Another aircraft carrier handed over by Britain to Germany was the famous aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal.

On March 23, the aircraft carrier Ark Royal was now fully equipped with carrier-based aircraft and became a member of the German Navy's Atlantic Fleet.

The main port of this fleet was the French port of Brest, the secondary port was Portsmouth, and the alternative ports were the Netherlands and Liverpool in the United Kingdom.

It is precisely because I thought that with six aircraft carriers, the German naval aviation, which had less than 200 carrier-based aircraft pilots, was so insufficient.

In order to make the aircraft carrier Ark Royal combat effective as soon as possible, Germany transferred 200 apprentices from the air force and 50 active pilots to join the navy.

To appease Goering, the Air Force was replenished with 2000 new pilot apprentices. German air power had never been so strong, and there were so many planes, including naval aviation, that Göring was satisfied.

In any case, the German navy was growing rapidly, even faster than the navy expected, and beyond all the enemy's expectations.

……

The Indian Ocean seems to be three points calmer than the Atlantic. The sea breeze is still warm, and the air is still fresh.

"Ships ahead, please identify yourself, please identify yourself!" On the radio, a rustling sound of electrical interference was accompanied by a sound that kept repeating the question.

On the bridge, Phillips opened his mouth and gave his own answer: "Answer him!" Our fleet is escorting an important figure to India, with no intention of fighting! ”

"Our ship is escorting an important mission to India, without any combat intent! Repeated, without any combat intent! The officer who was standing next to the radio quickly repeated the words of his commander.

Hearing the English question, Phillips felt that his emotions had been tense and suddenly relaxed.

How anxious is it to be adrift on the vast sea and lose the country behind you? It is not easy for him to hold on to the present with two warships.

In the sky, the patrolling Swordfish attack planes were circling in circles. It did not carry torpedoes, so it could not actually do any damage to Phillips's fleet.

This Swordfish attack aircraft belongs to the USS Athletic, the only British aircraft carrier in the Indian Ocean.

In the era when World War I had just ended and World War II had not begun, many countries in the world were refitting aircraft carriers, but no one had any experience, and they were all modified while using them.

In the construction of the Athletic, the talent of the British man-made ship was fully demonstrated. The Athletic has three creative characteristics, and these characteristics have become the most typical specification of aircraft carriers.

First, there is an all-access flight deck. This was indeed a very advanced design idea around 1920, and this design provided unprecedented convenience for flight operations.

Second, the bow of the closed type. This bow is wave-resistant, which makes the flight deck stronger. At that time, the Japanese Hosho had an open bow, and during the exercise in 1936, it encountered a powerful typhoon, and the wind and waves destroyed the flight deck.

Thirdly, the island superstructure is placed on the starboard side, which surrounds the chimney. At that time, the chimney of the aircraft carrier became a headache, and the design of the aircraft carrier chimney of the naval power Japan was a typical case of failure.

The lateral chimneys and invertable chimneys used by Japanese aircraft carriers are not strong enough, cannot withstand the blows of wind and waves, are difficult to operate, and are not conducive to the sealing of ships.

The use of the right bridge to enclose the chimney is quite creative, which is conducive to flight and navigation command, and has higher strength than the side chimney and the reclining chimney, and is still used by conventional aircraft carriers.

Regrettably, the USS Athletic is so old that even if it was designed to be very advanced, in 1941 it was only a big word that was "out of place".

The lack of tonnage and the inadequate prediction of the follow-up development of carrier-based aircraft eventually led to the emergence of one of the biggest weaknesses of the Athletic God aircraft carrier.

That is, when the number of carrier-based aircraft was insufficient, the Athletic God could only carry 20 carrier-based aircraft, and now it has been replaced by the Swordfish, which can only carry 16 aircraft.

An aircraft carrier that can only carry 16 carrier-based aircraft can actually only be said to be an escort aircraft carrier.

Although the Athletic is indeed a specially designed aircraft carrier, it is a pity that the number of carrier-based aircraft seriously restricts its combat effectiveness.

It is precisely because the Athletic God is now a chicken rib that it will be sent to the Indian Ocean to deter the surrounding colonies.

Therefore, when Britain suffered a miserable defeat and faced great changes, the aircraft carrier Athletic escaped and was directly detained in India and became the flagship of the British rebel Indian Ocean Fleet.

Standing on the docks, Mountbatten watched the boat approaching him in the distance. Earlier telegrams said that an important person was in a hurry to meet him, so he rushed to Mumbai to meet the legendary and mysterious figure.

Of course, Mountbatten would have been told about the arrival of Queen Elizabeth, otherwise he would not have come to meet him himself.

It's just that he is still in a very worried mood now, and he doesn't know whether this princess who came is a blessing or a curse for the British resistance organization.

"Hopefully I won't be too disappointed." Mountbatten saw that the boat was tied to the dock, and the sailors carefully stopped the ferry, muttering quietly.

Compared with the small boat in front of him, on the sea in the distance, two battleships with pergolas set up horizontally across the sea, which attracted Mountbatten's attention even more.

When he learned that two battleships had come to his aid, a smile appeared on his face that he hadn't shown for a long time.

Naval strength was an important shortcoming, and without the deterrence of its own naval power, Japan was ready to move in Southeast Asia, and its colonies began to make ill intentions.

Now that two battleships with huge cannons have entered the Indian Ocean, everyone has to weigh whether they are opponents of the Royal Navy.

The Rodney was one of the best treaty battleships, with a formidable 406 mm gun. Fighting such a terrible warship, be ready to sink at any time.

When Mountbatten withdrew his gaze from the wonderful silhouette of the battleship, he saw a petite girl standing in front of him.

The girl wore a decent skirt and looked like a nobleman who had come on vacation. Mountbatten recognized the identity of the girl in front of him, and immediately saluted: "Can you still adapt along the way, Your Highness?" ”

"It's alright, Your Excellency." Elizabeth replied to Mountbatten's greeting with a smile, and then asked directly: "My arrival has embarrassed you, General, right?" ”

Without waiting for Mountbatten to prevaricate and answer, Elizabeth continued to speak quickly: "I am only here for your righteousness, and it is up to you to decide other matters." ”

Hearing Elizabeth say this, Mountbatten's eyes lit up: it seems that this Royal Highness is a sensible person, and it seems that her arrival is a blessing rather than a curse after all!

"You are already in charge of the affairs of the Army, let Auchinleck and Montgomery be in charge, and you have to worry more about the affairs of the Navy. The command will be handed over to Phillips for the time being......" Elizabeth took out the momentum of a princess, and opened her mouth to divide the work they were responsible for.

Her Majesty the old queen is still just a young girl. Even if she showed the royal extravagance, it didn't make Mountbatten jealous.

What really moved Mountbatten was that the princess had the right to intervene in the affairs of the army and the navy in his future arrangements, as if he were half a prime minister.

What he didn't know was that Elizabeth had already thought about what she would say after she came ashore. This little girl full of wisdom is very good at mastering people's feelings.

This can be seen from her later handling of Princess Diana and other matters! The royal family is still standing, and the dead princess is still unstained.

In fact, whoever came to greet her, Elizabeth would give this set of rhetoric. If Montgomerio Kinglake and Mountbatten were to come along, she would promise to let the few of them discuss everything.

Elizabeth was too young to rule the realm and preside over the war. Therefore, she will inevitably delegate power and honestly sit on a high place as a totem, which is more in line with her ability.

"Montgomery and General Auchinleck will be glad you're here!" Mountbatten smiled and answered, obviously having accepted the proper arrangement of the princess.

In the past few days, Mountbatten, Montgomery and Auchinleck have actually divided their priorities.

Mountbatten was clearly the victor: he was in control of Burma in India, both logistically and in terms of troops, stronger than Montgomery and Auchinleck, who were trapped in the Middle East.

Without his support, Montgomery and Auchinleck would not have had any more troops, and no subsequent ammunition replenishment.

Eventually, Montgomery and Auchinleck compromised, and Mountbatten was now alone to meet Queen Elizabeth.

"I'm also glad to have met a patriotic general like you and them. Without you, neither my father nor I would know what to do. "Slightly, Elizabeth sprinkled a little petitely.

This is in line with her age, and it also makes Mountbatten more comfortable with conversation: "Leave everything to me when you come here, please rest assured, Your Excellency." ”

"Send a telegram to Burma, Australia, and Canada, telling them that we are still loyal to the royal family, and that we are determined to be loyal to the royal family for the liberation of Britain and the royal daughter!" Mountbatten stayed by Elizabeth's side and commanded his men to be humane.

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The first is more served