Shortly after the sinking of the Italian heavy aircraft carrier "Aquila".

This He-121 water reconnaissance aircraft came from the German Navy's battlecruiser "Wissenburg". When the new United Kingdom Navy and the Italian Navy were engaged in a fierce battle in the western Mediterranean, the "Wissenberg" and the wingman "Dame-Splival" sailed in North African waters less than 200 kilometers from the battlefield. In accordance with the deployment of the German General Staff, this sizable two-ship formation sailed into the Mediterranean, and its main task was "military observation" rather than "dragging". Until the German top brass decides to intervene in this war, they will not in any way expose either side to military or diplomatic threats. Of course, the Germans' declaration of neutrality was not enough to reassure the Italians, because Germany and the new United Kingdom have always been like brothers militarily and diplomatically, and although the alliance between Germany and Italy lasted for half a century, it never reached the level of "one heart and one mind", especially in the more than ten years after the end of World War II, Italy had long-term "fornication" with Japan, and Germany was not only hostile to military and political figures, but also a crusade among the people......

"Hey, the Italian fleet withdrew before it could contain the dead." The pilot in the front seat communicated to the observer in the back seat over the on-board radio, "You can see how embarrassed they are in losing this battle!" ”

"The Italian showmanship is also suitable for military parades and intimidation of African natives!" The observer in the back seat said contemptuously, "Over the years, the Irish have fought in the east and west, and the combat effectiveness of the army has always maintained a first-class level, but what about the Italians?" sent troops to Egypt, but was chased by militia and fled; intervened in the Ottoman civil war, a bunch of problems with weapons and equipment; Confrontation with Austria-Hungary, the mobilization of the army was slow and chaotic. ”

"The difference between first-class and second-rate will be very clear on the battlefield, so what we see is ...... Hey, look in the direction of 3 o'clock, where there's an Irish plane that crashed into the sea, and see if there are any pilots who have parachuted nearby. The front-seat pilot's tone abruptly changed.

The backseat observer hurriedly picked up the binoculars: "Yes, I saw that plane, and there don't seem to be pilots around." The Irish Navy wore an orange landing wall, which is the most striking colour in contrast to the seawater...... Oh, I think I found it, in our 5 o'clock direction! ”

The pilot in the front seat immediately adjusted the direction of the flight, and after a while, he said loudly: "You are right, it is the yellow parachute of the Irish, maybe the Italian destroyer has scooped up the pilot and taken it away, maybe he is still there." ”

"If he's still there, we're going to have to bring him back?"

"Of course."

"But how?" The backseat observer asked rhetorically, "Want that wet guy to squeeze a seat with me?" ”

"Hey, boy, don't worry too much about the details." The pilot in the front seat responded, "Maybe you sat at a table with him a few months ago!" ”

"The last time I sat down for a drink with an Irishman was half a year ago." The observer in the back seat said, "They have a good amount of alcohol, but it's not as good as us!" ”

As he spoke, the pilot in the front seat had already piloted the high-performance German-made water reconnaissance plane close to the yellow parachute floating on the surface of the sea, but in the process of hovering at low altitude, he and his partner saw neither the survivors nor the remains of the dead. It is important to know that the standard life-saving equipment of the new United Kingdom naval aviation includes rocket-type ejection seats, anti-entanglement parachutes, waterproof and warm clothing, inflatable life jackets and life-saving signal transmitters, as long as the pilot does not die before the plane falls, even in very bad weather, it can hold out for a long time, and its escape survival rate is among the highest in the world, and only the German Navy can compare with it in this era.

The search was fruitless, and the pilot in the front seat humorously said: "It seems that this unlucky guy has been fished out by the Italians, and if he is still alive, I hope he has a good time in the Italian prisoner of war camp." ”

There was no need to huddle with a wet guy, and the backseat pilot was obviously relieved: "Judging from the battle situation in the past few days, the Italians should take good care of him, after all, if the battle continues like this, it won't be long before the New Austrian coalition will win." ”

Looking at the scattered debris on the sea, the pilot in the front seat said: "The performance of the Italian navy and air force is so poor, and their land forces are even more hopeless, and it is estimated that the coalition forces will soon be able to advance to the Apennine Peninsula and attack Rome all the way." From now on, no European country will dare to secretly oppose us. ”

"Hey, at 3 o'clock, there's something orange again, go check it out?" Rear seat observer reminder.

The pilot in the front seat happily replied: "Of course we go, who called us the Irish's volunteer lifeguards?" ”

But the plane had not gone far before the observer in the back seat shouted again: "Wait...... There is a man in a white life jacket who has fallen into the water in the sea in front of us on the right, and the ten ** is an Italian pilot, can you save it? ”

"Let's go down and see."

With that, the pilot in the front seat gently pushed the control stick, reduced the throttle output, and drove the two-seat water reconnaissance plane, which cost not much cheaper than the fighter in service, to descend to the surface of the sea, and after a smooth glide of more than 100 meters, it stopped impartially next to the lucky one.

The back-seat observer pushed open the hatch and, without waiting for the propeller to stop, shouted in German: "Italians? ”

Realizing that it was a German plane, the man in a white life jacket waved his hands vigorously.

After the engine was turned off, the backseat observer asked again: "Italians?" ”

"Yes, yes!" The man replied in broken German, "I'm Italian, a pilot in the Royal Italian Air Force." ”

"Look, we're a neutral country!" "According to the laws of war, if you accept our rescue, then we have the right to detain you indefinitely until the war is over, or our two governments can settle the matter through negotiation." ”

The man in the water hesitated: "Okay! All right! I have no opinion! ”

The pilot in the front seat turned to look at his reluctant partner and shrugged his lips at him: "As citizens of neutral countries, we have an obligation to carry out humanitarian relief on the high seas for combatants of warring countries that have lost their combat capacity. ”

"What a noble obligation!"

The backseat observer muttered as he stood up, flipped over the back of his seat, took the rope from his toolbox, and threw it at the Italian, who seemed to have little strength to swim, and dragged him up in a few moments.

As soon as the guy came up, he excitedly introduced himself: "Hey, gentlemen, hello, I'm Lieutenant Frank de la Rocca, a fighter pilot in the Royal Italian Air Force. ”

The backseat observer who pulled him up did not refuse to shake his hand, but after shaking hands, he said solemnly: "All right, Mr. de la Roca, please hand over your weapons, including guns, daggers, and lighters." ”

Everyone was civilized, so the tall and thin Italian pilot very cooperatively took out the matching gun from his holster, and took out a folding dagger and a kerosene lighter from his pocket and handed them to the other party.

"According to the noble Hague International Convention, we have the right to confiscate this gentleman's weapons and dispose of them, right?"

The back-seat observer asked his partner for advice, carrying a dripping pistol, a wet dagger, and a lighter that he didn't know if it could still be ignited.

"Of course." The front-seat pilot replied.

The observer then threw the objects into the sea. The movements were so swift that the Italians didn't have time to react at all.

"Oh......" the Italian pilot lamented, "this gentleman, I'm afraid you don't know the origin of this gun, it is a gift from His Royal Highness the **** of Italy, and it is engraved with the words of His Royal Highness ****, and the collection value is immeasurable!" ”

The observer didn't understand much at first, and it was only after the other party repeated it with his hands dancing that he understood what the other party was trying to say, and to the Italian man's madness, the girl actually said in a questioning tone: "How can you choose an ordinary Beretta pistol for such an important gift?" Why should it be silver-plated and gold-plated? ”

The Italians were speechless.

The environment was clearly not suitable for in-depth communication, and the observer moved back to allow the Italians to enter the cockpit. Since the design was designed with the need to carry out sea rescue missions in mind, the rear seat of the He-121 water reconnaissance aircraft is much more spacious than the front seat, and it is not a problem to squeeze two adult men. With the maximum load of the aircraft, if necessary, it is even possible to arrange two external "seats" on the pontoons.

The pilot restarted the engine. Despite the addition of new passengers, the He-121 taxied smoothly into the air. The plane flew over the debris and oil-stained sea and headed straight for the African coast. On the way back, two blue-gray painted fighters suddenly caught up in the rear, and the Italian pilot immediately became nervous when he saw this. fell into the hands of the Germans, and his identity was a belligerent who had been seized by a neutral country, and he had the opportunity to return home early; If it fell into the hands of the Irish, it would be a prisoner of war, and unless the belligerents exchanged prisoners, they would stay in a prisoner of war camp until the war was over.

Seeing that the Allied fighters were chasing after them, the German pilots continued to fly in a straight line at a constant speed. After a while, one of the blue-gray fighters caught up with the well-marked German scout and slowed down to accompany it. More than 20 meters apart, the pilots of the two sides exchanged greetings and simple greetings with hand gestures. Seeing that the back seat of the German scout was stuffed with a wet Italian, the Irish pilot was still gesturing with interest.

"Does he want you to drop me?" The Italian asked with a strained face.

"No, it's our unique liaison sign language, which means there are missing pilots who haven't been found." The backseat observer explained, "We're over this mission and we're not going to turn around and fly back to search the surface, so you don't have to worry about being left behind by us." ”

The Italian breathed a sigh of relief, and by the time he was about to take a closer look at the carrier-based fighters used by his opponent, the Irish had already deflected his wings and turned away.