Bismarck

Restraining the urge to smash the bomb into the British man's head, Rudel curled his lips in frustration and replied weakly, "I understand."

"Very good. Lieutenant Staufen and Lieutenant Rudel's two-plane team will stay here to monitor. Lieutenant Soren and I will go to a farther sea area to conduct further reconnaissance to see if there are other British fleets operating here."

As Hake spoke, he flew the plane towards the outer area. The pilot named Staufen shook the wing towards Rudel behind him, and then lowered the altitude towards the clouds below...

Rudel had no choice but to follow his leader in frustration.

He was very depressed and uttered a sentence while following along.

"cut…"

The mission of lurking and tracking was actually very dangerous, and also very boring and tedious. It was almost like playing a cat-and-mouse game with the British planes. When they came, Rudel would stay away or hide in the clouds. When the British left, they would go back to monitor. They remained vigilant at all times, like a hunter in a dense forest, quietly watching their prey.

..............................

As the sun rose higher, the British fleet on the distant sea gathered the strike group it had sent out before - the eighteen Fulmar fighters and eighty-four Skua dive bombers sent out by the three aircraft carriers before were a spiritual pollution, but now only four Fulmar fighters and thirty-seven Skua dive bombers flew back miserably.

"The fighter loss rate was 78%, the dive bomber loss rate was 56%, and a total of aircraft were lost... With such heavy casualties, you only sank four destroyers, seriously damaged a Hipper-class heavy cruiser, and damaged the flight deck of the Zeppelin?! I led you to prepare an ambush for such a long time, and three aircraft carriers were deployed at full strength, and in the end you gave me such a record?!"

Just as Bismarck and others had expected, the British fleet was now in "chaos", especially the command level.

Tovey threw several sheets of paper that were like reports and statistics of casualties and losses into the face of the carrier-based aircraft commander, along with flying spit and angry scolding.

Although the carrier-based aircraft commander wanted to say something, he could not even breathe in front of the fleet commander who was in the midst of a volcanic eruption.

In fact, it was useless to say anything. Could he say that the other fighter was too strong? No, because that would only mean that they were useless, and Tovey hated people who had excuses the most.

The only way out is to endure the commander's wrath - although I'll probably have to wash my face when I get back.

After Tovey had been cursing for quite a while, perhaps because he was tired of cursing and had lost his temper, and it was of no use anyway, he gradually calmed down.

He picked up a cup of black tea and took a sip. He frowned and thought for a while before speaking: "Arrange the fighter shifts for me later. Zeppelin is an armored aircraft carrier (the British don't know that Zeppelin's armor is in the dome armor layer). The counterattack will probably come soon. So no matter what, we must at least survive this wave!... I know our Fulmars cannot beat the BF109, but there are some things that need to be done!"

"Did you get it?!" In front of the roaring admiral, the carrier-based aircraft commander who had been hit in the face with report papers before had his face sprayed with saliva again.

"Aye aye sir!"

After all, he was a soldier, so the carrier-based aircraft commander still stood at attention and saluted neatly, then turned around and walked away, starting to deploy patrol arrangements to his men.

Although I don’t know if his heart was hurt by the saturation attack of the drooling head...

Tovey did not look at the carrier-based aircraft commander walking away. He and a group of staff were looking at the chart table, continuing to plan the next battle plan.

A staff officer gestured a few times and said, "...Even if Lütjens still has the ability to fight back, he is now sandwiched between us and the mainland. If he doesn't want his entire army to be wiped out, he is probably on his way out now."

"Well... judging from the coastline, if he wants to escape, he can only take a 120-degree route to the Netherlands, which is 300 nautical miles. If the fleet is sailing at 30 knots, he can arrive there in ten hours." Another aide lowered his head in thought for a few seconds, then raised his head to express his opinion.

"Well, that's probably it." Several other staff officers and aides nodded. After all, the speed of a fleet is different from the speed of a single ship.

The speed of the formation not only needs to take into account the speed of the slowest ship in the formation (the Hipper at 32 knots, and some destroyers whose speed has been reduced due to damage and water ingress in previous attacks), but also needs to take into account the necessary tactical maneuvers at this speed, and the retention of the necessary steam temperature and pressure reserves - especially for aircraft carriers that need to frequently retract and launch aircraft.

Therefore, the formation speed is generally three to five knots slower than the maximum speed. Therefore, the formation speed of thirty knots estimated by Tovey's staff is already a very abnormal speed.

"The fuel and wear monitoring status of Ark Royal, Fury, Hood and Renown has just been reported. They have one-third to 40% of their fuel left." Another staff officer walked in from the door. As he walked, he handed two telegrams to Tovey. "…As for the wear status, the engine departments of the four ships said that it is currently operating normally and no hidden faults have been found for the time being."

"Humph, of course. Which ship of our Royal Navy is not designed with the requirements of global expedition and continuous combat in mind?" Tovey took the telegram with a sneer, glanced at it casually, and handed it to his secretary without even turning his head, "Put it away and archive it!"

"Yes, General!"

Ignoring his secretary, Tovey continued to stare at the chart.

Although he is generally considered by the Royal Navy to be stubborn, even rigid and obstinate, this does not mean that Tovey has no passion for fighting. After all, he, Admiral John Tovey, has been serving since 1900 and has been fighting on the front line of the naval fleet. He is a practical officer who has grown up through countless arduous training and brutal actual combat!

In this respect, his experience is actually similar to that of Lütjens.

"It's useless even if their fleet maintains 200 knots. With our current position, as long as we sail due south, about kilometers away from the Dutch coastline, we can intercept them outside the combat radius of their air force fighters! -- Don't forget, our fleet's speed is also knots now! Not to mention that several of their ships are damaged, but none of us are injured!"

"That's all." Tovey began to give formal orders: "The fleet advances at full speed and heads 180 degrees due south!"

Under the command of the commander of the British fleet's carrier-based aircraft, another batch of Fulmar fighters were pushed onto the flight deck, and ground crew members climbed onto the planes and began to warm them up so that they could take off at any time.

At this time, the time was just after 7:30 in the morning Greenwich Mean Time.

................................................

"The course of these British people has changed... Now they are heading 180 degrees due south and traveling at knots... Telegraph operator, send a message to the mother ship." In the eyes of Stephen, who was monitoring the British fleet nearby, the huge British fleet on the sea was turning collectively, leaving one parallel white track after another on the vast blue sea.

The British fleet was heading directly in their direction after turning, so they had to change their reconnaissance position quickly. While directing the telegraph operator to send a message, Staufen shook the wing to prompt Rudel, who was following behind, to turn with him.

Behind him, Rudel followed him and turned, staring at his watch and muttering to himself.

"There are still two hours left... Can't this damn time pass faster..."

The only good thing was that they did not seem to be discovered by the British radar and patrol fighters during this hour...

.............................................

At the same time, in the C3I command room on the Zeppelin's bridge...

Before that, the German warships assembled and retreated to the southeast, while also searching and rescuing some sailors and pilots who fell into the water.

Now, the German fleet was speeding at a formation speed of 120 knots, heading degrees east-southeast, which is a direction parallel to this section of the British coastline, on the evacuation route.

Lütjens sat in the commander's seat, looking at the map board expressionlessly, but his slightly furrowed brows and slightly anxious eyes showed that even though he was a veteran of many battles, his mood was not as calm as he looked.

Because all the news I received was bad...

The only good news was that the Z5 Paul Jacob destroyer, which had been damaged and slowed down in the air raid, was only hit by a dud bomb that hit its chimney, blocking the flue. Thanks to the efforts of the brave sailors, the bomb has now been thrown into the sea, and the battleship's speed has returned to more than knots.

However, if you want to successfully break through, there are still many difficulties to overcome...

"Report! The reconnaissance plane sent a telegram that the British fleet has changed its course and is now 180 degrees due south at a speed of knots."

As the staff plotted the route, everyone soon discovered that the British fleet's course...

"This course... is the same as the Battle of Skagerrak, is it an attempt to intercept us? And the reconnaissance plane said they still have two battleships and at least seven destroyers..." Lütjens's brows were getting tighter and tighter.

Looking at his captain's expression, Bismarck knew that he must be very anxious. The well-behaved secretary cat took the initiative to make a cup of coffee for his captain and gently placed it on the table.

Lütjens was still thinking about countermeasures with a serious expression, while a mumbling voice came from the other side.

"Can't this damn time pass faster..."

Bangtai, who was equally anxious, stood in front of the porthole of the bridge, also staring at his watch and muttering to himself.

And outside the window is a busy flight deck.

At the bow, the damage control team was using a gas cutter to cut the hole in the flight deck, and below the hole, another group of damage control teams was building a support to support the structure near the hole so that the aircraft would take off. At the surrounding anti-aircraft gun positions, busy sailors were also checking their weapons and replenishing ammunition, ready to face the next fierce battle at any time.

At the other end of the flight deck, all the aircraft that the Zeppelin could currently deploy - eight BF109Ts and twenty-nine JU87Cs - had already filled the rear half of the flight deck.

The ground crews are doing the final inspection before the expedition, including whether the starting battery is full, whether there are any debris on the runway, whether the aircraft's fuel and ammunition are fully loaded and properly hung, whether the various control surfaces can move freely according to the response of the joystick, whether the electrical equipment, especially the radio and navigation station, can be used normally, whether there are any abnormalities during the engine test run, whether the oxygen valve can open and close normally... In short, they want to try their best to ensure that these aircraft will not fail to complete the mission due to various inexplicable reasons when performing missions - or even crash with the pilots, which is absolutely not allowed!

Even the pilots were tidying up their escape kits in the cabin, including checking whether their life jackets were damaged; whether the multi-purpose knives, flares, signal lights and whistles were placed in the designated locations and whether the buckles were secure; whether there were any problems with the pistols and the anti-shark guns; ... As for the folding of the parachute bags, according to regulations, the pilots must personally check and fold them - in a corner of the cabin, Flensburg was folding his parachute bags with a group of pilots.

The final preparations before the battle are being carried out in a tense but orderly manner.

But...it seems that there is still one person who didn’t check his parachute bag one last time?

Not only Flensburg, but also pilots including Bar, Buckhorn, Marseille, Grislawski and others were wondering while folding: Our red flower among the green has been called to the headquarters to be busy again, but... doesn't she need to check her equipment again?

Although there was a neatly tied bag on her seat...but for Zeppelin, what did it matter even if it fell from the sky?

ps: Asking for monthly tickets~ I keep looking for where the world with monthly tickets is~

Chapter 226: Action in Progress (I)

At this time, the beautiful instructor Zeppelin, who was being missed by a group of men, was reporting the condition of her ship to Bonte and Lütjens in the C3I command center.

Although Bismarck also roughly understood the damage to the ship, it is better to let professionals answer professional questions...

"The problem with the servo has been fixed where it was stuck, but now a new problem has arisen." Zeppelin said as he looked at the two people in front of him.

"A new question?" Lütjens frowned. "You tell me."

"Yes." Zeppelin nodded.

She went on to say, "Although the stuck part of the steering gear has been repaired, the previous underwater vibration caused large-scale damage to the nearby structure and shell, and the steering gear equipment was also damaged. In addition to the current speed, the propeller is actually constantly pouring water into the wound of the steering gear. Although the water inflow area is not very large under my control and has little impact on the speed, this kind of thing is quite energy-consuming and I can't complete it for the time being."

"So I can't take care of this if I want to attack. But there's nothing stuck. The crew can use it as long as they fix the steering gear. It shouldn't be a big problem. But for now, we can only rely on the emergency rudder... This is beyond my imagination."

Following Zeppelin's voice, Bismarck's face was filled with shame. Although he had been forgiven, it was his own fault after all...

The less Zeppelin cared, the more embarrassed she felt.

But fortunately, there is still good news that makes people happy.

"…As for the flight deck, it was originally estimated that it would take an hour to repair it, but judging from the current progress, due to the Bismarck's final turn, the bomb exploded only at the edge of the front deck runway, so the repair workload is much lower than expected. Now it seems that it will only take about fifteen to twenty minutes to build a frame to support the structure around the breach so that the plane can barely take off. As for large-scale landing of aircraft, this can be done slowly and there is no rush."

"So I say, Bismarck has done a good job." She chuckled.

The two generals looked at each other and nodded. After all, the damage to an aircraft carrier was best known to the aircraft carrier itself.

So upon hearing this great news, even someone as serious as Lütjens smiled. In this way, the impact on combat effectiveness would not be that great.

"Very good! We will attack in half an hour!" he gave the order immediately.

"Yes!"

But God seemed to be wavering between the Germans and the British. Neither side was fully favored by him, and the good luck did not last long. Just when the Zeppelin was undergoing intensive repairs, the British planes appeared.

"Report! Radar detected a large-scale fleet! The direction is 220 degrees southwest, the distance is 150 kilometers, and it is expected to encounter my fleet in half an hour!"

The radar soldier's report sounded in the C3I command post.

Everyone couldn't help but look at each other, as they didn't expect this wave of attacks to come so quickly.

"A meticulous and continuous attack... It seems we have to speed up." Lütjens sighed.

After thinking for a while, he said to Bangtai, "Bangtai, you go to the damaged area and supervise it yourself. Zeppelin, you go to the flight team to prepare, and take off as soon as the runway is reinforced! In addition, call Lindemann, Heyer and Top to prepare for air defense. The formation spacing is 3000 yards. In addition, tell everyone that the operation of the Zeppelin is still difficult, so be careful to avoid it when the battle starts! ”

"Okay!" Bismarck saluted and walked down to find the communications squad to send a signal.

"Yes! I will go to the breach right away to supervise the damage control team to reinforce it!" Bangtai saluted and walked out.

"Okay! I'll go check the deck first, and I'll help reinforce it (with my ability). Also, let Bismarck control (my real body) later." It was not convenient for Zeppelin to say it clearly when there were many people around, so he said it vaguely, saluted, and then turned around and walked away.

After she went out, she saw Bismarck explaining the contact details to the communications squad leader. There was no time to talk to him face to face, as she had to go to the front deck first. So she just gave Bismarck an encouraging look and left a message on the WIFI.

"Bismarck, I'm counting on you this time too. Don't feel burdened. I trust you."

"I know, I know." Bismarck, who received the message, looked at Zeppelin who walked out quickly, and said to himself in the eyes of others.

"This won't happen again, don't worry."

Although it was an emergency rudder, Bismarck, who had always been afraid of breaking his leg, had put in a lot of effort to operate it, so there should be no problem.

She is confident!

The air defense alarm sounded again over the fleet. The crew members, who had long been accustomed to it, just looked at the sky indifferently, and then lowered their heads to continue doing their own things - but the movements of their hands were obviously faster.

"Hurry, hurry, the British will be here in half an hour, speed up!"

On the deck, the supervising officer was urging them loudly not to be lazy.

However, he soon discovered that even if he didn't speak, everyone was working very hard. This was a completely different scene from before.

This?

what happened?

Is it because of the crisis environment?

But why are there people looking behind me from time to time?

Then he turned around and saw a tall figure standing not far below the bridge, looking at this side quietly.

Well, he knew what was going on...

It seems like these guys are all for Major Zeppelin. Forget it, just work hard. Why bother with so many things?

"What are you looking at! Get to work!" he shouted.

With the hard work of the damage control team and the special attention of a beautiful instructor, the temporary reinforcement of the flight deck was quickly completed.

"Captain, the plane can take off!" Following the voice of a middle-aged man, Bangtai walked in from the gate of the C3I command post, followed by Commander Lütjens.

"Are you ready?" Lütjens asked while holding a cigarette in his mouth to refresh himself.

"Well, we can take off now." Bangtai nodded, took a puff of his pipe, and then couldn't help yawning.

The long period of commanding the battle had made the two commanders not have a rest for a long time. Even though Bismarck repeatedly asked Lütjens to rest, he only had time to take a short nap occasionally. Most of the time he could only rely on coffee and cigarettes to stay awake.

There is no way, because he is the commander of the captain's room. Bismarck would occasionally think like this helplessly, which is really harmful to his health.

"That's good... tell them to take off immediately, right now!" Lütjens took a deep breath, his low voice a little hoarse, and the smoke he exhaled instantly surrounded him.