The Rise of the Third Reich

Chapter 224 Scapa Flow is in danger

With blue sea, blue sky and white clouds, it is indeed a good day to travel. A latest model Fokker F.37 passenger plane is soaring three to four kilometers in the air above the North Sea. This Fokker F.37 is the civil aviation version of the Fokker F.36. It is equipped with four BMW300 engines with very good fuel-saving performance and reliability.

This is a "small double-row" engine, with horsepower between single-row air-cooling and large double-row air-cooling. The 14 small cylinders are in a double-row star layout. It weighs only 520 kilograms, but it can provide maximum power at an altitude of 4,200 meters. Stable output power of 980 horsepower. It is a civilian engine with excellent performance.

The Fokker F.37, equipped with four BMW300 engines, can fly continuously for 8 hours at a stable speed of about 300 kilometers per hour when carrying a 2,000 kilogram load. Its performance is extremely excellent. If it were not for the upcoming war, this aircraft would definitely be another dominant player in the civil aviation market.

The cabin of this Fokker F.37 is also very sophisticated. It has good sealing and sound insulation performance. It has comfortable sofa-type seats and is very spacious. It is not at all crowded in the economy class of later civil aviation.

The outer shell of the aircraft is painted with the logo of "Lufthansa" - this is the world's largest airline, with a fleet of hundreds of passenger and cargo aircraft. However, the plane Hersmann is currently traveling on is a fake "Lufthansa" plane. Its real owner is the Central Security Service of the German Empire. This is a spy plane!

"The biggest risk for the P-class break-up formation comes from Scapa Flow," Canaris sat opposite Hersman. There was a table between the two of them, with a North Sea chart spread out on it. He pointed to Scapa Flow. The location of Scapa Flow said, "To break into the Atlantic Ocean, you cannot go through the English Channel. You can only go through the North Sea and go around the back of the British Island. And Scapa Flow is located exactly in the northwest corner of the British Island, only 460 kilometers away from Norway. The United Kingdom People can only deploy the main force of the local fleet and naval reconnaissance aircraft there, and it will be very dangerous for the P-class breakup formation to pass through. "

"How is the defense situation there?" Hessman stared at the map, and his mind was filled with the "Pearl Harbor Incident". If he could do it in Scapa Flow, he didn't need to sink many battleships, as long as he could let the British Home Fleet If all the battleships, battlecruisers and aircraft carriers are injured, the German Navy can gain the initiative for a period of time.

"There is a naval air station," Canaris said. "The British Air Force does not have an airport there. If it wants to dispatch aircraft, it has to depart from the airport in northern Scotland. As for the anti-aircraft firepower, it is also very weak. There are only old-fashioned ones left over from the last world war. Anti-aircraft guns pose no threat to our aircraft."

"Is there any radar?" Hersman asked again.

"There is no radar," Canaris shook his head and said, "But there are radars on the British capital ships."

"You can fly across the sea at low altitude to reduce the detection distance." Naval Aviation Commander Graham interjected, "Even if you don't do this, the British radar can only see dozens of kilometers at most, which is only a few minutes for the aircraft. . If the combat readiness level is not high, there will be no time to react.”

"It's useless even if the combat readiness level is high," Canaris said with a smile. "The British naval air station does not have many fighter jets. They never thought that Scapa Flow would be attacked by air. And the aircraft on the aircraft carrier , it is impossible to take off when the aircraft carrier is anchored. The only thing that can threaten the aircraft is the anti-aircraft gun on the ship, but the fleet will not set up an anti-aircraft formation when parked in the harbor, and it is not easy to maneuver. "

"Basically I just have to survive the bombing!" Lieutenant General Graham laughed, "I can't wait to start the war."

Why didn't we blow it up in time? Hessmann suddenly discovered that it was not that difficult for the Germans to win the world war. Sometimes they just needed to be more determined.

In fact, it also exploded in history, but not at the beginning. Instead, they were bombed after the Luftwaffe showed its prowess in Poland. By then, the British had been frightened by the Luftwaffe and evacuated the fleet...

"Have you chosen the plane?" Hersman thought for a while and asked.

"There is already a plan," Gramm replied with a smile. "The Ju.88 can carry out dive bombing, and the He111 can carry out low-altitude horizontal bombing. The range of these two aircraft is not small, and they can be modified to extend the range. There is no problem in flying 2,000 kilometers." . There is also a He115 available, which is an existing aircraft.”

"Seaplane?" Hersman was stunned.

"Just remove the float," Graham shrugged and smiled. "This can also save some weight. I have already had people do experiments, and it is completely feasible."

The He115 is a seaplane with quite good performance. It can fly at a speed of 355 kilometers per hour with two pontoons attached, and has a range of up to 3,350 kilometers! The weapons are 2 machine guns, 1250kg bombs or torpedoes...

Moreover, the design of this aircraft was completed in 1937 and finalized in early 1938. In other words, in September 1939 in history, Generalissimo Göring could theoretically have an air force capable of bombing Scapa Flow into Pearl Harbor!

You don’t even need to open the golden finger! No, changing the Air Force Commander from Göring to Kesselring is probably the biggest cheat.

"What about the mine protection net?" Hessman asked again, "The battleships will be protected by mine protection nets, right?"

"No, generally not." Canaris said, "That thing is very expensive and troublesome to use. I estimate that the British will lay out anti-submarine wire mesh at each entrance to Scapa Flow instead of giving each A capital ship lays out mine protection nets...because that's not necessary."

Graeme explained with a smile: "Theoretically, airplanes can't reach it, and submarines can't get in."

Take it lightly! This is a common problem among all armies in the world in a state of peace, and the transition from a state of peace to a high level of combat readiness cannot be accomplished with just one order and a few hours.

"For 120 shore-based improved models of He-115," Hersman stopped discussing and began to "place orders" directly, "120 Ju.88 extended-range models, 120 He-111 extended-range models." Model, plus 100 Fokker Zeros, will be in place by the end of May next year.”

It is difficult to assemble 1,000 aircraft. Now each air force is short of new aircraft, and after the war in September 1939, the mission of bombing Poland will definitely be heavy. But 460 can always be made up!

"Be prepared to attack immediately after the war begins!" Hessman thought for a moment and then said, "Can the intelligence department grasp the movements of the British fleet?"

If you want to go bombing, you must first find out whether someone is there. Although the British Home Fleet will definitely be concentrated in Scapa Flow amid tensions between Britain and Germany, who knows whether they will go to sea for exercises?

“We have agents already lurking in Scapa Flow,” Canaris assured. “That person has become a British citizen and has lived near Scapa Flow for many years. In addition, we can also send submarines for surveillance. It’s guaranteed to be foolproof!”

"Okay! It's decided!" Hersman clapped his hands excitedly. These are 460 aircraft! During the Pearl Harbor incident, only 371 aircraft were dispatched in the two air strikes, which paralyzed the U.S. Pacific Fleet for several months.

At this moment, the loudspeaker in the cabin suddenly rang: "I am the captain, we are approaching Scapa Flow. The aircraft will lower its altitude to 1000 and pass over the sea east of Scapa Flow. Please pay attention."

Outside No. 77 William Street, several black Mercedes-Benz 770K and Mercedes-Benz W07 luxury cars were parked. A group of officers and soldiers wearing armed SS uniforms were waiting there.

"Hi! Our leader!"

"Hi! Hitler!"

Some Berlin citizens passing by saw Adolf Hitler quickly walking out of the Chancellery surrounded by several officials, and they all raised their hands to salute him.

Hitler smiled and raised his hand in return, then got into his Mercedes-Benz 770K, started the car, and drove away under the attention of everyone.

"Leader," Ribbentrop, who got into the car with Hitler, said in a somewhat sad tone, "the Poles are very tough and refuse to give in no matter what. The British Prime Minister Chamberlain blamed us for annexing Bohemia. Asia, to restore the Hohenzollern dynasty. And the Italian leader, Mr. Mussolini, is also very dissatisfied with our proximity to the Soviet Union...The situation in Europe is not very favorable to us."

"What if..." Hitler thought for a moment, "If we just go back to Danze and don't want the Polish Corridor for the time being, will peace be possible?"

Hersmann would have been shocked if he had heard Hitler's question. Adolf Hitler, the war madman in history and the number one sinner of mankind, is now working hard for world peace.

While people like Hersmann and Schleicher were busy preparing for world war!

Because the current situation is very different from that in history. Historically, the Soviet-German Non-Aggression Pact was only officially signed on August 23, 1939. Before this, Germany always appeared as "anti-Soviet" and "anti-G".

This gave Hitler the illusion that Britain and France would continue to appease Germany because of Hitler's anti-G and anti-Soviet attitude. If Britain and France really wanted Germany to fight the Soviet Union, it seemed that Germany should be allowed to take over Poland.

After all, only by winning Poland can Germany attack the Soviet Union.

However, in this time and space, under the auspices of Marshal Schleicher (historically a pro-Soviet faction) and General Hersmann, two pro-Soviet German military leaders, Soviet-German relations had been very good. By the end of 1938, the two sides The 10-year "Socialist Axis Treaty" was signed.

Under this situation, Britain, France and Poland took a very tough stance, and Mussolini, who had always regarded himself as anti-German, was not as pro-German as he had been in history. When the overall situation of the Spanish War had been decided, he began to Alienated Germany and moved closer to Britain and France.

At this time, leader Hitler also began to hesitate - Britain, France, Italy and Poland looked very powerful together! And it also surrounded Germany on all sides...

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