October 12, 1939, Icelandic time, 6 a.m.

On the Atlantic Ocean, 400-700 nautical miles south of Iceland, there are six fleets/fascrews distributed from northeast to southwest. The closest thing to Iceland in the northeast is the fleet with the battlecruiser of the USS Reputation as its flagship, the battlecruiser of the USS Royal and the aircraft carrier of the USS Ark. About 100 nautical miles southwest of the fleet is the fleet with the battlecruiser of the USS Hood as its flagship and the aircraft carrier of the USS Royal.

About 300 nautical miles west of Ireland is the battleship "Revenge" as its flagship and also has the i fleet of the battleship "Determination". Less than 70 nautical miles west of the i fleet, there is an ab-1 escort consisting of more than 80 transport ships and 12 escort ships.

Less than 80 nautical miles southwest of the A-1 escort, the German fleet consisting of the Schánhorst, Seedlitz and the newly arrived "Leipzig" are cruising.

About 180 nautical miles south of the AB-1 escort, the British H fleet, with two battleships "Balham", "Malaya" and the USS Eagle as the core, are sailing.

This is undoubtedly a naval battle with huge power disparity, at least in terms of the number of ships. The number of ships on the German side is only a pitiful 3, while the number of ships on the British side is more than 200!

The power balance is so disparate, if there were almost no suspense in the last war, the outcome would be possible. However, with the rapid progress of internal combustion engine technology in the past 20 years, the naval warfare model has undergone revolutionary progress, just like land warfare.

At 6 o'clock, the two sides participating in the battle did not know the specific location of the other party, or even whether the other party existed. So today's confrontation started with searches using various carrier-based aircraft!

The main ones sent by the UK are: each aircraft carrier, 3 aircraft carriers, and a total of 9 "Swordfish"-type aircraft; each British battleship/battlecruiser dispatched at least 2 seaplanes, each heavy cruiser and some light cruisers also dispatched 1 seaplane, 8 battleships/battlecruisers sent a total of 16 "Warcester"-type aircraft, and 7 heavy cruisers and 4 relatively large light cruisers also dispatched 11 "Warcester"-type aircraft.

Therefore, at the beginning of the battle, the United Kingdom sent a total of 36 aircraft to search (9 "Swordfish" and 27 "Walrus").

The three German warships released 9 Type 99 and 4 Ar-196 (one of which belongs to the "Leipzig" light cruiser), with a total of only 13 reconnaissance aircraft.

13 to 36 is of course an absolute disadvantage!

Moreover, the weather is quite clear now and there are no clouds to hide. Therefore, it is very difficult for the Schánhorst, Seedlez and Leipzig to hide their traces on the sea.

At 6:45, the sound of the air defense alarm rang on the "Scharnhorst".

"Lieutenant General, it's a seaplane!"

The communications officer on the "Sharenhorst" held a telephone receiver in his hand and reported loudly: "The four Folk Zeros have bitten it!"

The radars on the Fokker Zero and the Schanehorst, who were on the direct cover mission, discovered the invading Walrus seaplane almost simultaneously.

"Is it a seaplane?" Major General Refman asked. After getting a positive answer, he told Lieutenant General Mashar, "It should be a 'walrus'. Its speed is very slow and can only fly about 200 kilometers per hour. It is now 6:45, and the time it was ejected should be less than an hour..."

"The enemy is within 100 nautical miles?" Mashar interrupted Refman's words. The atmosphere in the entire commander Tower suddenly became tense!

There are large British ships that can carry "walruses" within 100 nautical miles!

At this time, the communications consultant reported again: "Lieutenant General, the 'Sedlez' reported that the Fokker Zero shot down it."

Folk Zero's combat power is indeed outstanding!

As soon as everyone breathed a sigh of relief, the voice of the communications officer sounded again: "We also heard unknown radio signals."

Damn it!

Mashar and Refman looked at each other. The "walrus" had sent a telegram and their location had been exposed.

"Lieutenant General," the communications consultant received another new news at this time, "I discovered the British escort fleet!" His tone was filled with surprise, "Just 90-100 nautical miles west of us, heading east, the coordinates are..."

Maschel and Refmann walked to the chart table in a few steps. At this time, the navigator staff had already indicated the general position of the British escort fleet on the chart. They were the ab-1 escort fleet. I just discovered that the German fleet was sent by the Ab-1's flagship "London" heavy cruiser.

"When the reconnaissance planes are discovered, they will immediately recall all Folk 99s, add bombs, and let them attack!" Major General Refman immediately made a suggestion. "Because we chase at a speed of 30 knots, it will take at least 3-4 hours to catch up. If we want to achieve the results, we must send planes to bomb!"

The efficiency of aircraft carrier breaking transactions is here!

Similarly, the role of carrier-based aircraft/seaplanes in escort is undoubtedly reflected. If Germany's fleet does not have an aircraft carrier, even if the A-196 seaplane is discovered by the A-196 seaplane, there will be no way to achieve major results.

Because the distance between the two sides is still 90-100 nautical miles, the "Scharnhorst" has to run for 3 hours before the opportunity to open fire, and the other party is likely to disband the formation and escape. At that time, the "Scharnhorst" can capture at most one or two merchant ships, and its efficiency is limited than that of a submarine.

But with the Fokker 99 carrier-based bombers, even if there are only 9, at least four or five can be easily injured.

"But the British aircraft carrier may also be somewhere nearby." Lieutenant General Mashal hesitated.

"Lieutenant General, we have 20 Folk Zero, and we are afraid that we can't deal with the British biplane?" Major General Refman said. He knew that his proposal was very risky, but if we wanted to achieve results, it would not be possible not to take risks.

Besides, the air defense firepower provided by the 20 Folk Zero should be strong enough. Now you only need to be careful not to get the British battleships close.

"Okay, that's it!" Lieutenant General Mashal nodded, "Give orders to Major General Haye."

He paused, and then said, "We will turn around and go south at full speed, 30 knots. When the Folk 99 comes back, we will slow down and retract the plane. After the nine Folk 99s strike again, we will turn east and go south of those British freighters. Today, we will continue to bomb with nine Folk 99s during the day, and then sink the injured ship with the "Shankhorst" at night."

...

"Admiral, we found them!"

The atmosphere suddenly became tense in the commander tower of the battleship "Revenge".

"A battleship, an aircraft carrier, and a cruiser!" the communications consultant shouted.

"We caught them!" Major General Phillips almost cheered. "They were almost in the middle of our four squadrons!"

"The news will not be wrong, right?" Forbes said. "Did the seaplane lose contact?"

"If you lose contact, you may be shot down by Folk Zero." Major General Phillips said, "but other 'walruses' have flew over, and I believe the location of the German fleet will be confirmed soon."

Just as Admiral Forbes frowned and hesitated, the Fleet Communications Staff shouted again: "Ab-1 report, they found an unidentified seaplane!"

This should be the German ar-196! Everyone was thinking: This is almost confirmed that the German fleet was discovered!

Major General Phillips immediately advised General Forbes, "Let the aircraft carrier send the 'Big Euro' and 'Swordfish'! Send it now!"

Admiral Charles Forbes also shouted in his heart: "God bless!"

The luck this time is so good! It seems that it can be wiped out the shame of the "Battle of Scapa Bay".

"Okay, send the coordinates of the Germans to the fleet, the G fleet and the H fleet, and let them send torpedo bombers and dive bombers immediately!" Charles Forbes ordered loudly, "Our fleet i must also take action, go to meet with the ab-1, and move closer to the ab-1 at full speed!"

The ab-1 is composed of 86 transport ships with a total tonnage of more than 630,000 tons. Moreover, those transport ships also carry a lot of raw materials that Britain needs urgently, so the "Scharnhorst" cannot be sunk.

...

"Garland team, Garland team, I am 'Sedleeds'." At 7:55, Adolf Garland was flying in a Fokker Zero in the sky. The voice of Lieutenant Colonel Weiss, an aviation staff member, came from his headphones.

"The radar found an aircraft, which was 2 o'clock in front of your right, at an altitude of 4,000. Let's see who it is?"

"Garland received!" Major Garland replied immediately, "Repeat, Garland received." Then he adjusted the caller to the frequency of the formation calls, "There is work to do! Come with me!"

When he gently pushed the joystick and flew the plane to search for the invading enemy, he suddenly thought to himself: The enemy's planes came one after another. It seems that there must be a bloody battle today!

At this time, the voice of the wingman Schumacher came from his headphones: "Major, I saw it. It was a 'Swordfish' plane... not a seaplane, but a carrier-based plane! It seems that the British aircraft carrier is nearby!"
Chapter completed!