"Z9 sent a telegram that 2 British Afridi-class destroyers had been sunk. The ship and the Z10 core module are intact, and the combat effectiveness is basically intact, and it is currently returning to the team. ”

Hearing the adjutant read out this telegram, the corners of Fang Yan's mouth showed a little smile: it was not so much a surprise as a relief and peace that he should have reaped this victory. Following the German-class pocket cruisers and K-class heavy cruisers, the value of the Z-type armored super destroyer has finally been justified in actual combat: in the face of unprotected ordinary destroyers, she has an overwhelming advantage in the two key areas of combat power preservation and damage control, and is completely capable of cutting the street in artillery battles1

And even if Britain and the United States want to build similar ships to counter it, their design methods and subsystem performance cannot be replicated. The key to the success of the Z-type superdrive is the large number of armor involved in the full welding of the structure, the design of the reverse underwater protrusion, the reduced drag of the tail plate and the bulbous nose bow, and the sophisticated and efficient power system - all of which are difficult for the British and the United States to have!

"The British have put their best destroyers in the North Sea region instead of supporting the North Atlantic shipping routes, and they have really gathered a large number of troops here waiting for us to arrive?" Bo Mei's eyes were solemn, and there was a look of worry in his eyes. Before entering the Norwegian waterways, he did not think that the British would wait for the rabbit on his way back, but the concealment of his fleet for more than ten consecutive days, the breakdown of friendly ships, and the settlement and replenishment in Murmansk all made Bomay's confidence swell, and he gradually despised the British navy as an enemy. However, now Bome has come to understand that although the British Navy is much inferior to Germany in terms of hardware and equipment, it is still their grassroots officers and soldiers and decision-making generals who still maintain the wisdom and fighting spirit generated by the heavy history of more than 300 years across the seas!

"It is highly likely that the British took such action. However, the placement and replenishment of our fleet in Murmansk was also unpredictable. At this time, Fang Yan regained his composure, and said with a bright eye, "The difficulty of destroying a fleet with a speed of 16 knots and a fleet with a speed of 28 knots are completely two different orders of magnitude, and the plan of the British is destined to fail because of this change." ”

The sea was foggy and the sun was rising, and the German fleet, consisting of four aircraft carriers, one heavy cruiser, and eight destroyers, was speeding forward in a south-easterly direction where Wilhelmshaven was located. In front of the bow of the ship, a large white wave of water stirred up, like thousands of silver lions galloping and rushing, but the gray-black steel hull stood tall in the cascading waves, shattering them into a drizzle of rain from the front. The white foam is rolling, the wake is agitated, and when viewed from the air, it seems to outline a vivid and clean feather flower in the blue and shiny painting.

"The radar room called the navigation room, 4 small targets were found in the west 281 azimuth, heading 105 south-east, at a speed of 18 knots, and at a distance of 21km from the ship!" In less than half an hour, the voice of the radar soldier was heard again from the microphone in front of Bomei. Bomay's eyes twinkled, and he had no doubts about the British navy's deliberate attempt to ambush him in the Norwegian waterways. Fang Yan quickly calculated in his mind for a moment, and then said with a smile: "These British warships can't meet us. We don't need to change course, we can pass each other with our current speed. ”

With the help of radar, the German fleet sailed in the fog and gained an absolute head start. The British search detachment, which appeared to be four destroyers, swept past the rear of the German fleet, which was less than 16 km from the nearest German battleship. However, the British found no sign of the German battleship: the sea was not dense, but the fog was constantly filling, hiding everything 10 km away in white. Although the German fleet was fully capable of crushing this enemy detachment, it was obviously not the time to make a high-profile disturbance: as long as these main aircraft carriers could return to the base safely, then when the main forces were assembled in the future and set out again, no matter how many British families they had, they could be bombarded with planes and huge artillery in one fell swoop!

As for the two destroyers Z9 and Z10 that fell behind the German aircraft carrier, Fang Yan was not worried about their safety at all. Both ships are also equipped with sea-detection radars, and their top speed of 35.5 knots is enough to allow them to take advantage of the situation. The width of the Norwegian waterways is not small, as long as the number of British warships is not too large, they are sure that they will be able to break through the blockade and pass through, not to mention that there are nights to use. Taking a step back, even if they really can't return south, they can still get to Murmansk with ease.

At noon, the German fleet crossed 60 degrees north latitude and officially sailed into the North Sea. As far as the eye could see, the fog at sea had increased rather than decreased, and visibility had dropped to less than 6 kilometers, but the German battleships sailing in three rows could still clearly see each other's lights and flags. Seeing that the return to China was in sight, the chefs of each ship no longer spared the ingredients, and for a while, the stove was blazing, and the restaurant was filled with the fresh aroma of freshly baked bread and beef and potato soup. The German sailors feasted on laughter and took advantage of this rare leisure time to relax and talk; By tomorrow morning, they will be able to relax and enjoy the glory and glory of being victors in front of thousands of people.

"Why are the British here again, they are really as ubiquitous as voles in the wetlands!" Knowing that two small targets were sailing northwest at a speed of 18 knots 21 km to the south, Bo Mei, who was eating, put down his knife and fork in anger as he was eating. The course of the German fleet at present was almost exactly opposite to these two ships, and the speed in opposite directions exceeded 45 knots; In another 10 minutes, the two sides will be able to bump into each other. Bome pondered for a moment, and ordered the fleet to turn to the right by 5 compass points. Bermay was well versed in this level of navigation: unless the two ships detected by the radar suddenly turned to the northwest and accelerated, they would pass by the German fleet at high speed.

However, it didn't take long for four shining points of light to appear in the southwest on the turquoise radar screen. Their rapid eastward movement made it difficult for the German fleet to continue evasion: it was only possible to avoid both groups of targets at the same time unless the rudder turned northwest—which meant that the fleet would sail away from Wilhelmshaven. Seeing the direction of the arrow marked by the staff officer on the chart, Bomay couldn't make up his mind for a while: he didn't expect that the British Navy would invest so much search force here, so that he was a little overwhelmed!

"I suggest that the fleet should resume its original southeasterly course and break through the British search sector from this point." Fang Yan said suddenly. He kept talking, and said his calculations to everyone in the shortest possible time: "Now that British warships have appeared in the entire southwest and southeast directions, there is no need to doubt the strength of the other side's search; If we turn to the northwest, there is simply no guarantee that British warships will not be spotted again. Therefore, instead of dodging in this way and getting farther and farther away from the base, it is better to penetrate the fishing nets of the British and gallop south as fast as possible. ”

Hoffman, who was silent, was stunned when he heard this, and nodded: "I agree with Jonas's opinion. The British would not have assembled a large fleet in the south-north sea, because the combat radius of our S-type torpedo boats covered almost 70% of the North Sea; Unless the British want to be killed by these 80-ton pocket speedboats, they will carefully choose their position. As long as we can maintain our current speed, there is a good chance that we will not encounter any hostile situations after breaking through this barrier. ”

With the statements of the two right-hand men, Bomei immediately adopted their opinions. The 13 warships cut through the arc on the surface of the sea, continuing to sail in a straight line towards their target. Ten minutes later, a hazy shadow of a ship gradually emerged from the fog. As soon as the silhouette of her British destroyer came into view of the German lookouts, dozens of long-loaded cannons immediately shot deadly steel projectiles at them.

The waves were raging, the waves were rushing into the sky, and the unsuspecting sailors of the British destroyer HMS Avi were immediately stunned. When the column of water had subsided a little, they saw a chilling picture: four flat-deck aircraft carriers were speeding in their direction at high speed under the cover of a little brother, and judging from the size of the splash caused by the bow of the opposing ship, their speed was at least 26 knots or more!

Seeing the dense artillery fire coming towards him like a rainstorm, the British captain's courage to launch a torpedo charge was instantly extinguished. He gave the order to release the smoke screen with all his might, and immediately turned the rudder and retreated, while urgently reporting his fate to his superiors by radio. Although the contact between the two sides was very short, the characteristics of the aircraft carrier were already very obvious from a distance of more than 5,000 meters, and the British captain was able to report in a very positive tone the lineup of the German fleet with four aircraft carriers. And about the speed of the German fleet, the attentive captain did not omit it in the report.

Bo Mei obviously didn't want to put in the effort to catch this slippery little trash fish. Seeing that the other side released smoke and fled at a very fast speed, he also ordered the shelling to stop, and the two sides passed by in the fog with thunder and rain. A few minutes later, an encrypted telegram was overheard by the German ship's communications department, and Fang Yan, who was slightly moved in his heart, smiled and said to Hoffman in front of him: "Shall we come to make a bet?" The British will certainly advertise afterwards that they sank 1 of our aircraft carriers. And because our main aircraft carrier fleet was damaged and returned home, the Royal Navy won another strategic victory. (To be continued.) )