Two Hundred and Sixty-Nine Sleepless Nights

In London, in the office of the Lord Chancellor of the Royal Navy, Churchill and his officers are discussing the next battle plan. .. If there is one department in the British military that is suffering the most, it is undoubtedly the navy.

In the battle off the coast of the Netherlands that just ended not long ago, facing a squadron of the German Navy, 14 warships of the Royal Navy were beaten to pieces, and even lost 1 battleship and 1 aircraft carrier. If you count cruisers And destroyers, Britain has not suffered such a disastrous defeat since the Battle of Jutland.

So this time Churchill intends to give Germany the most severe revenge. He ordered the Royal Navy to summon the largest fleet and completely blockade the German waters. Just like in World War I, Germany was trapped on the narrow European continent. Then rely on the absolute advantage in resources to drag down the menacing challenger Germany.

Moreover, as the British Minister of the Navy, Churchill's ideas are more radical. He hopes to conduct a decisive battle at sea when the German navy goes to sea next time, and use its superior power to defeat Germany's newly established high seas fleet in one fell swoop.

"The Hood is coming back from the Mediterranean Sea. The Italians are very honest this time. They didn't even send a plane to follow our ship." An officer pointed at the huge sea map with a pointer and said: "Spain doesn't have the guts to attack us. The construction of the German naval base there is not perfect, and they do not yet have the strength to intercept our battleships in the Strait of Gibraltar."

Another officer glanced at the report in his hand and reported to Churchill: "On the other hand, in order to support France's frontal operations, our army's transport fleet is constantly traveling to and from the English Channel. It is planned to transport at least ten ships within this month. Ten thousand soldiers arrived in France. Eventually we will have 300,000 soldiers on the frontal battlefield."

"According to the news from the United States, they have no interest in participating in the war, and they are not even willing to mobilize. In the US Congress, the mainstream thinking is still the policy of isolating Europe. Although President Roosevelt is very willing to provide us with support, under pressure these The support is not free." An official in charge of foreign affairs briefly introduced the situation of the allies: "On the other hand, the U.S. government is very interested in the battle off the coast of the Netherlands, and they hope to send military officers to our country. Let’s study the specific process of the entire operation.”

"You can work on this matter! In addition, Gaoxin hired American technicians to come to the UK. We need to produce several types of fighter jets at the same time, which is a bit stretched." Churchill said this while holding his forehead, and then stopped talking.

The plan to withdraw the fleet from the Mediterranean was a helpless move, because Britain found that its fleet had no good tactics to deal with German aircraft carriers. The shortcoming of carrier-based aircraft can only greatly discount the combat capability of the British aircraft carrier, not to mention the quality of the aircraft carrier itself, which is also slightly better than the new aircraft carrier of the German Navy.

The aircraft carrier that the United Kingdom can produce is similar in performance to the Zeppelin-class aircraft carrier,

There is only one aircraft carrier, the Ark Royal, newly launched into service. As for others, such as the Bravery and the Glory, the number of carrier-based aircraft on these aircraft carriers cannot keep up with the German warships.

"Our army will deploy a fleet between the Danish sea and the Baltic Sea to lure the German navy to dispatch. We will deploy two support fleets here and here, consisting of destroyers and light cruisers. These warships have relatively strong air defense capabilities. Once the warships are assembled, they can temporarily protect themselves." An officer pointed to the map and recounted the entire battle plan.

Then he pointed to Scapa Flow, and proudly introduced: "Then the main force of the navy's local fleet will come out and fight directly. Although our army is at a disadvantage on the aircraft carrier, this time we have concentrated 5 ships Battleships, we have an overwhelming advantage in this regard."

"Okay! This is the end of the statement of the battle plan. We have repeatedly demonstrated twice, and there should be no major problems." Churchill interrupted the officer's eloquence, and turned to look at the two Silent man in suit.

He forced a smile, and said to the two people: "The Navy needs a brand new warship, an aircraft carrier that is capable of air defense operations for the fleet. Referring to the German aircraft carrier style, it must be at least 30,000 tons. Load at least 65 advanced carrier-based fighter jets - something like the Ark Royal."

"The production of this kind of aircraft carrier is very time-consuming. If it starts immediately, it will delay the production of other ships, and it will not be able to serve this year." A man in a suit replied, he is in charge of communication between the British Navy and the shipyard manufacturer Officials, words carry weight.

"No matter how hard we rush, can't we finish it? I heard that the Germans' new shipbuilding technology has greatly increased their shipbuilding speed." Churchill frowned and asked, "And this technology has been copied back by our spies." Is it so difficult to copy?"

"The Germans are highly skilled in manufacturing, and we don't have a lot of experience in building their segmented construction technology, so even if it is adopted, it cannot be used in the construction of warships within a year." The official sighed and said: " I heard that Germany has been using this method to build Hercules-class transport ships since 1925, and they have been accumulating for more than ten years, and our technology is not as mature as theirs."

"Then according to the quality of Ark Royal, can the new warship be put into service at the end of 1939?" Churchill finally asked helplessly.

"Try it. If we can start working together, we should be able to build three aircraft carriers of similar level by the end of 1939 at all costs." The man thought for a while and said.

Churchill nodded: "Then do it quickly! The future of Britain rests on these warships." He knew that these were just words of comfort, both to comfort others and himself. According to the construction speed of the Germans, they will soon launch the 5th and 6th aircraft carriers, followed by the 7th and 8th... By 1940, Germany will have a terrifying fleet of 8 aircraft carriers, and the UK will go all out to catch up It is also only possible to maintain the number of aircraft carriers at 7 to 8, which is obviously what he does not want to see.

After a few seconds of silence, he calmed down the dwindling mood of the British Royal Navy, and looked at the other person: "How is the development of the new fighter?"

"It has all been completed. The new fighter jets are divided into two types and put into production. More than 100 aircraft have been equipped so far." The man said proudly: "The navy model is named Dapeng, and the army model is called Dreadnought. This type of aircraft has been tested. It can completely replace the Navy's Gladiator fighter jets and has a very powerful air attack capability."

He saw Churchill with bright eyes, so he continued to boast: "This aircraft has a flight speed of 480 kilometers per hour, which is completely comparable to the German export-type me-type fighter jets, and its firepower is also very powerful."

Of course, on the other hand, this fearless fighter also has its irreparable shortcomings. Generally speaking, there are major design flaws: one is that it is obstructed by the cockpit, and the gunner's frontal firing angle is only 19°. When the air battle is going on quickly, it is difficult for the machine gunner to see the target clearly in a short time. There is also no dedicated sight for the driver.

The second is the lack of space in the turret. The machine gunner could neither carry a parachute, and when the machine gun was pointed at the rear of the aircraft, the turret hatch was blocked, preventing escape. Therefore, when a fighter jet is shot down, the machine gunner must first point the turret in the direction of the driver in order to get out of the turret, and then go to the cabin to get a parachute to escape. There were many difficulties in between.

It is the weight of the turret and machine gunner, and the air resistance caused by the turret. The flight performance of its two-seater design is not as good as that of an ordinary single-seater fighter. This one is also the most deadly, because as an air superiority fighter, it is very fatal if it cannot catch up with others and is not as flexible as others.

But the military is already very satisfied. After all, this kind of aircraft is much better than the biplanes like the Gladiator in hand. So almost without hesitation, Britain began to mass-produce this fighter to counter the increasingly terrifying Luftwaffe fighter force.

The good news came that this aircraft with a very strange attack angle with a turret won an air battle in France. Relying on the sudden shooting fire, the British pilot shot down two patrolling FW-190D fighter jets, sweeping the interior of the coalition air force Fear and gloom over German fw-190d.

Of course, the navy is only equipped with a few such aircraft, because compared with land, the narrow deck of the navy aircraft carrier is not suitable for the take-off and landing of such aircraft. So Churchill said: "We must hurry up with the experimental work of the new fighter jet! I heard that you have found a new design plan... At the end of 1939 at the shortest, we have to catch up with the gap with Germany in fighter jets!"

"Yes! I understand! I will urge the designers to complete the design of the new fighter as soon as possible." The man nodded in agreement.

"Ring ring! Ring!" The phone on Churchill's desk rang, which seemed a little harsh in such a late night. Churchill frowned. As far as he could remember, the Secretary of the Admiralty's office had never been called at such a late hour.

"Hello? Hello..." Churchill picked up the phone, and his instinctive premonition made him feel that something big would happen tonight.

"The big thing is bad! Churchill! The fleet in Scapa Flow was attacked by Germany!" The hysterical cry on the other end of the phone: "The Sovereign... The Sovereign is silent! God!"

"What's going on in the middle of the night? How could the German fleet attack Scapa Flow? I confirmed yesterday that the aircraft carriers Reich and Zeppelin are indeed being maintained in Wilhelmshaven!" Churchill cursed, "Are you stupid?"

"It's over! It's over! Bravery is burning! Get ready! This time we're over! Really over! Beep... beep..." The other side hung up the phone after saying the last two sentences.

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