"Sir, the commander called, the Aquila has set off from ****. Let us join the waters east of Sardinia and then go out to the combat waters west of Sardinia."

On the battle bridge of the Italian battleship "Emanuele II", the staff officer reported the Navy command's call to Lieutenant General Bionkelli in an excited tone. Hearing this news, the officers around him showed a happy expression. This time, the Italian Navy dispatched the two strongest battleships, "Emanuele II" and "Umberto I", to attack the Eastern Mediterranean. The prospects are not as optimistic as the top leaders expect. Since these two core battleships were temporarily transferred from the Bay of Taranto, the Austro-Hungarian Navy may attack the east coast of the Apennine Peninsula at any time, or break through the Otranto Strait and enter the ground.

The Italian Navy had to dispatch as many cruisers, destroyers, torpedo boats and land-based aviation units on their eastern front, resulting in only 4 cruisers and 6 destroyers operating with the two Emanuele II-class battleships, and the escort force was seriously insufficient. The old aircraft carrier "Galibody" originally scheduled to join the battle was postponed due to mechanical failure, which made the fleet able to rely on the land-based aviation units in Sardinia and Sicily to carry out operations in the next period of time. Various adverse factors made Lieutenant General Bionkeli and his subordinates and officers in pessimism and could not extricate themselves...

When he learned that the Aquila was about to join the battle, Bionkelly's eyes lit up at first, but after thinking for a moment, his expression dimmed again, and he ordered in a gloomy and cold tone: "Let the sailor adjust the navigation plan as soon as possible so that he can meet with the Aquila formation."

The current captain of the USS Emmanuele II is a brigade general of the Giogis army with rich combat experience. Seeing that the fleet commander Bionkelli looked a little strange, he chatted with him: "The team of meteorological experts in the staff predict that there will be heavy rainfall in the next two days, and the activities of the air force will be greatly affected, but their predictions have always been only 50% accurate. Fortunately, the Aquila is coming to meet us, and no matter what the weather is, we will have a way to deal with the enemy."

At the time of war, the Italian Navy had four active aircraft carriers. The "Earl of Cafur" and "Emanuele III" were sunk by the carrier-based aircraft of the New United Kingdom Navy on the first day. The oldest "Garibaldi" has been in poor condition in recent years. Almost one-third of the time is spent in repairing the dock every year. The fourth "Aquila" is a large aircraft carrier built by Italy in the 1930s. Its overall design has a strong Japanese style. Its standard displacement of up to 37,000 tons and a maximum load capacity of up to 124 aircraft, well-deserved to occupy the throne of the first aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean, and is regarded as a first-class combat force comparable to the German Navy's Earl Hippel-class heavy aircraft carrier. This time, the "Aquila" ended its maintenance work ahead of schedule to support it. In terms of its tactical value, it is indeed a timely help.

Bionkelly lowered his voice and said, "What I really worry about is not the weather conditions or whether the Aquila can arrive smoothly, but the Germans. Think about it, if the Germans were directly involved in this war, we would have no chance of winning."

"The Germans directly participated in the war?" Giorgis thought, "This possibility does exist, but I think the Germans will not easily get involved in the war, because that is likely to lead to a complete collapse of the Allied System. At this time, they should play an active mediation role. They should be very clear that the existence of Italy and the strength of the Italian navy are the key to maintaining the stability of the Mediterranean situation. They have to obtain a large amount of resources from the Middle East and East Africa every year, and a safe and reliable Mediterranean route is essential."

Bionkelly pondered: "The reason you mentioned has always been an excuse for the great people to comfort themselves. They think that the integrity and strength of Italy are important guarantees for the Germans to maintain their strategic territory, so they maintain a close trade cooperation relationship with Japan despite Germany's repeated opposition and even warning. In fact, many people think that this is a kind of gambling that is not worth the loss. The Germans have enough patience to us. Over the years, we have benefited a lot through this kind of trade cooperation, but at the same time, it is also consuming the patience of the Germans, prompting Germany to repair their relationship with the Turks, and then expand the Baghdad Railway and build oil pipelines, which makes the Mediterranean routes continue to decrease the value and significance of the Mediterranean route to them. When the Germans completely exhaust their patience, that is, we are completely abandoned..."

Giorgis couldn't help but frown and said, "The remarks of such revolutionaries are not trustworthy, not trustworthy!"

Of course, Bion Kelly knew that such words could not be said in front of outsiders, so he sighed and stopped saying more.

At about the same time, the first batch of Italian fighter jets that took off from Sardinia had found traces of two new United Kingdom naval cruisers on the sea. Although the Irish were clever, the cross-sectional outlines of the two cruisers looked similar to the two German warships that had recently entered the Mediterranean, and they had hijacked the air defense identification signs on the deck. The unknown Italian pilots launched an attack as soon as possible. Due to the delay in information screening and transmission, these guys did not know that there were German naval ships operating in the Eastern Mediterranean, so they did not think much about that.

Fortunately, the Ailans also made preparations. After the Italian fighter jets launched an attack, they showed their defensive skills without hesitation. The first wave of interception of guided air rockets alone shot down and injured several enemy aircraft. While the warships were maneuvering at high speed, the anti-aircraft guns that incorporated the gun aiming radar, mechanical loading system and three-axis stabilizers still maintained a continuous and stable firepower output, causing Italian fighter jets that tried to break through the ship's air defense circle from different directions to be repeatedly frustrated.

As the fierce battle in the sea and air was in progress, a group of blue-gray war eagles suddenly broke into the battlefield. Their powerful attacks were like tigers descending the mountain, which immediately disrupted the combat rhythm of the Italian aircraft group. More than 20 guard defense camps set up by the Makim.205 "Hunter" and Fiat G.55 "Centaur" were bombarded by guided air-air rockets head-on. Although the surviving Italian fighter jets were superior in number, they were still chased by the ir-44t.

Seeing that their fighter planes were too busy to take care of themselves, there was no need to say much about the Italian bombers that had already dropped bombs. Those who were looking for an opportunity to attack also dropped their bombs and turned around. In this way, less than half of the bombs and torpedoes were actually used on enemy ships. As a result, none of the torpedoes were hit. A few bombs dropped by the ba.205 land-based dive bombers caused some damage to the two enemy ships, but they were far less severe than those estimated and reported by the Islamic pilots.

Learning that two new United Kingdom naval cruisers were damaged, the Italian army quickly sent a second wave of fighter jets. Since the attack time was half an hour earlier than planned, some fighters did not have time to join the escort queue. Some SM.84 land-based torpedo bombers incorporated into the reserve team were sent to battle. This bomber with a structure similar to the SM.79 was criticized for its poor handling. After several consecutive technological improvements and engine replacements, the situation improved, but there was still the disadvantage of poor attack and unreliable defense. If it were not for the repeated delays in the production plan of the alternative model, they would have withdrawn from the Italian Navy Aviation lineup.

The Italian army's second wave of air strike aircraft group was almost twice the size of the first wave. The Italian army commander was determined to win this move, but before these fighters could attack the enemy cruiser formation that slowed down the speed and repaired it, they were intercepted by enemy carrier-based fighters. In this battle, all Italian fighter pilots received a death order from their superiors, requiring them to protect their bombers at all costs. In terms of tactics, the Italian army commander also made arrangements: half of the mc.205s were mounted at the expense of air stagnation time.

Arrows are used to enhance air combat attack power. The remaining fighters are all equipped with sub-fuel tanks to provide full escort for the bomber group. Such deployment seems safe, but the other party has received precise guidance from air early warning aircraft to divide the work and cooperate. One team rushed forward, distracting the attention of some Italian fighters. One team dived from high altitude and used air-air rockets to disrupt the dense formation of the Italian bomber group. Another team was waiting for an opportunity to break into the Italian bomber formation from the rear, making it difficult for Italian fighters to take into account both head and tail.

During the chaos, the Italian army lost 4 SM.79 land-based medium bombers, 7 SM.84 land-based torpedo bombers and 5 BA.205 land-based dive bombers, and 4 other mc.205 and 2 G.55 were shot down. Although they successfully killed 8 ir-44ts and injured at least 3, when the new United Kingdom naval carrier-based aircraft withdrew, it was difficult for the remaining Italian fighters to organize decent attacks. After dropping 7 torpedoes and 19 bombs on the two enemy ships, the Italian army's second wave of air strikes ended in a hurry.

The combat reports of the Italian Navy and Air Force aviation units were sent continuously to the sailing fleet of Bionkelli through the Navy Command. Through these battle reports, Lieutenant General Bionkelli and his officers were able to make a judgment: the two enemy cruisers appearing in the waters west of Sardinia were just the other party's bait, and the real "big fish" was an enemy aircraft carrier formation hidden outside of sight. In the current naval combat mode, the battle fleet had no advantages in front of the aircraft carrier formation.

The situation is obvious, head-on fight will inevitably lead to failure. Even if you approach quietly under the cover of bad weather, the enemy aircraft carrier has a great opportunity to use its speed to escape, so their only chance to win is to play the role of the Aquila. However, what is the current situation of the aircraft carrier ordered to sail silently, and whether a hasty interruption of maintenance projects will have an adverse impression of its combat performance are all factors that Bion Kelly must consider.
Chapter completed!