It is hard to imagine that the ugly-looking "Walrus" seaplane and the famous "Spitfire" fighter are both products of the Xiupo Marin Company. Derived from the early Seagull seaplanes, it was put into production in 1936 and had more than 100 in the British Navy by the time the war broke out. Although it may seem clumsy, this orbital catapult seaplane was widely equipped with a variety of large warships of the Royal Navy, and played a very important role in the early stages of warfare.

"Red smoke appears on the sea in front of you!"

The engine directly above the fuselage provided the only power for the aircraft and was constantly making noise, which was why the observer in the nose position had to communicate as loudly as possible with the pilot in the cabin behind him. In order to maximize the visual range, the seaplane is equipped with an observer-machine gunner in the front and rear, whose seats can be opened and closed like tank hatches and are connected to the cockpit by internal passages. They can also remove the semi-stationary 7.7 mm Vickers K machine gun for self-defense in the event of an enemy situation, although this weapon is of little use in today's air combat.

The rain restricted the pilots' vision to a certain extent, looking down from hundreds of meters in the air, there was a faint touch of red floating on the dreary sea, this scene was like a basket of black beans in the middle of a red bean, it seemed that it was difficult to see if you didn't look hard.

After continuing to look in that direction with the telescope for a while, the observer in the nose continued to shout at the top of his voice: "There is a dinghy on the sea!" ”

Despite his poncho and stylish style, sitting in such a position on a stormy day is obviously worse than a pilot sitting in a closed cabin - maybe he is even soaking through his underwear and socks, but what can be done?

The pilot didn't say anything, and the plane soon began to descend, circling in the air for half a circle centered on the red on the sea.

"That's probably a British crew!" The observer shouted again, he had a pair of binoculars in his hand, but according to the principle of the telescope, the higher the magnification. The more stable the platform must be, otherwise there is a high chance that you will not be able to see anything clearly.

The young but draggy-looking pilot still didn't say anything about it, and in a short time the plane had lowered to a height very close to the surface of the sea. Landing on the rough seas was a test of skill, and the clumsy Walrus carefully tested the waters, and the fuselage of this ship seemed to be well adapted to the complex sea conditions. After two or three landing attempts, the pilot managed to land it on the surface. At this time, apart from the wide wings and high-running motives, it was simply a speedboat, and headed towards the dinghy with a red smoke signal far more than a normal boat.

"British?"

There were still dozens of meters away from the boat, and the observer at the nose position shouted at the other side with his machine gun, after all, this is an area of engagement that is possible for both sides of the enemy, and a British-made lifeboat and a group of people in different uniforms are not exactly the same as a group of British sailors waiting for rescue. By this time, the shipman had apparently recognized the identity of the plane. They stood up, waved their hands vigorously, shouted loudly, and looked excited.

Walrus seaplanes are designed for reconnaissance and search though. However, it has a limited cabin and cargo hold, which cannot accommodate too many people. What's more, the pilots still have important tasks to perform at this time. After approaching the dinghy. Nose Location Observer: "Who are you?" How many people are there? What happened? ”

A drenched middle-aged man on the boat replied in a thick Scottish accent, "Sir." There are 15 of us here. Most of them were crew members of the ocean-going freighter Herm. A few hours ago our ship was attacked by a German submarine! We also picked up a few other Britons on the way. They were also the crew members of the steamer who had the misfortune to be attacked by a German submarine! ”

The observer let his guard down slightly. At this time. The pilot poked his head out of the cabin with a serious face. "Hey. Are there any seriously injured among you? ”

The answering crew member looked left and right. Then he shook his head. "Nope. But many of us were slightly injured! ”

"Norman. Give them canned food and medicine on the plane! The driver turned his head and shouted at the machine gunner behind him. Then turn your head back again. To the crew on the dinghy:

"I'm sorry. We now have very important tasks ahead of us. We will report your location and situation to your superiors. It won't be long before you are saved. Good luck! ”

The crew members had puzzled expressions on their faces, they obviously didn't want canned food and medicine, the feeling of being isolated and helpless on the sea was not pleasant, and the feeling of being abandoned again after burning hope was even worse, but there was no choice in things, they had to silently accept this result. After receiving a sack of canned food and a few medicines from the pilots, the frustrated crew watched as the plane taxied again, flew off the surface of the sea, and disappeared from sight. And then. With a sense of great loss. Start cleaning your belongings, collecting drinkable rainwater, and looking forward to the next hope.

In the wind and rain. The pilots of the other "Walrus" are also carefully observing the sea, but it is not easy to find a target in the vast sea, let alone in this unpleasant situation. Fortunately, the plane is equipped with a "secret weapon" that solves the pilots' main problem of observation and early warning - even in the middle of the night, as long as the target is not smaller than a submarine floating above the surface and is within a range of about 10 nautical miles, it can find the target and reflect it on a specific instrument.

This is one of the proudest military equipment of the British army, the AVK1 airborne radar. As an established industrial power, Britain has been weakened by the rise of the Pacific Rim and the enormous attrition of the last war, but it still has a technological advantage in many areas, including radar. During the British War, the British used a large number of 6-base radars for air defense early warning, and thus thwarted the numerically superior Luftwaffe, which is well known to most people, but few people know that airborne radar and radar-equipped night fighters also played a significant role in this important battle. As early as the end of 1939 and the beginning of the 40s, the AVK1/K2 airborne sea-to-sea search radar and the A1 airborne night-carrying radar using the nanoband began to equip the British team, and they also became the world's most practical airborne radars. When the air battle of Britain gradually approached, the "Handsome Warrior" dual fighter equipped with radar joined the British Air Force in time, and soon showed good combat performance in a series of battles, which made great contributions to the final thwart of the German air offensive against the British Isles.

However, although the size of airborne radar is decreasing, the cost is still staggering, and some of the early design of the aircraft is difficult to carry due to structural and other reasons, and the flight personnel also need time to fully master the technology, the popularity of radar in the British Navy and Air Force is still very limited. For example, of the more than 400 "Walrus" seaplanes of the British Navy and Air Force, only more than 100 have been equipped with K1 sea-searching radars, while the "Guannasui" carrier-based fighters have no such luck. Since the flight degree was already lower than that of the "Hurricane" and "Spitfire", and the installation of radar required structural adjustments, it was completely excluded from the scope of modification.

Even if the "Walrus" is equipped with the K1 sea search radar, in addition to the fact that the cost has increased significantly compared with other aircraft, the fate may not be much better, because at present, any fighter of the warring countries can easily shoot it down, and the sea search radar does not seem to have any help in air vigilance, so that when the two dark planes are quietly approaching, the pilots do not have any reaction, and when the observer at the back of the plane hears the "sound" and leaves, he is already within the attack range of the other party!

Dada......

A series of 7.92 mm bullets accurately and ferociously tore apart the fragile body of the "Walrus", and the unprotected motive was instantly set on fire, and the clumsy seaplane tilted to the side, and then fell irretrievably to the sea, and the surviving pilot did not even have time to warn others!

It didn't take long for another "Walrus" equipped with a K1 radar to successfully find its target. In order to further determine the identity of the other party, the pilot boldly approached the other party, and this risky effort quickly paid off, and the spotter on board also found the two battleships traveling together on the rough sea. Looking down from the air, they look like they've been carved out of a mold: the same simple and sleek ship shape, the same configuration of triple guns, and the same eye-catching Iron Cross logo on the stern!

"Now there are two German warships, both of which are heading east at a course of no more than 10 knots, and it is preliminarily concluded that they are of the Scharnhorst class!" The on-camera observer, machine gunner, and communicator quickly radioed this brief but important report. However, the crew did not seem to realize that the German battleship did not fire at them at this completely observable distance - although it was not easy for the twin 105mm anti-aircraft guns to shoot down a reconnaissance plane at such a height, it could at least cause psychological shock to the opponent and thus disrupt the reconnaissance operation of the opponent!

When things go unexpectedly well, smart and big-picture people usually try to think about what is hidden behind it, but unfortunately there are very few such people, and by the time the British pilot on this walrus feels bad, there is no chance of escaping the attack of the German BF109T carrier-based fighters......