Chapter 1,684 Before Dawn

Chapter 1684 Before Dawn

"Even if there are weapons, they can only be small bombs. According to our actual combat experience, small bombs have no effect on battleships." Redel said nonchalantly. Isn't it just a bomb dropped from the plane? The German fleet said that it had seen too much. In most battles, it had withstood the test of bombs and torpedoes dropped by various aircraft. It had tried almost all the bombs that British aircraft could now carry... Whether it is masturbating or being beaten by an airplane, the experience is a rich one!

"I mean, they may pose a threat to my USS Constellation aircraft carrier..." Kimmel said with some embarrassment, but as the top commander of the US Navy in this operation, as the ship of the USS Constellation aircraft carrier Chief, in line with the principle of thinking about the lives of hundreds of Americans on board, he still said the remaining words.

"Although the Constellation is a battleship modified with a light cruiser hull, due to the addition of a hangar and flight deck, the original center of gravity was lowered. In order to ensure seaworthiness, the battleship's defense was reduced to a minimum. The original The protection has been almost completely withdrawn, and we don’t even have good protection for the ammunition depot. Major General Rodhart knows very well that the front of the hangar is where ammunition and aviation fuel are stored, and the roof of the hangar is made of thin steel plates and teak boards. The laid out runway….”

Kimmel then gestured with his hands and continued: "Then look at the huge elevator on the flight deck. If a bomb falls on the elevator, destroying the elevator is a trivial matter, but if a fire occurs, it will directly burn the aircraft. depot, where we add fuel and ammunition..."

"Holy shit! Isn't it?!" If Ruprecht were here, he would definitely feel a little dizzy. American aircraft carriers were generally prepared on the flight deck during World War II, right? After the Second World War, it was said that if you want to load oil bombs in the hangar, you need to get the captain's personal permission. Preparing in the hangar is generally a matter for the Japanese Navy, right?

"Damn it, why don't you load these flammable and explosive things on the deck?" Su Xiong said with some dissatisfaction.

"Sorry, time is very tight. It is impossible to build the superstructure of an aircraft carrier in such a short period of time. Just look at the construction cycle of our aircraft carrier at Kiel Naval Base. Got it." Major General Rodhart said something fair for the Americans this time.

"That would require rearranging a transportation channel, which is very troublesome. Moreover, we didn't expect to encounter what happened today." Kimmel said nonchalantly.

"How about halving the number of attack aircraft in the second round of attacks?" Reidel suggested.

"That was a battleship. Although the Gneisenau had a last-ditch attack, it was not in line with our goal of testing the combat effectiveness of the attack aircraft." Rodhart was still very stubborn at this time. This is what it means to have both the fish and the bear's paw in your hands.

"The opponent's seaplanes were not many in number. After discovering the target, the flagship quickly recovered the previously released seaplanes, and then relied on the five seaplanes on the Scharnhorst and the other four on the auxiliary cruiser. It's enough to deal with them, and it's even possible to throw away the landing float directly after takeoff," Rodhart said.

"Very good, let's do it." Diaosi don't understand the world of rich people. The British and Germans' arrogance of throwing things away regardless of whether it is useful or not is something that the Japanese will never learn from! As for the combat effectiveness of an aircraft that throws away its floats? Of course it’s NB! Think about it, it was originally modified from a fighter jet, and the extra load was simply thrown away. Even the landing gear was omitted because recycling was not considered. You know, the landing gear of the aircraft at the end of this year cannot be retracted. It is a huge problem in itself. resistance! Coupled with the weight reduction, the flight performance will be improved to a certain extent!

After several people calculated it together and made a detailed plan, they were ready to go back to their respective homes. It was still some time before dawn. During this period, the only thing they could do was to wait. An hour later, Gneisenau The ship left the other battleships and acted as the forward alone, sailing along the course of the Japanese transport fleet that the Germans deduced based on intelligence. At the same time, they were waiting for news from the submarines and camouflaged cruisers ahead responsible for the reconnaissance mission.

"You're lucky this time!" Looking at the lights on the sea in the distance, the captain of the U289 submarine, which was sailing on the surface, put down the periscope in his hand with great satisfaction. This submarine's luck is very good, at least so far. After discovering the Japanese's damaged seaplane and then eyeing the Japanese fleet, it maintained contact with the Japanese fleet under the cover of night. The distance has always been between 12 and 6 kilometers. And communicate with the headquarters via radio from time to time.

The personnel efficiency of this Japanese fleet is indeed not very high. They cannot achieve complete light control. Therefore, after a period of search, the German submarine followed its opponent closely. However, just before dawn 4 Within an hour, a sudden heavy rain interrupted the tracking, causing a sudden change in the originally smooth battle.

"The Japanese fleet sailed into the thunderstorm area and temporarily lost its target." A staff officer reported to Count Su Xiong.

"Will it affect the attack during the day tomorrow?" the count said with a slight frown.

"It will definitely be sunny after 8 o'clock tomorrow morning. The only problem is that we have to search for the target again." Another officer said.

"Okay, let the Gneisenau get closer. As soon as day breaks, let Redl release the first wave of reconnaissance planes, and then we will supplement the second wave of reconnaissance." Su Xiong nodded, and all he can do now is Once it's done, I'm waiting for the results tomorrow morning.

Because of Prince Ruprecht, the aerial reconnaissance methods of this era are very close to those of World War II. First, the commander will select a dangerous area, and then divide the area into several smaller sectors. Each sector covers a certain angle. Each sector deploys a reconnaissance aircraft. The reconnaissance aircraft follows the arc of this sector. Fly around the boundary. Of course, reconnaissance in this era cannot directly fly 300 kilometers away like World War II. But under the current circumstances, the detection distance of 150 kilometers can still ensure that there are no omissions.

The staff divided the area where the Japanese fleet was likely to appear tomorrow morning into two areas. Redel's seaplanes scouted the area near the west, while Su Xiong's main fleet looked for the area to the east.

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