships, four old battleships, and more than twenty light cruisers and destroyers - even the question of whether this fleet will suddenly rush out to take the initiative to fight, considering that they are at a disadvantage with the wind, they have to be on guard against this at all times!

At the same time, since the area around Gibraltar is basically Spanish territory, the mountainous terrain in this area is also a great obstacle to the strike efficiency of cruise missiles - the width of the Strait of Gibraltar is less than 20 kilometers, but the mountains on both sides are 200 to 300 meters high! The radar of anti-ship missiles will be blocked by the mountains in this terrain, and the opponent's fleet can basically rest assured as long as it hides behind the mountains!

Moreover, according to the photos taken by spies hiding in Spain before, it seems that Britain and the United States have somehow developed ship-borne anti-ship missiles similar to the V-1 Nemesis, and have been equipped in large quantities - almost all warships are equipped with them. Spies who were observing with high-powered binoculars from the Spanish territory across the harbor even took several photos of mobile anti-ship missile launchers using trailer platforms!

You know, the British have been painstakingly building the Gibraltar fortress for two hundred years. Whether it is the tunnel fortifications in the mountain or the camouflaged missile hiding points in the town at the foot of the mountain, I am afraid there will be no shortage of them!

Even Bismarck himself estimated that if he were to lead his sisters to attack the fortress, it would not be impossible to suppress it, but it would at least take a considerable amount of time to ensure that the fortress's counterattack firepower was suppressed. If the fortress garrison fleet assisted, and Cunningham's fleet backstabbed...

"I'm afraid it's not Midway Island..."

Bismarck looked at his captain, who was frowning and thinking, and felt even more depressed. Although he had told the captain about the Battle of Midway, he felt that it was a replay...

But there is no other way. To be honest, I know that I have to fight this battle while the US fleet is still in the Pacific Ocean if I don't want to be completely blocked by the Allies in the Bay of Biscay and wait for death!

"Forget it. After all, I am the captain's secretary. Let's think about it together and come up with some ideas..."

The secretary cat, with drooping ears and dragging tail, shook his head vigorously, moved to the captain's side and began to rack his brains together.

Lütjens, who was racking his brains for a way out of the impasse, glanced at his own ship cat, who was standing next to him and looking at the nautical chart with a nervous look on his face. Suddenly, he inexplicably felt a little warmer.

I even feel like talking to her:

"What? You don't have any confidence in me?"

The worried-looking Persian cat pricked up its ears a little when it heard that, and gave its own unscrupulous captain a speechless look.

The Battle of Midway has happened in history, but not only did it not happen now, but the US fleet also had a fierce naval battle with the Japanese in the Pacific. I have told you about this before - and that time, you even dragged yourself to play a game together!

You have deduced Nanyun's failure yourself, and now do you dare to say that you are not in Nanyun Chuichi's position?

"Hey? What's that look?" Lütjens was so angry when his own ship cat rolled his eyes at him. He slapped the cat's head lightly and stroked the waist-length golden hair of his own ship cat, which was quite soft to the touch.

"You're still laughing!" Bismarck's face twitched angrily, and he showed his sharp fangs to his captain: "We told you about the matter of Chuichi Nanyun... at the beginning. Now we are helping you find a solution, and you are still boring me here!"

After all, there is no Battle of Midway, only the Battle of Wake. Even if she knew the truth, she couldn't openly speak about things happening on another historical line in the command tower in front of a lot of officers and soldiers who didn't know the truth, right?

"You little girl, this is called forcing something by force." Hearing this cat language, Lütjens's face smiled even more unscrupulously: "If the marshal knew about this, he would say that you have not learned the philosophical worldview and methodology thoroughly, and that you are a metaphysical person or something."

"I know he is a doctor of philosophy! But we have to go to war now!" The Persian cat was furious, teased by her captain.

"It's a war, but why should you be so nervous about a war? You have followed me for five or six years, how come you still failed the tactics class? Tell me yourself, should we fight or not!" As he spoke, he actually patted the head of the furry cat beside him.

“Hey!” The Persian cat that was patted covered its head with its paws and turned to look at Lütjens in dissatisfaction: “What do you mean by failing the tactics class? We ran to the doorstep of someone’s house. Not only was the wind in our favor, but we were also attacked from both sides. It was clearly an unfavorable situation!”

"So you think that Cunningham can't see what you can see?" Looking at the Persian cat covering its head, Lütjens smiled in a mysterious way: "If I don't send myself in, do you think it will take a long time to catch him, considering his determination to escape?"

"∑(QAQ )!!! Eh? Isn't that a gift?" Hearing his captain's words, the Persian cat became even more angry:

"Captain, you told me that going into battle first and then seeking victory is a taboo in military strategy!"

Although she could "understand" whether her captain was desperate or something like that, she didn't want to give herself away!

A cat's tail was wagging on the ground in annoyance, and there was a little annoyance in her eyes. Although she controlled her voice deliberately because there were many people in the C4ISR headquarters, she expressed her meaning very clearly. Even a secretary cat had the idea of ​​forcing her captain to take medicine to prevent and treat Alzheimer's disease.

"What are you thinking! Am I so unreliable?"

Seeing his own ship cat looking impatient and unhappy, Lütjens's forehead veins jumped: "Silly girl, I know you definitely haven't learned the tactical theory again!"

"Then Captain, how do you think we should fight this battle?" Bismarck expressed his dissatisfaction.

"How do we fight? The tactical theory explains it very clearly. For things like dividing and attacking, the key is time difference, that is, the relationship between speed and distance. The Gibraltar Fortress cannot be moved, and the light carriers of the garrison fleet are slower than the regular voyage. However, the strategic situation dictates that Cunningham cannot be easily exposed to the range of our missiles. He even has to consider whether you, Tizi and Eugen, have a maximum speed of thirty-six knots, will break away from the formation and launch a direct counterattack."

"So?" After hearing his captain's explanation, Bismarck's impatient tail began to rise up as his mood improved: "Captain, what do you think? Tell me quickly!"

"As expected, you just wandered over the tactics class. Can't you see that?" Lütjens, who was somewhat helpless about his own fleet cat's learning attitude, slapped his forehead unhappily: "Let me teach you a lesson - since the matter of dividing and advancing and attacking together depends on the time difference and distance difference, then the distance between the Cunningham fleet and us, and the distance between us and the Gibraltar Fortress, must maintain a fixed ratio to ensure that the divided and advanced attack puts us in a dilemma. But if we can't maintain this distance, we will defeat them one by one!"

The Persian cat nodded. Although seeing her somewhat confused eyes, Lütjens knew that this girl not only did not understand, but also might have let it go in one ear and out the other.

Sighing, Lütjens continued to explain: "... Cunningham must know this, but he has to take into account our counterattack, and he can't watch us really defeat the Gibraltar Fortress, so even if he knows what we are going to do, he can only keep a certain distance from us. Taking into account the range of aircraft, the range of anti-ship missiles, and the speed of you guys, it is estimated that the distance between him and us will be maintained at about 500 to 600 kilometers - but! Don't forget, with the attack power of our fleet, one wave of attack is enough to destroy their fleet!" At this point, Lütjens' tone suddenly changed to offensive, and he became inexplicably confident: "The Gibraltar Fortress cannot move, and the backbone of the garrison fleet is mainly low-speed light carriers and old warships. Simply attacking is suicide! The remaining missile destroyers are not enough to threaten our air defense in terms of number and firepower, so our engagement distance with the Gibraltar Fortress is estimated to be within 450 kilometers! In this way, we have at least two or three hours of time difference, enough to transfer firepower and defeat them one by one!"

"Oh..." The Persian cat was still a little confused after being explained, but his imagination was very quick: "Then... Captain, what if the garrison fleet attacks in advance? Or what if Cunningham doesn't follow?"

Lütjens thought for a moment and replied, "If we attack in advance, with the speed of their fortress garrison fleet's light carrier, we can just conduct a supplementary reconnaissance at dusk. As for Cunningham not following us..." At this point, a sly smile appeared on the face of the fortress killer bandit Lü:

"After losing Gibraltar, the Mediterranean Fleet suffered a severe blow, cutting off the Atlantic and Mediterranean shipping routes. Even their main fleet was unable to act alone, and they had to call back the main force of the US Navy from the Pacific. Can Cunningham bear such a blame?!"

"So he will definitely cooperate with the fortress and fight us together?!" Bismarck, who was listening with his ears pricked up, also reacted.

"And as long as we sail towards Gibraltar, the position that Cunningham will choose in the end can only be 600 kilometers southwest of Gibraltar!" Lütjens looked confident, and slapped his hand on the table. "I bet that if we send out another reconnaissance plane at night, we will definitely find Cunningham's trace there!"

Looking at his captain who looked so confident, the Persian cat drooped his ears and said a little depressed: "Then... Captain, why were you so nervous before? I thought you were not sure."

"I wonder why you're like that? You actually thought I was nervous and unsure." Lütjens pinched the soft cat ears and said with a smile, "After all, Cunningham is an old fox, and the time difference is only two to three hours. One wave of attack may not be able to defeat the Gibraltar Fortress, and we have to force him to land... I'm not nervous, it's just that the amount of prediction and calculation is a little bit too much, so it's a bit brain-burning."

Chapter 873: So-called mobility is a crazy fight for prediction

At a speed of 30 knots, the fleet sailed southward until dusk, when it released another wave of reconnaissance planes off the coast of Coimbra, Portugal, 750 kilometers away from the Gibraltar fortress, and was prepared to take the initiative to attack the fortress garrison fleet at night.

"It's 17:00 now. The carrier-based reconnaissance aircraft and fleet air defense fighters have all taken off. It is estimated that if the fortress garrison fleet goes into battle, then at 18:00, the reconnaissance aircraft will be able to spot them at a distance of 400 kilometers."

After taking a look at the carrier-based aircraft that gradually disappeared into the deep night sky in the south under the last rays of sunset, the Bismarck battleship turned its course with the formation and reported to Lütjens: "The steam pressure of the Zeppelin and Gneisenau ships remains at the maximum. The strike aircraft group is on standby at the flight deck standby area. If a battle is needed, there will be no problem in launching 60 aircraft from the entire deck within half an hour."

"Okay, I understand." Lütjens nodded and gave an order indifferently: "Now according to Plan No. 2, the entire fleet will change to a fan-shaped formation - Eugen will lead, Hindenburg and Ludendorff will follow, and we and Tirpitz will suppress the two wings to cover Zeppelin and Gneisenau. If the British dare to pull out the garrison fleet, then in the first round of anti-ship missile shooting, let Eugen fire the leading missile to guide Hindenburg and Ludendorff to attack. We and the aircraft carrier's anti-ship missiles will stay first, and deal with Cunningham in the second round!"

"Well, I've asked everyone to get ready for a night battle!" Bismarck nodded seriously. As a nocturnal animal, her eyes seemed to become brighter, and she was even rubbing her hands, eager to give it a try.

Staying at home for eight months after the Battle of Biscay Bay was completely suffocating for her, who was very active.

As long as the British garrison fleet dares to go to war, I will make you happy!

only……