At the Luftwaffe base on the Maltese island, a number of ME-109E fighters are docked at the airfield, and several Stuka dive bombers can be seen further afield. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ

Frankly speaking, the German pilots' ability to attack sea surface targets was really very average. Many pilots had not been systematically trained in naval attacks before the war, and the actual combat results were not very good.

However, the German attack aircraft unit stationed near Malta was very experienced. They sank quite a few British transports, and they were quite experienced.

Inside the command tower of the base, a Luftwaffe commander looked at the message in front of him with a smile and a smile, not knowing what to do.

News came from the Italian Navy, they saw that the British fleet was approaching Malta, and hoped that the Luftwaffe on the island of Malta would take off planes and intercept the British fleet!

The Luftwaffe officer who saw this telegram really wanted to scold his mother, because from the bright window of his office, the sun was already setting on the western horizon.

"Don't the Italians know that it is impossible to attack sea targets with aircraft taking off at night? Don't Italians know that the sun is about to go down now? The German officer couldn't help but complain.

He could only watch the British naval fleet leave now, and even pray that the British fleet would not be left unthinkable and stop and fire at the military installations on the Maltese islands!

You know, the German defense forces in Malta, especially the maritime defense forces, were only two torpedo boats purchased from the French.

And on the part of the British, in the Mediterranean Fleet, there was the battleship "Weary of War", which had 4 twin 381 mm guns!

If the British can't think of it, and take advantage of the darkness to wash Malta here, the German troops on the islands will not have an easy time tonight.

"Let me go to trouble with the British? If the British don't come to me for trouble, that's the apparition of God! The German officer muttered in frustration.

In fact, he also knew that the British naval fleet rushed to Malta, and eighty percent was going to take advantage of the darkness to force a breakthrough to Gibraltar.

It would have been almost impossible to stop here and shell German military targets on Maltese land - after all, if they had delayed for a while, the Italian navy might have been killed from behind.

The Italian fleet that pursued the British Mediterranean Fleet was the main force of the Italian Navy consisting of two Cavour-class battleships and a Veneto-class battleship!

Under these circumstances, the British Navy could not think of the possibility of dying together with several German field airfields on the island of Malta, which was actually not very large.

At this moment, on the battleship Battleweary, the de facto flagship of the British Navy's Mediterranean Fleet, Cunningham's hind feet stepped onto the deck of the battleship.

"Stand upright!" The captain of the battleship Warweary, as well as the lieutenant and other senior officers, who had been waiting on the deck for a long time, saluted Cunningham.

They now really admired the Mediterranean commander in front of them, and relying on his tactical arrangement, the Mediterranean Fleet left the Mediterranean, the place where they had fought, in a state of despair, with the glory of victory.

On the mast of the battleship USS Warweary, the commander's flag representing Cunningham's position was slowly raised by the sailors, and the British Navy's giant battleship was still so majestic in the dim light.

During the day, because Cunningham commanded the air raids of carrier-based aircraft, he placed his headquarters on the aircraft carrier Radiance.

After all, this aircraft carrier Brilliant is a cutting-edge warship that has just been launched in 1939, and it is also equipped with relatively advanced weapons and equipment.

If this aircraft carrier is equipped with new carrier-based aircraft, the combat effectiveness of the British Navy's Mediterranean Fleet should be able to reach a higher level.

It is a pity that all the carrier-based aircraft that this aircraft carrier is now carrying have been consumed, and now its combat effectiveness is only equipped with self-defense weapons on both sides.

"Good work." Standing on the windswept deck, Cunningham smiled and returned a military salute before walking in the direction of the bridge.

"The Gibraltar side has just sent a phrase with the abbreviation HG...... Sent with the newly set highest-level password. As he walked towards the bridge, the captain of the battleship Warweary reported what had just happened.

"Oh?" Hearing the news, Cunningham knew that the reinforcements he was waiting for for this breakout operation had finally set off from Gibraltar.

HG stands for "H Fleet has departed", which means that Sir Somerville's H Fleet will enter the Mediterranean Sea to cover the retreat of the Mediterranean Fleet to Gibraltar.

"Great, if they come, then we will be safe, and we will be able to join the H fleet at dawn tomorrow, and there will be no threat at that time." Cunningham thought about it in his mind, and a nice smile hung on his face.

"Sir, if possible, can we shell the island of Malta and attack the German airfields and defensive positions here?" The First Officer of the War Weary followed him up the stairs and suggested to Cunningham.

Cunningham only sneered when he heard this suggestion - he knew that the series of victories he commanded had made many officers and soldiers in the fleet unable to find their place.

He stopped, then turned back and asked, "Do you know how many torpedo boats the Germans have here?" Is it one or two? ”

Since the Maltese islands had been under the control of German troops for some time, it was convenient to hide a few torpedo boats in the harbor.

The British spy service was completely unable to penetrate the sparsely populated Malta, so Cunningham and Churchill and others did not know much about Germany, especially in Malta.

Immediately afterward, Cunningham threw out a second question: "Don't know? Then who of you knows if the Germans will get French or Italian destroyers to be deployed here? ”

Since no one knew whether the German army had destroyer-like weapons in the hands of the local defenders, it was very irrational to attack rashly.

In the dark of night, the muzzle flame of the British battleship's fire was as bright as a torch, and was it not a clear indication of the enemy's target?

Torpedo boats and destroyers, under the cover of the night, cut into the vicinity of the British fleet, and suddenly released a large number of torpedoes, which was enough for the British fleet to drink a pot!

On the contrary, if the British fleet did not open fire, it could guarantee that its own fleet would also be hidden in the darkness - and it would be interesting at this time, because neither side could see the other, but was at peace.

The same goes for airplanes, of course. The current level of weapons technology restricts the aircraft's ability to fight at night.

This capability was constrained not by any other reason, but by the fact that in the dark sea, German planes could not find their targets, and on the contrary, they might have to pay the brutal fact that they crashed into the sea.

At this time, if the lights of their own fleet were kept in darkness, then the German planes would not be able to carry out the attack.

However, if the British battleships opened fire at night, then the Germans took off their planes to intercept them, and they could find the British fleet at once by firing from their main guns.

Cunningham asked a question at this time, waiting for the other party's answer: "I don't know?" And what if the Germans' plane had just taken off and was waiting in the sky for us to fire? ”

"Sorry, we didn't know about ......" The captain and adjutant had already dismissed the idea of shelling Malta by this time.

"Don't know? Don't even know how to shout about shelling Malta? Finally, Cunningham dropped one such sentence and pushed the door into the bridge of the busy battleship USS Warweary.

……

Inside the Italian fleet, the commander of the Italian Navy sent a definite message that they were approaching the island of Malta, attacking the British fleet in Benghazi and Sirte, which was moving towards the island of Malta at this moment.

The course of the British Mediterranean Fleet was finally confirmed because of an Italian patrol plane returning to the sea, which spotted the British fleet moving towards Malta.

At this time, it was already confirmed that the British were not only going to Benghazi but also Sirte, and the British were even going to attack Malta!

Of course, it is also possible that the other side is going to cross the blockade from the vicinity of Malta and return to Gibraltar safely.

"It's not the way to go...... If the British do not attack Malta, then they can cross our Sardinia tomorrow morning. An Italian naval officer said to his boss with some depression.

The British fleet that had crossed Sardinia would be completely safe as long as it joined up with the Royal Navy H Fleet, which might come to meet them.

The Germans telegraphed back...... They said that the sky had darkened and they could not take off planes to attack the British fleet...... "On the other side, the Italian officers in charge of communications also brought bad news.

"The British attacked Benghazi, sneaked up on Sirte...... As a result, we were so confused and let this fleet run? The Italian admiral asked with a smile.

He knew that if he sent this result back to Mussolini, his life might be over.

"Keep moving towards the island of Malta! The fleet speeds up! In any case, bet on the probability that they will attack Malta...... If they open fire, then we can't let this enemy fleet go again! The commander of the Italian fleet, standing on the bridge, spoke, and ordered with some depression.

All he could do now was to try to pursue the British fleet...... After all, the timetable of the British fleet is just too perfect.