The night sky was deep, black clouds were billowing, and the fierce sea wind stirred up huge waves several meters high, causing white foam to rise into the sky on the side of the steel battleship. If you could overlook the entire North Atlantic battlefield from a God's perspective at this time, you would find that several fleets from Germany and the United States were conducting rapid maneuvers during the night. During this ideal period when no aircraft are dispatched, the commanders of both sides have sufficient time to make corresponding post-event adjustments to the battle that broke out during the day. How to retreat and how to attack have become important means to influence the game between both sides on this war chessboard. . For the German fleet, they also face a very important mission in the night: they not only need to work hard to detect the location of the American fleet, but also try to prevent the other party from entering the rear transportation route, so as not to cause destruction to the fleet full of supplies. Sexual blow. In fact, all the naval battles that broke out between Germany and Britain and the United States in this war were all due to the core factor of preventing the other party from using the ocean; although the escort fleet was a bait to lure the snake out of its hole, But it is also a key existence that cannot be missed! Fortunately, these transport fleets changed their course significantly to the south shortly after setting off, and are now in an area more than 400 nautical miles away from the war zone; even if the U.S. fleet catches up at full speed at night, it will be difficult to catch up overnight. Bring them within striking range. After all, these merchant ships are also maneuvering at a speed of about 10 knots, and ten hours of darkness is enough for them to run a long distance; and the Americans have no way of knowing their specific heading, so chasing them is half the effort. More importantly, one of the US fleets has suffered considerable damage in the daytime battle, and sailing at full speed has become a luxury for them. Because of this situation. The US fleet's retreat at night seemed to be their most ideal choice: in the previous two naval battles. They all retreated after feeling outnumbered. This avoids greater losses. However, this time, the German fleet commanders were quite confident that the other side would not withdraw its troops. Because the current German army and air force have penetrated deeply into Mexico, the southern United States is already in danger. The battles in Haiti and Cuba have proven that the US Army is basically the difference between primary school students and adult athletes in front of its German counterparts! Considering the tragedy of the new types of ships the U.S. Navy will put into service in the next year, after all the ships damaged half a year ago have been repaired, it is already their last chance to have the smallest gap with the Allied navies. After all, once the German army attacks northward from Mexico, even the most optimistic people in the White House do not believe that the US Army can persist for more than half a year: the British and French armies have been preparing for the next war for twenty years. Even if it was declared destroyed within a month, how could the U.S. Army, which Wen Tian had played with for more than half a century, protect the security of its homeland? After a long period of maneuvering and waiting, the dawn of May 7, 1938 finally illuminated the shadows of the warships of both sides. With the efforts of the observation troops, the aircraft carrier fleets of both sides avoided the area shrouded by gunfire and dispatched carrier-based aircraft for reconnaissance as soon as possible. When several unknown targets appeared on the radar screen 120 kilometers away, Admiral Karls, who was stationed on the Hindenburg aircraft carrier, was pleasantly surprised: the U.S. fleet did not escape at night, but chose to stay in this sea area. This undoubtedly gave me a great opportunity to completely destroy the other party. After nearly a day, the other two friendly fleets dispersed no matter how far away they were. No matter how hard it is, he will bring the other party into the attack range within today under his telegram call! Not long after, news of the discovery of the enemy fleet came from the radio room. What excites Karls is that there are four large aircraft carriers in the opponent's fleet. This is the fleet that he wanted to attack yesterday afternoon, but chose to stop due to the distance and course. Now, the distance between the opponent and ourselves is less than 350 kilometers, and the attack aircraft group taking off from our own aircraft carrier can launch a fierce attack on it within an hour and a half! Feeling that the opportunity was unmissable, Karls immediately ordered the attack wave to take off. For a while, the aircraft carrier deck in the fleet was full of busy ground crews loading bombs and torpedoes for the fighter planes. Considering that the opponent with basically complete aviation power might launch a large-scale attack on itself, Karls did not let the aircraft carrier prepare too many attack aircraft; a large wave of fighter jets were raised to the deck with priority over the attack aircraft, ready at any time. Take off to meet the enemy. As time went by, Kars gradually felt that something was wrong. The opponent's attack wave never appeared on his radar screen. Only small groups of fighter jets occasionally challenged his own air protective umbrella, and soon they was repulsed by fighter jets deployed on the perimeter. Obviously, these fighters are here to spy on the location of their own fleet. Under normal circumstances, one's own air-to-air radar should have already scanned the opponent's large group of attack aircraft. After all, the US military reconnaissance aircraft found its position first in today's game, and 70 minutes is enough time for the opponent's aircraft group. Taking off from the aircraft carrier, forming a formation??and fly to a distance that can be detected by our own radar. At this time, a large number of fighter jets were waiting for the flagship's attack order on each aircraft carrier, but the radar screen was blank, and he obviously could not order it to waste fuel when the enemy's situation was unclear! "Could it be that these American reconnaissance planes flying over the fleet took off from another fleet, but the American fleet discovered by our army was not ready to attack when it received the signal?" Waited for another 10 years Minutes later, Karls, who still didn't notice anything strange, couldn't help but secretly speculate. If you think about it carefully, this situation is entirely possible, because the two fleets have completely different command systems, and their own situations will also have great deviations. If the commander adopts a more conservative strategy, the aircraft carrier fleet will mainly prepare fighter jets, and wait until the target is discovered before preparing to release the attack aircraft: because no one can be sure that they will be the first to seize the battlefield advantage. If If the opponent discovers you first, but you are not of good character and cannot find the opponent, then it is crucial to release a large number of fighter jets to intercept enemy aircraft. In the German Navy's use of aircraft carriers, this conservative strategy is basically not chosen by commanders. This is mainly due to the following three reasons: Since the flight deck of one's own aircraft carrier is long enough, the hangar capacity is large enough, and the number of aircraft carriers exceeds that of the opponent, the German Navy's aircraft carrier formation can release much more aircraft than the opponent. fighter plane. In this way, not only can it basically guarantee a head start in early reconnaissance, but even if the opponent is lucky enough to seize the reconnaissance opportunity, it can also release enough fighter jets in time to compete with the opponent's attack fleet. In addition, the strong and solid armor of the German aircraft carrier also makes every commander feel extremely at ease: not to mention smashing the core cabin, even breaking through the 100 or 125 mm thick flight deck armor and destroying the aircraft carrier The ability of fighter jets to take off and land requires a lot of effort. Coupled with the powerful air defense capability given to the fleet by a large number of anti-aircraft guns, the German aircraft carrier is fully capable of withstanding the roar of locusts all over the sky. It's not painful at all to endure a round of attacks on your own, but the opponent obviously won't have such a calm attitude! Because of this reason, German aircraft carriers have chosen more aggressive tactics in battle. With the huge advantages in offense, defense and numbers, this risk is completely acceptable. The situation of the US aircraft carrier fleet is completely different. Although the Essex class has excellent mine protection, it cannot compare with German armored aircraft carriers in terms of bomb protection. In terms of the number of carrier-based aircraft and aircraft carriers themselves, there is also a huge gap between them and their opponents. Under this circumstance, it seems quite possible that the US fleet has chosen a strategy of safety first, putting the attack aircraft that are more time-consuming to prepare at the back. If the target is a transport fleet, fighter jets equipped with small bombs can also be competent in the attack mission. This does not violate the US Navy's current strategy of breaking diplomatic relations. "Send the order, each aircraft carrier prepares for the second wave of attacks. We need to severely damage this U.S. fleet with complete combat power before friendly forces arrive, so that they can all stay in this ocean under subsequent attacks!" Karls pondered for a moment, Then he spoke loudly. Although this order is suspected of being a desperate move, after all, this fleet just experienced four sea and air battles in two areas yesterday, and the number of carrier-based aircraft is no longer enough to support two waves of attacks. There is a strict air protection umbrella, but Karls made this decision after detailed consideration. Since the position of the fleet has been exposed, the Americans who are in danger of being attacked may not spend much time preparing attack aircraft, and the risks they face are not that serious. As for the other US aircraft carrier fleet, they have already lost most of their aviation capabilities in yesterday's battle. Even if they can dispatch a few forces, they will be completely unable to cope with the remaining fighter jets and surface anti-aircraft artillery fire. within. Ten minutes later, the second wave of attack aircraft began to take off from the German aircraft carrier. Karls' prediction seemed to have come true, as there was still no US military aircraft group on the radar screen. It seems that the opponent has temporarily given up the plan to attack under his own threat, and is instead fully preparing its fighter jets to defend against this wave of attacks. Just as he set his sights on the rotating hands of the pocket watch in his hand and began to long for the outcome of the battle in the distance, the phone connected to the radar room suddenly rang. There was an uneasy premonition in Karls's heart, and he held the receiver to his ear. Before he could speak, an unspeakable and frightening voice sounded in his ear: "Report, a large number of enemy planes have been spotted at position 307, 160 kilometers away from the fleet. The number is over 180, and they are flying towards us quickly!¡± (To be continued, please search Piaotian Literature, the novel is better and updated faster! PS: Thanks to Non-Nuclear Strike, Yin Yin Shan Cao, Xiao Bai who doesn¡¯t want to die, and Brilliant Saint) Monthly support from book friends such as Yao and 21412s, and rewards from zhouyu1976~~~