The sun was shining, the waves were rolling, and the five German aircraft carriers sounded a poignant and sharp battle siren, which was particularly breathtaking in the bitter howling sea breeze. In just a few minutes, 11,000 officers and soldiers were running into position and performing their duties; For them, the situation in front of them has already been extremely proficient in the usual training!

In the tall and open hangar of the aircraft carrier, ground crews are busy weaving underneath the dense line of warplanes: they warm up the metal giants and fill them with fuel, guns and ammunition for air combat. When this work was completed, the fighters were pushed out of the hangar and lifted to the flight deck by a large elevator more than ten meters square. The deck crew, who had been waiting for the elevator for a long time, immediately pushed the fighter to the predetermined take-off position behind the deck of the aircraft carrier. Finally, the folding wings of the fighter were unfolded, completing the final preparations before the sortie; And under the GO-388 torpedo bomber, according to operational needs, torpedoes or bombs were hung.

At the same time, the power departments of the ships began intense operations. Through the increase of the total amount of fuel, air, and feed water, the load of the heavy oil boiler is rising. A large amount of high-temperature and high-pressure steam is produced from the boiler and rushes through the turbine impeller of the steam turbine in the spring flood, driving the transmission shaft and propeller to rotate rapidly. Soon, the speed of the entire German fleet exceeded the 30-knot mark. Fang Yan looked from the bridge of the Bismarck, and saw two rows of huge white waves flying into the sky along the bow of the ship, and their momentum was amazing, and it was extremely spectacular!

As time passed, Fang Yan's emotions gradually calmed down from being excited and nervous at the beginning. At present, the fleet has entered the final sprint stage, and it is no longer necessary to think too much about the tactical details; All he can do now is to rely on his inherent immersion and attainment in the military branch of carrier-based aviation to deal with the various events that will arise in the future. Not to mention that there was nothing to worry about him now. Unless the British had an early insight into their plans. And send out the whole fleet in advance and encircle your own side from all directions, otherwise, with your own escort forces, there is still no problem in escaping.

The red sun climbed, and the light was dazzling, in Fang Yan's patient waiting. The time finally came to 11 a.m. sharp. The flags of each aircraft carrier flew and the lights flickered, and they made an indirect and clear report to the rear flagships on the preparations of their carrier-based aircraft in an hour and a half. They are ready to attack 70% of the largest attack aircraft group, ready to let these fighters fly.

Although the time had come for the British ultimatum to Germany, Wilhelmshaven did not hear the news of the war at the first time. Out of prudence, Bomay, who strictly adhered to the order of the naval headquarters not to take the initiative to provoke trouble, still chose to wait until the telegram declaring war arrived. To facilitate the take-off of carrier-based aircraft. The speed of the aircraft carrier remained at 30 knots. Fang Yan silently calculated the position, and at this time, his fleet was less than 380 kilometers away from Scarpa Bay, which meant that the carrier-based aviation could strike at the target at any time.

"Jingle bell!" The crisp and piercing telephone rang suddenly in the navigation room, and Fang Yan's body shook suddenly, and then he saw Bo Mei walk forward quickly, grab the microphone that connected to the telegraph room and put it in his ear. Fang Yan, who faintly felt something in his heart, looked down at his pocket watch, and the hands on it were reaching 11:32. Only half a minute later, an adjutant rushed briskly into the navigation room. Waving the telegram in his hand, he said loudly to Bermay: "Your Excellency, Great Britain has declared war on Germany!" ”

"Command. The air fleet immediately released carrier-based aircraft, targeting the British fleet in Scarpa Bay! Bomei's eyes lit up, and his deep voice reached the ears of everyone in the navigation room. He paused, and then said: "Order the air fleet to prepare the second wave of aircraft immediately after the first wave of attack aircraft is released, and the release time of the second round of attack is 13:35. The cruiser and the ship released seaplanes according to the plan. Alert the east and west flanks of the fleet. The ship raised the Z-shaped flag, the rise and fall of the empire in this battle, and all members worked hard! ”

Seeing the adjutant turn and run, Bomei let out a long breath. The plan to raid Scarpa Bay has finally come to the final moment, and what the outcome will be. We'll see in an hour and a half. Thinking of this, his heart moved slightly, and he couldn't help but look at Fang Yan next to him, and an uncontrollable sigh of emotion quietly rose in his heart. Since the departure of the fleet on August 21, all the actions of our fleet have been carried out according to the young man's plan, even the flag that he had just ordered to be raised. For some reason, Bo Mei suddenly had an absurd illusion: it seemed that this young man was the real commander of the current ocean-going fleet!

With the flags flying on the ropes of the Bismarck, the flight decks of the five aircraft carriers were noisy: countless aero engines screamed and hissed, as if the falcons had been trapped in a cage for too long and couldn't wait to fly into the free blue sky. Soon, the first Go-152 fighter began to accelerate sharply on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier under the traction of the revolving propeller; As its landing gear burst off the end of the deck, the plane paused slightly, then pulled its head up and roared into the vast sky.

As the operation was a surprise attack, and the fleet showed no signs of exposure all the way; The German aircraft carrier formation then adopted Fang Yan's No. A launch plan, that is, to maintain air supremacy with a small number of fighters and send torpedo bombers to attack the ship with all its might. After flying 36 fighters in a matter of minutes, the German aircraft carriers began to send out a large number of torpedo bombers that had already been prepared on deck. Of the 144 torpedo bombers that made up the first wave of attacking aircraft, only 48 were carrying 500kg bombs; The remaining 96 were all mounted with aviation torpedoes weighing nearly 1 ton, and they were undoubtedly the absolute main force in this wave of attack.

The cylinders roared, the blades swirled, and one after another German carrier-based aircraft soared into the sky at a speed of 30 seconds per aircraft carrier; Looking from afar, it seems that hundreds of birds are out of the nest, and gulls and herons are flying. By 12 noon sharp, all the planes of the first attack wave had been released. 180 warplanes roared and screamed, forming a huge array at an altitude of 3 kilometers; Among them, the fighters in the front are in a double formation, and the bombers in the center and rear are arranged in groups. With the order of Captain Thomas, these fighters roared in the direction of Scapa Bay.

At the same time, five light and soft seaplanes also rose into the air through catapults and slowly reconnoitred towards the two wings of the fleet. They were released by the battleship Bismarck and three K-class heavy cruisers, and their purpose was to provide reconnaissance and early warning to the fleet during the attack time when the aircraft carriers were cruising in the waters close to the British base. Since the current carrier attack aircraft group has been released and will be flying over Scapa Bay in just over an hour, there is no need for the German fleet to keep a low profile as before. Even if the British discovered the existence of these German seaplanes, it would be too late to change the fate of the fleet in the harbor by warning the base.

At 12:02, the German fleet began to slow down, turned eight compass points to the left, and changed course to due east. They need to keep their distance from Scapa Bay and avoid the possible blows they may face as they continue to move further south. In the navigation room, Lindemann looked slightly disappointed, his battleship was completely reduced to a supporting role in this operation, and there was no chance to use the power of the main gun. On the contrary, Fang Yan's heart was full of joy and calm, he had been advocating the theory of aviation victory for so many years, and today he will finally get the proof of actual combat.

The sun was shining, the sea and sky were blue, and the German aircraft group flew south at a speed of more than 300 km/h. At 13:04, the Ornik Islands on the outskirts of Scapa Bay were in sight. Wolfe, a young aviation sergeant, looked out into the sea through bulletproof glass and saw that the islands were almost exactly the same location and size as they had been on the map given to him by his superiors. An uncontrollable surprise suddenly appeared in his heart: in the past three months of training, he had completely mastered the offensive steps in the terrain of this archipelago, and he could say that he could do it with his eyes closed!

"We're at the naval base of the British!" Enke, the telegraph operator in the passenger seat in the rear, cheered, his voice full of excitement and excitement. Unlike the ordinary German people's fear and hatred of a major war in Europe, the officers and men of the current German Navy are extremely enthusiastic about going to war with Britain. The main reason for this phenomenon is undoubtedly the book "Apocalypse of the Rise and Fall of the High Seas Fleet" published by Fang Yan in the summer of 1926.

After more than 10 years of brewing and fermentation, the officers and men of the German Navy have already hated Britain for its tyrannical and tyrannical and ferocious pursuit of exclusive sea power, and for doing everything possible in Europe to provoke hatred and war against other countries. All the time, they want to avenge the shame of the ancestors of the High Seas Fleet, who were tragically strangled by the British in the past!

Two minutes later, Scapa Bay, surrounded by archipelagos, was far from the field of vision of the German aircraft group. There was not a single British plane in the air, and only about 20 anti-aircraft blocking balloons were scattered. To the ecstasy of all the pilots, a large number of British battleships painted in Victoria were quietly moored in place, and this group of naval war weapons that had made countless countries both hated and feared in the past was completely exposed to themselves like lambs to the slaughter!

"Tiger! Tiger! Tiger! "Lieutenant Colonel Thomas, who commanded the attack group, immediately signaled the success of the sneak attack. (To be continued.) )