Bismarck

Therefore, whenever the army and navy need help from the air force, they have to apply and write reports according to the will of the "leader", and the air force can only "cooperate" at most, and there will be absolutely no unified command or unified communication...

It was fine to deal with those positions on land, but how could this model be used to catch a naval fleet moving at a speed of 55 kilometers per hour? Especially since the British fleet was either far away from the Italian airports or under the cover of the Malta base or aircraft carriers. Before the war, the Italian Air Force boasted about itself everywhere, and Mussolini was so boastful that he shouted out: "What aircraft carrier do you need? The Italian mainland is an aircraft carrier that will never sink."

Aircraft carriers can maneuver, but islands can't run away...

Looking at the close cooperation between the Zeppelin aircraft carrier and the Bismarck-class battleships of the German allies, and then looking at their own record of almost no battles in the nearly half a year since the start of the war, the Italian Royal Navy, from the veteran Admiral Cavanari to the young soldiers who have just served, know that their navy is larger and more well-trained than that of their German allies, but they just drool at the sight of the Zeppelin...

In fact, the Italian Royal Air Force did not conduct a systematic study on sea and air combat, probably believing that the navy’s air defense was the same as that on land, at most at the level of a few anti-aircraft machine guns. Therefore, the Italian Air Force’s air raids on the British fleet in the early stages of the war were basically carried out in the mode of bombing land targets, dropping small-yield bombs at an altitude of 4500 meters to lay carpets, dispersing troops everywhere, with small groups of only ten aircraft in each direction, and then forcibly attacking the British fleet under the noses of the fulmars... The only good thing was that a batch of SM79 torpedo bombers had just been modified three months ago----and at this time, the Italian Royal Air Force, including those damaged in battle, had less than 50 torpedo bombers in total. That's all.

The Italian Air Force only had fifty torpedo planes, but this time it dispatched ten torpedo bombers. It cannot be said that the Italian Air Force did not invest much.

However, wrong tactical concepts, extreme military building ideas, nameless arrogance, and the brainless move of ignoring escort fighters and forcibly attacking the large fleet... The sparrowhawks in nature can easily hunt the fulmars in nature, but in front of the grinning fulmar fighters of the naval aviation, the sparrowhawk bombers of the Italian Air Force are no less than prey...

It's the beginning of chapter 308... cough cough

Take a day off tonight~

I should probably make up for it...

Ahem, I think so.

I've been thinking about starting a new book recently. After playing Mass Effect, I became very interested in science fiction. I think the next book will be based on "Starfield". I feel like it might be pretty good.

I have only updated two photos of the starry sky. I am so ashamed. I am going to start writing down the drafts~

Readers can go and have a look first. I wonder if the writing style of Starry Sky suits your taste.

I want to become a legend by writing about war and science fiction on Wuke!

One hundred words, right?

Farewell, Royal Kersey

Our friend, Ms. Lin Xiaoxi (Royal Kersey), passed away at her home in Shanghai on September 7, 2016 due to a ruptured aortic aneurysm. On behalf of all the party members and cadres of the Shanghai Party Branch of the Communist Party of China, I would like to express my deep condolences.

Miss Lin Xiaoxi has a strong will. Although the four operations failed to save her life, they have elevated her soul. She silently endured the great pain, but showed us her most brilliant and beautiful side. As her attending physician, Mr. McIver, praised: "She faced the coming of death with a smile."

She was also a great patriot who insisted on returning to her homeland in the last stage of her life.

Finally, in accordance with her will, we donated her estate and party assets totaling 20 yuan to the International Red Cross.

May her soul rest in peace in heaven!

September 10, 2016.

I think the kids in the group should have a deep impression of Kexi. She is a lovely girl and the manager of our group. She was also one of the first people to read my book. I have always promised her that I would write about Royal Kexi...

Last time she also said the operation was successful...

You originally said that you wanted to see me write about the Royal Kersey and include you in my novel, but unfortunately I only wrote about the Royal Ark, and then you passed away...

I'm so shocked I can't believe it

Although I am not a Catholic, I still go to church when I have time.

rest in peace···

Royal Kersey forever...

I never knew why you changed your nickname to the gradually disappearing Royal Kssie, but now I finally understand.

But it seems a little too late.

Forget it, so be it.

Chapter 309: Battle of Taranto (IV)

It turned out that Cunningham's second bombing was an overthinking.

The bombing at noon was very successful, but it was already 2pm when the planes returned to the carriers. After landing, these planes had to refuel, load bombs, and repair damage... It would take at least until 4pm, or even 4:30pm, before they could take off again.

In order to avoid the threat from the Syracuse Air Force Base in Sicily, Italy, the Mediterranean Fleet sailed towards the east at a heading of 090 in the past two hours. Due to the change in tactical positions, the distance between the two fleets has been shortened to less than kilometers. In addition, the battle report of the Navy said that an Italian Akizuki Airi-class battleship was damaged, which slowed down the speed of the entire fleet...

"Their position is about 045 degrees northeast of us, about a hundred nautical miles away. Their current speed is probably no more than fifteen knots - if they don't give up the Andrea Doria class." Rear Admiral Willis was bending over the chart table, waving a slide rule and red and blue pencils, calculating the track while reporting to Cunningham next to him, and also making his own suggestions: "Even these four old battleships can have a maximum speed of twenty-three or twenty-four knots. At the latest, we can catch up with them and fight a night battle after dark at eight or nine o'clock. Do you want to give chase?"

"...Forget it. If we want to chase them, we will be too close to Syracuse in Sicily, where there are Italian Air Force fighter units." Cunningham, an old sailor in the Mediterranean, glanced at the nautical chart: "Although their bombers are almost made of tofu, if we encounter their MC200 fighters, our fulmars may not be able to defeat them."

"So we're just going to let them go?" Willis was a little unhappy: "Isn't this a good opportunity?"

"They are very close to the Italian mainland. We can get cover by just finding a port. Our navy and air force can easily take them down in the open sea, but if we go to their coastal waters, we will be fighting them at home." Cunningham said calmly, "The Italians can't afford the loss, but can we? Don't forget that there is also the scourge of Lütjens in the Atlantic."

"this......?"

"Forget it, be content. Anyway, we are not far from them in this area. We can wait until they are far out to sea to deal with them next time." Admiral Cunningham was open-minded and said to his men calmly, "At least the transport team will be fine this time. By the way, give orders to the destroyers and light cruisers of the escort team to pay attention to the Italian submarines."

"Speaking of which, the only threat the Italians pose is probably their submarines."

"That's because with their limited abilities, they can only resort to such despicable tricks! - Let's go back and find a transport ship."

-------

At the same time, 100 nautical miles away, 30 nautical miles due east of the port of Syracuse...

Admiral Campioni was curled up on the sofa, staring at the nautical chart with lifeless eyes.

"report!"

An officer came in and saluted Admiral Campioni. Campioni raised his drooping eyelids and saw that it was the officer he had sent to contact the Andrea Doria for rescue work.

Raising his head tremblingly, Campioni asked the officer weakly, "How is the Andrea Doria now?"

"Reporting to the Admiral, the Andrea Doria's flooding has been controlled, but the tail was hit by an aerial torpedo. Now the steering gear is stuck and the left propeller was blown off. It is completely unable to sail independently and needs an immediate overhaul."

"...Oh, let's go back to Taranto. The nearest large dock is there..."

"...General, why don't we go to Naples via the Strait of Messina? It's not farther away than Taranto, and it's safer..." the officer asked with a puzzled look on his face.

"The Strait of Messina is only three kilometers wide, and there are many reefs and fast currents. Don't you think that Litterio can safely cross the Strait of Messina with Doria?!" Campioni was already in a bad mood after the defeat, and when he saw this stupid question asked by his subordinate, he was furious on the spot...

So the officer was scolded for no reason...

------

At the same time, on the bridge of the aircraft carrier USS Illustrious...

Boyd and Lister were drinking afternoon tea while watching the sailors on the flight deck preparing the carrier-based aircraft.

"Oh, it's not satisfying. I just hit her once and then leave..." Boyd complained after taking a sip of black tea.

"There's nothing I can do. Who wants Italians to be rabbits?" Liszt stuffed the last half of the sandwich into his mouth and wiped his hands while muttering, "They're closer to the nest than anyone else, they're more timid than anyone else, and they run faster than anyone else. That's what I'm talking about, Italians!"

"I originally wanted to give your plan of attacking Taranto a try, but the Italians are so disrespectful..." Boyd also smiled bitterly: "This kind of enemy is the most disgusting."

"Hmm...Hmm? Wait, what did you say? Taranto?" Lister, who had just swallowed his sandwich, seemed to suddenly think of something: "Boyd, the previous report from the air force seemed to say that an Italian battleship was seriously damaged by a torpedo hitting its steering gear?"

"Yeah, what's wrong?" Boyd had a lot of question marks in his head.

"Hey, the steering gear is damaged and must be overhauled," Liszt said with a smirk, "where do you think the Italians have the nearest shipyard?"

"Taranto...wait, do you mean...?!" Boyd also suddenly realized. "That's a good idea! I like it!!"

"Why don't you send a signal to the flagship?"

"Okay... By the way, considering their speed and the distance to the Italian coastal route, they will probably be able to enter Taranto tomorrow night. So we need to request Malta's reconnaissance aircraft to pay special attention to them?"

"Hehehe, you're right, I've thought of this for you!"

"Ha ha ha, how can we be worthy of those Italians if we don't want more?"

"Ha ha ha ha..."

In the bridge of the Glorious, the sinister laughter of two conspirators was heard...

ps: I'm really upset, I'm sorry, I can't make up for yesterday's photo...

Chapter 310: The Battle of Taranto Ends

The Port of Taranto is located at the foot of the Italian boot-shaped peninsula, at the top of the Gulf of Taranto, 837 kilometers from Malta. It is the main base of the Italian fleet and has all the facilities necessary to support all kinds of ships. The Port of Taranto consists of an inner harbor and an outer harbor. The inner harbor, called the Little Port, is completely surrounded by land and can only be entered through a narrow waterway called the Canal. The outer harbor is larger, called the Great Port, and is surrounded by an underwater breakwater. This breakwater extends southwest from Cape Rondinella to San Pietro Island, and from here it continues to San Paolo Island. San Paolo Island is located at the northern end of the 1187-meter-wide entrance to the outer harbor. To the south is a breakwater called San Vito Breakwater, which starts at a point 1206 meters northeast of Cape San Vito and extends northeast for 1609 meters.

In fact, the Italian Navy's high command knew that Taranto was geographically important, but close to the sea, and was very likely to be attacked from the air. After all, as early as 1916, the British had used seaplane carriers to attack the Zeppelin airship hangar. Not to mention that the Italian Navy even dreamed of having its own aircraft carrier!

But since their leader was Mussolini, they could only think so.

So although the Italian Navy does not even have naval aviation, its research on the use of aircraft carriers and naval aviation is not bad at all. It is precisely because of this that the Italians have actually taken certain preventive measures against possible aircraft carrier air raids to protect the ships in the port.

The measures taken by the Italian Navy seem to be complete, including the deployment of 21 artillery batteries equipped with 102 mm anti-aircraft guns, 13 of which are deployed on the shore and the remaining 8 on barges moored in the port. In addition, nearly 200 machine guns are deployed for anti-aircraft shooting, and large-caliber anti-aircraft guns cover each other to defend the entire port area. In addition, in order to make the defense more complete, Italy has also set up about 90 barrage balloons and 22 searchlights.

but......

Don't be fooled by the large number of anti-aircraft guns. The number may be impressive, but these anti-aircraft guns are under the command of the army. Not only are they outdated, but they are also not equipped for nighttime barrage shooting. Although there are 22 searchlights, only two of them are connected to the airborne sound listening station - this is a device that listens to the sound of distant aircraft engines. It looks like a large speaker array and is an early air raid warning device at the World War I level. Moreover, only 2 searchlights are configured in appropriate locations in the port area, and supplementary lighting is provided by searchlights on warships...

In addition, the specific defense details are also full of loopholes.

In theory, in order to defend against torpedo bombers and air raids, mine nets should be laid around the anchored ships to ensure the safety of the fleet. However, some Italian naval officers thought that it was troublesome to put up and put down the mine nets - in fact, they just wanted to be lazy... the mine nets would affect the speed of the ship's deployment, and the exercises would not look good, so in the end only some mine nets were set up.

In terms of air defense, although in theory the 90 anti-air raid barrage balloons could effectively cover the entire port area, due to bad weather, 90 of the 63 balloons were destroyed. Moreover, since the balloons were under the control of the Air Force, new barrage balloons had not been replaced... Although the remaining 27 balloons still formed three barrage lines, they were basically full of loopholes.

So this is a typical case of three monks with no water. They are not afraid of god-like opponents but are afraid of pig-like teammates. The Italian navy encountered their army and air force, and was destined to pay the IQ tax.

Besides that, radar? No! Smoke generator? No! A systematic three-service integrated defense plan? No! ... In short, nothing!!

Italy said that what we fight for is our faith.

------

On November 1940, 11, the clouds finally cleared up in the sky, revealing a three-quarter moon already visible on the top of the sky and a red sunset hanging in the western sky.

Although this means that tonight is a good day and the beautiful scenery of a bright moon will appear soon, this is definitely not good news that makes people happy. High visibility will have more serious consequences...

Looking at the battered Italian main fleet returning from the sky over the sea, and then looking at a fast-moving black dot in the distant sky that had four engines and a live target-like symbol that could be seen at close range, General Arturo Riccardi, commander of the Taranto base, felt a headache... and the headache would soon turn into physical pain.

"This is a British reconnaissance plane... Now that they are following the fleet back, I guess they will launch a night attack... Whether it is artillery or air strikes, we have to find a way to resist them..."

But looking back at the incomplete barrage balloons still hanging in the harbor, the anti-torpedo nets piled on the dock exposed to the wind, sun and rain, and the lazy soldiers on the anti-aircraft gun positions who could not be controlled even by the officers' scolding...

General Ricardi said he was drunk too... maybe he should have given the order and gone to the basement to drink some wine and sleep till dawn? The veal steak was delicious.

Because he didn't know what else he could do...

He had no control over the air force's barrage balloons and the army's anti-aircraft guns. Even if some of the navy were unwilling, he could only bite the bullet and instruct his port officers to arrange the berths as much as possible so that they could quickly start leaving the port, allow the anti-aircraft guns to cover each other, and allow the main guns of the battleships in the berths and the port batteries to cooperate with each other to facilitate the night attack of the enemy fleet...

--

"At about 11 am on November 10, the Second Torpedo Squadron of the Air Force discovered the main force of the British Mediterranean Fleet 10 kilometers southwest of Malta, including four battleships, an aircraft carrier, and ten transport ships...? Asshole!!!"

On the bridge of the Vittorio Veneto, Admiral Campioni, who was so angry at the low efficiency of sea-air coordination, was tearing a document into pieces on the ground in a rage. As if he was not satisfied after tearing it, he stomped on it a few times.

"What a bunch of bastards the Air Force is! It's already 11pm on the 5th. What's the point of sending the intelligence from the morning of the 10th at this time!!!"

The officers around him were all silent, afraid to attract Admiral Campioni's attention and become the scapegoat for the defeat in this naval battle...

But everyone's eyes were actually constantly glancing out the window. Under the red sunset, the ridge of the Italian peninsula in the distance was clearly visible. Since yesterday's defeat without a single shot from the main guns in the air raid, everyone has too much pressure and fear, and they need to completely vent and indulge in the bright lights and debauchery of the bar street outside the port... After all, this is Italy, and it's not illegal to be "romantic", right?

As for the consequences of this indulgence, no one has considered these anymore...

So, after entering the port a few hours later, from the captain-level officers to the ordinary sailors, they were still standing at their posts on the warships, but their hearts had already flown to some old lover... Whether it was the position arrangement instructions and emergency sailing plan from the base commander General Riccardi, or Admiral Campioni's order that the fleet boilers must not be turned off and at least half of the personnel must take turns on duty, seeing the distracted looks in these people's eyes, the two generals could only smile bitterly...

"...Why do I have a bad feeling......" After everyone had left, General Campioni said to General Ricciardi depressedly.

"Look at them like this... Forget it, hope God bless you, Amen..." General Ricardi could only shrug his shoulders helplessly and spread his hands...

----

"The intelligence from the reconnaissance aircraft has confirmed that the Italian fleet has arrived off the coast of Taranto at around 5pm, and is now estimated to be entering the port. Moreover, the defense deployment in the port area has not changed significantly compared to the previous two days!"

A communications officer handed Boyd an intelligence document, and Boyd glanced at it and handed it to Lister who was looking at the nautical chart.

At this time, the HMS Illustrious aircraft carrier, which had separated from the main fleet and was escorted by only two heavy cruisers, was speeding lightly in the waters of Cape Matapan near the Peloponnese Peninsula in Italy.

The main fleet was sailing steadily at a speed of about 15 knots on the route from Malta to Crete. The Glorious had separated from the main fleet more than ten hours ago, and with two heavy cruisers, it sailed at a speed of knots, making a big circle, almost bypassing the entire Ionian Sea, avoiding the activity area of ​​Italian aircraft and submarines as much as possible, and now, under the cover of dusk in the eastern Mediterranean, it was following the Greek coastline, quietly but fatally moving towards Taranto.

"The Italian fleet has entered the port? And the port defense has not changed? Great news! I have been preparing a big gift for three months and now the Italians can enjoy it!" Lister stood up from the chart table and read the intelligence sent by the reconnaissance plane. "In this case... we can reach the carrier-based aircraft departure position (located on Kefalonia Island, 400 kilometers southeast of Taranto) at about o'clock in the evening, and we can start bombing at about :! Then the Glorious will be active in this area, and when they return at to :, it will be dawn!"

"Taking off at night is not difficult. Night bombing can also be done by dropping flares and then bombing and lightning according to the original plan. The most difficult part is landing? It's already light at 6:30, so what's the problem?!" Boyd threw a cigarette over. After spending a few days together, the two men, who had already become like-minded, looked at each other and smiled in collusion.

"As for the Italians? Let them follow us and eat the exhaust from our chimneys!"

"Ha ha ha ha!!"

------