The sunset melts gold, the sunset is thousands of miles, and under the reflection of the afterglow of the sunset, the azure sea surface is sparkling, as if countless red, purple, orange and yellow neon lights flicker in the entire sea area.

There was a loud hissing sound in the air, as if countless wasps were whizzing through the air, and after a while, a large number of ribbed winged aircraft appeared in the sky. This time, the German High Seas Fleet, which had a huge lineup, did not put on an air defense formation as if it were facing a great enemy, but rather leisurely watched the slow flight of the air group. With the wave of flags on the bridge of the aircraft carrier, these war eagles sprayed with the iron cross logo slowed down one after another in an orderly manner, and stopped steadily on the deck under the effect of the blocking cable.

"It has to be said that the armored flight deck is indeed a genius design. Even after being bombed by a stern bomb, the aircraft carrier was still able to provide a considerable deck length for the fighters to land and take off normally. And due to the tight protection of the hangar by the armored deck, the preservation of carrier-based aircraft can also reach an extremely ideal height. If we use an unprotected flight deck, we will have at least 50 aircraft scrapped in this battle because they cannot be recovered, and the preservation of the carrier's combat strength will not be as complete as it is now. Looking at the Hindenburg, which was scarred not far away, but still receiving the landing of fighter planes, the chief of staff of the fleet, Ruetyans, said with emotion.

"The armored flight deck is only a tactical design. What is really decisive is our concept of building a new army with aviation as the core. Scheer calmly took over the conversation, and there was a hint of happiness and joy in his tone, "Fifteen years ago, when everyone was still immersed in the glory of the victory in the North Sea brought by the cannon giants. His Majesty Caesar has a unique vision. And lead the high seas fleet in this direction at high speed. That's why. We only have these 10 heavy aircraft carriers with excellent performance today, and it is the large number of carrier-based aircraft they have released that have laid the decisive victory in today's naval battle. ”

An hour earlier, the third wave of attack aircraft of the German aircraft carriers had continued to thunder over the British fleet and launched a fierce attack on the scarred fleet. Although the number of 216 aircraft in the third wave was much inferior to the previous two due to the limited number of aircraft, it was the last straw that crushed the British fleet, which had already been severely reduced. Accompanied by the sharp hissing of the Ju-87 and the torpedo dropped by the Do-22 in a flyover. The British fleet suffered another fatal blow, with 11 ships, including 3 battleships, perished. According to the photos taken by the escort fighters at close range, only the two George V-class and one Nelson-class of the British capital ship remained, and the hulls of the ships were tilted and flamed. Its massive cruiser fleet was also lost by nearly half, and only 15 of the 27 light and heavy cruisers were able to retreat in one piece.

Counting the reconnaissance fleet that was wiped out this morning, the main force of the British Navy was almost destroyed in just one day of fighting! All seven aircraft carriers and 14 of the 17 capital ships were sunk, and the British fleet, the world's third-largest navy, was wiped out in less than 10 hours. Although this achievement seems too shocking, it is reasonable to analyze it carefully: before the war, almost all of the British Navy's energy was focused on the decisive battle with the German fleet with the capital ships, and it was not prepared to defend itself against the threat from the air.

In the field of active defense against enemy aircraft in the air, the means of the British remained stuck in the period of the late 20s: the anti-aircraft fire of their fleet itself could be called weak. And an aircraft carrier that can provide them with an air umbrella is no less embarrassing. These aircraft carriers not only have extremely scarce aircraft, but the performance of carrier-based aircraft is even more different from that of the Royal Air Force fighters of the same period; In real combat capabilities. Three 23,000-ton British aircraft carriers are difficult to compare with one German heavy aircraft carrier. In addition to the faster flight speed of fighters based on the three platforms, the former is inferior in survivability, combat effectiveness maintenance, carrier-based aircraft performance, and even the number of aircraft carried by the aircraft!

And at the level of passive defense against bombs and torpedoes, the armor of British battleships was no less adequate. Whether it is a modified old 15-inch gun carrier ship or a new 16-inch heavy gun capital ship with the concept of a key protective armor box, its horizontal armor can hardly withstand heavy armor-piercing bombs dropped from a large angle in the air; Even the Nelson-class and George V-class ammunition depots with a thickness of 149 mm were barely able to withstand the 800kg armor-piercing bombs dropped from German bombers. When hit by a torpedo, the British battleship's surface was also unsatisfactory: the old capital ship was confined to the original cabin layout, and there were congenital defects in the water intake control after the middle mine, while the TDS depth of the new capital ship was strictly insufficient. Since the new ships did not need the extra tonnage to compensate for the lack of armor layout like the old ones, the British capital ships from the Nelson class onwards were no longer equipped with underwater protrusions, however, this laid the foundation for their underwater defense. Due to the overconfidence of the British designers in the defensive power of the new air-liquid-air compartment layout, they left the battleship with only 3 meters of mine protection, which was completely insufficient even in the face of aviation torpedoes, which were extremely powerful in the face of explosive explosions. In the Malay naval battle on another plane, the British Z fleet was well educated by Japanese torpedo planes on how to behave: the Prince of Wales was hit by a thunderbolt and then declared a big break, and the situation deteriorated day by day. If it weren't for the subsequent attack by the Japanese torpedo planes, which allowed the British to "save face", this new George V-class battleship would most likely reproduce the tragedy of the sinking of its predecessor, the old George V-class Daring!

In contrast to the decaying anti-aircraft shield in the hands of the British fleet, the German Navy's aviation sword was sharper than ever. Five Zeppelin-class and five Hindenburg-class heavy armored aircraft carriers constitute the most powerful naval aviation platform on the planet, and the more than 1,100 fighters on board can only be described as fantastic. In addition to conventional bombs and torpedoes, these attack aircraft are equipped with a certain number of guided weapons, which further increases their effectiveness when launching attacks. Of the 72 Skylark wire-guided torpedoes dropped in this battle, 53 of them successfully hit their targets, which directly caused a large number of British capital ships to sink.

"Our defeat of the British was expected. If a decisive victory cannot be achieved in the presence of such a large air superiority, it is the high seas fleet itself that has a serious problem. However, we should be wary of the Americans' naval power. The overall performance of their aircraft is quite impressive, and in some areas they are even better than the Empire's fighters; After bringing the situation in Europe under control, it is highly likely that the Empire will engage in further confrontations with this rival. Recalling today's one-day battle of the sea and air, Scheer said with affection. As an emerging naval force that has conquered all the way from Europe, a land surrounded by tigers and wolves, and finally reached the top of the list, the entire high seas fleet, including Scheer, looks down on the fleet of the American nouveau riche on the other side of the ocean, but today's battle made him completely abandon his previous cognition and begin to re-examine this opponent he has always despised for himself!

"Compared to the British carrier-based aircraft, the American air force can indeed pose a real threat to us. Had it not been for the fact that a group of our fighters had taken off again to stop most of the forces of the second wave of the American attack, the high seas fleet would have suffered further damage. Hearing Descher's words, Lütjans responded with some feeling. Looking at the warplanes that were slowing down and stopping on the deck of the aircraft carrier not far away, Lu Teyans's heart moved slightly, and then he spoke again: "Your Excellency, we should probably try to keep this American fleet. Although our air fleet has lost more than 150 aircraft in today's battle, the vast majority of its combat strength remains intact, and the remaining stocks of aviation fuel and ammunition on the carriers are sufficient for another large-scale general assault on the existing fleet. Judging from the fact that the Americans attacked only more than 170 planes in a wave, their aviation combat power was only one-third of ours, and we were still fully sure that we would be able to win. ”

Scheer sighed slowly, and his eyes reflecting the western sunset were full of helplessness: "What you said is not wrong. Unfortunately, we will never have that opportunity again. In less than two hours, the sky will be completely dark, and even if we find the traces of the American fleet at once now, we will no longer be able to organize an effective attack. It would be a disaster for a large number of warplanes to land at night, and I cannot afford to take the huge risk that the cost is far from proportional to the benefit. Now our only task is to recover the second and third wave of attack aircraft before it gets dark. Today's battle is over. ”

"And if I don't expect, it's very likely that the current U.S. fleet is already on its way back at full speed. Now that they knew our line-up, they should, or must have known, of the tragedy that had befallen the British fleet with which they were in contact, and it was hard to imagine that they would attack an enemy fleet with absolute superiority even when their allies had been annihilated. Scheer looked complicated and continued, "Therefore, the best option left for the Americans is to take advantage of this coming dark night to leave quickly in order to preserve strength." By the time the sun rises again tomorrow, there will be nothing left in this sea. ”

Lu Teyans nodded slightly. As Scheer said, the Americans' choice to retreat was already a foregone conclusion, and they could not leave their opponents behind. Looking at Scher's slightly unwilling expression, Lu Teyans, who was moved in his heart, smiled again: "But Your Excellency Marshal, we have undoubtedly achieved a big victory today that is better than the decisive battle in the North Sea!" It is estimated that the end of this war will be drawn soon. (To be continued......)

PS: Thank you for the tips of book friends Golden Crab, zhouyu1976, and Yuan yh1234567~~