As the last rays of the sun vanished into the sky, the light on the sea gradually dimmed. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 Info had just had dinner, and Natsuki was alone on the side deck of the "King". At this time, the carrier-based planes that were on reconnaissance and alert around the fleet returned to the "Bismarck" one by one like birds returning to their nests. From a distance, the wide, straight flight deck is full of busy figures.

There is no doubt that aircraft carriers are a more strategically important weapon for naval warfare than submarines and high-speed torpedo boats. Under the condition that aviation technology and shipboard machinery were not yet developed, Natsuki skillfully refitted such an old cruiser that was about to be decommissioned, and the attempt to carry ultralight torpedoes with small biplanes also achieved very satisfactory results. The Battle of Jutland, had it not been a little less lucky, it might have become the first focus of the naval attention of the great powers.

Despite the lack of dazzling flashes, the appearance of the "Bismarck" must have attracted the attention of the navies of Great Britain and other powers. In order to maintain the strategic superiority of the German Navy in the field of carrier-based aviation, Natsuki took advantage of the fact that the number of ships built by the Navy during the war was not restricted by the Fleet Law, and requested the Kaiser to approve a special plan for the refit of three aircraft carriers and the construction of six new aircraft carriers. The 40,000-ton Tirpitz class and three 20,000-ton Wilhelm II class. The design drawings for the Tirpitz class were submitted to the Naval Technical Commission for evaluation, and construction was expected to begin in October or November 1914 at the Friedrich Royal Shipyard and the Schulchen Shipyard in Danzig; The keel of the Wilhelm II class was scheduled to be laid in the second half of 1915, and the design work was being carried out by a team of engineers at the Friedrich-Royal Shipyard. In addition, the development of a new carrier-based aircraft to accompany the construction of aircraft carrier conversions is in full swing at Hubert Aeronautics, and the Kaiser has approved a special grant of 6 million marks to help the company expand its production.

Aircraft carrier repair, aircraft building, recruitment and training of naval pilots are also carried out at an orderly pace, everything is in Natsuki's control, and for the future, this historical traveler has a very full plan at the technical and strategic level, but as the actual international pattern gradually deviates from history, his "prophetic nature" of political and diplomatic strategy and military tactical command is constantly weakening, and when Germany and the United States are at war for control of the Atlantic, he will have to use his true wisdom to fight for victory.

"Sir, the 'Lord Regent of Louisport' has sent a signal, the damage pipe plugging is progressing smoothly, the holes and cracks in the transverse partitions of the two watertight compartments have been blocked, the transverse partitions on the periphery of the watertight compartments have also been effectively reinforced, the water inlet is less than 500 tons, the rudder has barely been adjusted to the right 6 degrees, and is ready to use the method of double aircraft at different speed to try to slow sailing."

Captain Gord came to Xia Shu's side from the bridge, the two were of the same age and about the same height, while Captain Gord was relatively strong, the straight captain's uniform was worn on him with a heroic temperament, and the medal on his chest made him even more energetic.

Natsuki turned his head and glanced at the battleship not far away that had been lying on the surface of the sea for more than three hours, and said with a calm and calm attitude: "Then let it move, and we'll sweep it up in the back." ”

"General Scheer has already given the order." Golder replied.

"Oh." Natsuki replied expressionlessly, Scheer is the commander of the mixed fleet, with his veteran experience and do-it-all personality, it is normal for him to make such a decision directly without consulting himself, after all, the accidental damage of the "Luitport Regent" also made him a little anxious.

The battlefield is a place where accidents can happen at any time, the Harwich fleet composed of light cruisers and destroyers is like the British Maritime Guard, with its fierce and agile combat power to defend the Thames estuary, this vital position, the German fleet sacrificed carrier-based aircraft, high-speed torpedo boats and intensive naval gun fire combined punches to beat this opponent to a miserable beating, in the case of victory has already been in hand, but the opponent is a dark arrow, how can people not beat their wrists and chests?

"Louipold Regent" belongs to the Caesar class, is the core capital ship of the current German Navy, the defense is so strong, many years later there is still a capital that the Germans talk about, but the British destroyer fired this torpedo impartially hit the stern, here is the end of the broadside armor belt, the thinnest thickness, the weakest defense, the torpedo not only blew through the outer wall and coal bunker, causing the watertight compartment to enter the water, but also directly blew up the ship's auxiliary rudder, the main rudder stuck, so that it completely lost its normal navigation ability.

The British Harwich fleet fired fifty or sixty torpedoes in succession during the battle, and it was normal for the "Louisport Regent" to fail to avoid the attack, but this was an inexplicable irony to Natsuki -- in order to induce the British Navy to dispatch the Channel Fleet, he personally directed a bitter plan, and asked the crew of the "King" to prepare an empty pack of bombs, which were detonated on the side when the victory was decided, creating the illusion that the battleship was a mine, and then slowing down the ship and emitting black smoke to make the British think that the German capital ship was seriously damaged. Considering that the British high command was very anxious to turn the tide of the war, it was likely that they would send the Channel Fleet into battle, and the German fleet could logically lead it to the waters north of the Netherlands, and covertly transfer a large number of light ships so that most of the British warships could not return to the English Channel.

The empty pack bomb for the "King" exploded as scheduled, except for a few pipes in the side compartments that cracked, and several cabin lights were damaged, the battleship and its crew were safe and sound, and the explosion also achieved the expected effect. Since its main rudder was initially stuck at about 10 degrees to the right, the effort to use the light ship to directly squeeze the top to assist the steering failed, and Schell had no choice but to order the crew to hurry up and repair it.

Shortly after the defeat of Harwich's fleet, British seaplanes appeared in nearby airspace, which Natsuki had hoped to see, but now he had to face the reality and turn to the local players for safety. The Naval Staff soon replied that four old battleships, three cruisers, 21 torpedo boats, and four large tugboats had been transferred from naval units stationed in Wilhelmshaven and Helgoland Bay. This may seem like a sizable fleet, but one clearly does not expect much from the aging Caesar-Frederick-class battleships, as well as the early construction of protective cruisers, small and medium-sized torpedo boats.

"Ho, this fragile giant is finally moving!"

Gold's language is not without pejorative, he is the strategist and executor of Natsuki's bitter tricks to lure the enemy, and his expectations for its success are even greater than Natsuki's. If the "Luitport Regent" is able to return to the sea on its own, the mixed fleet will still have enough strength to meet the British Channel Fleet, but if it is still trapped here, the first task of the fleet will be how to cover the withdrawal of the capital ship.

Natsuki propped his hands on the railing and tilted his head to look in the direction of the "Regent of Luitport". This big guy with a combat displacement of nearly 30,000 tons is safe and sound, except for a black spot near the stern of the ship, and the 500-ton water intake only increases its draft by half a meter, which will not have much impact on the navigation ability.

"Is that our plane?" Golde said, looking in the direction of the British Isles.

Natsuki did not respond, because he did not count whether all the carrier-based aircraft of the "Bismarck" were recovered. As night fell, the visual distance on the sea was rapidly decreasing, but if there was a British reconnaissance plane, the pilot would at least be able to confirm that the German fleet was still in the waters of the previous engagement, and then inform his superiors as quickly as possible -- if it had carried radio, it would have been of great help to the British navy in making judgments and deployments.

The plane flew closer and closer, and when it was only a few hundred meters away from the "King", Captain Gord cursed in a low voice: "Hell, it's a British plane!" ”

At this time, one of the ship's communications officers walked briskly, saluted Natsuki, and reported: "Sir, I have just received a telegram from the 1st Submarine Squadron that a British battlefleet has appeared in the eastern waters of the English Channel, sailing from west to east, but strangely enough, their course is not close to the British coastline, but sails out of British territorial waters. Part of the submarines of the 1st Submarine Squadron will follow them, looking for a suitable moment to attack at night. ”

Seeing that Natsuki didn't speak, Captain Gord analyzed: "They are afraid of our submarines and mines. ”

"Submarines and mines are really scary things." Natsuki sighed lightly, "One day we will become the side of the naval power, and we will also be troubled by the enemy's submarines and mines. ”

As they spoke, white planes flew overhead, the roar of engines distinctly clear on the calm sea. The German sailors looked up, and when they realized that it was a British plane, they immediately shouted in a mocking tone.

Boom!

A loud explosion suddenly came from not far away, everyone was taken aback, and they followed the sound of the explosion one after another, only to see a white column of water rising from the starboard side of the slow-moving "Luitport Regent", and then a fire flashed from the amidships of the same port, and another white column of water rose abruptly. They just watched quietly, doing nothing, and there was nothing to do, like watching a torpedo hit a target ship during a live-fire exercise.

"No, it can't ......," Natsuki heard Captain Gord mutter, "it doesn't have torpedoes, and it's impossible to carry two, it's definitely a submarine's doing, damn it...... It's a British submarine! It's a British submarine! ”

Natsuki looked at the "Regent of Louisport without saying a word", silently hoping that the capital ship he had personally designed and finalized would be able to withstand the attack of these two torpedoes, and at the same time he was thinking about the best and worst scenarios in his heart.

(End of chapter)