At 12:30, more than a dozen points of light appeared on the display of the 279 pair of air-to-sea search radars on the battleship "War Wey".

"Flying from the southeast, it should be the G.50 of the Italians!" Immediately after receiving the report, Major General Krachley said to Admiral Cunningham, "This is the first attack wave, and there should be two more to follow." In addition, there is most likely an Italian aircraft carrier to the northwest of us, which will also launch three waves of attacks. ”

"There's nothing to worry about, these G.50s won't break through the Spitfire's defenses at all." Cunning paused and asked, "By the way, the German Fokker Zero is still hanging around behind our ass?" ”

G.50 he was not worried, such aircraft were too short in range and therefore could not form large formations. An Italian aircraft carrier takes at least 40-50 minutes to release 36 to 48 aircraft, and by the time the last one takes off at the G.50 range, the first one is running out of fuel.

Therefore, each attack wave is up to 12 planes, and it is impossible to break through the defense of 9 Sea Spitfires. Even if a few G.50s broke through the defenses of the Sea Spitfire, it was nothing, the G.50 was not a dive bomber, the bomb load was limited, and if only two or three broke through, it would not pose much threat to the fleet.

But the German Fokker Zero worried him, because one and a half hours earlier, one Walrus reconnaissance plane sent to monitor the Fw-200C and Fokker Zero reported that the German plane had changed its secondary defense. Four new Fokker Zeros and one new Fw-200C replaced several of the original aircraft.

This shows that there are more than 4 Fokker Zeros deployed to the Eastern Mediterranean, most likely 1 squadron of 16 aircraft!

If 16 Fokker Zeros come together, then the trouble will be big.

"Nothing has changed, Admiral," immediately a staff officer replied, "and they just follow from afar." ”

"That's good!" Cunningham smiled lightly and said to the chief of staff next to him, Major General Krachley, "If it's just Italians, then there's nothing to worry about, they can't compare with the Germans at all." If they had half the Germans, no, as long as they had a third of the Germans' ability to fight, we would have been unable to gain a foothold in the Mediterranean. ”

……

"Rudolph, Prince William, Prince William, Doctor, the break is over!"

Less than 1 p.m., Hersman Jr.'s boss, Walter Jr. Second Lieutenant Novotny burst into the pilot's lounge at Taranto Naval Airfield and yelled at the four men who were playing poker.

"What? We haven't been back for long! "Rudolph. Hersman immediately shouted.

"It's an order!" Second Lieutenant Novotny shrugged helplessly, "It's an order from the Italian Navy...... We are all under their control now. All 12 Fokker Zeros were to be dispatched to hang out over the British fleet to see if they could take out a few Sea Spitfires. ”

"What's wrong?" Hesman Jr. asked as he cleaned up his playing cards, "Did the Italian G.50 get beaten by the Spitfire?" ”

"It must be like this!" Second Lieutenant Novotny shook his head with a wry smile, "If the Italians could give us those two aircraft carriers of theirs, the war in the Mediterranean would have ended long ago." ”

And the S.M.79, nicknamed "Doctor", a pilot who had attended the University of Munich before the war, chimed in, "It was a very good bomber, I had seen them trained, they could fly at low altitudes and low speeds, and they had a great range, and if the Italians had put them to good use, the British Mediterranean Fleet would have been finished." ”

"Then let Rudolph make a report," Ensign Novotny smiled at Little Hersman, "your father must be interested in them, huh?" ”

Rudolph. Hersman shrugged, "God knows what the people up there think?" Anyway, no one seems to care about the Italian Sea here. ”

In fact, the Italians are not so careless, at least the Italian Navy is still relatively professional -- in fact, the Italian Air Force is not bad, but the Italian Navy and Air Force have been in trouble for 20 years, and there is not much cooperation at all. As a result, the Italian Navy did not have usable aviation, and the pilots of the Italian Air Force were not trained in anti-ship. So there are more than 600 S.M.79s in the air, and there is no way to exert their power......

Just as Hessmann Jr. and others were preparing to fly the Fokker Zero into battle, in the Mediterranean Sea about 210 nautical miles east of Sicily, nine G.50 fighters of the Royal Italian Navy were chasing 12 big gull planes that flew over the Italian fleet and were firing fiercely!

The G.50s were left behind by Admiral Kompioni as cover planes, and were not bombed, and the passenger seat was empty. As a result, the total combat weight was reduced by more than 300 kg, so the maximum speed was restored to 450 km/h, which was 90 km/h faster than the 360 km/h of the Daigull fighter-bomber. As a result, they were able to show their might, shooting down 5 gulls in less than 10 minutes, and the remaining 7 gulls also dropped their bombs and fled.

At this time, 18 Swordfish torpedo bombers, which are known for their "slowness", are still circling around the Italian fleet, which has already formed an air defense formation, and they have not even entered the low-altitude penetration position!

……

"Admiral, our first attack wave has also failed!"

At 1:35 p.m., Rear Admiral Cratchley, chief of staff of the British Mediterranean Fleet, pinched the battle report he had just received, frowned and said to Cunningham, "Having lost 5 gulls and 8 Swordfish, the Italians have lost up to 2 G.50s, and their fleet is intact...... It seems that both types of aircraft are outdated and can only be used for sneak attacks. ”

Cunningham was also a bit surprised by the result, as he had recently inflicted heavy damage on the French fleet with Swordfish planes, which had performed well in night raids. I didn't expect it to be so useless in daytime combat.

"Looks like we're going to get ready for a fleet showdown!" Cunning's voice sank and said, "While they haven't joined forces with the two Veneto-class ships, we have a good chance of fighting two Earl Cavour-class." ”

He paused and asked again: "Has Vice Admiral Vito's Flotilla A arrived in Malta?" ”

"Arrived safely, Admiral." Rear Admiral Krachley replied, "None of the 12 transport ships have been damaged, and the defence capability of the island of Malta can be greatly enhanced." ”

"What about H-Fleet?" Cunningham asked, "Still north of Algiers?" ”

"Yes." Rear Admiral Krachley said.

"Let them sail east along the coastline after dark until they can get the Sea Spitfire to take off from the carrier and reach Malta."

"Admiral, you're going to let 12 Sea Spitfires from the H fleet fly to Malta?"

"Yes," said Cunningham, "today we will definitely defeat the Italians, and then the Germans will intervene, and then their first target will definitely be Malta, so there will soon be a fierce battle in Malta!" ”

When Cunningham gave orders to the H Fleet, the Mediterranean Fleet under his command and Admiral Campioni's Italian fleet were still approaching each other.

By the time the first strike wave was released, the distance between the two fleets was about 100 nautical miles, and by the time the strike waves sent by both sides were head-butted in front of the opponent's direct cover aircraft and air defense nets, the distance between the two sides had been reduced to 40 nautical miles.

At 2:30 p.m., the British and Italian fleets began to adjust their formations almost simultaneously. Since Fleet A (consisting of 5 light cruisers) was in Malta at this time, Cunningham first adjusted the strength of Fleet B and Fleet C, and then led by Fleet B (consisting of battleships Weary, battleships Malaya and 10 destroyers), and Fleet C (consisting of 1 battleship, 2 aircraft carriers and 5 destroyers) was located not far behind Fleet B.

The two British fleets together had 3 battleships, 1 aircraft carrier and 15 destroyers. Their opponents are much larger, with 2 battleships, 7 heavy cruisers, 8 light cruisers and 32 destroyers! In addition, 2 Veneto-class battleships are also approaching at full speed and are expected to be ready for combat at night.

Admiral Kompionny, who had an advantage in numbers, knew that his weakness was that the number of battleships was 1 less, and the firepower and armor were inferior to the opponent. The 2 Earls of Cavour had a total of only 20 320mm cannons, while the 3 British battleships had 24 381mm (15 in) cannons.

At the same time, he also knew that his strength was in the cruisers, he had 7 heavy cruisers and 8 light cruisers, while his opponent did not have one, and the number of destroyer forces was twice as large as that of his opponent.

Thus Admiral Compioni divided his fleet into the Battle Fleet, the First Cruiser, the Second Cruiser, and the Carrier Fleet. The battle fleet consisted of 2 Earl Cavour-class and 16 destroyers, responsible for attracting opponent fire from the front. Since the Earl of Cavour and Caesar had their speed increased from 21.5 knots to 28 knots after the overhaul, they could use their speed advantage to maneuver their opponents.

The two cruiser fleets, each consisting of 3 heavy cruisers, 4 light cruisers, and 7 destroyers, waited for an opportunity to outflank them - their task was to look for opportunities to attack the British carriers and destroyers, and if they damaged only one of the two British carriers, they would have a chance to hold back the entire British fleet. Wait for the 2 Veneto-class ships to arrive, and there is a possibility of sinking the British battleship!

The carrier fleet consisted of one carrier, one heavy cruiser and two destroyers, which were placed at the rear of the fleet, ready to withdraw to Benghazi.

At the same time, under the personal supervision of Mussolini (he learned of the decisive battle of the fleet this morning), the Italian Air Force, which had been in a negative attitude, was forced to move and prepare to send more S.M.79 bombers into battle. (To be continued.) )