When it comes to the safety of their territorial waters and convoys, the British have rarely abandoned their lethargic style of doing things.

Three hours after Admiral John Tovey's order, a Spitfire, attached to the Coastal Defense Command, plunged headlong into the fog-enveloped Le Fjord.

The Spitfire is just a Mark1, to be precise, a PR recon with the weapons and radio removed.

It was given a turquoise Comutin livery that was more conducive to concealment in the air, and two aerial cameras with a focal length of five inches were installed in the original wing machine gun.

In order to ensure that the reconnaissance aircraft can successfully capture the target, the designers also installed a heating device on the Spitfire PR to ensure that the camera will not be frozen in the low temperature environment at high altitude.

Looking at the mist-shrouded shore below, Lieutenant Colonel Rotherram kept pursing the corners of his mouth, his expression unchanged for a long time. He slowly lowered his height, trying to keep himself safe while not sparing a single hidden corner.

According to the information provided by the command, at this time there was at least one Bismarck-class and one Admiral-Hipper-class on the territory of Norway.

Although the other side has not yet fought with the Royal Air Force, the anti-aircraft firepower of battleships and cruisers is certainly not bad, and he does not want to inexplicably rush into the enemy's air defense circle.

The effort paid off, and Lieutenant Colonel Rotherram spent half an hour on the Norwegian coast before finally finding his target in the Grimstadt Fjord, south of Bergen.

At the same time, Bismarck's radar also showed a ghostly enemy plane.

"The anti-aircraft artillery group is on full alert!"

"Can't let that reconnaissance plane leave! It will reveal our whereabouts! ”

Under the command of the deputy gunner, anti-aircraft guns of all calibers opened fire at the same time, including two 105 anti-aircraft guns, five 37-hand pullers, and eleven 20-mm anti-aircraft guns.

The young non-staff officers stood next to the gun emplacements, eager to fight side by side with the veterans.

All of a sudden, the entire sky was filled with traces of tracer bullets and a barrage of fragments that exploded, and the battleship Bismarck showed the world for the first time an "amazing" anti-aircraft firepower.

But what stunned the other party happened, the reconnaissance Spitfire was not shot down, but like a nimble petrel shuttling through the rain of bullets.

After taking the photos needed by his superiors, Lieutenant Colonel Rotherram manipulated the fighter plane to climb to altitude without saying a word, and soon left the battlefield with his mobility.

As a veteran pilot who had participated in the Battle of Britain, he glanced back at the battleship below with some confusion.

"What's that?"

"And this counts as battleship-class anti-aircraft fire?"

"I didn't expect that there would be an unexpected gain in this mission, and Admiral Tovey would definitely jump up with joy if he knew that the German's rate of fire in the center circle was so low."

After witnessing the departure of the enemy's reconnaissance aircraft, the sailors on the battleship Bismarck reluctantly left their combat posts. Everyone was nervously busy, because they knew that their fleet was about to set sail again.

At the same time, a lieutenant colonel officer walked into the command room of Lütjans.

"Your Excellency, this is the weather forecast for today and tomorrow. God is on our side, and in half an hour it will be the best time for the fleet to leave. ”

Lu Shuai took the information, scanned it with sharp eyes, and said, "Go and call the captain." ”

Moments later, Lindemann returned to the captain's command room. His expression was very solemn, obviously dissatisfied with the outcome of the battle just now.

As a former director of the Kiel Naval Artillery School, he was keenly aware of the major problems with the Bismarck's anti-aircraft firepower, not just the mismatch between the fire control systems dedicated to the SK-C/33 and SK-C/37.

If the enemy sends aircraft carriers to attack from the air, the consequences are absolutely unimaginable.

"Well, here's the weather forecast. The next two days were full of cyclones and thunderstorms, and it was difficult for enemy reconnaissance planes to detect us. ”

"I ask the fleet to leave here in the shortest possible time and immediately set off for the Danish Strait. We need to hurry up and get into the Atlantic, where we can barely be safe. ”

After hearing the order of his own commander, Lindemann quickly adjusted his state and replied: "Yes! Sir! ”

In the following period, the battleship Bismarck entered second class combat readiness.

Except for the anti-aircraft artillery crew, everyone else performed their duties and prepared to set sail, and the entire warship immediately got busy in an orderly manner.

The password was passed back and forth between the bridge and the foredeck, and the signal squad also sent a rapid notice to the Prinz Eugen via directional lights.

The windlass began to turn, dragging up the wet anchor chain section after section.

Twelve high-pressure Wagner boilers are functioning normally, driving the propellers under water to turn. The huge battleship slowly moved and gradually disappeared into the thick fog.

······

Three hours later, a Spitfire reconnaissance plane successfully returned to the airfield with the British Coastal Defense Command.

Since the fighter planes were not equipped with a radio station that could communicate with the ground, Lieutenant Colonel Rotherram had to patiently verify his identity in a pre-agreed manner.

As soon as the reconnaissance plane landed, he could not wait to climb out of the cockpit.

Faced with a group of officers eager to understand the situation, he could only shout while disassembling the cameras on the plane.

"The Germans' fleet is in the Grimstadt fjord, and in addition to Bismarck and Prinz Eugen there are three destroyers."

"Get out of the way, everybody! Hurry up and arrange a car to take me to Commander Tovey! I have important information to report to him! I found a major flaw in the enemy's fleet! “

The staff officers took the cameras from the plane and left quickly, and the next task was to take out the film, take it to be developed, and enlarged.

The news quickly reached the command of the home fleet, and the staff officer of the rear admiral looked at the photo on the table and said with a smile on his face:

"We were lucky to see the enemy drive away from Sweden and now we found it in Norway."

"The pilot of the reconnaissance plane just now also reported the news about the enemy's air defense, and it seems that the sea bombardment alone can make the battleship Bismarck unable to eat and go around."

Hearing his subordinate's words, John Tovey took off his hat and shook his head a little depressedly.

"Lucky? Take a look at the weather forecast. ”

"The next two weather whirls are approaching, and the sight range of both the fleet and the air force will deteriorate."

"When the time comes, everything will be shrouded in rain and fog, and the pilots will certainly not find Bismarck and Prinz Eugen. Don't say that we're lucky, it's really not very lucky. ”

After determining that the enemy's target was the Atlantic, the command of the British Home Fleet took Bergen as the center of the circle and used a compass to demarcate a circle with a radius of 600 nautical miles at a speed of 25 knots.

According to the past movement trajectory of the German navy, John Tovey judged that the other side would most likely still take the Danish Strait. After carefully analysing the charts, he made a final decision.

"Go and urge Hood and the Prince of Wales to form a fleet and set off as soon as possible."

"Our old aunts are fierce women who can win battles, and young boys will thrive in war. In any case, we can only rely on this old and young for now. ”

"Those damn pirates should sink to the bottom of the sea to feed the fish."

It's not unreasonable to say that Hood is an aunt, after all, she was a battlecruiser designed and built by the Royal Navy at the end of World War I, and is now twenty-five years old.

As for the reason for calling the Prince of Wales a little boy, it is also very simple, the battleship was only completed in March this year, and it was only last month that it officially joined the Royal Navy in the battle sequence.

Many of the crews are still training, and even the sighting devices of the guns have not been fully adjusted.

If it weren't for the intent to fill all the Atlantic entrances, John Tovey would never have sent such a combination.

Half an hour after the Home Fleet gave the order, Hood and the Prince of Wales slowly left Scapa Bay through the perimeter submarine nets.

The two sides began their respective operations at the same moment, and the invaders and defenders were about to meet.

Returning to the Bismarck, his voyage was relatively smooth.

It's a pity that the entire sea area is full of enemies, and the three Z drives can only be forced to return due to their voyages, and there is no partner who can fight side by side except Prince Eugen.

In the captain's room, Lutjens and Lindemann were chatting while smoking cigars.

"Your Excellency, the fleet should be safe now."

"The enemy may think that we are still in Grimstadt Canyon, and they have no definite information about our voyage. Even if they guessed that we had set sail, they couldn't guess which route we would take.

"But is it really necessary for us to take a long detour through the Danish Strait, the other lanes are close and wide. If we change the route now, we should be able to enter the Atlantic a day earlier. ”

Hearing his captain's question, Lu Shuai began to answer patiently.

According to the information received by the fleet last time, the vast majority of the warships with the British home fleet were still crouching in the harbor. No matter how fast they were, it would not have been possible to reach the Danish Strait in time.

Moreover, the weather near Iceland is very bad, and the sight distance of the ship is no more than two nautical miles, so the possibility of engaging the enemy can be avoided as much as possible.

Even if you encounter an enemy, at most you will encounter one or two cruisers.

With the strength of Bismarck and Eugen, they can definitely solve each other in a short time.

"At the moment I am still sticking to my orders, everyone must stick to their posts. Even if you are resting, you must stay where you are, and no one is allowed to leave your post without permission. ”

"When we take control of the oceans, Obiei will pray to us for peace."

······

The Danish Strait, the Suffolk re-cruised.

It was already evening, and the cyclone seemed to swallow up the setting sun, and the whole warship was constantly swaying and undulating in the huge waves.

Around the bridge were several lookouts, dressed in raincoats and holding binoculars, carefully searching the sea.

Suddenly, there was a shrill whistle from the ship's public address system, followed by the captain's command:

"Ladies and gentlemen, now start broadcasting news from the mainland. The German battleship Bismarck, accompanied by the cruiser Prinz Eugen, was approaching the Atlantic. ”

"Because of the weather, the Air Force does not have the ability to conduct reconnaissance for the time being. We only know that the enemy is north of Iceland and has a high probability of approaching the Danish Strait at a speed of 25 knots. ”

"The task is simple, just find them and report to the command of the local fleet. Next, the whole ship will go into radio silence, so everyone is asked to stay at their posts. ”

As soon as these words came out, most of the soldiers on the deck and in the superstructure changed their faces.

It was a battleship with fifteen-inch guns, and if you were lucky, you could even hit your own cruiser from a dozen nautical miles.

Once fought, the enemy will definitely turn into a behemoth.

After hearing the captain's announcement, the watchman directly put down the black tea in his hand and ordered:

"Send me double the number of lookouts, and then I and the deputy watchman will personally lead the team! Before the enemy was discovered, the entire department fell to hold its post in two waves! ”

"If anyone is not serious and responsible, it will put the lives of all the crew in danger."

Before the sailors could respond to their captains, the deputy chief of the watchmen came to the bridge with several lookouts, who swayed incessantly in the howling wind.

But at this moment, someone seemed to see something. He squeezed his comrades away, holding his breath and staring into the distance with his binoculars. There's a vague thing over there that's rapidly approaching.

"Starboard 140 degrees! Spotting a warship!! 〞

The burst screams caught the attention of all the lookouts, and a dozen or so binoculars looked at the starboard side in unison. The silhouette of the target is also getting closer, and the two black and white camouflage battleships look like ghost ships in the cyclone.

"Starboard 140 degrees! Two warships! 〞

In the wheelhouse under the bridge, the helmsman is standing there at the helm. Suddenly, a short, rapid command came from the microphone above his head.

"Left full rudder!"

"Quick!"

Although he did not know what was going on outside, the helmsman turned the steering wheel out of instinct at the first moment, and the heavy patrol of the Suffolk changed course sharply.

At the same time, he saw the Norfolk patrolling with the right rudder full.

It is absolutely a very outrageous thing that two cruisers of the same fleet are actually moving at full speed in completely opposite directions at this moment.

Soon, the helmsman understood everything.

Because of the countless shells flying diagonally behind, it looked like an angel had spread its wings of light between Norfolk and Suffolk.

Judging by the splashes of water near the hull, the enemy was supposed to use shells of 105 and 150 calibers, but the rate of fire was simply frenziedly fast.

"Boom, boom!"

Several high-explosive shells hit the superstructure, and four raging fires ignited throughout the hull. The damage control team rushed out with water pipes, but failed to extinguish the fire for a while.

······

The perspective again switches to the battleship Bismarck.

Watching more and more secondary guns hit the enemy ship, Lütjans took off the headset he wore on his head and rushed towards the deck.

The inexplicable behavior of his own boss made Captain Lindemann look confused.

"Your Excellency, Commander! What are you going to do? The battle isn't over yet, is it? ”

"Command is handed over to you for the time being! I'm going to help the secondary artillery crew carry the shells! Now the rate of fire is not fast enough! ”

Lu Shuai's secondary cannon is simply a joke.

I found that everyone doesn't seem to have much interest in European naval warfare, and tomorrow I will send the Persian cat away and go back to Shanxi.

The naval battle has to be Luoyang and Anshan.

(End of chapter)