Bismarck

Churchill continued to think about this issue while listening to the report of the Admiralty. After a while, Churchill finally expressed his opinion after thinking it through:

"Then do as you wish."

ps: By the way, is Huan Meng's copywriter also reading this book? The name of the counterattack skill was thought up by the big sister, and it appeared on the deep-sea Persian cat in the later activities...

Of course, the most important thing is that the big sister suffered heavy losses in this event, so she was very unhappy, 2333

Chapter 306: Battle of Taranto (I)

In the early morning of November 11, the late autumn mist had not yet dissipated, and the rising sun on the water surface shone through the water vapor, emitting beautiful beams of light that illuminated Gibraltar.

When the huge body of the Illustrious aircraft carrier slowly entered the Gibraltar base anchorage under the escort of several cruisers, Captain Boyd saw a large number of transport ships piled up in the Gibraltar anchorage and the helpless Mediterranean Fleet Commander Cunningham on the battleship HMS Warspite in the port...

"You are finally here. There are so many backlogged transport ships here that the supplies cannot be transported out. If you don't come, we really can't wait any longer..." In the conference room of the Mediterranean Fleet's flagship battleship HMS Warspite, Cunningham gave a wry smile to Boyd who came to report.

"The Italian fleet is stronger than ours, and their navy and air force are now stuck in the waters near Malta, enjoying a geographical advantage... If there are no aircraft carriers to provide air support and reconnaissance, we will be quite passive - the Eagle aircraft carrier went to the United States for overhaul in the middle of last month, and now a large number of transport ships are piled up and cannot be transported..."

"These transport ships are carrying supplies, weapons and ammunition to the Egyptian front to prepare for the counterattack against the Italians. If these things are not delivered to Cairo, our counterattack will fail due to lack of supplies..." Cunningham was followed by Rear Admiral Lister, commander of the British Mediterranean Fleet's aircraft carrier fleet. However, after the Eagle aircraft carrier was sent to the United States for overhaul, he had been a commander without troops for almost a month.

"Moreover, there is more than just Egypt. At the end of last month, the 'fascist fat pig' in Italy issued a so-called ultimatum to Greece, ordering Greece to surrender. Greece hopes that our country will provide them with assistance. According to the order of His Excellency the Prime Minister, the Mediterranean theater will also transport part of the troops and supplies to the Greek island of Crete to establish a forward base. These are all additionally allocated from the troops and logistics preparing for the counterattack in Egypt. Therefore, the supply problem is actually worse than you think..." Major General Lister shrugged helplessly.

Following Major General Lister, Major General Willis, Chief of Staff of the Mediterranean Fleet, also gave Colonel Boyd a briefing on the situation in the Mediterranean. "...The Italians occupy Sardinia and Sicily, which gives them a geographical advantage. The planes they take off from their land airports are a serious threat to our transport ships. Without the cover of aircraft carriers, we can't fight them at all...So now the operations in the entire Mediterranean theater are all stuck here...We're just waiting for you to come here!"

Well, Colonel Boyd finally understood. It turned out that the Mediterranean Fleet was now stretched to its limits, and his support fleet had become their last savior...

Because the deck mooring technology of carrier-based aircraft was learned from the American aircraft carriers, the aircraft capacity of the Illustrious has increased sharply from the designed 36 to 60. However, at this time, the production of new models of carrier-based aircraft was not enough, and in order to chase the Zeppelin, those new aircraft were concentrated on the Furious and the Formidable, and the order for the Illustrious to be transferred to the Mediterranean was very urgent. In other words, the Illustrious' hangar was not fully staffed...

However, Lister had made preparations. Before the Eagle aircraft carrier went to the United States for overhaul, he put all of the Eagle's six Fulmars and fifteen Swordfish in Gibraltar, and assigned these aircraft to the Glorious as soon as it arrived. Together with the 12 Fulmars and 24 Skuas that the Glorious already had, it finally had a total of 57 aircraft. With these aircraft, the Glorious was no longer the embarrassing existence of the tonnage of the full-flight class and the combat effectiveness of the light carrier class.

More officers boarded the Warspite, mostly colonels, and even a few generals. Along with them were some civilian ship captains wearing uniforms similar to naval dress uniforms. These people either volunteered, were requisitioned by the navy, or were hired by the Royal Navy at a high price.

Although due to the presence of Italy, the Mediterranean escort route no longer uses civilian ships, and those transferred here to escort are all for military transport missions. All personnel signed a confidentiality agreement and a military warrant to obey military command. In exchange, the British government promised a high insurance premium, equipped their ships with some weapons, and had British Royal Navy soldiers to operate these weapons and provide military command advice to the captains and crews of these civilian ships (who had not received formal military training).

However, this is a matter of life and death after all. With such a pitiful force on a transport ship, it can hardly defeat even a destroyer. If it encounters an attack by a German pirate ship or an Italian fleet during transportation, it is very likely that there will be no corpse left. No matter how much insurance there is, it will be useless if people die. Therefore, a large number of people come here out of patriotism.

One aircraft carrier, four battleships, three heavy cruisers, seven light cruisers, twenty destroyers...the Mediterranean Fleet can be said to have been deployed in full force.

Under the heavy protection of the huge Mediterranean Fleet, there were a total of 20 transport ships, including four transporting supplies to Malta and three transporting supplies to Crete. These ships were fully loaded with large quantities of military supplies and reinforcements... Rather than being an escort team, it was the entire logistical support for the entire Mediterranean theater, as well as the entire hope of the British Empire for the Mediterranean theater...

Perhaps the flagship was missing that famous flag signal. If supplies were not delivered, the troops on the front line would most likely collapse.

This time, the British can only succeed, not fail.

"Eighteen Fulmars, twenty-four Skuas, fifteen Swordfish... This is a good scale, not much worse than the original Ark Royal!" While the captains and captains below were still on the way, on the bridge of the Warspite, Admiral Cunningham watched the port cranes lifting one plane after another onto the flight deck of the Glorious, and couldn't help but sigh.

"Yeah...it's a pity that the Ark Royal sank in Newcastle...it's a very sad thing."

As the captain of the HMS Illustrious that participated in the Battle of Newcastle, he witnessed with Admiral Tovey how the Ark Royal was hit head-on by a JU87 with smoke and fire, and then hit by three bombs in a row. In the end, it failed to reach the coast during the tow and sank little by little into the cold bottom of the North Sea...

He will never forget this scene in his life, the sailors reluctantly bidding farewell to their warships, the whistling of high-pressure air gushing out from the gaps in the deck, and the propellers that were powerless to turn...

Moreover, in the same naval battle, his own ship, the Glorious, was also hit by two bombs. Although the armored flight deck blocked the bombing, it was inevitably deformed by the bombing, and it took half a month to repair it in the shipyard, which delayed a lot of things.

…In addition, the best pilots of the British Navy at that time, Eric Brown, Stanley Orr, Graham Hauge, Charlie Evans, and Lieutenant Colonel Richard Coke, the commander of the carrier-based aircraft of the Glorious and one of the best commanders of the British Navy at that time, all died in the skies over the North Sea…

Although the planes were replenished, he had to put a lot of effort into training the new pilots, and he was able to barely keep the combat effectiveness of these people from decreasing too much...

Airplanes can be easily built, but people are not.

What made them gnashing their teeth the most was that, up to now, the culprit of all this, Nazi German Admiral Gunther Lütjens, and that damned Zeppelin aircraft carrier, even though they were also seriously injured, were soon repaired and until now, they were still alive and kicking, causing trouble everywhere in the Atlantic Ocean, and even the Bismarck was out of the dock...

They were almost out of the furious pursuit now.

"Damn the Germans, God will punish them sooner or later!" Cunningham, Lister, Willis and Boyd all said these vicious words almost at the same time...

"Forget it, let's finish the job at hand first..." After all, he is an admiral, so he is somewhat more cunning than those others.

Seeing that most people had arrived in the conference room, Cunningham, who had already controlled his emotions and thoughts, turned around and deployed combat tasks to his subordinates without announcing the start of the meeting: "...The future of the Mediterranean theater depends on whether this escort operation can be successful! We must go all out! We will set off tonight, and I will personally command the operation on the Warspite! The aircraft carrier Illustrious, as well as the four battleships Warspite, Barham, Queen Elizabeth and Warrior are ready for battle at any time!... At any cost! We must cover the transport fleet to break through the Italian-controlled area!!"

"Yes!!" The staff, captain, and other captains below answered in unison.

but…

Just as the meeting was over and Colonel Boyd was about to return to the USS Illustrious, Cunningham, Willis and Lister stopped him...

"Does your Glorious training include night takeoff and landing?"

"…We have trained, but we have never done it in actual combat… What's the matter? Is there a need for night aviation operations in the Mediterranean?"

Night air combat? What the hell is this? Looking at the mysterious expression of Major General Lister who asked this question, Boyd frowned and thought for a long time, and finally came up with only a puzzled expression...

Night battle?

ps: I want to lick vv, so beautiful! ! ! !

Chapter 307: Battle of Taranto (II)

As early as when the Italian Fascist dictator Mussolini hastily decided to join the war, the energetic and visionary Italian Navy Deputy Minister and Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Domenico Cavanari had already reported to Mussolini on the status of the Italian Navy.

Of course, the situation is not optimistic, and I am still full of bitterness...

Even though a bunch of warships are good, they still need people to operate them. For example, the Italians here...

Ahem, that’s too far off topic.

The admiral reported to Mussolini that the 9 million tons of oil reserves obtained from Germany were only enough for the navy to use for months; new equipment such as radar and sonar were still under development, so the navy's night combat capability was very poor; it did not have its own naval aviation, and the degree of coordination with the Italian Air Force was also insufficient due to institutional problems. The two services were almost fighting each other, and the Italian fleet, which could not obtain air force reconnaissance intelligence in time, was almost blind, and the air force's training and equipment were not very suitable for sea strikes; the most important problem was that Italy's hypothetical enemy (Britain) had a maritime lifeline that could be detoured through the Cape of Good Hope route, and unless Gibraltar or the Suez Canal was captured, it would be almost impossible for the Italian navy to leave the Mediterranean. Therefore, the British Navy was almost inherently invincible against Italy...

Based on these analyses and reasons, Cavanari foresightedly believed that the Italian Navy had little chance of winning. If it had to participate in the war, it could only take advantage of its geographical location to control the central Mediterranean Sea and adopt a strategic defensive posture. Specific tasks included suppressing the Malta base, providing escort for the shipping lines of the colonial troops in North Africa, and obstructing Britain's military transport attempts to Malta as much as possible.

Admiral Cavanari believed that if Italy had to join the war, the navy should adopt a defensive strategy and try to drag the war out as long as possible so that diplomatic peace talks could be held and a relatively favorable situation could be achieved to end the war.

But the problem is that he was not the one who made the decision. The strategic decision maker of Italy was Mussolini, not Cavanari... Therefore, the Italian Navy could only bite the bullet and face the war...

Since the Italian navy and air force had to cooperate in combat, they had to be approved by Mussolini. Therefore, the Italian navy could not obtain detailed aerial reconnaissance intelligence from the air force. However, the Italian navy was able to obtain some intelligence by deciphering the codes of the British Mediterranean Fleet in the early stages of the war, which was also able to partially grasp the activities of the British fleet.

Now, there is a decoded intelligence that was placed on Admiral Cavanari's desk by Lieutenant Colonel Bragatin of the Italian Navy: "According to the decoded intelligence, around November 11, the main force of the British Mediterranean Fleet set sail from Gibraltar to cover a convoy of about 6 ships. The escort force includes at least one aircraft carrier, four battleships, about eight to ten cruisers and at least two squadrons of destroyers... The destinations of the convoy may include Malta, Greece and Cairo, mainly transporting military supplies and reinforcements..."

Admiral Cavanari put down the report and asked Bragadin: What day is it today?

"November 8th, sir."

"Number 8... I'm afraid we're running out of time. With the Air Force's reconnaissance efficiency, we should be thankful that we can provide a relatively accurate reconnaissance result before they leave Malta."

Admiral Cavanagh covered his face with the report, leaned back, and leaned on the back of the chair with his legs spread out. He sighed helplessly and almost looked up at the ceiling blankly...

"…If we go out to intercept them ourselves, the best place to intercept is the Sicily-Tunisia Strait, which is within the combat radius of the Malta base. The second best place to intercept is Sardinia, which is too far away. The only relatively close place is the sea west of Malta, which is thousands of kilometers wide and also within the combat radius of the Malta base…It's troublesome."

After thinking for a long time and failing to come up with a good idea, Admiral Cavanari simply gave up. He stretched his back and sat up, and said to Staff Officer Bragadin, "Forget it. I'll write a request for air force cooperation and give it to the Leader. You can give the fleet an order on my behalf, asking them to prepare for sailing, and also ask the submarine force to send me another squadron of submarines to the Sicily-Tunisia Strait..."

"Yes!"

---

On November 1940, 11, in the waters near Malta, the huge British fleet waited for several light warships sent from the Malta base and took away several transport ships destined for the Malta base.

On the only aircraft carrier in the fleet, Rear Admiral Lister and Captain Boyd were leisurely drinking morning tea in the bridge... The advantage of the large space of the aircraft carrier was reflected at this time. The living conditions were much more comfortable than those on other warships, even battleships, and all kinds of facilities were available.

Even Lütjens had to admit under Bismarck's glare that Zeppelin was more comfortable... (thick fog)

Contrary to the hard battles expected before setting sail, the four days along the way were like a picnic, incredibly quiet. Apart from a few Italian reconnaissance planes, there was basically nothing happening along the way. I don’t know if the warm, humid and rainy winter in the Mediterranean covered the whereabouts of the fleet, or if the Italian Air Force was too lazy to come out, after all, they couldn’t eat delicious macaroni in the sky every day? In short, the Italian Air Force only sent more than 100 sorties in the past few days, which constituted the so-called air strikes of the Italian Air Force. On average, less than ten planes flew within kilometers of the fleet every day. Basically, after the British fleet fired a few shots, they dropped bombs and left. The Italian navy was basically invisible. The only battle along the way was the day before when a daring submarine, not knowing whether it was a target error or an explosion of self-confidence, boldly attacked a transport ship, and then was sent to the bottom of the sea by the escorting destroyer with depth charges...

Up to now, the only loss of the Illustrious aircraft carrier was a contaminated aviation gasoline tank that caused a Swordfish to crash and killed two crew members, and a fire when the ground crew was installing auxiliary fuel tanks in the navigator's cabin of the bomber, which burned two planes. That's all...

The British sometimes have the illusion that they think too highly of the Italians.

"...The modification of the aircraft and the cleaning of aviation gasoline have been completed, and there are basically no problems." On the aircraft carrier USS Illustrious, Colonel Boyd was drinking black tea while looking at the cloudy sky outside the porthole. "To be honest, I was so idle during this journey... I thought it would be a fierce battle."

"Haha, isn't this good? At least we can save a lot of trouble." Major General Lister looked at the captain of the only aircraft carrier under his command and also took a sip of coffee...

"To be honest, I have been very idle these days. I just check the radar every day, and then send fighters to drive away Italian reconnaissance planes, or resist Italian air raids. Where is the Italian main fleet? Are they sleeping in the port of Taranto all day long?"

"Maybe, but there is no absolutely safe place in this world!" Liszt drank the coffee in his cup and sneered at the captain of his aircraft carrier: "Let's teach the Italians this truth! ! ! ! The weather forecast says that the weather will get better tomorrow night. Then we will leave the formation and go to Taranto to deal with them!"

Seeing Boyd nod vigorously, Major General Lister was very satisfied with his attitude. He put down his coffee cup and told Colonel Boyd the specific details: "The positions of the air defense positions and anti-aircraft balloons in Taranto Port have all been confirmed. It is also confirmed that the intervals between the anti-aircraft balloons are large enough for our carrier-based aircraft to pass through; the special shallow-water torpedoes have also been loaded for you in Gibraltar. If the modified auxiliary fuel tanks of the aircraft are basically completed, the technical preparations will be almost done. ... The specific action plan remains unchanged, and it is still mainly based on night attacks. I took a look a few days ago. The night landings of your men are barely okay. The people on the Eagle have all been trained in night takeoffs and landings. When the time comes, let the Swordfish on the Eagle navigate your people..."

"Yes!"

But at this moment...

"Report! Malta's long-range reconnaissance aircraft reported that it had discovered the whereabouts of the Italian fleet!" A confidential staff officer rushed in from outside the door, holding a telegram paper and reading the manuscript: "At 45:300 noon, an hour ago, Malta's reconnaissance aircraft discovered the Italian fleet, including four battleships, at least six cruisers and fifteen destroyers! The direction is 22 degrees northeast of Malta, the distance is kilometers, and the speed is about knots!"

Major General Lister and Captain Boyd looked at each other in bewilderment. After a long while, Boyd said in bewilderment, "They actually came out. Aren't they here for a picnic?"

"It doesn't matter where we blow up the Italians! Now that they are out, what are we waiting for?" Major General Lister slapped the table, stood up and said with a smile: "Prepare for battle!"

Ps: Second Battalion Commander! Where is my Italian cannon!!!

I have to blame the Italians on our side, 2333, actually their fighting capacity is still pretty good... Of course, as to why the fight turned out like this, I guess we can only ask God (spreading hands).

Pa: Please give me monthly tickets and rewards, ahhh!

Chapter 308: Battle of Taranto (III)

After just three minutes of air combat, the six remaining scarred Sparrowhawks dropped the torpedoes they carried and four black smoke columns that fell into the Mediterranean Sea, and fled the battlefield in a panic - that is, the Fulmars only had eight 7.7MM light machine guns, otherwise the consequences would have been even more disastrous...

Seeing the results of the naval aviation, Admiral Cunningham on the battleship HMS Warspite just chuckled. In a few months, he had thoroughly understood the fighting power of the Italians. Although the battleship design concept was first-class, the personnel had certain training and fighting power, and in fact they were not lacking in courage - at least the Italian navy and air force were like this. However, war is a competition of the coordination of the entire war machine, and the competition is the necessary regulations and discipline to ensure coordination. These combined can bring a huge, even one-sided advantage.

And coordination... is exactly what Italy, a "romantic and personal heroic" nation, lacks the most...

"Courageous in private fights, but cowardly in national wars!" Cunningham snorted disdainfully, turned around and ordered his subordinates: "If these guys stayed in the port all day, I would have a headache, but now that they have taken the initiative to rush out, I will not be polite. Although the Italians' battleships are more advanced than ours, as long as we have aircraft carriers, we have air supremacy! I order the escort fleet covering the transport ships to continue to advance eastward with the transport ships! Let the Glorious launch carrier-based aircraft! The main fleet will sail northeast 045, at a speed of 25 knots! Let's go and fight the Italians!"

The subordinates below were equally excited. Upon hearing the order from their fleet commander, they stood at attention and saluted: "Yes!!"

Fortunately, although the Italian Royal Air Force had an inexplicable sense of superiority, at least they fulfilled their last duty as a soldier when they evacuated. The radio on the SM79 bomber sent out a relatively accurate intelligence about the location of the British fleet. Although it was sent to the Italian Air Force Command, the Air Force had to go through a lot of lengthy and cumbersome official procedures to hand this information over to the Navy...

-

Compared with the British fleet's eagerness and high morale, both Admiral Cavanari and Admiral Campioni, the commander of the Italian Royal Navy fleet that went out to sea to intercept, were heartbroken...

If they could curse in their own language, they would definitely curse harshly. They are not afraid of god-like opponents, but they are afraid of pig-like teammates.

The British Mediterranean Fleet could not be considered a god-like opponent, but their own air force was truly a pig-like teammate.

They asked Mussolini for the cooperation of the Air Force, but the Air Force seemed to still launch the attack on its own, and the reconnaissance report changed at least four or five times in the past two days, which seriously interfered with the commander's judgment of the battle situation...

If a submarine had not sent a telegram before the attack, they would have known that the British fleet was likely approaching Malta. Otherwise, they would not know whether they were going to be attacked by Britain.

Of course, the submarine was never contacted again...

Now Campioni is heading towards Malta... and the surrounding areas with his fleet.

After all, the British have aircraft carriers, and the air force at the Malta base is no pushover. If their warships rashly go in, the commander will be severely beaten.

As for Italy, although the Italian Royal Air Force boasted that "any enemy that approaches within 300 kilometers of the Italian mainland can be bombed", who still believes this now?

He didn't know whether others believed it or not, but the navy didn't believe it anyway.

The enemy's position was only roughly known, and there was basically no information about the enemy's forces. There was no air cover, and the morale was low under the confused atmosphere. The bridge command post of the Vittorio Veneto was silent. Commander Admiral Campioni sat depressed beside the chart table, his big hands not holding pencils and slide rules, but scratching his scalp...

I really want to smash the pencil...

"Alert! Alert! British aircraft have been spotted ahead - Oh my God! They are coming!"

One of the disadvantages of not being equipped with radar is that the air observation capability is very short. The screams of the observers suddenly rang out in the silent bridge. Faced with the sudden air raid, the Italian fleet was instantly in chaos. Although equipped with advanced gyro-stabilized anti-aircraft gun platforms that can ensure stable shooting even when the warships turn, the sailors and even the officers can only operate the anti-aircraft guns like frightened birds, amid the noises of "Air defense! Air defense!" and "Shoot! Shoot!" everywhere, hysterically operating the anti-aircraft guns, recklessly sweeping a barrage of aimless bullets into the sky, just to give themselves courage...

Although he was almost beaten to a pulp in the battle with Zeppelin in the Battle of Newcastle, it would be a much happier thing if the opponent was the Italian Royal Navy... Twenty-one Skua and twelve Swordfish were divided into three directions: left, right, and above, diving and attacking, and they pounced on the group of big lolis trembling on the sea with a grim smile...

Soon, the British gentlemen led by Cunningham received the battle report from the front:

"Report! An Italian destroyer sank, two cruisers and a destroyer were damaged, and an Andrea Doria-class battleship seemed to have been severely damaged! Our air fleet lost two Swordfish and one Skua...!!" Holding the victory report sent from the front, the communications soldier rushed into the command post happily and reported the battle record happily.

Cunningham, grinning from ear to ear, slapped the table and said, "Well done! It's just past twelve o'clock now, tell the Glorious to get ready immediately! Try to bomb the enemy again before the sun sets this afternoon!! We must try to hold the Italians back! Tonight is the time for our four battleships to test their training level in night radar-guided shooting!"

Meanwhile, in the command post of the Vittorio Veneto's bridge...

"Damn it... The British have too much air superiority! We can't keep fighting like this... Come on, pass the word, tell the Litterio to quickly tow the Andrea Doria, and for the other ships to rescue the people who fell into the water, and then retreat immediately!!"

Ps: Your chest is so flat, you must be a destroyer...

It's really not the Black Italian Dai Li. Even if the data on paper is good, what's the use? It was still beaten by the British Mediterranean Fleet...

Chapter 308: Missed

In the overcast sky, some black shadows appeared under the white clouds.

Ten Italian Air Force SM79 "Sparrowhawk" bombers carrying torpedoes broke out of the clouds at an altitude of 1500 meters and began to dive to a lower altitude. The three-engine layout with one engine on each wing and nose tip made this "four-in-one" bomber, which was put into service in 1936, look a bit weird, with wooden wings, aluminum nose, plywood fuselage, canvas skin belly and tail. However, the maximum speed of 430KM/H, 1.25 tons of bomb load and 3300 kilometers of endurance, as well as the self-defense firepower and defense power that were acceptable when it was in service, made this aircraft the most successful bomber of the Italian Royal Air Force in the end.

But the problem is, there are only ten planes in this batch - the key is that they don’t have any escort fighters!

Although Douhet, who proposed the concept of air supremacy, was Italian, and he once served as the Minister of Aviation of the Mussolini government. In addition, the establishment of the Air Force is a symbol of the Industrial Party, so Mussolini, who devoted himself to the labor movement in his early years and represented the interests of the industrial bourgeoisie in northern Italy in the later period, also gave strong support to the Air Force. But the irony is that although Douhet himself saw through the almost unlimited potential of the Air Force in the future, he went to extremes in his ideas: he believed that as long as there were bombers, everything could be bombed flat, and other things, whether ground combat, naval fleets, or even fighters that provided escort for bombers, were all considered to be decorations. What's more, Mussolini knew that he didn't understand the Air Force, so he simply used Douhet's theory of bombing everything flat as the Italian Royal Air Force's military construction strategy! What's more, because the Air Force, as a technical branch, is closely connected with the industrial bourgeoisie and the Mussolini government that represents the interests of the industrial bourgeoisie, the Italian Royal Air Force almost looked up at the road at this time...