"Woo ......"

Shrill sirens sounded over Hall Walker Heights Airport, about 60 kilometers from Scarpa's Bay. It is a very small military airfield, located in the middle of the fields in the north of Scotland, with only one runway.

Before 1939, the airport was almost in a state of abandonment. However, at the beginning of '39, as the size of the British Air Force continued to expand, airfields became rare. As a result, a number of squadrons were sent to the inaccessible north of Scotland for training and stationing - until the new airfield in the south was completed. And this one has just been redressed with the "Spitfire" MK. The 67th Squadron of the Royal Air Force Fighter Squadron of the Type I fighters was unlucky enough to be sent to the most remote villages in the whole of Britain.

The pilots and ground crews of the 67th Squadron, who had just listened to the "Royal Voice" in the cafeteria, were discussing the victory of the Polish army, when the sirens sounded without warning.

"What's going on?"

"Another temporary training?"

"We just flew over, and we don't want people to catch their breath?"

Although everyone loved the newly arrived Spitfire, it was much better than the Gloucester (a type of biplane) fighter they had before. But no one wants to sit in that cramped, breathless cabin all day.

At this moment, Captain Carter, the squadron leader, walked in with a grim expression, as if the commander of the Fighter Command was coming to check.

"Everyone, be quiet!" Carter said anxiously and quickly, "I just received the news that Scarpa Bay has been attacked by German planes!" We must rush immediately! ”

The Germans came too fast, right?

All the pilots and ground crews were a little dumbfounded, and before His Majesty's war speech was over, the Germans came to bomb, and these Germans were flying in the sky with stopwatches?

"Alright, don't be stunned!" Captain Carter slapped his face, "Now I order the 67th Squadron to attack!" We'll have to hurry to Scapa Bay, or we'll be shot down by the Navy too late!" ”

This time everyone realized - the era of peace was really over, and they were already on the battlefield!

……

"All attention, all attention, He-111, reduce the altitude to 500, horizontal penetration, 5 aircraft fly in formation, break out according to the predetermined plan after breaking through the bay, and return immediately after the bomb dropping is completed. Repeat......"

The somewhat excited voice of Major Harleenhausen, commander of the 1st Bomber Aviation Regiment of Naval Aviation, came from the speakers of all He-111 medium bombers. The He-111 was a mediocre medium-sized bomber, the prototype of which was a ten-seater airliner that was used as a spy plane by the German Central Security Service before the war, flying all over the airspace of European countries and taking a large number of aerial photographs. Later, this aircraft was selected by the Luftwaffe and naval aviation, and after being modified to become the main medium tactical bomber.

The 110 He-111s involved in the Scapa Bay bombing operation were all H-shapes. The most distinctive feature of this model is that it has a fully transparent nose cockpit, in which both the pilot and the bombardier sit. And since the bombardier's seat is slightly to the right and the driver's seat is slightly to the left, so that the view of the two is not obstructed by each other, the accuracy of the bomb delivery is quite ideal (for a horizontal bomber).

The range and bomb load of the He-111 were also satisfactory. Under normal circumstances, the He-111H is capable of carrying 2000 kg of bombs. And this time, the plane, which carried only 1000 kg of bombs, gained a large range of more than 2300 kilometers. This allows them to take off from the airport in Wilhelmshaven and reach Sparka Bay, 900 kilometres away.

In addition, the aircraft of the He-111 series are easy to modify and have a wide range of uses because of their relatively simple structure.

However, the speed of the He-111 series aircraft is not ideal, and the fastest can only fly to a speed of 405 kilometers per hour. This made the He-111 aircraft vulnerable to enemy aircraft without an escort. But this problem has now disappeared because of the appearance of the Fokker Zero, a "super escort aircraft".

A fleet of 110 He-111 medium bombers had already flown over Scapa Bay at this time. In the daylight of more than 3 o'clock in the afternoon, the huge bay appears very peaceful and beautiful. The turquoise waters shimmered, and British ships of all sizes were scattered and docked, not looking dense, and there were some small ships sailing in the harbor.

"Spread out the formation and look for their own targets!" Major Harleynhausen gave the order again.

Plans for an air raid on Scapa Bay began several months ago, and officers of naval aviation conducted a number of targeted exercises. Everyone has taken the topography of Scapa Bay to heart. Under these circumstances, the staff officers of the HNA divided the bay into 11 key areas, and each area arranged two five-plane formations (He-111) to be responsible for bombing.

The five-plane formation led by Major Harlelowhausen and another five-plane formation were responsible for an area close to the island of Onique.

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

Thin black smoke scattered in front of him, and it was the British anti-aircraft artillery firing. However, the fight was a little high, and the firepower was not intensive.

Harleenhausen didn't care about the firepower, his attention was completely drawn to the odd-looking battleship that came into view.

The battleship's three main turrets are all directly ahead!

This is a Nelson-class! Harlelowhausen found that the "Nelson" class was close to the dock, and there was an anti-aircraft gun position on the pier, and it was firing one shot at a time, and it seemed that there was no threat - in fact, there was no threat at all, because the Scapa Bay base currently only had old anti-aircraft guns left over from the last world war, and the rate of fire was slow and the accuracy was still very poor.

"Target, anti-aircraft gun position next to the Nelson!" Major Harlemmhausen pinched the plane's lever hard. "All, follow me!"

……

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

SC-250 bombs exploded one after another near the starboard side of the "Nelson", setting up columns of fire that soared into the sky. The anti-aircraft artillery positions placed on the pier were suddenly overwhelmed by a sea of fire.

"Just horizontal bombers!"

A senior staff officer of the native fleet whispered in the ear of Admiral Forbes: "It seems that they are throwing high-explosive bombs, which are not a threat to us......"

Admiral Forbes glared at the rambling lieutenant, "The anti-aircraft artillery who is being bombed is also a member of the Royal Navy......"

"Boom!" Before the admiral's words fell, one of the 20 SC-250 bombs dropped by another five-plane formation that dropped bombs behind the five-plane formation led by Major Harlemmhausen actually landed in the middle of several lifeboats and speedboats placed behind the chimney of the "Nelson," and instantly turned into a huge fireball, igniting all these lifeboats and speedboats, and thick black smoke rose into the sky, as if the "Nelson" had suffered some heavy damage.

The shock wave from the explosion also shook the battleship, startling Churchill, who was sitting in the officers' lounge waiting for the victory, and the cigarette of his cigar fell to the floor.

"What's going on? The battleship was hit? ”

Sir Pound nodded, he must have been shot, so I don't know what happened to the damage? Although the "Nelson" is a big guy with rough skin and thick flesh, it is not easy to blow up and sink, but the battleship is actually quite a delicate weapon, and if an armor-piercing bomb burrows into the belly of the battleship from a relatively weak place and explodes, it will be a big trouble.

"It's a pity! If it was a PC-500 anti-armor bomb...... "After throwing the bomb, Major Harlemmhausen, who was quickly pulling up and preparing to leave, had already discovered that the "Nelson" had been hit. It's a pity that it was hit by a high-explosive shell, and if it was a 500-kilogram anti-armor bomb, the battleship would have suffered a heavy hit!

"Nothing to do without us...... Harleynhausen muttered, then turned on the intercom, "Let's get out of here!" Now all horizontal bomber formations report losses! ”

……

"It's our turn now!" Captain Val T. Heisenberg of the 18th Bomber Squadron of the Naval Aviation saw the He-111 flying away, and then turned on the communicator, "Brothers of the 18th Squadron, let's go bomb the aircraft carrier, I see a big guy, you come with me!" The first detachment rushed from the right, the second from the left, and the third detachment circled and stood by. ”

Unlike horizontal bombers in a formation of 3 or 5 planes (the Luftwaffe used a 3-plane formation, the HNA used a 5-plane formation), the German dive bombers attacked in columns. They will also sometimes fly in a horizontal formation, switching to columns as they approach the target area.

Usually a detachment (3 or 5) or a squadron (9 or 15) forms a column and then dives in turn to drop bombs. In the case of the dive bombers of the German naval aviation, when attacking large targets (battleships, battlecruisers, aircraft carriers and heavy cruisers), they often formed two small columns of 5 planes and dived and dropped bombs in the direction of the battleship's voyage - the two formations dive-drop bombs in a cross-wheel attack mode, which was to disperse the enemy's anti-aircraft fire.

Captain Val T. Heisenberg and his 15 Ju.88 medium bombers were targeted by the 22,600-ton aircraft carrier Fury, an old World War I ship converted from a "large light cruiser". By September 1939 it was completely obsolete, with a standard displacement of 22,600 tons, but it could only carry 27-36 aircraft.

But with such a size, and it is also an aircraft carrier, it is inevitable that it will make a big splash. (To be continued.) )