"Boom!"

A huge flame appeared in the sky above the aircraft carrier "Zeppelin", and an F7F "Tiger Cat" fighter was hit by fragments of 128mm anti-aircraft artillery shells, turned into a ball of fire on the spot, and hovered headlong into the sea less than 20 meters from the port side of the "Zeppelin". The large column of water www.biquge.info the pen "Fun" Pavilion poured onto the anti-aircraft artillery platform against the hull of the ship, covering a four-pack 40mm Bofors anti-aircraft gun, and the four gunners were swept by the seawater, as if they were soaked in a big bath, if they were not tightly tied to the anti-aircraft artillery platform by the safety belt, most of them would have fallen into the sea.

"Boom ......"

"Sir, the Prussian aircraft carrier has been shot in the bow!"

The little surprise brought by the explosion and crashing of the F7F fighter into the sea has not passed, and the bad news that the Prussian aircraft carrier was shot has come.

"Report the damage!" Erich. Lieutenant General Bei asked loudly.

"The Prussia reported that a bullet was hit near the bow platform, which penetrated the flight deck, burrowed into the sailor's cabin and exploded, causing a fire."

"Sir, the light cruiser Frankfurt was shot, the stern was blown up, and the whole ship lost power."

"Sir, the Sedriches has been shot, and the flight deck is on fire!"

Then the bad news came one after another! About one hundred and twenty or thirty American F7F fighter-bombers split into four formations in the air, and then swooped down on the four European Community Navy aircraft carrier groups on the sea. Although the anti-aircraft fire of the aircraft carrier group was very intensive, the air was full of smoke from 128mm anti-aircraft guns and tongues of fire from 40mm "Bofors" anti-aircraft guns.

But there are still quite a few F7F fighters that have achieved breakthroughs! 1,000 pounds of bombs fell one after another, and in just a few minutes, several thick plumes of smoke rose from the European fleet formation on the sea.

"Sir, do you want the Fw190 to take off urgently?" Looking at the European Community warships that had been hit one after another on the sea, aviation staff officer Hirschman Jr. frowned, and loudly proposed to the fleet commander to let the Fw190 fighters that were on standby take to the air for combat.

These Fw190s were all put into the hangar with the bombs on board the aircraft when the American F7F came to make room for the Fokker 636. The bomb has now been unloaded and ready to be dispatched.

"Rudolph, can those twin-engine planes take off from an aircraft carrier?" Erich. Bey suddenly asked a question that surprised Hersman Jr. a little.

"From an aircraft carrier?" Little Hersman frowned and thought for a moment, then nodded. "Theoretically, yes...... But most of these planes did not take off from American aircraft carriers. ”

"Why?" Erich. Bei asked.

"They're too big," said Hersmann, Jr., who had been carefully observing the planes and taking pictures with the Leica camera he carried with him. "The overall length is about 14-15 meters, and the wingspan is close to 16 meters. If such an aircraft is on the aircraft carrier, it will take up a lot of space, and the number of hangars will be reduced. It is more dangerous when landing, and the blocking net is likely to not be able to stop it, and if the tail hook can't hook the blocking cable, there will be an accident.

The French had to work hard to get their Br.810 on carriers, and there were only 24 carriers in the Xiafei class with a standard displacement of 20,000 tons. I don't think it's likely that the Americans will let their 8 Essex-class ships take less than 300 planes to the battlefield, right? ”

"So these planes are shore-based?" Erich. Bei asked again.

Little Hersman nodded, "Mostly Kishiki." ”

"Flying from Bermuda?"

"It's also possible that the continental United States," Hersman Jr. frowned, "this twin-engine heavy aircraft can have a large range, and if the tactics of shuttle flight are adopted, it can completely take off from the continental United States and land in Bermuda." However, Bermuda's airfields are not very large and vulnerable to air raids, and if it is to accept these twin-engine aircraft, it must not have too many fighters of its own. ”

"In other words, there are still 8 carrier-based aircraft sent by large US aircraft carriers that have not arrived." Erich. Bei has already made a decision, "Fw190 doesn't move!" ”

The non-deployment of FW190 meant that Task Force 21 could only rely on the firepower of surface ships to resist the bombardment of more than a hundred aircraft in the air.

However, fortunately, although these F7Fs have a large bomb load, high speed, and a sturdy fuselage, they are not without their shortcomings - their bomb delivery accuracy is very low (this is because the F7F-1 is a single-seat, twin-engine fighter-bomber, and the aircraft is not mature, there are many small flaws, and many technical actions are prohibited), and the hit rate is only about 10%.

Therefore, among the more than 120 F7Fs that broke through the Fokker 636 block, although nearly 100 successfully dropped bombs, only 13 bombs hit the target in the end. Three of them hit the light cruisers and destroyers escorting the aircraft carrier, causing the sinking of an M41 air defense light cruiser of more than 6,000 tons and one destroyer of the 1938B type. The other 10 hit four aircraft carriers, including the Prussia, Bohemia, Sedeliz and Seckert.

The flagship Zeppelin was lucky enough to dodge all the bombs dropped on it, and also shot down 3 F7Fs. The two armored aircraft carriers, the Prussia and Bohemia, suffered only minor damage, which did not affect the take-off and landing of the aircraft at all. But the Sedeliz and Seckert were badly wounded, the former had its aft flight deck pierced by a 1,000-pound bomb, opening a huge hole, losing the ability to take off and land aircraft, and also ignited a skyrocketing fire, and the speed dropped to less than 10 knots. The latter also had a big hole in the middle of the flight deck, the hangar was also blown up, and the fighters could no longer take off and land.

……

The flagship of the U.S. Task Force 31, the battleship Iowa.

The radio in the intelligence center was ticking incessantly, and from time to time a staff officer rushed out excitedly with copies of telegrams and reported the good news he had just received to Admiral Halsey, who had just received good news.

The news is exciting! More than 220 F7F fighter-bombers took off from Norfolk Airport and achieved exciting results. In just one wave of air raids, 4 German aircraft carriers were severely damaged, and 2 of them were Prussian-class large fleet aircraft carriers! In addition, 2 German light ships were penetrated!

Although these F7F fighters have paid a considerable price of their own, there are still more than 80 fighters that have not returned to the airport in Bermuda.

But with more than 80 fighters heavily damaging 4 aircraft carriers and sinking 2 light cruisers or destroyers, such an exchange ratio still gives people hope for victory.

No, not the hope of victory, but already victorious!

The 30th Task Force had not yet dispatched 700 carrier-based aircraft on 9 aircraft carriers, and the Germans had 4 aircraft carriers that suffered heavy losses!

Is there still a question about victory?

"Sir, the long-range reconnaissance aircraft of the Bermuda Goddess reports that the German fleet has turned due east and is currently retreating towards the Azores at a speed of about 10 knots."

There is good news again.

Admiral Halsey smiled and said to Major General Callahan: "The Germans want to run!" ”

"Admiral, they can't run, it's only 10 knots...... It seems that 2 Prussian-class ships were badly damaged and could not run fast. Major General Callahan said with a smile.

In his mind, 2 Sedlitz-class aircraft carriers were not worth much, and the Germans would not have let the entire fleet evacuate at a speed of 10 knots for them.

"Task Force 30 has sent carrier-based aircraft?" Halsey asked.

"Dispatching!" Rear Admiral Callaghan said, "The first strike wave consisted of more than 300 fighters, which began to take off 20 minutes ago, and the formation was almost complete in another 10 minutes." ”

"Great." Halsey slapped his face, "Let's go too, let's go and join Task Force 30 first, and then sail together in the direction of the Azores."

In addition, the results just achieved were communicated to the Atlantic-Pacific Fleet Joint Command. ”

……

"Reich Marshal, the Sedeliz and the Seckert were badly damaged, and the two aircraft carriers completely lost the ability to take off and land aircraft, and the speed of the Seydeliz was reduced to about 10 knots."

In the Joint Intelligence Center of the Great General Staff in Tsosen, Germany, the atmosphere was somewhat solemn. Although everyone had been mentally prepared for a long time, it was a big surprise that Task Force 21 suffered such losses in the first wave of air raids by the Americans.

Hersman's brows were also slightly furrowed, he had not seen a photo of the new American fighter yet, but after a little brainstorming, he could guess that it was the F7F.

The "tiger cat", which did not shine much in history, has now become a lifesaver for Americans. Aircraft with one engine can't play Europe, so switch to two-engine planes...... This line of thinking of the Americans is understandable.

In fact, Germany also had similar fighter-bombers, and they were even more ferocious, namely the Me410 that could drop Hs-293 and Fritz-X series remotely controlled missile bombs (not TV remote control).

If the American fleet encounters the Me410 near the Azores, as well as the shore-based aircraft with strong anti-ship capabilities such as the Ju288 and Me264, it is possible that they will be completely destroyed by various missiles.

Although the current remote-controlled missile is still very immature and is far from being able to compare with the various missiles of later generations, it is still enough to determine the outcome of the Atlantic naval battle. Now I wonder if the wounded Task Force 21 will be able to bring in the main fleet of the Americans?

"Report," a briskly walking staff officer broke the dullness in the Joint Intelligence Center of the General Staff. "Just received a telegram from Task Force 21 that Bv138 long-range water reconnaissance aircraft have detected more than 250 enemy aircraft approaching!"