Chapter 295 chokes the British

Two 10,000-ton cargo ships are slowly sailing in the vast North Atlantic, and by their side, there are two old destroyers escorting them.

Originally, it was a huge fleet of twelve freighters, two tankers, and five destroyers. However, two days earlier, after receiving news that the German raiding fleet was in the vicinity, the fleet was forced to break up and disperse.

The shadow of the German raiding fleet that raged in the Atlantic last October and November still haunts every captain's mind. Even worse than last year, the British Navy has completely lost its naval supremacy in the Atlantic. If the situation in the Atlantic Ocean before February this year could be called a "game" in which "officers and soldiers catch thieves," now this game has become "bandits robbing daughters-in-law." The British have gone from being hunters chasing German pirates to being chased by pirates and being powerless to fight back.

One of the freighters, named "Poseidon," carried 45 P40 fighters imported from the United States and a large number of aircraft spare parts, and the other "Black Pearl" carried 80 M2 light tanks.

So far, the land theater in Western Europe is still in the midst of a "sit-down war", but with the collapse of the British Navy, the embarrassment of Britain and France has become more and more prominent. Although the arsenals of Britain and France are now operating at full capacity to produce munitions, the two countries, which have entered the state of general mobilization for war too late, have so far not reached the peak of military production. Especially in the field of aircraft, the British and French Air Forces, which have fought hard with the Soviet and German Air Force, and are half a generation behind their opponents in terms of performance, have suffered heavy losses, including those that fell from rear training, and the fighters that fell were always slightly larger than the planes that were built, and the loss of pilots was extremely heavy. So much so that it had to spend a lot of money to import aircraft from the United States.

Originally, in addition to aircraft and tanks, this 12-ship cargo ship fleet also took tin ingots, aluminum ingots, artillery, explosives, aviation fuel, and other materials urgently needed for the war, and the materials in the fleet were enough to equip two divisions of troops. In order to ensure that this batch of supplies could reach Britain safely, the British Navy still put together five destroyers to escort it under very difficult circumstances.

However, in the process of returning home, the British naval fleet was completely wiped out in the Third Norwegian Naval Battle. The German Navy, which had won a historic victory, forcibly broke into the Atlantic Ocean and launched a diplomatic breakthrough operation "against common sense" despite the fact that the ships were worn out greatly due to high-intensity battles and needed to return to port for repair and replenishment.

The arrogance of the German Navy was fully justified. Because the next two months happened to be the weakest time for the British. Although the average speed of this assault fleet has dropped by two to three knots due to the lack of timely maintenance, there is no opponent in the Atlantic Ocean who can fight with it unless the US Navy tears its face and attacks with all its might.

The British fleet was also aware of its situation, so after receiving a warning of the presence of a German attack fleet in the vicinity the evening before yesterday, the ships of this fleet dispersed and marched in a vain attempt to reduce losses.

Of the twelve cargo ships, the cargo carried on these two ships was the most important. So when dispersing, they were also escorted by two destroyers.

In accordance with the "directive" of the London side. The Poseidon and the Black Pearl changed course and headed southeast, preparing to make a large circle to avoid the German attack fleet.

Yesterday, there was a "good news" legend that the cargo ships that had fled northeast while scattered were attacked by the German assaulting fleet and were captured. In addition, two British destroyers were sunk by the German Stuka bombers, which can be described as extremely heavy losses.

After learning the news that the "teammates" had finished "going one step first" for the "poor road," the British captains of the two ships, who were not very "patriotic," were sad in their hearts, but they were secretly relieved. Judging by the last telegram sent by the sunken and captured cargo ships before they were finished, the German fleet was at least 300 kilometers away from the two ships. The so-called dead friends do not die poor. Judging by the current situation, it was not too easy for the German raiding fleet to find them.

On the two old destroyers on the side, the old captain Ebert looked at the red and white St. George cross flag fluttering on the flagpole, and his heart felt as if he had been knocked over a five-flavor bottle.

The old captain knew very well in his heart: "The British Empire is losing this war very quickly. ”

The last telegram from the sunken and captured British ship showed that German surface ships and Stuka bombers were attacking them. In the face of the overwhelming superiority of the Germans, the two British destroyers in the convoy at the time put up a heroic resistance, but they did so like moths in a flaming fire, and were quickly burned to ashes. Before the sight of the German surface cruisers, the two old destroyers were sunk in advance by Stuka bombers that took off from the German aircraft carriers.

"Naval warfare, has it entered the era of aircraft carriers?"

The old captain sighed. In the United States, a total of four merchant ships are being converted into aircraft carriers. Deliveries are scheduled to be made in the near future. It's just that this batch of escort aircraft carriers was given priority to provide Nevada-class battleships that are about to return home to help escort them. Because of this, their merchant fleet did not have a big umbrella on their heads to help them protect from the wind and rain.

At twelve o'clock in the morning, ......a faint engine noise like a fly came from the air, interrupting Captain Old Bert's self-pity, and the piercing air defense sirens sounded. The old captain was horrified to see that more than twenty small black dots appeared in the northeast direction.

Through the telescope, the old captain lightly judged that it was a Stuka bomber of the German Navy.

Ninety seconds later, a piercing screech sounded over the old captain's head.

Ten minutes later, the old captain's body slowly sank into the icy waters of the Atlantic Ocean along with his beloved ship.

Until the destroyer was sunk by the Stuka bombers, the sailors on the four ships did not see the German warship -- this was the great power of the aircraft carrier after joining the operation to break the diplomatic relationship, and the carrier-based aircraft on the aircraft carrier greatly extended the fleet's attack range.

In this wave of air raids, the Germans targeted only two destroyers, and the Black Pearl and Poseidon were fortunate not to be bombed.

But their good fortune doesn't stop there.

Before dark at six o'clock in the afternoon, the two freighters, fleeing in panic and anxiety, were intercepted by two German light cruisers at a distance of 60 kilometers from each other, and both were captured. (To be continued.) If you like this work, you are welcome to come to the starting point () to vote for recommendation, monthly pass, your support, is my biggest motivation. For mobile phone users, please go to M. to read. (To be continued......)

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