858 Old Empire: Sunset Eleven: Who is luring the enemy? Ask for a monthly pass and ask for a subscription

April 21, 1939, 3 p.m. Indian Ocean, 600 nautical miles off the island of Ceylon.

An FW-200F long-range reconnaissance aircraft with four 1,600 hp BMW 801 star engines looms in the clouds. This long-range reconnaissance aircraft, modified on the basis of the FW-200 transport aircraft, has a huge range of 7000 km! It is currently the longest-range reconnaissance aircraft of China and Germany, but its production is very limited. At present, there are only 24 aircraft in the entire Chinese National Defense Force, which are divided into two squadrons and deployed in Taiwan and Singapore.

The FW-200F piloted by Captain Yuan Zun had just been transferred from Singapore to Trincomalee Airport, which was occupied by the First Army of the National Defense Forces. The purpose of the Western Fleet's transfer of Yuan Zun's squadron to Ceylon Island was to search for the British fleet hidden in the deep waters of the Indian Ocean. Only a reconnaissance plane converted from such a four-engine large aircraft could find a trace of the British fleet in the vast Indian Ocean.

The weather was cloudy at the moment, with white clouds drifting outside the plane cabin like cotton wool, and the Indian Ocean under the fuselage was a blue curtain, but for the crew of Yunying 10, such a beautiful scenery had long been tired of seeing. Therefore, at this time, everyone is busy with their own work, even if they have nothing to do, they are dozing off and accumulating energy.

In the nose of this aircraft, there are several sets of antennas like iron frames, which are the FUG200 radar system manufactured by the German company Lorenz. Such a radar system can detect sea surface targets at a distance of 100 km when detecting at altitudes above 1000 meters. With such search efficiency, the two large fleets of the British could be regarded as having nowhere to hide in the Indian Ocean.

Thinking that he was likely to find out that the British fleet had made the first contribution, the corners of Yuan Zun's mouth couldn't help but show a smug smile. In the current big war between aircraft carriers, the significance of discovering enemy ships in the first place cannot be overemphasized, and in this sense, their own FW-200F reconnaissance aircraft can be more valuable than those A-4 dive bombers and FW-190 fighters. As long as he can pull the British out of their hiding place, this naval confrontation will be nine times out of ten, and his rank of major will definitely be in his hands.

After keeping the flight altitude close to the clouds, Yuan Zun yawned, picked up the warm water cup fixed to the driver's seat, and took a big sip of coffee. It's not that he likes to drink this bitter drink, but it is for a refreshing moment. Flying such a reconnaissance plane with a range of 7,000 kilometers is a tiring chore! Basically, a mission has to fly around for 20 hours...... As the captain, you have to carry it sleeplessly, at most, you hand over the plane to the co-pilot, and you squint for a while, but you don't dare to fall asleep.

This is a battlefield after all! If an enemy fighter approaches, you have to rely on your excellent flying skills to flee for your life! This is not a joke, radar is not only in China and Germany, the British are still one step ahead in this regard, whether it is ship-based radar or airborne radar, it is better than Germany, and the detection range is farther. So, usually, most of the British reconnaissance planes found themselves first.

"Captain! Radar has a discovery! An unidentified plane, in the direction of three o'clock, at a distance of 95 kilometers and at a speed of at least 300, is flying towards us! The radar observer's voice suddenly came from the headphones.

“***！ It was found again. Yuan Zun scolded secretly, and immediately ordered loudly: "Send a power generation to the base and tell them that we have discovered the British aircraft carrier!" We have found a British aircraft carrier! ”

"Captain, shall we go over and have a look?" The co-pilot reminded: "The British's radar will not be much stronger than ours, and their fleet should be nearby...... And their tube-nosed swallow performance is very bad, and one of them can't help us. ”

Yuan Zun glanced at the co-pilot beside him who was transferred from the fighter unit speechlessly, and muttered: "***, Guan Nose Yan is also a fighter no matter how much he is, our this is FW-200, not your original FW-190!" ”

"Captain, no problem, we are still 80 to 90 kilometers away from that British plane. If we fly 10 to 20 kilometers to it, we will definitely be able to spot the British fleet, and then turn around and escape, as long as we are out of the search range of the British fleet or the radar of the reconnaissance aircraft, the pipe-nosed swallow will not be able to find us, this kind of aircraft has no radar. ”

"Too adventurous! It's so adventurous! Wang Laosi, you still think this is a fighter squadron! Although Yuan Zun said so, the joystick in his hand flicked slightly, and the plane turned around and headed towards the unidentified plane.

Less than 5 minutes after the plane flew, the excited shouts of the radar observers rang out in the headphones, "Captain! The British have been discovered, the British fleet has been discovered, there are at least 30 ships or more, 96 kilometers away from us! ”

"How far is that plane from us?" A lot of beads of sweat on Yuan Zun's head had already appeared.

"Less than 50 kilometers away! They are speeding towards us, and after a while, they will find two more enemy planes! Let's get out of here. ”

"Got it, the brothers are all seated, we're going to run for our lives!" Where does Captain Yuan Zun dare to stay longer? As soon as the control stick was pulled, the entire plane sped away at full speed in the northeast direction with a single turn.

The FW-801 engine has a maximum speed of 400 km/h, while the British Tubenose Swallow carrier-based fighter has a maximum speed of only 448 km/h. At present, the distance between the two planes is less than 50 kilometers, which means that the other party can catch up with Yuan Zun's Yunying 10 in 1 hour. However, just as the co-pilot Wang Laosi said, the British have no radar on the Guanbi Swallow, and they all rely on an extremely slow "Walrus" seaplane hidden in the air to command. So as long as this FW-200F flies out of the radar detection range of the "Walrus" before it enters the visual distance of the pilot, there will be no danger.

Therefore, this kind of FW-200F reconnaissance aircraft belongs to the kind of typical that cannot be beaten but can run away, and in the two months since it was put into active service, it has not lost a single one!

……

"Commander, the FW-200F has discovered the British fleet, 600 nautical miles southeast of Ceylon, about 500 nautical miles from us."

With the telegram he had just received, Meng Hailong walked to Zhao Zheng's side, and the Nanyang Fleet under their command immediately rushed over in the direction of Ceylon after discovering that the British and Australian Grand Fleet was missing, and ran non-stop for more than 2,000 nautical miles along the way, and finally made a discovery.

"Can you be sure it's the Grand Fleet of Australia?" Zhao Zheng's eyes suddenly flashed with coldness.

"I can't be sure, the FW-200F found the other party through radar, but it is certain that the other party has carrier-based aircraft, and it should be a pipe-nosed swallow." Meng Hailong lightly swiped his finger on the chart and said: "It seems that 500 nautical miles to launch an air attack by carrier-based aircraft is a little far, and it is too late, waiting for the carrier-based aircraft to arrive is already after 6 o'clock." But we can send a Minus 25 to keep an eye on them......"

Zhao Zheng understood what he meant, and the Min-25 seaplane also carried radar, so this kind of aircraft also had good night search and reconnaissance capabilities. And even if the other party can use radar to search for the Min-25 type at night, it is impossible to use the pipe-nosed swallow without radar to fight the Min-25 with the radar at night.

And as long as the British fleet is locked on this night, it may be possible to close the distance between the two sides by tomorrow morning. Moreover, four aircraft carriers of the Western Fleet are now in the vicinity of Ceylon, and if they are outflanked, they should be able to catch this British fleet. As for whether they are the Australian Grand Fleet or not, it doesn't matter now.

"Let Chen Hualong's Western fleet also go out, pursue it in the southwest direction, and we will chase it in the northwest direction. Lock them up with the Min 25 type, and we won't be able to let them go even if we chase them to Africa. Meng Hailong suggested.

"Wait a minute." Zhao Zheng waved his hand, if Cunningham's Australian Grand Fleet was discovered by FW-200, then the purpose of the other party's visit to the Indian Ocean should be to use the fleet to merge and then deal with Chen Si together. Wouldn't it be Cunningham's wish to let Chen Si's four motherships intercept them now? There were only 230 of those four motherships, and Cunningham should have 350 carriers. Although the Admiralty's order said that even if all four motherships of the Western Fleet were destroyed, the British fleet would be destroyed, but it was best not to lose them.

And to avoid losses, the best way is to merge the South and Western fleets first, so that with nine aircraft carriers in hand and 650 carriers, it is naturally foolproof! But the problem is that it takes some time for the two fleets to converge, and the location of the convergence is also debatable...... It would be advisable to choose a position that would be most advantageous for the pursuit of the British fleet, but then it would be necessary to determine the destination of the British.

Thinking of this, Zhao Zheng turned his head to look at Meng Hailong and said, "Tell me, what will the British do after they are discovered by us?" Will they continue to seek a decisive battle with the Western Fleet, or will they prepare to flee back to Bombay? ”

"It may be more likely to flee to Mumbai, although their 6 motherships can fight with the Western Fleet, but now that they have been exposed, the Western Fleet can completely avoid the war, so the British know that they can't find the Western Fleet for a decisive battle, but will become our prey."

Meng Hailong stared at the chart for a while and continued: "Judging from the course, it seems that they want to go to the Maldives Islands, where there are quite a few British airfields, and it is also possible that the British have deployed a large number of shore-based aircraft there, ready to fight us there." ”

"Possibly." Zhao Zheng stood on the edge of the chart table, quietly looking at the chart, his eyes flickering. The 350 carriers of the British were certainly no match for themselves and the 650 carriers of the Western Fleet, so they could only avoid the battle. But what if there are still a few hundred shore-based aircraft in the Maldives? In the past few days, whether it is Ceylon or the land battle in the East Indies, it seems that there are not a few British planes!

And the battle in the Maldives seemed to be Cunningham's only chance to turn the tables and flee back to Mumbai...... Or simply flee to the Suez Canal and go back to Europe, and Australia will be lost! Most of them can't even protect the Middle East and India. What's the difference between this and losing the fleet?

Cunningham is not Li Hongzhang!

Therefore, Cunningham will definitely try to lure himself and Chen Si to the vicinity of the Maldives Islands, where they will fight him! Although it is risky, there is still a chance to win.

"Here." Zhao Zheng stretched out his finger and tapped a little on the map. "150 nautical miles southeast of Malé, let Chen Hualong's Western fleet go there and wait, we will join him there!"

"Near the Maldives Islands?"

"Yes, tomorrow at three o'clock in the morning, we will send carrier-based aircraft to attack the airfield in Malé. At the same time, Trincomali airport sent shore-based aircraft to bomb Colombo airport. Zhao Zheng slapped the map table heavily and sneered: "I blew up these two airfields, Cunningham's plan was all frustrated, and his six aircraft carriers had to continue to escape." Hmph, but where did he flee to? Middle East? Eastern Mediterranean? Or Africa? I don't believe I can't catch up with him! ”

"If he's going to run, he's going to go to Cape Town, which is a British colony, and he's going to get enough fuel." Meng Hailong nodded to South Africa on the map and muttered: "We don't have so much fuel to chase all the way, and there is a mission to send troops to Australia on May 15." ”

"What then?" Zhao Zheng raised his eyebrows.

"Don't move Male and Colombo, give Cunningham a little hope. He will fight us with hope when he has hope, and our 650 carriers, plus 2 squadrons of BF-109 and 2 squadrons of JU87 at Trincomalee airfield, the total number is almost 700. How many can Cunningham have? There are more than 600 in the sky, and his tube-nosed swallow and F2 Buffalo are not our opponents, at most dozens of Hurricanes are available, and our more than 200 FW190C and 30 BF-109 are still afraid that they will not be able to deal with dozens of Hurricanes? So we still have more ways to win. ”

Zhao Zheng looked at the Maldives Islands on the chart and pondered for a moment, and finally nodded heavily: "Okay!" That's it, don't bomb Male and Colombo, and give Cunningham a little hope! ”

……

At this time, the GC International Army had broken through the defenses of the Anglo-Indian army and captured the city of Jeraiswall, the key point to Calcutta. The GC Army, which had opened the gate to Calcutta, did not delay even a minute and began to move north. On several major roads in the East Indies near the Bay of Bengal, there were large groups of blue-gray troops, infantry, baggage soldiers, 75mm mountain guns drawn from requisitioned mules, 122mm howitzers pulled by the most common old cattle in India, and some pack carts driven by dark-skinned and low-caste poor middle peasants mobilized by the Indian GCD that accompanied the army.

In the midst of the mighty march, there were also several Chinese-made jeeps jolting along, one of which also had the flag of a sickle and axe and the flag of a general of the Wehrmacht. It was the car in which Comrade Ye Ting, commander-in-chief of the GC International Southern Army, was riding. Although Comrade Ye Ting has participated in the revolution for more than ten years, he still has a little bit of the style of the old army, and he is somewhat detached from the masses, unlike the political commissar Xiang Yingxiang, who walks and marches with the soldiers on two feet!

It was a fast horse that suddenly galloped from the front, and finally stopped next to the jeep that Ye Ting was riding, and a GC Army herald in his early 20s jumped off the horse and stuffed an envelope into the window of the jeep.

Ye Jying, chief of staff of the GC International South Asian Army, who was in the same car as Ye Ting, hurriedly took the envelope and opened it, then laughed and said:

"Good! All right! Klegpur has been captured by the 3rd Division, and Lao Ji has fought a beautiful battle this time! The troops guarding there were the 3rd Army of the British and Indian Army, which fought with us in Jerryswall the day before yesterday. ”

After listening to Ye Jying's words, Ye Ting's face became a little more solemn, and he was silent for a while before he said to Ye Jying: "Give Ji Zhentong an order to temporarily stop advancing, set up defense in Klegpur, and wait for the follow-up troops to arrive." ”

"Xiyi," Ye Jiying was stunned for a moment, and turned her head to look at Ye Ting with a solemn face, "Are you worried that the British will ......?"

Ye Ting glanced at the mighty heroes who could not be seen from the car window, the corners of his mouth were slightly upturned, and he smiled lightly: "British imperialism will not be willing to push out the stage of history, and the feudal landlords and bourgeoisie in India will definitely struggle to the death." I reckon that the British had been defending Jeraisvor in order to gather enough troops to deploy to the Calcutta War to gain time. According to intelligence, the number of British and Indian troops should be between 1 million and 1.2 million, and although they are scattered throughout India, India's transportation facilities are relatively well-developed, and they should be able to concentrate quickly by rail and road. I suppose the British must have assembled a heavy group of troops in Calcutta, deployed along the Hooghly River, just waiting for us to ram up! At the same time, they will also draw troops from Central India to attack the Bay of Barasol and cut off our rear route. ”

"So what should we do?" Ye Jiying took a breath and frowned.

"We're waiting for them in Klegpur!"

"Wait!?"

Ye Ting smiled, "That's right! Now that the Kuomintang aircraft carriers have left the Bay of Bengal to fight the British fleet, if I were the commander-in-chief of the British army, I would not dare to expect the outcome of the naval battle to be favorable. I will take advantage of the battle between the two navies to concentrate my forces for a decisive battle on land. I think the British commander-in-chief will have the same idea, so we don't have to attack Calcutta, just wait at Garden Ridge, and at the same time send a reconnaissance force to search the area around Badain Berhar, and as soon as we find a heavy group of British and Indian troops, we will immediately turn south and fight them! ”