"Sir, the command has called, the 'Aquila' has set sail from ******, let us rendezvous with it in the waters east of Sardinia, and then go out to the operational sea west of Sardinia. Lewen. ”

On the bridge of the battle ship of the Italian battleship "Emanuele II", the staff officer reported the contents of the call from the command of the Navy to the commander, Vice Admiral Bio Kelly, in an excited tone. Hearing this, the surrounding officers all showed happy expressions. The Italian Navy's dispatch of the two strongest battleships, the "Emmanuele II" and the "Umberto I", to attack the eastern Mediterranean was not as optimistic as the top management expected - because the two core battleships were temporarily transferred out of Taranto Bay, and the Austro-Hungarian Navy could attack the east coast of the Apennine Peninsula at any time, or break through the Strait of Otranto into the Mediterranean, the Italian Navy had to station as many cruisers, destroyers, torpedo boats and land-based aviation units as possible on their eastern front. As a result, only four cruisers and six destroyers accompanied the two Emanuele II-class battleships, and the escort force was seriously insufficient, and the old aircraft carrier "Garibaldi", which was originally scheduled to join the battle group, was delayed due to mechanical problems, so that the fleet could only rely on land-based aviation units in Sardinia and Sicily for the rest of the year......

Knowing that the "Aquila" was about to join the battle, Biankelly's eyes lit up at first, but after thinking for a moment, his expression darkened again, and he ordered in a gloomy and indifferent tone: "Let the navigator adjust the navigation plan as soon as possible so that he can meet the 'Aquila' formation." ”

The current captain of the "Emanuele II" is Commodore Gyogis, who has rich combat experience, and when he saw that the commander of the fleet looked a little strange, he talked to him: "The group of meteorologists in the staff department predicted that there will be a heavy rainfall process in the next two days, and the activities of the aviation units during this period will be greatly affected, but their predictions have always been only 50% accurate, but fortunately, the 'Aquila' is coming to meet us, and no matter what the weather is, we will have a way to deal with the enemy." ”

At the beginning of the war, the Italian Navy had four active aircraft carriers, the "Count Cavour" and the "Emanuele III" were sunk by the carrier-based aircraft of the new United Kingdom Navy on the first day, the oldest "Garibaldi" has been in poor condition in recent years, spending almost a third of its time in the repair dock every year, and the fourth "Aquila" is a large aircraft carrier built by Italy in the 30s, and its overall design has a strong Japanese style, With a standard displacement of up to 37,000 tons and a maximum aircraft capacity of up to 124 aircraft, it deservedly occupies the throne of the first aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean, and is regarded as a first-class combat power comparable to the German Navy's Count Hipper-class heavy aircraft carriers. This time, the "Aquila" ended its maintenance work ahead of schedule and came to support, which was indeed a relief in terms of its tactical value.

"My real concern is not the weather conditions or the arrival of the Aquila, but the Germans. Come to think of it, if the Germans were directly involved in this war, we would have no chance of winning. ”

"The Germans went directly to the war?" "It's a real possibility, but I don't think the Germans will get involved in the war easily, because that would probably lead to the complete collapse of the Allied system." At this time, they should play an active mediator role – they should be well aware that the Italian presence and the strength of the Italian navy are key to maintaining stability in the Mediterranean, and that a safe and reliable Mediterranean route is essential for them to obtain large resources from the Middle East and East Africa every year. ”

Bironkelly muttered, "The reason you mentioned has always been an excuse for the big men to comfort themselves. They felt that the integrity and strength of Italy was an important guarantee for the Germans to maintain their strategic territory, so they maintained close trade relations with Japan despite Germany's repeated objections and even warnings. In fact, many people feel that this is a gamble that does not outweigh the losses - betting that the Germans have enough patience with us, and that we have benefited a lot from this trade cooperation over the years, but at the same time it is also draining the patience of the Germans, prompting Germany to repair its relations with the Turks, and then to expand the Baghdad Railway, to build oil pipelines, and to make the Mediterranean route less valuable and meaningful to them. When the Germans run out of patience, when we are completely abandoned......"

Georgis couldn't help frowning: "The words of such revolutionaries are not credible, not credible!" ”

Of course, Bionkelly knew that such words could not be said in front of outsiders, so he sighed and said no more.

At about the same time, the first Italian warplanes to take off from Sardinia had spotted two new British Navy cruisers at sea. Despite the ingenuity of the Irish, the cross-sectional silhouette of the two cruisers looked similar to the two German warships that had recently sailed into the Mediterranean, and the anti-aircraft identification markings on the deck were hidden, but the unknown Italian pilots attacked at the first time - due to the delay in information screening and transmission, these guys had no idea that there were German naval ships operating in the eastern Mediterranean, so they didn't think much about it.

Fortunately, the Alans also made two preparations, after the Italian fighters launched an attack, they did not hesitate to exert defensive skills, just the first wave of guided anti-aircraft rockets intercepted and shot down and damaged a number of enemy aircraft, and in the case of high-speed maneuvering of the battleship, the anti-aircraft guns integrated with the artillery sighting radar, mechanical loading system and three-axis stabilizer still maintained a continuous and stable firepower output, so that the Italian fighters who tried to break through the ship's air defense circle from different directions were repeatedly frustrated.

In the midst of a fierce battle between sea and air, a flock of blue-gray painted eagles suddenly broke into the battlefield, and their fierce attack like a tiger descending from a mountain immediately disrupted the combat rhythm of the Italian fleet. More than 20 Marqui MC.205 "Hound Dogs" and Fiat G.55 "Centaurs" put on a defensive camp were bombarded by head-on guided air-to-air rockets, and the surviving Italian fighters, although outnumbered, were still chased by the IR-44T.

Seeing that their fighters were too busy to take care of themselves, the Italian bombers that had already dropped bombs did not need to be said, and those who were still looking for an opportunity to attack also dropped their bombs and turned back. As a result, less than half of the bombs and torpedoes were actually used on the enemy ships, and as a result, none of the torpedoes were hit, but a few bombs dropped by Ba.205 land-based dive bombers caused some damage to the two enemy ships, but it was far less serious than the Italian pilots estimated and reported.

Upon learning of the damage to two new British Navy cruisers, the Italian army hurriedly sent a second wave of fighters. Due to the attack time half an hour earlier than planned, some fighters did not have time to join the escort queue, and some **.84 land-based torpedo bombers included in the reserve were sent into battle - this kind of bomber with a similar structure to **.79 was criticized for poor handling, after several successive technical improvements and engine changes, the situation improved, but there are still shortcomings of weak attack and unreliable defense, if it were not for the repeated delay in the production plan of the replacement model, They have long been withdrawn from the active ranks of the Italian naval aviation.

The second wave of Italian air attack planes was almost twice the size of the first wave, and the Italian command was determined to achieve this move, but these fighters had not had time to attack the enemy cruiser formation that had slowed down and was making emergency repairs, and they were intercepted by enemy carrier-based fighters. In this battle, all the Italian fighter pilots received a death order from their superiors, asking them to protect their bombers at any cost, and in terms of tactics, the Italian commander also made a deployment: half of the MC.205 was loaded with air-borne rockets at the cost of sacrificing the time in the air to enhance the air combat attack power, and the remaining fighters were all mounted with auxiliary fuel tanks in order to provide full escort for the bomber group. The 30 IR-44Ts worked together, with one team rushing and killing in front to distract some of the Italian fighters, one team diving down from a high altitude and disrupting the dense formation of the Italian bomber group with air-to-air rockets, and another group waiting for an opportunity to break into the Italian bomber formation from the rear, making it difficult for the Italian fighters to take care of both the end and the end.

In the chaotic battle, the Italian army lost 4 **.79 land-based medium bombers, 7 **.84 land-based torpedo bombers and 5 Ba.205 land-based dive bombers, and another 4 MC.205 and 2 G.55 were shot down, although they also managed to take out 8 IR-44Ts and damaged at least 3, but when the new United Kingdom Navy carrier-based aircraft were withdrawn, it was difficult for the remaining Italian fighters to organize a decent attack. After dropping 7 torpedoes and 19 bombs on two enemy ships, the second wave of Italian air raids came to an abrupt end.

Operational reports from the Italian Navy, Air Force and Aviation were continuously sent to the fleet of Bironkelly under sail through the naval command. From these reports, Vice Admiral Billankelli and his officers were able to make a judgment: the two enemy cruisers that appeared in the waters west of Sardinia were only decoys for the other side, and the real "big fish" were the enemy aircraft carrier formations hidden from sight. In the current naval battle mode, the battlefleet has no advantage in front of the aircraft carrier formation, and a hard fight will inevitably lead to defeat, even if it is quietly approaching under the cover of bad weather, the enemy aircraft carrier has a great chance to use the speed to escape, so their only chance to win is to play the role of the "Aquila". However, what is the current state of the aircraft carrier, which was ordered to sail silently, and whether the hasty interruption of the repair work will have a negative impression on its combat performance, these are all factors that Bironkelly must consider.