Chapter 1109 Missiles in the Atlantic Ocean 22

Boom boom...

When the loud noise came, an orange-red fireball about hundreds of meters high suddenly rose from the dark sea surface, not only lighting up a large area of ​​the surrounding sea, but also making the French naval officers and soldiers on the Provence battleship who had been depressed for several hours cheer, and even making the Americans who were riding on lifeboats or soaking in the sea water wearing life jackets all tingle.

Because the orange-red fireball was the US Navy's Tuscaloosa heavy cruiser! This heavy cruiser with a standard displacement of 10,110 tons and 708 officers and soldiers had been hit by the 340mm caliber main gun of the Provence before, and it also caught fire. The flames made it a target that attracted artillery shells in the dark. After the American destroyer turned around to salvage the officers and soldiers who fell into the water, the four main battleships of the "Jean Sur Formation" aimed all their main guns at the Tuscaloosa, and only a few rounds of salvos turned it into a powder keg.

Admiral Halsey, who had been transferred from the sinking light cruiser USS Little Rock to a lifeboat, was just staring blankly at the Tuscaloosa, which was like a huge firework, with regret in his heart - he should have ordered the remaining American ships on the sea to disband the formation and escape individually, so that at least some ships could escape.

But now he had no way to correct his mistake, because there was no communication radio on the lifeboat. Now he could only quietly wait for the judgment of fate... most likely death or being captured by the Germans!

"Sir, another heavy cruiser was hit!" A US Navy lieutenant who was squeezed in a lifeboat with Halsey suddenly shouted loudly. It turned out that a huge ball of fire had emerged from the dark sea in the distance. Judging from the position of the fire, it was most likely a US heavy cruiser that was hit, either the New Orleans or the Houston.

Now two of the three US heavy cruisers responsible for blocking the pursuers are finished, and the remaining one will definitely be blown up soon. After that, the four German battleships will use their large-caliber main guns to bombard the destroyers that are trying to salvage the American naval officers and soldiers who fell into the water. At the same time, the German submarines underwater will definitely not let go of the destroyers that are trying to rescue people...

"How far are we from the Bermuda Islands now?" Admiral Halsey suddenly asked in a trembling voice.

"About...about a few hundred nautical miles?"

Halsey smiled bitterly and shook his head, saying: "It seems that we can never go back to the United States...at least not before the end of the war."

As he spoke, the American admiral reached into his waist and touched something. An American sailor beside him quickly grabbed his arm and said, "Admiral, don't commit suicide, you might go to hell!"

"What are you talking about?" Halsey shook the man off, "I'm looking for a cigarette. Before the Germans kill me or capture me, I want to smoke another authentic Cuban cigar."

"Admiral," another sailor asked, "Do you mean we will be captured by the Germans?"

"Most likely..." Halsey lit up the cigar. In fact, he was looking forward to being captured now - because he knew that the twenty or so destroyers had no chance of rescuing people. If they insisted on doing so, not only would they not be able to save many officers and soldiers who fell into the water, but they would also most likely get themselves involved.

At 11:50 p.m. on September 6, 1944, the lifeboat carrying William Frederick Halsey, Jr., the commander of the 3rd Fleet, known as the "Bull", was discovered by a large French destroyer, the Mogador.

At this time, the battle at sea was over! In addition to the three Iowa-class ships that had sunk into the sea, the Americans lost three heavy cruisers, three light cruisers and 25 destroyers! In the end, less than 10 destroyers gave up the rescue mission and fled the battlefield under the cover of night.

The French and German ships that ended the battle did not evacuate, but began to salvage the American naval officers and soldiers who fell into the water. Conservative estimates show that there are at least more than 10,000 Americans in the sea waiting for the rescue of the fascists and Nazis!

Although Hersman had no interest in American prisoners, Hitler had ordered the German Ministry of Defense to capture American prisoners of war as much as possible... because most of them were misguided Aryans who could be educated into American Nazis!

A dazzling searchlight beam swept across Halsey, and then there was a shout in English: "We are French naval destroyers, ordered to salvage and rescue American naval officers and soldiers who fell into the water. Please cooperate and surrender to us..."

Just surrender, and your life can be saved. After all, this is not the Pacific Ocean. Both sides of the war still abide by the rules of "chivalry", and captured officers and soldiers will be treated more humanely.

Knowing the "chivalry" of European armies, Halsey did not choose meaningless resistance, let alone suicide, but obediently became a prisoner - in fact, he was carrying ******, which was the poison distributed to the Pacific Fleet after the US military discovered the "Ni'ihau Mass Grave"... If it was a war with the Japanese now, Halsey would definitely rather die in battle than be captured.

...

Georgetown battlefield, Guyana, September 6, 10:30 p.m.

It was a hazy night, filled with smoke, and the dark and low sky above the Demerara River was brightly illuminated by bursts of artillery fire and explosions. The orange and dark red rays of light were like lightning in the dark night, tearing apart the ink-like night. The roar of artillery shells reached the Georgetown Island Airport, which is more than 60 kilometers away from the coastline. This is a grassland airport hidden in the tropical rainforest (it is a repaired airport covered with turf and camouflage nets. It looks very green from the air. Difficult to detect), it not only has a carefully camouflaged runway, but also a camouflaged and sturdy reinforced concrete machine bunker, ammunition depot and oil depot.

Since the U.S. military landed in Georgetown, U.S. bombers taking off from Trinidad have repeatedly carried out air strikes on the Georgetown Island base, but they have never been able to destroy this important airport on the front line.

And tonight, as tens of thousands of Nazi fighters and freedom fighters on the battlefields of Georgetown continue to fight life-and-death battles on the battlefields on both sides of the Demerara River. The "Grassland Airport" on Georgetown Island, which always lay dormant and silent during the day, is now bustling with people. Eight searchlights located near the woods and covered with green camouflage nets have emitted milky white beams of light. The entire tarmac was illuminated to every detail.

The soldiers used a trolley to push the 450mm aerial torpedo that had just been taken out of the ammunition depot, trotted all the way to the belly of the Ju188E-2 medium bomber, then raised it and fixed it on the pylon, and finally pulled it off. The safety latch was fitted with a fuze.

A Ju188E-2 medium bomber can carry two 450mm F5 aviation torpedoes. The 30 Ju188E-2 medium bombers currently lined up on the tarmac can carry a total of 60 F5 aviation torpedoes. Although this 450mm caliber torpedo is not powerful enough, the warhead charge is only 200 kilograms. But the "Soviet" class, which is used to deal with insufficient underwater mine protection armor, is more than enough.

Since tonight's mission is a "one-way bombing", the bomber will make an emergency landing at sea, so the crew members boarded the plane carrying inflatable rubber boats. Colonel Peltz, who was in charge of commanding the air strike, and several of his crew members also stuffed a black rubber boat (not inflated) that could hold 5 people into the large cabin of the Ju188.

After setting up the rubber boat, Colonel Peltz and his crew members all put on orange inflatable lifeguards and carried parachutes on their backs. Finally they got into position and waited attentively for the order to take off.

At 10:35, the voice of Air Force General Joseph Kamhuber, commander of the Georgetown Joint Command, came from the earpiece on Colonel Peltz’s head: “Dietrich, we just received the message from the light cruiser Vienna. Telegram, the target position is 27.14 degrees north latitude and 56.11 degrees west longitude."

The light cruiser Vienna is an SP-class reconnaissance cruiser. It has a very good radar and two Ar.196 seaplanes. Its speed and firepower are not weak. Therefore, it can follow a Soviet-class battleship all the way and act as the eyes and ears of the bomber group.

"Roger, General." Colonel Peltz repeated, "The target location is 27.14 degrees north latitude and 56.11 degrees west longitude."

The navigator beside him, Sergeant Wolf Schmidt, quickly recorded the coordinates on his chart, and then handed the chart to Colonel Peltz for confirmation.

Joseph Kamhuber added: "The target position is 2,300 kilometers away. In four and a half hours, the light cruiser Vienna will turn on the radio station to guide the bomber group."

"Understood, General," Colonel Peltz replied. "We will definitely find this Soviet-class ship."

At this time, three green flares were raised in front of the airport runway, which meant that the bomber could take off.

The engine began to roar, and the propeller turned into a halo under the light. Colonel Peltz's plane, as the commander-in-chief of the air raid, would be the first to take off as planned. Since this operation almost took off at maximum weight, Colonel Peltz's Ju188 taxied on the "grass" runway for nearly 1,000 meters before leaving the ground and flying into the sky.

Then, the Georgetown Island Airport released Ju188 bombers at a rate of one per minute, and all 30 Ju188E-2 bombers took off after 30 minutes. With the help of airborne radar, 30 aircraft formed a fleet. Under the leadership of Colonel Peltz's plane, they roared towards the northeast sea.