Chapter 1333 Attack on Taranto (Part 2) The attack fleet thought that strict light control would be implemented at the military port in Taranto, but what they didn¡¯t expect was that there were actually many lights there. It turned out to be the result of the previous two harassments. , the blackout is normal, but during the battle, it's just convenient. After the first four aircraft arrived at the designated position, they dropped flares. When they were 1,200 meters above the ground, the flares began to burn and emit bright light. This was also a signal for the aircraft behind to launch an attack. The flare illuminated the entire military port like daylight, and the Italian warships in the military port were completely exposed. The siren sounded again. Before the Italian army could react, the aircraft responsible for the attack had already arrived overhead, and the torpedo attack As soon as the pilots of the aircraft saw the warships below, they immediately pounced downwards. After approaching the enemy warships, all the torpedoes were dropped. The torpedoes were all submerged in the water quickly, and the propellers behind them rotated rapidly, pushing the torpedoes forward. Although all the warships had put down mine protection nets, the attacking torpedoes got through from underneath. , after reaching the bottom of the warship, the magnetic torpedo immediately exploded. The bottom of the warship is the weakest point of the warship, and there will be no reinforced protective steel plates there. The battleship "Vittorio Veneto" was the first to be hit by four torpedoes. The fire started and pointed out the target for other warships. Then the battleship "Count di Cavour" was also hit by One torpedo hit. Although only one torpedo hit, I don't know if it was just bad luck or if the torpedo found its position too well. Anyway, it was the first warship to start sinking. At the same time, the battleship "Cayo Duilio" also won the lottery. A few minutes later, the first attack ended. A Chinese naval aviation aircraft was hit. The pilot flew the aircraft towards the sea. Another aircraft hit the air defense net and fell offshore. A small signal generator they carry is constantly transmitting distress signals. A submarine belonging to the Chinese task force was observing at the periscope depth. They saw that two of their aircraft were injured and fell down. The captain hurriedly ordered his submarine to move closer and fired from the torpedo tube. The two rescuers were released and asked to rescue the nearby pilot. The submarine continued to move forward, and the pilot in the distance did not move at all. It was estimated that he was seriously injured. The captain of the submarine ordered to rise to the surface and take advantage of the enemy's confusion to rescue our pilot when he was still 500 meters away from the pilot. The captain ordered to stop moving forward. His submarine would be in danger if it moved forward, so several sailors lowered a rubber boat. The high-pressure air pump inflated the rubber boat within two minutes. Several sailors rushed forward with submachine guns in hand. The motor started and they rushed towards the pilot in the distance. At this time, a small Italian lifeboat was also approaching the pilot. Obviously their purpose was to catch our pilot. The ratio of the number of people on both sides is five to fourteen. The sergeant on the rubber boat said to his sailors: "Be careful, don't shoot, listen to my command, now we have to turn, pay attention to the left rudder 45 degrees." The sailor behind the helm hurriedly turned the rudder to 45 degrees. At this time, the guns of the four sailors in front were pointed at the other side's boat. With this turn, his comrade in front was dodged, otherwise he would be under the gunfire of both sides. The rubber boat was moving quickly towards the place where the pilot fell into the water. The staff sergeant had no intention of shooting at all. Soon they arrived in front of the pilot ahead of the enemy. At this time, the staff sergeant was not going to save anyone. Instead, an order was given to shoot, and four submachine guns fired at the same time. The Italian sailors on the opposite side were not prepared at all. Most of them were paddling with their hands. When the gunshots were fired, they fell into the water one after another. . The rubber boat continued to approach the enemy. The sergeant knew not to give the enemy a chance to fight back. If they fought back, his rubber boat would not be as good as their lifeboat. The rubber boat quickly rushed to the enemy's lifeboat, and the lifeboat on the opposite side only fired two shots at the beginning. Later, they did not fire at all. The sailors took a look and there was no one alive in their lifeboat. , but at this time, a small gunboat of the Italian Navy was rushing towards here in the distance. A sailor stretched out his hand and pulled the cable on the lifeboat. The rubber boat began to turn back, and the lifeboat was pulled behind. A sailor said: "Put down the enemy's small boat, that way we can go faster." The sergeant said: "Pull it up, it will be useful for us, it can block the shells for us." The rubber boat quickly fell into the water The pilot rushed over and the two men worked together to pull him up.?The rubber boat drove back quickly, and the enemy gunboat behind opened fire. However, the boat was too small. They had not gone through such practice at all. However, a shell still landed on the small boat behind. The sergeant said hurriedly. : "Let go of it, turn 45 degrees to the right, clear the channel, and let our submarine hit it." The rubber boat dodged, and the gunboat was still firing at them. Suddenly, a string of shells hit the enemy's gunboat. , it turned out that it was our submarine that opened fire. This is a 37-gun. Its shells are five rounds in a group. Five rounds are fired at a time. However, these five rounds are very particular. They include tracer bullets, armor-piercing bullets, incendiary bullets, etc. bombs and high-explosive bombs, and soon the enemy's artillery positions were on fire, and their front artillery positions lost their ability to fight. The five sailors rescued the injured pilot. They fixed the pilot on a stretcher and sent him into the cabin of the submarine. The medical personnel on the submarine performed simple wound treatment for him, and then returned to the fleet. For final treatment, the sailors who attacked the enemy gunboat also came down. The submarine began to rush forward quickly, and soon it submerged underwater. When the Italian gunboat extinguished the fire and wanted to fight back, the submarine The boat had long since disappeared. At this time, the second wave of strikes from our aviation force arrived. The Italian gunboats could only care about their own escape at this time, and how could they care about the opponent's submarine. The second wave of strikes came from the northeast, the first strike came from the inner harbor, and this time the main attack was on the outer harbor of Italy. A heavy cruiser was hit, and then there were some small warships. , at the same time, the oil depots, docks, and repair factories attached to the military port were all attacked. On the aircraft carrier of the task force, everyone was nervously waiting for the return of the pilots. The telegram had come back and the attack was successfully completed. Two aircraft were lost, but their own aircraft had not returned yet. Therefore, the sailors on the aircraft carrier I was very anxious. The radar antennas above the warship stopped rotating. They pointed in the direction of the return of their fleet. In the cabin below, several radar soldiers responsible for observation nervously stared at the reflection on the display screen. Suddenly, several flashes of light appeared in the distance. points, and then there were more and more of these luminous points, and they were moving closer to their fleet. This must be their own aircraft returning. The radar soldiers immediately reported the news to their officers in charge, and at the same time they began to guide their aircraft to start. Return. The radar officer immediately reported to the captain: "The aircraft is returning." The captain immediately ordered: "Accelerate sailing and prepare to recover the aircraft." The aircraft carrier soon began to speed up, and the assault aircraft approached the fleet. Suddenly, all the navigation lights on the aircraft carrier It opened, and a runway illuminated by lights lit up. The ten attack planes quickly began to land one after another. The leading plane had already aimed at the runway behind the aircraft carrier. The pilot began to lower the altitude, reduce the throttle, and reduce the speed. The ten attack planes landed safely on the aircraft carrier. The sailors on the ship quickly pushed the planes aside to make room for the planes behind them, and then It's the landing of a fighter jet. Twenty minutes later, all aircraft were recovered and the aircraft carrier slowed down again. They were waiting for the return of the second wave of attack aircraft. Thirty minutes later, the second wave of attack aircraft also came back. No aircraft were injured in the second wave of attacks. A few minutes later, all the aircraft returned to the aircraft carrier. Soon, all recovery was completed, and the aircraft carrier sailed. All the lights go out and everything returns to its original state. The mission is over. The commander of the task force, Major General Xiao Zhenjiang, ordered the captain beside him: "Keep the speed and sail northwest. We are going back." The captain asked: "Go back to the British military port?" "No, we have to pass through Gibraltar. Return to the Atlantic Ocean, then go south around Cape Horn and prepare to attack Pearl Harbor. " "Should we start attacking the Japanese?" "Not yet, just wait and see. Honolulu will be ours soon. The mixed fleet is at the military port. "The fleet is arranged in a voyage formation, with the aircraft carrier sailing in the center. The remaining cruisers, frigates, and submarines below protect the aircraft carrier and transport ship. They begin to move quickly to the west. On the road ahead is There will be no more Italian warships. They must have run back to rescue their home port. Of the five Italian battleships, one was sunk, two were seriously damaged, one was slightly damaged, two cruisers were lost, and exactly half of the entire fleet was lost. The remaining warships all retreated northward, taking control of the entire Mediterranean. Power was once again given to the British.