In the Atlantic Fleet, the first to go into battle were the gunners of anti-aircraft guns. +◆Top+◆Point+◆Small+◆ Say,

Seeing the two seaplanes appearing in the sky, 20 twin 37-mm anti-aircraft guns on the battleship Veneto were the first to open fire.

Countless white gunpowder smoke immediately burst into the sky, enveloping the two seaplanes.

The two seaplanes pulled up in panic and flew out of range of the Italian Navy's 37-mm anti-aircraft guns.

Sixty 90-mm anti-aircraft guns in the fleet immediately opened fire, completely dispelling the British pilots' idea of a fluke.

The deafening sound of artillery rang out for more than ten minutes, and a seaplane was hit by shrapnel as sharp as a blade, and a few wisps of black smoke came out of the fuselage, and it fell rapidly in the air around the spiral line.

The black smoke then gathered into a billowing column of smoke, which surrounded the fuselage with flames, and looked particularly shocking.

The plane plunged headlong into the blue waters, and the surface of the sea splashed with snow-white waves.

Seeing the tragic condition of its comrades, the surviving seaplane did not run away, but circled in a larger circle in the sky and continued to circle over the Italian fleet, its fragile fuselage dancing in a ferocious hail of bullets.

Radio waves emanated from the planes, and every move of the Italian Navy was destined for its mothership, the battleship Gangyong.

Campioni looked at the stubborn enemy plane in the sky, and there was a little admiration in his eyes.

It is worthy of the Royal Navy, which has been crisscrossing the four oceans for hundreds of years, and it still has such courage in such an absolute disadvantage.

After staring at the plane for a few minutes, Campioni twisted the beautiful two mustaches above his lips.

It was too difficult to shoot down this plane with anti-aircraft guns alone, the Italian Navy needed naval aviation, it needed aircraft carriers. Otherwise, we will have to rely on the power of the Japanese. The combat efficiency is simply too low.

Ignore the lone plane in the sky. Campioni quickly gave two orders.

The Atlantic Fleet was quickly reorganized, and the battleships Earl Cavour and Caesar, together with two heavy cruisers and four destroyers, formed a sub-flotilla and circled from the west to the rear of the British blocking fleet.

The main forces of the Atlantic Fleet rushed head-on to the enemy.

The reconnaissance aircraft had already informed Campioni of the enemy's plight.

The faint sight of the battleship in the telescope, which was slanted across the sea and could sink at any moment, gave Campioni a sense of respect.

The seriously wounded battleship knew that it was slowing down the speed of the whole fleet, so it stayed behind to block the attack and buy time for the whole fleet to escape, which was a heroic act in the armies of any country. It deserves the admiration of any military man, including his own enemy.

Knowing that it would not work, Campioni still ordered to call in clear code to persuade the other party to surrender.

The battleship Brave replied as bravely as his name, and eight huge 381-mm shells whizzed down into the ranks of the Atlantic Fleet.

The cannonballs set off eight thick columns of water in the sea.

In the face of the Brave's answer, Campioni showed no mercy, but gave the order to open fire with a painstaking desire to satisfy the other party.

The six 381-mm guns in the bow of the battleship Veneto opened fire quickly, scorching flames erupting from their muzzles.

The familiar vibration came from under his feet, and the rumbling sound of cannon rushed into his mind, and Campioni was suddenly shaken.

The bulletproof glass of the bridge was buzzing and shaking. Through the thick glass, he seemed to feel the scorching heat of the muzzle flames.

The battleship Litorio was not far behind. The six main guns in the bow roared.

The three battleships of both sides fired at each other at a distance of 18,000 kilometers, and the deadly shells crossed the vast sea, setting off thick columns of water around each other.

Following the shells, two destroyers of the British Royal Navy launched a suicidal charge, firing full throttle, and penetrated into the ranks of the Italian Navy with fearless courage.

The destroyer Magnum was destroyed in the air raid with its main guns destroyed, its propellers were slightly damaged, and it was unable to provide power normally, and could only run at a maximum speed of twelve knots.

The destroyer Prayer, which was also stalled due to injuries, rushed side by side to the right side of the Magnum.

Cannonballs of different sizes set off countless stormy waves beside the two destroyers, and the emaciated bodies of the two destroyers shuttled through the huge waves and bullet rain, and approached the Italian Navy step by step.

The 120-mm guns in the bow of the USS Prayer fired non-stop, showing their courage to the enemy with shells.

The two destroyers approached the Italian fleet about a kilometer in an S-shaped course, and did not hesitate to use their last resort.

Four torpedoes jumped out of the torpedo tubes one after the other and plunged into the ranks of the enemy fleet with a silver trajectory.

As a last resort, all the good fortune of the two destroyers was given to four torpedoes, leaving only nightmares for themselves.

The destroyer Magnum was immediately hit by two 203-mm shells on the bridge and chimney, and was blown to pieces on the spot and sank to the bottom of the sea.

The destroyer Prayer was first damaged in the stern by a 203-mm miss, and then besieged by four Italian destroyers.

In the last moments, another round of torpedoes was fired, and the destroyer Prayer could no longer hold it and began to sink.

The sacrifice of the two destroyers inspired the last courage of the battleship Brave.

It crossed the hull of the ship and faced the charging Italian fleet on the port side, and the 381-mm main gun and 6-inch secondary gun continued to spit out flames, and even the large and small anti-aircraft guns were not far behind, firing wildly at the Italian destroyers.

Overlooking the sea, the white wake that the ship slid out of its charge, and the white columns of water from the flying shells were intertwined.

As the Italian destroyer approached, a torpedo trail appeared on the sea.

The Gang Yong's wrecked power plant dragged the huge hull of more than 36,000 tons, and slowly turned to port on the surface of the sea, narrowly avoiding two torpedoes.

Dodging the two torpedoes that rushed from the stern of the ship was only the beginning of the doom.

Six destroyers surrounded the Gangyong in the middle from the left and right flanks, and in less than two minutes they released twelve torpedoes and pounced on the Gangyong in crossfire.

The Gang Yong continued to turn to port, barely dodging the torpedo from the port side, but sent the starboard side to the course of another wave of torpedoes.

Two loud rumbles. Two flames erupted from the starboard side of the Gangyong and directly below the stern turret. A huge wave of air carried countless water droplets into the air.

The high-explosive charge of the torpedo explosion tore a large hole 13 meters long and 7 meters wide in the starboard side of the Gangyong. The crack under the stern turret reached a terrifying fifteen meters.

The thin anti-torpedo compartment was in vain, the watertight mediastinum on the inside was blown up, and a large amount of seawater poured in.

A miracle happened, a large amount of sea water poured into the right side of the hull of the Gang Yong, and the hull that had been slightly tilted to the port side gradually regained its balance.

However, the waterline gradually moved up the hull of the Gang Yong, and the speed of the ship slowed down from eight knots to five knots, and then to three. At last it stopped.

The incapacitated Brave was still fighting, and the anti-aircraft gunners lowered their barrels and laid a net of fire on the surface of the sea to intercept the charging destroyers and torpedoes.

Seven torpedoes were destroyed on the surface of the charge, but at the same time, seventeen shells landed on the deck of the Brave.

One by one, the anti-aircraft gunners in the open air were swept down to the deck by shrapnel, rolling and wailing, and the blood quickly stained the deck red.

The sea water that was swept onto the deck by the shells washed blood to every corner of the deck, coating the deck with a reddish "paint".

One by one, the anti-aircraft gunners fell, and the Italian torpedoes rammed into the hull of the Gangyong with impunity.

Explosions rang out one after another. The Gangyong was like being in an earthquake-prone area, and its huge body shook again and again. On deck, in the bridge, and in the turret, all the crew staggered and fell dizzy, and the firepower of resistance was gradually weakened.

The Count Cavour delivered the fatal blow, four 320mm shells hit the Gang Yong's No. 1 ammunition compartment, and the armor-piercing shells swirled through the already badly damaged steel plates and burrowed into the ship's hold.

There was a loud bang in the No. 1 ammunition compartment, like the roar of the mythical and legendary flame giant Suter, and endless flames erupted from the No. 1 ammunition compartment with a roar, and there were flames everywhere in the bullet holes, the cracks in the steel plates, and the wide open hatch.

The stout No. 1 chimney sloped to the right with black smoke and plunged into the raging water, followed by the long, narrow hull lying sideways into the water.

Without an order, the ships of the Italian Navy ceased firing one after another, and quietly watched the venerable enemy sink to the bottom of the sea.

The Italian ships rescued the British sailors who had fallen into the water, and Campioni announced as usual that the whole fleet would collectively fire three shots to salute the enemy, and then ordered to return.

The H Fleet has already shaken off the burden of slowing them down, and it is impossible for the Atlantic Fleet to catch up with them again, and it is a wise choice to take it when it is good, not to mention that the Atlantic Fleet has more important tasks to complete.

Two hours later, Mussolini's unbridled laughter rang out from Mussolini's office in the Palazzo Venetian in Rome.

"Hahaha see no, this is the real combat effectiveness of our great Roman warriors, just pay the price of two destroyers being seriously injured and one destroyer being sunk to kill one battleship and two destroyers of the other side, see who dares to underestimate our combat effectiveness, immediately report this battle, to hype, don't be afraid to waste newspaper space." Mussolini said excitedly.

Admiral Lachino, the commander of the Navy, said with a smile: "It's better to wait for the fleet to return and the reporters have interviewed the heroes before reporting it, that will be more infectious." ”

"No, report it immediately, and wait for them to return to the second round of publicity, so that a series of reports can be formed, and the appeal will be stronger."

Mussolini assumed the posture of an expert.

Admiral Lachino suddenly remembered that His Excellency had served as a journalist at this time, so he stopped persuading and said: "Admiral Campioni said at the end of the telegram that he personally hopes that our navy will be able to build aircraft carriers as soon as possible, and I very much agree with his suggestion, and in order to save time, I think we can do it by renovating the cruise ship." ”

"Aircraft carriers?" Mussolini first showed a hesitant look on his face, and then asked: "I remember that the Germans had an aircraft carrier already in service. ”

"Yes, my leader, the German aircraft carrier Zeppelin, officially entered service last summer." Admiral Lachino said.

"I agreed." Mussolini raised his right hand and made a gesture with the number "two".

"I approve the Navy to renovate two aircraft carriers, you do it immediately, what the Germans have, we must also have."

Admiral Lachino straightened his waist, saluted Mussolini and said, "I'll do it right away." ”

Mussolini smiled and nodded to Admiral Rachino, then turned his gaze to Marshal Badogrio.

"How's the fighting going in the Canary Islands?"

"The British refused to surrender and retreated into residential areas after shelling, and our navy had covered the landing force on La Palma in the western part of the archipelago, and it was only a matter of time before all the islands in the Canary Islands were captured.

"Very well, the Navy is now running ahead, the Army and Air Force should not let me down, and Ethiopia must also move as soon as possible."

"General Messer and Duke Auster have sent a telegram that they will definitely drive the British out of Addis Ababa this time, and send you a good news, but they still need more air support, at least two groups of bombers and one group of fighters, you see"

"Give them it, I told you, as long as they can win the battle, what they want, what I give, I will call the Air Force Command immediately." Mussolini said as he picked up the phone on his desk.

Two days later, London, 10 Downing Street.

"The Brave, Magnum, and Prayer have been sunk, the Prestige and the rest of the H Fleet are making a detour to the mid-Atlantic to return home, the situation is even more unfavorable for us, and our Navy now does not have enough capital ships at its disposal, whether for escort or naval warfare."

The eyes of Churchill and others converged on Beckhausen as he spoke. Churchill asked with a blank face: "We all know that the situation is critical, do you have any good advice?" I'm talking about suggestions that solve the problem. ”

"Although the Royal Navy is strong, our forces are too scattered, the Home Fleet, the Indian Ocean Fleet and the escort transport are scattered everywhere, and the various fleets are thousands or even tens of thousands of kilometers apart, and there is no way to support each other.

The Italian fleet, on the other hand, was able to concentrate four or five battleships in each sortie, and with the odious Japanese navy on one side to coordinate reconnaissance, it was always possible to form an overwhelmingly superior number of forces on the battlefield.

My suggestion is to take the USS Athletic and the Barham from the Indian Ocean Fleet and return home with them, and at the same time end the escort missions of the Revenge and Resolve, plus the Prestige, so that we will have a mobile force of five capital ships, and if necessary, we will draw another battleship from the home fleet, so that there will be six capital ships, and we can wait for the opportunity to find the Italian fleet for a fleet decisive battle, to strike a blow at their arrogance and save a little advantage. Beckhausen said.

"You're thinking a good idea, but the Athletic and Barham are in East Africa, and it will be at least three months before they return home. What should we do in these three months?

The defenders of the Canary Islands could not hold out for more than a few days, and the Axis fleet now had unimpeded access to the Strait of Gibraltar. What would we do if they rushed into the Atlantic to intercept our convoy in three months' time? General Ismay asked.

"If that's the case, we'll have to draw ships from our home fleet, round them up, and strangle them in the Atlantic." Beckhausen said.

Beckhausen's plan was ideal, and the Axis fleets were well coordinated in reality.

Four days later, a telegram was sent from the submarine Whale Shark, which had braved the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar to investigate, that the main force of the Italian Navy, the German Navy's battle cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, had made a coordinated sortie and rushed out of the Strait of Gibraltar into the Atlantic, where their whereabouts were unknown. (To be continued......)