While the Allied support fleet headed by the "Hesse" stubbornly resisted the second wave of indiscriminate bombardment by US and British carrier-based aircraft, Irish Navy warrant officer de Barra piloted IR-29T carrier-based fighters far behind the returning US and British aircraft group. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 infoThese American and British planes that participated in the first wave of air strikes hurriedly returned to their own aircraft carrier formation to replenish fuel and ammunition, and only a few British-made fighters were on guard at high altitude, and no one noticed that there was such an inconspicuous tail between the clouds.

The US and British fighters have nothing to fear, to a large extent, they trust and rely on their own shipborne radar, but old biplanes like the IR-29T are covered with fabric skin with a steel tube skeleton, and the radar reflective surface is very small. Radar tests by the Irish Navy have shown that the IR-29T can only be identified by radar when flying as close as 50 kilometres when flying at low altitudes, and even to 20 kilometres when flying close to the sea at low altitudes, while the fleet is usually spotted at a distance of around 80 kilometres. That is, when the warship lookout visually observed it, the radar may not have given the correct warning.

Although the IR-29T has good "stealth performance" in front of the radar, de Barra is like a sheep in camouflage into the wolves, and his spirit is always in a state of high tension, lest the vicious enemy aircraft suddenly pass through the clouds to besiege him. Before boarding the Irish auxiliary aircraft carrier "Longford", de Bala had more than 200 flight hours and more than 30 deck take-off and landing training experience, and had also participated in four bombing campaigns against the British, and had fought British fighters in the skies over Wales. You must know that the dual-wing, single-engine, single-seat IR-29T is derived from the professional interceptor IR-29, which has the advantages of strong firepower and good maneuverability, but the absolute speed is slow and the endurance is very short, and it is not suitable for playing a reconnaissance role.

After more than 40 minutes of tracking flight, de Barra finally saw a sporadic ship on the sea, and judging from their distribution and course, the enemy fleet must have been nearby, but at this moment, the enemy ship also spotted this uninvited guest. A destroyer opened fire suddenly, and anti-aircraft shells exploded nearby, and although it did not damage the Irish fighter, it attracted the last opponent de Barra wanted to face, the British-made Seahawk fighter.

In the skies over Britain, the "Mountain Eagle" is undoubtedly the British fighter that poses the greatest threat to the fighters of the Allied countries, and its carrier-based model is also the most outstanding American and British aircraft in the first half of the Azores campaign, with an absolute speed 35% higher than that of the aging IR-29T, and its firepower output is 1. 5 times, such a gap is difficult to make up for with flying skills and tactical strategies.

Seeing the nimble "Mountain Eagle" swooping down like a gale, De Barra's first reaction was to dive downward, because the biplane was only better than the monoplane in low-altitude dogfighting, but as long as there was another enemy plane, it was only a matter of time before it was shot down, so he had a flash of inspiration, using both hands and feet, first dodging the opponent's bullets with a beautiful clockwise roll, and then climbing up with the full throttle and burrowing into a thick cloud.

The crisis was not resolved, and de Barra wanted to turn on the radio station and report his general position to the mothership, and inform him that he had spotted an enemy escort ship here and was attacked by enemy aircraft, but on second thought, the enemy fleet could easily capture the communication signal he sent and then take radio jamming measures, in which case the mothership would only receive his first report at most, and if the traces of the enemy aircraft carrier were found later, I am afraid that it would not be able to send important enemy information by radio.

Faced with a difficult trade-off, De Barra decided to take a risk. After a few moments, he poked out of the clouds and quickly swept the surface of the sea, spotting more ships and the white wakes they had left behind, confirming his initial suspicions. Hearing the crackling sound of fried beans coming from behind him, he hurriedly pulled back the joystick and piloted the plane to climb again, narrowly avoiding the attack and burrowing into the clouds. The enemy fighters seemed to be guided by the ship's radar, and instead of waiting for an opportunity below the clouds, they followed into the clouds, and the fire almost hit the Irish plane.

Feeling that his position was almost over, de Barra let go in a last-ditch effort, adjusting the flaps, reducing the throttle, and pushing the lever forward, and the IR-29T dived down at a large 45-degree angle.

The moment it emerged from the clouds, the young Irish Navy warrant officer saw the moving platforms on the sea, and the enemy's aircraft carrier formation was fully revealed!

During the dive, de Barra turned on the radio station with skillful movements, and pressed the throat microphone with his hand: "LA-4 calls the old man, LA-4 calls the old man, my bearing is 40 degrees north-east, the flight range is about 200 kilometers, and I have found 7 enemy aircraft carriers." Repeat, 40 degrees north-east, at a distance of 200 km, 7 enemy aircraft carriers were found! ”

After a hissing noise, a voice came from the earphones that made De Barra excited to tears: "LA-4, the old man received, the old man received, 40 degrees north-east, 200 kilometers away, 7 aircraft carriers." If possible, confirm the enemy ship type. ”

Warrant Officer de Barra was eager to take a closer look at the enemy ships on the surface, but a barrage of tracer bullets flew through the air, and the crackling sound of fried beans rang behind him, and it seemed that the enemy pilots could not tolerate such an old biplane swaying before their eyes. The warrant officer of the Irish Navy did his best to avoid the attack, and in the process of descending from an altitude of nearly 3,000 meters to less than 100 meters above the sea, his IR-29T did not receive a single bullet, which can be described as a fairly successful dive. Next, De Bara made an Infman roll according to the flight maneuver, successfully completed, and chased the nearest "Mountain Eagle" around in front of him, but unfortunately did not wait for him to fire, the other party suddenly pulled up, and escaped lightly out of his aiming circle, at this time another "flying barrel" fired above him, a series of bullets poured down, instantly tore open the right wing, the disadvantages of lack of actual combat experience suddenly appeared, de Barra tried to control the plane, the result was counterproductive, the fighter went crazy and turned to the sea......

When the brave reconnaissance plane was unfortunately shot down, the mothership "Longford" had already transmitted information about the enemy aircraft carrier to Admiral Beinke's flagship "Hanover", which in turn relayed it to the Allied aircraft carrier group sailing in the waters southeast of San Miguel. The size of this aircraft carrier group is nearly half smaller than that of its opponents, and its members are the German aircraft carriers "Swabian", "Joachim I", "Emanuele III" and the Irish aircraft carrier "Ulster", the total number of carrier-based aircraft of these four regular aircraft carriers is 258, which is roughly the same as the number of carrier-based aircraft of the opponent, and the flight time and combat experience of carrier-based aircraft pilots are relatively superior - in the first half of the Battle of the Azores, the United States and Britain killed, missing and seriously injured 962 carrier-based aircraft pilots, The corresponding losses of the Allies were 530, which was mainly determined by the offensive and defensive postures of both sides rather than the quality of the pilots, and for a long time after that, the pilots of the American and British carrier-based aircraft who participated in the war were mostly newly recruited, and the Allied fleet retained a group of experienced elite pilots, which was a major advantage in their ability to turn the tide of the war.

Before learning the location of the enemy's aircraft carriers, this Allied aircraft carrier squadron had already sent two groups of reconnaissance planes to the north to reconnoitre, but because of the range of reconnaissance and the distance and time, no trace of the target had been found, and on the decks of the four aircraft carriers, the fighters and bombers waiting to strike had already filled the take-off area, and the pilots were waiting in the command room for the sortie order. As soon as the target was confirmed, the squadron's flagship "Swabia" immediately sent a combat signal to all ships, and the aviation officers made the final combat deployment to the eager blue sky pride in accordance with the flagship's instructions, and then the pilots left the command room and rushed to their respective planes, and the flight decks of the four aircraft carriers resounded with a pleasant roar. Less than five minutes after the flagship's command, the first bomber with a launch flight jumped off the deck, and in the next ten minutes, 68 warhawks took off in turn, formed into three large formations over the fleet, and flew northward.

At the same time, on the sea more than 300 kilometers away, the US and British fighters that launched the second wave of air strikes against the Allied support fleet finally dropped all their bombs, and only 53 of the nearly 70 carrier-based planes were able to embark on the return journey.

"Your Majesty, the 'Admiral Scheer' has sent a signal that the fire has been controlled, and the leakage is still under control, and I request to break away from the formation and return first."

Natsuki nodded silently in recognition of the report relayed by Colonel Pete Kemp.

Captain Messer was most concerned about the emergency repair of the "Hesse", but despite this, he still suggested from the side: "There must be enemy submarines in the nearby waters, do you need to arrange a destroyer to escort you?" ”

Natsuki touched his nose unconsciously: "We just turned east and escorted it to join the 'Frederick Caesar' ship and let them return to Europe together." ”

Although the outcome was uncertain, Messer said: "If we win this battle, do we need to get the convoy back?" ”

"We're going to prepare for the worst." Natsuki replied, "The future is unpredictable right now, isn't it?" ”

Messel calmly analyzed: "The enemy has launched two waves of air attacks with all his might, and the third wave is likely to be in the middle of the flight, although they have lost not many aircraft, they have been firmly attracted to us, and now is the best time to launch air attacks on them, with the vision and judgment of Admiral Beinke, you should not miss this feast prepared by Your Majesty personally." With this crucial victory, he will be able to salvage his lost reputation, and the door to the pinnacle of his life will remain open. ”

The corners of Natsuki's mouth twitched slightly: "I really didn't misunderstand you, Colonel Victor Franz Messer, you definitely have a chance to become the next Reinhardt Scheer, or even surpass Reinhardt-Scheer, as long as you can continue to improve and seize the opportunity." ”

(End of chapter)