Chapter 591: The Home Fleet Departs
The night of May 2, the Irish Sea.
British Home Fleet, flagship, battleship Queen Elizabeth.
The hull with a standard displacement of 32,468 tons plowed through the waves at a speed of 18 knots in a sea filled with moonlight and stars, but not a single light shined through.
In the bridge, Admiral John Cronin Tovey stood beside him with his arms folded. He watched the staff pointing at the charts and discussing calculations, but his eyebrows became more and more frowned.
Since receiving the order to leave the Firth of Clyde this afternoon, the discussions in the bridge and the deductions on the charts have not stopped. The result of every deduction is almost the same, that is, the local fleet will win a complete victory in the naval battle tomorrow morning!
It should be a great victory!
Because this time the Royal Navy had an absolute advantage. According to reconnaissance by submarines and seaplanes, as of dark today, the main force of the European Combined Fleet is not within 400 nautical miles around the island of Ireland. This means that even if the battleships of the European Combined Fleet can maintain a speed of 30 knots, they will not be able to feel the Irish offshore sea within 13 hours. Moreover, it is impossible for the battleships of the European Combined Fleet to maintain a speed of 30 knots all the time. Being able to maintain a speed of 25 knots for more than ten consecutive hours is already the limit.
Therefore, the British Home Fleet will arrive several or ten hours earlier than the main force of the European Combined Fleet.
If the German fleet protruding out of the English Channel reaches Cock Bay this afternoon without joining the European Combined Fleet, then the 7 battleships of the Home Fleet will be able to engage in a decisive battle with the 3-4 German battlecruisers.
"It's impossible to lose. Seven battleships can sink four battlecruisers with their eyes closed. Besides, the German P-class battlecruisers only have main guns. How could such firepower possibly damage our battleships?"
"But what about those damn wire-controlled glide bombs? Maybe there will be a lot of ***108S hanging with those bombs to attack us."
"That won't succeed. Our battleships and cruisers are equipped with 5.25-inch anti-aircraft guns, which will break those aircraft into pieces. And the expected battle site is only a few dozen nautical miles away from Wales, and there will be many Spitfires coming. Cover us."
"Maybe the German fleet won't show up at all, and there will just be thousands of planes waiting for us."
"With the cover of Spitfire and Mustang, the loss will not be too big. And the minelaying does not need to be carried out on the battleship. If the German fleet does not appear, let the destroyers and minelayers complete the minelaying. The battleships can retreat along the coast of Wales... …But the task of laying mines must be completed, otherwise the German army will soon occupy the entire island of Ireland and we will lose the war!”
"Yes, the Germans must be prevented from transporting large numbers of troops to Ireland...at least you cannot allow them to transport troops there easily. In this way, the army can eliminate the tens of thousands of Germans who airborne in Ireland!"
The logic soon became clear to the staff. The Home Fleet must be dispatched to prevent more German troops from landing on the island of Ireland...at least to delay their landing on the island. The Germans cannot be allowed to land tens of thousands at a time, let alone the heavy equipment they have hoarded in Brest. Otherwise, even if the British Army has three heads and six arms, it will not be able to defeat the Germans, and once Germany takes over the island of Ireland.
Then it would be the end of the British Empire!
Admiral Tovey thought of the end of the empire, but a beautiful house and a beautiful and peaceful farm suddenly appeared in his mind. That is his estate in Canada. His wife, grandson, granddaughter and daughter-in-law have all gone to Canada on the Queen Mary cruise ship and should have moved into their new home by now. If the mainland falls and I can escape by chance, then Canada will be the place to die...
Just when I was thinking that I would probably spend my later years in Canada, the sound of rapid footsteps came from behind.
"Report, received telegram from the Coast Air Force, the German landing fleet is passing near the Cornwall Peninsula, the destination is likely to be Cork Bay."
This news suddenly heated up the air in the bridge. Admiral Tovey quickly walked to the chart and asked: "Where is the specific location?"
"Here, it was detected using airborne radar."
The staff officer pointed to the Seri Islands near the Cornwall Peninsula: "It is 150 nautical miles away from us... In the past few hours, they have obviously accelerated their speed, most likely abandoning the slow-speed transport ship. According to the current At this speed, they may encounter us in three and a half hours.”
"Three and a half hours!"
Not to mention the staff around him, even the experienced Admiral Tovey was a little stunned by this battle schedule.
It's not yet midnight, and it will be 3 a.m. in three and a half hours, and it's still not daylight yet!
"The Germans want to fight us in a night battle?" General Tovey found it incredible. No matter how you calculate it, you have more troops than the other side, and according to intelligence, Germany's radar technology is still slightly inferior to that of the United Kingdom. So why did the commander of the German Navy ignore the good air superiority and choose to start the war at night?
This thing looks like a trap!
"Great!" Admiral Tovey gritted his teeth, even if it was a trap, he had to evade it!
He said: "Now regroup the heavy cruiser Essect, the light cruiser Birmingham, the light cruiser Moon Lady, the mine-laying cruiser HMS Adventure, the mine-laying cruiser Abdir, the mine-laying cruiser HMS Latona, the mine-laying cruiser HMS Man The mine-laying cruiser USS Islander, the mine-laying cruiser USS Welsh, and the 5th Destroyer Squadron formed Fleet B and immediately headed to Coke Bay to mine..."
The British Royal Navy now has five mine-laying cruisers. Among them, the mine-laying cruiser HMS Adventure is an old ship built in the 1920s. It can carry 280 mines, but its speed is relatively slow, with the fastest speed being only 28 knots. The other four Abdils are all new ships, with a speed of up to 35-36 knots and can carry 150 mines. The five minelayers carried a total of 880 mines, which was enough to block Cork Bay for a period of time.
…
On the guided missile cruiser Friedrich I, Admiral Karls was also standing next to the chart table.
"Where is the British Home Fleet?"
"It has entered the St. George Strait and will encounter us in two hours at most."
Night reconnaissance aircraft equipped with radar are not a patent of the United Kingdom. Germany also has many aircraft equipped with FuG200 series search radars, which can closely monitor the St. George Strait and Kettle Sea at night.
"Sir, 15 minutes ago, the reconnaissance plane also discovered that the British Home Fleet had conducted a division of troops."
At this time, the latest news came.
"Split the troops?"
"A group of ships is quickly heading to Cork Bay." The fleet's information officer replied.
"They are going to Cork Bay to lay mines." Chief of Staff Colonel Wagner immediately thought of the British fleet's intention to divide its forces.
"Looks like we'll have to be busy clearing mines tomorrow!"
When General Kars said this, a cold light suddenly flashed in his eyes: "But tonight we must let the British taste the power of the V3 wireless remote control missile! Accelerate, 28 knots! Be sure to engage in battle before 2 o'clock, and withdraw from the battle before dawn!"
…
The night was as thick as ink, and the sea was pitch black. Even within a thousand meters, it was almost impossible to see what was on the sea, unless Japanese cat-eye warriors came to Europe. However, things that cannot be seen clearly by the human eye can be easily detected by radar. For example, a large fleet on the sea cannot hide from the Fw-200C hovering in the sky. This kind of aircraft with not superior performance has now become a very practical reconnaissance/patrol aircraft in the Luftwaffe and naval aviation establishment because of its long range and considerable load capacity.
Under normal circumstances, the Fw-200C operates alone, and there are no fighter jets to escort them. However, tonight was a special situation. 9 Fw-200C formed a rare reconnaissance aircraft formation, following the main force of the British Home Fleet heading south. There are several flares hung in the internal bomb bay of each Fw-200C, which can "expose" the British fleet on the sea below at any time.
Lieutenant Manfred Murray is leading a squadron of 16 aircraft tonight, responsible for covering 9 Fw-200Cs. Four He-219 night combat aircraft with extremely outstanding night combat capabilities are now hovering over three Fw-200C detachments (each detachment consists of three Fw-200Cs) in a Z-shaped formation, repeatedly scanning the surroundings with airborne radar. Searching for possible British night-fighting aircraft!
Because everyone knows that British ships are equipped with very advanced air and sea search radars. It was impossible to go undetected with as many as 25 German planes circling overhead. Being discovered means that there will be British night combat aircraft to drive away the Fw-200C. At this time, it will be the turn of Lieutenant Murray's He-219 to show off its skills.
"Lieutenant, the radar has detected a target! At 8 o'clock, above us, there may be a few Mosquitoes!"
The voice of the wingman commander, Sergeant Miller, came from Lieutenant Manfred Murray's earpiece.
"We arrived just in time. The second team went out to let these mosquitoes know how powerful we are."
Four He-219s roared like several mosquito planes hovering from high altitude and pounced on them. In the blink of an eye, there was a flash of fire in the dark night. There are a total of 32 20mm or 30mm cannons on the four He-219 aircraft, and their firepower far exceeds that of the Mosquito. A Mosquito plane that couldn't dodge was turned into a ball of fire on the spot, spinning and falling from the sky into the sea. Less than a minute later, another burst of fire flashed across the sky, and then another burning plane fell from the sky!
The night battle that took place in the Celtic Sea in the early morning of May 3 began with He-219 and Mosquito aircraft.