The Rise of the Third Reich

"Admiral, the radar has detected an unidentified aircraft group, flying from the northeast, it should be P-39!"

In the command tower of the Warspite, everyone breathed a sigh of relief at the radar officer's report. The "Sea Spitfires" on the "Eagle" were either shot down or crashed into the sea because they ran out of fuel. Therefore, the "Wars Exhausted" did not have air cover when fighting the second assault wave of enemy aircraft, so it suffered heavy losses. Now with the cover of P-36, the fleet seems to be able to be saved.

"Admiral, three squadrons of P-36s are here!" Soon the fleet's communications staff reported, "They are coming from Crete and can provide us with 90 minutes of direct cover."

"Very good!" Admiral Cunningham forced a smile, "Now approach Crete and tell Lieutenant General Somerville to make repairs as soon as possible and strive to increase the speed to more than 15 knots before dark... We can't do it now Losing the 'Rodney'."

Now Cunningham has some regrets. Losing the "Eagle", "Lorraine" and "Sovereign" in today's battle is all in his calculations. Since you want to break into the German shore-based aviation combat circle, you must be prepared to suffer some losses. But for a super battleship as powerful as the "Rodney" to be seriously damaged by an aircraft bomb was far beyond his expectation.

Although the "Rodney" relied on its strong armor and good anti-sink design, it was still able to stay afloat on the sea. But after this battle, the battleship would have to spend several months at least undergoing overhaul. This means that the "Rodney" will not be able to participate in the war for several months... For the current Mediterranean battlefield, this is almost as effective as sinking.

However, Cunningham cannot give up the "Rodney" now. Because the "Rodney" is still a bait with strategic value. As long as it moves slowly towards Crete, the Italians will not give up the opportunity to sink it.

Because after losing the "Sovereign" and the "Lorraine", the number of battleships in the Mediterranean Fleet has been the same as that of the Italian Fleet. If the most powerful "Rodney" is lost again, the balance of power in the Mediterranean will change dramatically. With the huge power of the two "Veneto" class ships, the Italian Navy will overwhelm the British Mediterranean Fleet, which has only 5 battleships left, and become the overlord of the Mediterranean!

"Admiral, the Sovereign is going to sink!" Major General Crutchley's voice suddenly sounded, interrupting Cunningham's thoughts, "It is being besieged by He-115!"

It turned out that the P-39 aircraft flying from Crete were desperately covering the "Rodney" at this time, leaving the "Sovereign", which was badly burned and lost power, to the He-115 to clean up. In just a few minutes, 24 He-115s dropped torpedoes on the "Sovereign", eight of which hit the ship. The 30,000-ton battleship suddenly lost and capsized in the Mediterranean Sea, with 940 crew members on board. Fewer than 40 people were rescued.

"We have lost our 'monarchy'!" Major General Crutchley almost cried. 2 battleships and the aircraft carrier "Eagle" have been sunk! The battleship "Rodney" is also half dead... This battle is going to be lost!

"It doesn't matter," Cunningham forced a smile, "We haven't lost yet, because the Italian fleet has dispatched...Fleet B will soon avenge the Eagle, Sovereign, and Lorraine."

At this time, a fierce air battle began again near the British Mediterranean Fleet. This is the first competition between the P-39 "Snake" and the Fokker Zero. There are more P39s, with 3 squadrons totaling 48, while the Fokker Zero only has 16.

The dominant P39 did not realize that its performance was inferior to others. All British pilots who had flown this aircraft were full of praise for its excellent low-altitude performance and considered it an aircraft that could compete with the Fokker Zero.

Therefore, after the battle, the P39 fleet did not immediately take advantage of its overwhelming numerical advantage. Instead, it used 24 P39s to deal with 16 Fokker Zeros, and then used the remaining 24 P39s to drive away the torpedo-carrying He-115s. , forcing most of the He-115s to throw away their torpedoes and escape, and shot down 12 of them.

However, while these P39s drove and shot down the He-115, the 24 P39s fighting the Fokker Zero found that they seemed to have encountered their nemesis. Although the P39 has good flexibility at mid- and low-altitudes, they have encountered the Fokker Zero, which can dominate at mid- and low-altitudes. The P39's mid- and high-altitude performance is not good enough, and its climbing speed is also slow. It is impossible to rely on high-altitude dive to deal with the Fokker Zero like the "Sea Spitfire". As a result, in less than 10 minutes, 10 of the 24 P39s were shot down, while the Fokker Zero suffered no losses.

Cunningham's face turned slightly blue when he witnessed the air battle in the command tower of the battleship "Warspite". These P39s are his trump card, but he didn't expect them to be so useless!

"Admiral," Major General Crutchley's voice was hoarse, "P39 and Blenheim on Crete..."

"According to the original plan, let them launch an attack first to consume the carrier-based aircraft of the Italian aircraft carrier..." Cunningham frowned, "We must sink two Italian aircraft carriers today at all costs... Otherwise we will be killed within one month. The Mediterranean will be lost!”

Without an aircraft carrier, the Italian fleet would never dare to leave the protective circle of shore-based aircraft, even if it had the advantage of battleships. The United Kingdom can use the shore-based aviation on Crete to cooperate with its two aircraft carriers to block the Italian Navy's eastward advance.

Of course, the premise is that there must be a long-range fighter that can fight against the Fokker Zero...

…

"Marshal, the third assault wave did not achieve the expected results."

At the Villa Medici, Hessmann also received a report on the results of the third assault wave. Hans Jeshunek frowned and said to Hessmann: "They encountered a fighter that they had never seen before. 12 He-115s were shot down. But this kind of fighter is no match for the Fokker Zero. , 10 were shot down, and none of the Fokker Zeros were lost.”

"New fighter jets? Where did they come from?"

"Maybe it was Crete," Hans Jeshunek said, "or maybe it took off from an aircraft carrier."

He thought for a while and then said: "If it comes from Crete, the maximum range of this kind of aircraft should be more than 1,500 kilometers. Otherwise, it will take off from an aircraft carrier..."

1500 kilometers range?

Hersman thought for a while and said: "It may be Fairey's Fulmar carrier-based fighter jet. Intelligence shows that this aircraft may have a range of more than 1,200 kilometers."

Hersman did not think of the American P39, but thought of the British "fulmar". After all, he was at war with Britain.

"It seems to be this kind of aircraft," Jeshunek said. "In this case... the two aircraft carriers may be lurking 400 kilometers northeast of the British main fleet, so our Fw-200C did not detect them."

Hersman also agreed with Jeshunek's analysis, so he asked: "Is there an Fw-200C that I can search for?"

"There are two." Jeshunek said, "The Eagle aircraft carrier can send eight Fokker Zeros to escort, so that they can search the waters south of Crete."

"Okay, that's it."

"In addition, the upcoming 5th and 6th assault waves should be cancelled." Jeshunek also suggested, "If an aircraft carrier is discovered, we need these aircraft to bomb. And the 5th attack wave does not have fighter escort. If it encounters the British The human 'Flannel' fighter is in trouble."

Now the fourth assault wave is actually the aircraft that returned from the first assault wave. They have already set off again, so they will not be recalled. However, Jeshunek felt that it was not safe for the 5th assault wave (originally planned to be escorted by Fw-190) without aircraft escort. So it was recommended to cancel it, and by the way, cancel the 6th assault wave in order to prepare for the attack on the British aircraft carrier.

"It can be cancelled." Hessmann, who had been fighting a good fight for a long time, also became confused like Jeshunek. Canceling two waves of attacks, especially the cancellation of the fifth wave consisting of 5 squadrons of Ju88s and 8 squadrons of S.M.79s, is almost equivalent to letting a British battleship go!

Otherwise, the fifth wave of attacks will sink at least one more battleship, and may also directly sink the half-lived "Rodney".

However, Hessmann and Jeshunek also had their own difficulties. After all, the priority of sinking the British aircraft carrier was the first. Now the British battleship force has been severely damaged. If the British aircraft carrier can be sunk again, then the overall situation in the Mediterranean will be settled.

While the two navy laymen were conducting blind operations (actually commanding according to the "Iron Hammer" plan), Admiral Caffignari of the Italian Navy was using telegrams to communicate with Admiral Compioni, who was commanding the fleet. Finalize the tactics for tonight's battle.

Because Admiral Kavniari has determined that the British fleet was staggered by plane bombs, there should be many half-dead battleships. If they were allowed to escape back to Egypt, they might be repaired in a few months and look good again.

Therefore, General Kavniari proposed the method of fighting a "chaotic war" in the telegram. The so-called "chaos" can also be understood as a melee. It is not a majestic formation with battle lines, but a chaotic battle.

It would definitely be of no benefit to the Italian fleet to fight like this during the day and under normal circumstances. But the current situation is that the British fleet is full of wounded soldiers. If a line battle is conducted, it is very likely that the battleships that have suffered trauma will escape under the cover of the battleships in good condition, so it is more advantageous to choose a chaotic battle.