Vice Admiral Charles Madden of the British Royal Navy is 52 years old, and this is the best years of an admiral. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 info He was not tall, of a mediocre appearance, of a not very cheerful personality, he was very knowledgeable, of a brilliant mind, and boasted of having a pair of falcon-like sharp eyes. When the capital ships of the British Home Fleet were sailing in the central channel of the Faroe Islands, the eyes spotted the low-flying plane before the sentry on the lookout - he saw it right, it was indeed a German plane, a Hubert-D4 carrier-based reconnaissance plane that used wheels instead of pontoons to take off and land.

It is said that war is the best catalyst for weapons technology, and during the Battle of Jutland, the German Navy had only two types of carrier-based aircraft, namely the Hubert-D reconnaissance aircraft and the Hubert-E attack aircraft, the former taking into account reconnaissance, calibration, and air combat, and the latter could play the role of a bomber and carry torpedoes to carry out attacks, and had a certain air combat capability. The Battle of Jutland took place in early August, and by mid-October, the upgraded models of the Hubert-E attack aircraft, the E3 two-seat monoplane bomber and the E5 two-seat biplane torpedo aircraft, had begun to be equipped with troops, the Hubert-D4 two-seat biplane reconnaissance plane had completed its test flight and was ready to enter the mass production stage, and the Hubert-F two-seat single-seat fighter was also about to enter the test flight stage.

In terms of performance, this series of carrier-based aircraft launched by Hubert Aviation in a short period of time has been significantly improved compared with the original model, for example, the maximum flight speed of the D4 reconnaissance aircraft has reached 135 kilometers per hour, which makes it easy to avoid the interception of any British fighter, the time in the air has increased to 3 and a half hours, the effective reconnaissance radius has been correspondingly expanded to 200 kilometers, and the efficiency of aerial reconnaissance and vigilance on the battlefield has increased by at least 40%.

When the main force of the German High Seas Fleet went north to the Norwegian Sea, the "Prince Heinrich", which was converted into a second aircraft carrier, carried a total of 6 Hubert-D, 4 Hubert-E-3 and 6 Hubert-E5, and the total number of carrier-based aircraft was two less than that of the "Bismarck", not because the tonnage and size of the "Prince Heinrich" were smaller than those of the "Bismarck", in fact, the modification of the "Prince Heinrich" was more reasonable than that of the "Bismarck", and the space of the open hangar was increased by a quarter compared with the "Bismarck". The decrease in the number of aircraft carried is due to the wider wingspan and larger size of the new carrier-based aircraft. In order to save space, Hubert Aviation has long been experimenting with folding wings, but so far it has not been completely successful.

"Prince Heinrich" carried 16 carrier-based aircraft, "Göttingen" and "Kassel" two auxiliary aircraft carriers each carried 10, plus the battle cruisers and accompanying light ships carried by the water reconnaissance aircraft, the entire German fleet had nearly 50 aircraft, in 1914, this was a fairly large naval aviation force, and the quality and experience of the German naval pilots were significantly stronger than the British Navy, if the weather was so bad that all the planes could not be dispatched, It was clearly more beneficial to the British.

However, when the British Home Fleet was desperately crossing the narrow channel in the middle of the Faroe Islands to attack the German fleet, the weather was obviously not so bad that the planes could not fly, and the British's own water reconnaissance planes were still trying to search for the position of the German fleet, and it was only natural that the German carrier-based planes with better performance appeared in front of them.

"Aim at the starboard target, ready to fire freely!"

The loud and rapid sound of the command soon sounded on the "Iron Duke" and a number of nearby British warships, and this was the first time that the British Home Fleet had really raised the alarm of battle since it set sail from the Dogger Sandbank, and now the North Sea seemed to be a forgotten sea area for the Germans, and the frequent submarines were gone, and the busy planes and airships also disappeared, and these anomalies strengthened the British determination to complete the battle.

The British officers on the bridge stood in place one by one, as quiet as a group of sculptures, but most of them were probably not as indifferent as their expressions, but they had no strategy to use for the two German planes flying at low altitude, nor did they have any tactics to deploy. If German planes came in with bombs or torpedoes, the British fleet had no room for manoeuvre and had to resign itself to fate.

The lone German carrier-based plane in sight quickly flew over the long and narrow island of Kars, and before it could fly over the fleet, the starboard naval guns of the "Iron Duke" opened fire first. When it was completed and put into service, this powerful super-dreadnought was equipped with six single-mounted 6-inch (152 mm) primary secondary guns and six 4-inch (102 mm) secondary secondary guns, all of which were installed in the gun frame under the main bridge.

After the Battle of Jutland, the battered Iron Duke was docked for more than two months, and a major technical modification was carried out, in which all the secondary guns were removed and replaced with deck-mounted secondary turrets modeled after German dreadnoughts, and a 3-inch (76 mm) rapid-fire gun and a 1-pounder gun (37 mm cannon) were installed. When returning to the combat sequence, the "Iron Duke" not only retained the five twin main turrets, but also completely renovated the armament system: eight 6-inch secondary guns were installed in four new twin auxiliary turrets, and the maximum elevation angle was increased to 35 degrees, which could use shrapnel for aerial fire; The 4-inch secondary gun was replaced by a 3-inch rapid-fire gun that could be used both against sea and air, and this single-mount rapid-fire gun with only a light shield was loaded with a total of 16 guns; The 1-pounder gun produced by Vickers was equipped with 12 guns, and the density of fire at medium and close ranges was quite impressive.

Led by the Iron Duke, a number of dreadnoughts, battlecruisers and escorting light ships opened fire, and the island of Kars seemed to be holding a grand festival with fireworks and brilliant sky. Countless shells exploded in the air, and the scene was spectacular. In view of the unsatisfactory hit rate of artillery shells using trigger fuses when firing into the air, at the request of the military, Vickers quickly produced a batch of small-caliber shells using time-delay fuzes, and took the lead in actual combat on the French battlefield, and the destructive power of enemy aircraft has been doubled compared with the original trigger fuse -- but the absolute value of the hit rate is still about 1 in 10,000, that is, it is possible to shoot down an enemy plane with an average consumption of 10,000 rounds of ammunition.

The British wanted to shoot down the German plane before it could send the news back to the German fleet, completely ignoring the fact that the intense sound and light was in itself a strong warning. The flickering flames and clusters of gunpowder smoke turned the gloomy canopy into a vivid picture, and the gray plane sometimes disappeared in the clouds of smoke, sometimes appeared in the gap between the gunfire, only to see it fly higher and higher, and in the eyes of the British officers and men, it became smaller and smaller, and finally flew to a height beyond the reach of the gunfire, circling round and round, as if mocking the weakness of the British fleet.

The sound of the cannon gradually stopped, and the air was filled with a strong and choking smell of gunsmoke. Sir Jackson and his staff aides left the bridge and returned to the conning tower, and after a while, the communications officer hurried to report: "Radio ...... It was firing radios, and we interfered with the frequencies of communication between it and the fleet, and the Germans received at most some radio signals. ”

"Even if the German fleet does not receive the telegram, this German plane will soon bring back information about our whereabouts, leaving us with little time left." Sir Jackson analysed, "From now on, we must go full speed ahead...... It's going to mess up our formation, but there's no better way to do it. ”

None of the staff officers raised objections, but judging from their hesitating, tangled and anxious expressions, they did not think in their hearts that this was a wise decision, but they could not come up with a better way in the current situation.

Sir Jackson then set his sights on Vice Admiral Madden, Chief of Staff of his fleet.

Madden drew a cross on his chest and said in a voice that everyone present could hear: "May Nelson's Spirit in Heaven bless us, and only a victory can save Britain from the edge of the precipice." ”

At the Battle of Trafalgar, the British fleet was weaker than the combined French and Spanish ships, and if defeated, Napoleon's French army would take the opportunity to land in Britain, which would be a great disaster for the British. Fortunately, Nelson led his flagship to rush into the enemy fleet in one fell swoop, and the British fleet was like a rainbow and crushed the combined Franco-Spanish fleet in one fell swoop. At this time, Madden prayed for Nelson's protection, not only to approve of Jackson's strategy of moving forward at full speed, but also to remind all the officers present that the situation had reached a time when there was no room for any hesitation, and once there was combat contact with the German fleet, no matter how strong the opponent's lineup was, the British fleet could only see a glimmer of opportunity to defeat Germany if it broke through the cauldron and fought with all its might.

"Signal Betty to carry out combat reconnaissance in front of the main fleet with the 1st Battlecruiser Squadron and the 3rd Cruiser Squadron, and not hesitate to have any fighters after discovering the German fleet. Our 'Tiger' is stronger than any German battleship! ”

"The last word is going to be sent out too?" The staff officer who had been ordered to give the order asked uncertainly.

Jackson hesitated slightly: "Yes, the original words were issued." ”

The fleet commander, who seemed to be full of ambition but was actually a little unconfident, said to his chief of staff: "If the D'Fllinger is present, our Tiger may be in some trouble, but it should still be in the Atlantic Ocean now, and the German Navy's Moltke-class is not bad, after all, it uses a triple 11-inch gun, which is two grades weaker than the Tiger's triple 13.5-inch gun." They have two Moltke classes, and we have the Royal Princess and the Indefatigable on our side, and in another battle cruiser duel, Betty should be able to win and should win. ”

Charles Madden chose to remain silent at this time. The performance of the "Tiger" is indeed superior to that of all German battle cruisers, just as the Queen Elizabeth-class super dreadnoughts under construction are far more powerful than any German dreadnought, but the biggest problem at present is that the "Tiger" has just been put into service, and the crew who escaped from the sunken ship can indeed use their quality and experience to shorten the run-in time, but the battleship itself is not a perfect existence, and various machine parts also need normal running-in adjustment to achieve the ideal state. Those who have survived the war may be able to mobilize the will to fight through pre-war mobilization, or they may have psychological shadows that cannot be resolved, and these uncertain factors may bring variables to the outcome of the naval battle.

(End of chapter)