Chapter 676 Old-Fashioned Battleship (Plus 2)

Marshal Italo Balbo, born in Ferrara, Italy, graduated from the University of Florence.

During the First World War he served as an officer in the Alpine Regiment. He is also a very qualified general, and at the same time, he is also one of Mussolini's team.

He had led the black shirt militia to march to Rome, and was highly valued by Mussolini, who was promoted by Mussolini to become the Minister of Aviation.

You know, he was a man who knew nothing about flying, but he quickly learned to fly and set about reorganizing the Royal Italian Air Force.

As a fanatic under Mussolini, he did many great things.

In 1930, he led a high-speed sea-flight squadron consisting of the Savior-Advancer on a record-setting visit to the Americas.

He has single-handedly dropped bombs from the sky, killing thousands of Ethiopians.

In 1933, he led 24 seaplanes to complete the transatlantic flight from Italy to Chicago.

Chicago named a Balboa Street in memory of it, and Franklin Roosevelt invited him to lunch.

It can be said that he is definitely a legend in the Italian military and political circles.

It is a pity that Mussolini dismissed him. On the surface, he left the Air Force and became the governor of Libya, which is considered a promotion, but in fact, he was because of his high reputation, which caused Mussolini's suspicion. Raised and dropped.

It is gold, it will shine wherever it goes. After arriving in Villa, Balbo transformed Libya from a backward colony into a model of Italian province, known as the fourth coast of Italy.

Especially after Germany exploited a lot of Libya's oil, Balbo began to introduce the petrochemical industry, started the petrochemical industry in Tripoli, and made the Libyan colony a resounding success.

And lately, Balbo has had a headache.

The European battlefield is in full swing, and on the battlefield in North Africa, Italy has also begun to expand its colonies eastward. They very much hope to defeat the British, occupy Egypt, control the Suez Canal, and even expand to the Middle East!

However, the situation is not optimistic.

On the European battlefield, the British expeditionary force was lost, and in Egypt, the 250,000 Italian army could not beat the tens of thousands of British troops!

Now, I heard that the German army has finally landed in North Africa. He immediately took a plane and was going to the German base in Libya. This base has now developed to a large scale. Even the runway in the base can take off and land large The plane is gone.

Sitting in a makeshift bunk, looking out at another plane flying with him, Balbo lit a cigarette.

There are many things he has to worry about. The German army with strong combat capabilities is coming, which will promote the situation in the North African battlefield. However, he is faced with another problem, who belongs to the command?

 …

Benghazi.

A sharp air defense alarm sounded throughout the port, and with the sound of the alarm, all the Italian sailors rushed towards their positions nervously.

Not only are the British dominant on the ground, but even in the sky, the British can often be seen. Maybe they were stimulated on the European battlefield, so they went to North Africa to find a balance. During this time, the British bombers, It appears almost every day to bomb the Italian Navy in Libya.

On the east side of the harbour is an old Italian navy armoured cruiser Gilggio, which has been in service for many years, with a sense of vicissitudes.

Sailor Colradio Mazzola, sitting nervously in his gun position, this Breda M1935 20mm anti-aircraft gun is the anti-aircraft weapon on this warship. Compared with other caliber anti-aircraft guns, its power is very poor, The only advantage is the high rate of fire.

At the same time, even this kind of anti-aircraft artillery was added later. The anti-aircraft artillery used on land was barely installed on the deck. There was not even a shield for the anti-aircraft artillery, and even sandbags were used to cover the surrounding area.

The sandbags are piled on the warship. The British did not let go of such a simple old ship!

Just sitting on his gun emplacement, the shadow of the British bomber appeared in the distant field of vision.

The last time the British bombed the oil base, the result was heavy losses. After that, the British learned to be good. Every time they flew, they took a detour to the sea and came from the north. In this way, they were completely outside the radar detection of the Libyan oil base. Therefore, they never never been blocked.

Two British bombers, roaring from the sky, seemed to be picking up soft persimmons and swooping down toward the Gilgio again!

"Fire!" the gunner shouted loudly.

Stepping on the trigger, the 20mm anti-aircraft artillery shells flew up to the sky, and with the sound of bang bang bang, the shells fell out from the other side.

It looked good, but the two bombers, after diving and dropping bombs, made a dashing turn and flew away.

The bomb exploded dozens of meters away from the warship, and the water splashed a dozen meters high.

ended.

He let go of his feet, and Claudio felt his brain swell. When he just opened fire, the sound of the cannons in his ears was always echoing. He looked up and saw how many times the captain and the first and second mates were on the bridge. Individuals, go away.

Victory again, driving away the British, who must have gone ashore to drink red wine!

Thinking of red wine, Claudio can't help sticking out his tongue and licking his chapped lips. It's really unfair. As officers, they can drink red wine at any time, but as soldiers, they can only get one cup a day!

Now, the British bomber flew away, and the rest of the time was spent on deck.

Sitting on the deck next to the gun emplacement, looking at the shore in the distance, before the battle, the girl could be seen swimming on the beach from here, but now, there is nothing.

How boring!

After waiting for more than ten minutes, Cladio, who was very boring, looked up at the sky casually, and suddenly found that in the direction the British plane flew away, two planes flew again!

"Alarm, siren, the British are here again!" he shouted loudly, sprinting back to his gun emplacement.

At this time, there were not many people left.

According to the previous law, the British came once a day. Today, who would have thought that a carbine was killed, the officers went ashore to drink, and many low-level officers also got away. When Cladio was sitting on his gun emplacement, Not even his gunner could be found.

Without anyone to command, this group of ordinary sailors stared nervously at the sky, and the British plane was getting closer.

"Brothers, don't stand still, let's do it!" Claudio used his anti-aircraft gun to aim at the sky, maybe he will get a promotion because of this opportunity!

Fire!

He stepped on the trigger, and the 20mm anti-aircraft artillery shells flew into the sky again. This time, the two bombers did not dodge!