When the second wave of shells from the German raiding fleet whizzed down, a signal was sent from Churchill's flagship "Utah":

Water reconnaissance aircraft take off to cover the fleet! The battleships "Utah", "Florida" and "Bend" formed a detachment of battleships, and together with the 1st cruiser detachment, broke away from the special fleet and advanced towards the German fleet!

On the last uninjured armored battleship of the British special fleet, the USS Bend, sailors hurriedly lifted the canvas that was covering the plane, revealing the American "Aberdeen" seaplane on the side of the ship. At present, the aviation level of all countries in the world is uneven, among which the German aviation technology represented by the Giggerinous Aviation Group is the most developed, followed by the United States, which is very advanced in industry and technology, and the original French aviation technology also has a place in the world aviation field, but unfortunately after the defeat and surrender of France, the French aviation equipment has been transported back to China by the German army, and there will be no French-made aircraft soaring in the air for a long time in the future.

The "Aberdeen" seaplane is one of the more advanced reconnaissance aircraft in the US Navy, which was successfully developed in 1908 and began to equip the troops in 1909, has a 135-horsepower engine, and flies at a speed of 140 kilometers per hour in windless conditions. There were no weapons installed on the plane, and there was a radio transmitter in the co-pilot's seat for communication with the mothership.

Despite being far from the European theater, the eyes of U.S. arms companies have been eyeing the new weapons that have emerged in the European war. Among the 40 ships of supplies provided by the United States to Britain this time, 1,000 anti-tank rifles, 120 aircraft engines, and 500 Lewis light machine guns for aviation/air defense were included.

At that time, only a few land-based aircraft in the United States were equipped with machine guns and other weapons, and their machine guns were arranged in the co-pilot's seat. The British, who had already mastered the technology of shooting synchronous coordinators, did not give this technology to the Americans, but intended to retrofit it on their own after the return of this fleet to the UK. Therefore, when the German reconnaissance planes appeared several times before, Churchill did not let these non-attacking planes take off, but in the present situation, he had to let his pilots take a risk. Under the calibration of reconnaissance aircraft, the artillery fire of the German battleship showed a high degree of accuracy. The first wave of shells fell half a nautical mile from the British fleet, the second wave was already at the edge of the fleet, and the third wave of shells fell when the water jets and explosions completely enveloped a British destroyer, and a 305-mm heavy shell instantly smashed the hapless destroyer to the bottom of the sea, and none of the more than 100 sailors on it survived.

Even Churchill did not know how much of a role the British pilots who had accumulated less than 50 hours of flight time and had no actual combat experience could do, and the only thing he could do was to pray that those German reconnaissance planes would not be as powerful as German fighters.

"Quick, put the machine gun in the passenger seat! Guys, it's up to you to get rid of that German plane that gave artillery fire instructions to the German fleet! A British captain asked the sailors to bring in two Lewis machine guns while encouraging the four British pilots who were about to board the plane. However, to his disappointment, the pilots all had straight faces and no expressions of excitement. In the French theater, the British and French planes were beaten by the German air forces, and in the air battles defending Dover and London, the British planes were all shot down, and these British never had a psychological advantage in front of the German pilots.

As for the Lewis light machine gun that the sailors put on the "Aberdeen", it is an air-cooled light machine gun designed in 1911, light weight, high rate of fire, and reliable mechanism action, and its performance is similar to that of the German "Firebird" light machine gun, equipped with a rate of fire adjustment device, with a rate of fire of 550-750 rounds per minute, but the "Firebird" is stronger than the Lewis light machine gun in continuous fire and ammunition supply system.

The barrel of the Lewis machine gun was covered with a thick and large cylindrical heat sink with aluminum heat dissipation sheets inside. When firing, the fire gas is sprayed forward at high speed, creating a low-pressure zone at the muzzle, allowing air to enter the casing from the rear and advance along the groove formed by the heat dissipation sheet in the casing, taking away the heat. This ingenious exhaust cooling system was lighter and more practical than the water cooling system commonly used in machine guns at the time. However, when firing, after the burst length exceeds 20 rounds, it is necessary to pause a little to avoid overheating the barrel.

Just as the propellers of the "Aberdeen" began to turn, another wave of German shells burst through the air. This time a larger number of shells were dropped, and the point was closer to the transports in the center of the fleet. The columns of water, both more than 20 meters in diameter and height, stunned the sailors on the transport ship, and the violent turbulence that followed made them even more unsteady. Before the water column could fully fall, huge waves and countless splashes poured onto the deck, rushing the sailors, most of whom had never experienced a fierce naval battle, until they had to hold on to the railings and other objects in their hands to prevent themselves from being swept into the sea. Still, the icy waters sent chills down the hearts of the sailors recruited from Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and the people shivered under the combined effect of fear and cold.

It was only after the water column from this wave of shells completely fell that Churchill breathed a sigh of relief. The transports laden with munitions were simply huge bombs loaded with thousands of tons of ZHA, and at the slightest touch, they exploded with astonishing power.

"Sir, do you want those transports to disperse? If one ship explodes at such a distance, other ships are likely to be affected! The adjutant stood beside Churchill with a grim face, and at this time the battleship "Utah" they were on was turning, and a black cloud appeared in the sky in the direction of the ship's bow, but the black cloud did not seem to be drifting quickly in this direction.

"We now lack enough destroyers and cruisers, and increasing the distance between the transports is not conducive to anti-submarine defense!" Churchill's telescope in front of him was not lowered for a long time, but in the telescope, except for the black cloud that was not dense, not even the shadow of the German battleship could be seen, but he still deduced the approximate size of the German fleet from the size of the black cloud.

"Pass my order, the battleship detachment and the 1st cruiser detachment are advancing at a speed of 17 knots, and the ships are ready for battle! The rest of the destroyers and cruisers escorted the convoy to move on, keeping an eye out for possible attacks by German submarines! Our reconnaissance planes were responsible for driving or shooting down the German plane over the fleet, and then went to the sky above the German fleet to shoot for us! ”

"Yes!"

Since Churchill gave this optimistic order, his adjutant obeyed it.

The two "Aberdeen" swayed their wings towards the German reconnaissance planes that had been circling over the British fleet, and under their wings, the battle fleet with three battleships in the center and four cruisers on either side was detaching from the special fleet. The British pilot turned his head and saw in the distance that there were five German warships, two large and three small, and two of them were facing the side of the British special fleet on the port side.

"Tell the flagship, that German fleet is now moving parallel to ours!" The pilot, who was in the driver's seat of one of the Aberdeen, shouted at his co-pilot.

"Okay!" The co-pilot, who was holding the Lewis light machine gun, reluctantly stuffed the machine gun vertically into the cockpit, and then tried his best to fiddle with the American transmitter.

"Don't make a mistake this time!" The pilot in front looked very uneasy about his deputy, because the poor co-pilot had made a mess of his work in the only two previous air-ship liaison exercises, after all, sending messages on an airplane was not as comfortable as on the ground, which required a long period of specialized practice.

The plane with a white iron cross hovering at high altitude was the No. 1 reconnaissance plane of the German reconnaissance cruiser "Frenberg", piloting Schwell, who was still known as the youngest, most handsome, and most powerful pilot of the German 1st Atlantic Raid Fleet. Due to the excellence of several raid fleets in the Atlantic, most sailors were rewarded and promoted, and Schwell and Schneider were each awarded an Iron Cross of the Second Degree. From the moment the Aberdeen were hoisted into the water, the two German pilots had been following their movements.

"Man, they don't seem to be good!" Schneider reminded loudly.

Schwell looked down, and then loudly pulled the bolt of the air-cooled "Firebird" in front of him, "Let them come back again!" ”

The "Firebird" machine gun equipped on the "Exocet III" is comparable in rate of fire to the Lewis light machine gun carried by the British on the "Aberdeen", but there is one point that the Exocet III has a strong advantage, and its machine gun is mounted on the front of the aircraft. When these two types of reconnaissance aircraft play the role of "fighters", the "Exocet III" is obviously more conducive to attacking.

As soon as Schwell pressed the joystick, the Flying Fish III, which had the advantage in height, aimed its nose at the lower Aberdeen and began to accelerate. Schwell's eyes were firmly fixed on the improvised scope in front of him, and when he was 1,000 meters away, the "Aberdeen" he was aiming at did not make any dodge movements; At a distance of 500 meters, "Aberdeen" still did not maneuver and was still climbing upwards in a daze; At a distance of 200 meters, Schweller could already see the blank and surprised face of the opposing driver.

"This is how air combat turned out!" The Englishman let out a low sigh, and the oncoming bullet immediately puffed through the skin of the "Aberdeen" and also penetrated the old man's body. Hearing the sound of bullets whizzing by, the co-pilot, who was burying his hair report, raised his head in surprise, but the pilot's head was already hanging weakly, and the aircraft engine made a gurgling gasping sound. Losing power and handling, Aberdeen lost its direction like a kite with a broken string, and before the co-pilot could react correctly, it plunged headlong into the sea.

While Schwell and Schneider were whistling in celebration, the other Aberdeen was a little overwhelmed. It was not until after the "Exocet II" had flown 100 meters that the co-pilot of the "Aberdeen" pulled the trigger and fired at the back of the German plane. In less than six seconds, all 47 rounds in the round cartridge of the Lewis machine gun had been fired.

As a reconnaissance pilot, Schwell received the most training not to shoot, but to dodge attacks. After hearing the gunshots, he and his "Exocet III" made a beautiful sideways, and the string of bullets fired by the British all deviated far from the target, and finally could only splash a long series of water on the surface of the sea.

Shortly after the tragic fate of the previous "Aberdeen" fell into the water, there was a loud rumbling sound from the vicinity, which was different from the explosion. Schwell and Schneider looked in the direction from which the sound came, and it turned out that the battleships in the British battle fleet were unwilling to be lonely and fired into the distance. However, due to the inability to directly see the target and measure the range, and without the guidance of the calibrators, the first wave of shells of the British fell a full nautical mile from the German fleet. The only thing that can be proven by this shelling is that the American-made naval guns are at least not inferior to the Germans in terms of range.

Seeing their battleships firing, the frightened sailors on the British transports finally regained a little confidence, and they cheered for the bombardment, whether they hit the target or not.

"There was only a splash and no targets were hit!" The report from the main gun firing observation post did not surprise Churchill, and if this could hit the German battleship, then he should have rushed to Las Vegas to gamble on two.

What Churchill wanted to do was to get the German fleet to divert its attention and artillery to his battle fleet, and if it lasted another hour or two, the patrol fleet that had come from Rodel Harbour would arrive, and although the fleet of small warships was not strong against the German raiding fleet, it was undoubtedly a good reinforcement for the special fleet's weak defenses at present.

"Just keep shooting! Everyone sticks to the battle position, especially the damage management department, ready to rush to repair at any time! Churchill's order showed his determination to engage the German fleet, and in the present British special fleet, only two Florida-class battleships were operated by pure British naval officers. However, it is worth mentioning that many of the sailors were drawn from the warships that had been temporarily detained by the Americans, and they had only spent dozens of hours on these two warships, and these people were still very unfamiliar with the internal layout of the warships.

"Send a message to the flagship, the battleship that the British are firing is about 2,000 yards south of the convoy, and I'll deal with the remaining British plane!" Schwell turned his head and shouted at Schneider. The German co-pilot was no match for the British rookies, and he quickly sent the situation back to the Electoral, the flagship of the raiding fleet.

In just two minutes, the main guns of the two battleships of the Shepel raid fleet began to adjust, and after the thick muzzles were slightly depressed, clusters of orange-red appeared in the muzzles with a deafening roar. Large puffs of white gunpowder smoke immediately poured out of the barrel, and then were quickly dispersed by the cold and biting sea breeze, and finally only the thick smell of fire was left in the air.

In the nine main turrets of the "Elector" and "Oldenburg" (five for the Elector and six for Oldenburg, but at most only four were capable of firing on the same side of the ship), the shells rose from the loafers, entered the chain, and were sent to the turret, where the gunners opened the bolts, loaded the new shells and pushed them in with the ramrods, pushed into the chambers, and then loaded the cartridges, and then closed the heavy bolts again. Everyone was busy mechanically and repeatedly, even though the temperature outside the turret was only a few degrees, and despite the constant rotation of the smoke exhaust fan on the turret, the heat from the ****** combustion still made the gunners sweat one by one, and the thermometer pointer on the bulkhead pointed to 48 degrees Celsius.

"Upper armor-piercing shells!" The gunner hung up the phone and tore at his throat and shouted, "Use armor-piercing shells from the next shot!" ”

The gunners quickly and skillfully carried out the orders of their superiors, and they knew perfectly well that the target of the fleet had become the enemy's heavy battleships. The armor-piercing shell they stuffed into the breech, after tens of seconds of flight, may crash through the thick armor of the opponent's battleship, and then blow up the opponent's internal facilities, and if they are lucky, they may even detonate the opponent's ammunition depot.

On the side of the two German battleships, three reconnaissance cruisers were busy replenishing fuel and ammunition for the four seaplanes that had returned from the previous voyage, and it was precisely in consideration of the complexity of naval warfare and the technical level of the aircraft of the hostile countries that the "Exocet" series of water reconnaissance aircraft were designed to put range and ship attack capability in the first place, and speed and air capability were in a secondary position, so German naval commanders often used this series of aircraft to attack and harass the enemy fleet. Today, in front of the Churchill fleet, German carrier-based aircraft will continue this glorious mission.

After two beautiful sharp turns, Schwell and his plane managed to get behind the only remaining "Aberdeen", the "Exocet III" was slower, but the Americans were clearly not yet in the Pentium era, and their aircraft had no advantage in speed. The British pilot swayed left and right to get out of the pursuit, but this American plane, which was different from any other British model, made it very difficult for him to maneuver, and perhaps he could have done better with another hundred or so hours.

"!" Schwell scolded indignantly, and then made his landline turn sideways, and very reluctantly grabbed the machine-gun bullets fired from the "Aberdeen", but after this string of bullets, the British had to take some time to replace his Lewis machine gun with new bullet discs. Schweil and the other German pilots had no such troubles, and after pulling the trigger, the "Firebird" in front of him let out a brisk gurgling sound, and the cartridge belt continuously fed the bullet into the chamber, and the cartridge case slid down an iron concave plate next to the machine gun so as not to hit the propeller or the skin of the aircraft. Soon, the bullets fired by Schwell tore the skin and skeleton of the British plane into sawdust, and the flying fragments fell along with the yellow bullet casing, and the mutilated body of the "Aberdeen" fell to the surface of the sea according to the principle that the density of the plane itself is greater than the density of the air.

The confrontation between Exocet III and Aberdeen was, in a sense, the first confrontation between German and American air power. This time, the Germans won 2-0, and German Navy Lieutenant Schwer scored two goals alone.