Chapter 1683 Southern Indian Ocean 2
Chapter 1683 Southern Indian Ocean 2
Half an hour later, the telegram was delivered to Count Souchon's desk, and the unexpected discovery of the Allied seaplane here really surprised the Germans. It’s okay for the Japanese to install a few seaplanes on the Katori, but with a few planes, it’s different to be able to track a target for a long time while conducting reconnaissance. This shows that the number of the opponent’s planes is somewhat many! Otherwise, we would not track an uncertain target for at least half an hour.
"Our guests are here. The Swordfish is sailing to the east. If the Japanese warships are to the east, they should be able to see each other's smoke plumes soon. After all, the latter is a large fleet and they are all coal-burning ships. And we can now consider moving the remaining fleet to the west, including submarines and auxiliary cruisers! Pull out a cordon, and then search for the Japanese fleet."
"The Japanese seaplanes have already set off, and from the current point of view, there is no radio communication. This means that the distance between their planes and the fleet is not far. Without radio, the other side's pilots can still find their way home. !" said Major General Rodhart, who is proficient in aviation operations.
"Can our reconnaissance plane go out to find the target?" Lieutenant General Su Xiong asked.
"Well, it may be possible to find the target, but I'm afraid we won't have time to deal with them today. Our two battleships are at least 100 kilometers away from each other, and it is already afternoon, and sunset is only a few kilometers away. There are only 4 hours left. We want to pursue and destroy the opponent and we are a little tight on time." Major General Rodhart said.
"Moreover, if the Japanese have a larger number of reconnaissance planes, they are likely to find us at a long distance. In this case, if the battleship's guns cannot participate in the battle, things will be difficult." As before, Redel said, In this critical moment of battle, he prefers to attack at dawn, with plenty of time and cover if he is to the east of the enemy fleet.
And just when the bosses of the German fleet were thinking about how to accurately position the Japanese fleet, the Japanese exposed their position at a critical moment! The Japanese seaplane monitoring the Swordfish had some malfunctions when it returned, so it sent a distress telegram. Not only was this telegram intercepted by the nearby German submarine U289, it was also deciphered!
"What a pity. If we could have been a few hours earlier, we could have caught the Japanese fleet!" At this time, the U289 submarine, which was in a semi-submersible state, was invisible in the afterglow of the setting sun, less than 6 kilometers away from it. , a Japanese destroyer was transferring the seaplane pilot to the battleship. And after dark, the submarine can't catch up with the Japanese destroyer!
However, what the Germans did not expect was that just when the Germans thought that the destroyer would destroy or abandon the seaplane after recovering the pilot, a new warship appeared in front of the Germans in the distance. ,
Moreover, the captain of U289 determined that judging from the appearance of the ship, it was definitely not any Japanese ship mentioned in previous intelligence.
"This ship is slender, so it is unlikely to be a civilian ship. There seem to be many seaplanes on it? This should be a seaplane carrier! Oh my God! The Japanese have assigned an additional seaplane carrier to this fleet. Ship!" After enlarging the imaging magnification of the periscope and clearly seeing the row of water above the battleship getting onto the plane, the captain of submarine U289 exclaimed.
The Japanese are not going to throw away a seaplane that costs thousands of pounds apiece! The small destroyer could not recover the aircraft at all, so after the destroyer rescued the people first, the personnel checked that the aircraft was still worthy of recovery, and then asked the seaplane carrier Takachiho to come over and prepare to take the aircraft with it. However, after the Japanese fleet withdrew, and after confirming that there was no danger around, the U289 submarine surfaced, turned on its antenna, and under the cover of night, used a new communication frequency to send a message to the main fleet.
"Now, things are getting more and more interesting. We have to change the order of our first wave of attacks." It was during dinner when the intelligence was received, so the top German fleet officials, who did not care to finish their meal, met again, except for the original In addition to the four battleships, there is also a seaplane carrier. This is not just a matter of having one more small boat. This seaplane carrier directly improves the Japanese fleet's reconnaissance capabilities by two levels! More trouble than one more light cruiser!
"The order of the first wave of attack targets will be adjusted. The seaplane carrier will be attacked first. Although it is equipped with seaplanes, it can still put pressure on our bomber formation. In addition, the J-3S we use as a guest bomber is Aren't you going to give up the bombing mission to deal with the Japanese seaplanes?" Redl asked.
"Four J-3S fighter jets can completely solve this problem. It can even be solved with reconnaissance aircraft. Our attack group allocation could have remained unchanged, but because of the addition of an additional battleship, the surplus of the USS Constellation aircraft carrier There may be problems, and the reconnaissance aspect may have to be left to the battleship force." Rodhart thought for a while and said.
"You handle the attack, and leave the reconnaissance to me." Count Suchon said. The two fast battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau carried a total of 10 seaplanes, 2 of which were Parts are in reserve. In addition, there is a camouflaged cruiser accompanying the fleet, which is also equipped with 4 seaplanes. A total of 14 seaplanes are dispatched at one time. As long as the luck is not particularly unlucky, the location of the Japanese fleet can be found. After all, Now the German fleet already knows the approximate location of the Japanese fleet. The night lasts for about 8 hours. At the speed of the fleet, it would be good to go 80 nautical miles. The fleet controls the course and speed, and should be able to close some distance overnight.
"Tomorrow my Gneisenau will get close to the Japanese fleet. If in the end, the carrier-based aircraft cannot independently deal with the Katori battleship, I can send it on its way." Redl said.
"Okay, no problem." Su Xiong nodded, quite satisfied with the plan.
"By the way, there is one question I have always wanted to confirm, and that is, can Japanese seaplanes carry weapons?" said Lieutenant Colonel Kimmel, who had been silent.
"It would be too bad if they could carry bombs or even torpedoes." The lieutenant colonel rubbed his nose and said. After all, the earliest carrier-based attack aircraft were seaplanes. Historically, the French had done this in 1914, so, In this era of World War I, seaplane carriers cannot be underestimated!
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