My Third Empire

Three Hundred and Sixty-Five Blessings Are Unparalleled

"Things are troublesome." Putting down the binoculars in his hand, the captain of the Ark Royal, who is also the deputy commander of this pursuit operation, Vice Admiral Lawrence of the British Navy said with a sigh. He already knew the fact that the Renown sank. , I also know that the Hood is now only a matter of time before it sinks.

Although his fleet is already the only aircraft carrier fleet that the UK can take against the German Navy, there is still more than a little difference in the number, quality, and electrical equipment of the carrier-based aircraft.

Just a few minutes ago, he got the news that the 55 carrier-based aircraft he sent out were almost wiped out. For him, such a loss is no different from the total annihilation. Now he only has 5 Dapeng fighter jets for air defense and 5 pitiful Swordfish left in his hands.

The original plan was not for his fleet to be the main combat force. His combat mission was only to hold back the German High Seas Fleet. As long as the Germans could be held back, he was sure that the two warships in the hands of Lieutenant General Holland would be enough to hold the Germans back. People are instantly sent to the bottom of the sea. So after a brief communication, he even took off the attack plane first, hoping to buy precious time for the main fleet.

It's a pity that his plane was still one step late. When these Swordfish and Dapeng fighters flew into the radar recognition range of the German Navy, the German Navy was already taking off fighters to beat Lieutenant General Holland, the dog in the water.

After hearing the news that Lieutenant General Holland's entire army had been wiped out, Lawrence knew that the 55 fighters he had sent might have fallen into the jaws of a tiger. He once had a thought in his mind that he wanted to call these planes back, and then flee with his troops, but after thinking about it carefully, he rejected this plan of running away.

If he really left the chasing fleet and ran on his own, then he, the vice admiral, would be done after returning. Lieutenant General Huo Lan, that idiot, would be detached once he died. He left this shabby stall to himself, and he still had to continue.

Originally, when I chased after him, I always held the mentality of sharing the merits and asking for rewards, quite a kind of momentum of Yangzhou with fireworks under the moon. Now that everyone has no credit to share, please don't even think about rewarding them. They are also hurrying, and the speed is even faster than when they came - this time, after all, they are fleeing for their lives, so it's okay not to be fast.

Lawrence was heading south quickly with his fleet. He knew that the aircraft unit he had sent would not have to come back and land, so he also started running directly. This time he ran very thoroughly and without hesitation.

George stood on the deck, watching helplessly as the British fleet fled in embarrassment. Before the German attack planes arrived, there was already a faint sense of pessimism and loneliness. On the entire deck, the Dapeng fighter jets were waiting for the order to take off, but they all knew that once they took off, there would be no return. fate.

Several pilots stood beside George, and this might be the only place on the entire deck where smoking was allowed. They looked at the sky and held the cigarettes between their fingers without saying a word, their hearts seemed a little heavy.

"Will our battleship sink?" A young electric turret shooter looked at the silent George,

asked suddenly.

This question stunned George, obviously he didn't expect a half-grown child to ask such a question, and then he had no choice but to answer seriously: "It depends on the commander and sailors on the bridge, it also depends on How about your combat capabilities, wouldn't it be a little sad if you ask me about the damage control command if you are sunk or not?"

The pilot was obviously older, and he patted the head of the turret operator in an old-fashioned way, and scolded with a bit of dissatisfaction: "What is sinking and not sinking! I don't know how to say auspicious words! Don't worry, we are here, This Ark Royal is unsinkable! Sir."

The topic ended here, because the ground crew on the deck waved their hats and cheered: "I'm back! I'm back!"

Not far away, a Dapeng fighter staggered into the landing channel of the aircraft carrier's runway, and then successfully landed on the flight deck, was blocked by a series of arresting locks, and lay across the deck.

The luck of this plane was really good, because when it was their turn to be hit, the 30mm machine guns on the fs of the German Navy were all fired, so they had to use the 13mm machine guns on the wings to attack, so this plane Although the Dapeng plane was hit several times, it still staggered back to the aircraft carrier.

The huge propeller on the plane was still turning, and the ground crew hurried forward to help, and mixed the two almost exhausted pilots out of the cockpit of the plane. It was good luck for the two of them, as several rounds of German 13mm machine guns pierced through the nearby fuselage, but both of them were miraculously uninjured.

The battle was so brutal that it was a great blessing to come back alive. Looking at the busy crowd on the deck in the distance, George put the last cigarette butt into the corner of his mouth, took a deep breath and threw it into the sea.

More than tragic? Isn't what I went through tragic enough? Those friends and bosses back then, how many are left now? I am the damage control commander on the Ark Royal aircraft carrier. How long can I do it safely and steadily depending on the German posture? Maybe in the next second, I will face the situation where the sea water floods the battleship and breaks it again. George, who threw away his cigarette butt, thought so.

"Boom! Boom!" George was thinking wildly, and suddenly the main gun on a British destroyer opened fire violently on the left wing of the Ark Royal aircraft carrier. George saw the firing angle of the naval gun clearly, looked in the direction, and couldn't help being frightened into a cold sweat.

He slapped himself so hard that he grinned in pain. But he still cursed in his heart: This crow's mouth! What can I do if I say what I say?

After talking, scolding, he, the commander of the damage control officer, was unambiguous in his actions, and immediately ran towards the bridge of the aircraft carrier. At least he had to get there to command the damage control personnel named below. Just as he started to run back, he finally heard the heart-piercing reminder: "German aircraft! German aircraft! Anti-aircraft fire back!"

Soon, the British anti-aircraft artillery roared, spraying dense flames into the sky. The German plane shuttled through the dense jungle composed of iron and fire, seemingly with elegance and not much embarrassment.

This time, in order to find the British aircraft carrier fleet, Lütjens sent all the Fs that could climb above the clouds and were absolutely fast enough, and they only carried small bombs and torpedoes. The old and slower Stukas are still there. On the road, whether you can make it there or not is another matter.

So this time the air strike was also an uncomfortable battle for the Germans. After all, without the Stuka to share the firepower on it, the pressure on the FD who swooped down and projected the torpedo would be much greater.

Lieutenant Admiral Lawrence was not helpless either. Most of the remaining destroyers and cruisers in his fleet were picked up by Lieutenant General Holland, and most of them were anti-aircraft and anti-submarine warships. Because Lieutenant General Holland's pursuit fleet was not needed, they were all thrown to Lawrence, which made Lawrence quite dissatisfied at first.

However, this move saved the British aircraft carrier fleet at this moment. The air defense firepower of the entire fleet is much stronger than that of Lieutenant General Holland's pursuit fleet. The German pilots who came in a hurry did not know how to start. .

In line with the principle and purpose of "picking up the soft persimmon", the German torpedo plane formation began to storm the aircraft carrier Hermes, which was slow and had no aircraft. Although the surrounding ships desperately escorted the Hermes, the Hermes was quickly captured A small bomb hit the deck elevator which did not affect the speed of the ship.

When George rushed back to the combat command room of the Ark Royal, he heard Commander Lawrence give the order to take off the fighter jets urgently. George didn't care about waiting for the specific results of the battle, but returned to his command position and let himself The little lieutenant in charge informed the subordinates in each position to prepare for emergency repairs.

Although he knew that the Dapeng fighter jets were far from being the opponent of the German Navy, after seeing the two Dapeng fighter jets taking off, George felt a little more at ease. If it is combined with powerful fleet anti-aircraft firepower, at least it will not be shot into the bottom of the sea in an instant like the chasing fleet.

It's just that Lawrence and George still don't know that the German navy, which has the momentum of a salted fish, has become more and more courageous in the war, and it has gradually become better. Going south at high speed, the wishful thinking of annihilating the British aircraft carrier fleet was launched.

Because there are more and more Dapeng carrier-based fighter jets escorting nearby, the pressure around the Ark Royal suddenly eased, but the twenty Fs were not idle, and poured all their ammunition into the slower-moving aircraft. The USS Hermes aircraft carrier behind.

Although the Hermes was blown up into flames and sank a British cruiser that was in the way, the Hermes was still moving forward tenaciously, as if it didn't care about the small troubles of the German fighters.

But things soon turned around. A German torpedo plane finally hit the Hermes. The strong explosion caused by the hit torpedo caused the warship to roll seriously, and the speed was also reduced from the original 22 knots. Down to 15 knots. The overall escape speed of the British fleet also slowed down.

Just after the British's luck came to an end, a formation of German fighter planes appeared in the sky, and 20 Stuka bombers arrived late with heavy bombs-for the British, everything seemed impossible... reversed.

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Chapter 374/1257
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My Third EmpireCh.374/1257 [29.75%]