Since receiving the flagship order at 4:14 am, all the "flighted enemy", Colonel Masina commanded a combat formation composed of four Italian light cruisers to soar on the sea surface of the Western Mediterranean. More than two hours later, the sun rose to the east, the morning and dusk dissipated, and the view on the sea surface returned to normal. Not long after, the air-to-air detection radar carried by the "Duke of Aosta" detected multiple aircraft flying from the direction of Sardinia, which made Colonel Masina feel a little at ease: if the daytime combat is not strongly supported by his own air force, it is unimaginable to defeat the most elite heavy patrol with four light patrols.

At 8:15 am, Colonel Masina received a password telegram directly from the RAF combat command in Sardinia, informing the situation of the two enemy cruisers appearing in the waters more than 170 kilometers west of Sardinia. With this telegram, Colonel Masina suddenly realized that his situation was a rare "good time, place and harmony between people". You must know that the arrogant RAF rarely took the initiative to contact and assist the naval forces. In just two hours after dawn, the RAF stationed in Sardinia rarely dispatched more than 30 orders to conduct large-scale and multi-level reconnaissance in the waters west of Sardinia, which fully demonstrated their determination to search for enemy ships and attack.

After the mentality changed, Colonel Masina rethinked the battle situation of the ships between the two sides. Excluding the factors of external force intervention, the total tonnage of the four Italian light cruisers was slightly better than that of the opponent. They had 36 high-range and high-fire 152mm main guns, with fire density better than the enemy, and could use the advantages of quantity and aviation to launch medium and long-range torpedo attacks on enemy ships. The chance of victory did not seem to be as unbearable as previously thought...

At 9 o'clock, Colonel Masina received a long telegram from the flagship. In addition to sending various reconnaissance information from the Air Force, it also informed the good news that the fleet had successfully met with the "Aquila". Lieutenant General Bionkelly hinted in the telegram that he would personally lead the fleet to follow up in order to provide necessary support to the combat formation composed of four light cruisers.

After a little thought, Colonel Masina issued passionate instructions to the three ships accompanying him in the name of the formation commander: the honor and disgrace of the kingdom and the fate of the navy are all related to this battle. You should use the determination to move forward bravely and sacrifice your life for justice to serve the country, and go to death with great pride!

After more than ten minutes of hesitation, the three light cruisers finally responded to the flag-speaking signal, which made Colonel Masina feel confident: all officers and soldiers vowed to avenge the thousands of robes that had been killed before!

At 9:25, a flight formation of more than fifty fighter jets flew over the Masina formation. Seeing the crew cheering at these war eagles painted with the logo of the Royal Air Force, Colonel Masina couldn't help but raise his head and straighten his chest. He was full of passion and even had a wonderful longing: his air force launched attacks in turn, blowing two enemy cruisers all over the body, and the combat formation he commanded was catching up with the enemy at the right time, beating the enemy with a fierce fire, and then throwing out a wave of torpedoes, causing the two expensive new United Kingdom Navy cruisers to sink into the seabed of the Mediterranean, and then returning triumphantly...

Unfortunately, just over a dozen minutes later, a telegram from his flagship poured cold water on Colonel Masina, which made his hot head calm down. According to another Italian submarine, an aircraft carrier formation appeared in the waters of the Balearic Islands to which Spain belonged. If the information is true, then the naval carrier aircraft of the new United Kingdom can provide cover for the two cruisers that retreated in a mess.

The chances of victory dropped sharply!

Fortunately, the attack of our air force can detect the virtual and real, and he has enough room for maneuver. With this calculation, Colonel Masina ordered all ships to carry out "last preparation before the war", which reduced the navigation by 4 knots and seized time to carry out necessary maintenance of the ship's power system. Immediately afterwards, Colonel Masina ordered each ship to eject a water reconnaissance aircraft to confirm the movements and actual damage of the enemy ship. In order to successfully eject the water reconnaissance aircraft, each ship further reduced the navigation to 22 knots, and it was not until all the reconnaissance aircraft took off that it gradually increased the navigation to 25 knots.

Before the four modest water reconnaissance planes sent back valuable reports, the report of the first wave of air strikes of the Royal Italian Air Force was transferred from the USS Emanuele II: more than fifty air force aircraft not only failed to solve the lame enemy cruiser, but more than ten were killed. Of course, the two enemy cruisers alone were not as capable as the Italian fighter that took off from Sardinia was indeed intercepted by enemy carrier-based fighters when attacking enemy cruisers!

After reading this battle report, Colonel Masina fell into a sway again: since the enemy ships have entered the protection range of the aviation force, it is no longer of great significance to continue to advance with four light cruisers and light cavalry. It is better to change the strategy while our ships have not suffered losses and wait for an opportunity to fight again.

The suggestion was just taken in the form of a secret telegram. The Duke of Aosta, who was in charge of Colonel Masina, received a password telegram from the RAF combat command of the Sardinia, saying that it had received the order from the General Staff that it had sent the most elite fighter unit to provide full air cover for this naval combat formation. Not long after, a group of mc.2o2 fighters flew from Sardinia. They flew over the fleet and stopped traveling west. Instead, they were circling around tirelessly until the fuel was almost exhausted before turning back to Sardinia. Then three more were followed.

Five groups of mc.2o2 or g.556 continued to fly in. The air cover they provided was indeed not vacant for a second, but can such a protective umbrella last throughout the day? Can it withstand the raids of enemy naval air force? The answer is hard to say. However, since the operation of this maritime combat formation has attracted the attention of the General Staff, Colonel Masina knew that he could never show even a slight timidity. If Lieutenant General Biang Kelly could not convince the General Staff to change his combat strategy, he could only bite the bullet and continue moving forward.

Since then, Colonel Masina has been suffering almost every minute, but what annoyed and helpless was that Lieutenant General Bionkelly had no news. When four water reconnaissance planes continued to return, he naturally ordered the four light cruisers to reduce their flights in order to recover the reconnaissance planes landed on the sea. The Air Force did not raise any doubts about their approach, but continued to provide them with air protection uninterruptedly.

At 11 o4, Colonel Masina finally waited for the flagship "Emanuele II", but the telegram did not allow him to end the pursuit of uncertainty in advance. Lieutenant General Bionkelli's wording was very vague, as if he had handed over the power to decide on the front line to Colonel Masina, but he also suggested that retreating at the last minute would harm his future without any benefit. He himself was leading the fleet. Given that the Italian Navy had only one aircraft carrier participated in the war, it was not appropriate to face the opponent head-on at this time, and someone needed to bravely stand up and restrain the enemy's attention, so...

Colonel Masina looked around several times with the telegram clip in his hand. Finally, he shook his head, sighed, shook his head, and talked, and then ordered the formation to travel westward.

At 11:35, the sea-to-sea detection radar of the "Duke of Aosta" captured the traces of two enemy ships, but this did not make Colonel Masina excited at all. Just a few minutes later, the air-to-sea detection radar of the Italian light cruiser showed a group of fighter jets rushing from the northwest. Colonel Masina hurriedly ordered the air defense alarm to sound, and ordered the communications officer to send a telegram to the RAF combat command in Sardinia and the flagship "Emanuele II": Although the enemy is very strong and the situation is very difficult, the "Four Horsemen" of the Italian Navy will bravely fight for the honor of the Kingdom of Italy and the Italian King!

Before the Italian Navy and Air Force's combat command organization had time to reply to the telegram, the battle that Colonel Masina had been worried about had begun. The attacking side was the 12 new United Kingdom naval fighters, not the mixed formation of fighter jets and attack aircraft, but the same ir-44t, and the defense side was four Italian light cruisers and six Italian mc.2o2 fighters that were providing them with air protection. This seemingly even and suspenseful battle was one-sided due to the cowardly attitude of Italian fighter pilots. They fled in all directions after only one round. The agility and decisive performance made the Italian naval officers and soldiers who witnessed this scene dumbfounded. The previous promise of the Royal Italian Air Force in Sardinia became a bad joke.

Colonel Masina, who had been struggling in the Italian military for many years, did not place his hope on the Italian Air Force. He ordered officers and soldiers to transport shells with near-explosive fuzes to various artillery positions early, just like sound-guided torpedoes. Radio near-explosive fuzes became the standard equipment of the Italian Navy in the mid-to-late 40s, and their performance was not inferior to the same model of several first-class military powers. It was limited by complex craftsmanship and expensive cost. Strictly limited equipment was carried out during the non-war period. First-line light cruisers such as the "Duke of Aosta"

The ship is equipped with only 12o 152mm shells with near-burn fumes, each main gun is divided into 15, while the 1oo mm anti-aircraft gun is divided into 2oo, each anti-aircraft gun is divided into 25, which is only enough for two or three training sessions or a low-intensity live-fire exercise. This time, the battle mission was temporarily received, the Duke of Aosta, Eugenio, Duke of Abruci, and Giuseppe-Garibaldi arrived at the naval warehouse and received a combat readiness supply, and the shells with near-burn fumes were still far from enough to cope with the needs of the battle...

(End of this chapter)
Chapter completed!