Angra Sansmo Sansmo is part of the neutral country of Portugal, and according to the Neutrality Act, the BP-264 convoy is not allowed to berth in the harbor for more than twenty-four hours. ∑ top novel,

Simple maintenance was carried out in Angra Sansímo, and at about eleven o'clock in the morning, Lieutenant Commander Ackerman sent four well-maintained destroyers out of Anglo Sanstinto to patrol around the Azores,

An hour flew by, and Lieutenant Colonel Ackerman's hanging heart was finally put back in his stomach.

The Hood and the Prestige successfully arrived near the Azores and are on covert standby in the north-west.

The patrolling destroyers then sent the exciting news that Lieutenant Commander Ackerman had spotted the Axis fleet to the southeast.

It was about thirty nautical miles from Angra Sanstomo and had a speed of eighteen knots, and there were eight ships, among which it was suspected that there were two light cruisers.

Lieutenant Commander Ackerman immediately gave the order for combat readiness, and the four destroyers on patrol began to retreat, while the two battle cruisers on covert and standby informed the enemy of the situation.

Two black dots soon appeared in the sky to the southeast, and they were two Aladao Type 196 water reconnaissance aircraft.

Lieutenant Colonel Ackermann held up his binoculars and observed for a few minutes, and the Wehrmacht Iron Cross was faintly visible on the two planes.

The Italian fleet would certainly not be equipped with German seaplanes, let alone painted with the Iron Cross logo.

The appearance of these two seaplanes clearly illustrates one thing, there is not only the Italian fleet near the Azores, but also German ships.

There is no need to guess, the only German ships that can appear in this sea area at this time are Scharnhorst and Gneisenau.

Lieutenant Colonel Ackerman was overjoyed and sent his guess to the Hood and the Prestige.

The reinforcements' reply was simple and straightforward, and they took the initiative to meet the enemy fleet.

Two walrus seaplanes soon flew from the northwest to the southeast. Spy on the movements of the Axis fleet.

There were German seaplanes scouting. It was impossible for the Prestige and the Hood to hide in the open sea. They decisively chose to take the initiative.

Lieutenant Commander Ackerman received the order to quickly lead the four destroyers in the harbor out of the harbor, rendezvous with the four destroyers outside the harbor, and meet the charging Italian fleet.

The number of both sides was eight, and the Italian navy had two light cruisers, which had a slight advantage in the type of ships, but this did not frighten the fearless British Royal Navy, let alone Lieutenant Commander Ackermann.

Eight slanting columns of black smoke rose from the sea southeast of Sangra Sangra, dragging billowing black smoke. Lieutenant Commander Ackerman's fleet quickly approached the enemy ships.

When the rangefinder showed that it was 20,500 meters away from the Italian fleet, Lieutenant Commander Ackermann heard a rumbling explosion in his ears.

A white column of water rose from the sea less than twenty meters in front of the destroyer to the right, and the splashes of water crackled against the glass of the bridge, and then rushed down the glass like a stream.

Lieutenant Colonel Ackermann was slightly taken aback by the Italian artillery bombardment, and from the thickness of the water column, he clearly judged that the caliber of the enemy's guns must be the 152 mm naval guns of the cruiser.

The two warships, suspected of being cruisers, were identified.

Lieutenant Colonel Ackerman was surprised, but he did not fall behind in words.

"See, the Italians scrubbed the glass for us for free, immediately opened fire, thanked them with our shells."

A few seconds later. Lieutenant Commander Ackerman saw the 120mm guns in the bow of the ship spew flames and smoke, and the glass of the bridge was "shivering".

The sound of the cannon on the Fighter was like an order to open fire. The main guns of the seven destroyers, including the Viscount, roared one after another, firing shells at the oncoming Italian fleet.

Two more seaplanes appeared in the sky.

The two seaplanes came from the Italian light cruisers Bender and Cleoni, which hovered over Lieutenant Commander Ackerman's fleet and played the role of artillery school shooters.

Under the guidance of these two artillery collators, the fire of the two light cruisers of the Italian fleet became more and more accurate, and the impact point was getting closer and closer to the British destroyers.

The destroyer Genff was the first to be shot, and the Truth followed, but fortunately both destroyers were hit by the Italian destroyer's guns and did not suffer fatal damage.

The real tragedy occurred on the destroyer Vicious, where two 152-mm shells from the cruiser Bander accurately hit his bridge and ammunition compartment.

A violent explosion erupted from the middle of the ship, and the Vicious broke in two, sinking to the bottom of the sea with flames and smoke, and hundreds of crew members who had not had time to jump ship to escape.

The British retaliated swiftly, and it was a relieving retaliation for Lieutenant Colonel Ackerman.

With a piercing howl and strong winds, four 381-mm shells swept through the sky, and Lieutenant Colonel Ackerman could feel the power of the shells through the walls of the bridge.

Four shells landed on the sea on the left and right sides of the cruiser Bander, and the water column nearly twenty meters high rose into the sky, unwilling to disperse for a long time.

Countless sharp shrapnel clanged into the Bender's hull and superstructure, cutting horrific gaps and scratches, and the sailors and anti-aircraft gunners who were exposed on the deck fell with screams.

The lucky wounded clutched their bloody wounds and wailed for help, and the unlucky ones were even decapitated or cut off by shrapnel.

Blood and screams covered the deck of the Bender, but it didn't last long.

The second salvo from the battlecruiser Prestige put an end to the struggle of all the wounded on the Bender.

The four 381mm guns in the bow of the Prestige fired a beautiful salvo, two of the four 381mm shells landed on the left and right sides of the Bender, and the other two were impartially neutral, hitting the bow main turret and deck of the Bender.

The first turret of the Bender was smashed into a large hole in an instant, and the steel plate at the entrance of the hole twisted and bent towards the inside of the turret, and scarlet blood spurted out from the hole, staining the steel plate bit by bit, which looked shocking.

The two main guns on the turret were instantly muted, and the barrels that had been raised high hung down like frosted eggplants and rested on the second turret below.

The 381-mm shell that landed on the bow deck was even more ferocious, piercing through the deck and out of the port side of the bow. Looking down through the large bullet holes on the deck. Turbulent sea water can be clearly seen pouring into the cabin through bullet holes on the port side.

The Bender slowed down immediately. Then it stopped at the surface of the sea, and the bow of the ship slowly sank into the sea.

In less than five minutes, the Bender was gone, leaving only a whirlpool and countless struggling and shouting crew members on the surface.

"Long live the Royal Navy!" Lieutenant Colonel Ackerman saw the light cruiser Bender sunk, and threw a punch with his right hand, howling excitedly.

At the risk of his life, the Brawler came to rest on the surface of the sea to rescue the few survivors aboard the destroyer Vicious.

It took more than ten minutes for the Fighter to rescue all seven survivors. When it was put into battle again, the battlefield had already changed drastically.

Huge cannonballs weaved through the sky, and the whistling sound was enough to send a shudder through the Brawler's cabin.

"They're finally here, and the protagonist is there." Lieutenant Colonel Ackerman shouted excitedly, pointing to the sea in the distance.

Farther out in the rear of the Italian fleet, two faint black dots dangled on the sea, and white columns of water erupted from time to time around them.

Lieutenant Colonel Ackermann immediately guessed the identities of the two black dots, the Scharnhorst and the Gneisenau.

Taking advantage of the gap of a sharp turn of the Wrestler, Lieutenant Commander Ackerman looked in the direction of the port side, and sure enough, he saw the battlecruisers Hood and Prestige behind him surrounded by countless water columns, and it was obvious that the four capital ships of both sides were fighting in full swing.

"They were fooled. Our chance has come, the end of these two rogue battleships has come. Lieutenant Colonel Ackerman glared and laughed.

It was as if hearing the call of Lieutenant Colonel Ackerman. A faint roar of engines could be heard in the northwestern sky.

The roar grew louder and soon covered the field with the roar of artillery, and eight Swordfish torpedo bombers flew over the heads of the British fleet and pounced on the German fleet to the southeast.

The appearance of the British aircraft group immediately caused a dramatic change in the battlefield.

Lieutenant Colonel Ackerman, who was experienced, ordered the communications room to shout in clear code.

"Our torpedo machine has arrived, the Germans are about to finish, the boys are working harder and killing all those mongrels."

Lieutenant Commander Ackerman's shouts quickly reached every corner of the destroyer fleet, and the morale of the British sailors was greatly boosted, and one 120-millimeter gun after another opened fire frantically, smashing countless shells into the Italian fleet on the opposite side.

Lieutenant Colonel Ackermann's overt shouting was intercepted by the German Navy on the opposite side at the same time.

"We're going to be finished? The British are going to kill us all? Their commander must be an optimist. "On the bridge of the Scharnhorst, Captain Kurt. After reading the telegram from the communication room, Hoffman sneered and twisted his thick neck, and there was a fierce glint in his blue eyes.

"The British Swordfish came, and they just used them to test our anti-aircraft guns and the results of training, and told the anti-aircraft gunners that not a single enemy plane was allowed to escape."

The moment the Swordfish torpedo group appeared, the anti-aircraft gunners on the twin ships of Shane were already in a state of emergency combat.

On the Scharnhorst, the muzzles of 14 105-mm anti-aircraft guns, 8 twin Bofors 40-mm anti-aircraft guns, and 16 Gatling anti-aircraft guns quickly pointed in the direction of the incoming enemy aircraft in the sky.

Eight Swordfish torpedo planes approached the Shane twin ships and quickly lowered their altitude, forming two diagonal lines in a group of four and rushing towards the Shane twin ships.

The Shane twins deftly maneuvered in an S-shape at the surface, and the ship's gunners flattened their guns to point at the menacing Swordfish.

Bofors 40-mm anti-aircraft guns opened fire first, each of which rained high-explosive tracer shells at enemy aircraft at a rate of 80 rounds per minute.

The aging Swordfish torpedo planes could only fly at a maximum speed of 225 kilometers per hour, and the structure of the wings also increased its bomb area, and one of the two groups of Swordfish and Swordfish planes was soon hit by a dense burst of shrapnel and caught fire, and plunged headlong into the sea with the torpedoes that had not yet been fired.

The real killer came from the fledgling 20mm Gatling anti-aircraft gun, with six barrels powered by electricity to fire flashing shells at the Swordfish torpedo.

Gatling's gunners loaded armor-piercing rounds every two high-explosive rounds in the chain, and the high-explosive and armor-piercing rounds were woven into a grid in the air to cover the swordfish.

The Swordfish crew swayed from side to side to avoid the oncoming shells, but to no avail. The four swordfish were successively covered by the oncoming "power grid", and the metal skin and fuselage of the wings instantly became full of holes, and they rushed into the sea with an elegant arc, stumbling and rolling out of the sea for a long distance, bringing up countless snow-white foam and waves, and then sinking to the bottom of the sea.

The last two Swordfish were lucky enough to evade the resistance of the anti-aircraft shells, hurriedly dropped the torpedoes, and then turned the nose of the plane and ran diagonally to the air to escape for their lives, but they were chased by the tracking anti-aircraft shells, and after a burst of muffled sound of wooden sticks hitting the iron barrels, the two planes successively plunged into the sea with dazzling tail flames.

The Scharnhorst swerved to starboard in style, avoiding the torpedoes fired at the stern.

The anti-aircraft gunners on the Gneisenau even lowered the barrels of the anti-aircraft guns and destroyed the torpedoes in the sea with intensive fire.

"Fortunately, with General Rosen's reminder and supervision, we were replaced with these more powerful anti-aircraft guns, and targeted training was also carried out, otherwise it would be difficult to say the outcome of the battle." After receiving the battle report from the air defense department, Colonel Hoffman did not forget to drink water and think about the source.

Putting down the telegram, Colonel Hoffman then ordered: "Inform General Campioni that there is an ambush of the Royal Navy aircraft carriers nearby, and it is recommended to withdraw from the battle and use submarines to track and monitor targets and engage the enemy at night." ”

Colonel Hoffman sent a telegram and immediately ordered the distance from the Prestige and the Hood to withdraw to the southeast.

Campioni's call back was quickly sent to Colonel Hoffman, who, as Colonel Hoffman had anticipated, agreed to retreat temporarily.

The Italian fleet was also ordered to retreat, and they rescued the surviving crew of the light cruiser Bender, released a large number of smoke screens for cover, and retreated southeast with the Shane twin ships.

The British fleet did not hesitate to pursue, and in front of them were two reconnaissance aircraft from the aircraft carrier Fury.

About forty nautical miles northwest of the Prestige and the Hood, the USS Fury, the battleships Rodney, George V, Revenge, and Resolve, followed by six heavy cruisers, eight light cruisers, and sixteen destroyers, were marching mightily toward the battlefield.

The Royal Navy's tactics were simple, and after receiving a call for help from the BP-264 convoy, they immediately decided to use the fleet as bait to lure the Axis fleet into showing up and then carry out an ambush.

After a short naval battle, not only did the Hood and the Prestige, which were the advance teams, not only did not sink or damage the opponent's capital ships, but even the eight Swordfish that took off on the Fury never returned.

The twin ships of Shane with the surviving warships of the Italian fleet are leaving the battlefield, to chase or not to chase? This question is really before Lieutenant General Holland.

After a moment of hesitation, Lieutenant General Holland decided to pursue. Following behind the twin ships of Shane, it is likely that the main force of the Italian fleet will be found, and then wait for the opportunity to have a decisive battle of the fleet.

Out of an abundance of caution, Vice Admiral Holland ordered the USS Fury to send reconnaissance planes to track the twin ships Shane and further reconnoiter in the direction of the retreat of the twin ships.

About twenty minutes later, reconnaissance planes sent a telegram that the main fleet of the Italian Navy had been spotted about seventy nautical miles to the southeast.

Almost at the same time, two Aladao 196 seaplanes hovering over Lieutenant General Holland also sent Holland's position to the rear.

Campioni received the report, thought for more than ten seconds, and then ordered: "All turn around, turn 245 degrees, and avoid the British Royal Navy." ”

Looking at the fleet in the collective turn, Campioni issued a second order to send the results of the seaplane detection to the German naval command.

Fifteen minutes later, the port of Kiel in northwestern Germany.

"One of the Nelson-class battleships, one of the George V-class battleships, the USS Fury, two revenge-class battleships, and the two remaining British battlecruisers were found near the Azores.

The lead ships of the British Home Fleet have finally made a sortie, so to speak, our chance has come. Marshal Raeder said excitedly as he looked at the telegram.

Chen Dao took the telegram and read it quickly, and then said: "Finally, it is our turn to play, and General Lütjans is ready to fight, and the time for a decisive battle has come." (To be continued......)