The undercurrent of politics did not affect the superficial military cooperation.

Saturday, November 3, 1940.

Two days before the announcement of the U.S. election, after a series of feints and covers, Zhu Binhou followed Cunningham to the Tyrrhenian Sea with three aircraft carriers and 11 escort ships. At this time, he did not know that Hopkins had just left Beijing, and he did not know that the United States' attitude of declaring war had made Jiang Baili regret the action.

The Lanzhou is the second ship of the Liaoning-class aircraft carrier and the first Liaoning-class aircraft carrier to enter service. The 30,000-ton hull lies quietly in the night of the calm Tyrrhenian Sea, and the deck is busy, like a giant beast ready to go crazy at any moment. On the two flanks behind them are the slightly smaller Tibet and Xikang, also preparing to take off against the wind. In the end, the size of the Sichuan-class aircraft carrier is about the same, which is the British aircraft carrier Radiance. Farther away, Cunningham's flagship Counterattack, was leading a total of twenty-two escort ships on both sides, spreading out in all directions, in a standard escort defensive formation. "There are really two sets of these old British oilers, and I'm afraid Italy's eyes are still focused on the Ionian Sea." Deng Haoqian walked over and raised his binoculars to stare at the Brilliant, hoping to see how the British naval aviation was different from himself.

Zhu Binhou also admires Cunningham. The ability to maneuver continuously in the narrow Mediterranean, evade the eyes and ears of the sea, and bring the fleet safely to the Italian "inland seas" surrounded by Sicily and Sardinia, speaks volumes about his capabilities and the heritage of the British Navy. You know, they are now less than seventy nautical miles from the Italian coast, which is equivalent to being under the nose of Italy. "Usually, attacking Taranto from Alexandria must be through the Ionian Sea, but this guy is absolutely amazing! Along the way, our sonar was stunned that not even an Italian submarine had been found. ”

"People are the overlords of the seas for hundreds of years." Deng Haoqian was also very envious of the British Navy. But he was full of annoyance about the British character: "The background is profound and the strength is good." But, this character is too bad! As he spoke, he shook his head: "Guess, what did Jiang Zhe tell me?" Made! Those British navigators, taking advantage of his inattention, wanted to climb the mast to see our radar structure. In the past few days, if it weren't for the hangar, lift, and power cabin and the ban on the use of cameras, I guess the negatives of these guys would have been packed in boxes. ”

Jiang Zhe is the captain of the Liaoning. As the world's most cutting-edge aircraft carrier, Cunningham certainly has to "investigate" such a good opportunity. Zhu Binhou smiled, this kind of thing is normal, not to mention that he is not a fuel-efficient lamp. Not to mention that I learned a lot of skills in fleet navigation and maneuvering after Cunningham this time. The dozens of staff officers brought by Bai Yutang have not all entered the British fleet under various names.

According to the agreement of the two navies, Cunningham was in charge of this command, so the two of them were much more relaxed. Zhu Binhou handed the specially brewed tea to Deng Haoqian: "Taste it, authentic Da Hong Pao." ”

"Oh? That's rare. Deng Hao took a sip, and sure enough, he had a lingering aftertaste, so he simply put the small tea box on the table into his pocket. Seeing this, Zhu Binhou smiled dumbly: "You guy." I can't see me drinking some good tea. ”

"It's called sharing blessings." Deng Haoqian was thick-skinned, and deliberately diverted the topic: "Commander, I went to Chagos to see it, and the progress is very fast." They said they would be able to move in after the New Year. Here, the US Atlantic Fleet has two aircraft carriers and ten battleships, and it will definitely send a few of them, and if we don't leave, Cunningham will drive us away. ”

Zhu Binhou nodded: "Whatever." It's not our turn to worry about it anyway. However, India is making rapid progress, and Commander Lee has already captured Ranchi and Jamshedpur, and completely occupied Jharkhand. The two divisions sent by Commander White to Bombay were also about to go to Hyderabad. Prepare to flank Olissa from the north and south. As long as it can be occupied, it will be able to encircle East and West Bengal occupied by Japan. So after this fight, we will definitely reclaim our fists, and the main task next year will be the Andaman Army, Sumatra, and the Horn of North Africa and Persia. ”

"Hehe, in the blink of an eye, a year has passed. By the way, I also heard that Commander Bing has submitted a report to the commander-in-chief and the president to stop the construction of the six Liaoning-class aircraft carriers that will pass after the war. ”

"There is such a thing, but it is not to stop manufacturing, but to upgrade. Japan has only four aircraft carriers left, and two Flying Eagles can be delivered after the New Year, and the rest will have to wait at least until the end of next year. This is still not cut off the shipping lane, we do not bomb the schedule. On our side, counting the progress, the Shandong battleship can be delivered at the beginning of next month, and the first batch of the last two Liaoning-class ships can be delivered before the New Year. There will be the Shanxi battleship in March next year, and the first four ships of the second batch of Liaoning-class will also be next year, plus three batches of 16 escort aircraft carriers, and there will be at least 25 aircraft carriers and 12 battleships by the end of next year, which is already somewhat beyond demand. Therefore, Commander Bing and they believed that once the bombing began, it would be difficult for the Japanese Navy to finish building several aircraft carriers, and the war against Japan would probably end in 42 years, so the last two ships of the second batch and the six ships of the third batch would obviously not be used. At the beginning of last month, Meteor, Airbus, and Northern Thor had all come up with a tender plan for our naval jets, but they unanimously said that the existing Liaoning class must be equipped with catapults and overhauled, otherwise it will be difficult to ensure combat takeoffs and landings. Therefore, after studying the matter, Commander Bing and Commander Chen decided to take advantage of the fact that the current military budget is sufficient, to change the last two ships of the second batch into a new amphibious assault ship, and to cancel the third batch and change them into three super-large aircraft carriers, so as not to delay the launch of jet planes on ships after the war. ”

"Amphibious assault ships? Super-large aircraft carriers? Deng Haoqian's eyes lit up. There is no doubt that aircraft carriers have become the core of the navy, and as the most determined aviation faction, Zhu Binhou certainly hopes that aircraft carriers will be upgraded and the most cutting-edge jet aircraft will be used. But the matter is still classified, and he only knows a rough idea.

When the two discussed the future situation and the development of the navy, the staff officer shouted: "Commander, the departure signal is here." ”

At eight o'clock in the evening, the Sino-British combined fleet turned to the southwest, and the four aircraft carriers were facing the wind at full speed. Ten minutes later, 16 Lightning fighters, 26 Osprey torpedo bombers, 20 Yaksha dive bombers, 12 Swordfish torpedo planes, and 4 Tubenose Swallow pilot illuminators of the first attack wave left the deck.

At 8:30, the second wave of 10 Swordfish, 12 Lightning, 18 Yakshas, and 30 Ospreys attacked.

At nine o'clock sharp, the third wave of 4 tube-nosed swallows, 12 yakshas, and 18 ospreys rushed into the night sky.

After the departure of the third wave of aircraft, Zhu Binhou immediately ordered the preparation of the optical landing system, the opening of the fire hydrant, and the emptying of everything on the deck of the aircraft carrier, so as to prepare for the difficult night landing.

At this time, Taranto was still immersed in weekend vacations.

But the strict control of the lights has made the residents of Taranto, who like romance, very angry. They prefer to stroll on the beach and hang out in bars and night markets rather than hide in the dark at home. But war has never been at the disposal of ordinary people, and even if they are reluctant, they can only count the neatly docked ships in the harbor over and over again until their sleepiness rises.

The commander of the Taranto base, Lieutenant General Ricardi, like a miser, habitually patrols his territory before going to sleep. The Port of Taranto is located in the southwest of the Salentina Peninsula, deep in the arm bend of the northern cantilever of Taranto Bay. The Inner Harbor is two inner lakes in the shape of a horizontal figure-eight. The small island at the entrance perfectly shelters the harbour, which is navigable only by two narrow waterways, the left and right. The unique environment that is easy to defend and difficult to attack was once the pride of the Italian Navy. But with the rapid rise of aircraft, the navy has the means to climb obstacles from the sky and strike inland. its representatives. It was the Chinese Navy's air raids on Sasebo and Naha ports at the end of August.

However, Lieutenant General Ricardi believes that only a madman would let a plane come to his Taranto. Because there are more than 90 balloons suspended in mid-air, there are 21 anti-aircraft positions along the coast and in the city, a total of 300 anti-aircraft guns, and 10 large listeners. The telephone has penetrated all positions, and even the underwater lightning protection nets have been deployed, which is not an exaggeration to describe it as impregnable. So he was very unimpressed with the fears of Rome, and thought that Taranto and Sasebo of the Oriental dwarf were placed together. It was an insult to him.

Of course, Lieutenant General Ricardy is not entirely worried, at least he does not have a single plane at the moment. The stubborn Goering vigorously rejected the Zeppelin aircraft carrier plan and scolded Raeder for wasting taxpayers' money. If it weren't for the fact that Hakan and others had participated in the construction of the Chinese Navy. And with a full study of the aircraft carriers of China, the United States, and Japan, perhaps the Zeppelin plan will be aborted. Even so, to this day the German Navy does not have its own aircraft, and carrier-based aircraft are all modified with the BF109 and JU87 of the Air Force. But compared to Mosonili. Goering is not the most stubborn, the former simply did not even look at the aircraft carrier program. It is even believed that the Italian Navy does not need aircraft, because Italy is an unsinkable aircraft carrier, and it is enough to fight a war as long as the sea and air cooperate with each other.

The problem is that the Air Force directly refused to accept the deployment of the Navy! And until now, they have not been able to determine the location of Cunningham, nor can they determine whether the Chinese fleet has entered the Mediterranean. There were no planes and no reconnaissance force of his own, so Ricardi could only play the game of "counting warships".

The deepest piers 1 and 2 were occupied by four battleships, the Veneto, the Litorio, the Cavour and the Caesar. On the outside, the Zara, Fumu, and Borga post-80s Shaolin abbots are separated and close together.

Because of the declared curfew, most of the sailors, except for the air defense duty officers, had to give up their weekend vacation and honestly hide in the cabin and fall asleep.

At 8:30, the piercing air defense sirens sounded, and Ricardy hurriedly ran back to his headquarters: "Who ordered the sounding of the explosion?" ”

"General, report from Listening Station 4 and hear propeller noise!" The officer in charge of the command of the air defense immediately pointed out the position of the No. 4 listening battle. Italy also has no radar, so listening to aircraft noise is the only means of warning at night. Ricardi's face changed, could it be that the enemy really came to sneak attack? So immediately order all lights to be turned off! In an instant, the whole of Taranto was plunged into darkness, the inhabitants hurried into the dugouts, the sailors rushed to their positions, and the ships in the harbor raised their anchor chains and prepared for evacuation. Strings of tracer shells were also fired from the anti-aircraft positions on the east hill of the harbor, and tracer lines all over the sky solidified the air. But the alarm was quickly lifted, and it was later learned that it was an Air Force liaison plane that had arrived from Sicily to make the noise.

"Those damn bastards, they should have told me the flight plan first!" Ricardi slapped the table angrily. Amid a curse, Taranto slowly regained silence. But before everyone could fall asleep, at ten o'clock in the evening, the telephone rang and woke Riccardy again. "It's Listening Post Six." The officer swept his fingers and swept to the northwest of the harbor. Listening stations facing the interior.

Northwest? With what had just happened, Ricardi hesitated. The enemy should come from the sea to the south, how can it be inland? "General, do you want to raise the alarm?" The officer urged.

"Pull the alarm." Ricardy hesitated for three minutes before the piercing air raid sirens arrived. It was this hesitation that delayed Taranto's anti-aircraft fire. By the time the anti-aircraft artillerymen got up from their beds again and smashed open the tightly sealed ammunition boxes with a crowbar, the first attack wave had already reached Taranto. "Major, can you really tell the Veneto-class battleship?" lead theirs. It was Major Tan Zhen, who was famous for his low-altitude sneak attacks on Ahvaz. Seeing the moonlight reflected off the sea, he immediately asked Williamson, the commander of the British army, who was sitting in the back seat of the dive bomber.

"Of course, I remember every part of it, even at night." flew all the way, and the two were already familiar with each other: "But Tan." Your mission is to distract the anti-aircraft artillery. "According to the plan, the dive and fighters will not attack the harbor, because the anti-air balloon is very dangerous for the dive machine.

"Of course, I know." Tan Zhen agreed, but his eyes still kept glancing at the harbor.

Two British carrier-based fighters dropped flares at a high altitude, and the dazzling light not only illuminated the harbor as if it were daylight, but also attracted Italian artillery fire. See the offensive signal. Because they had to form a formation with the swordfish torpedo machine, the ospreys, who had to doze off slowly, suddenly shook off the swordfish like wolves that saw their prey, and accelerated towards the pier.

"Major. They violated the rules! It's too fast! Seeing this, Williamson complained again and again. In his opinion, the swordfish, who is familiar with the terrain, should be allowed to shoot first. But he also had to admit that these Chinese counterparts flew extremely perfectly. It was able to operate a torpedo machine with a torpedo of 1100 kg. Dance between balloon cables and weave through the dense lines of tracer bullets. Like an elf.

The wonderful and spectacular feeling of war didn't last long before Williamson in the back seat danced excitedly: "Hit!" We hit! Following his finger, the first battleship to be hit was stopped in the middle, and was hailed as the best heavy cruiser Zara in Europe.

For this mission, all the Yuqi-Halberd torpedoes have been replaced with magnetic fuses, which can avoid the coarse linen mine nets. The torpedo, dropped at a height of twenty meters, brought up a rolling white wave, which accurately hit the first and second turrets of the Zara's heavy cruiser. The 170-kilogram Octokokin explosives could not even stop the battleship, let alone the treaty re-patrol. In the tall and terrifying column of water, the hull of the 11,500-ton ship shook violently, the glass of the porthole burst one after another, the internal wires were in flames, and the sailors fell to the ground.

Before the Zara could find out the damage, two more torpedoes rushed in.

Six light and heavy cruisers, closely aligned, became live targets for torpedoes, and the water column in the berth was soaring into the sky, and flames were everywhere. "I see it, it's Veneto." When a torpedo struck the battleship Cavour, Williamson saw the battleships Veneto and the Litorio, who were hiding in the shadows and feared by Cunningham, and were at anchor. "Major, are you fastening your seatbelts?"

"What did you say?" Williamson was directing the Swordfish behind him to attack the two Veneto-class battleships, and he didn't hear clearly. Tan Zhen smiled evilly, looked at the two balloons floating in the wind, and pushed the operating lever forward: "I hope you have fastened your seat belt!" ”

The warhawk in level flight suddenly deflected and dived, and in the bursting engine screaming, Williamson, who was untouchable, crashed headlong into the console in front of him. "Bastard! You bastard! Are you crazy? Be careful! The sharply increased pressure pressed Williamson to the seat and couldn't move, so he could only curse Tan Zhen, but before he could finish scolding, he saw two huge airproof balloons crashing head-on.

"Hold on!" Tan Zhen shouted violently, pulled the trigger sharply, and two 12.7mm machine guns ignited the balloon filled with hydrogen with a string of tracer incendiary grenades. Without waiting for the fireball to expand, the Yaksha dive bomber he piloted slashed sharply and quickly passed through the two flames. It was so close that Williamson could even touch the flames, and he was so frightened that he clung to the fixed handrails on both sides.

After drilling through the fireball, the Veneto's graceful and massive figure was immediately caught in the bull's-eye of the reflex sight. "Boom!" 500 kg armor-piercing shells were dropped from a height of three hundred meters, and the bombs pierced through four decks from the left side of the bridge and exploded in the electromechanical cabin! The explosion enveloped the entire bridge, and black and red waves of air rose into the sky, flames tumbled back and forth, and countless Italian sailors shouted and jumped into the sea to escape. This scene made Williamson forget the unhappiness just now, and shouted excitedly: "Well done, Tan, so beautiful!" ”

Tan Zhen's bombs pointed out the direction of the Swordfish behind, and the 12 Swordfish immediately fired all the torpedoes at the two Veneto-class battleships. In the terrible siren, the two Veneto-class battleships that were listed as the number one targets were besieged by torpedo planes, and the columns of water that rose high one after another, and the dull and heart-rending explosions shook the entire harbor!

The main forces of the Italian Navy lined up in line, such as the Veneto, the Litorio, the Cavour, the Caesar, the Zara, the Fum, the Borgano, the Gryacci, the Creoni, and the Barbiano, were completely targeted, and the well-trained Chinese and British pilots could easily drop mines within 500 yards without hindrance, and the hit rate was so high that even they themselves were dumbfounded!

After the tall and terrifying water columns rose one after another and sprinkled down one after another, the battleships tilted one after another, and the fire that ignited inside rushed out from the open hatch, and the smoke of the fire soared into the sky!

Although all 21 Italian anti-aircraft gun positions were fired, the soldiers who were not trained in night combat could not even catch the target, and the searchlights were killed by the Yaksha dive bombers early. What made Ricardy even more angry was that after the first wave of enemy planes had left, the anti-aircraft guns were still firing aimlessly south, as if to bid farewell to the triumphant enemy.

Finally, when the officers stabilized and frightened the soldiers to stop firing, a second wave of attack planes emerged from the darkness to the northeast.

"Oh God!"

Hundreds of antiaircraft guns fired at full speed, spraying shells into the sky at a speed of thousands of rounds per minute, and the dense ballistics and tracer formed an unimaginable maroon "sky net." In this "sky net" that is almost impossible to survive, one after another war eagles are like phoenixes born from the fire, lightly spreading their wings to launch a continuous attack on the military port.

When a Osprey pilot in the third wave of attack planes couldn't find a target, he pointed his torpedo at a tanker loaded with 400,000 gallons of gasoline and ready to leave Libya tomorrow morning, he completely declared Taranto's end.

Thunder! Flame! Water column! The tumbling mushroom clouds reach a height of a kilometer and then join together into larger sheets of black-red clouds that obscure the sky. The falling Mars flew over the city, growing stronger and stronger in the gale. The leaked gasoline burned on the sea, and the battleships, which had been in high spirits a few hours ago, were now like rag dolls in a sea of fire, exploding, flooding, tilting, capsizing, and sinking.

The apocalyptic sight stunned all the people of Taranto. As far as the eye could see, there were skyrocketing fires and deafening explosions, and the whole city was turned into a stabbed hornet's nest and a mess.

In just an hour and a half, the main force of the Italian Navy, consisting of four battleships, four heavy cruisers, and two light cruisers, ceased to exist.

Tonight, Taranto is bathed in a sea of fire!

Tomorrow, the whole Apennines will cry!