For the first time, the "big liar" Hersman, who actually commanded a campaign, wanted to use the offensive and defensive battles of Malta to set up a game, targeting three British aircraft carriers in the Mediterranean.

And the forces he has at hand are enough to achieve this combat goal, but the problem is that he does not have a naval commander who can really play with aircraft carriers. Neither Germany nor Italy has such talent. So what he can really count on is the shore-based aviation of Germany and Italy.

However, Hersman's opponent, Cunningham, the commander of the British Mediterranean Fleet, was a naval commander who was adept at using aircraft carriers. After several actual battles, Cunningham not only fully realized the importance of aircraft carriers, but also knew how to conduct naval battles centered on aircraft carriers.

Immediately after the arrival of the H Fleet in Alexandria, Cunningham ordered the maintenance of the aircraft carrier "Ark Royal" to be completed in the shortest possible time. Then, with the Ark Royal and the Radiance as the core, a fast carrier strike formation - Fleet B was formed.

Fleet B has the aircraft carrier Tejas as its flagship, as well as the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal, the heavy cruiser HMS York, the light cruiser HMS Liverpool, the light cruiser HMS Sydney, and six destroyers.

Without the slow battleships and the USS Eagle aircraft carrier (which was responsible for the air defense of the main fleet), the B fleet was able to maneuver at a high speed of more than 30 knots.

Fleet B, which had only 1 heavy cruiser and 2 light cruisers, would not consider fighting the enemy fleet with its main guns, so its striking force was carrier-based aircraft.

In order to increase the attack capability of the aircraft carrier, Cunningham resorted to increasing the number of carrier-based aircraft on the aircraft carrier by expanding the number of deck moorings. The USS Ark Royal has 92 carriers (20 are deck-moored) and the Radiance has 45 carriers (12 are deck-moored).

After deducting the 12 reserve aircraft of the Ark Royal and the 5 reserve aircraft of the Radiance, there were a total of 120 carrier-based aircraft that could actually be put into operation, and they were organized into 11 squadrons.

The Ark Royal had 7 squadrons, including 1 squadron of Sea Spitfire, 2 squadrons of Pipenose Swallow fighters (1 squadron had only 8 aircraft), and 3 squadrons of torpedo bombers of the Great Mackerel. The Radiance had 4 squadrons, 1 "Sea Spitfire" squadron (8 aircraft), 1 "Pipe Nose Swallow" squadron (8 aircraft), and 2 "Great Mackerel" squadrons (both 12 aircraft).

The three types of combat aircraft aboard the Ark Royal and the Radiance also have their own different missions. Among them, the "Sea Spitfire," which has strong air combat capabilities, is responsible for the air defense of the fleet, and the "Guanbiyan" fighters, which have a relatively large range, are responsible for escorting the attack troops. The "Big Mackerel" torpedo bomber, the successor aircraft of the "Swordfish," undertook the task of attacking and seeking the enemy -- the 60 torpedo planes of the five "Big Mackerel" squadrons were the most advantageous weapons for the entire B Fleet.

Both the "Big Mackerel" torpedo bomber and the "Tubenose Swallow" fighter (which can also carry 2 113-kilogram bombs) have a maximum range of almost 1500 km. This allows them to launch carrier-based aircraft strikes from up to 500 kilometers away, greatly enhancing the carrier's strike capabilities.

If the location of the air attack target is near the island of Malta, then the ideal attack position of the B fleet is 300 kilometers west of Crete, and the P39 "Flying Snake" fighters taking off from Crete can fully provide additional air superiority to the fleet and attack aircraft group.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the Great Fleet of Italians is dispatched, all of them are dispatched!"

On the morning of 13/41, in the conference room of the battleship "War Wey", Cunningham announced that he had just received important information. He glanced at everyone with blazing eyes, and said slowly: "This is a good opportunity for the Royal Navy to carry out an annihilating blow to the Italian fleet, so I have decided to mobilize all the warships near Alexandria, including the ships that are undergoing maintenance, to advance to the waters near Crete and Benghazi to carry out the 'judgment plan' and seek a decisive battle against the Italian fleet." ”

The plan for the decisive battle had been drawn up before the arrival of the H Fleet, codenamed 'Judgment'.

According to the "Verdict" plan, the entire Mediterranean fleet will be divided into two detachments, A and B.

Of these, Fleet A is the main fleet, including all battleships and the USS Eagle, which will be personally commanded by Admiral Cunningham, and the sortie position is Point Y, which is the sea near Benghazi.

The task of the A fleet was twofold, one was to act as a decoy, to attract the Italian fleet closer, and to create an opportunity for the B fleet and the British fighters on the island of Crete to carry out an air assault.

The second mission was a decisive battle with the Italian surface fleet. In order to ensure that he had a sufficient chance of victory in the fleet battle, Cunningham incorporated all 8 battleships into the A fleet.

At the same time, the fighter configuration of the "Eagle," the only aircraft carrier in the A fleet, was also adjusted, and the bombers and torpedo planes were eliminated, and all of them were equipped with the "Sea Spitfire," which has strong air combat capabilities. After adopting the deck mooring method, the current aircraft carrier "Eagle" (British) can carry 33 carriers, of which 5 are in reserve, and the remaining 28 "Sea Spitfire" are organized into 2 squadrons (16 in 1 squadron and 12 in 1 squadron).

The B fleet was led by the famous general Lister who commanded the surprise attack on the port of Toulon, advanced to the X point ambush, waited for the Italian fleet to take the bait, and then attacked from the ambush site to the attack position, giving priority to striking the two Italian aircraft carriers!

Also, in order to confuse the Italians. After leaving Alexandria, Flotillas A and B will first form a large formation and sail westward, then split in two after dark. Fleet A went along the coastline of North Africa to the waters off Benghazi, and Fleet B headed north to Point X.

……

"The entire Mediterranean Fleet is sailing westward? Are they going to Benghazi? Field Marshal Hersmann, who was sitting at the Medici Villa, looked at the newly received information and asked, "What does Cunningham want to do?" ”

"Perhaps, the shelling of Benghazi will force our fleet to go to the decisive battle." Admiral Kavnyari replied.

While the Navy and Air Force were preparing for the Battle of Malta, the Italian Army was also preparing for the Battle of Benghazi, where several new infantry divisions were now concentrated from Tripoli and many of the defeated troops retreating from the east. If the port is shelled, it will definitely seriously demoralize these Italians and be very detrimental to the decisive battle that will begin.

"Shelling of Benghazi?" Hersman glanced at Kavgnari and said, "Tell Admiral Campioni (Commander of the Italian Fleet) that the fleet will proceed as planned, whether or not the British fleet shells Benghazi." ”

The original plan, codenamed "The Hammer", was developed under the leadership of Generals Kavnyari and Jeshunek. What was implemented was Hersman's two major ideas, "encirclement and reinforcement" and "sinking enemy aircraft carriers."

However, unlike Cunningham's method of playing the leading role with aircraft carriers and carrier-based aircraft, neither Kavgnari nor Jeshunek regarded the two Italian aircraft carriers "Eagle" and "Sparrowhawk" and the eight German carrier-based aircraft squadrons on them as the main force of air strikes.

Therefore, in the "Iron Hammer" plan, instead of forming a separate carrier strike force (they probably did not know that aircraft carriers could be used in this way), aircraft carriers and battleships were organized into a large fleet. The 4 Fokker Zero squadrons on the aircraft carrier were responsible for the air defense of the fleet, while the other 4 Fokker 99 squadrons took on the task of bombing the island of Malta.

The reason for this arrangement was that Jeshunek did not have in his hands Ju87 dive bombers and Hs123 attack aircraft that could deliver precision strikes on ground targets. Kavnyari, on the other hand, continued to distrust the inertial thinking of the Air Force and was unwilling to hand over the air support task of the landing operation to the Air Force.

In addition, the shore-based bomber aviation in the hands of Jeshunek was very powerful. The German 2 bomber aviation regiments alone had 18 squadrons (12 aircraft each), the He-115 torpedo squadron and the Ju88 bomber squadron each had 9 squadrons. And the Italians also supplied 12 squadrons of S.M.79 torpedo bombers (40 more than at the end of the year). There were a total of 30 shore-based bomber squadrons at his disposal, so he did not see the need to use the Fokker 99 squadron on four aircraft carriers against the British fleet.

So in the "Hammer" plan, Jeshunek formed two aviation commands. One is called the "Support Command", commanded by the Chief of Staff of the Italian Air Force, Pricolo, and has 26 squadrons of Italian shore-based fighters, which are responsible for air superiority in the theater near Malta and provide direct cover for the Italian fleet.

The other, called the "Attack Command", was commanded by Jeshunek himself, and commanded six German squadrons of shore-based fighters and 18 squadrons of shore-based bombers, as well as 12 squadrons of shore-based torpedo planes in Italy, which were specifically responsible for striking the British fleet.

In addition, in order to effectively carry out the sea search mission, Hersmann mobilized additional Fw-200C, Ar-196 seaplanes and He-115 seaplanes (not shore-based) from Germany. These aircraft were assigned to the Italian fleet (mainly the Ar-196) and the "attack command" (mainly the Fw-200C and He-115), respectively. At the same time, the Italian Navy sent a large number of submarines to lurk in the vast waters southeast of Crete up to Alexandria, acting as the eyes and ears of the fleet and aviation.

"Admiral, the radio has heard an unknown radio signal, there may be an Italian submarine nearby."

At about 5 p.m. on January 14, 1941 (the British fleet departed on the morning of January 14), Rear Admiral Cratchley, chief of staff of the British Mediterranean Fleet, reported to Admiral Cunningham, who was sitting in the commander tower of the battleship "Weary" and was leisurely smoking his pipe.

"Do you want to send a destroyer?" Major General Krachley suggested.

Cunningham raised his wrist and looked at the watch on his wrist, "Okay, it's almost time, let the destroyer go anti-submarine...... Be sure to make sure that the B fleet is not detected by the Italian submarines when it leaves the north at night. (To be continued.) )