The Rise of the Third Reich

"Woooo..."

A piercing siren sounded over the Holvok Highland Airport, about 60 kilometers away from Scapa Flow. This is a very small military airport located in the fields of northern Scotland with only one runway.

Before 1939, the airport was almost abandoned. However, in early 1939, with the continuous expansion of the British Air Force, airports became rare. So some squadrons were sent to the uninhabited north of Scotland for training and stationing - until the new airfield in the south was completed. The 67th Royal Air Force Fighter Squadron, which had just been equipped with Spitfire MK.I fighter jets, was unlucky enough to be sent to the most remote countryside in the UK.

While the pilots and ground staff of the 67th Squadron, who had just listened to the "King's Royal Voice" in the restaurant, were discussing the victory achieved by the Polish army, the siren sounded without warning.

"what happened?"

"Is this temporary training again?"

"We just flew over, why don't we let people take a breath?"

Although everyone likes the "Spitfire" aircraft they just got, this aircraft is much better than the Gloster "Gladiator" (a biplane) fighter they previously owned. But no one wants to sit in that cramped and breathless cabin all day long.

At this moment, the squadron leader, Captain Carter, walked in with a stern expression, as if the commander of Fighter Command was coming to inspect.

"Everyone, be quiet!" Carter said urgently and quickly, "I just received news that Scapa Flow was attacked by German aircraft! We must rush there immediately!"

Did the Germans come too quickly?

All the pilots and ground crew were a little dumbfounded. His Majesty the King's opening speech had just ended when the Germans came to bomb. Did these Germans fly in the sky with stopwatches stuck on?

"Okay, don't be in a daze!" Captain Carter clapped his hands, "Now I order all the 67th Squadron to attack! We have to rush to Scapa Flow. If we get there late, all the German planes will be shot down by the navy. !”

This time everyone realized that the peaceful era had really passed and they were already on the battlefield!

…

"All attention, all attention, He-111, lower the altitude to 500, penetrate the defense horizontally, fly in formation of 5 aircraft, break into the bay and disperse according to the predetermined plan, return immediately after the bombing is completed. Repeat..."

The slightly excited voice of Major Harlinghausen, commander of the 1st Bombardment Aviation Regiment of the Naval Aviation Corps, came from the speakers of all He-111 medium bombers. The He-111 is a medium-sized bomber with mediocre performance. The prototype is a ten-seat passenger aircraft. It was used as a spy plane by the German Central Security Service before the war. It flew all over the airspace of European countries and took a large number of aerial photos. Later, this aircraft was selected by the German Air Force and Naval Air Force, and after modification it became the main medium tactical bomber.

The 110 He-111s invested in this "Scapa Flow Bombing" operation were all H-type. The biggest feature of this model is that it has a fully transparent nose unified cockpit, in which the pilot and bombardier sit. Moreover, since the bombardier's seat is slightly to the right and the driver's seat is slightly to the left, their sight lines are not blocked, and the accuracy of bomb delivery is quite ideal (for a horizontal bomber).

The range and bomb load of the He-111 are also satisfactory. Under normal circumstances, the He-111H model can carry 2,000 kilograms of bombs. This time, the aircraft with only 1,000 kilograms of bombs gained a range of more than 2,300 kilometers. This allows them to take off from the airport in Wilhelmshaven and head to Spaka Fjord, 900 kilometers away.

In addition, because the He-111 series aircraft have a relatively simple structure, they are easy to modify and have a wide range of uses.

However, the speed of the He-111 series aircraft is not ideal, and it can only fly at a maximum speed of 405 kilometers per hour. This makes the He-111 aircraft vulnerable to attack by enemy aircraft without escort. But this problem has now disappeared with the emergence of the "super escort aircraft" Fokker Zero.

A fleet of 110 He-111 medium bombers had already flown over Scapa Flow. Under the sunlight at around 3 o'clock in the afternoon, the huge bay looks very peaceful and beautiful. The blue water is shimmering, and British ships of all sizes are docked here and there. It doesn't look dense. There are also some small ships sailing in the harbor.

"Disperse the formation and look for targets each!" Major Harlinghausen issued the order again.

The plan to attack Scapa Flow had been formulated several months ago, and naval aviation officers had conducted many targeted drills. Everyone took the topography of Scapa Flow to heart. Under this circumstance, HNA's staff divided the bay into 11 key areas, and arranged two 5-plane formations (He-111) in each area to be responsible for bombing.

The five-machine formation led by Major Harlinghausen and another five-machine formation were responsible for an area near Onik Island.

"Boom boom boom..."

Sparse black smoke dispersed in front of him. This was the firing of British anti-aircraft guns. However, the shooting was a bit high, and the firepower was not intensive.

Harlinghausen didn't care about this firepower. His attention at this time was completely attracted by a strange-looking battleship that appeared in sight.

All three main gun turrets of this battleship are directly ahead!

This is a "Nelson" class ship! Harlinghausen discovered that the "Nelson" was leaning against the pier. There was an anti-aircraft gun position on the pier, and it was firing one round at a time. It didn't look like a threat - in fact, there was no threat at all, because currently Scar The Pawan base only has old-fashioned anti-aircraft guns left over from the last world war. Their firing rate is slow and their accuracy is poor. After one round of bombing, they are almost reduced to spare parts!

"Target, the anti-aircraft gun position next to the Nelson!" Major Harlinghausen squeezed the aircraft's control stick hard. "Everyone, rush with me!"

…

"Boom boom boom..."

SC-250 bombs exploded near the starboard side of the "Nelson" one after another, sending pillars of fire into the sky. The anti-aircraft gun position arranged on the pier was immediately flooded by a sea of ​​fire.

"Just a level bomber!"

A senior staff officer of the Home Fleet said loudly in Admiral Forbes's ear: "They seem to be throwing high-explosive bombs, which poses no threat to us..."

Admiral Forbes glared at the naval lieutenant commander who was talking nonsense, "The anti-aircraft artilleryman who is taking the bomb is also a member of the Royal Navy..."

"Boom!" Before the admiral could finish his words, one of the 20 SC-250 bombs dropped by another 5-plane formation behind the 5-plane formation led by Major Harlinghausen landed, as if by some strange coincidence. Among the several lifeboats and speedboats placed behind the funnel of the "Nelson", a huge fireball instantly turned into a huge fireball, igniting all the lifeboats and speedboats. Thick black smoke rose into the sky, as if the "Nelson" was affected by the disaster. It seemed like a serious injury.

The shock wave generated by the explosion also caused the battleship to shake and shake. Churchill, who was sitting in the officer's lounge waiting for the news of the victory, was startled and the cigar in his hand fell to the floor.

"What's going on? The battleship was hit?"

Sir Pound nodded. He must have been shot. I wonder what the damage was? Although the "Nelson" is a big guy with thick skin and thick flesh, it is not easy to be sunk, but the weapon of the battleship is actually quite delicate. If an armor-piercing bomb penetrates into the belly of the battleship from a relatively weak place and explodes, That would be big trouble.

"What a pity! If it were a PC-500 anti-armor bomb..." After throwing the bomb, Major Harlinghausen, who was quickly raising his altitude to leave, had already discovered that the "Nelson" had been hit by a bomb. Unfortunately, it was hit by a high-explosive bomb. If it were a 500-kilogram anti-armor bomb, this battleship would most likely suffer heavy damage!

"There's nothing going on without us..." Harlinghausen muttered, then turned on the intercom, "Let's leave quickly! Now, all horizontal bomber formations report losses!"

…

"It's our turn now!" Captain Val T. Heisenberg of the 18th Bomb Squadron of the Naval Aviation saw the He-111 flying away, and then turned on the communicator, "Brothers of the 18th Squadron, let's go bomb the aircraft carrier. I see a big ship, come with me! The first detachment rushes from the right, the second detachment rushes from the left, and the third detachment hovers and stands ready."

Different from the 3-plane formation or 5-plane formation of horizontal bombers (the Luftwaffe uses a 3-plane formation and the Hainan Airlines uses a 5-plane formation), German dive bombers attack in columns. They sometimes fly in horizontal formation, changing into column as they approach the target area.

Usually a detachment (3 or 5 aircraft) or a squadron (9 or 15 aircraft) forms a column, and then dives and releases bombs one by one. As far as the dive bombers of the German naval aviation are concerned, when they attack large targets (battleships, battlecruisers, aircraft carriers and heavy cruisers), they often form two small columns of five aircraft and dive and drop bombs in the direction of the battleship's sailing - two The formation carried out dive bombing in a wheel-crossing attack pattern to distract enemy anti-aircraft fire.

What was targeted by Captain Wal T. Heisenberg and his 15 Ju.88 medium bombers was the 22,600-ton aircraft carrier "Fury", an old ship from World War I that was modified into a "large light cruiser". By September 1939, it was completely obsolete. It had a standard displacement of 22,600 tons, but could only carry 27-36 aircraft.

But with such a size and being an aircraft carrier, it is inevitable that it will attract the wind.