The only result of the notification of the troops was that the shortcomings of the He-218 were weak firepower, and it was recommended to continue the attack from the rear hemisphere, but this conclusion was sent to the fighter unit and it was torn to pieces by the commander who scolded: "Idiot! ”

If you think about it carefully, you will know what the problem is: the He-218 firepower is not strong, but the speed is extremely fast, many times the F6F can't keep up with the other party, the opponent can still hit the volley for a while, and the pursuit in the back can only eat ashes, where can we talk about continuous follow-up attacks?

It's boring, but it's not outrageous, and the most bloody thing is the analysis of the BF-219: in July last year, the U.S. military acquired a full-fledged Zero fighter on Akutan Island, and aviation experts rushed back to China for study, and the conclusion was very gratifying: weak survivability, poor diving, flawed right-hand rolling, and then confidently believing that the newly introduced F6F and the F4F using the Thatchi scissors tactic were enough to overwhelm. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 Info then clarified in the Battle of Kuah that the Zero Combat 32 was not a new model, but only a modification of the Zero Battle, so the improved BF-219 based on the Zero Combat 32 was not analyzed, and the Russians did not ask the Russians for the wreckage of the BF-219 - the relevant parties believed that the Russians could not be extorted again.

As a result, the F4F and F6F were directly educated in the aircraft carrier-based engagement, and the so-called shortcomings were almost non-existent on the BF-219 modification, and when the bitten pilot confidently tried to get rid of the pursuit according to the method taught by his superiors, he did not expect the enemy to retaliate with greater speed and better maneuverability. This shock is especially evident when using the Saatchi scissors tactic, when the U.S. military pilot finally held back his big move and wanted to use the Saatchi scissors to catch the opponent off guard, but the BF-219 was directly cut inward in a small radius at a faster speed, and the F4Fs were beaten to the ground.

In the end, it was concluded that the German-made zero war and the RB-made zero war were two different things, and the original analysis was basically invalid, and it was necessary to spend money again to ask the Russians about the land-based version of the BF-219 that was shot down on the battlefield on the Eastern Front.

In order to regain the upper hand in aircraft performance, the Admiralty has taken urgent action:

The first is to order Grumman to increase its efforts: they are required not only to improve the F6F, but also to study a newer and better generation. According to combat experience and ideas, the F8F will continue to use the same engine as the F6F, but the aerodynamic shape will be optimized and lightweight, ready to learn from the Japanese and German ideas, and use the light body to obtain better aerodynamic performance.

Second, the Douglas company, which developed the SBD dive bomber, was required to carry out research on a new aircraft and prepare a new generation of dive bombers equipped with liquid-cooled engines, and the engine model was also determined -- the use of the British Roll-Royce Grayback Falcon liquid-cooled engine, which is the same as the army's P-51 fighter, in addition to putting forward higher design requirements than the HE-218 in terms of speed and range, it also emphasized that the new aircraft must be conducive to aircraft carrier take-off and landing;

Third, the combined army and the British side have been madly engaged in the research and development of meteor jets, and the navy has even ambitiously put forward tender requirements for jet carrier-based fighters and attack aircraft.

Spruance smiled and said to Cunningham: "This is fine, it shows that the enemy is also worried about fighting us, without the help of the Combined Fleet, the German Navy will not dare to fight us in a big way, only dare to sneak to fight merchant ships." ”

Cunningham nodded slightly, he knew Spruance's intention: this was not to underestimate the enemy or be arrogant, this was to cheer up the staff officers and other officers in the commander tower, help them build confidence, after the continuous failures and the sharp increase in new recruits in the troops, even the officers with this group began to feel a little unconfident.

"Sir, the radar shows that there is a large group of planes coming from a distance, the number is nearly 200, the course is 20 degrees, the altitude is very high, more than 7,000 meters......" The news from the radar room from the confidential staff officer made everyone's hearts can't help but lift.

Spruance was startled at first, then his brows eased again, and he said unusually calmly: "Second level combat readiness, take off another batch of air defense fighters to see, if I guess correctly, it should be our strategic transport formation across the Atlantic." ”

A few minutes later, a report came from the fighter formation: "The alarm has been lifted, and the formation of high-altitude bombers and transport aircraft from the direction of Newfoundland ......"

Seven minutes later, everyone saw a spectacular scene: more than 200 four-engine heavy planes roared over the aircraft carrier formation.

Cunningham was a little puzzled: "Didn't you say that strategic air strikes were suspended?" Where is this batch of B-29s going to be bombed? ”

"It did stop, but it's not a strategic air strike, it's a strategic transport." Spruance smiled wryly.

The Anglo-Canadian route was blocked for more than half a month, and the British island complained bitterly, and the wealthy Americans felt a little unhappy because they stopped the strategic air raids on Germany, so they sent temporary transport planes and C-54 strategic transport planes transformed from B-29 bombers to transport supplies to Britain by air, and the route took off from Newfoundland to British airports, nearly 4,000 kilometers each way, and each plane could carry about 7 tons of supplies on average (B-29 was slightly less than 7 tons, C-54 is slightly more than 7 tons), loaded with food, medicine, fuel and other urgently needed supplies.

In order to be able to carry more supplies, the temporarily modified B-29 all canceled the machine gun and machine gunner to reduce weight, anyway, there were no German planes on this route, and the overall safety was very safe. Today was the first large-scale sea trial, with a total of 213 aircraft dispatched, capable of transporting almost 1,500 tons of cargo. Although it is not an order of magnitude compared to shipping, it gives the British who are struggling to support themselves in the difficult situation a little hope and motivates them to continue to fight.

This transatlantic strategic transport is ambitiously prepared by the United States to reach a scale of at least 10,000 tons per day, on the one hand, it has given Douglas an additional order of 3,000 C-54s, and on the other hand, it has asked Boeing to transform the B-29 transport aircraft, Boeing said that it has considered the transportation transformation when designing, and the new model is positioned C-97, which can carry 10 tons of materials at a time to carry out 5,000 kilometers of transportation, and the Joint Staff Committee has also placed an order for 2,000 aircraft.

Cunningham nodded: "That's a good idea, if we have such a fast transport force, can we quickly transport the shipbuilders to the United States on the return trip?" Five families can be pulled by one airplane, and 5,000 households can pass by in a day, and if more people are involved in shipbuilding, warships can be built faster. ”

Spruance's eyes lit up and he nodded heavily: "This is a good idea, I will send a telegram to Admiral Kim immediately." ”

Cunningham's estimate was right, the German fleet that had broken diplomatic relations in the North Atlantic had indeed returned home three days earlier, but the Germans did not know that the US aircraft carrier fleet had pounced, let alone retreat from the prestige of the British and American Atlantic fleets, they were only returning to the sea after completing the set mission and preparing to carry out the next mission -- the "Pearl of Peace" project, which was ready to set off on 15 July.

Since the fleet was also escorting 4 captured American freighters, the overall speed was not fast, only 13 knots slowly, but Marchar was not impatient, he had seen the distant Spanish coastline through the telescope, and after entering the port, the fleet would leave the captured freighters and British civilians in A Coruña, and then return to Italy to resupply, and maybe go to Berlin to report on the results of the break.

The British civilians captured along the way were honest, because they were told that they would not be imprisoned in Spain for long, and soon the American side would exchange them with an equal number of German expatriate families, with the Portuguese in between. After the U.S. launched the National Security Act and other related regulations, hundreds of purely German-American families (meaning parents and children born in Germany and have not yet obtained U.S. citizenship) have been forced to embark on the road back. Since there were fewer American expatriates in Germany than in the United States, the Germans had to make up a full quota for the exchange with other ordinary Anglo-American civilians or Jews.

As with Jews in Germany, German expatriates may take their belongings with them, but all real estate, remaining shares, or other assets they own in the United States will be auctioned off as "enemy property."

This operation was a separate operation of the German Navy, and it was also the first large-scale operation to break diplomatic relations carried out in a complete aircraft carrier formation -- the last time the breach of diplomatic relations was abruptly interrupted by Spruance in the middle of the operation, after having the Azores base and a complete aircraft carrier formation, Germany has formed a multi-integrated comprehensive diplomatic breaking capability, and the ability to break diplomatic relations and the destruction efficiency have increased exponentially -- the fleet has suspended the Anglo-Canadian route for three weeks, cutting off the lifeline of the British, and letting everyone see the power of the blockade operation.

This made Marchar particularly high-spirited, and when he remembered the history of the last war in which Britain had blocked all German external routes with the superiority of the Royal Navy, he was filled with the thrill of revenge, and how much material could be intercepted and sunk became secondary.

"Sir, a telegram has been sent from China that the Italian Navy's Harrier Eagle aircraft carrier has completed all sea trials and is officially put into service, and we can use three aircraft carriers for the 'Peace Pearl' project; the pilots of the two Marine Brigade and the Air Force undertaking combat missions are being assembled, and they are expected to arrive at the designated port in Italy on July 11, complete boarding on July 14, and depart on time on the evening of July 15 under the escort of the Italian fleet. The High Command advised us to rest and resupply in Italy for seven days before departing for a mission, with the two fleets regrouping after passing through Socotra. ”

"Good." Mashal nodded with satisfaction, "The transport fleet is slow, it doesn't hurt to let them go first, we can catch up." ”

"The Führer is very concerned about the problems that have arisen in the breakdown of diplomatic relations, and requires you and the principal officers to go to Berlin and report to him personally, and the audience will be in the evening of July 16."

"At this time, if there are any other changes, please notify us separately." (To be continued.) )