15 April 1942, North Atlantic. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

Dozens of military ships of various types flying the US flag are escorting more than 100 British merchant ships on the vast Atlantic Ocean.

2 brand new South Dakota-class battleships, 2 Wyoming-class battleships, 2 New York-class battleships, 2 Mexico-class battleships, 1 Florida-class battleship, 4 New Orleans-class heavy cruisers, 4 Omaha-class light cruisers, 21 destroyers of various types, and the USS Raider and USS Wasp.

A full 50 warships, together with 3 military tankers and 3 fast supply ships, formed the largest escort fleet since the beginning of the Atlantic War. The U.S. Atlantic Fleet is almost pouring out, with a fleet that covers almost the entire ocean, to demonstrate to the German Reich on the other side of the Atlantic!

Although the United States of America suffered a despicable sneak attack a few months ago, losing 10 battleships and 1 aircraft carrier, for the United States, this loss is only scratching the surface! The United States can still come up with 9 battleships and 2 aircraft carriers in the Atlantic, among which there are 2 powerful South Dakota-class battleships!

Although the South Dakota class was a treaty battleship, there was no one to care about the treaty when the construction of this class of battleships began. So its standard displacement is not 35,000 tons, but 38,000 tons. The super-heavy tonnage and excellent main gun gave the South Dakota class strong firepower and decent defense. According to the Americans' own estimates, this class of battleships was enough to fight against the German Bismarck-class, and even if it met the German Hindenburg-class, it would have the strength to fight.

Therefore, after the commissioning of the two South Dakota-class, President Roosevelt already had the confidence to be tough on Germany in the Atlantic.

However, inside the flagship battleship Nantakota, Jonathan . Lieutenant Admiral Ingram was not as confident as Roosevelt, and he was even a little apprehensive as he stood in front of the porthole of the bridge looking at the Atlantic Ocean shrouded in morning mist.

That's right, the commander of the Atlantic Fleet's heart has been in a state of trepidation ever since the fleet sailed off the coast of Canada.

Not that they were afraid of the Germans' kind of wire-controlled gliding bombs...... This kind of weapon also bullies the declining British Royal Navy, and is not so good for the American Navy. Immediately after the U.S. military figured out how the Germans used high-altitude bombers in conjunction with glide-by-wire bombs, several P-38 fighters with turbocharged engines were deployed in Iceland. As long as it is within the combat radius of the P-38, Jonathan . Lieutenant General Ingram did not have to worry at all about being attacked by wire-controlled glide bombs.

Although there was still some distance in the North Atlantic that could not be covered by the P-38s deployed in Iceland, it was far enough away from the German airfields in Brest and Bergen that even the P.108 and FW-200, with their huge ranges, could not cover it.

But Jonathan. Vice Admiral Ingram, however, knew very well that his fleet could not stand up to the new capital ships of the Combined European Fleet! There are so many of them that there are already 2 Hindenburg-class, 2 Bismarck-class, 3 Scharnhorst-class (the Americans can't tell the difference between the Scharnhorst-class and the Barbarossa-class), 4 Veneto-class, 3 Richelieu-class, and a full 14 cutting-edge battleships!

In addition, the Germans had 4 aircraft carriers running rampant in the Atlantic! This is not a joke, if these four aircraft carriers carry aircraft according to US standards, 300 commonly used aircraft can be crammed...... And it's the Arctic Polar Day, and there is almost no night to cover the fleet on the shipping lanes near the Arctic Circle, except for a few hours of fog every morning.

To tell you the truth, he really didn't want to escort the hapless British!

However, the United States now had to escort the British again, because the Germans were too ruthless in the Battle of the Faroe Islands, sinking four British fleet aircraft carriers, which made the British Royal Navy no longer able to keep the North Atlantic shipping lines open. The United States had to intervene to maintain it, or Britain might surrender.

The British have now begun to waver! Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret arrived in Canada, and it is said that more upper-middle-class British people and troops will continue to travel to Canada in the coming days.

Moreover, the battleship "Duke of York", which escorted Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret to Canada, suddenly suffered a mechanical failure in the port of Quebec City and is now remaining in Canada for repairs! This is a brand new battleship, why is it broken, it seems that the British Empire is really in decline......

All indications are that the British Empire can no longer hold on, and the United States will either enter the war immediately, or watch the Germans dominate the world.

So when Roosevelt offered to escort more than 100 British freighters and tankers laden with supplies in the name of striking Japanese ships in the Atlantic, there was no disagreement at the highest level of the entire United States.

This already shows that the vast majority of American bigwigs believe that it is time to declare war on Germany, and that there is only one reason to provoke the anger of ordinary Americans.

But...... What if the Germans thought the same way? What if they send a powerful fleet to the Atlantic to sneak attack? Is it necessary to turn the Atlantic Fleet into another Pacific Fleet?

So from the moment he received the order to escort the convoy, he had a strong feeling of uneasiness in his heart.

"Did you find anything from the light cruiser?" Jonathan. Vice Admiral Ingram turned around, and in order to be able to spot the German fleet in advance, he sent four Omaha-class light cruisers equipped with SG-type sea search radars to guard the convoy at a distance of about 15,000 kilometers from the front and rear of the convoy.

"Nothing has been found except for the Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth who had sailed out of England an hour earlier, and four escorting destroyers."

The Queen Mary and the Queen Elizabeth are two 80,000-ton luxury cruise ships, and the speed is very fast, both exceed 30 knots, if you use troop transport, as long as you are not afraid of crowding, you can cram 15,000 people at a time.

Since the beginning of the World War, these two superships have been transformed into troop carriers, transporting countless soldiers to battlefields around the world. In early April, the two superships returned to the Port of Liverpool at the same time. Now it was time for the British mainland to defend Canada with troops and dignitaries......

"They weren't attacked?" Jonathan. Lieutenant General Ingram suddenly felt a little strange.

Now the hegemon in the Atlantic is not the British Royal Navy, and the Germans will not watch these two priceless super cruise ships not fight, right?

"Nope." The staff officer replied, "They were unharmed along the way, and they were not attacked." ”

What a stroke of luck! Jonathan. Vice Admiral Ingram thought to himself that the Nazis also dozed off at times, and I wish these blonde and blue-eyed supermen would squint a little longer, so that their fleet wives could send British merchant ships to the vicinity of Scotland.

The American vice admiral turned out to be an honest man, and he did not expect that the British had played a word game with him - the two British supercruise ships were just not attacked, not without encountering the German fleet!

In fact, they were spotted by German planes only a few hours after leaving Liverpool, and then encountered a giant battleship (the battleship Hindenburg) and several other large battleships, as well as many more light cruisers and destroyers.

But now there is a tacit understanding between the two sworn enemies of Britain and Germany, and the Germans will not fight the steamers leaving the British mainland. Although the superior people of the British Empire took the gold and silver treasures and left on a ship to Canada to engage in "one British and each watch", the two super cruise ships were safe and sound.

Right here at Jonathan. Vice Admiral Ingram breathed a sigh of relief and felt that his Grand Fleet might not be discovered, when the fleet's communications staff suddenly shouted: "The Richmond light cruiser has discovered an unidentified fleet, and there are more than 10 of them!" ”

The atmosphere in the bridge of the South Dakota suddenly became tense, and more than 10 unidentified ships ...... It's probably the German fleet!

Jonathan. Lieutenant General Ingram wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and then looked out the porthole, where the morning fog had not yet lifted.

"Let the Richmond come near and ask about the situation with a lamp." Jonathan. Lieutenant General Ingram ordered, "At the same time...... Raise the battle alarm for all! ”

……

"Tell them in light words that we are a U.S. Navy cruiser and are on a free cruise mission in the open seas of the Atlantic, and let them leave immediately to avoid misunderstanding."

The captain of the Richmond, Major Clark, quickly commanded his cruiser to approach the "unidentified fleet" under a heavy fog. The other side did not open fire, apparently still having some scruples about the United States. So Major Clark followed the standard procedure and issued a warning with a lamp.

The U.S. Navy is cruising freely, is this the power of the United States to know it?

Not long after the Americans' lantern language went out, a huge "unknown ship" in the hazy sky also began to whisper.

"Major, they're whispering."

Major Clark laughed, "I know that these Germans don't dare to open fire...... What do they say? ”

The first mate of the Richmond raised his binoculars and looked at it carefully, and then read it out word by word: "We are the Imperial Japanese Imperial Navy battleship Mutsu, and we are on a mission to break diplomatic relations at sea, please surrender immediately, otherwise we will be sunk......"

"Ahh Major Clark was surprised and almost fell to the ground, "Sun...... Japanese battleship Mutsu!? How is this possible? How could it have reached the Atlantic? ”

"Boom, boom, boom......"

In a thick fog, 8 406mm caliber cannons suddenly fired! (To be continued.) )