Chapter 349: Eagle Strike (9)
"Well done! One more wave of attacks, and the British fleet is finished! ”
Fang Yan waved the telegram sent by the front-line aircraft group with an excited expression, and his eyes were full of joy that his long-cherished wish was about to come true. www.biquge.info Just a few minutes ago, the group of aircraft that took off from the two Zeppelin-class aircraft carriers dealt a heavy blow to the British aircraft carrier fleet that was retreating westward at high speed, and the Eagle aircraft carrier was sunk on the spot, and the two fleet aircraft carriers of the Glory and the Ark Royal were also blown up to the point that their hulls were tilted, and the flames soared into the sky, completely losing their combat effectiveness. At this time, the German Navy was only one step away from a complete victory, and with this victory, the current European war would also enter a completely new field of great benefit for Germany!
"It's 1:53 p.m., and there are still three hours of daylight on the battlefield." Fang Yan took a deep breath, trying to calm himself up, but the heart in his chest was beating uncontrollably and rapidly, and there was an emotion called excitement that almost burst out in anger.
At present, although the four aircraft carriers of the German fleet have released more than half of their carrier-based aircraft, they still retain a fairly powerful capability of attacking the sea -- the second air fighter unit commanded by Fang Yan has been carrying out reconnaissance, alert, and escort missions since dawn, while the real main attack bombers have not dispatched several waves. The two Zeppelin-class ships launched an attack on the British main fleet and the aircraft carrier fleet respectively, and the two Hipper-class ships have just made a round of output as auxiliaries, and the remaining attack capability of the entire fleet still has great potential to be tapped.
According to Fang Yan's idea, the German carrier-based aircraft that were still flying in the sky at this time did not need to return to the mothership, and flew directly to the land airfield in Bergen to land; In this way, the four aircraft carriers will be able to devote all their deck space and ground support resources to preparing for a new attack wave, and at least 120 fighters will take off in one hour. At that time, even if the British aircraft carrier is escorted by land-based fighters, this wave of aircraft will have an 80% chance of killing the opponent. And as long as the British naval aviation can be defeated, the temporary weakening of the air power of the German fleet is nothing at all!
As soon as he thought of this, Fang Yan did not hesitate any longer, and immediately ordered the communications department to report his plan to the Zeppelin in flag. After all, Hermann-Berme was the true commander of the fleet, and this unconventional contingency of war had to be approved by him before it could be implemented. More importantly, Fang Yan had to rely on his old boss's one-air battle to realize the battlefield blueprint he had outlined: if only two Hippert-class aircraft carriers attacked, whether this force could break through the interception of British shore-based fighters remains to be said separately.
After a short time, a series of flags slowly climbed high into the air along the mast. The Zeppelin lookout, who always paid attention to the movements of friendly ships, was thrilled in his heart, and hurriedly translated the colorful streamers in the distance. After a while, Admiral Bomei, who was wearing a thick coat, took the translation from the adjutant's hand, and after only a few moments, Bomei's expression changed sharply: shock, hesitation, admiration, and shame, and then gradually turned into admiration and understanding.
"I couldn't have a better strategy. Just follow Jonas's plan. Bo Mei's eyes were calm, and he spoke slowly. He paused, then spoke again: "At the same time the fleet turned to the 8 o'clock direction at a speed of 30 knots. Now that this is the final wave of attack, let's give our Warhawk the closest distance and the strongest deck wind! ”
As the sun in the south gradually slanted to the west, the bright red swastikas rattled in the gradually cold north wind, and the German ground crews braced their tired bodies and gritted their teeth to refuel and reload the last planes. On the wide deck, the pilots clearly felt that the roll amplitude of the aircraft carrier became stronger with the intensification of the sea breeze, although it did not affect the upcoming sortie, but it was enough for them to make it difficult for them to grasp the plane fit between the aircraft deck and the aircraft landing gear when landing, causing a capsizing accident.
Therefore, the pilots all praised the commander's order to land the carrier-based aircraft at the Norwegian land airfield afterwards. After emptying their bodies as fast as they could, they put on their goggles and climbed into the pilot's seat of their respective fighters full of energy.
The roar of the aero engines completely drowned out the noise of the sea breeze and the high-speed rotation of the steam turbines, and at 2:23 p.m., the German aircraft carrier formation began to release the fourth attack wave. Basically consistent with Fang Yan's prediction, this wave of aircraft has a total of 127 aircraft; Among them, the number of fighters reached 65, and for the first time the proportion of fighters in the large fleet exceeded half. The British land-based air force's desperate interception of the German carrier-based aircraft group made the latter feel the pressure for the first time in the previous battles, and this time Bomay also pulled out all the fighters that could be used in the fleet, and sent all the bombers to the enemy fleet no matter what.
After 20 minutes, all German carrier-based aircraft took to the skies. The four German aircraft carriers, which were empty of the deck, immediately began to make a sharp left turn, and headed south with the bows of the eight escorted destroyers without looking back. The attacking swarm has been released, and it's time for these evil brood hosts to run away. At this time, the German aircraft carrier had lost its greatest reliance, and its overall combat effectiveness was inferior to that of a light cruiser, so it was obviously extremely foolish to remain where it was. According to Fang Yan's plan, tonight, these aircraft carriers without planes will temporarily sail into the North Sea to avoid the limelight, and wait until dawn tomorrow morning, and then decide whether to recover the planes or continue to hibernate according to the weather conditions.
"It was reported that the radar had detected a group of targets flying eastward at an azimuth of 267 degrees. The number is 50~55, the height is 2500 meters, the distance is 100 kilometers, and the speed is 150 knots. Shortly after the fleet completed its turn, the conscientious radar officer delivered the latest news to Fang Yan.
Fang Yan's brows frowned slightly, and there was a little confusion and anger in his heart. At this time, half an hour had passed since Berme gave the order to land in Bergen, and even if the fleet had chosen to let the pilots pass on their own in the airborne shortwave communication in order to maintain radio silence, it would not have taken so many planes to this day. If there are members of these planes who are running out of fuel, this extra 100-kilometer detour is likely to make him unable to return to his homeland.
"Wait, why don't these planes have a span range from our fleet?" After thinking for a moment, Fang Yan suddenly discovered the anomaly in this report and asked suspiciously. Under normal circumstances, due to the order of precedence in attacking targets, a large group of planes will fly alone one squadron after another when they return home, and in extreme cases, it may even be possible that the first plane has already landed, and there are still members of the same wave group who are stranded on the battlefield. Now the distance information of this group of aircraft on the radar is only one number, which is obviously unreasonable!
"The light spots on the screen are neatly arranged, and it's very easy to read the distance." Soon, the radar officer gave an affirmative answer. Fang Yan was stunned, and then his face changed violently, he had already guessed a terrifying possibility, even though it was so terrifying!