Chapter 319 Bombing

The British fleet was approaching the fleet in a black mass. There were fighters and bombers, but mainly bombers. After all, fighters were mainly used for air combat and escorting bombers, and they did not have much destructive power on warships.

There were at least fifty aircraft in this fleet... But Qin Chuan knew that this was only the first wave. Aircraft had to take off one by one on the runway and then assemble in the air. In order to prevent some aircraft from waiting in the air for too long and consuming too much fuel, land-based takeoffs were generally in batches of fifty, and aircraft carrier takeoffs depended on the situation. For example, the United States and Japan dispatched thirty aircraft in a batch in the Pacific battlefield, which was only possible when the aircraft carriers were relatively advanced and reasonably dispatched. At this time, the British "Eagle" aircraft carrier could only carry 21 carrier-based aircraft.

"Woo..." The shrill air defense alarm sounded soon, but unlike usual, the German warships that should have opened fire immediately seemed very quiet.

This shows that the plan and exercises set before worked.

Because the situation was just as Qin Chuan analyzed before, the British aircraft group approached the fleet from high altitude... This altitude was beyond the range of the 130MM secondary guns, and it was basically impossible to hit the target by firing. Moreover, the "proximity fuze shells" used by the German Navy were expensive, and it was unnecessary to waste shells.

The German Navy took advantage of this time to make adjustments, and the First Fleet and the Second Fleet advanced side by side with a distance of about two kilometers.

Advancing side by side is a must.

"Side by side" is to better exert firepower. The warships face the sky above the friendly forces with their sides, which means that the gunfire at the bow and stern of the ship can play a role at the same time.

"Advance" is to be able to make evasive actions in an emergency... Standing still would be a good target for enemy fighters.

Then, the British aircraft group took the opportunity to chase the fleet and lowered its altitude to dive towards the fleet.

"Gentlemen!" Raeder said to Qin Chuan and others, "I think you should go back to the cabin!"

This should be said mainly to Darlan. Raeder asked him to go on board mainly to show off to him. If Darlan had any problems, Raeder's thoughts would be in vain.

"No!" Darlan replied, "Marshal, this is my warship. I hope to see how powerful they are!"

Raeder was stunned for a moment, then nodded, and then raised his head to the two guards. The two guards understood and stood on Darlan's left and right... This is certainly not to worry about Darlan's escape. The warship is surrounded by the vast sea, and there is no place to escape.

Raeder is worried that Darlan will be injured or take the opportunity to commit suicide, but these worries are obviously unnecessary, because Darlan wants to know the performance of the French warship more than anyone else at this time.

This is a very contradictory mentality. He doesn't want the German army to win, but he hopes that the warship can win, and at the same time he hopes that the warship will be sunk... In short, it is a mixed feeling.

Colonel Angus, who commanded the attack of this group of British aircraft, ordered into the microphone: "Group A, it's time for you to perform, pay attention to using the blind spots of artillery fire!"

"Got it, Colonel!"

Group A is a light bomber, mainly composed of "Mosquito" bombers and "Blenheim" bombers... Generally speaking, these two bombers will not be assigned to perform tasks together, because the speed of the "Mosquito" bomber is much faster than the "Blenheim".

From this, it can be seen that the British can be said to have sent out everything that can be brought to the battlefield for this attack.

The characteristic of light bombers is that they are more flexible and can quickly lower their altitude to attack the target, so with a roar of the motor, twenty light bombers fell from the sky.

"Marshal!" The staff reported: "The enemy plane has entered the artillery fire range!"

"Wait a little longer!" Raeder said.

Raeder's choice was of course correct. Opening fire just after entering the fire range would make the artillery fire have no flexibility to aim.

But Raeder only waited for a few seconds... This was because the enemy planes were very fast, and a few seconds had already met Raeder's requirements.

So with Raeder's order: "Fire!"

The deafening sound of the cannon soon rang out.

At this time, it was the 130MM caliber secondary gun that fired. This caliber of guns was equipped in large quantities on French warships... It was a secondary gun on battleships, and was used as a main gun on light cruisers and destroyers. However, due to the blind spot of this gun and the small caliber and slow firing rate of small-caliber anti-aircraft guns, the French fleet's air defense has always been a weak point.

But...

After adopting different tactics, this is obviously no longer its weakness, especially when the fleet at this time also used "proximity fuze shells".

After a burst of "booming" noises, Qin Chuan and others could clearly feel the vibration of the hull caused by the firing of the artillery, and then rows of shells with steam lines went straight to the direction of the enemy planes... This was because the rain had just stopped and the air humidity was very high, and the high-temperature shells evaporated water vapor all the way to form a faint trajectory.

Then, the shells exploded around the target aircraft as if they had eyes.

These were 130MM shells, and a cloud of black mist immediately erupted after the explosion. Shrapnel flew everywhere, which could not be seen by the naked eye.

And light bombers were very fragile, especially the wooden Mosquito, so three Mosquitos were blown apart in the air... The planes were broken into more than a dozen pieces, and fell from the sky to the sea like flowers scattered by fairies.

The Blenheim bomber might be better, but for a fighter plane, it doesn't make much difference whether it is broken into a dozen pieces or two pieces. The difference is that some of the damaged Blenheims can still hold on in the air for a while, which gives the pilots some precious time to parachute.

"What happened?" Colonel Angus asked: "Pay attention to using blind spots, is that clear? Pay attention to using blind spots!"

"But..." The nervous answer of his subordinates came from the microphone: "We do use blind spots, but they don't seem to have blind spots!"

Colonel Angus didn't believe this answer. Could it be that the Germans have replaced the new naval guns?

After thinking about it, Colonel Angus controlled the fighter plane to fly backwards, which enabled him to see the entire battlefield clearly.

Then he discovered the secret... The German naval guns did not shoot at themselves, but at friendly forces.

What puzzled Colonel Angus even more was that no matter how the British light fighter planes maneuvered or changed their altitude, the anti-aircraft gun shells could always accurately explode near the fighter planes.

This is impossible in normal times, because the fighter planes fly fast and the gunners have no time to adjust the delay time of the shells. This is also one of the reasons why the air defense capabilities of warships in this era are relatively weak.

But... the impossible is really happening before our eyes.