Chapter 694 Atlantic Strangulation War (3)

At 3:30, the carrier-based reconnaissance aircraft got a clear second positioning of NG-215, and successfully found that there were no other British and American fleets within 300 kilometers around - this is not a bait, this is really a big fish.

The ground staff had sent a report half an hour ago, "So the attack aircraft is ready and can attack at any time." Hintz nodded with satisfaction. How to use the angled aircraft carrier for combat is a brand new subject, and Hintz himself is also exploring it. According to theoretical calculations, because there are two decks for takeoff, all carrier-based aircraft should be pushed onto the runway as much as possible and then released at the same time - fighters take the short angled runway, and attack aircraft take the long straight runway. If equipped with a catapult on the main runway, it will only take about 8-9 minutes for all aircraft to take off, and the combat efficiency is much higher than that of traditional aircraft carriers.

In addition to this idea, the Japanese advisory team headed by Ozawa also proposed an innovative approach: cross-platform ultra-long-range combat.

Because the Dunkirk is relatively strong and has two runways, they believe that the ship can be used as a platform for long-range attacks. After the Anglo-Canadian route turns to Greenland, the attack aircraft taking off from the Azores cannot attack the distant merchant fleet. At this time, the Dunkerque can be deployed about 800-1000 kilometers away from the Azores, and then the aircraft will take off from the Azores and land on the Dunkerque first to refuel and resupply, and then set off to launch the attack. On the return trip, first return to the Dunkerque for relay resupply, and then return to the Azores. Since the Dunkerque has two runways, in theory, there will be no conflict as long as the dispatch is proper.

If the command and coordination capabilities are further upgraded, the platform can be used to continuously transport carrier-based aircraft, so that the strike range from 600 kilometers in the Azores can be expanded to 1400-1600 kilometers. When this set of tactics was sent to Marshal, he added another suggestion - "change people but not aircraft". Considering the fatigue of pilots in long-distance flights, the advantage of the current sufficient number of German carrier-based aircraft pilots and horizontal stratification can be used for optimization. The best attack aircraft crews are deployed on the Dunkerque. The pilots who take off from the Azores only need to ensure that they can fly the aircraft to the aircraft carrier. Then, when the aircraft is replenished with fuel and ammunition, the pilots are replaced to launch the attack, and the return pilots will fly the aircraft back. If there are losses in the attack, the aircraft returning to the base can be reduced simultaneously, and the aircraft carrier itself can always guarantee a constant number of carrier-based aircraft.

Hoffman understood this set of tactics as soon as it was reported - isn't this the ultra-long-range tactics that Ozawa used in the Marianas Battle using the Taiho armored aircraft carrier in history? Although the historical effect is not very good, it does not necessarily mean that Germany cannot use this method. Because of the deterrence of the joint attack aircraft and the Atlantic Inspector, the Dunkerque is still very safe within 800 kilometers of the Azores, so they agreed to try it, even if it failed.

Of course, some people objected to this, one reason being that it required too much of the commander; the other was that it was not good to expose this tactic too early, especially the exposure of the angled aircraft carrier would affect the suddenness of future major battles. After some consideration, Hoffman believed that the probability of failure existed, but everything had to be tried to understand, and he was not worried that the exposure of the angled aircraft carrier would increase the difficulty.

The reason was simple, Germany's remaining angled aircraft carriers would be put into service in the next six months, and the United States would not have the time and energy to transform the angled aircraft carriers in six months. Americans also had to study and analyze new things, and it was impossible for the United States to use what Germany used - this was not a land warfare weapon, it was a warship, and a capital ship! He believed that Britain and the United States were still confident in their warships. Moreover, in the long run, the angled aircraft carrier is more suitable for the jet aircraft era. The German commerce destroyer deliberately created this situation because the hangar area was small and various factors accumulated. Americans without various constraints would probably laugh at this design first.

To take a step back, even if the United States grasped the value of the angled aircraft carrier through careful analysis, it would not be adopted on the Essex class, because the Essex class is a batch-built product, and the construction speed is the biggest advantage. If it is changed to an angle, the center of gravity, tonnage, design and other aspects need to be readjusted and adapted, which will inevitably increase the construction period by 6-8 months. The extra time is more beneficial to the United States than building more ships.

Hintz is a thoughtful person, and he is also eager to try this new tactic. After discovering that the enemy has 4 escort aircraft carriers, he is worried that his strength is not enough, and he immediately calls for support-not only are there a lot of idle pilots on the Azores, but even the main fleet of Marshal is staying nearby, so providing attack aircraft is not a problem at all. Shortly after the 4 lead reconnaissance aircraft took off, the Azores reinforcement attack group was also released. The only regret is that the distance is a little far, not the 800 kilometers envisioned in tactical theory, but actually nearly 1,000 kilometers. However, the general range of German carrier-based aircraft now exceeds 1,500 kilometers, and the latest Ju-198 (Meteor modified) attack aircraft has a maximum range of more than 1,800 kilometers, which can handle this distance - at best, it can hang an auxiliary fuel tank.

At 15:45, the first attack wave of 22 attack aircraft, accompanied by 14 Bf-219s, attacked. At this time, the second wave of attack aircraft, about 50 aircraft, took off from the Azores and were on the way...

There is no need to use torpedoes to deal with weak escort aircraft carriers. A 250-kilogram bomb is enough to deal with them. A Ju-198 can carry 3 of these things. Hintz optimistically predicts that these hundreds of aircraft are enough to severely damage the fleet.

"Sir, the radar shows that there are enemy aircraft flying."

"What?" Colonel Richmond, who commanded the NG-215 fleet, was shocked. Although he had been worried after the appearance of the Ar-352, he was more worried because of his old experience in the Atlantic Inspectorate. He thought that this attack would come from the water, so he focused on strengthening anti-submarine warfare and set up an anti-submarine formation. He was caught off guard by the German planes that had already rushed over.

He screamed: "There is a German main fleet nearby. Didn't the intelligence say they are in the Azores?"

"What should we do?"

"The remaining aircraft take off immediately, the anti-submarine patrol mission is canceled, and prepare for air defense." After thinking for a while, he added, "The combat formation is changed to an air defense formation."

But the order was given too late. The aircraft carriers only had time to take off a few aircraft before facing the approaching German attack aircraft. Although the Ju-198 is a little slower than the He-218 in terms of maximum speed, it is an attack aircraft that combines torpedo attacks and dive bombing. After the ammunition is dropped, it can also act as a fighter in air combat when necessary. The F6F will definitely not be able to beat it, but the gap with the F4F is not that big. The experienced German pilots first used horizontal flight to lure the enemy aircraft to take the bait, and then swooped down to dive attack. Before the US military could effectively react, three of the four escort aircraft carriers were hit and instantly lost their take-off and landing capabilities. The aircraft parked on the deck was also hit and exploded. Many of the destroyers next to them suffered from the disaster and began to sink after being hit.

The air raid was very successful. The 22 attack aircraft perfectly achieved the expected results. The last escort aircraft carrier that escaped by chance tried its best to launch fighters to intercept, but was beaten to a pulp by the German escort fighters. The pilots on the main British and American fleets were no match for their German counterparts, and the pilots serving on the second-level escort aircraft carriers were even more rookies. However, this was not the end of NG-215. What really made people despair was the second wave of attacks an hour later. The British and American fleets that were rescuing the drowning people encountered air raids again. The fourth escort aircraft carrier was also hit and silenced, and the slow merchant ships were hit one after another.

This lightning-fast air raid on breaking up trade had huge results. Germany only lost 4 attack aircraft and 3 fighters, but shot down 19 enemy aircraft. This was not the key. The key was to almost completely destroy the escort force of NG215, and also made the remaining merchant ships dare not disband the formation and run away separately, because it was about to get dark, and the scattered breakout would definitely be visited by submarines. In that case, once they fell into the water, there would be no one to rescue them.

Of course, Hintz also made some big mistakes, such as deciding to attack too late, so that the attack wave flying back to the Azores was completely dark, and the commander turned on the lights to land safely, which was an extremely dangerous behavior; secondly, the 250 kg bombs could not guarantee the destruction of the Casablanca-class escort aircraft carriers. The two Borg-class ships sank very quickly, and the two Casablanca-class ships kept struggling and refused to sink. Even the Casablanca, where Richmond himself was, could maneuver at a speed of 11 knots. It was only in the early morning of the next day that the Richelieu came forward and fought hand-to-hand that it was taken down.

Because of the Richelieu's dispatch, the fate of the entire NG215 was very unfortunate: in the afternoon, they encountered an air raid; at night, they encountered a wolf pack; at dawn, the Richelieu, with 8 380mm cannons, appeared in the sight of the sailors with destroyers. Faced with a situation where he could neither fight nor escape, Richmond had no choice but to order the 8 surviving ships (including 1 tanker) to surrender. Only one destroyer tried to escape by relying on its own speed, but it was useless. The Meteor modified that took off from the Dunkirk quickly performed sea attack target shooting tactics in front of the sailors.

Now, tens of thousands of tons of fuel, thousands of jeeps or other vehicles, hundreds of Sherman tanks and various supplies fell into Hintz's hands. The commerce-breaking fleet won a beautiful start. At this time, he regretted that he should not have let the planes bomb so happily yesterday afternoon. What was blown away were all golden marks!

Roosevelt received the last telegram sent by Richmond and felt very uncomfortable: the British-Canadian route encountered a triple attack by the enemy from the air, underwater, and naval guns. The escort warships of the NG215 fleet were completely destroyed, and the remaining merchant ships were forced to surrender. If this situation is not changed, the Atlantic route will never be peaceful. I hope we are the last batch of victims...