Just as the British Mediterranean Fleet rushed to Taranto, an Italian submarine had actually discovered the fleet in the dark sea. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

A week earlier, the German bosses of the Axis powers had given advice to the Italians and asked the Italians to deploy a covert reconnaissance force in the path of the British.

As a result, the superiority in intelligence was evident at this moment, and the Italian submarines, on routine patrols in the nearby waters, easily found the British Mediterranean fleet.

Because the attack position was not ideal, the Italian submarine finally chose the second plan, instead of directly firing torpedoes to startle the snake according to the first plan.

So, having spared the British fleet, the Italian submarine surfaced and sent a signal to Taranto on behalf of the alert.

In the port of Taranto, many Italian warships were docked, and there were iron nets to defend against torpedoes and hot air balloons with steel cables to interfere with the bombs dropped by opposing aircraft.

A large number of cannons and searchlights were also deployed around it, and it was a solid place for the military port in 1940.

Still, when the officer on duty was shocked to receive a set of codes from the telegraph machine, he nearly knocked the coffee on the table to the ground.

In a panic, he quickly tore down a telegram with an alarm word written on it and ran to the office of the general on duty.

"Quick! Execute the Defender Plan! Fast! Fast! The general on duty hurriedly gave the order, but he knew that this alarm word meant that the British fleet was not far from Taranto.

The Defender Plan was a contingency plan for the defense of the battleship Taranto, drawn up by the Germans a week earlier.

The content of this plan is not complicated, in fact, it can be said that it is extremely simple! That is, when the British came to steal chickens in the middle of the night, they drove the battleship out of the harbor and let the opponent's planes pounce on it!

Although the method is a bit old-fashioned, it is definitely a fitting plan - this is not a daytime air raid, and the attack power of British aircraft at night is also very limited.

Under the fixed lighting light of flares, as long as the battleship moves quickly, it will quickly get rid of the entanglement of British aircraft.

And when British planes went to bomb ports, it was necessary to test the skills of the German anti-aircraft artillery units. Here, Goering deployed two anti-aircraft gun positions, one armed with 88-mm guns and the other with 40-mm Bofors.

The increased anti-aircraft artillery positions were not found in the original historical time and space, and there were two searchlight detachments, which could be said to be used to deal with 30 Swordfish attack aircraft, which was really a bit too luxurious.

"Ready whistle, ready to sound! Cover the battleship thermothermal power system! The officer who received the order commanded in the command room on duty at the port.

Soon, the whistle sounded in the harbor, but it was still pitch black in the whole harbor, and the battleship could not be seen lighting a fire and starting the engine.

Because of the cacophony of whistles, some of the citizens of Taranto pushed open their windows and looked in the direction of the port, not knowing what was happening.

The few unknown spies left by the British in Italy also heard the whistle at this time, and wondered what was going on in the port.

"The tugs are ready, the battleships are leaving the anchorage, all the anti-aircraft guns are ready for anti-aircraft fire!" An Italian naval officer reports on preparations in the harbor.

Taranto at this time is very different from the unprepared Taranto in real historical time and space.

First of all, after several big victories, the fighting spirit of the Italian Navy is now much higher than in history!

They sank the British battleship Resolve in the Battle of Oran, and also played a supporting role in the Battle of El Alamein, defeating the British Army Group Nile!

In addition, the Italian side has begun to obtain oil from Libya, which has emboldened Italy to use more crude oil reserves and has also made the navy more active.

With so many strengthenings, the current mental outlook of the Italian Navy is definitely not comparable to that of them in the history of the same period.

As for the combat quality, the Italian Navy is definitely not as bad as it is rumored, they are still on the Mediterranean, and they have made certain achievements!

Therefore, the Italian Navy at this time was not a fish belly to be slaughtered, but a local maritime force that was quite good.

"Why is the whistle sounding at this time? And the whistle of so many ships? A British spy frowned and looked at his companion.

His partner was also confused, and it was not dark at dinner. It was he, who went to see the Taranto military port in person, saw the warships moored inside, and sent a confirmation signal to his superiors.

Now, however, everything that happened tonight seemed to fill him with an unsettling aura.

"Could it be that someone found out about the operation? Doesn't it mean that German spies are being censored at home? The questioning spy asked again.

But before his question could be answered, the door was kicked open from the outside. A large group of Italian blackshirts rushed in, short guns in their hands.

"I'm X!" Seeing the enemy, the Spy's companion reached out and pulled a pistol from his bosom, but it was then smashed into a sieve by the bullet.

The British spy he had just questioned was not spared, and he tried to escape by jumping off the building, but he was also killed by bullets and hung on the balcony of his house.

"Take off the attack plane! For the sake of the British Empire, for the sake of His Majesty the King, start attacking! "Far away in the sea, with the aid of searchlights, a Swordfish attack plane soared into the air at the sound of commands.

This was followed by a second Swordfish attack aircraft, and then a third. The planes rushed to Taranto in the distance, unaware that their fleet had actually been spotted by the opposing submarines.

Cunningham was nervous, and this combat operation, on the one hand, was his carefully planned attack, representing the pinnacle of his wisdom and commanding art.

On the other hand, this is also a bold attempt by the British Navy to change the fate of the country in the midst of the danger of the motherland.

As long as this sneak attack is successful, the British Navy in the Mediterranean still has a chance to make waves, and if it fails, it is just a run away, and there is no need to pay the price.

Despite this, Cunningham was very nervous because he was worried that his actions would be known in advance.

He was not afraid of the Italian Navy, nor of the German Navy. What he feared now was the lingering ghost of England thousands of miles away.

On September 25, three months after Li Le's crossing, the Battle of Taranto began, and the British Swordfish attack aircraft dropped a flare next to an Italian balloon.

Behind the British Swordfish attack plane, Major Williamson, the front-line commander, piloted his own Swordfish attack plane, and heard the nervous whistle in the harbor.

"British fighters! British fighters are coming! "With the first flares in the sky, the arrival of the British on schedule excited the Italian air defense forces.

Countless anti-aircraft guns began to roar, and tracer shells of red and yellow colors were woven into a web of fire in the sky, enveloping the British planes around them.

Although it is a two-wing structure, the sturdy and stable Swordfish attack aircraft is nimble in the airproof balloons used by Italy to stop the aircraft.

The artillery fire on the ground did not frighten these brave men of the British Royal Navy, but everything in front of them made them completely collapse.

Because on the sea inside the port of Taranto, there was no shadow of the Italian main fleet they were looking for!

Whatever the reason! The main Italian fleet, the Italian main fleet that was still there during the day, has now left, and it is a very devastating "nowhere to go".

Looking at everything in front of them, the British pilots on the attack mission could only carry torpedoes and bombs in vain, carefully avoiding the artillery fire on the ground.

As the command aircraft, on the Swordfish attack aircraft marked L4F, Major Williamson pressed the intercom and reported to Cunningham what he had encountered in a desperate tone.

Dodging the shells flying on the ground, he shouted: "The Italian fleet is not here!" Repeat! The fleet of the Italians is gone! They're not in Taranto! ”

In the midst of the confusion, two British Swordfish attack planes were hit by Italian fire, and soon the third and fourth were also shot down by shells and rushed to the sea.

The British planes that pounced on the oil depot on the ground happened to be ambushed by the German anti-aircraft artillery units, and the German anti-aircraft artillery positions, which were more than twice as dense as the Italian anti-aircraft positions, completely annihilated the four British Swordfish attack planes that flew over at once.

In a short time, the British Navy was shot down by 8 Swordfish, and the remaining 7 Swordfish attack aircraft also had to hastily drop the torpedoes and bombs they were carrying, and left Taranto in a scattered formation.

The second wave of attack planes was about to fly to the place by this time, but it turned out that the Italian naval fleet was missing.

There was no need to go to the port, and what awaited the British planes were the anti-aircraft guns and searchlights of countless Axis powers. Attacking at this time is almost as bad as sending you to death.

The British have lost a total of 30 Swordfish that can be used for attack, and now they have lost 8, and another one has been damaged and returned home due to lack of experience in night operations.

Almost a third of the troops were lost, and Cunningham felt that he could not bear it, so he ordered the carrier-based aircraft to be withdrawn and leave this unfortunate place immediately.

Since the attack was unsuccessful, the commander of the British Navy's Mediterranean Fleet was already thinking about how his fleet would escape.