Chapter 404: Sea Battle XII

January 16, 1941, 1:30, Mediterranean Sea.

Italian battle fleet, flagship, battleship "Veneto".

The stars in the sky reflected into the sea, and the bright moonlight shone on the giant battleship of more than 40,000 tons. However, there was no light shining through the battleship itself, and it vaguely looked like an island plowing through the waves in the night.

In the bridge, Admiral Compioni was holding the battle report he had just received, his eyes wide.

The battle report only contains two short lines:

The aircraft carrier "Eagle", the aircraft carrier "Sparrowhawk", and the heavy cruiser "Zara" were sunk in battle!

The "Aircraft Carrier Fleet" headquarters has moved to the heavy cruiser "Pola", and the entire fleet is currently retreating to the Port of Taranto.

Now Italy has no aircraft carrier! The corner of Admiral Compioni's mouth twitched. What had been a victory seemed to be turning into a draw - the British lost one aircraft carrier and two battleships, while the Italians lost all two aircraft carriers!

If Italy still had an aircraft carrier, today's battle would be considered a great victory. After all, a "Nelson" class ship and another British battleship were severely damaged and would need repairs for at least several months, and the landing in Malta was also very smooth.

In the next three months, the British Mediterranean Fleet can use at most four battleships, and none of them can compare with the "Veneto" class, and it has also lost Malta, a stronghold that can monitor the Italian fleet. As long as Italy still has one aircraft carrier, the fleet can advance along the North African coast and seek another fleet decisive battle near Tubruk, which was occupied by the British (Tubruk is now the British supply port for the attack on Benghazi).

With 2 "Veneto" class ships and 4 heavily modified old battleships, the Italian Navy is guaranteed to win in the fleet battle. As long as the sea control is gained...with or without the help of the Germans, Italy can seize North Africa and then march into the Middle East!

This is the true revival of the Roman Empire! The Roman Empire had to be conquered by the Romans themselves and with the help of the Germans. That was the Holy Roman Empire...

But now both aircraft carriers were sunk, and the air power with German aircraft as the main force showed its prowess again, destroying two enemy battleships and one aircraft carrier, and also shot down at least 300 aircraft!

Under this situation, if the Italians still want to continue the war, there is only one way - then hug the Germans tightly and beg them to send more Fokker Zeros, Ju88s and armored divisions to the Mediterranean battlefield. Use shore-based aircraft instead of carrier-based aircraft to protect the transportation lines from Italy to Benghazi and Italy to Tubruk, and at the same time use armored forces to crush them all the way along the North African coastline to Alexandria and the Suez Canal.

In this process, the Italian army, including the navy, could only attack the Germans, and under any circumstances they would not be able to defeat a Roman Empire...

Just when Admiral Compioni felt bleak about the prospects for the great revival of the Roman Empire, the sound of rapid footsteps came from behind.

"Admiral, the radar has detected the target, which is less than 20 kilometers away from us and is moving slowly!"

This news suddenly made the air in the bridge tense. Admiral Compioni quickly asked: "How many ships are there? Have the artillery formation been ruled out?"

"Only 4-5 ships have been discovered so far. According to radar signal analysis, they have not set up a bombardment formation, but are moving eastward at a speed of about 5 knots."

"4-5 ships? Only about 5 knots?"

Admiral Compioni was stunned, "The main force of the British fleet abandoned the severely damaged warship and ran away first?"

"That's right?" Major General Baroni frowned and said, "They should have disbanded the formation."

"But what about the Nelson-class ship?" Admiral Compioni said, "Have the British repaired it?"

It is possible for other ships to be abandoned, but it is impossible for this "Nelson" class battleship to be abandoned. Because this battleship is the only British battleship in the Mediterranean that can fight against the two "Veneto" class battleships. Even if the boat is paralyzed, it is a huge threat as long as it can float on the water.

If this ship is lost, unless another Nelson-class or King George V-class is obtained from the mainland, the British Mediterranean Fleet's "Queen Elizabeth" and "Revenge" classes will have no choice but to circle Italy. The fleet is gone.

"Maybe it's a trap," Major General Baroni said. "The search distance of the maritime beat radar is only twenty or thirty kilometers, and the British fleet may be lurking further away."

"Hmph!" Admiral Compioni snorted coldly, "This couldn't be better, just take advantage of tonight to destroy a few British battleships!

Order each team to prepare, launch a charge in 10 minutes, and then fire within 10,000 meters of the target! "

…

On the battleship "Warspite", Admiral Cunningham was also in a daze holding a battle report. This battle report lists the losses of various squadrons of the British Air Force and Naval Aviation that participated in the war.

The loss is terrible!

298 fighter planes were shot down or missing (the previous article said more than 400, even if the British troops were dispatched, there were not that many)! This is not the scariest thing. If there are no more planes, we can build them or "rent them" to our American friends. What was really terrible was the loss of crew members, because the air battle mainly took place at sea, and some of the fierce fighting also took place over the Italian fleet. Therefore, it is very difficult to rescue the downed pilot... According to statistics, 648 crew members (including pilots, navigators, machine gunners, bombardiers, etc.) are missing or confirmed dead!

This also includes at least 84 carrier-based aircraft pilots - the carrier-based aircraft groups that took off from the Glorious and Ark Royal aircraft carriers were completely wiped out! Although the two Italian aircraft carriers were successfully sunk, the price was too heavy.

These are all carrier-based aircraft pilots! They are elite pilots who have been carefully selected from the entire Royal Air Force and Royal Naval Air Force and then strictly trained. It is not so easy to replenish them.

In the previous Battle of the Azores (fighting the Scharnhorst) and the Battle of Calabria, British carrier-based aircraft pilots had suffered heavy losses. This time, more than 100 were lost (the Eagle's carrier-based aircraft pilots also lost 16 people). Although the Mediterranean Fleet now has two aircraft carriers, there are only 30 carrier-based aircraft pilots left, and they are all Spitfire fighter pilots...

"Admiral, the radar has detected the enemy fleet!" Major General Crutchley suddenly shouted, breaking the suffocating depression in the command tower of the "Warspite".

Cunningham also cheered up. In this naval battle, the Mediterranean Fleet has lost so far. The "Royalty", "Lorraine" and "Eagle" were sunk, the "Rodney" and "Resolution" were severely damaged, and so many aircraft and pilots were lost.

The advantage in the Mediterranean has actually belonged to Germany and Italy. If the pursuing Italian fleet cannot be repelled before dark, then the "Rodney" and "Resolution" will also be lost.

In this way, the Mediterranean Fleet will use four battleships and an aircraft carrier plus more than 400 aircraft to exchange for the two aircraft carriers of the Italians.

This is a huge loss!

"Prepare for battle!" Cunningham took a breath, a cold light flashed in his eyes, "We must teach the Italians a lesson they will never forget! We must scare them!"

...

"Boom boom..."

With two dull roars, two flares slowly fell from the sky, emitting dazzling light like two small suns, illuminating a huge battleship on the sea. Under the white light, you can clearly see the two formidable turrets of the tall masts of the battleship, and the four black muzzles are pointing to the sea in the west.

"It's a battleship!" A surprised voice sounded in the command tower of the "Veneto" battleship.

"It's the Revenge class!" Soon someone recognized the ship type. This is a "Revenge" class battleship, although it is at the bottom of the British Royal Navy's battleship force. But the 8 15-inch main guns and 30,000 tons of displacement still make them a formidable and powerful weapon.

"Fire!"

With Admiral Compionni's order, the main gun on the bow of the "Veneto" battleship roared. Almost at the same time, the main guns on the bows of the other five Italian battleships that were advancing in parallel with the "Veneto" also fired one after another. Shells rained down around the "Revenge" class battleship, which was only 10,000 meters away. Just two rounds of bow salvos fired cross-fires, and huge water columns rose around the battleship.

"Boom, boom..."

Suddenly, a series of muzzle flames flashed in the darkness. These were the flares fired by the "Revenge" class battleship. Then, several dazzling balls of light lit up from behind the two "Veneto" class battleships that were advancing side by side, covering the two huge Italian battleships in a dazzling light.

"It's two 'Veneto' class battleships! They are the targets! Prepare to fire..."

About 5,000 meters east of the "Revenge" class battleship "Resolution", British Vice Admiral Somerville shouted loudly in the command tower of his "Rodney" battleship.

His battleship, which could not turn the light, was facing west on the port side at this time, and all 9 16-inch main guns were aimed at the west.

Less than 8,000 meters behind the "Rodney", there were 4 "Queen Elizabeth" class battleships that formed a column and sailed westward quickly!

This was the trap carefully set by Cunningham. He used the "Resolution" battleship and several injured cruisers and destroyers to lure the Italian battleships to approach and fire, and then find the two "Veneto" class battleships based on the muzzle flames, and then concentrate firepower to sink the two or one of them!

As long as one "Veneto" class is sunk, the Mediterranean Fleet can reverse the current unfavorable situation.