Chapter 283 The Wind Rises in the Atlantic Ocean Part 8

Before the four-plane formation led by Garland shot down the Swordfish torpedo bomber, a radio wave was sent back from the Swordfish to the aircraft carrier Ark Royal. Then Vice Admiral Whitworth, commander of the G Fleet with the HMS Hood as the flagship, immediately decided to launch an air strike. Knowing the poor performance of British carrier-based aircraft, Vice Admiral Whitworth decided to overwhelm the opponent with the advantage of numbers. He took the risk of withdrawing all the carrier-based aircraft on the Ark Royal and formed an attack formation of 57 aircraft (three Swordfish aircraft had not returned from reconnaissance missions, and one of them had been shot down). Major Joseph Lee served as the commander-in-chief of the attack, and a three-plane formation (three Big Gulls) led by Lieutenant Johnson of the 803 Fighter Squadron was the lead aircraft. The formation of the Ark Royal quickly climbed to an altitude of 3,000 meters and headed south to find the German commerce-breaking fleet.

About 100 nautical miles behind the G fleet, the "Hundred-eyed Giant" of the F fleet also sent out 15 "Swordfish" aircraft, flying slowly southward. To the south of the German commerce-breaking fleet, the "Eagle" aircraft carrier of the British H fleet also sent out 15 "Swordfish" aircraft.

At the same time, 9 German Fokker 99 aircraft also took off from the "Seydlitz" aircraft carrier, forming a small attack formation, flying towards the British AB-1 formation less than 100 nautical miles northeast. They had received orders in advance: just damage! This is because Vice Admiral Marshal hopes to use the cannons of the "Scharnhorst" to kill tonight. So he hopes that the Fokker 99 can damage as many British merchant ships as possible.

In addition, Vice Admiral Marshal also sent a telegram to the submarine forces lurking in the waters north of the Azores, asking them to come immediately (nearly 400 nautical miles away).

The first to be bombed was the British AB-1 convoy. The AB-1 convoy, which consisted of more than 80 large merchant ships and 12 escorting cruisers and destroyers, was too large and occupied a large area of ​​the ocean. It was difficult not to discover them.

Nine Fokker 99s immediately dispersed and attacked three large merchant ships in a formation of three aircraft, and they quickly succeeded. One of them was a 10,000-ton bulk carrier named "Thames" that was hit by an SC-250 (because it was attacking a merchant ship, the Fokker 99 did not carry armor-piercing shells, but only used a modified SC-250). A large tanker named "Princess of Bengal" was hit by two SC-250s and caught fire at sea. Another freighter named "Helena" loaded with steel was hit by one SC-250.

The news of the attack on the AB-1 fleet soon reached Admiral Forbes's battleship "Revenge".

"Admiral, Colonel Walburton Lee of the AB-1 fleet requested to disband the fleet." Major General Phillips said to Admiral Forbes.

"Not allowed!" Admiral Forbes rejected Colonel Walburton Lee's suggestion without hesitation.

"Admiral, the Germans are using a carrier-based dive bomber to attack the AB-1 fleet!" Major General Phillips reminded, "Colonel Walburton Lee reported that this aircraft is very accurate, almost comparable to our "Big Gull". If they are allowed to bomb a few more times, the loss of AB-1 will be very large."

"It doesn't matter!" Admiral Forbes said, "We can bear it... and only by bearing such losses can we hook the German commerce-breaking fleet." He said solemnly, "The British Empire cannot allow an enemy surface fleet to run rampant in the Atlantic!"

Although German submarines achieved very great results in September (because there were as many as 300 German submarines, Britain's losses were more than doubled compared to history), but compared with the British merchant fleet with a total tonnage of 21 million tons, the losses were still within an acceptable range.

Moreover, since October, the weather in the North Atlantic has deteriorated, the activities of German submarines have been restricted, and the losses of Britain have been reduced. Therefore, the British can still bear the loss of merchant ships... as long as the loss is valuable!

"Although we have more than 100 combat ships," said Forbes, "if the opponent is determined to escape, we can only use the 'Hood' and the 'Ark Royal' to chase. Because other battleships and aircraft carriers can't catch up with them, and heavy cruisers can't beat the 'Scharnhorst'. But the 'Hood' and the 'Ark Royal' have no speed advantage and can easily lose the opponent.

If our carrier-based aircraft attack fails, then it will cost a lot to keep them here... until tonight!"

"Tonight?" Major General Phillips shook his head, "But the German ships have radar."

The British also have radar, and have begun to install it on warships. But they are still half a beat slower than Germany. The "Scharnhorst", "Seydlitz" and "Leipzig" all have "Metronome" radars. Only a few British "anti-aircraft ships" were equipped with radars. In addition, the battlecruiser "Reputation" also had an experimental radar (an experimental version of the famous 279 radar).

"I know!" Charles Forbes said, "It is precisely because the enemy ships have radars that they choose to stay and fight at night... There are so many damaged and burning merchant ships on the sea. It is so easy to sink them. Why give up? At most, we can leave at full speed before dawn. With the cover of the Fokker Zero, we will soon lose them, right?"

"Following" is almost certain! You can imagine it from the fact that British reconnaissance planes were shot down one after another - this was the result of German surface ships using radar to guide the Fokker Zero attack!

If the British "Walrus" and "Swordfish" are wiped out, it will naturally be impossible to continue tracking. What's more, when planes can't take off at night and the vast Atlantic Ocean is pitch black, where can we find German warships?

If we really achieve such a result, the British Empire, the world hegemon, will lose all face. Not only will international friends be shaken, but even the voice for peace within the UK may become louder.

…

"Garland, the radar has detected an unknown aircraft group! In front of you at 11 o'clock on the left, the altitude is about 3000, and the distance is about 8000... Immediately occupy the 4000-meter altitude attack position!"

Adolf Galland heard Lieutenant Colonel Weiss's order from the earphone. This time the target is a British dive bomber! Although no one could tell the difference between torpedo bombers and dive bombers on the radar screen, Lieutenant Colonel Weiss still did not dare to neglect and ordered Garand's four Fokker Zeros to occupy high-altitude positions. At the same time, 12 Fokker Zeros were sent to occupy low-altitude positions to block the "Swordfish" aircraft. In addition, four Fokker Zeros also rose into the sky and hovered above the aircraft carrier in case of emergency.

"Everyone, protecting aircraft carriers and battleships is your top priority!" Lieutenant Colonel Weiss finally ordered loudly on the intercom, "I don't ask you to shoot down many enemy planes, just drive them away. You are not allowed to stay away from the fleet at any time. !do you understand?"

"Understood, Lieutenant Colonel!" Garland agreed, and then led his formation to fly to the designated airspace. He and his men were veterans of the Spanish wars, having also fought over Poland and over Scapa Flow. Of course, you won't get carried away with excitement as soon as you join the war - forgetting the primary task of protecting the fleet!

"Major, we found them, there are so many aircraft!" The wingman's voice soon came from the earphones, "At 12 o'clock, 1,000 meters below, they seem to be reorganizing!"

Major Garland looked over and immediately took a breath. It was a huge fleet composed of dozens of aircraft! Most of them are biplanes, probably the old-fashioned-looking "Swordfish", and there are about a dozen monoplanes that are climbing hard, as if they want to seize the advantageous altitude.

"We can't let them climb on top of us!" Garland roared, "Let's dive first and see if we can force them to throw away the bomb!"

4 versus 12, Garland is at an absolute disadvantage in terms of numbers. However, in terms of aircraft performance, the Fokker Zero is much better than the "Big Gull". So there is no problem in shooting down a few planes. The problem is that once these planes enter the dive position, the three warships on the sea will be in trouble.

The British also discovered Garland's 4-plane formation at this time, but they did not immediately throw them away and bomb them to escape. Instead, a three-machine formation was formed, dropped bombs, and then rushed forward, trying to entangle four Fokker Zeros.

"Don't fight them!" Although Garland didn't see clearly whether the opponent dropped the bomb, his experience in aerial combat told him that the opponent would definitely not hang a bomb to die. "The remaining 9 are our target!"

As he spoke, he led his formation to use speed to avoid the three "Big Gulls" blocking the gun holes, and pounced on the nine "Big Gulls" forming a dive formation at an altitude of 3,000 meters.

The nine "Big Gulls" were startled by four Fokker Zeros, and then three more "Big Gulls" dropped bombs and rushed to block them. This time the distance between the two sides was very close, and Garland did not choose to dodge, but ordered to fire.

Four Fokker Zeros fought against three "Big Ou"s, and the Fokker Zeros also occupied high altitudes. This was a battle without any suspense, and soon a "Big Gull" fell down dragging thick smoke. Garland did not pay attention to the remaining two "Big Gulls" and the three "Big Gulls" that were still slowly chasing behind. Instead, he went straight towards the six "Big Gulls" that had just formed a dive formation. These six "big gulls" seemed to be frightened birds, and they quickly dropped their bombs and fled.

A dive bomber attack was easily crushed by four Fokker Zeros. At the same time, 12 Fokker Zeros also launched an attack on 45 bi-wing "Swordfish" aircraft...