Chapter 399: Sea Battle VII

"Admiral, radar detected an unknown group of aircraft, flying from the northeast, it should be P-39!"

In the command tower of the "Warspite", the radar officer's report made everyone feel relieved. The "Sea Spitfire" on the "Eagle" was either shot down or crashed into the sea due to exhaustion of fuel. Therefore, the "Warspite" did not have air cover when fighting against the second assault wave of enemy aircraft, so it suffered heavy losses. Now with the cover of P-36, the fleet seems to be able to be preserved.

"Admiral, three squadrons of P-36 are here!" Soon there was another report from the fleet's communications staff, "They are coming from Crete and can provide us with 90 minutes of direct cover."

"Very good!" Admiral Cunningham forced a smile, "Now approach Crete, tell Vice Admiral Somerville to repair as soon as possible, and try to increase the speed to more than 15 knots before dark... We can't lose the "Rodney" now."

Now Cunningham has some regrets. Losing the "Eagle", "Lorraine" and "Sovereign" in this battle today was all in his calculations. Since he was going to break into the combat circle of the German shore-based aviation, he had to be prepared to bear some losses. However, it was beyond his expectation that a super battleship as powerful as the Rodney was also severely damaged by the aircraft.

Although the Rodney was still able to float on the sea with its strong armor and good anti-sinking design. But after the battle, the battleship had to spend several months for overhaul. This means that the Rodney will not be able to participate in the war for several months... For the current Mediterranean battlefield, this is almost the same as sinking it.

However, Cunningham cannot give up the Rodney now. Because the Rodney is still a bait with strategic value. As long as it slowly goes to Crete, the Italians will definitely not give up the opportunity to sink it.

Because after losing the Sovereign and Lorraine, the number of battleships in the Mediterranean Fleet is the same as that of the Italian Fleet. If the most powerful Rodney is lost again, the balance of power in the Mediterranean will change dramatically. With the huge power of two "Veneto" class ships, the Italian Navy will overwhelm the British Mediterranean Fleet, which only has 5 battleships left, and become the overlord of the Mediterranean!

"Admiral, the "Sovereign" is going to sink!" Major General Crutchley's voice suddenly sounded, interrupting Cunningham's thoughts, "It is being besieged by the He-115!"

It turned out that the P-39 aircraft flying from Crete were desperately covering the "Rodney" at this time, and the "Sovereign", which was burned and lost power, was left to the He-115 to clean up. In just a few minutes, 24 He-115s dropped torpedoes on the "Sovereign", 8 of which hit. The battleship of more than 30,000 tons was immediately lost and sank in the Mediterranean. Only less than 40 of the 940 crew members on board were rescued.

"We have lost the "Sovereign"!" Major General Crutchley's voice was almost crying. 2 battleships and the "Eagle" aircraft carrier have sunk! The battleship Rodney was also half dead... This battle was going to be lost!

"It doesn't matter," Cunningham forced a smile, "We haven't lost yet, because the Italian fleet has been dispatched... Fleet B will soon be able to avenge the Eagle, the Sovereign and the Lorraine."

At this time, fierce air battles broke out again near the British Mediterranean Fleet. This was the first battle between the P-39 "Flying Snake" and the Fokker Zero. The number of P39s was larger, with 3 squadrons totaling 48 aircraft, while the Fokker Zero had only 16.

The P39, which had an advantage in number, did not realize that its performance was inferior to others. All British pilots who flew this aircraft praised its excellent low-altitude performance and believed that it was an aircraft that could compete with the Fokker Zero.

Therefore, after the engagement, the P39 fleet did not immediately use its overwhelming numerical advantage, but used 24 P39s to deal with 16 Fokker Zeros, and then used the remaining 24 P39s to drive away the He-115s carrying torpedoes, forcing most of the He-115s to abandon their torpedoes and escape, and shot down 12 of them.

However, while these P3115s were fighting the Fokker Zeros, the 24 P39s that were fighting the Fokker Zeros found that they seemed to have met their nemesis. Although the P39s were very flexible at low and medium altitudes, they happened to encounter the Fokker Zeros that could dominate at low and medium altitudes. The P39s' medium and high altitude performance was not good enough, and their climbing speed was slow. It was impossible for them to deal with the Fokker Zeros by pulling up and diving like the Seafire. As a result, in less than 10 minutes, 10 of the 24 P39s were shot down, while the Fokker Zeros suffered no losses.

Cunningham, who witnessed the air battle in the command tower of the battleship "Warspite", looked a little blue. These P39s were his trump card, but he didn't expect them to be so useless!

"Admiral," Major General Crutchley said in a hoarse voice, "The P39 and Blenheim on Crete..."

"According to the original plan, let them launch the attack first to consume the carrier-based aircraft of the Italian aircraft carrier..." Cunningham frowned, "We must sink two Italian aircraft carriers today, at all costs... Otherwise we will lose the Mediterranean within a month!"

Without aircraft carriers, even if the Italian fleet has an advantage in battleships, it will never dare to leave the protection circle of shore-based aircraft. The British can use the shore-based aviation on Crete and the two aircraft carriers to block the Italian Navy's eastward advance.

Of course, the premise is that there must be a long-range fighter that can fight against the Fokker Zero...

…

"Marshal, the third assault wave did not achieve the expected results."

At the Villa Medici, Hessmann also received a report on the results of the third assault wave. Hans Jeshunek frowned and said to Hessmann: "They encountered a fighter jet that they had never seen before. 12 He-115s were shot down. But this fighter is no match for the Fokker Zero. , 10 were shot down, and none of the Fokker Zeros were lost.”

"New fighter jets? Where did they come from?"

"Maybe it was Crete," Hans Jeshunek said, "or maybe it took off from an aircraft carrier."

He thought for a while and then said: "If it comes from Crete, the maximum range of this kind of aircraft should be more than 1,500 kilometers. Otherwise, it will take off from an aircraft carrier..."

1500 kilometers range?

Hersman thought for a while and said: "It may be Fairey's Fulmar carrier-based fighter jet. Intelligence shows that this aircraft may have a range of more than 1,200 kilometers."

Hersman did not think of the American P39, but thought of the British "fulmar". After all, he was at war with Britain.

"It seems to be this kind of aircraft," Jeshunek said. "In this case... the two aircraft carriers may be lurking 400 kilometers northeast of the British main fleet, so our Fw-200C did not detect them."

Hersman also agreed with Jeshunek's analysis, so he asked: "Is there an Fw-200C that I can search for?"

"There are two." Jeshunek said, "The Eagle aircraft carrier can send eight Fokker Zeros to escort, so that they can search the waters south of Crete."

"Okay, that's it."

"In addition, the upcoming 5th and 6th assault waves should be cancelled." Jeshunek also suggested, "If an aircraft carrier is discovered, we need these aircraft to bomb. And the 5th attack wave does not have fighter escort. If it encounters the British The human 'Flannel' fighter is in trouble."

Now the fourth assault wave is actually the aircraft that returned from the first assault wave. They have already set off again, so they will not be recalled. However, Jeshunek felt that it was not safe for the 5th assault wave (originally planned to be escorted by Fw-190) without aircraft escort. So it was recommended to cancel it, and by the way, cancel the 6th assault wave in order to prepare for the attack on the British aircraft carrier.

"It can be cancelled." Hessmann, who had been fighting a good fight for a long time, also became confused like Jeshunek. Canceling two waves of attacks, especially the cancellation of the fifth wave consisting of 5 squadrons of Ju88s and 8 squadrons of S.M.79s, is almost equivalent to letting a British battleship go!

Otherwise, the fifth wave of attacks will sink at least one more battleship, and may also directly sink the half-lived "Rodney".

However, Hessmann and Jeshunek also had their own difficulties. After all, the priority of sinking the British aircraft carrier was the first. Now the British battleship force has been severely damaged. If the British aircraft carrier can be sunk again, then the overall situation in the Mediterranean will be settled.

While the two navy laymen were conducting blindly (actually commanding according to the "Iron Hammer" plan), Admiral Caffignari of the Italian Navy was using telegrams to communicate with Admiral Compioni, who was commanding the fleet. Finalize the tactics for tonight's battle.

Because Admiral Kavniari has determined that the British fleet was staggered by plane bombs, there should be many half-dead battleships. If they were allowed to escape back to Egypt, they might be repaired in a few months and look good again.

Therefore, General Kavniari proposed the method of fighting a "chaotic war" in the telegram. The so-called "chaos" can also be understood as a melee. It is not a majestic formation with battle lines, but a chaotic battle.

It would definitely be of no benefit to the Italian fleet to fight like this during the day and under normal circumstances. But the current situation is that the British fleet is full of wounded soldiers. If a line battle is conducted, it is very likely that the battleships that have suffered trauma will escape under the cover of the battleships in good condition, so it is more advantageous to choose a chaotic battle.