Chapter 168 Battle of the Black Sea (5)

Kuznetsov's statement was certainly not entirely bragging in front of the leader. The Red Army's Black Sea Fleet still had strong strength at this time. In its heyday before the war, the fleet mainly included 1 battleship, 7 cruisers, 3 destroyer leaders, 13 destroyers, and nearly 300 other ships such as frigates, gunboats, minesweepers, torpedo boats, and submarines. After nearly a year and a half of fighting, especially after the failure of the Crimean War and the fall of Sevastopol, the Black Sea Fleet was greatly weakened, but until November 1942, it still had 1 battleship, 4 cruisers, 1 destroyer leader, 7 destroyers, and nearly 100 other auxiliary ships.

The battleship is the Paris Commune (Gangut-class battleship, an old dreadnought from the 1911s, not as good as the Strasbourg, but better than the Ocean and Condorcet). Cruisers include three levels. The first is a Maxim-Gorky class cruiser, the Molotov (commissioned in June 1941, with a standard displacement of 8,200 tons and three triple-mounted 180mm/57-caliber guns as the main gun); the second is a Kirov class cruiser, the Voroshilov (commissioned in June 1940, with a standard displacement of 7,800 tons and the same main gun as the Molotov); the third is two Svetlana class cruisers, the Red Caucasus and the Red Crimea (old ships from the 1920s, with a standard displacement of 7,600 tons and four single-mounted 180mm caliber guns as the main guns), and the same class ship, the Red Ukraine, has been sunk; a destroyer leader, the Kharkov of the Ningrad class (commissioned in August 1938, with a standard displacement of 2,000 tons and five single-mounted 130mm caliber guns as the main guns), and the same class ship, the Moscow, has been sunk.

Although the strength of these battleships is not as good as the German fleet that has just arrived in the Black Sea, considering the numerous supporting ships and newer cruisers, Vice Admiral Oktyaborsky, commander of the Red Navy's Black Sea Fleet, believes that he is not without the ability to fight. Standing in the command tower of the flagship Paris Commune and looking into the distance, he secretly clenched his fists: Come on, fascists. Due to the loss of Crimea and Sevastopol, the fleet can only rely on several ports in the Caucasus, and the morale is relatively low. The current situation on the Eastern Front is all focused on the Uranus Battle on the southern wing. Even Comrade Stalin, who loves giant ships and cannons the most, has no time to take care of the fleet. Any relevant materials, supplies and air cover have been transferred to several army groups on the southern wing, and the Heihe Fleet has received very limited attention. This is why he firmly answered that he could fight when he received a telegram from Moscow asking for information. The goal he set for the fleet is more practical: he hopes to be able to sink several ships of the other side in a head-on conflict and retreat unscathed, as long as this can greatly boost morale.

The wind was howling, and the weather in November was cold enough even in the Black Sea. Crank, who led the fleet to complete the supply, stood on the front deck of the flagship Dunkerque and tried to look at the surrounding waters. In addition to the warships he brought (a total of 19 warships, 2 of which were supply ships, and 17 were mainly combat-capable, including 1 battlecruiser, 2 old battleships, 4 heavy cruisers, 2 light cruisers, and 8 destroyers), the Romanians also sent the only 4 destroyers in relatively good condition to join the column, and together with 8 German destroyers, they barely formed 2 destroyer squadrons.

The Romanians were undoubtedly the most cheering for the arrival of the German Navy. Although they had been unstoppable since the war against the Soviet Union, the Red Navy fleet in the Black Sea area has always been strong. Even if Germany dispatched various light ships and submarines through the Danube to participate in the war, the Romanian Navy was still at a disadvantage. Marshal Antonescu was very happy to hear that the head of state had sent a support fleet to fight.

"Raise the flag..." Major General Crank gave the order.

The war with the Soviet Union was about to start, so of course they could not fly the flag of Greece, a "neutral country", and they could not raise the German navy flag, because the Greek signboard would still be used in the future. He also had a Greek official document on him, which stated that the fleet would be leased to Romania for three months. After the victory, the head of state still hoped to take back the main battleship. How to strike the Russians and evade the Turks at that time became the key. After weighing the pros and cons, the final choice was to fly the Romanian navy flag. The Romanians did not gain nothing. In addition to hoping that the German fleet could help eliminate the main force of the Red Navy's Black Sea Fleet and consolidate Romania's maritime advantage, Hoffman also promised to give them two ships. The first choice was the two old ships, the Ocean and the Condorcet. Although both ships have a history of 30 years, they are at least 20,000 tons. Romania originally only had a few destroyers and gunboats. With these two warships, the total tonnage of the navy could be doubled at once, and the commander of the navy with the highest rank of marshal would be more worthy of the title, which satisfied their vanity. As for the age of the warship, it depends on who you compare it with. Aren't the Russians also using the old battleship Paris Commune? Don't the Turks treat the Goeben as a treasure? When they think that the Romanian Navy will be the boss in the Black Sea in the future, all Romanians are excited. In order to get this preferential condition, Romania not only promised to be responsible for all the fleet supplies and send destroyers to cooperate in the battle, but also sent an additional 500,000 tons of crude oil.

Just as the German-Romanian joint fleet advanced into the depths of the Black Sea, the naval aviation led by Richthofen also made corresponding preparations.

"Report to the commander, the fleet aviation is ready, request to take off..."

"Very good, the Navy Command has sent the Black Sea Task Force to fight. Are you familiar with our ships? Don't bomb the wrong ones, they are all French style. Remember, fly the Romanian flag today."

The pilots all laughed unseriously, and the three Japanese advisors also laughed.

"This is the first actual combat of my naval aviation. I hope you will have a good start." Richthofen waved his hand, "Follow the combat order No. 1, get ready to go."

As the red flag of the command tower waved, the reconnaissance plane took the lead.

It is shameful to say that among the major naval powers, the German Navy did not attach much importance to the development of seaplane reconnaissance aircraft. When the war entered 1942, the reconnaissance aircraft carried by the fleet was still the Ar196 seaplane reconnaissance aircraft that had been installed five years ago. This reconnaissance aircraft has a speed of only 310 kilometers per hour and a range of only 1,100 kilometers. It is a character that is chased and beaten. After comprehensive consideration, Richthofen finally gave up using these seaplane reconnaissance aircraft, and finally used a Ju-87 without any bombs to perform reconnaissance duties. This is why the Navy is so enthusiastic about the Bf-119 with a range of 1,600 kilometers - even if it cannot be made into a carrier-based fighter, it is the best choice to be converted into a two-seat reconnaissance aircraft.

Okumiya held back his laughter and said seriously: "Sir, let's ask our country to send the drawings of the Zero-type sea reconnaissance or the Type 2 ship-based reconnaissance. It's a bit of a waste to use a dive bomber as a reconnaissance aircraft."

"I've thought about it. I'll use the two-seat version of the Bf-119. If I hang an auxiliary fuel tank on it, it can even go sideways in the Mediterranean." Richthofen said seriously, "The Atlantic Ocean is windy and rough, and it's more troublesome to use a sea reconnaissance aircraft to recover it."

In fact, with the Black Sea, which is a big bathtub, it is completely possible to skip reconnaissance and release the aircraft directly, because as long as the Red Army fleet dares to come out, overall concealment is simply impossible, and it can be seen by randomly sending a few aircraft to search in the middle. However, from the perspective of the standardization of aircraft carrier operations, releasing reconnaissance aircraft first is the top priority, especially the lessons of reconnaissance aircraft in the Battle of Midway are even more profound, so Richthofen dare not be careless at all.

So this Black Sea Battle, which did not exist in history, had a different meaning from the beginning: for the Red Navy, it was a key battle to boost morale and strike the enemy; and for the German army, it was a key battle to train the team and master aircraft carrier operations.

Four "reconnaissance" aircraft took off in succession, searching according to the 15-degree fan-shaped surface respectively. According to the standard of Ju-87's maximum speed of 410 kilometers per hour, one hour is enough to scan the relevant sea area.

All pilots were nervously waiting for news, and the supporting ground staff were more nervous than them. They would have to simulate the on-site lifting of aircraft and integrated loading on steel plates later. Although the previous exercises were all successfully passed, there was still a gap between exercises and actual combat, and everyone was completely unsure. The reconnaissance results are of great significance for guiding what kind of ammunition the attack aircraft should carry: if the Red Navy fleet leaves the port, then carry more torpedoes; if the enemy does not leave the port, then carry bombs to attack the Russian ports in the Caucasus.

After the reconnaissance aircraft took off, six Me-155s simulating fleet direct-cover aircraft began to take off - although the base was equipped with air defense radars and the aircraft carrier deck simulation base made of steel plates was not afraid of bombing, Richthofen still operated according to standard specifications.

After 47 minutes, after a long wait, the first reconnaissance plane finally sent a telegram:

"Report, the main force of the Red Army's Black Sea Fleet has left the port, including 1 large ship, 4 medium ships, and nearly 20 small ships, heading 260 degrees, and the speed is about 17 knots..."

After checking the coordinates, Richthofen was overjoyed: "Okay, the Red Army is coming to fight. The two sides are currently 370 kilometers apart. Everyone, follow the No. 2 instruction and set off..."

Except for the 8 Ju-87s carrying bombs, the rest of the aircraft ground crews have hung aerial torpedoes on them. They will line up above the deck and pounce on the opponent, while the Bf-109Ts that are responsible for the cover will set off last. These miserable short-legged aircraft are fighting in the Black Sea bathtub and even have an auxiliary fuel tank.

Watching Richthofen issuing orders one by one, Ozawa Jisaburo couldn't help but say, "This... Sir, this is the job of the aviation commander, not yours. I mean... you are the commander of the aircraft carrier formation. You should be commanding the operations in the command tower at this time, and the aviation commander will give you advice on how to fight."