In the early morning of May 31, in the northern waters of Texel Island, three aircraft carriers, "York City", "Quick" and "Princeton", which were flying US and British battle flags, sailed eastward in a font-shaped formation. Their flight decks were neatly arranged with carrier-based aircraft waiting to fly. Under the belly of the fighter aircraft, there were auxiliary fuel tanks for increasing range. The bombers were loaded with round aviation bombs or cigar-shaped aviation torpedoes. The pilots were all on standby in the cabin. Most of the air crews had evacuated the flight deck, and only a few signalmen were waiting for instructions silently.

The flagship of this aircraft carrier formation is the US Navy's "York City". It has been fighting on the front line since the first day of the Battle of Azore. During this period, it has experienced many enemy air strikes and repeatedly avoided the deadly attacks of enemy torpedoes and heavy armor-piercing bombs. Compared with those friendly ships that have sunk or returned seriously injured, they are extremely lucky.

On the outer corridor of the bridge of this US aircraft carrier, U.S. Admiral Claude Brock looked into the distance with a straight stand. There was only a vast sea in his sight. The combat ships sailing on the sea and several carrier-based aircraft that were guarding the surrounding area. The atmosphere seemed quiet and peaceful. But on Texel Island, dozens of nautical miles away, the US and British troops were fighting desperately with the coming Allied Groups. The Allied Fleet Air Force and the Navy and Air Force stationed in the Azores have launched intensive air strikes on the US and British troops occupying Texel Island for the third consecutive day. The US and British Allied Forces were still trying their best to resist two days ago, but with the loss of land-based combat aircraft, they can only rely on air defense forces to carry out limited resistance.

When the first ray of sunshine in the morning shone on the sea, Brock turned around, facing east, closed his eyes, and enjoyed the wonderful senses of the morning light. After a moment, his adjutant hurried over: "Sir, you have received the F signal!"

Brock opened his eyes, raised his hand and looked at the watch, and then decisively ordered an attack.

Half a minute later, a colorful flag with a specific meaning was hung on the signal cable of the "York City". The flight decks of the three aircraft carriers were filled with the pleasant roar of the engines, and the fleet adjusted its course, allowing the carrier-based aircraft to take off smoothly in the face of the wind.

When their carrier-based aircraft group was launched, the main fleet of the US and British Allied Forces was also on their way to the battlefield. This was their first active attack since May 24. On that bad afternoon, the US and British fleet, which intended to have a knight showdown with the Allied fleet, was successively attacked by enemy airstrikes. Three battleships, including the flagship "South Carolina", were injured. The "Alabama" withdrew from combat due to serious injuries. The strength of the US and British fleet was weakened, and Standley also made the strength of the US and British fleet weakened.

He has gained a new understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of sea and air combat. In the absence of pursuing the enemy fleet, he first hid in the rainy area with his main fleet, and then deliberately concealed his whereabouts and patiently waited for the opportunity to defeat the enemy. Although on May 27, the British battleship "Warrior" lost its combat effectiveness by being attacked by German submarines, after joining with reinforcements from the United States, the strength of the US and British fleets increased instead of decreasing, especially the arrival of the two North Carolina-class battleships has greatly increased the confidence of the US and British soldiers.

According to Standley's vision, the carrier-based aircraft group of our own aircraft carriers followed the enemy aircraft group that raided Texel Island to find the Allied aircraft carrier formation and then launched an attack on it. Even if these aircraft carriers cannot be sunk, they can greatly restrain their actions, thus creating a "fair showdown" for the main fleets of the United States and Britain. In order to block the retreat of the Allied's main fleet, Standley will form four Lexington-class battle patrols, two Admiral-class battleships and two North Carolina-class battleships separately to form a fast maneuvering force, allowing them to carry out large-scale detours. He personally led the main battleship group with three South Dakota-class, four Great Britain-class, and four Colorado-class as the core to attack the enemy head-on. If these two ships

If the team successfully encircled the Allied fleet, the US and British Allied Forces would have a huge advantage of 25 to 10 in the naval battle and get reinforcements from the two Bavarian-classes, the Allied Forces led by General Bainke still had only 7 battleships and 3 battlecruisers. The other six battleships and five battlecruisers that should have joined this naval battle were either restrained in the offensive operations against the British mainland, or were in vain due to the unfavorable early deployment of combat. The delay in the construction progress of the German-class super battleship also had a great impact on the preparations for the German Navy. In addition to the wait-and-see position of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Italy, the German Navy was facing a more difficult situation than in August 1914.

The only good news for Admiral Bainke is that the two Allied-class aircraft carriers arrived with the first fleet to transport the land forces. Together with the two aircraft carriers of the Atlantic Squadron, the Allied have seven aircraft carriers in the Azores Sea, and the number of land-based combat aircraft was also supplemented by the arrival of reinforcements, which means that the Allied team will continue to maintain air superiority in Azores.

When the carrier-based radar detected the enemy's fleet of aircraft attacks, General Bainke and his staff officers did not see through the enemy's combat intentions. They organized air defense step by step. More than 50 carrier-based fighter jets and two air force fighter squadrons that took off from San Miguel Island took off in time to fight. Five cruisers and seventeen destroyers strictly protected their aircraft carrier formations to maneuver on the sea east of San Miguel Island, and the main fleet was on standby about 50 nautical miles south of San Miguel Island.

Large-scale air combat with more than 200 fighter jets on both sides has occurred many times in the Azores. The pilots who survived the baptism of the battlefield have faded away their early youth and restraint, become mature and sophisticated, and even become "professional killers who kill without blinking. Their tactical routines are much more flexible than the early stage. The Allied fighters not only conduct frontal defenses, but their safari teams are flexibly attacking behind the frontline.

Many enemy bombers were shot to drop bombs, while the US and British aircraft groups still seized the few opportunities in the chaos, successfully attacking the German "Zeppellin" and the Irish "Queen Charlotte", and accidentally sank the German cruiser "Wisbaden", and controlled the war loss ratio of their own side to about 30%, which was much less than the air combat losses that were nearly half at the beginning of the Battle of Azore.

At around 10:40 am, a German reconnaissance plane discovered the invading US and British main fleet north of San Miguel Island. Only then did Bainke realize the enemy's "big move". Due to the "drag" of Colorado-class battleships, the US and British fleet could barely reach a speed of 20 knots, and the Allied fleet lined up with auxiliary ships could run for 25 knots. The dual advantages of fleet mobility and fleet aviation gave Bainke the opportunity to defeat his opponent. He made a quick decision and ordered the aviation formation to retreat south, and personally led the main fleet to respond.

From 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., for eight hours, Allied fighters launched a series of bombings on the main fleets of the United States and Britain. Such battles easily reminded people of the abuse of cannons against the cavalry. However, the naval and air war that occurred near San Miguel did not show a one-sided situation. The 17 main battleships of the US and British Navy and the 65 light ships accompanied them set off a distinctive air defense formation to stubbornly resist the invasion of enemy fighters. In the past eight hours, the Allied countries dispatched more than 1,500 fighters, projected 270 aviation torpedoes, and more than 900 aviation bombs. The US and British Allied Forces also

More than 700 fighter jets were dispatched, 122 torpedoes were consumed, and nearly 400 aviation bombs were nearly 400. The results of the crazy attack by the aviation forces of both sides were to sink 9 ships, severely damaging 15 US and British fleets, which lost two main battleships, the Colorado-class battleships "Maryland" and the battle cruiser "Constellation". The other "Massachusetts" and "Jut" withdrew from the battle due to serious injuries. The Allied fleet had only one heavy cruiser and one destroyer, but the serious injuries of the two aircraft carriers "Vichersbach" and "Alfonso XIII" greatly weakened the combat effectiveness of the fleet's aviation forces.

At dusk, the main fleet of the Allied powers that covered the retreat of the aircraft carrier formation saw the dense masts of warships on the skyline, which was the first time that the main ships of both sides had met since the outbreak of the war. Although the two sides were still 25 kilometers apart, the 16-inch naval guns of the US and British warships could not wait to provoke the other side. Compared with the steel collision that occurred in the waters of the Jutland Peninsula 19 years ago, the tonnage of the main ships of both sides had almost doubled, and the power of the artillery was greatly improved. When the shells fired by the US and British warships fell with a huge scream, and the water columns soared into the sky on the sea, many German officials seemed to have returned to the night of the summer of 1914. The inspiration of honor made them ignore the threat of death, and their blood boiled again in their gradually aging bodies.

Although the enemy fleet could enter the battle from 17 to 13, and the 10 of its own 10 were basically intact, Bernke did not seek a quick moment and led the fleet forward, entrusting the battle of Azore and even the fate of this war to a fleet artillery battle that could last for dozens of minutes. He directed the fleet to sail towards San Miguel Island, where there was a pre-designed mine formation and a coastal defense fortress group equipped with 13.5-inch fortress guns. If the US and British fleets followed, the Allied team could attack the enemy in the night battle through sea and land cooperation.

Seeing that the Allied fleets not only refused to respond, but retreated calmly and orderly to the nearby island of San Miguel, the US and British fleets neither pursued them nor retreated. At this time, the sea's vision gradually dimmed. Although land-based and carrier-based aircraft could take off and land, the difficulty of attacking the sea increased greatly, and the US and British fleets adjusted their formation at sea.

At 8:30 pm, US and British warships began to launch ultra-long-range shelling on San Miguel Island. The 16-inch naval guns equipped with the United States South Carolina class and the British British class had a range of more than 35 kilometers, while the mines arranged by the League team were distributed within a range of no more than 20 kilometers around San Miguel.

The radar equipment of US and British warships is still limited to low-precision sea and air warnings. The accuracy of ultra-long-distance artillery at night is naturally unsatisfactory. Standley and his generals are well aware of this, so the mental strikes on the island of San Miguel are better than physical damage. After a whole night, the US and British fleet with 83 16-inch naval guns only fired more than 200 16-inch high-explosion bombs, and only half of the shells landed on the island. Even so, the flames on San Miguel Island were not extinguished all night, as if it was an erupting volcanic island.

At dawn on June 1, just as the sky was dawn, the German fighter jets on San Miguel Island were like a group of sparrow hawks that had been taken out of their nests, launching a fierce attack on the American and British ships on the sea. Immediately afterwards, the Allied carrier-based aircraft flew from the south joined the bombing. When the sun rose, the main fleet of the United States and British had already lost two cruisers, one destroyer, and the flagship "South Dakota" had three aviation bombs in succession. The ship was brisk and the black smoke rolled. Standley and his staff team had to temporarily transfer to the "Indiana" to continue commanding the fleet.

The US and British fleets were not intimidated by the opponent's violent blow. Shortly after the enemy's air strikes ended, fighter jets that took off from Texel Island and US and British aircraft carriers arrived in the waters of San Miguel Island. Fighters and bombers immediately launched attacks on the German aviation facilities on San Miguel Island and guided their own fleets to launch large-scale artillery bombardment on the German troops and fortifications on the island.

Seeing that the troops on San Miguel Island were about to suffer a great loss, General Bainke waved his flag, and ten main battleships of the Allied Fleet appeared on the southern sea of ​​San Miguel Island, along with more than 40 light ships. Five German-class battleships and two Bavarian-class battleships lined up in an oblique column at intervals of 400 meters. 40 16-inch and 16 15-inch main guns were neatly pointed at the US and British fleets 26,000 meters away. Three Markensen-class battlecruisers and two light and heavy cruisers equipped with 15-inch main guns formed an independent combat team, bypassing the west of San Miguel Island, waiting for an opportunity to attack the rear of the US and British fleet.

At 7:42 am, the flagship "Germany" took the lead in sounding the battle horn, and the other four German-class and two Bavarian-class fired at the US and British fleets in the distance. The coastal defense fortress group located in the east of San Miguel Island also seized the opportunity to join the battle. In addition to the "South Dakota" battleship, which had not yet disappeared, the remaining 12 main battleships of the US and British fleet turned their guns one after another, pouring out angry artillery fire from the Allied fleet that had been unable to catch up with it for a long time and now took the initiative to come to the door.
Chapter completed!