March 26, 1942, 4:30 a.m. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

The aircraft carrier "Zeppelin" has already begun to gallop against the wind, and on the flight deck of this aircraft carrier with a standard displacement of up to 30,000 tons, 36 Fokker Zero fighters are already lined up, and 36 three-bladed propellers are turning rapidly, making a buzzing noise, and they are about to soar into the sky just before the flight control officer waves the flag.

Around the aircraft carrier "Zeppelin", the aircraft carriers "Strasser", "Europa", "Bremen" and "Potsdam" were all galloping against the wind, just like the "Zeppelin". This is the preparation of the aircraft carrier before the release of carrier-based aircraft, as the deck wind begins to howl.

On the "Zeppelin", the squadron leader of the 3rd Squadron of the 4th Group of the 6th Carrier-based Aviation Regiment of the German Navy Naval Aviation, Walter Brown. Captain Novotny's Fokker Zero, piloted right at the take-off rendezvous point, will be the first pilot to fly into the air today to meet enemy aircraft.

In the past few months, when his good friend Hersman Jr. was fighting alongside a group of Japanese pilots who took their big swords to the sky without parachutes in the Pacific theater, Walter . Novotny has been on the front line against the British and has taken down 38 planes.

This figure made him one of the most successful German ace pilots. Unlike most ace pilots who get 25 shots down and get out of the line, Walter. Captain Novotny is still fighting on the front lines, and was transferred to the Zeppelin, one of Germany's two most valuable aircraft carriers, as a squadron leader of the "Air Superiority Squadron", which has a heavy responsibility.

And in these days of fighting on the front line, Novotny began to feel that the Fokker Zero he was flying became more and more weak. In the face of the newly upgraded Spitfire (equipped with the Grayback Falcon 60 engine) and the superior low-altitude performance of the P51, even after two upgrades, the performance advantage of the Fokker Zero has been lost.

If it weren't for the fact that the performance of the FW-190 is still sharp (compared to the Fokker Zero, the FW-190 has a lot of room for upgrades, and can continue to introduce improved versions with superior performance), Germany's air superiority may be difficult to maintain.

However, the FW-190 carrier-based version under the responsibility of Fokker is still in test flight (the FW-190 requires a major modification of the aerodynamic shape on board), so Novotny can only continue to rely on the Fokker Zero, which is no longer superior in performance, to meet the superior P51 and Spitfire fighters.

Since the afternoon before yesterday, Novotny and his comrades had been ready to strike at the invading British planes. But until yesterday evening, the British did not move. Just when everyone thought that the British would ignore the German High Seas Fleet, early this morning, an SP-class reconnaissance cruiser wandering in the waters south of the Faroe Islands sent an urgent telegram reporting that the radar had spotted a large number of invading enemy aircraft.

"6th Squadron, sortie!"

Novotny didn't wait long, and when the flight controller's order sounded in the headset, the take-off commander on deck waved his arm sharply, the flight command flag fell heavily, and the plane piloted by Novotny rushed out of the deck first.

Then one after another Fokker Zeros rose into the sky!

……

"When will FW-190 arrive?"

Inside the bridge of the aircraft carrier "Zeppelin", Helmut. Lieutenant General Heyer withdrew his gaze from the Fokker Zero, which was taking off, and asked the aviation staff officer Johannes behind him anxiously. Lieutenant Colonel Steinhoff.

"It's going to take about 40 minutes," said Johannes. Lieutenant Colonel Steinhoff replied. "All 48 FW-190s of the 3 squadrons took off 45 minutes ago. In addition, 3 squadrons of 48 high-altitude Fokker Zeros took off before 15, and they were to escort 108 P.108 and Amio 357 to the Faroe Islands...... Arrive in about 55 minutes. Then there will be a fierce battle! ”

"What about the British? When will it arrive? ”

"About 15 minutes later."

"Nothing is wrong, is it?" Helmut. Lieutenant General Heyer asked with some concern.

"No problem," Johannes said. "Lieutenant General, 24 Fokker Zeros each from Zeppelin and Strassier, 16 Fokker Zeros each from Bremen, Europa and Potsdam, a total of 96 Fokker Zeros took to the skies, and 48 Fokker Zeros were on standby on deck...... There are so many planes, and you are afraid that you won't be able to hold it for 25 minutes? ”

At present, the two 30,000-ton fleet aircraft carriers, the Zeppelin and Strassel, each have 72 commonly used aircraft, of which 36 are Fokker Zeros and 36 are Fokker 100s. There are 60 commonly used aircraft on board each of the Bremen and Europa, of which 24 are the Fokker Zero and 36 are the Fokker 100. There are 48 commonly used aircraft on board the aircraft carrier Potsdam, 24 each of the Fokker Zero and 200 Fokker 100.

As at the beginning of the war, there were still no carrier-based torpedo bombers in the carrier-based aircraft of the German naval aviation.

In addition, the Fokker 100 carrier-based dive bomber was improved from the Japanese "Comet" carrier-based dive bomber, and the DB601E liquid-cooled engine was changed to the more powerful BMW801D-2 engine.

Thanks to the engine's MW50 system, the Fokker 100 carrier-based dive bomber can reach a maximum speed of 660 kilometers (which can only last for 10 minutes), which is even faster than the Fokker Zero. Theoretically, it is completely possible to attack without escort, relying entirely on speed to penetrate the defense and get out of battle.

"Raise all the Fokker 100s to the deck!" Helmut. Lieutenant General Haye saw the Fokker Zeros rise into the sky, and then gave another order.

"All?" Johannes. Lieutenant Colonel Steinhoff was stunned.

"Yes!" Helmut. Vice Admiral Haye nodded, "All 168!" In addition, each aircraft carrier sent three Fokker 100s to search the F3, F4 and F5 sea areas. ”

"Vice Admiral, you want to search for the aircraft carriers of the British?"

"Yes!" Helmut. "The British are likely to attack with all their might!" We must discover their carriers as soon as possible and then launch a counterattack! ”

"Now put out the No. 2 air defense array!"

On the battleship "Hindenburg", Gunther. Admiral Lütjens was also giving orders: "Hindenburg and Zeppelin in one group, Ludendorff in one group and Strasser in one group, Barbarossa and Europa in one group, Schlieffen and Bremen in one group, Admiral Schell and Potsdam in one group." ”

The so-called "No. 2 Air Defense Array" is actually a battleship/heavy cruiser/armored ship and an aircraft carrier in the center of a circular air defense array, but the primary target to be protected by the air defense array is the aircraft carrier. That is, large surface ships such as battleships, heavy cruisers and armored ships are used as meat shields for aircraft carriers.

Due to the large German surface ships after the Scarpa Bay air raid, the large German surface ships generally increased their anti-aircraft firepower, and installed a large number of Bofors 40mm anti-aircraft guns, making them very good anti-aircraft fire platforms.

……

Almost at the same time that the five German aircraft carriers released their carrier-based aircraft, four British Tejas aircraft carriers were also sailing at full speed against the wind in the Atlantic Ocean, about 600 kilometers west of the Faroe Islands.

"Commander, do you really want to release carrier-based aircraft?"

On the bridge of the King George V-class battleship, not far from these 4 aircraft carriers, Vice Admiral Lister asked Cunningham, commander of the home fleet.

"Of course!" Cunningham nodded in reply.

"But we are 600 kilometers from the Faroe Islands, and at least 650 kilometers from the German aircraft carriers...... It's just too far. ”

The F4F, now equipped with the Royal Navy, has a maximum range of less than 1300 km; The maximum range of the SBD is relatively large, with 2,200 km; And the TBD torpedo bomber has the smallest range, with a torpedo on board it can only fly more than 700 km. Therefore, the attack range of about 650 kilometers is indeed too far for F4F and TBD.

"It doesn't matter," Cunningham waved his hand, "TBD doesn't need to be dispatched, F4F and SBD just fly one-way...... After dropping the bombs, they went to Shetland Islands to land. In this way, we are also relatively safe, and after releasing the carrier-based aircraft, we will go to the Atlantic Ocean in the northwest of Ireland to standby. Wait for those carrier-based aircraft to refuel in the Schedrand Islands before flying back. ”

Cunningham hadn't slept all night, and finally figured out a solution that seemed very safe. Let the aircraft carrier get a little closer to the Faroe Islands, and immediately slip away after releasing the plane. And those carrier-based aircraft flew back to the aircraft carrier after completing the air raid mission. In this way, if today's air raid did not sink the German aircraft carrier, but instead caused the Germans to exhaust the P51 deployed in northern Scotland, Cunningham could still use the aircraft carrier to set up an ambush in the North Atlantic again. Deliver a fatal blow when the German fleet breaks through the Danish Strait!

Cunningham's plan was good, but the pilots who carried it out were not the elite of the early days of the World War. In order to shorten the duration of training, some "not very necessary" training subjects were canceled, so they were not trained to take off and land at night on aircraft carriers.

So there was no way for Cunningham to send carrier-based aircraft before dawn. In this way, while the four carriers of the Tejas sent carrier-based aircraft, a huge fleet of 96 P51s, 66 Beaufort torpedo bombers, 65 Boston attack aircraft (A-20) and 21 Mosquito reconnaissance bombers was already close to the main force of the German High Seas Fleet. Therefore, the carrier-based aircraft dispatched by the aircraft carrier and the shore-based aircraft of the coastal air force will not be able to coordinate operations, but will arrive one after the other, which has become a refueling tactic. (To be continued.) )