Expedition to Europe

When the first wave of diving fighters passed over the "Hood", the anti-aircraft gunners on the "Hood" had just entered the combat position. If this wave of fighter jets were bombers or torpedo planes, then the "Hood" "No." is now able to return.

When he saw the tricolor flag on the wing of the "Falcon" through the bridge window of the "Hood", David Beattie's face was extremely ugly.

At this moment, everyone in the bridge, including David Beatty, clung to everything at hand that could fix their bodies, waiting for the expected explosion.

After a while, there was no explosion, and no one on the bridge felt any vibration. It was really a false alarm——

"Huh -" David Betty breathed out unconsciously, his voice still full of confidence: "The Lanfang people's air force is nothing more than this. It's time for us to appear on the stage. It's time to give them some color. Let them know that the Royal Navy of the British Empire is not someone to be trifled with!"

As soon as David Beatty finished speaking, everyone on the bridge was about to shout a cheer to boost morale. David Beatty saw the water column rising from the side of the "Brave" aircraft carrier sailing next to the "Hood". Immediately afterwards, David Beatty heard an earth-shattering explosion.

Dou Yongyi's first choice target is not the largest tonnage "HMS Hood", but the three aircraft carriers "HMS Hundred-Eyed Giant", "HMS Brave" and "HMS Glory" in the British fleet. For the Lanfang Air Force Generally speaking, the threat posed by the "Hood" to them is far less than that of these three aircraft carriers. As long as the fighters on these three aircraft carriers cannot take off, the Lanfang Air Force will take whatever it wants from the British fleet on the sea.

Lanfang's bombers and torpedo planes both used a four-plane formation to penetrate the defense, so there was far more than one explosion. In just five seconds, at least three torpedoes concentrated on the "Brave" aircraft carrier. The reason why the number is not so accurate is that It was because almost at the same time as the first explosion, the diving bomber also dropped the bomb on the flight deck of the "Brave".

Lanfang Air Force bombers use 500 kilogram aerial bombs. It is not very comfortable to deal with an aircraft carrier like the "Brave" with a wooden deck. Although there is a layer of steel plate under the wooden deck, the bomb still relies on its own inertia to directly hit it. Entering the hull, a violent explosion triggered the ammunition depot piled below the deck, and an earth-shattering explosion sounded. The "Brave" ended its life in the most dazzling way like a huge firework. .

It was really over, and there was no need to save it. The torpedoes and aerial bombs almost blew the "Brave" into two pieces from the middle. The entire front half of the "Brave" had almost disappeared, and the second half sank into the water. , the hull that was originally the middle part of the ship was raised high, like a broken chopstick stuck in the giant bowl of the Mediterranean Sea, which was jaw-dropping.

David Beatty's mouth was wide open and he couldn't say a word. Half a minute ago, David Beatty was full of confidence, but the reality was no longer enough to be described by a slap - it should have been slapped hard on David Beatty like a pan. The look on his face made David Beatty feel dizzy and with stars in his eyes.

Everyone in the bridge was stunned. Even the most optimistic people did not dare to say anything about defeating the Lanfang people.

This must be a dream - this is the first thought that pops up in many people's minds.

If this is a nightmare, then the nightmare continues.

Almost at the same time that the "Brave" was severely damaged, the "Hundred-Eyed Giant" and the "Glorious" were also under the focus of the Lafang Air Force. The fate of the "Hundred-Eyed Giant" was as tragic as that of the "Brave". After being hit at close range by two torpedoes and three aerial bombs, the hull of the "Hundred-Eyed Giant" had tilted severely, and it was only a matter of time before it sank. , the situation of the "Glorious" was slightly better. When the Lanfang Air Force launched the attack, a cruiser happened to be sailing on the side of the "Glorious". Only one of the four torpedoes hit the "Glorious", and two fish The mine struck the hapless cruiser, and the last torpedo somehow did not explode, allowing the Glorious to barely escape.

However, although it escaped, the "Glorious" was also destroyed. The deck of the "Glorious" was also hit by a bomb. Although the "Glorious" was luckier and was not hit in the ammunition depot, it was already Fighters were unable to take off and land. At the same time, the "Glory" was on fire, and the fire had a tendency to spread. If there were no other ships to help, it would only be a matter of time before the "Glory" sank.

The losses of the British fleet were not just that. In addition to three aircraft carriers, one heavy cruiser and two light cruisers were also sunk. The battleship "Repulse" and the battleship "Centurion" were damaged. Among them, the "Repulse" "The damage was serious and it needed to be towed back to the dock for overhaul. The Centurion's power was damaged and it could no longer keep up with the speed of the fleet.

David Beatty was moved to tears when he saw the statistical report. In just ten minutes, the Royal Navy of the British Empire suffered its worst losses in the past century.

And it seems that the Lanfang people have no intention of stopping yet, because the British fleet has lost all air protection, and now the airspace above the fleet belongs to the Lanfang fleet. The Lanfang people can go back and install aerial bombs and torpedoes, and then Fly back again.

To be honest, David Beatty has never liked the dark night, but now David Beatty hopes that the sky will darken as soon as possible, so that the British fleet can use the darkness to escape this disaster.

It's a pity that it's only half past eight in the morning——

"Go ahead at full speed and flatten the Lanfang airport--" David Beatty was furious. He could not retreat at this time. The only way out was to move forward.

"Commander, we can't move forward anymore. The Lanfang airport is 20 kilometers east of Oristano. If we want to attack the Lanfang airport, we have to enter the Gulf of Oristano--" Rear Admiral Tomkinson, the captain of the Hood, put forward his opinion.

The reason why Rear Admiral Tomkinson did not object to David Beatty's arrangement before was that Rear Admiral Tomkinson, like David Beatty, believed that the fleet's air defense network and the air force's fighters could provide sufficient protection for the fleet. Now it is different. The combat effectiveness shown by the Lanfang Air Force is beyond the norm and must be re-evaluated. Two of the three aircraft carriers in the fleet were sunk and one lost its combat capability. The fleet's air defense firepower did not show the ability to be expected. At this time, continuing to implement the previous combat plan is not brave, but stupid.

Speaking of which, the British Navy also has a tradition of "the lower ranks over the upper ranks" - in the last World War, David Beatty squeezed out John Jellicoe, the then British Navy Commander, and now Tomkinson also has a lot of ideas.

A soldier who doesn't want to be a general is not a good soldier, and a general who doesn't want to be a commander is not a good general either -

"We must move forward, otherwise the glory of our British Empire Royal Navy will be destroyed. You should know what this means to Britain now." David Beatty is stubborn and has reasons to insist.

"Glory" is as magical as "confidence". It may take hundreds of years to accumulate, and it may only take a few minutes to destroy. David Beatty is very clear that Britain's national strength is no longer the strongest in the world. If it loses the glorious tradition of the navy, then David Beatty really can't think of anything else that Britain is proud of.

Vast colonies?

Don't be funny - as long as Britain fails today, once the halo of the "Invincible Fleet" is shattered, the colonies will be turbulent tomorrow.

Hundreds of years of glorious history?

The original text is in the six # 9 @book/bar!

That is not something to be proud of. On the contrary, because of hundreds of years of colonial history, Britain has successfully established countless enemies, not only the colonial people who have been oppressed by the British for hundreds of years, but also the old imperialism in Europe, emerging countries such as Lan Fang and Germany will not let the British go, and even the United States, the son of Britain, will pounce on them viciously. Don't think that Americans stood with the British in the last world war, so they will stand with the British this time.

Americans these days are fence-sitters, not the world police. Americans will only stand with interests. Whoever looks like they will win, Americans will choose. This has nothing to do with blood, only with interests, which is determined by the nature of capital.

The war between European countries is similar to the separation of ordinary people's families. They are all relatives. Not to mention the long circle of roundabout relationships in the last world war, in this world war, King George V of Britain and William III of Germany are cousins, and Pierre of France is Qin Zhiyuan's brother-in-law. Shouldn't they fight when they should?

"If we continue to move forward, it will not only be the glory of the British Empire Royal Navy that will be destroyed. You should also know what this means for Britain at present." Tomkinson refused to give in.

It is true that Britain is also short of manpower at present. Because of France's poor preparations for war, Britain needs more land forces and also needs to expand the navy. If David Beatty's stubbornness leads to the annihilation of the British fleet in the Mediterranean, then there is no need to fight this war. George V can be defeated and ask for peace tomorrow.

In the bridge, David Beatty and Tomkinson were like tit-for-tat bulls, refusing to give in to each other. Others were silent. No one dared to speak at this time, for fear of attracting a mixed doubles match between the two big men.

But there are always some people who are unconscious. The roar of the Lanfang bomber's engine is getting louder and louder in the distant sky. This group of "blind people" finally replenished bombs and torpedoes and came to teach the British a lesson again.

This time the British fleet was more prepared. Almost at the same time, various machine guns and cannons began to fire to prevent these death gods from approaching the British fleet.

It's a pity that the British training is really not good, or the combat effectiveness of the Lanfang Air Force is really too strong. There are still continuous explosions. Every dull explosion is like a sledgehammer hitting David Beatty's chest, making David Beatty breathless and feeling like he is suffocating.