Before the four-plane formation led by Garland shot down the "Swordfish" torpedo bomber, an airwave was sent back to the "Ark Royal" aircraft carrier from the "Swordfish" plane. Then Vice Admiral Whitworth, commander of the G flotilla, with the battlecruiser "Hood" as the flagship, immediately decided to launch an air strike. Knowing the poor performance of the British carrier-based aircraft, Vice Admiral Whitworth decided to outwhelm the opponent with numerical superiority and took the risk of diverting the carrier-based aircraft from the "Ark Royal" to form an offensive formation of 57 aircraft (three of which had not returned from reconnaissance missions and one of them had been shot down). Major Lee served as the commander-in-chief of the attack, with a three-plane formation (three "big gulls") led by Lieutenant Johnson of the 803rd Fighter Squadron as the lead aircraft. The formation of the "Ark Royal" soon climbed to an altitude of 3,000 meters, and made its way south in search of the German fleet of broken friends.

And about 100 nautical miles behind the G fleet, the "Hundred-Eyed Giant" of the F fleet also sent 15 "Swordfish" to fly slowly south. To the south of the German fleet, the aircraft carrier "Eagle" of the British H Fleet also sent 15 "Swordfish" aircraft.

At the same time, nine German Fokker 99 planes also took off from the aircraft carrier "Seydlitz" and formed a small attack formation, heading for the British AB-1 formation, which was less than 100 nautical miles to the northeast. They had been ordered beforehand: just hit it! This is because Lieutenant General Machar wants to use the nine 280mm cannons of the "Scharnhorst" to go on a killing spree this evening. So it was hoped that the Fokker Type 99 could damage as many British merchant ships as possible.

In addition, Vice Admiral Machar sent a telegram to the submarine forces lurking in the waters north of the Azores, telling them to arrive immediately (almost 400 nautical miles away).

The first to be bombed was the British AB-1 convoy, which consisted of more than 80 large merchant ships and 12 escort cruisers and destroyers, which was so large that it occupied a large area of the ocean, and it was difficult not to detect them.

Nine Fokker 99s immediately dispersed, and in a formation of 3 aircraft, launched an attack on 3 large merchant ships, and quickly succeeded. One of the 10,000-ton bulk carriers named "Thames" hit an SC-250 (because it was an attack merchant ship, the Fokker 99 did not carry armor-piercing shells, but only used a modified SC-250). A large oil tanker named "Bengal Princess" was hit by 2 SC-250s and caught fire at sea. There was also a freighter full of steel called "Helena", which had 1 SC-250 in it.

News of the attack on the AB-1 flotilla soon reached Admiral Forbes' battleship "Revenge".

"Admiral, Walburton of the AB-1 fleet. Colonel Lee requested that the formation be disbanded. Major General Phillips said to Admiral Forbes.

"Not allowed!" Admiral Forbes did not hesitate to reject Walburton. Colonel Lee's suggestion.

"Admiral, the Germans are attacking the AB-1 flotilla with a kind of carrier-based dive bomber!" Maj. Gen. Phillips reminded that "Wolburton. Colonel Lee reported that this aircraft was bombed with such accuracy that it was almost comparable to our 'big gulls'. If they were allowed to blow up a few more times, the losses of the AB-1 would have been very large. ”

"It's okay!" Admiral Forbes said, "We can afford it...... And only by bearing such losses can the Germans' broken fleet be fished. "The British Empire cannot allow an enemy surface fleet to run rampant in the Atlantic!" ”

Although the German submarine was a very successful result in September (because there were 300 German submarines, the British losses were more than double the historical ones), the losses were still within the acceptable range of the British merchant fleet with a gross tonnage of 21 million tons.

And from October, the climate in the North Atlantic deteriorated, the activity of German submarines was somewhat restricted, and British losses were reduced. So the British are still able to withstand the loss of merchant ships for the time being...... As long as the loss is worthwhile!

"We have more than a hundred warships," Forbes said, "but if the other side is determined to escape, we can only chase them with Hood and Ark Royal." Because no other battleship or aircraft carrier could catch up with them, and the heavy cruiser would certainly not be able to beat the 'Scharnhorst'. However, 'Hood' and 'Ark Royal' also did not have a speed advantage and could easily lose their opponents.

If our carrier-based aircraft attacks don't work, then we will have to pay a great deal to keep them here...... Until tonight! ”

"At night?" Rear Admiral Phillips shook his head, "But the German ships have radars. ”

The British also have radars, and they have already begun to install them on warships. But they were still half a beat slower than the Germans, and the "Scharnhorst", "Seydlitz" and "Leipzig" all had "metronome" radars on board. And on the British side, only a few "air defense ships" had radars installed, in addition, there were also radars for experiments on the battlecruiser "Prestige" (the experimental version of the famous 279 radar).

"I know!" Charles. Forbes said, "It is precisely because enemy ships have radars that they choose to stay in the night fight...... There are so many wounded and burning merchant ships on the sea, it is so easy to sink them, why give up? It's a big deal to leave at full speed before dawn, and with Fokker Zero's cover, we'll be losing them quickly, aren't we? ”

"Lost" is almost certain! One can imagine from the fact that British reconnaissance planes were shot down one after another - this was the result of the radar-guided Fokker Zero attacks by German surface ships!

If the British walruses and swordfish are gone, they will naturally not be able to continue tracking. What's more, when the plane can't take off at night, the vast Atlantic Ocean is pitch black, where to find German warships?

If such a result is really achieved, the face of the world hegemon of the British Empire will be lost. Not only will international friends be shaken, but even the voice of peace in Britain will probably rise.

……

"Garand, the radar has spotted an unidentified group of aircraft! At 11 o'clock in front of you on the left, the height is about 3000 and the distance is about 8000...... Immediately occupy a 4,000-meter attack position! ”

Adolph. Garland heard Lieutenant Colonel Weiss's order from the headset. This time the target was the dive bombers of the British! Although no one could tell the difference between torpedo bombers and dive bombers from the radar screen, Lieutenant Colonel Weiss still did not dare to slack off and ordered Garland's four Fokker Zeros to occupy the high-altitude position. At the same time, 12 Fokker Zeros were sent to occupy low-altitude positions to block the "Swordfish" aircraft. Four other Fokker Zeros also took to the skies and circled above the aircraft carrier in case of emergency.

"Everyone, protecting aircraft carriers and battleships is your top priority!" Lieutenant Colonel Weiss finally ordered loudly over the intercom, "I don't want you to shoot down many enemy planes, just expel them, and don't stay away from the fleet at any time!" Do you understand? ”

"Understood, Lieutenant Colonel!" Garland agreed, and flew towards the designated airspace with his formation. He and his men were veterans of the Spanish War, having fought over Poland and Scapa Bay. Of course, you don't get carried away with excitement as soon as you go to war - forget about the first task of protecting the fleet!

"Major, they've been discovered, there are so many planes!" Soon the wingman's voice came from the headset, "At 12 o'clock, 1000 meters below, it seems to be regrouping!" ”

Major Garland looked over and immediately took a breath, it was a huge group of dozens of planes! Most of them are biplanes, presumably old-fashioned-looking "Swordfish", and a dozen or so monoplanes are struggling to climb up, as if trying to seize the upper altitude.

"We can't let them climb on top of us!" Garland roared, "Let's dive down and see if we can force them to drop the bomb!" ”

4 against 12, Garland's side is at an absolute disadvantage in numbers. However, in terms of aircraft performance, the Fokker Zero is much stronger than the "Big Gull". So there is no problem in shooting down a few, the problem is that once these planes enter the dive position, the three warships on the surface of the sea will be unlucky.

At this time, the British also discovered Garland's 4-plane formation, but they did not immediately throw away and blew up. Instead, they split into a 3-plane formation and threw bombs, and then pounced on them, trying to entangle 4 Fokker Zeros.

"Don't fight them!" Although Garland did not see clearly whether the other side had dropped the bomb, the experience of the air battle told him that the other side would definitely not hang the bomb to send him to death. "The remaining 9 are our goal!"

As he spoke, he led his formation to use its speed to bypass the three "big gulls" that blocked the gunholes, and pounced on the nine "big gulls" that formed a dive formation at an altitude of 3,000 meters.

The 9 "big gulls" were startled by the 4 Fokker Zeros, and then 3 more "big gulls" threw bombs and rushed up to block them. This time the two sides were very close, and Garland did not choose to dodge, but gave the order to open fire.

4 Fokker Zeros against 3 "Big Gulls", and the Fokker Zeros also occupied high altitudes. It was a battle without suspense, and soon one "big gull" was planted with smoke in tow. Garland did not pay attention to the remaining 2 "big gulls" and the 3 "big gulls" that were still slowly chasing behind the buttocks, but directly attacked the 6 "big gulls" that had just formed a dive formation. These six "big gulls" seemed to be frightened birds, and hurriedly threw bombs and fled in all directions.

An attack by a dive bomber was easily shattered by 4 Fokker Zeros. At the same time, 12 Fokker Zeros also launched an assault on 45 two-wing Swordfish aircraft...... (To be continued.) )