As far as appearance is concerned, the E-type attack aircraft manufactured by Hubert Aeronautics of Germany conforms to the consistent characteristics of German-made machinery in the eyes of the world: the lines are strong and simple, the style is simple and low-key, and the shape is rigid and lacks artistic beauty. This dual-plane single-seater aircraft is www.biquge.info dual-purpose single-seater, the fuselage is like a slender sardine, the double-layer wings are roughly the same width, the three-bladed tail is relatively short and narrow, the whole is covered with blue-gray paint, the two ends of the wing, the rear of the fuselage and the vertical tail have eye-catching Iron Cross logos, Daimler four-cylinder engine drives the two-bladed propeller to provide flight power, and the maximum speed of the bomb-carrying flight is 105 kilometers per hour.

In this era, any airplane looks ugly and small in front of an airship, and many countries attach much more importance to airships than airplanes, and Germany is the most typical example. In the two years before the outbreak of the war, the massively enlarged German Army spent nearly 40 million marks on the purchase of 12 of the latest Zeppelins, while only 5 million marks were invested in specially built aircraft. In the German Navy, most of the generals were inclined to form a large "Zeppelin Air Fleet", and their efforts enabled the German Navy to have a slightly inferior airship force to the German Army at the beginning of the war, and the Naval Staff thus established a strategic reconnaissance system that was beginning to take shape, and was able to carry out large-scale reconnaissance of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea when the weather conditions were good, while the aircraft of the same period did not have such long-distance activity capabilities.

Hard airships have distinctive technical characteristics, but it is difficult to produce in large quantities due to cost, and aircraft with relatively simple structures are obviously more suitable for assembly-line production. In 1914, a ship with a volume of 3. The cost of a 30,000-cubic-meter Zeppelin is equivalent to 15 Hubert D reconnaissance planes or 12 E attack planes, and its maintenance costs can also maintain the normal operation of a naval flying squadron. In addition to the advantages in manufacturing and maintenance, the aircraft has many features that airships do not have. On this sea, which is more than 100 nautical miles away from Jutland and is filled with the thick smell of gunpowder smoke and blood, it is impossible for the huge Zeppelin to fly at a height of 20 to 30 meters below sea like these Hubert E-attack planes, and to dodge the water column stirred up by the shells like a bird's bird. So far in history, there has been no precedent for aircraft to sink battleships, but seeing the torpedoes mounted under the belly of these German planes, how dare the British slack off? The 4-inch secondary guns of the battlecruisers raised their muzzles and fired at the German planes with a bang, and the accompanying light cruisers also opened fire with their light and heavy naval guns. However, these shells are triggered fuses suitable for sea engagements or shelling from the opposite shore, and it is no less difficult to shoot down aircraft than to shoot flies with a slingshot, and as for the machine guns equipped with each ship, it is possible to intercept them only at an appropriate distance......

At the firing observatory on the top deck of the "Lion" barrel bridge, a gloomy Davy Beatty, facing the starboard side, watched without saying a word at the German planes flying across the sea, watched them turn sideways smoothly and calmly, aimed the nose and torpedo head at the long silhouette of the British battleship, and then one of them dropped a torpedo 400 meters from the starboard side of the "Lion". The cigar-shaped self-propelled weapon entered the water with an unspeakable graceful posture, the splash slowly fell, the torpedo disappeared, and a few seconds later, a white wake of bubbles appeared on the surface of the sea, and Betty's heart sank at the sight of this. The use of torpedoes has a history of half a century, and the appearance of airplanes has been more than 10 years; in the British Royal Navy, which has the courage to try new technologies, some officers have also had the idea of using airplanes to carry torpedoes, but they have found that it is difficult for military reconnaissance planes or civilian sports planes to carry heavy torpedoes into the air, and the speed and range of airplanes do not have too obvious advantages over the high-speed torpedo boats in service, so the combination of torpedo attack planes has always been in the stage of imagination, and no one has even seriously tried it.

Of course, Betty did not know that the torpedoes secretly installed by the German Navy were already stable models after many tests, and their length and specifications were the same as those of the F-11 ship torpedoes installed by the German Navy, but the fuel and charge were reduced and the weight was redistributed internally, the total combat weight was only 596 kg, the speed was generally set at 40 knots when conducting airdrop operations, and the effective range was 1,000 meters, which was more than half shorter than the ship-borne torpedoes, but it was easier to approach the target than any kind of ship. In the pre-war training of German carrier-based pilots, they were basically a one-hit target against large targets, with a charge of 80 kilograms less than an ordinary torpedo, and could only cause limited damage to dreadnoughts equipped with mine-resistant armor and enhanced anti-sinking structures.

"Torpedo found 300 meters on the starboard side!"

The lookout sentry on the mast of the battleship sounded the alarm, and Betty, who was angry and helpless, stood still in place. The fleet commander did not give the order, and the captain, Colonel Roderick, had to improvise and ordered the full rudder to turn to the left, while the revolver reversed and went to the left at full speed to avoid the torpedo.

Just as the alarm bell for the emergency turn sounded, the roar of the hull pushing through the waves suddenly intensified, and the huge hull tilted due to the rapid turn, and the crew had to rely on the fixed objects next to them to avoid body imbalance. At the shooting observation deck, Betty, dressed in a white civilian uniform, clung to the guardrail with both hands, and although the officers on his line reminded him that it was not safe, the brave and aggressive general was completely unmoved.

The "Lion" made an emergency left turn to avoid the torpedo, and immediately after that, the "Royal Princess", which was also threatened by the torpedo, also began to turn at full speed. With excellent maneuverability, they both avoided the fast oncoming torpedoes, and the whole process was breathtaking, but the danger did not stop there, and two German attack planes quietly approached the north of the fleet, the "Lion" and the "Royal Princess" on the starboard side at this moment. The two British battle cruisers originally had strong armaments, but after the previous fierce battle with the German battle patrol formation, the upper facilities were damaged, and the starboard side of the "Lion" only had 4 4-inch secondary guns and 2 machine guns that could fire normally, and many sailors were holding rifles on the side deck to shoot, while the "Royal Princess" was in a slightly better situation, and the continuous shooting did not show any results, and the two German planes continued to approach, one dropped a torpedo at a distance of 300 meters, and the other dropped a torpedo almost at a position of 200 meters. And both torpedoes were fired at the "Lion", flying the flagship flag!

The two German aviation torpedoes, which were speeding under water, were 100 meters away from each other, and the angles of fire were slightly different, which made it more difficult for the enemy warships to evade, and the "Lion" seemed to be doomed. At the critical moment, the bold and careful Colonel Roderick ordered the battleship to continue to turn left, and ordered the helmsman to turn right in the opposite direction after turning 2 compass points. Fortunately, the ship's steering system was not damaged in the battle, and the huge tail rudder reacted in time, driving the huge lion to turn at full speed at 24 knots, and the towering mast tilted with the ship, so strong that people had to sweat for the sailors at the top of the mast who stayed in the observation tower.

On the observation deck at the top of the bridge, Betty stared intently at the torpedo track on the sea, relieved by the fearlessness of the officers and sailors, but the situation was so bad that it was unbearable to look at directly. The mighty German dreadnought fleet was still in hot pursuit, and the occasional heavy shells pressed everyone's nerves, while on the other side, the old adversary Hipper had already dealt with the threat of the British mine-striking ships and joined the pursuit, these German battleships were like a terrifying meat grinder, which could wring any British battleship that fell behind to pieces in the blink of an eye...... Thinking of this, Betty looked up at the other two German torpedo attack planes that were still not far away, looking for an opportunity, perhaps their mission was not to sink a certain British battleship, but to slow down the retreat of this fleet, and the sinister intention made him shudder.

Sure enough, the remaining two German torpedo planes on standby did not keep an eye on the "Lion" and vigorously pursued them, one threw a torpedo at the "Queen Margaret" from the starboard direction, and then the other attacked the "Australia", which had been heavily damaged but was still following the fleet, and the two British battle cruisers had to quickly turn to evade, and in a matter of time, the British mobile fleet's retreat to the north was slowed down, and the distance between the British mobile fleet and the German dreadnought group was correspondingly shortened by several kilometers.

Six German torpedo planes dropped six torpedoes, none of which ultimately hit the British battleship, and the British fleet fired hundreds of shells without shooting down a single German plane, and the first exchange between slingshots and flies ended without a hitch. The sun has sunk into the sea, the light is gradually dimming, a few stars are like jewels dotted on blue velvet cloth, the effective visual distance is constantly shortening, the field of vision is also blurred, and the schooling of the plane will soon become unsustainable, which can only relieve the depression of David Betty, who is just in his early forties and in the prime of his life.

"Four German planes to the south!"

No sooner had the "Lion" turned back to the bow to the north when the lookout post on the mast again issued this disturbing warning. Betty struggled to keep his composure, looking around the sea, the four battle cruisers parted from each other, and in their urgent turn, the light cruisers turned their rudders to avoid colliding with them - six German torpedo planes easily scattered their fleet formations, and the scattered array meant the inefficiency of defensive fire and the high hits of enemy torpedo attacks. Looking at this, thinking about this, Betty couldn't help but draw a cross on her chest, praying in her heart that "God bless Britain".

On a bomb-laden Hubert E-attack plane, the grim-faced pilot is also praying, praying that he can be favored by fate, so that he can make a contribution in the first war and change his ordinary life path.

A few minutes later, two people who had never met before and who were far from each other happened to be at the same level, they were separated by more than 300 meters, looking at each other but unable to see each other's faces, their prayers were like fire and water at this moment, but even in danger, they were holding on for their faith and honor.

Under the surface of the sea, the torpedo is like a sharp arrow, and the cold light is exposed.

On the sea, the battleship was like a beast, and its embarrassment was revealed.

In the competition of speed, skill and luck, who can always be invincible?

(End of chapter)