Comrade, your ingredients are too complicated.

Chapter 286 Cyclone!Lu Shuai visits the secondary battery
It is a matter of the safety of their own territorial waters and transport teams, and the British have rarely abandoned their sleepy style of doing things.

Three hours after Admiral John Tovey gave the order, a Spitfire belonging to the Coastal Defense Command plunged into the Lefjord wrapped in dense fog.

This fire-breathing model is just a Mark1, to be precise, a PR reconnaissance model with weapons and radios removed.

It was replaced with a blue-green Comtine paint that was more conducive to concealing its body in the air. Two aerial cameras with a focal length of five inches were installed where the original wing machine guns were.

In order to ensure that the reconnaissance plane can successfully capture the target, the designer also installed a heating device on the Spitfire PR to ensure that the low-temperature environment of the camera in the high altitude will not be frozen.

Looking at the coast shrouded in mist below, Lieutenant Colonel Rotheram kept the corners of his mouth tightly pursed, his expression unchanged for a long time.He lowered his height slowly, trying not to miss any hidden corner while ensuring his own safety.

According to the information provided by the headquarters, there are at least one Bismarck-class and one Admiral Hipper-class in Norway at this time.

Although the opponent hadn't fought against the Royal Air Force yet, the anti-aircraft firepower of battleships and cruisers would definitely not be bad. He didn't want to charge into the enemy's air defense circle inexplicably.

Hard work paid off, Lieutenant Colonel Rotheram tossed and tossed for half an hour along the coast of Norway, and finally found the target in the Grimstadt Fjord south of Bergen.

At the same time, the Bismarck's radar also showed an enemy plane that suddenly appeared like a ghost.

"The anti-aircraft battery is on full alert!"

"Don't let that reconnaissance plane leave! It will give away our whereabouts!"

Under the command of the deputy gunner, the anti-aircraft guns with suitable calibers fired at the same time, including two 105 anti-aircraft guns, five 37mm hand-held machines and eleven 20mm anti-aircraft guns.

The young non-staff officers stood beside the gun emplacements, eager to fight side by side with the veterans.

All of a sudden, the entire sky was filled with traces of tracer bullets and bursts of fragmented barrages. The battleship Bismarck showed the world its "amazing" anti-aircraft firepower for the first time.

But something happened that stunned the other party. The reconnaissance Spitfire was not shot down. Instead, it was like a nimble petrel shuttling through the hail of bullets.

After taking the photos required by his superiors, Lieutenant Colonel Rotheram manipulated the fighter plane to climb to a higher altitude without saying a word, and quickly left the battlefield by virtue of his mobility.

As a senior pilot who had participated in the British air battle, he glanced back at the battleship below with some doubts.

"What the hell?"

"Is this considered battleship-level anti-aircraft firepower?"

"I didn't expect that there would be unexpected gains in this mission. If Admiral Tovey knew that the German guy's rate of fire in the middle circle is so low, he would definitely jump up happily."

After watching the enemy's reconnaissance plane leave, the sailors on the battleship Bismarck reluctantly left their combat positions.Everyone got busy nervously, because they knew that their fleet was about to set sail again.

At the same time, a lieutenant-colonel officer entered Lütjens' command room.

"Your Excellency, this is the weather forecast for today and tomorrow. God is on our side. Half an hour later is the best time for the fleet to depart."

Lu Shuai took the information, scanned it with sharp eyes and said, "Go and call the captain."

After a while, Lindemann returned to the captain's command room.His expression was very solemn, obviously dissatisfied with the result of the battle just now.

As the former principal of the Kiel Naval Gunnery School, he was keenly aware that there was a major problem with the anti-aircraft firepower of the battleship Bismarck. Matching is that easy.

If the enemy sends an aircraft carrier to launch an attack from the air, the consequences will be absolutely disastrous.

"Here, here is the weather forecast. The next two days will be cyclones and thunderstorms, and it will be difficult for the enemy's reconnaissance planes to find us."

"I ask the fleet to leave here in the shortest possible time and set off for the Denmark Strait immediately. We have to hurry up and enter the Atlantic Ocean, only there is barely safe."

After hearing the order from his own commander, Lindemann quickly adjusted his state and replied: "Yes! Sir!"

In the next period of time, the battleship Bismarck entered the second level of combat readiness.

Except for the anti-aircraft gun crew, everyone else performed their duties and prepared to set sail, and the entire warship immediately became busy in an orderly manner.

The password was passed back and forth between the bridge and the front deck, and the signal squad also hurriedly sent a notification to the Prinz Eugen through the directional signal light.

The windlass began to turn, pulling up the wet anchor chain one by one.

Twelve high-pressure Wagner boilers are operating normally, driving the underwater propellers to rotate.The huge battleship gradually moved slowly, gradually disappearing into the thick fog.

······
Three hours later, a Spitfire reconnaissance plane successfully returned to the airfield with the British Coastal Defense Command.

Since the fighter plane is not equipped with a radio station that can communicate with the ground, Lieutenant Colonel Rotheram can only patiently verify his identity according to the method agreed in advance.

As soon as the reconnaissance plane landed, he couldn't wait to climb out of the cockpit.

Facing a group of officers who were eager to understand the situation, he could only dismantle the camera on the plane while shouting.

"The German fleet is in the Grimstadt Fjord, and there are three destroyers besides Bismarck and Prinz Eugen."

"Everyone, get out of the way! Hurry up and arrange a car to take me to see Commander Tovey! I have important information to report to him! I discovered a major flaw in the enemy fleet!"

The staff officers took the camera on the plane and left quickly. The next job was to take out the film, develop it, and enlarge it.

The news was quickly sent back to the headquarters of the local fleet, and the major general staff looked at the photo on the table and said with joy:

"We were lucky to see the enemy sail out of Sweden and now find it in Norway."

"Just now the pilot of the reconnaissance plane also reported the news about the opponent's air defense. It seems that the sea bombardment alone can make the battleship Bismarck overwhelmed."

Hearing his subordinate's words, John Tovey took off his hat and shook his head depressingly.

"Lucky? Check the weather forecast."

"The weather cyclone is approaching in the next two days, and the visual range of both the fleet and the air force will become worse."

"At that time, everything will be covered by rain and fog. The pilots will definitely not be able to find Bismarck and Prince Eugen. Don't say that we are lucky. It's really not very auspicious."

After confirming that the target of the enemy fleet was the Atlantic Ocean, the Commander of the British Home Fleet took Bergen as the center, and used a compass to delineate a circle with a radius of 25 nautical miles at a speed of [-] knots.

According to the past action trajectories of the three German navies, John Tovey judged that the opponent still has a high probability of going to the Denmark Strait.After carefully analyzing the chart, he made a final decision.

"Go and urge Hood and the Prince of Wales to form a fleet and set off as soon as possible."

"Our old aunts are shrews who can win wars, and little boys thrive in wars. Anyway, we're left with the old and the young at the moment."

"Those damned pirates should sink to the bottom of the sea to feed the fish."

It is not unreasonable to say that Hood is an aunt. After all, she was a battlecruiser designed and built by the Royal Navy at the end of World War I. It has a history of 25 years now.

As for the reason why the Prince of Wales is called a little boy, the battleship was only completed in March this year, and it officially joined the Royal Navy's battle order last month.

Many crew members are still training, and even the aiming device of the artillery has not been fully adjusted.

John Tovey would never have dispatched such a combination if it wasn't for covering all the entrances to the Atlantic Ocean.

Half an hour after the home fleet issued the order, Hood and the Prince of Wales slowly left Scapa Flow through the outer anti-submarine net.

The two sides started their respective operations at the same moment, the invader and the defender were about to meet.

The perspective returns to the Bismarck, and his voyage is relatively smooth at this time.

It's a pity that the entire sea area is full of enemies, and the three Z-drivers can only be forced to return because of the voyage, and there is no other partner who can fight side by side except Prince Eugen.

In the captain's room, Lütjens and Lindemann were chatting while smoking a cigar.

"Your Excellency, the fleet should be safe now."

"The enemy may think that we are still in the Grimstadt Fjord, and they will never have the exact news that we are going to sea. Even if they guess that we have set sail, they will not be able to guess which route we will take.

"But is it really necessary for us to take the long way around the Denmark Strait? The other shipping lanes are close and wide. If we divert now, we should be able to enter the Atlantic Ocean a day earlier."

Hearing his own captain's question, Lu Shuai began to answer it patiently.

According to the information the fleet received last time, most of the warships with the British mainland fleet are still squatting in the port.No matter how fast they were, it was impossible to reach the Denmark Strait in time.

Moreover, the current weather near Iceland is very bad, and the line of sight on the ship does not exceed two nautical miles, which can avoid the possibility of engaging the enemy as much as possible.

Even if you encounter an enemy, at most you will encounter one or two cruisers.

With the strength of Bismarck and Eugen, they can definitely solve each other in a short time.

"At this moment, I still insist on my order. Everyone must stick to their posts. Even if they are resting, they must stay where they are, and no one is allowed to leave their posts without authorization."

"When we control the oceans, Daiying will pray to us for peace."

······
Denmark Strait, Suffolk heavy patrol.

It was already evening, and the cyclone seemed to swallow the setting sun, and the entire warship was constantly rocking and heaving in the huge waves.

There are several lookouts around the bridge, wearing raincoats and holding binoculars, they carefully search the sea.

Suddenly, the broadcast system in the ship issued a sharp whistle, followed by the captain's voice of order:
"Crewmen, now start broadcasting news from the mainland. The German battleship Bismarck, accompanied by the cruiser Prinz Eugen, is approaching the Atlantic Ocean."

"Because of the weather, the air force is temporarily unable to conduct reconnaissance. We only know that the enemy is in the north of Iceland, and there is a high probability of approaching the Denmark Strait at a speed of 25 knots."

"Everyone's task is very simple. You only need to find them and report to the headquarters of the local fleet. Next, the whole ship will enter a state of radio silence. Please stick to your posts."

As soon as these words came out, most of the soldiers on the deck and superstructure changed their faces.

It was a battleship equipped with a [-]-inch caliber main gun, and if one was lucky, the opponent could even hit its own cruiser from a dozen nautical miles away.

Once fought, the enemy will definitely turn into a monster.

After hearing the captain's broadcast, the waiter put down the black tea in his hand and ordered:

"Send me double the watchmen, and then I and the deputy watch chief will personally lead the team! Before the enemy is found, the entire department will stick to their posts in two waves!"

"If anyone is not serious and responsible, it will bring life-threatening danger to all crew members."

Before the sailors could respond to their chief officer, the deputy chief of watch took several lookouts to the bridge, and they kept swaying in the howling wind.

But at this moment, someone seemed to see something.He squeezed his comrades away, held his breath and stared into the distance with the binoculars.There is a vague thing approaching rapidly.

"140 degrees to starboard! Found a warship!!"

The sound-breaking exclamation attracted the attention of all the watchmen, and more than a dozen pairs of binoculars looked towards the starboard side together.The outline of the target is getting closer and closer, and the two black and white camouflage warships look like ghost ships in the cyclone.

"140 degrees to starboard! Two warships!"

In the wheelhouse under the bridge, the helmsman was standing there steering the wheel.Suddenly, there was a brief, rapid command from the microphone above his head.

"Left full rudder!"

"quick!"

Although he didn't know what happened to the outside world, the helmsman turned the steering wheel instinctively, and the heavy cruiser Suffolk changed its course drastically.

At the same time, he saw the heavy cruiser Norfolk with its starboard rudder full.

Originally, two cruisers in a fleet were actually traveling at full speed in completely opposite directions at this moment. This is definitely a very outrageous thing.

Soon, the helmsman understood everything.

Because countless shells flew obliquely from behind, it looked like an angel spread its wings of light between Norfolk and Suffolk.

Judging from the splash of water near the hull, the enemy should be using 105 and 150 caliber shells, but the rate of fire is crazy fast.

"Boom boom boom!"

Several high-explosive bombs hit the superstructure, and four raging fires ignited on the entire hull.The damage control team rushed out carrying the water pipes, but failed to put out the fire for a while.

······
The perspective switched to the battleship Bismarck again.

Watching more and more secondary artillery hit the enemy ship, Lütjens took off the earphones on his head, and then rushed towards the deck.

The inexplicable behavior of his own boss made Captain Lindeman look confused.

"Your Excellency, Commander! What are you going to do? The battle is not over yet?"

"The command is temporarily handed over to you! I'm going to help the secondary battery move the shells! The current rate of fire is not fast enough!"

　Lu Shuai's use of the secondary artillery was purely for fun.

　　I found that everyone seems to have no interest in European naval battles, so I will send the Persian cat away tomorrow and return to Shanxi.

　　Luoyang and Anshan have to play in the naval battle.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)