"We've found them, Eagle's Nest!" Looking at the huge fleet not far away, Rolf excitedly reported to the mothership, "They have six capital ships, ten cruisers, and more than twenty destroyers!"

Raeder had been waiting for news from the tower, and as soon as he heard Rolf's voice, he immediately picked up the microphone and asked Rolf, "Where are they?" ”

Ludy quickly measured his current latitude and longitude and reported it back to Raeder.

Reddell noted the location, then hesitated for a moment and asked, "...... you guys How much fuel is left? ”

Rolf glanced at the oil gauge and replied, "20 gallons, General ......"

Hearing this answer, the entire tower fell silent, and everyone present knew very well what this amount of oil represented.

With the fuel consumption of the Do.38, even with the low-altitude, low-speed fuel-efficient flight method, 20 gallons of fuel is only enough for them to fly about 250 kilometers, and they are now 600 kilometers away from the mothership.

In other words, the only ending for the two of them can only be to run out of fuel and fall into the sea, and with the current water temperature and location, falling into the sea means death.

"Yes...... Is there anything you would like to say to your loved ones? Raeder's voice was low.

Ludy thought for a moment and said, "Please help me tell my mom and dad, tell them that I love them, tell them that I died fighting for the empire and for the Führer, please tell them what I did." And, if you may, help me tell the Führer and tell him that I am honored to fight with him for Germany! ”

"What about Rolf? Is there anything you'd like me to convey for you? ”

"No, General, I have no relatives." Rolf shook his head, "So I don't have anything to say, of course, if you can, I'd like you to bring me a message to the Führer." ”

"What?"

"My glory is loyalty!" Rolf said sonorously.

Raeder opened his mouth when he heard this, and his heavy heart made him speechless for a moment.

After a long time, he said in a stumbling voice: "Yes, I will convey to you what you want to say!" ”

"Goodbye sir, we're honored to be with you." Rolf said one last word, and then turned off the radio.

In the afterglow of the setting sun, the two fighters dragged a slightly lonely figure and flew side by side in the direction of the mothership.

Forty minutes later, the engines of the two fighters were forced to shut down due to fuel exhaustion, and the fighters began to glide and slowly fell to the sea.

"Ludy, it's an honor to be a comrade-in-arms with you, and we'll go for a drink later." At the last moment before falling into the sea, Rolf looked at the wingman who had been following him and said quietly.

Although this phrase does not reach Ludy's ears.

On the other side, Raeder sat in his chair for a moment after the communication was cut off, and then suddenly stood up.

"Send the position of the British fleet to Lütjans, whose position is only 110 nautical miles from the British fleet, and let him intercept the British fleet before noon tomorrow!" Raeder said as he strode towards the bridge, "Order, all warships are ready for battle!" Torpedo bombers and dive bombers began to refuel and lift up to the deck, and as soon as four o'clock in the morning we launched the first wave of attacks! ”

"Take off two combat reconnaissance planes and fly at full speed to the British fleet, taking over the Owl 10 and 11 to continue tracking the British fleet! The fleet turns to the southwest and goes full throttle! ”

Combat alarms then sounded over the fleet, and ground crews began to spread the wings of the first wave of attack aircraft, refueling them with bombs.

Soon, 12 torpedo bombers and 12 dive bombers were loaded onto the flight deck and docked neatly in the second half waiting for takeoff.

The fleet also completed the overall turn, and the overall speed increased from 18 knots to 32 knots, and headed sharply in the direction of the British fleet.

The naval pilots took advantage of the last bit of time to rest, and in more than five hours they would be flying their fighters.

Time passed in the tense atmosphere before the battle.

Finally, the hour hand of the navigation clock in the bridge pointed to four o'clock under the gaze of everyone.

Raeder turned around, swept all the officers present with a serious gaze, and then said word by word, "For Germany!" For the Führer! All planes take off! ”

The roar of the engines rang out with Raeder's order, and soon the first fighter jet roared out into the sky from Leon Andrés' deck, then the second, then the third......

In only 20 minutes, the first German attack wave, 72 carrier-based torpedo bombers and 72 carrier-based dive bombers, had all taken off, and a group of 144 fighters flew mightily toward the British battleship detachment under the guidance of reconnaissance planes.

An hour and a half later, a large shadow appeared on the radar screen of the battleship George V, equipped with an advanced anti-aircraft detection radar.

The British radar soldier who operated the radar looked at the huge shadow on the radar screen and was stunned. At first he thought he was wrong, but when he rubbed his eyes, he looked at it again.

“shit！ What is this? He couldn't believe his eyes, and it wasn't until the shadow was getting closer to him that he said in disbelief, "De...... German planes? ”

"German fleet! The German fleet is coming! After figuring out what was happening, he jumped out of his chair and ran to the bridge screaming.

The terrible sound of air raid sirens pulled all the British soldiers out of their sleep, forcing them to quickly get dressed and run to their respective positions.

The barrels of the various types of anti-aircraft guns on the British ship were quickly pointed obliquely towards the sky, and the soldiers on the battle positions stared nervously at the sky, waiting for the arrival of the uninvited guests.

At six o'clock, with the first rays of dawn in the morning, the huge formation of German fighters flew out of the clouds and appeared in the eyes of the British soldiers.

The four British carrier-based catapult water fighters saw that the German aircraft group showed their true colors and began to accelerate and pounce.

But how could a water fighter with a huge pontoon be an opponent of the German fleet?

These four water fighters only had time to make a single dive when they were blown up by the self-defense fire of the German dive bombers and torpedo bombers, and they turned into four fireballs and were planted on the sea.

Without the obstruction of these four flies, the German torpedo bomber group began to slow down and descend altitude, while the dive bomber group began to accelerate to the dive altitude.

At 6:10, the large-caliber anti-aircraft guns on the British warship began to fire, blowing up clouds of black smoke in the sky.

At 6:12, fragments from the aerial blasting of a 5.25-inch anti-aircraft shell hit a German dive bomber, tearing its engine apart, and soon the fighter was on fire and exploded. The anti-aircraft gunners of the battleship George V scored the first kill.

At 6:15, the first German dive bombers began to dive, targeting the relatively clumsy battleship Queen Elizabeth.