Under the cover of wind and rain in the North Atlantic, at about 9 o'clock on 10 February, the main force of the German North Sea Fleet participating in the "Strait Plan" entered the waters of the North Sea, and the most eye-catching thing in the entire fleet were the two "aircraft carriers" in the middle, one of which was the Count Zeppelin, which was the flagship, and the other was the Europa, but the specific inside story was only known to some high-level officials and the officers and men on the Europa-although the Europa looked like an aircraft carrier from the air, in fact it was not what it seemed.

Europa is a high-speed cruise ship built by Germany in the 30s, with a displacement of nearly 50,000 tons, and on the maiden voyage between Bremen and New York, it took only 4 days, 17 hours and 6 minutes to arrive at the German Mail Terminal on the East River in New York, and won the highest award symbolizing fast cruise ships - the Blue Ribbon Award. The average cruising speed is up to 27 knots, and the maximum speed in an emergency is 33 knots. After the start of the war, the ship interrupted the fate of cruise ships and began to convert into troop carriers, and then in 1942 launched a conversion program into an aircraft carrier, with plans to install a 240-meter-long aviation deck. However, due to the design of the hull and internal compartments of the civilian ship, the renovation was quickly halted, because the designers found that the aircraft carrier, which had a displacement higher than the Zeppelin, would carry less aircraft than the latter, and the engineering cost and renovation time were completely outweighed, so the Navy Command planned to abolish it.

The retrofit program was reactivated after the Hoffman crossing, but the positioning was changed, the new positioning was called Integrated Transport and Cover Carrier, with the ability to transport a full armored battalion, a full panzergrenadier battalion and 36 aircraft (24 complete aircraft + 12 loose parts), while also having a decent aviation deck with catapults and arresting cables. In fact, the aircraft carrier has no hangars and elevators, and the deck is full of transport compartments, and all the aircraft are tethered to the deck, in addition to 4 Ar-272 water reconnaissance aircraft.

The special positioning and bizarre design make the Europa very interesting to use: because there is no hangar, there are no aircraft lifts on the deck, except for a small ammunition hoist, and all the extra places are equipped with anti-aircraft guns of various calibers; Because it is a special transport ship, movable warehouse doors are set up on both sides of the ship, which can not only carry out transportation tasks step by step after docking, but also set up a ramp through the movable warehouse door to allow some tanks, armored vehicles and personnel to be released quickly in an emergency state such as beach rushing; Thanks to the laying of the aviation deck and the installation of take-off and landing facilities, the combat aircraft can take off and land normally, and in combat they can completely deter the enemy or cover the real aircraft carrier from damage...... The most interesting thing is the performance of the transport ship when it is unloaded: there are special markings on the deck, and as long as a few steel plates with a thickness of only 5 mm are cut by gas welding, the cargo can be easily lifted out of the hold, and it is easy to restore it - just re-weld it back.

All in all, there is no similar ship among the three major naval powers of Britain, Japan, and the United States, but it is just right for the German Navy, and with the Europa is equivalent to having a combat ship that integrates a high-speed transport ship, a super-large escort aircraft carrier, and a cover fleet aircraft carrier. Either way, the Europa was the most appropriate role to be used to complete the tsunami plan, and some in the Admiralty's top brass joked that it was not a professional warship specially tailored for the tsunami plan.

Whenever this happens, Marshal Raeder jokes with a serious expression: "The Europa is the best warship of the German Navy, the core of our tactics, and all plans are made around this ship." ”

According to the original schedule of the tsunami plan, the North Sea Fleet was dispatched on the night of the 12th, but because intelligence showed that the weather would improve from the 13th, and Admiral Richthofen vowed to ensure that the naval aviation had fully adapted to the aircraft carrier and could be dispatched normally, the fleet was ordered to dispatch in advance.

But this adjustment went wrong, and by 14 o'clock in the afternoon, according to the predetermined assumption, the Tirpitz formation should have been discovered by planes on the Sherland Islands or the British fleet, and then the formation would take advantage of the situation to turn around, attract the British fleet to the northwest, and by the way, create convenience for the North Sea Fleet to break through the blockade. But by 15 o'clock the Tirpitz formation was alone in the sea near Norway, and at the end of the day, not to mention planes or warships, not even a single British armed trawler was seen - the attempt to expose itself was dashed at once.

"What should I do?" A staff officer looked at the commander of the formation, Lieutenant General Kumetz, and expected him to make up his mind, and if the British did not find out before dark, the formation would have to drive through the Bergen line. After Bergen, if they continue south along the Norwegian coastline, they can break through the North Sea and return to Wilhelmshaven - if they would normally be desperate for such a scene, but the problem is that they are now on a major mission, and attracting the attention of the British is the key.

No one thought that the British would abandon the blockade of the North Sea, where there would always be an abundance of cruisers, frigates, and reconnaissance planes in order to prevent the German navy from breaking through into the Atlantic.

Kumetz thought about it for a moment and said: "If we don't encounter the British again before dark, we will go to Bergen to resupply them once, on the one hand to refuel the destroyers, and on the other hand let the British know that we are coming, and there may be British spies there." ”

Everyone agreed with the proposal, and now it can only be so.

What Kumetz did not know was that the main fleet that had entered the North Sea had actually been discovered, and a British submarine operating in the North Sea spotted the German main fleet heading north at 13 noon, and quickly informed the Admiralty of the situation: "One battleship, 2-3 heavy cruisers, 2 aircraft carriers, 2-3 light cruisers, 6-8 destroyers, were found...... The route is 340 degrees and the speed is 18 knots. ”

But this information, which was very consistent with the actual situation, caused great controversy after it was sent to London.

"What do you think of this information?" Admiral Tovey, commander of the home fleet, said, "I don't dwell on the number of battleships and heavy cruisers, because the German capital ships look very similar, and it is easy to be mistaken at a distance, and the main naval forces staying in the German mainland can indeed support this scale, and in Norway it is the Tirpitz, the Hipper, and the Lützov, and there are at least a few warships on the mainland, such as the Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, Admiral Scheer, and Prinz Eugen, and the light cruisers and destroyers are not the key, and my doubts are in the aircraft carriers. Do you think the information is credible? ”

According to the intelligence system gathered intelligence, Germany has only one aircraft carrier under construction, which began construction before the war, and the construction of the other Peter Straser has been suspended and demolished.

"Could it be that the submarine is wrong? In fact, it was just a large oil tanker, and from a distance, the oil tanker and the aircraft carrier were very close in appearance. ”

"The Germans do have an aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean, which was transferred to them by the Italians, and there are a bunch of Japanese aircraft carriers in the Mediterranean, but the problem is that the warships in the Mediterranean will never reach the North Sea, even if the Germans can pass through the Strait of Gibraltar without knowing it, they will not be able to reach the North Sea from the point of view of time, let alone appear in the German fleet now." Pound frowned and said, "I think the focus on aircraft carriers can be put aside for a moment - we will find out soon what kind of ships are there, what are I worried about the attempts of the Germans, what are all their capital ships going to do?" ”

At first, everyone thought that the Germans were going to pick up the Tirpitz and return home, but if the news of the aircraft carrier is true, there will be a question mark on the above judgment -- there are many airfields along the coasts of Norway and Denmark, and if Germany wants to use aircraft to cover the Tirpitz retreat, it will not be guilty of risking its precious aircraft carrier.

Another reasonable explanation is that the main German fleet is going to enter the Atlantic Ocean to break diplomatic relations, so that the situation will be even more serious, and the German fleet with aircraft carriers and the German fleet without aircraft carriers are completely different things, and their destruction efficiency will be multiplied.

"Where was the submarine when it spotted the main German forces?"

"Sea No. 47, about 350 nautical miles north-east of Edinburgh, is at the junction of two minefields - it is estimated that the Germans have roughly ascertained the distribution of mines."

"It's dark in three hours, and tomorrow the weather is not good, and the plane still can't be dispatched." Tovey said in distress, "Or let Fleet E go over and block it first?" It was not possible to let go of the main German forces, and the Prime Minister told us to use this opportunity to destroy the German fleet as much as possible. ”

"The Tirpitts has not yet been discovered, it poses a greater threat to us, and the E fleet cannot move for the time being." Pound pondered for a moment and then explained, "Let the cruiser go over and have a look first, let the boys be careful, see the radar clearly, and don't let the enemy go." ”

At 12 o'clock in the evening, while Tovey, Pound, and a large group of staff officers were still working on the charts to discuss the whereabouts of the German fleet and the possible intentions of the battle, the call came in, and the communications staff officer became excited after only two questions: "Sir, the Tirpitz has been found." ”

"Where?"

"2 hours ago, I suddenly entered Bergen, Norway to refuel and resupply."

"Is it reliable?"

"Reliable, it's information from MI6, for which they lost 3 intelligence officers."

But Tovey's brow furrowed even more tightly when he heard this, and his intuition told him that there was something wrong with this information. (To be continued.) )