Chapter 1,182 Rookies Pecking Each Other
Chapter 1182 Rookies pecking each other
"To be honest, this is my 98th combat mission, but this is my first time fighting an opponent at sea. It's very fresh and a bit unsettling." On a K-4S seaplane, Huo said Captain Special said to the telegraph operator in his back seat.
As a terrestrial creature, humans are inherently uneasy about the sea. The vast ocean often makes people feel a little depressed. As a pilot, this uneasy feeling will gradually amplify! This is not only a mental issue, but also a technical and operational issue! There is no reference object when flying over the sea, so it is easy to lose your sense of direction, and the navigation during World War I was also very primitive. When radio communications were not always working, how efficient can you expect radio navigation to be? !
"When flying at sea, if the weather is good, it will be better to determine your position by observing the soot emitted by the fleet than relying on radio." Holt always remembers the words of the first batch of naval aviation veterans who gave him lessons. But now it seems that it actually makes some sense.
Another problem is the judgment of altitude. Some aircraft in this era do not have altimeters. When the aircraft dives towards the sea, it is easy to misjudge the altitude. It is too late to pull up and directly crash into the sea. Of course, the biggest The problem is that if your plane breaks down on land, you will probably survive after parachuting, but if you are at sea, especially in this case, if the destroyer responsible for retrieving people does not find you, then you will basically be waiting for death. ..... The pressure caused by this kind of threat to life is enough to make anyone feel scared. Therefore, maritime combat is far from being as simple as changing the venue!
For the Germans, this was the first sea and air interception in history, and for the British, it was even more so! You know, more than 90% of the British bomber troops carrying out the air strike this time were carrying bombs to blow up targets at sea for the first time... Yes you read that right! It can even be said that more than half of the pilots are flying bombing missions for the first time!
Someone may ask, since the British do not plan to use bombers to attack maritime targets, why do they use twin-engine bombers or even four-engine bombers? ! Please, instead of twin-engine or four-engine bombers, do you plan to use single-engine fighter jets with a range of generally no more than 400 kilometers to perform reconnaissance and patrol missions? What are you thinking about? ! A considerable number of these aircraft exist as patrol aircraft. These patrol aircraft are not only used to guide the Grand Fleet and Thomas Fleet to deal with German surface ships. At the same time, many aircraft are also used to guide anti-submarine ships to attack submarines.
Although many of the pilots were transferred from the Army and had received bombing training, many of them were flying for the first time! Maybe someone wonders why twin-engine aircraft can guide anti-submarine warships to surround and kill submarines, or provide cover for the fleet. Why can't they bring some weapons to deal with submarines? The reason is very simple, it’s still a matter of battery life! Anti-submarine requires aircraft to have a long time in the air. You cannot expect most aircraft in this era to have too long time in the air, and use small bombs to attack a submarine above the water in a horizontal bombing method... This is really too difficult--!
The British understood very early on that
For aircraft escorting transport ships, if they can only use underwater navigation to deter submarines from showing up easily, then more than half of the threat from submarines will be eliminated! After all, the speed and endurance of submarines on the water are tragic! The so-called anti-submarine is more about depriving submarines of the opportunity to attack, rather than completely destroying submarines. After all, the latter is very difficult, so the core of seaplanes escorting fleets close to the British mainland is suppression. Anyway, submarines are also I dare not bet on whether the British plane above my head has a bomb... This is a psychological game problem!
From a personal technical perspective, the British are rushing to the top this time, but from a tactical perspective, it is even worse! It only took half an hour from the time the British Admiralty received Thomas' telegram to the time it decided to send planes to bomb. The time from when the order is issued to each aviation squadron to when the mission is assigned and ready to take off is only one hour! What is enough time for? It is enough for each squadron leader to briefly explain the tasks, and then discuss how everyone will go there and how they will come back. It was impossible to even say which squadron attacked which target. After all, the British had no idea about the situation on the battlefield. They only knew that there were German warships in that area, but their number, configuration and movement were not clear. Just fly over and find it yourself, and then just throw the bomb on the German battleship you can see!
"This battle was launched when we were completely unprepared. The navy bosses were simply drunk and thought it was as simple as hanging bombs on planes and flying over to drop them, just like delivering newspapers every morning. This plan was too It was too rash, and the Germans seemed to be prepared, so the effect of our attack was not ideal. But it was a start."
The British Empire is such a big country, and there are always some people with rich experience in naval aviation. One of them was Colonel Rivendell, a fellow from British Bomber Command who had been on the Western Front before transferring to the Navy. I still have my own opinions on bombing.
In his report, he criticized the Admiralty's order. But it was just dissatisfaction, because in this attack on the sea, the British's performance was not that bad, and the German interception was not successful. How should I put it, it can be regarded as a large-scale rookie pecking competition!
"It's an O-400 bomber, with an altitude of about 1,500 meters! There are 12 of them. Everyone, our guests are here!" Captain Holt said loudly to the friendly forces next to him. This twin-engine aircraft squadron, known as the Swordfish Squadron, has a total of 6 K-4S seaplanes. Regardless of the fact that the German Navy has deployed 5 seaplane carriers this time, each of them can only carry 3 K-4S. (And of course some single-engine seaplanes). The captain's six K-4S seaplanes are already the largest twin-engine seaplane battle group in the hands of Prince Ruprecht... Their mission is to be responsible for the safety of the First Fleet under the direct jurisdiction of the prince. Now, the first battle is about to begin. The opponent they face is the British O-400 twin-engine bomber!
"This thing is no smaller than the Russian Ilya four-engine bomber. It's a big guy, so be careful," the captain commented after seeing the enemy he was facing.
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