Chapter 1,102 The Hunter Is Ready to Go
Chapter 1102 The hunter is ready to go
"Now the fleet has entered the best condition, and we can carry out attack missions at any time." Rear Admiral Moore, commander of the Second Squadron of the British Fast Fleet, reported to Lieutenant General Thomas who was sitting in the main seat.
"The Navy's radio listening stations in the Shetland Islands, as well as the modified V1500 large-scale radio transverse aircraft, and camouflaged cruisers are also in place. A large invisible net has appeared in the Norwegian Sea. As long as the Germans dare to use it, Their radio communication equipment, then we will definitely be able to catch them!" Colonel Holland from the British Admiralty Intelligence Department also said with confidence.
"On behalf of General Jericho, I guarantee that the submarine force has approached the German coastal waters to establish a blockade. If there is a large-scale dispatch of the High Seas Fleet, then we will definitely block them!" As Jericho's representative, Hood said The Grand Fleet's support for Thomas. Just when Lieutenant General Thomas was about to express his gratitude to his brother units for their support, the red confidential phone on the table rang.
"Lieutenant General Thomas, you are now shouldering the glory of the entire Royal Navy for hundreds of years and the national destiny of the British Empire. I hope you will succeed immediately! So far, we have lost 3 decoys, and the fourth decoy has also been placed. In your hunting ground. That's it!" Churchill on the other side of the phone put down the phone without even intending to listen to what Thomas had to say.
"The fourth bait is already in place? It seems that the hunter is ready to start work." Thomas really admired Churchill's methods. Not only were the supplies and required materials in place, although there were difficulties, they could all be done. Yes, the most important thing is that he can also arrange "bait"! This means sending a man and a boat! Although it makes sense theoretically, emotionally, even Thomas who proposed the plan felt a little uncomfortable. And Churchill did things without any burden at all!
In fact, if the prince were here, he would definitely say Thomas, you are really a fool! You must know that during World War II, in order to prevent Churchill from exposing his password, a city called Coventry was bombed by German bombs. What does it mean to arrange a few baits? As long as you can win, God will forgive you.
"Okay, everyone and I have no retreat. We can either become heroes or criminals. Now, we need to understand the situation." Lieutenant General Thomas motioned to the staff to introduce the latest situation.
"German warships have appeared again, this time there are still two. Judging from the information sent back by the submarine, one of the British is the first-generation Dreadnought of the German Navy, and the other should be one of the Moltke-class battlecruisers. . Not two super fearless, let alone terrifying Bavarian-class battleships. They are expected to rush out of the North Sea in one day." The staff officer then marked the presumed tracks of the two attacking battleships on the chart.
"Very good. One Dreadnought and one Super Dreadnought are not very strong. The two Queens can completely handle it." Thomas nodded. This time, Thomas' arrangement for the Queen is still a group of two ships.
The seven Queens were divided into three and a half groups, and the other one that dropped a bomb joined General Moore's Second Squadron. In this case, the entire hunting team is equipped with three double-queen formations and one four-ship formation.
When performing specific tasks, the three queen formations are responsible for containment and consumption, just like the matadors who use red cloth to tease the bull in the Spanish bullfighting competition, and the final four-ship formation is the bull killer, as the final solution to the opponent The presence!
"I will personally command the Queen Elizabeth and Malaya and a seaplane carrier to wait for the German fleet to appear near the decoy. And be responsible for direct tracking. If I lose track, then okay, the second group, Balem HMS Warspite and HMS Warspite conducted the interception with the help of seaplanes and radio lateral aircraft. The third group was deployed to the west of the decoy and was responsible for the interception. General Moore's squadron would cruise near the original North Sea blockade. Place the opponent suddenly Fight back." General Thomas repeated his plan again.
After experiencing the hunt in the Indian Ocean, Thomas is also an experienced veteran. He knows very well the potential of a fast battleship. The German battlecruisers are very fast, and it is not difficult to run 27 knots. But wanting to maintain this speed is affected by many factors. The machinery must operate normally, and there must be enough manpower to add coal to the battleship's boiler. In theory, German battleships can always maintain such a high speed, but in reality? Take the historical Goeben as an example. When it was pursued by the British Mediterranean Fleet in history, the Goeben did not actually reach its maximum speed and escaped at a speed of about 24 knots. Even under such circumstances, Four stokers still died due to fatigue and harsh conditions. Mechanical equipment also suffers from such things as steam pipe ruptures in this situation. Of course, because the British battle patrol is not in good condition, so... Goben ran away.
The biggest advantage of Thomas's queens is that they don't need manpower to shovel coal! They are all heavy oil! This allows queens to not be limited by human power! Although the speed difference between the two sides is more than 2 knots, the German fleet cannot reach the highest speed throughout the whole process, but the British Queen can. Therefore, if the ship is really in good condition and everyone speeds up, the speed difference is not big. !
And because of the seaplanes, if the Germans want to get rid of them completely, they may have to wait until night. If they dare to use radios at night, their general location will naturally be exposed. Of course, with these alone, it is still difficult to catch the opponent at once, so Thomas set the ambush location far away from the North Sea blockade, and also arranged the strongest fleet to block the Germans' return path.
As long as it's daytime, with the help of camouflaged cruisers, seaplane carriers, shore-based reconnaissance aircraft, and radio laterals, it's not difficult to find the opponent! The last safety rope is the Grand Fleet. If the High Seas Fleet goes out to respond, then the Grand Fleet will definitely approach Wilhelmshaven. For the two German battlecruisers who are out, they are also lions guarding the door. Unfortunately, you will definitely not be able to defeat them! As long as the German fleet cannot return to the port, it will be a waste. If you keep running at a speed of more than 24 knots, how many days can you run? Can your machinery and personnel handle it? The final result is to be consumed by Thomas to death!
And Thomas felt that before the machinery approached its limit, the personnel might die first, because the stokers were so intense that they were replaced every two hours. How many people do you have to shovel coal on a battleship? How long can a person persist? By that time, the final result has been decided. The two German battleships will be completely crushed by the overwhelmingly superior British fleet!
Third update today~~~! Please subscribe and reward~~~!