With the roar of artillery fire and the emptying of the waves, the 12 German battleships galloped in front of the main force of the enemy army in front of the main force formed by the enemy army, like reconnaissance light horses from the medieval war; Even if you are pierced by the thunder of the opponent's sharp spears and crossbows, you must find out the most detailed information and pass it on to the commanders in the rear!

As the distance closer, the figure of the British battleship gradually became clear in the eyes of the German lookouts. In addition to the prestige and tiger that had already been determined by the number of main guns, three aircraft carriers with flat decks were also present: although the British aircraft carriers were almost the same size, Landsdorf was still more than half sure from the appearance of the bridges that they were the rage-class built by the British during the treaty. In addition to these, there were no less than 4 heavy cruisers and 6 light cruisers in the British fleet; Now the two shells of the Frankfurt have been hit, which is exactly what they have achieved.

"It seems that this is just an avant-garde fleet of the British, and the vast majority of their capital ships are not present in it." Through the gushing and bursting water, Lansdorf, holding the telescope alof, spoke softly. When the artillery fire of the British fleet began to roar into an ensemble, his heart became calmer than ever, and there was no longer the tension and fear at the beginning of the breakthrough. The German fleet also took the Lingbo microstep, approaching from 21 km all the way to the current 14 km, without any major damage during the process. After more than ten minutes of inspection, he found that there were only five large ships in the British fleet, namely 2 battle cruisers and 3 aircraft carriers, and none of the capital ships of the Nelson, George V, and Brave (Queen) classes were in sight. Obviously, the British Navy divided their fleet in two: the fast fleet went out to reconnoitre, and the main fleet stood by in the rear.

"Immediately release the smoke screen and prepare to retreat. We have completed the scheduled reconnaissance mission. Landsdorf put down his binoculars. Said to the adjutant beside him. Although it was not possible to spot the big fish in the British fleet. He can't help but feel a little sorry for his desire to make contributions, but the appearance of 3 aircraft carriers is already valuable enough information. If your fleet can respond most effectively based on this information, it will be the best reward for your adventure today.

There was a loud roar, the hull shook, and in the middle of the flag, the Frankfurt was hit by another shell. The 203-mm semi-armor-piercing projectile weighing 118kg flew through the air and crashed into the main armor belt of the battleship; However, the shell did not penetrate the armor in front of it at all, but was bounced into the water with a split-second sound of steel tearing. Stir up a splash of water several meters high. Hearing the news from the damage management department, Landsdorf's face was full of joy and rejoicing: from the original Hanover class, the German heavy patrol had established an armor box defense that was immune to its own shells at a distance of 13,000 meters, and the main armor was all 140 mm at a 20-degree angle. With the current heading angle, it was almost impossible for the British cruiser to penetrate its own core compartment, even if there was a shot in the water. At present, if the British want to leave their team of heavy patrols with a three-rudder layout, they can only hit the propellers with water-borne bullets with the characters who break out against the sky, or use the 381-mm heavy guns on the battle cruisers to break the vertical defenses; And under their own constant turning and avoidance, these two points are undoubtedly extremely difficult to achieve at present!

Looking at the German battleships rising in smoke one after another, British Vice Admiral Holland, who was on the Tiger battle patrol, couldn't help but grit his teeth. He was going to inflict heavy losses on this detachment. At least two German cruisers were to be left, but the defense of the other side was beyond their expectations. After being hit by multiple shells, none of them slowed down! Since the guns on our light and heavy cruisers were all firing at the opponent's heavy cruisers, the German destroyers were now able to walk away in style, releasing smoke and retreating unscathed. And if the pursuit is carried out, the now gradually darkening sky also makes this move meaningless: although the radars on several warships can detect the presence of enemy ships in the dark, it is impossible to have them accurately indicate the position of enemy ships instead of optical rangefinders. What's more, there is a big risk in the night battle, and there is no reason for me to invest the whole fleet for this miscellaneous fish!

The red sun slowly set below the sea level in the west, and visibility dropped sharply to just a few tens of meters. Looking out from the navigation room of the light-controlled Kaiser Wilhelm, even the top of the bow is hidden in the dark. However, the German fleet had already begun to move through the night with the appearance of the British fleet. A large number of auxiliary ships searched the area where the British fleet appeared, using radar to maintain contact tracking of targets; In the dark night of blindness, Scheer believed that the British would not act rashly. At the same time, the main German fleet turned due west, and continued to avoid the wind and waves while widening the distance between it and the British fleet; After dawn, the first wave of attack aircraft will roar from the aircraft carrier.

The situation at the front was as Scheer had expected. Although the British battleships were also equipped with radar, they were also unable to accurately determine the level of the target; Seeing a large point of light on the radar screen, Holland, who did not know the reality of the other party, could only choose to shrink the fleet and constantly report his current situation to Tovey in the rear. The soldiers of both armies are gearing up for a new confrontation after tomorrow morning.

"Send orders to the aircraft carriers, and they can start rearmament operations for the aircraft." Looking at the faint moon in the sky, Scheer, who had bloodshot eyes in his eyes, said lightly to the adjutant beside him. Although there are still clouds drifting in the air, it has no effect on the take-off of fighters; As for the wind and waves on the sea, Scheer had already made an accurate judgment from the roll of the giant ship under him. According to the telegram sent back by the light warships watching ahead, there were also no strong winds and showers in the sea area where they were located; As long as there are no major weather changes in the upcoming two hours, half of the victory is in your own hands!

In a few moments, a simple light signal flashed quickly from the Wilhelm the Great. The signal soldiers of the aircraft carrier who saw this string of bright lights responded one after another, and for a while it was like a firefly flashing through the grass. The ground crews on the German aircraft carrier climbed out of the sandwich-like bed, ran into the hangar and began to warm up and refuel; Through the lifts on either side of the guò hangar, these aircraft, loaded with fuel and bullets, were quickly lifted to the windswept armored deck. For bombers and torpedo planes, they also had to carry out bomb and torpedo loading on the deck. Obviously, the maintenance of these high-risk items cannot be carried out in a narrow and closed hangar, otherwise in the event of a martyrdom, the aircraft carrier will be severely damaged and lose its combat effectiveness, and the aircraft carrier will be directly sunk.

After more than an hour of hard work, a large number of planes were neatly arranged on the wide deck of the aircraft carrier. Compared to the small test of attacking the convoy two days ago, the current scene is undoubtedly ten times more spectacular: every huge flat-topped ship that sails through the waves has at least eight rows of warplanes of all kinds parked. The pilots with goggles around their necks were eating quickly in the cafeteria, and their faces were still optimistic and relaxed; After all, their own air force has a great lineup, and there is no reason for them to be afraid of the upcoming battle!

Since only a small part of the British fleet appeared, the vast majority of its main forces were still hidden in the fog of the battlefield; In this case, it is clear that Scheer has not devoted all his strength at once. In addition to the first wave of 144 attack aircraft prepared by the three carriers, the other seven carriers are on standby: they will first send fighter units to conduct a large-scale search of the waters around the British fleet that has already appeared, together with the seaplanes released from the battleships. When the enemy's main force was discovered, the main air force of the German Navy was dispatched again, thus destroying the enemy's core naval forces in one fell swoop. Scheer was confident that he would be able to spot the main force of the British fleet: in order to support each other, the other British fleet would never be far away from friendly forces, and with the speed of the planes ten times that of the ships, it would not be too difficult to find the target.

In order to avoid an unexpected air attack, Scheer ordered fighter jets to set up a protective umbrella over the fleet in order to meet the possible enemy fleet in time. The anti-aircraft radars of each ship are also widely used, so that at least half an hour can be gained to react when enemy planes are attacking. As the morning light gradually dispelled the darkness on the sea, the roar of the propellers resounded over the deck of the aircraft carrier; The German pilots were delighted to see that yesterday's rushing waves had basically calmed down, and the sea breeze whistling in their ears was all the favorable deck wind brought by the aircraft carrier moving at high speed!

With the wave of the ground crew's flag, a series of planes with flat wings began to roar into the air, first with light fighters, then with heavier bombers and torpedoes. As a result of rigorous peacetime training, German planes took off at an unusually fast pace, and in less than half an hour, the first wave of 60 fighters, 48 bombers, and 36 torpedo planes took off from the carrier. According to the experience of the German Navy during the exercises, it was necessary for the attack aircraft group released from the aircraft carrier to be escorted by a sufficient number of fighters; Only in this way will the bombers and torpedo planes be able to get rid of the entanglement of fighters escorting the enemy fleet and carry out effective strikes against the target warships. If the number of fighters is weakened in pursuit of strike force, the attack aircraft of your own side, which is slow and weak in self-defense, can easily become the ideal prey of enemy fighters in the mistakes that occur in the cover of the fighters. (To be continued......)

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