Bismarck

However, everyone is feeling a little bit uneasy right now, and the situation is becoming more and more serious!

I don't know if Lütjens did something to ruin his life, but in the past few hours, Cunningham has not been able to receive detailed position reports from the reconnaissance aircraft, and instead suffered heavy losses in the reconnaissance aircraft.

The location of the loss is probably in the waters west of Cape St. Vincent. But even so, it does not explain the problem at all - after all, the operating radius of Zeppelin's carrier-based aircraft reached 400 kilometers, and just knowing the approximate range is not enough for detailed positioning.

However, if you don’t know the exact position, it means infinite predictive risks, and the fleet commander needs to be cautious!

After all, fifty-five kilometers is a difference of thirty nautical miles, while the radar range of an anti-ship missile is only five nautical miles!

However, if the exact location cannot be determined, then it must be that Qi Xieling on the opposite side is frantically hunting the reconnaissance planes sent out by the Gibraltar Fortress - and this can precisely reflect from the side that this is most likely the rhythm of Lütjens' attack on the fortress!

"Are we a little too far apart..." War-weary gently touched Cunningham's arm, "Sir, do you want to turn around in advance..."

Even after many battles, I still feel anxious.

"Don't turn around yet, at least not before their reconnaissance planes come out! The closer we are to them, the denser the reconnaissance planes will be. If they discover our position in advance, we're doomed..."

Cunningham frowned, thought for a while, and shook his head.

When Yan Zhan saw the stern look in his old man's eyes, he understood what he was talking about and kept silent.

Under the table, Cunningham quietly reached out his hand and gently soothed the back of War-weary's hand. War-weary, who always got angry on the spot in such matters, looked away nervously at this moment, without saying a word.

The main force of the US fleet is now harvesting leeks in the Pacific and will not be back for a while. If the Allied Atlantic Fleet faces the Lütjens Fleet alone, it will have no advantage!

Entering the battlefield blindly in advance, especially before the enemy reconnaissance aircraft comes out for reconnaissance, is basically a rhythm of giving away heads!

Thirty years ago during the Battle of Jutland, Admiral Jellicoe, commander of the Home Fleet at the time, made a famous remark: He was "the only person who could make the British Empire lose the war in one afternoon" - so we must be extremely cautious!

Cunningham, who was a participant in the war, knew very well that the real hero who defeated the German Navy's ocean fleet in that naval battle was not David Beatty, who was so powerful on the battlefield and later became a marshal and the Earl of the North Sea, but Brigadier General Gudnov, the commander of the reconnaissance fleet, who was usually unknown but conscientious and resolute in fulfilling his duties to ensure awareness of the battlefield situation!

Cunningham and Warspite both still remember the scene at that time - even with four Queen Elizabeth-class battleships including Warspite, Beatty was still beaten badly by the ambushed German High Seas Fleet's main force of 22 battleships. The 24 battleships of Admiral Jericho's main fleet, which came to reinforce and was actually close at hand, were unable to understand the enemy's situation and even unable to deploy their battle formations due to the dense sea fog and the chaos of the battlefield!

We don’t know the enemy’s situation and cannot deploy our formation. The number gap is not big. Once the enemy grabs our T, it will be a tragic defeat for our country!

At the last moment, in front of the huge and terrifying German main force, Gudnov stepped forward and not only rushed forward with his light cruiser, but also sent back a complete reconnaissance report in front of the German flagship Frederick the Great under the hail of bullets - position, speed, course, formation! And it was because of this information that Jericho, who was completely blind before, was able to deploy the formation at the last moment, seize the T-shaped position in front of the German fleet in advance, and finally establish the victory in one fell swoop!

The past glory is still vivid in my mind, but now...

But I can only wait silently in agony!

It was not until just after 4:00 in the morning of August 30th that a certain Royal Knight who was determined to learn the perception ability of his Beast Forefathers, who was dedicated to his duties, suddenly noticed something...

"Report! Commander, Senior War-weary, there are two German reconnaissance planes at four o'clock to our right rear and two o'clock to our right front! The distance between them is about 170 kilometers, and there is a gap of 130 kilometers in between! Our position is probably right between them!"

As soon as the vanguard spoke, the command center of the battleship HMS Warspite instantly became excited.

"So we can pass between their two reconnaissance planes? Great! The entire fleet turns to the north! - Tell the patrolling fighters to let their reconnaissance planes pass first, and don't let that old ghost Lütjens see the flaw! In addition, Warspite, trace the map and reverse calculate Lütjens' position! After we slip past him, we can surprise him!"

Cunningham clenched his fists, his face flushed, and shouted excitedly to his wife.

"Yes!"

Upon hearing this, Yan Zhan grabbed the nautical ruler and red and blue pencils without saying a word and rushed directly to the chart table.

After a few strokes, an isosceles triangle of the Allied Atlantic Fleet and two German reconnaissance planes suddenly appeared on the paper. The intersection of the two reconnaissance planes' headings was basically the location range when Lütjens sent the reconnaissance planes!

only……

"... I've calculated it! According to the interval between the German reconnaissance planes and the speed and distance between the enemy and us, we can just 'slip' through the gap between their two reconnaissance planes at around 800:300! But..." War-weary looked up and reported his calculation results to the excited Cunningham - and at the same time poured a bucket of cold water on the excited Cunningham: "According to the heading angle and distance estimation of the reconnaissance plane, the position of Lütjens calculated by the triangulation method is kilometers to our north, kilometers northwest of the position we originally predicted for the battle - maybe this raid may not be able to catch up on time..."

"What? Let me see!" Cunningham rushed to the chart table after hearing the report. Looking at the position of Lütjens on the chart table, he couldn't help but frowned: "Lütjens is really cunning! Even if he wants to fight with the Gibraltar Fortress, he will be north of the predicted position - if we want to enter the battle area, we will be at least two hours late!"

"Now what?"

"We can't wait any longer. Once we let their reconnaissance planes pass by, we will turn around. Only by joining forces with the Mediterranean Fleet and the Gibraltar Fortress can we defeat Lütjens. This is our only chance!"

Cunningham angrily slammed his fist down on the chart table, and the sound of that thump of determination echoed throughout the headquarters.

Chapter 875

August 1943, 8, 30 a.m., clear, north wind level 7.

It is 150 km due west of Cape St. Vincent and 480 km from Gibraltar.

Today the sky is clear and the waves are magnificent.

It’s a good time to bet on the country’s destiny!

The various headquarters of both Britain and Germany were bustling with activity, with either reports or replies or the sound of telegraphs ticking.

The relevant combat preparations had already been made under the light of the waning moon.

One piece of information and intelligence after another came and went, and was constantly exchanged, and finally gathered in front of the fleet commanders, waiting for their decision!

"Entire fleet, level one alert!"

"Report to the captain, the wing commander, the thirty-three aircraft for the full-deck attack are ready!"

"Clear the deck! Clear the flight deck! Catapult and runway 'human wall check', hurry up!"

"The reconnaissance aircraft reported that as of 6:30 a.m., the British fortress garrison fleet's position had not changed. There were four old battleships, four light cruisers and a dozen destroyers at the entrance of the strait. The main four aircraft carriers of the garrison fleet, along with several destroyers, were still hiding behind the Gibraltar Fortress... The staff team initially determined that even if they rushed out, given their position and the fact that we were flying our planes away to the north, we would be just out of the range of their missiles and the range of the fighter planes at the fortress airport, and we could ensure safe takeoff!"

"Where's Cunningham? Still no news?"

"No, and no later than six in the morning, two of the four reconnaissance planes we sent to the south lost contact. It should be Cunningham who did it, but we still don't know his exact location... The only thing we can be sure of is that, judging from the location of the disappearance, they will not be able to enter the range of carrier-based aircraft until after nine o'clock at the earliest, so we are safe in the first round..."

"Not bad, it's a good thing that we maneuvered for a whole day and night to get to this position, which just blocked their firing range." Lütjens nodded calmly, "Order: The returning reconnaissance aircraft will be received by the Gneisenau, and the fleet's air defense will also be handed over to (Gneisenau's flight captain) Gordon Glob. Zeppelin is fully prepared for a full-deck attack - the key to the first round of operations is to defeat their garrison fleet at the edge of their Gibraltar Fortress missile position!"

"Captain, Zeppelin has already said that the strike group can take off on time at 7:30! Also... do you want Zeppelin to guide her and Gneisenau's missiles to make up for the attack?"

"This is possible, and it can also solve the problem of secondary explosions - tell the Bonte and Gneisenau to launch anti-ship missiles immediately after the planes take off. Even if they can't hit the aircraft carriers of the garrison fleet, they must first disable their surface ships of the garrison fleet!"

"Okay, I'll pass the message right away!"

…………

"Damn it! Lütjens, the jinx of the fortress, is really coming for us..."

"Sir, the staff has analyzed that their position should be to destroy the garrison fleet outside the entrance of the strait in the first round. What should we do now? Should we retreat into the strait and hide first?"

"It's too late. Besides, the Strait of Gibraltar is so narrow that it will be very troublesome for so many ships to withdraw or sail out. If he uses the range of missiles to block the entrance and exit of the strait and then launches an air strike with jets, then none of us will be able to survive. In that case, I might as well just put the surface fleet outside and use aircraft to cover the air strike and compete with the Germans' missile firepower."

"...But, sir, if this happens, our fleet outside will suffer heavy losses..."

"Never mind the losses. We are facing the Evil Fleet. It is impossible to fight them without losses. We can only see what results the losses we incur will bring. Now it will be fine as long as they can't seal the exit of the strait in the first round! As long as the Giant-class ship has not sunk and can still be driven out, we can still fight back and pose a threat to Lütjens!"

“…I see. I understand!”

"Actually, I don't want to send the boys up, but our fortress is fixed in position. Even if we have anti-ship missiles, the threat range is still worse than that of the fleet... Forget it, order each airport to launch another strike group (sigh)"

"Yes!"

…………

"Old... (seeing the fist, decisively following his heart) Bailey, what's the situation now? Report."

"Okay, sir... Mountbatten reports that Lütjens is 150 kilometers west of Cape St. Vincent. It is preliminarily judged that he wants to destroy the Mediterranean Fleet first, and then use missiles to block the Strait of Gibraltar by relying on the difference in position. Now Mountbatten has withdrawn the Colossus-class light carrier into the Mediterranean, and the rest of the fleet's main forces - including the four old warships, are now at the mouth of the strait, planning to launch a counterattack with Lütjens to ensure that the fleet can be deployed safely at the Gibraltar exit." War-weary made a few calculations, raised his head, spread his hands that were still holding the naval slide rule and pencil, and shrugged his shoulders: "In addition, according to the results of the work estimation on the map just now, Lütjens is more than kilometers away from us! In this case, we will not be able to catch up with the battle in the first round..."

"More than 600 kilometers? Then we really can't catch up before 11 o'clock. Now it depends on whether Mountbatten can hold on." Cunningham, who changed from a funny state to a serious state, snorted lightly, but thought of another question: "Vanguard, where is Tovey now?"

"Commander Tovey? He set out from the Celtic Sea Forward Base (in western England) with his home fleet yesterday. However... the commander only has two battleships, the Duke of York and Howe, a Goliath-class light carrier, and five escort carriers, so he doesn't dare to chase them directly now, and is just waiting near the Bay of Biscay..."

Although she knew that this was actually Cunningham's idea, because the main battleships of the entire Royal Navy were in the Mediterranean theater, even the flagship of her own home fleet had been "borrowed", resulting in her own commander having to follow behind with a bunch of old, weak and disabled soldiers... She still felt a little embarrassed to say this.

"He's right to do that." Cunningham nodded, with an appreciative tone.

"Eh?!"

"Tovey is too weak now. The speed of the Giant-class aircraft carrier is only 25 knots, and the remaining five escort carriers can't even reach 20 knots. If he comes to join the battle at this time, he will be sending himself to death. Threatening Lütjens's retreat in the Bay of Biscay is a good choice." War-weary also said with a smile, and came over to pat the Vanguard on the shoulder, with an expression that said, "If there is any problem with your admiral, I'll protect you."

"So, what do we do now?" Vanguard blinked in confusion, looked at the chart table, and began to change the subject.

"Keep chasing! Also, Bailey, tell Mountbatten to do his best to tow the damaged ships of the Mediterranean Fleet back to the Gibraltar Fortress - as long as the personnel can be saved and the ships can be repaired, it doesn't matter if they are left lying in the port after the battle!"

"Yes, sir!" War-weary nodded, saluted, and walked towards the telegraph room. But after a while, Cunningham and the vanguard saw War-weary rushing out of the telegraph room with a telegram in his hand.

"Report to you, sir! The Mediterranean Fleet reports that they have begun fighting with the Lütjens Fleet!"

........................

"It's 186: in the morning. GR- Squadron is ready to take off at any time!"

The German fleet west of Cape St. Vincent turned north, and the north wind howled at 100 knots on the flight decks of the two aircraft carriers, creating a combined wind speed of 3.8 meters per second, or 183 kilometers per hour. But even so, the TA- Raven of Disaster, with its swept wings, bombs and conformal fuel tanks, had to rely on the surging power of the catapult to take off fully loaded.

However, a range of at least 800 kilometers - that is, a strike radius of 400 kilometers - can still be guaranteed.

Moreover, the carrier-based 183 was designed with a larger wing chord and area without increasing drag, so landing was not a big problem. Not to mention that among these planes, there was also a Zeppelin!

The Edelweiss, whose body potential has been maximized, not only has performance far exceeding that of other fighters, but it also shamelessly carries a full twelve "Himmler Organ Modified" anti-aircraft missiles - no, these should be air-to-air missiles!

Anyway, each rocket weighs less than 7 kilograms, and twelve rockets weigh only about kilograms. Even if the rockets would affect the lift of the wing and increase the drag, the performance of the Zeppelin fighter is not a big deal. If the wing width did not limit the number of rocket rails, even if she put a few more rockets on, it would not be a problem for her!

"Is this the first fleet operation of jet carrier-based aircraft?" Rear Admiral Bangtai on the bridge was a little solemn, but also stroking his smooth chin with some pride, and waved his hand: "GR-186, target the exit of the Strait of Gibraltar, everyone take off!"

"Is this the first fleet operation of jet carrier-based aircraft?" Zeppelin, who had already hung a towing hook on the top of the catapult, smiled, pulled up the sunshade of his helmet, and pushed the throttle of the JUMO-004, which had been converted to a turbofan engine, to the top: "Understood, GR-186 Squadron, take off!"

Accompanied by Zeppelin's cold but belligerent voice and the "go" gesture made by the ground crew who had retreated far to the side, the staff in the catapult control room on one side of the flight deck pressed the button to release the catapult. A second later, the high-pressure steam of 450 degrees Celsius and 75 atmospheres that had been accumulated in the steam pipe for a long time, with huge kinetic energy, passed through the throttle valve that was rapidly opening the cross-sectional area, and burst out from the pre-pressed catapult steam storage tank!

The next second, the surging steam pressure pushed the piston, like a giant hand, facing the blowing sea breeze, and sent the black warhawk with the throttle valve fully pushed into the sky!

Just after Zeppelin successfully launched, the other two carrier-based aircraft on the catapults also followed their wing leaders, vibrating their iron wings and soaring into the sky! Behind the catapult that had already completed the launch and was still emitting wisps of white steam was the hastily lowered gas spoiler and the fighter jet that was towed to the launch position by the ground crew on a small trailer and nervously re-hooked.

Zeppelin, who was leading two wingmen, circling and climbing above his own base while waiting for the group to gather, glanced through the porthole at the second wave of three fighters taking off from the flight deck. Listening to some complaining voices on the tactical radio channel, his handsome eyebrows were slightly squeezed together.

"...It seems that the thrust of the catapult is still a bit too strong, and the little brats can't handle it."

After the next round of catapults, a careful catapult operator suddenly discovered that the pressure curve on the catapult barometer seemed to have become more gentle. However, not many people noticed this small detail.

"The target is located in the Strait of Gibraltar. I will take the fourth fighter squadron and set off first to help you seize air superiority. The bombers will take off later to attack the garrison fleet directly! The last six fighters to take off will directly cover the bomber group - attack!"

After the cold voice that became even more excited because of the impending killing, the first four groups of twelve fighters that took off, carrying auxiliary fuel tanks tightly attached to the inside of the half-buried racks, followed her order and flew directly away from the German fleet.

As usual, Bonte stayed behind in the main body, commanding the Gneisenau, which had just received the carrier-based reconnaissance aircraft and was preparing the anti-aircraft fleet. Looking at the fleet that seemed to be eager to fight in the distance under the glow of the rising sun, he shook his head speechlessly, and seemed to be mumbling something:

"Really? You're still so impatient. When you talk about war, you run faster than the reporters..."

However, Bangtai, who was also well aware of the strengths and weaknesses of carrier-based aircraft forces, did not say anything about her actions.

The endurance and combat radius of jet fighters equipped with anti-ship missiles are very limited, and the distance between the enemy fleet and our fleet is now predicted to be 350 kilometers - if the movement distance of the fleet is taken into account, this number has already reached the limit of the attack radius!

Actually, there was nothing that could be done about it. After all, jet fighters consumed too much fuel. Even if the original turbojet engine had been modified to a more fuel-efficient turbofan, one thousand liters of internal fuel and eight hundred kilograms could only support a maximum of forty minutes of flight.

What was even more disadvantageous was that although in the later stages of development, Zeppelin asked the chief designer, Professor Tan Ke, to come up with a semi-buried bracket that could effectively reduce resistance based on her combat experience and knowledge of fluid mechanics, as well as the imagination of her good friend, even so, because the engine thrust was only one ton, after carrying heavy bombs and anti-ship missiles, the maximum flight speed of the aircraft could only reach 670 kilometers - even a propeller fighter, with more gas and effort, could catch up with or even shoot down a jet fighter dragged down by the bombs!

If you drop the bomb, you can certainly escape or even fight back, but you will be forced to abandon the bombing target!

So the current approach was actually arranged from the beginning - the twelve fighters in the squadron led by Zeppelin are equipped with auxiliary fuel tanks, which can rely on their endurance to ensure a longer airborne time to control air superiority and cover the attacks of the bombers.

It is even possible to take the initiative and directly disrupt the assembly of the enemy's bomber group.

The last two groups of six fighters that took off, without auxiliary fuel tanks, were tasked with directly covering the bombers. On the one hand, the steam pressure was no longer sufficient to support a fully loaded takeoff at this time, but on the other hand, they only needed to cover the bombers and did not need to have a greater endurance than the squadron led by Zeppelin himself to seize air supremacy.

After all, seizing and ensuring air supremacy is the core of all air combat, and the Zhiwei fighter jets are just there to plug the leaks.

In less than half an hour, eighteen fighters equipped with air combat equipment and fifteen fighters equipped with missiles had all taken off from the catapults of the Zeppelin aircraft carrier, and then flew straight into the sky with the noise of the gust of wind.

Only the catapult group was left, the steam pressure dropped sharply, and the speed of the Zeppelin had dropped to only 27 knots.

Bangtai looked at the time. At 7:30, the group of planes turned north and sailed into the wind. It was exactly 8 o'clock in the morning. It was just in time!

"Order: Zeppelin, Gneisenau, clear the front deck immediately and prepare to fire all anti-ship missiles! Target coordinates are in the waters near the exit of the Strait of Gibraltar! After the missiles are launched, continue heading north and clear the front deck thoroughly. Zeppelin is ready to receive the returning aircraft group, and Gneisenau's carrier-based aircraft unit is ready for air defense operations!..."

While sighing at the fact that missile launches could only be based on predetermined target coordinates, Bonte, knowing that the heavy anti-ship missiles guided by the Edelweiss fighter jets would certainly not disappoint himself and Commander Lütjens, directly issued the next combat order.

After all, as a rear admiral and deputy commander of the fleet, he still has to do his best in the next task.

Soon, the gunner under his command and the aircraft carrier Gneisenau next door also sent him affirmative replies:

"Understood! Launch the missile immediately - target coordinates: the exit of the Strait of Gibraltar!..."

Just as Bontai sent off the last wave of fighter jets that took off and was preparing to launch anti-ship missiles at a speed of 28 knots, Zeppelin, which had arrived over the Strait of Gibraltar at a speed of 900 kilometers, just caught up with the densely packed British aircraft that had just taken off from the Gibraltar fortress and the surrounding Allied airports along the coast of North Africa and were gathering over the Strait!

Zeppelin, eyes shining, led the way, and the twelve guided rockets she controlled cut a bloody path through the British interceptor group! The super aces who followed were also unambiguous, dragging their speed of 900 kilometers and turning into blades to sweep past!

As the British fleet and the Gibraltar fortress below could only stare in wonder, a massacre of sheep by the tiger began!

Chapter 876

To be fair, although Lord Mountbatten was an old nobleman, he was also ambitious and unwilling to lag behind others.

After all, everyone in society knows one thing: the higher you can climb, the higher you can climb.

With his status as a hereditary nobleman, he could live a carefree life just by lying down, and his seemingly positive attitude, so under the same conditions - even when others were well-behaved and he was often making trouble - he could climb up with an arrogant attitude by stepping on the shoulders of others, and get promoted faster and with a higher position.