Bismarck

After a while, the gunner called the bridge and reported that all the anti-aircraft guns' magazines were empty...

"That's strange. I clearly asked them to fill it up, Captain. This is too strange. No one has ever been on the anti-aircraft gun." The voice in the microphone was full of doubt.

Lindemann just smiled at this, because the culprit was standing quietly beside him.

"Okay, I understand." Lindman said, "Don't pursue it for now. Reload the anti-aircraft guns and report the damage."

"Yes!"

Everyone on the bridge was busy with their own affairs, only Tizi was leaning lazily on the high captain's chair, letting Lindemann touch his hair.

Suddenly, Tizi opened his eyes, knocked Lindeman's trotter away, and stood there motionless, as if thinking about something. Only the hair on his head turned a few times quickly, and then he whispered to Lindeman: "Lindeman! We found a plane right in front of us!!"

"Plane?! Whose is it?" Lindemann was stunned and asked, "Is it British?"

"No, it seems to be our Stuka..."

"That's good." Lindemann breathed a sigh of relief.

"Wait a minute! They seem to have mistaken our retreating destroyer for the British! They seem to be entering the attack route!" Tizi shouted anxiously, looking at Lindemann anxiously: "...What should we do?"

Lindemann almost couldn't catch his breath and was choked to death.

.

(Due to the gap between the German Navy and the Air Force, the two services had different charts, call signals, and even communication channels. The consequence of not being able to find the communication channel was that no one could call each other... There have been several incidents of accidental bombing in history. In February 40, the German Air Force sank its own destroyer Z2, and in the process of evasion, the destroyer Z1 also hit a mine and sank... However, until now, the signals are still incompatible...)

"Damn it!" Lindemann gritted his teeth and opened the microphone cover: "Signage soldier! I'm Lindemann! Call our escort team immediately! The air force in front of them mistook them for British, tell them to evade immediately! Also, tell them not to open fire! Make this call immediately!!" Lindemann said as he looked at Tizi.

"Tizi, can you 'hear' which channel those Air Force guys are on?" Covering the lid with one hand, Lindman asked Tizi.

"Do you want me to call them? I'll try." Ti Zi muttered a few words to complain about the Air Force, but still "listened" carefully.

Soon, Tizi searched for a channel: "Found it! It's XXX.XX!! They seem to be about to start the attack!!"

"…It's too late, Tizi, can you control the radio and contact them directly?"

"Sure! I'll contact them right away!!" Looking at the anxious Lindeman, Tizi nodded vigorously.

“…Really, this is so troublesome…”

Lindeman, with a frown on his forehead, couldn't help but knock on the cute grape: "Hurry up!"

“Ouch… it hurts…”

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153: Dunkirk (VII)

"Attention all teams! I am the STG2 commander Step. We have now reached the target. Prepare..."

Just as the JU87 leader began to order the attack, a soft and anxious female voice sounded from all the bombers' radios at the same time, "Please stop the attack!!! Captain Stepp, your target is our Great German War Navy!!! The British destroyer is 20 nautical miles west of your position!!!"

"Who are you?!" Although it was a soft female voice, all the crew members were still startled by the sudden voice in this channel. Then Stepp asked in a stern voice.

"I am the German Navy battleship Tirpitz. We are 15 kilometers west of your location. We have just attacked and repelled the British fleet, and they are retreating to the west." The female voice replied quickly.

"My captain has ordered all destroyers to stop firing into the air. You should not have been attacked."

"Can you prove your identity?" Step asked doubtfully. Although it was a little unbelievable... he was sure that his fleet had not been attacked.

"Well, you should have noticed that we are evading but not attacking. In addition, we can drop flares to prove our identity. Is that ok?"

"…Okay! Please prove your identity immediately!"

Step finally decided to wait and see.

After all, an accidental attack is intolerable. Moreover, he is the ace commander of the regiment, and the unit he leads is named after Yin Meiman, so he cannot bear the stain of such an incident.

The fleet fell strangely silent, buzzing in circles above the fleet, but everyone's hands were on the bomb-dropping button without exception. If...

"Bang bang bang-"

Dazzling flashes of light came up from below.

In less than a minute, he saw flares hanging in the sky, and the decks of the fleet below were all painted with swastikas without exception…

"… .."

Captain Step swallowed his saliva with a little fear, wiped the non-existent sweat from his forehead, then looked around. The other JU87 pilots also had similar fearful expressions. He couldn't help but feel lucky.

But looking at the current altitude of 4000 meters, although there is still the last rays of sunset in the sky, the low-lying clouds and the dim sea surface make it impossible for him to find other targets... After thinking about it, he had to lower his tone a little and try to ask the voice on the radio that claimed to be the Tirpitz: "Where are they now? Do you know?"

From you to you.

"Yes! They just retreated to the west, and they haven't gone far. I can still see them with the radar. Now I will use the radar to guide you to attack them?"

"Okay! Thank you!! But... do you know how to guide our attack?"

There was a brief silence, but soon a reply came: "No problem, just fly over there. We will fire flares at the target location! That way we can guide you." And he added playfully: "This is not a problem at all."

Step smiled and said, it was a good idea.

"Then please follow my instructions!"

"Boys, follow me and turn! Go after the British!" Step nodded and announced loudly in the channel.

"Yes!"

The British thought they had escaped the Germans' attack range and were about to breathe a sigh of relief, but unexpectedly, the German navy's attack was over, but the air force arrived again.

Under the powerful artillery fire of Tirpitz, the dazzling light of flares soon flashed above the heads of the hastily retreating British fleet.

Thomas knew that the other party would not fire flares for no reason, and they would surely be greeted with a new round of attacks!

"Prepare for battle!!!" he roared helplessly but full of anger.

The fleet, which is already frightened, is like a bird illuminated by a searchlight in the dark night. Attacks may come from all directions (three bodies) - in short, it is illuminated...

Soon, not only the roar of airplanes was heard in the sky, but also the "Woo!" sound that had already echoed across half of the European continent, known as the roar of death.

The Stukas approached the well-prepared fleet from high altitude. The well-prepared British fleet opened fire at the first opportunity, but unfortunately, the anti-aircraft firepower of the fleet, which was mostly destroyers, was really poor. The only shells that could be seen were those fired from the cruisers - but they were sparse, after all, the area was too large.

"Bang, bang, bang--"

Although they were sparse, it was still very dangerous to be hit. At Step's command, the fleet roared and dispersed.

They formed groups of several and seized a target, and began to attack in turns.

Although anti-aircraft fire exploded around them from time to time, the brave boys remained fearless. After reaching the target, they pulled the joystick hard and dived straight down, revealing the terrible bomb under the belly of the plane...

Amid the howling of the Grim Reaper's scythe, three more transport ships and a destroyer sank to the bottom of the sea... and by the way, the Tirpitz battleship's artillery fire from 25 km away severely damaged a heavy cruiser that was left behind...

Just when the bombers wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to expand their victory, the shadow of the British Royal Air Force had already appeared in the sky. If it weren't for the Royal Air Force's reinforcements that were about to arrive on the battlefield, the losses would have been even more severe. Major General Thomas could only watch the two culprits go away in anger and helplessness...

----

"It's a pleasure to work with you, Captain Step, but I have some bad news. Attention, bombers! Radar has detected a plane coming from the UK! It's about 30 km away from you." Tirpitz's voice rang out again on Step's radio. "We are starting to evacuate now. You should evacuate as well. Have a safe trip!"

"Got it, happy cooperation!" Step nodded contentedly. The record of sinking a destroyer was enough. He flapped his wings and prepared to evacuate with the fleet.

This feeling of mutual cooperation... is quite pleasant, Step couldn't help thinking in his heart, especially when the voice on the other side is a girl, and the voice is so nice, making people feel like they are bathed in spring breeze. He didn't have time to think about it during the battle just now, but now on the way back, he couldn't help but wonder, what does the owner of this voice look like?

He smiled and shook his head, seeming helpless about his own thoughts. But then again, this is also a normal psychology.

Just when Step was expecting the radio to ring again, it actually rang again—unfortunately it was a middle-aged male voice with a slightly cynical tone.

"Captain Stepp, are you there? I'm Captain Lindemann of the Tirpitz."

"Well, I'm here. What's the matter?" Captain Step was a little disappointed, but still answered happily. After all, the previous attack still depended on the help of the opponent.

"It's like this. I just thought about it and I can basically determine that the British transport ships want to evacuate their troops, so they may continue to send people and ships to Dunkirk in the near future. If that's the case, my fleet may continue to operate here for a while. So we want to coordinate and communicate with you to fight the British together." Lindemann made a suggestion on the radio.

“Is this proposal feasible?”

"I have reported this to my superiors. If you think this is okay, how about our channel be ****?"

"Hmm? Fight the British together? That's a good idea. I personally don't mind." Stepp became interested. "But the specific situation still needs the order from our superiors. I will tell our superiors."

"Our contact channel is ******. I will also tell the other squadrons about your channel."

"Thank you very much, then it's settled! I wish us a pleasant cooperation!" Step could clearly feel the joy in the voice of the man who claimed to be Captain Tirpitz.

But there seemed to be a female voice coming from the radio, it seemed to be the same voice just now, and if I listened carefully, it seemed to be mumbling something...

“A pleasure to work with!!”

When the fleet was about to fly over the Tirpitz, it flashed its searchlights several times towards the sky as a greeting.

"Follow me and lower the altitude!" Step saw it, smiled and said.

"Buzz buzz buzz--" A large group of planes flew low over the high-speed Tirpitz.

Step flew his JU87 over the Tirpitz and waved his wings in the searchlight beam as a greeting.

On the way back, Step's deputy asked: "Captain, what if the higher-ups don't agree? You know, the commander's attitude towards the navy is not very good..."

"It's very simple. Just go and tell the other squadrons. Besides, we are coordinating with them to better cooperate in fighting the British. We are not collaborating with the enemy. What are you afraid of?" Step snorted nonchalantly. "Besides, I bet that guy just now probably has the same idea as me."

"Okay! Got it!" The deputy shook his wings, and flew away with the warhawk together with Step.

But at this time, they did not know that their action was the first organized coordinated attack in the history of the German Navy and Air Force. It was also the first time that the German Navy and Air Force actively cooperated with each other, and both sides would be recorded in history because of this...

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Chapter 154: A Dirty Deal (Part 1)

May 5, 26:12 PM German time

Although it was already midnight, the lights were still on in the meeting room of the German naval base in Kiel. Representatives from the German Navy, the German Air Force, the Kiel Naval Shipyard, and related German aviation companies gathered together to hold a meeting on the continued construction of the Zeppelin and the allocation of aircraft.

The representative of the German Navy was Admiral Lutjens with two beauties, the representative of the German Air Force was Admiral Ernst Udet, the director of weapons production of the German Air Force, with two officers who were said to be from the carrier-based aircraft unit, as well as representatives of shipyards and the aviation industry, etc.

Many of the people here are usually very busy, but now they are all listening attentively to the speech of a girl - a strange girl.

She was brought into the meeting by Admiral Lütjens, who said she had a different opinion on aircraft carriers.

To be honest, everyone present was dismissive at first. After all, aircraft carriers were new to the German army and were weapons that no one had ever touched before. Even the generals of the navy and air force did not dare to guarantee that they could command an aircraft carrier well. How could this girl who suddenly appeared and was only about 20 years old dare to speak so arrogantly?

It's just to give Lütjens face.

However, when the girl stood up and spoke, everyone was surprised.

This girl with off-white hair and a slightly pale face had a confident look on her face. With a neither humble nor arrogant attitude and a cool and dignified voice, she methodically narrated the future tactical concepts and ideas of the Count Zeppelin, as well as the specific operational ideas and weapons and equipment development requirements needed to realize these ideas.

And what everyone was paying attention to was that this girl was actually very familiar with both the Air Force's and the Navy's combat concepts, and she proposed an almost complete set of aircraft carrier combat concepts and operational ideas. What she proposed was well-founded and reasonable. Even the two admirals with great military achievements, or the heads of shipbuilding and aviation companies who had reached the pinnacle of technology, listened with great interest and thought it was reasonable in their hearts.

Bismarck, who was sitting below, was very happy when he saw Zeppelin giving a report and the audience listening attentively. This sister finally had a chance to show her abilities. Maybe they would be able to fight side by side soon?

"The Navy and the Air Force should not be two mutually exclusive branches of the military. We can cooperate with the Air Force just like the Army's blitzkrieg! Even though the aircraft carriers belong to the Air Force, this is not a reason for us to refuse cooperation! Based on the tactical systems of both sides and our current and potential enemies, we can analyze our most advantageous and feasible combat mode as follows... and recommend the following operational methods..."

Lütjens, Udet, and the commander of the carrier-based aircraft unit began to show some interest. The generals who could attend the meeting were not rigid-minded people, Udet was like this, and Lütjens was even more so. In fact, Lütjens realized the impact of the air force's combat power on the navy under the influence of Bismarck very early, and had been trying to make some contact with the air force, but his boss Reger's attitude was too tough, so he had to give up.

Zeppelin's appearance this time made him realize that this might be an opportunity, an opportunity for the navy and the air force to cooperate - both the navy and the air force had some ideas about wanting the two sides to contact each other, which would allow the two sides to meet openly.

As for the reconciliation between the navy and the air force, after all, they have been estranged for such a long time, and the ice is three feet thick and it didn't freeze overnight. It is impossible to accomplish it overnight, so there is no need to rush.

They looked at each other, nodded, and signaled Zeppelin to continue.

"In terms of the air force's sea attack tactics, the air force has currently adopted a cross-attack mode called the 'Golden Comb' in Norway, which has a relatively ideal strike effect on the British fleet. This has been tested in actual combat. The navy does not reject this approach, and we believe that the following supplements can be made..."

Udet looked at Lütjens, who nodded slightly in agreement.

"Basically, what she meant was what I meant." Lütjens said with a smile. He had heard some of Zeppelin's ideas in advance and found that they coincided with his own, so he came up with the idea of ​​letting her speak.

On the other hand, when Lütjens said this, his meaning was actually very clear, that is, Zeppelin's idea of ​​cooperation between the navy and the air force is my wish.

Udet immediately understood what Lütjens said and laughed.

The two officers from the carrier-based aircraft unit listened attentively and wrote and drew in their notebooks. They were also very interested in the tactics that Zeppelin talked about.

"Of course, to achieve the above, we need to complete the following tasks... But these tasks do not require a long-term drag, especially if we follow the example of the Army and Air Force sending combat and communication staffs to each other, or even setting up the Fleet Command and the Air Force Command together, we can raise the coordination level of the two armies to a higher level after only a short period of coordination and running-in!"

"… Regarding the specific technical requirements for aircraft carriers… Although the Zeppelin's guns and fire control systems have been removed, the Zeppelin can be fully protected by the fleet because our navy has won a series of victories. Therefore, at a minimum, it only needs to be equipped with 37MM continuous anti-aircraft guns and corresponding fire control sights, the flight deck is flattened, and the main shaft is installed before it can be put into use..."

The head of the Kiel Naval Shipyard's eyes lit up. This meant that the Zeppelin would soon be able to join the battle sequence. Things like the main axis were not very troublesome and could be done quickly under wartime production.

"An aircraft carrier has no artillery? Will this work?" Udet turned his head and looked at Lütjens.

"I think it should be possible." The latter smiled bitterly.

After all, Lütjens came from an orthodox traditional naval background. Even if he was ahead of the times, in Lütjens' original idea, aircraft carriers should also be equipped with large-caliber naval guns of considerable size to deal with the threat of cruisers. Otherwise, wouldn't it be a target?

However, in order to put the ship into service as soon as possible, Zeppelin radically proposed a plan to abandon all artillery and only retain anti-aircraft artillery.