Chapter 282 The Wind Rises in the Atlantic Ocean VII

October 12, 1939, 6 am, Iceland time.

In the Atlantic Ocean 400-700 nautical miles south of Iceland, there are 6 fleets/fleet distributed from northeast to southwest. The one closest to Iceland in the northeast is the F fleet, which has the battlecruiser "Reputation" as its flagship, the battleship "Royal" and the aircraft carrier "Argus". About 100 nautical miles southwest of the F fleet is the G fleet, which has the battlecruiser "Hood" as its flagship and the aircraft carrier "Royal Ark".

And about 300 nautical miles west of the island of Ireland is the I fleet, which has the battleship "Revenge" as its flagship and the battleship "Resolution". Less than 70 nautical miles west of the I fleet is the AB-1 escort fleet consisting of more than 80 transport ships and 12 escort ships.

Less than 80 nautical miles southwest of the AB-1 convoy, the German commerce-breaking fleet consisting of the "Scharnhorst", "Seydlitz" and the newly arrived "Leipzig" was cruising.

About 180 nautical miles due south of the AB-1 convoy, the British H Fleet, with the two battleships "Barham" and "Malaya" and the aircraft carrier "Eagle" as its core, was sailing.

This was undoubtedly a naval battle with a huge disparity in power, at least in terms of the number of ships. The number of ships on the German side was only a pitiful 3, while the number of ships on the British side was more than 200!

With such a huge disparity in power, if it were in the last war, the outcome would have been almost undecided. However, with the rapid advancement of internal combustion engine technology in the past 20 years, the mode of naval warfare, like land warfare, has undergone revolutionary progress.

At 6 o'clock, the two parties participating in the battle did not know the specific location of each other, or even whether the other party existed. So today's confrontation started with a search - using various carrier-based aircraft to search!

The main aircraft sent by the British side were: Swordfish torpedo bombers - each aircraft carrier sent 3, and the three aircraft carriers sent a total of 9 Swordfish; Walrus seaplanes - each British battleship/battlecruiser sent at least 2 seaplanes, each heavy cruiser and some light cruisers also sent 1 seaplane, 8 battleships/battlecruisers sent a total of 16 Walrus, and 7 heavy cruisers and 4 larger light cruisers also sent 11 Walrus seaplanes.

Therefore, at the beginning of the battle, the total number of aircraft sent by the British to search was as high as 36 (9 Swordfish, 27 Walrus).

The three warships on the German side released 9 Type 99 and 4 Ar-196 (one of which belonged to the Leipzig light cruiser), with a total of only 13 reconnaissance aircraft.

13 to 36 is of course an absolute disadvantage!

Moreover, the weather was quite clear now, with no clouds to hide in. Therefore, it was very difficult for the "Scharnhorst", "Seydlitz" and "Leipzig" to hide their tracks on the sea.

At 6:45, the sound of the air defense alarm sounded on the "Scharnhorst".

"Lieutenant General, it's a seaplane!"

The communications staff on the "Scharnhorst" held the telephone receiver in his hand and reported loudly: "Four Fokker Zeros have bitten it!"

The Fokker Zeros that were responsible for the direct cover mission and the radar on the "Scharnhorst" almost simultaneously discovered the invading "Walrus" seaplane.

"Are you sure it's a seaplane?" Major General Lefman asked, and after getting a positive answer, he said to Lieutenant General Marshal, "It should be the 'Walrus', its speed is very slow, and it can only fly about 200 kilometers per hour. It is now 6:45, and the time it took for the plane to be ejected should be less than 1 hour..."

"The enemy is within 100 nautical miles?" Marshal interrupted Lefman. The atmosphere in the entire command tower suddenly became tense!

There is a large British warship that can carry the "Walrus" within 100 nautical miles!

At this time, the communications staff reported again: "Lieutenant General, the "Sedlitz" reported that the Fokker Zero plane shot it down."

The combat effectiveness of the Fokker Zero is indeed outstanding!

Everyone just breathed a sigh of relief, and the voice of the communications staff rang again: "We also monitored an unknown radio signal."

Damn it!

Marshal and Reifman looked at each other. The "Walrus" had sent a telegram and their position had been exposed.

"Lieutenant General," the communications staff received a new message at this time, "The British escort fleet was discovered!" His tone was full of surprise, "Just 90-100 nautical miles west of us, heading east, the coordinates are..."

Marshal and Reifman walked to the chart table in a few steps. The navigation staff had already marked the approximate location of the British escort fleet on the chart at this time-they were the AB-1 escort fleet. The one who just discovered the German fleet was the heavy cruiser "London", the flagship of AB-1.

"When the reconnaissance plane has found something, immediately recall all Fokker 99s, add bombs, and let them attack!" Major General Leifman immediately made a suggestion. "Because we are chasing at a speed of 30 knots, it will take at least 3-4 hours to catch up. If we want to achieve results, we must send planes to bomb!"

The efficiency of aircraft carriers in disrupting commerce is high here!

Similarly, the role of carrier-based aircraft/seaplanes in escort is also undoubtedly reflected. If the German commerce disruption fleet did not have an aircraft carrier, even if the Ar-196 seaplane discovered AB-1, there would be no way to achieve significant results.

Because the distance between the two sides was still 90-100 nautical miles, the "Scharnhorst" had to run for three hours before it had a chance to fire, and the opponent was likely to disband the formation and flee. By then, the "Scharnhorst" would be able to capture at most one or two merchant ships, and its efficiency would be limited compared to that of a submarine.

But with Fokker 99 carrier-based bombers, even if there are only 9, at least four or five ships can be easily damaged.

"But the British aircraft carrier may also be somewhere nearby." Lieutenant General Machar hesitated.

"Lieutenant General, we have 20 Fokker Zeros. Are we afraid that we can't deal with the British biplanes?" Major General Leifman said. He knew that his proposal was very risky, but if he wanted to achieve results, he couldn't do it without taking risks.

Besides, the anti-aircraft firepower provided by 20 Fokker Zeros should be powerful enough. Now we just need to be careful not to let the British battleships get close.

"Okay, that's it!" Lieutenant General Machar nodded, "Give the order to Major General Haye."

He paused, and then said, "We will now turn around and head south, at full speed, 30 knots. After all the Fokker 99s come back, we will slow down and take back the aircraft. After the nine Fokker 99s attack again, we will turn around and head east. Go around to the south of those British freighters. During the day, we will continue to use nine Fokker 99s to bomb, and at night we will use the 'Scharnhorst' to sink the injured ship."

…

"Admiral, we found them!"

In the command tower of the "Revenge" battleship, the atmosphere suddenly became tense.

"A battleship, an aircraft carrier, a cruiser!" the communications staff shouted.

"We got them!" Major General Phillips almost cheered. "They're almost in the middle of our four squadrons!"

"The news is correct, right?" Forbes said. "Did the seaplane lose contact?"

"Contact was lost, and it may have been shot down by a Fokker Zero." Major General Phillips said, "But other 'Walrus' have already flown by, and I believe the position of the German fleet will be confirmed soon."

Just when Admiral Forbes frowned and hesitated, the fleet communications staff shouted again: "AB-1 reported that they found an unidentified seaplane!"

This should be the German Ar-196! Everyone is thinking: This is almost confirming the discovery of the German fleet!

Rear Admiral Phillips immediately suggested to Admiral Forbes, "Let the aircraft carrier send the 'Big Europe' and the 'Swordfish'! Send it now!"

General Charles Forbes also shouted in his heart: "God bless!"

My luck is so good this time! It seems that the shame of the "Battle of Scapa Flow" can be washed away.

"Okay, send the coordinates of the Germans to Fleet F, Fleet G and Fleet H, and ask them to send out torpedo bombers and dive bombers immediately!" Charles Forbes ordered loudly, "Our I Fleet must also take action to fight AB- 1 Join forces and move closer to AB-1 at full speed!"

AB-1 is composed of 86 transport ships, with a total tonnage of more than 630,000 tons, and those transport ships also carry a lot of raw materials that Britain urgently needs, but the "Scharnhorst" cannot be sunk. .

…

"Garand detachment, Garand detachment, I am 'Sedlitz'." At 7:55, Adolf Garand was flying a Fokker Zero in the sky, and the sound came from the earphones The voice of Aviation Staff Lieutenant Colonel Weiss appeared.

"The radar has detected an aircraft, right in front of you at 2 o'clock at an altitude of 3000. Go and see who it is?"

"Garland receives it!" Major Garland immediately replied, "Repeat it, Garland receives it." Then he adjusted the intercom to the frequency of the formation communication, "There is work to do! Come with me." !”

When he gently pushed the joystick and piloted the plane to search for the invading enemy, he suddenly thought in his heart: The enemy planes were coming one after another. It seemed that there must be a bloody battle going on today!

At this time, the voice of wingman Schumacher came from his earphone: "Major, I saw it, it is a 'Swordfish' aircraft... not a seaplane, it is a carrier-based aircraft! It seems that the British aircraft carrier is Nearby!"

Not necessarily that close, but certainly not far! Thinking of this, Garland said: "Cheer up, now we have to decide the outcome of the war!"