However, although the situation was already very unfavorable, the French still had 4 battleships after all, although they were relatively old, but after changing their strategy and selecting one of the other four equally older British battleships for a concentrated attack, they still achieved certain results, the British battleship Ramillis was hit by 6 large-caliber shells, the ship was full of smoke and fire, and it took a lot of effort to extinguish it, and the hull of the ship was also seriously tilted due to water ingress in many places, and if it were not for the strong displacement capacity, I am afraid it would have sunk. However, by this time, the remaining four French battleships had all been sunk in the Toulon Bay by British naval guns and aviation torpedoes, and it was clear who won and who lost

The 9:0 record once again proved the strength of the British Royal Navy, and also washed away the shame of a series of previous failures, and at the same time, the sinking of the entire 9 capital ships of the French Navy also ensured the safety of the British mainland and sea lines of communication. However, the "H" fleet had just begun to return home, and it was soon met with the frenzied retaliation of the French air force that came one after another, unlike the series of operations in the historical "ballista jihua" basically took place in the French North African colonies, the "H" fleet attacked Toulon is a port on the French mainland, and the aircraft combat radius is not too much of the French airfield here

Even though the Vichy French government did not dare to order the air force to bomb the British mainland in retaliation, so as not to undermine the neutral position, the bombing of the "H" fleet itself still had the courage (otherwise the countries would inevitably think that the Vichy French government was weak and could be bullied, and everyone would come and step on it). Coupled with the fact that the British were reluctant to torpedo the battleship Ramillis and tow it back, the speed of the fleet was greatly affected. Unable to leave the battlefield quickly, the French Air Force reconnaissance planes locked onto their positions, and then the French planes nearby and further away were concentrated

After the surrender of the government to Germany, the morale of the French air force was hit hard, and perhaps because they thought they had no enemy, they were so lax in their combat readiness that they were still too late for the navy to call for help at the first time. Upon learning that the Navy's capital ships had been completely destroyed, the French Air Force launched one attack after another against the returning British "H" Fleet, feeling guilty for their naval comrades and angry at the British for falling into the ground. Due to the lessons of the previous French fleet, coupled with the eagerness to wash away the 0:9 humiliation. French pilots no longer blindly concentrated bombing the unusually sturdy King George V. Instead, the first choice was to sink as many British warships as possible, and the three British aircraft carriers, which were of great value and not as strong as the battleships, bore the brunt of the blow

Although the British carrier-based aircraft are generally old and backward, the British naval aviation units have still relied on appropriate tactics to exploit their strengths and avoid their weaknesses and have made great achievements. But when the French fleet pounced on its own aircraft carriers. When these carrier-based aircraft are needed for interception. The huge gap in aircraft performance could no longer be bridged, and the dozens of fighter planes that took off from Toulon airfield alone quickly cleared the field and swept away the British carrier-based planes that had risen into the air, although in the meantime the French planes were also shot down and as many as 27 were destroyed. However, it was mainly injured by the anti-aircraft guns of the British warships, and if we only talk about the results of the battle between the fighters, the exchange ratio between the two sides will never be less than 1:5, which can be seen from the drag caused by the low performance of the carrier-based aircraft, considering the better quality of the British pilots

Although the fleet's anti-aircraft firepower was greatly enhanced after the proximity fuse and artillery sighting radar, due to the serious shortage of air defense cruisers and destroyers in the "H" fleet, and the fact that there were too many enemy planes, no matter how hard the antiaircraft gunners tried, they could not be prevented after all, and in a short time, the British aircraft carrier Victory was hit by several high-explosive bombs dropped by French dive bombers, and the violent explosion ignited several planes on the flight deck that had been replenished with fuel and ammunition but had not yet had time to take off

After a horrific series of explosions, the most advanced and powerful British-class aircraft carrier was almost completely enveloped in smoke and fire, and after the power system was destroyed, it was even more helpless to float on the surface of the sea, and Vice Admiral Somerville, the commander of the British "H" fleet, had to order the destroyer to fire a torpedo to sink it so as not to fall into the hands of the enemy, and the battleship Ramillis, which had caused the fleet to be in danger, was sunk by his own torpedoes earlier, if such a mistake was made a second time, That would be stupid.

Speaking of which, although Vice Admiral Somerville was an excellent admiral, the habits of thinking he had developed over the years still made him subconsciously relax after the victory in the naval battle, and he did not expect that the French Air Force would soon come to participate in the battle, otherwise he would have abandoned the battleship Ramillis, which had seriously slowed down the fleet, although judging from the arrival of the French reconnaissance planes, that would not necessarily allow the "H" fleet to avoid the current battle

After realizing the major mistake he had made, Somerville only wanted to drive to Gibraltar as soon as possible, where there is a special military airfield, more powerful ground anti-aircraft firepower, and some light warships with not weak air defense capabilities, which are enough to ensure the safety of the "H" fleet, after all, the main force of the French Air Force was wiped out by the Germans long before the surrender, and even if some were replenished after the surrender, there would be no more than a thousand aircraft that could be used now, of which two or three hundred fighters would be good, With the performance of the RAF aircraft and the superiority of the pilots, it should not be difficult to ensure air supremacy in that area with the help of anti-aircraft firepower.

But the French pilots obviously refused to let them go, as the French planes from other areas other than Toulon arrived on the battlefield one after another, the air defense pressure of the "H" fleet increased, and its real flagship, the aircraft carrier Radiance, soon became the second victim, after being bombed by the dive bombers and the number of high-explosive bombs basically lost their speed and anti-aircraft firepower, the French torpedo bombers calmly dropped the mounted aviation torpedoes and sent them to the bottom of the sea, fortunately the lifeboats were released fast enough, Otherwise, Vice Admiral Somerville and the ship will sink in a small matter, and the "H" fleet will have no commander, then the problem will be serious

Under the wave of attacks of the French bomber group, the only remaining aircraft carrier of the "H" fleet, the "Victory", was not spared, although it miraculously dodged 26 bombs and 13 torpedoes, it was hit by 7 bombs and 2 torpedoes, and finally sank in the waves of the Mediterranean Sea (to be continued......