"The exact location of the German naval fleet, there is no news yet, is it?" Standing on the slightly swaying bridge, Charles, commander of the British Navy's Home Fleet, asked the officers beside him. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info

The officer's expression was visibly embarrassed, as he couldn't answer the answer his boss wanted: "I'm sorry, General, we haven't found the enemy yet." ”

Hearing the answer he didn't want to hear, Charles turned his head depressedly and looked at the sea outside Iceland in the distance, not knowing what he was thinking.

"The latest news, two reconnaissance planes of our army are missing, and there is no time to send back any news before they disappear......" The British officer saw that his superiors were worried, so he had to tell the details.

The fact that two Swordfish attack planes disappeared inexplicably while searching for the enemy fleet is really unexpected.

Although the Swordfish attack aircraft is old, its reliability is quite high. With three pilots on board and the equipment tested for many years, it is impossible for an accident to happen for no reason.

Most likely, these two planes have already been shot down by the Germans! And it was shot down before it had time to send a distress signal.

On the German aircraft carrier Zeppelin, the performance of the carrier-based aircraft carried must be very advanced! To be able to shoot down such an attack aircraft before the Swordfish attack aircraft realizes the danger is definitely about the same in performance as the Spitfire of the British Air Force.

In fact, the Germans did have the ability to develop a navy-specific aircraft comparable to army fighters - their FW-190B and ME-109E were powerful fighters.

Charles wasn't an idiot, he easily deduced the almost real situation. However, thinking about the real situation and having a countermeasure are completely different things.

On the one hand, he really didn't have more advanced naval aircraft in his hands that could be sent out to reconnoiter the specific location of the German fleet.

On the other hand, the exact location of the German fleet, he still could not know. He knew that it was impossible for the other party to return in this situation, so it was more likely that the other party was heading towards him!

Sail from the south of Iceland into the Atlantic, albeit on a closer route, but venture near British-controlled islands.

As a result, it was possible that the German fleet would have to face British shore-based aircraft. Whether the Germans would take this risk, Charles kept thinking in his heart.

If he had commanded it, he believed that he would not have ventured to raid the cordon of British shore-based aircraft under such circumstances.

But he can't be sure of this kind of thing, after all, the Germans have advanced carrier-based aircraft in their hands! Whether this will give the opposing commander the confidence to take risks, Charles is not sure.

"Damn it! I just want to know, those damn officials, are you still thinking about saving money? Charles scolded in a low voice.

The British Navy had been talking about replacing it with a better aircraft many years ago, but many parliamentary officials opposed it, and the state was seriously underfunded.

Although Britain was the victorious country in the First World War, it was indeed crumbling to the brink of defeat. The nationalist revolution against Britain that has been set off all over the world has left the former empire on which the sun never sets, into a dilapidated state.

At a time when state funds were seriously insufficient and the navy's funds were even more stretched, the battleship forces that maintained yesterday's glory could only be maintained by renovating the goods of the First World War, not to mention the emerging naval aviation.

Everyone believed that the German Navy, which was willing to bow down, was no longer a threat, and that there was absolutely no need for the British Navy to be equipped with carrier-based aircraft with excessive performance.

Who would have thought that after the start of the war, the Germans would use the weapons of aircraft and submarines to bring endless trouble to Britain?

After so much trouble, the surface ships of the German Navy came out with powerful carrier-based aircraft, and they had no intention of giving the British Navy any chance of survival.

"Now it's good! The Germans had an overwhelming superiority in aircraft carriers, and we couldn't even determine the enemy's position, how could we chase them? How to block? Eager to drop the document in his hand on the ground, Charles complained angrily.

It is very troublesome to find the enemy's warships in the vast ocean. Especially when the enemy's attack target is not fixed, this kind of encirclement, pursuit and interception is even more troublesome.

In real history, when the British Navy intercepted the battleship Bismarck, it mainly relied on a cruiser that could use its speed to follow the German ships.

Of course, after the Bismarck entered the Atlantic, the main means of finding the battleship was replaced by carrier-based aircraft on the aircraft carrier.

Now things have become completely different - the cruiser that was following the German fleet was sunk, and the carrier-based aircraft that went to look for the German fleet were shot down......

The British fleet, having lost all means of searching for the opposing fleet, was essentially blind. In such a situation, it is really impossible to find the German fleet on the vast sea.

I can't find it, let alone block the last one...... As long as the German fleet did not want to fight such a battle, the distance between the two sides was dozens of kilometers, and it was possible to pass by......

"Send all the problems we encounter back to the headquarters!" In the end, Charles, who didn't have a good solution, could only throw all the problems back to his homeland and let his boss Dudley? Pound went to have a headache.

Dudley? Pound is indeed a headache now -- of course, he also learned the news that the two Swordfish attack planes that took off from the aircraft carrier Dreadnought were shot down by the enemy for the first time.

Even if you can roughly infer the range of an enemy fleet from the location where the plane crashed, this range is too large!

In this ambiguous area, the German fleet turned around, or increased its speed, and the precise position of hundreds of kilometers, was a mystery.

To search for the German fleet on the basis of such vague information would only be to scatter your own search fleet.

But fools know that scattering their search fleet, in front of a fleet of German battleships and aircraft carriers, what is the difference between that and suicide?

The problem at this moment is not as simple as not being able to stop the German fleet. If you analyze it carefully, Dudley? Pound, the admiralty, even felt that his battle plan to intercept the enemy army had to be completely changed.

Of the fleets south of Iceland, only the aircraft carrier Fury and the two battleships Nelson and Rodney were to be defeated by the German fleet.

And the fleet, which had just moved north to the vicinity of the Danish Channel, was also the King George V, as well as the Ramirez and the Revenge.

Such troops are also not sufficient, so Dudley? Pounds thought about it, and felt that it was better to let the two fleets get together as much as possible, and only when they faced the German fleet could they have a chance of winning.

"The Germans this fleet...... It's a bit tricky. "After thinking for a moment, Dudley? Pound suddenly said to himself.

Originally knew that the German fleet might go to sea, Dudley? Although Pound felt the pressure, he didn't expect it to be so tricky.

It was not uncommon for one or two German warships to be thrown into the Atlantic. At this time, the British Navy's top brass was generally thinking about how to annihilate the enemy's warships that had infiltrated the Atlantic.

But now, unconsciously, Dudley? What Pound was thinking about was no longer the encirclement and annihilation of German warships.

He had to consider the possibility of his battleship being severely damaged, which was equivalent to putting the opponent's fleet on the same level as his own.

"Your Excellency, we can't help but gather our fleet...... If something goes wrong, then we're really not going to be able to deal with it. "Look at Dudley? Pound's face was not very good-looking, and an admiral stepped forward to persuade him.

Dudley? Pound smiled bitterly, looked at the other party and asked, "I also know that the fleet should be concentrated!" ”

Then he sighed, and continued: "But what is the use of us gathering our fleet and not finding the enemy's fleet? ”

The general shook his head in embarrassment, he also knew that he could not find the opponent's fleet, and his own fleet was assembled for no use.

But it was scattered like this, even if the German fleet was found, would they have to go up one by one to send them to death?

Tangled up for a few minutes, Dudley? Pound finally made up his mind and gave Charles a clear order - even if the German fleet was mixed into the Atlantic, he could not lose his own fleet.

Whether Germany takes the south of Iceland or the Danish Strait, he cannot afford to lose either of the British detachments guarding these two seas!

If the Germans had seized the opportunity to sink two British battleships, the Royal Navy would have been even more passive.

The Royal Navy, which looks huge, must also be scattered all over the world! The home fleet lost two battleships, and where did it replenish it?

"Let Charles command the fleet and stand by, and order the Dreadnought and the Nelson Rodney and the Fury to join it!" Weighing the pros and cons, Dudley? Pound finally gave his choice.

This choice was the safest, avoiding the risks of the British fleet and in line with the position of a naval minister. Such a decision is exactly the same as Raeder not daring to risk trusting naval aviation!

When faced with decisions that could change the future of the country, no one dares to make risky choices. This is determined by human nature, not by stupidity.

Soon, the order was passed back to Charles, who was sitting aboard the battleship King George V, and the commander of the naval fleet finally relented and waited for his fleet to come and fight him.

Of course, his waiting was not a passive stupid wait, but he was ready to form a superior force and a decisive battle with the German fleet after converging his own fleet.

Even if he couldn't spot the German fleet and let the German fleet enter the Atlantic, he could turn the bow of the fleet and follow behind the German fleet and drive the other side into his encirclement.