Fang Yan pondered for a moment, and then said: "According to the intelligence of Wilhelmshaven, the main force of the British fleet is still two days away from this sea area, so it is unlikely that we will encounter the British fleet, including large warships. And with the slow speed of less than 10 knots of the convoy, even if our attack was delayed, they could not escape the attack of our fighters. Therefore, I think that it is only necessary for the aircraft carriers to prepare a small number of fighters in accordance with the normal situation. Wait until the exact results of the reconnaissance are available, and then you will give the corresponding orders, General. ”

Bomei's eyes lit up, and then he said with joy, "Jonas, I knew you would come up with the best solution!" He briefly explained a few words to the adjutant in front of him, who immediately conveyed the corresponding order to the communications department according to Fang Yan's opinion. Bemme paused, then said, "Jonas, you can make another route for the rest of the fleet." Now that our cruisers and destroyers have consumed more than a third of their fuel, in a few days it should be considered for replenishment. ”

Fang Yan nodded solemnly. At this time, the German Army had not yet occupied the French coast, and its fleet was thousands of nautical miles away from returning home, so maintaining sufficient fuel for the warships became the most critical issue that the fleet commander had to consider at all times. Even if it could not fight the British power, it was necessary to ensure that there was enough fuel to return to the homeland, which was the basic bottom line that the German fleet must always abide by.

Fortunately, however, the German Navy in this plane has significantly improved its fuel support for overseas ships compared to the historical plane. The large-scale exploitation of Libya's oil fields has greatly increased the oil wealth of both German and Italian allies: in this case, not only did the German navy send more oil tankers to the ocean, but even the Italians sent several ships to support them. After some planning, Fang Yan finally chose one of the Italian oil tankers as his target. As early as 5 September, Wilhelmshaven had already telegraphed to its ships the location and communication of several Italian oil tankers, and there was no longer any obstacle to contact between the two sides.

The sun is rising. The morning light is shining. According to the route planned by Fang Yan, the German fleet turned its course to the southwest: there would be not only the Italian 10,000-ton oil tanker "Jasmine", but it was also very likely that the traces of the British convoy mentioned in the intelligence would be found. As time passed, Fang Yan's heart was filled with a slight sense of nervousness, it was like a thing that was destined to arrive for a long time, so that he couldn't help but scratch his ears and cheeks while waiting!

"It was reported that Aircraft 308 had spotted a British merchant ship sailing alone, in an east-northerly direction, 70 nautical miles away. The target course is due east, and the speed reaches 15 knots. The registered displacement is expected to exceed 7 thousand tons! ”

When the voices of officers and soldiers in the telegraph room came from the intercom microphone, Fang Yan couldn't help but breathe a long sigh of relief. He only felt that the eagerness and irritability in his chest had dissipated most of them with the exhalation of this turbid breath, and he had become clear and clear again. The battle to destroy the British sea lines of communication was no longer a blank slate, and this merchant ship was the first stepping stone to the final victory. Now, Fang Yan has at least 5 means to make that merchant ship die no longer and never return to the territory of Britain!

"The British still have ships that go to sea alone?" Hear the news. Colonel Hoffmann, the captain of the Zeppelin, couldn't help but be stunned. In his mind, the British merchant ships should be forced by the threat of German submarines, and all of them should form a group convoy of escort ships. Fang Yan smiled and said, "Mr. Colonel." Not everyone will face threats with a cautious mindset. With 50% of the profits, capital is desperate; And if there is a 300% profit, capital can be desperate, even willing to risk hanging his head! The number of submarines we can put into the Atlantic theater is still very limited. Far from a total blockade of the British, it was therefore time-saving solo sailing for those merchant ships that were moving faster. It has become an ideal choice for the pursuit of profits. ”

"The British will surely pay the price for their greed." Bo Mei said in a flat voice. The killing meaning contained in his words made Fang Yan and Hoffman secretly frightened. He drank the last bitter ascension in his cup and said, "Use two bomb-laden fighters to send it to the bottom of the sea." Hoffman commanded loudly. This response order had long been expected by him, and it was far faster and more efficient to use aircraft against merchant ships than to send any warship. From the take-off of the fighter plane to the launch of an attack on a target 70 nautical miles away, the whole process will not take more than 30 minutes. And if this task is carried out on surface ships, it will take at least 3 hours, because the fuel consumption generated by high-speed navigation is even more staggering.

As for the inability of aircraft to receive and salvage sailors on opposing merchant ships, it was not at all within the scope of the German Navy's consideration. The "benevolent and civilized" British did not abandon the concentration camps established in the Transvaal because of humanitarianism, let alone lift the naval blockade of Germany in November 1918, when the world war was over, which directly led to the death of more than 200,000 Germans from starvation in the following seven months. Now it is impossible for the German fleet to save the lives of the British sailors by sacrificing the efficiency of hunting!

A few minutes later, two fighters took off from the wide deck of the Zeppelin, each carrying a 250kg bomb, which looked powerful and hideous in the harsh sunlight. In the battle of 3 September, the German battleship Bismarck blocked the attack of such bombs with only the open deck, so that all the nearly forty British bombers that attacked were in vain; Today, however, the situation is far from what it was before. This time, the German planes targeted ordinary merchant ships with neither anti-aircraft firepower nor defensive decks, and the 250kg bomb became a lethal weapon when it landed. Under normal circumstances, only one bomb of this type can inflict a devastating blow on a fragile merchant ship, and this time the two planes dispatched by the German army have already pronounced the death sentence of that merchant ship!

The blades spun at high speed, creating a huge traction force, and the German fighter plane sped through the air, speeding away at a cruising speed of 160 knots towards the sea where the friendly plane had discovered the target. Only a quarter of an hour later, the pilot spotted the small knuckle-like figure of the ship on the mirror-blue sea. As they got closer, the silhouette of the target became clearer in their eyes: the thick hull, the rear bridge, the black foggy chimney, and the rice flag fluttering on the mast all showed its status as a British merchant ship!

"the British!" One of the pilots let out a foul cheer, and after throwing a radio message to his teammates, he immediately slammed down the nose of the plane and dived at full speed toward the British merchant ship. Without any interference from anti-aircraft fire, the pilot easily adjusted the aircraft to an optimal attack position and locked the target within the aiming center. It wasn't until the flight altitude was less than 100 meters that he pressed the button to drop the bomb. In an instant, the Go-152 fighter suddenly lightened and began to climb rapidly, and the bomb fell straight down towards the British merchant ship below in an almost parabolic trajectory.

After 4 seconds, a thunderous noise suddenly sounded on the sea, and the crimson raging waves suddenly exploded dozens of meters high, mixed with countless fragments of steel that flew and shattered. From a distance, it looks like an ocean volcano suddenly erupted, bursting with blazing lava and smoke and debris that soared into the sky. The merchant ship was immediately destroyed by this violent blow, and a large part of the cabin structure was destroyed, and the rising flames enveloped the entire middle of the ship. Judging from this scenario, even if another fighter does not attack, the merchant ship is declared finished!

"This is simply a rookie conducting a bomb rehearsal on a moving target ship!" The German pilot sighed. Generally speaking, even if it is a torpedo boat with the smallest displacement, there will be 1~2 small-caliber machine guns that can be used in the air, which makes the aircraft feel the pressure at all times when attacking, and it is impossible to drop bombs less than 100 meters away from the target. However, since the merchant ships did not have any firepower for self-defense, this anomaly appeared in the real battlefield. For the German pilots, this was undoubtedly the most pleasant situation for them, because in this case, their bomb hit rate would be infinitely close to 100 percent!

Under the blow of 2 bombs, the British merchant ship, sailing alone, insisted on afloat for ten minutes. Soon, the sea covered up all the heat and smoke, and only five or six lucky people were left floating on the surface of the sea in lifebuoys and inflatable suits. Seeing the German planes flying away, these British sailors did not react, and when the former was about to disappear from their field of vision, the British sailors woke up like a dream. In an instant, vicious curses resounded in the sky and sea, but soon, these voices turned into desperate cries again.

In the command room of the USS Zeppelin, Fang Yan did not have the heart to feel sorry for the fate of the British sailors, because just now, a bomber that was heading to the southeast to reconnoiter found another British merchant ship 120 nautical miles away. The abundant air force is indeed extremely effective, as long as the target appears in the vicinity of your own fleet, it cannot escape the detection of aircraft. Within a few minutes, two more planes were speeding towards the target. At this point, the anxiety in Fang Yan's heart finally completely subsided. He returned to his normal composure and quietly waited for the arrival of the real big fish. (To be continued.) )