The Rise of the Third Reich

"Marshal, the first assault wave killed an aircraft carrier!" Jeshunek cheered in the headquarters of the German-Italian coalition forces in the Mediterranean. "In addition, a Nelson-class battleship was also severely damaged, receiving at least four 500-kilogram missiles. bombs and hit 3 torpedoes!”

"What? A Nelson-class ship was severely damaged?" Admiral Cavignari, Chief of Staff of the Italian Navy, asked quickly, "Are you sure it is a Nelson-class ship?"

"It's absolutely certain," Jeshunek said. "The Nelson-class gun layout is very strange. All three turrets are on the bow of the ship. It's impossible to admit it."

"Okay!" Cavignari was overjoyed and turned back to Hessman and said, "Marshal, I suggest that the main fleet dispatch immediately to launch an assault on the British fleet!"

During the "Naval Holiday Era" during the interwar period, the "Nelson" class was a giant among the seven battleships in the world. It not only had nine powerful 16-inch cannons, but also had very strong defenses. This "Nelson" class ship that sailed to the Eastern Mediterranean can be said to be the most feared opponent of the entire Italian Navy! It was precisely because of its existence that Admiral Cavignari did not dare to send an Italian battleship force with two "Veneto" class battleships to fight the British Mediterranean Fleet.

"Dispatching the main fleet?" Hessman thought for a while and asked, "Are you sure?"

"As long as the air force can kill it, no, as long as it can severely damage the Nelson-class ship, there will be no problem." Cavignari said, "Our two 'Veneto'-class battleships are very powerful battleships, and their firepower is even It surpasses the German Bismarck class and has solid defense. Its main armor belt on the side is 360mm thick at its thickest point, which is enough to resist the British 15-inch main gun. Moreover, the Air Force has only completed a wave of attacks later. There will be a second and third wave of attacks. The fourth, fifth and sixth waves of attacks will be launched in the afternoon! By then, I am afraid that all the British battleships will be shot and damaged, and the combat effectiveness of the British Mediterranean Fleet will be reduced. It will drop significantly. This is our chance to annihilate it in one fell swoop!”

"But where have the two British aircraft carriers gone?" Hersman seemed a little worried.

"Aren't there 48 Fokker Zero carrier-based aircraft?" Kafniari said. "The British have at most sixty or seventy biplane torpedo planes on the two aircraft carriers. With the Fokker Zero around, they can't get close at all. fleet."

"Return the shore-based aircraft on Crete," Jeshunek reminded. "The British Blenheim light bomber can carry heavy bombs and is relatively fast. Its combat effectiveness is no less than that of the S.M.79."

Cavignari smiled and said: "At worst, we will have to bear some losses, but as long as we can defeat the British Mediterranean Fleet in one fell swoop and seize sea power in the Mediterranean, the lost ships can be built quickly... Italy and France both have strong shipbuilding industries. !”

Italy actually has its own "Plan Z". As early as 1935, the Italian Navy proposed to have 9 new battleships (excluding the "Count of Cavour" class and "Doria" class) and 3 new aircraft carriers by 1942. (Not including the "Eagle" and the "Sparrowhawk"), a grand shipbuilding plan of 36 cruisers and ocean-going reconnaissance ships, 142 destroyers and torpedo ships, and 85 submarines. However, because the Abyssinian War and subsequent colonial development, as well as the intervention in the Spanish Civil War, were too expensive, this grand shipbuilding plan was ultimately not realized. However, in January 1939, Mussolini, who felt that war was coming, approved a smaller shipbuilding plan, preparing to start construction of two new "Veneto" class ships between 1939 and 1940. In addition to the "To", "Littorio", "Roma" and "Imperial") and two 15,000-ton aircraft carriers, 20 2,100-ton destroyers and 20 1,000-ton torpedo ships, Plus a shipbuilding plan for 60 submarines.

However, as the supply of various raw materials became tense after the outbreak of the war, the shipbuilding plan approved in 1939 also came to a standstill. However, as long as the Italian navy can control the Mediterranean, the German army can sweep through North Africa and the Middle East. Raw materials will no longer be a problem, and Italian and even French shipyards will be operating at full capacity by then!

Hessman smiled and nodded: "Okay, I approve the dispatch of the fleet. In addition, the shore-based aviation force is preparing the 4th, 5th and 6th assault waves!"

"As you command, Your Excellency Marshal!"

…

In the command tower of the Italian fleet flagship "Veneto", Chief of Staff Major General Baroni said happily to Admiral Igoni Compioni: "Shore-based aircraft sank an aircraft carrier and also destroyed an aircraft carrier. The 'Nelson' class was damaged. Now Admiral Cavignari wants us to go out and fight the British fleet!"

"Very good!" Admiral Compioni clapped his hands, "Finally the opportunity has come! Leave 5 heavy cruisers and 10 destroyers to support the landing force, and the remaining ships will set off immediately!"

"Admiral, after being damaged, the British fleet should escape to the northeast and then turn east in the waters south of Crete. Considering that one Nelson-class ship was damaged, their speed should be less than 18 knots."

"Predict their route, and then take the shortest route to pursue them!" Admiral Igoni Compioni said, "We will pursue them at a speed of 28 knots for three hours first, and then reduce it to 26 knots."

"Admiral, we can't reach 28 knots," Rear Admiral Baroni reminded, "the two aircraft carriers only have a maximum speed of 25 knots."

The two aircraft carriers of the Italian fleet were converted from cruise ships, and they were not based on the expensive "Blue Ribbon" cruise ship, so their speed was relatively slow.

Admiral Igni Compioni waved his hand and said, "Then let them follow behind. It's nothing to pull 3 nautical miles in an hour. It takes 24 hours to pull 72 nautical miles. This is not a problem for the Fokker Zero."

At around 11 noon, the main force of Italy was divided into three parts on the sea near Malta, forming a battle fleet with battleships as the core, an aircraft carrier fleet with aircraft carriers as the core, and a support fleet with heavy cruisers as the core.

The battle fleet includes all battleships and most light cruisers and destroyers; the aircraft carrier fleet consists of 2 aircraft carriers, 2 heavy cruisers and 6 destroyers; the support fleet has 5 heavy cruisers and 10 destroyers.

After the division was completed, the support fleet continued to be responsible for shelling Malta. The battle fleet rushed eastward under the personal command of Admiral Compionni, while the aircraft carrier fleet commanded by Admiral Anzu Aquino also sailed eastward behind the battle fleet.

The Italian fleet's division was discovered by a Mosquito reconnaissance plane that took off from Crete at around 1:30 pm, and was quickly reported to Admiral Cunningham, who was a little overwhelmed.

At this time, the Mediterranean A Fleet commanded by Cunningham had survived two assault waves launched by the German and Italian Air Forces, and was now preparing to meet the attack of the third assault wave.

Under the attack of the first two waves of enemy aircraft, the "Eagle" aircraft carrier sank at 11:10. The "Lorraine" battleship belonging to the Free French Navy also suffered a fatal blow after the second assault wave arrived. It was hit by 5 500 kg armor-piercing bombs. Its thin deck armor (25mm) could not withstand such an attack at all. Three bombs penetrated the battleship, and one of them directly hit the engine room, causing the 23,000-ton battleship to lose most of its power and become a target for the S.M.79 torpedo bomber. At 12:05, three aerial torpedoes hit the "Lorraine", tearing three huge holes on its starboard side. In just a few minutes, the battleship and nearly 1,000 French sailors on it disappeared into the sea.

After successfully destroying the "Lorraine", the remaining bombers and torpedo planes of the second assault wave aimed their firepower at the smoking "Rodney" near the "Lorraine". 500 kg bombs rained down like raindrops. In just 15 minutes, the Rodney was hit by 4 more bombs. One of them penetrated the stern deck and exploded outside the engine room. Although the armor of the Rodney's engine room was strong and it was impossible to be destroyed by a 500 kg bomb, the explosion still damaged some pipes, causing steam leakage in the engine room. The speed of the Rodney also dropped from 20 knots to 10 knots.

After the speed dropped, the Rodney became a live target for the S.M.79 torpedo bombers, which launched an attack from the starboard side of the stern of the Rodney. Several bombs were hit near this position, and most of the anti-aircraft guns and secondary guns were damaged. In addition, the fire on the lifeboat deck also blocked the gunner's sight, so the anti-aircraft firepower seemed very weak. More than 20 S.M.79s dropped torpedoes from this direction, and 6 of them hit, almost destroying the stern of the Rodney. Although the serious damage to the stern would not cause the "Rodney" to sink, the large amount of water inflow and damage to the rudder still made the battleship lose most of its combat capability.

While the "Rodney" was besieged by torpedo bombers, the Ju88, which had not yet dropped its bombs, took the slow-moving "Royal Sovereign" as its target. This was a battleship with huge flaws in its design. Its power compartment was too narrow (it was originally planned to use a coal-fired boiler, but it was changed to an oil-fired boiler halfway), which limited the space for major changes in the future. Therefore, the British Admiralty, in the spirit of breaking the ship, did not carry out large-scale modifications for more than 20 years after its construction.

Today, not only does it seem to be underpowered, but even its armor defense has become outdated. The horizontal armor of the "Royal Sovereign" is only 1-3 inches, which can't withstand the attack of 500 kg armor-piercing shells.

As a result, every 500 kg armor-piercing shell that hit the deck of the "Regal" penetrated into the body of the "Regal", blowing up the interior of the battleship, destroying the boiler room, engine room, soldiers and officers' cabins and an oil depot. The fire began to spread on the "Regal", and everyone knew that the battleship could not be saved.