September 5, 1944, 2:30 a.m. Pen % fun % Pavilion www.biquge.info

In the hangar of the USS Zeppelin, several air crew soldiers slowly pushed an Fw190T fighter-bomber with folded wings onto the lift, and with the help of a hydraulic oil pump, the fighter was slowly lifted onto the deck.

The multi-day voyage has now come to an end, and the European Community Task Force 21, with the aircraft carrier Zeppelin as its flagship, is now less than 300 nautical miles from Bermuda - a position that arrived in the early hours of 5 September as required by Hersman Jr.'s air raid plan.

The purpose was to allow the air raid group to fly over Bermuda and launch an air attack when it was just dawn on the 5th. The advantage of this is that there is a high probability that American aircraft can be avoided from striking first, and there is also a certain probability that the airfield in Bermuda can be destroyed in the first wave of air strikes.

And the aircraft that were dispatched in the first wave of attacks in the early morning of the 5th were also decided by Major Hersman Jr. All sorties were of the Fw190 family, including 88 Fw190T fighter-bombers, 36 Fw190TE reconnaissance bombers and 16 Fokker 636 fighter-bombers, for a total of 140 fighter-bombers.

All the planes were carrying two 250-kilogram high-explosive bombs that were used to damage the runway of the US military airfield in Bermuda.

While sending out all the Fw190 series carrier-based aircraft, Hersman Jr. kept most of the Fokker 636 to cover the aircraft carrier - today's attack on Bermuda is, in the final analysis, a feint, so there is no need to devote all its efforts.

"Colonel, don't get entangled with the American warplanes in Bermuda, and leave when you're done throwing bombs."

In the carrier's No. 1 hangar, Hersmann Jr. found his old boss, Heinz, now commander of the Zeppelin and commander-in-chief of the 2nd Fleet aircraft carrier team. Colonel Barr repeatedly told him: "This is the territory of the Americans, and if you are shot down, you will not be able to come back." ”

"Got it......" Heinz. Barr patted little Hersman on the shoulder, "I know best how many of those Yankees are capable of. With me, there will not be much loss in the air attack group, and our Fw190 will not be so easy to shoot down! ”

The FW190T carrier-based fighter has been replaced with a 2,400 hp BMW801F engine, which has improved flight performance and has more empty weight to distribute. Therefore, the latest model of the Fw190T-9 fighter-bomber is more robust than the previous model, and it is indeed difficult to shoot down.

Little Hersman nodded, and then continued: "The submarines responsible for navigation are already in place, there are 2 in total, and they will float on the sea 35-45 nautical miles west of Bermuda, taking turns to send out radio signals. ”

It was still dawn and planes had to fly over the Atlantic, so it was not easy to find the location of Bermuda. It is still easy to get lost if you rely on instrument navigation alone, so two Type 21 U-boats were arranged to use radio to navigate the attack aircraft group near Bermuda.

"That's great." Colonel Barr smiled, "This will allow you to penetrate from an ultra-low altitude after approaching Bermuda." ”

"Colonel, it's your turn." Colonel Barr's bombardier/telegraph operator was already in the cabin by this time, shouting at him.

It turned out that all the planes in the waiting garage had been lifted to the flight deck one by one, and only Heinz was left. An Fw190TE reconnaissance bomber piloted by Colonel Barr has not yet been pushed into the lift.

"Alright, it's time for me to go, good luck with me!" Heinz. Colonel Barr ended his conversation with Little Hersman and strode towards his landline.

Little Hersman stood upright, raised his right arm high and saluted Colonel Barr's back, and then watched as Colonel Barr's plane was pushed onto the elevator by the flight crew.

"Did you find out that the fleet of the Americans did?"

While one Fw190T-9 and Fw-190TE fighter jet after another lined up on the flight deck of the Zeppelin, in the command center on the second floor of the bridge, Erich. Again, Lieutenant General Bei asked the same question.

"Not yet." The Chief of Staff, Rear Admiral Christiansen, replied, "Neither the Bv138 nor the submarine found any trace of the American fleet, nor did the Ju188 sent from Georgetown Island." It seems that the fleet of the Americans is well hidden! ”

"They're going to show up!" Erich. Bey was slightly disappointed, but Christiansen's report was expected. It is already close to the continental United States, and the U.S. Navy fleet can be covered by shore-based aircraft as long as it is a little closer to the east coast of the United States, and seaplanes like the Bv138 are not very easy to approach.

"Sir, the first attack wave is ready!" The fleet's aviation staff officer, Hersman Jr., had already returned to the command center at this time, "Request permission to attack!" ”

Erich. Bei waved his hand, "Attack!" Aviation...... Sortie! ”

On the sea, 5 aircraft carriers galloped wildly with a high speed of 30 knots against the wind, and the fierce deck wind made the crew on the deck sway, and the deck flight officer at the front held the red indicator light and waved it down suddenly, and an Fw190TE reconnaissance bomber took the lead in rushing out of the deck.

Almost at the same time, four aircraft carriers, "Prussia", "Bohemia", "Seydeliz" and "Seckert", also released their first aircraft.

……

"Admiral, telegraph from Bermuda, about 150 German carrier-based aircraft are bombing there!"

At around 6:10 a.m. on September 5, Admiral Halsey, who had just finished washing up and came to the command tower, received exciting news!

"How's it going? Did shore-based planes take off in Bermuda? Halsey immediately asked.

"It's taken off, but there may not be many of them." Rear Admiral Callaghan replied, "Because the Germans' attack aircraft group penetrated from ultra-low altitudes, there was not enough time for early warning." ”

"Damn the German carrier-based pilots......" Halsey shook his head, knowing that there were many aces among the German carrier-based pilots - they hadn't gone through such a big attrition as the Second Battle of the Hawaiian Islands!

"But it doesn't matter!" Halsey was quick to smile, "They've scattered their forces, and it's a huge mistake. Most of their naval forces are now unavailable to Bermuda. ”

"Yes," replied Rear Admiral Callahan with a smile, "the F-13 reconnaissance aircraft that took off from Trinidad had spotted a large German fleet approaching Guyana 2 hours earlier.

In addition, our troops in the Gulf of Valparaiso were subjected to air strikes by more than 200 German carrier-based aircraft yesterday afternoon. ”

The F-13 (B-29) spotted was the UEFA Task Force 30, while it was the UEFA Task Force 10, 11 and 12 that were bombing Valparaiso Bay yesterday afternoon.

"Haha," Halsey laughed as he lit a cigar, "the Germans split their fleet into three, while we concentrated the main force of the fleet and had plenty of shore-based aircraft to work on. It seems that the first war in Bermuda was the real turning point of this war.

Dennis, give the Norfolk base an order to send all F7Fs now. Then give Vice Admiral Mitchell an order to have his carrier send out the 1st attack wave in 2 hours.

Plus, we're heading full speed ahead to Bermuda now! Maybe we'll have a chance to fight the Germans with the battleship's main guns! ”

"Yes, Admiral!" Dennis. Major General Callahan replied loudly.

And just when Halsey issued a series of orders to launch a fatal blow to the German aircraft carrier group, the Americans actually did not know the specific location of the German aircraft carrier group. Although they had been spotted by F-13 ultra-long-range reconnaissance aircraft, they were never spotted by UEFA Task Force 21 after nightfall on September 4.

However, this will not affect the air raids of the Americans, because as early as two hours before Halsey gave the order, Bermuda sent more than 100 "Catarina" seaplanes and B-17 and B-24 reconnaissance models to form a dense search network and cast them out towards the Atlantic Ocean east of Bermuda.

At 6:30 a.m., the sound of air defense sirens sounded in the command center of the aircraft carrier "Zeppelin," followed by an urgent and quick report from the staff officers.

"Sir, the radar has detected enemy aircraft, number 1, azimuth 265, altitude 3000, distance 110."

"It's an American reconnaissance plane!" Aviation staff officer Hirschman Jr. immediately made a judgment, "Now there are 4 Fokker 636s in the air, and you can let the radar guide them to shoot down that plane." ”

"Shoot down!" Erich. Without saying a word, Lieutenant General Pei gave the order to attack. After Hersman Jr. relayed the command to the flight console over the phone, he asked, "When will the first attack wave return?" ”

"In about one hour," Hersman Jr. replied, "all the planes can be retrieved in 90 minutes." ”

"Lieutenant General, do you need to evacuate?" Chief of Staff Christiansen interjected.

"No, you don't!" Erich. Bei thought for a while, "The major teams put up an air defense formation and prepare for an air defense battle." He paused, then asked, "Hasn't the enemy's fleet been spotted yet?" ”

"Not yet." Aviation staff officer Hirschman Jr. said, "At present, we have intensified our reconnaissance in both the west and south directions. ”

Erich. Bei nodded, and did not continue to ask. He knew that the so-called enhanced reconnaissance intensity was not very strong, because the Fw190TE on the aircraft carrier had been used to attack the Bermuda Islands, and now the planes used to search were only 10 Bv138s sent by seaplane carriers, and these planes were also tasked with providing air warning for the fleet.