Chapter 2192 The British Grand Fleet Ready for Departure 2
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At this time, there were not many light cruiser squadrons assigned to the Grand Fleet. The organic light cruiser force only had 3 light cruiser squadrons and 9 light cruisers. Among them, the First Battleship Squadron was assigned two squadrons, and the Second Battleship Squadron was assigned A squadron. Of course, there are also some light cruisers that serve as leaders of the destroyer squadrons.
At the end of the battleship squadron organization table, there is also a Grand Fleet aircraft carrier squadron, and the commander of the aircraft carrier squadron is naturally Lieutenant General Beatty. Lieutenant General Beatty has four aircraft carriers under his jurisdiction, including the Furious aircraft carrier modified with a battleship hull, and the aircraft carrier Fury, which was modified with a battleship hull. The cruiser hull was converted into a hundred-eyed giant, and there were two high-speed civilian ships, the brave and the glorious.
Among them, the displacement of Ark Royal, HMS Brave and HMS Glorious is about 17,000 tons. The original plan was to carry 40 aircraft on Ark Royal, but later Betty felt that the number was too small. At the same time, due to the Orkney Islands and Settlement The land-based aviation base in the Lan Islands was destroyed, so the number of aircraft carried was increased to 55, and there were also 6 spare aircraft carried in parts. The speed of these three aircraft carriers can reach more than 24 knots. Can keep up with the Thomas fleet.
The Hundred-Eyed Giant is limited by the hull, so its maximum displacement is only 8,000 tons. It was originally planned to equip 20 carrier-based aircraft. Under the current severe situation, the number of carrier-based aircraft has been raised to 30, and there are also 6 spare aircraft. In other words, the Royal Air Force aircraft carrier unit currently has a total of 195 first-line aircraft and 24 spare aircraft. Although the number has been greatly improved, the improvement in combat effectiveness is relatively limited, because the British are already familiar with aircraft that operate less on the deck, and with the increase in the number of carrier-based aircraft, the deck operation efficiency of British aircraft carriers has declined. It's very problematic.
In addition to aircraft carriers, the Grand Fleet also has a maritime aviation force, which is seaplanes. Currently, there are 4 seaplane carriers available to the British Navy, each carrying 4 to 6 seaplanes. However, these old guys have a relatively slow speed, less than 20 knots. At most, it's just following the big fleet.
The grand fleet originally had more than 100 destroyers and torpedo boats, but because this time it was fighting in the Norwegian Sea and might last for a long time, a large number of small destroyers could not accompany the fleet in long-term operations. Therefore, in the end, The Grand Fleet decided to form three destroyer squadrons, with a total of 60 destroyers of various types. Each detachment consists of 20 destroyers, each detachment has 2 destroyers as leader and command ships, and the other 18 ships are divided into 3 squadrons.
In order to ensure the supply and consumption of the entire fleet, the Grand Fleet is also equipped with an additional supply fleet. These supply ships are composed of the best remaining high-speed cruise ships in the UK, but they have been converted into naval supply ships. Responsible for refueling, coal, ammunition, fresh water and food.
"This will be the largest assembly of a fleet in history. The power of the Royal Navy has reached its peak. However, even with such a powerful fleet in hand, we are still not very sure of victory." Jericho described his mood this way .
"What's going on with the High Seas Fleet and the Spey Fleet?" Jericho asked.
"The High Seas Fleet is still gathering at the Port of Kiel. Last time they should have entered the North Sea through the Skagerrak Strait. This time, in order to strengthen the monitoring of the High Seas Fleet, we have deployed forces outside Wilhelmshaven and the Skagerrak Strait. A lot of submarines. The Germans will definitely not sneak out this time."
"As for the Spey fleet? We can only confirm that they entered the French offshore area, but they did not dock at any French coastal port.
It should be stationed in an island area in the outer sea. We are trying to find each other. At present, the area has gradually shrunk. "Lieutenant General Duff said.
"Very good, how is the Phoenix fleet deployed in Iceland and northern England?" Jericho mentioned the last organic V1500 bomber group in the Royal Navy of the British Empire.
"It has begun operations. With the cooperation of submarine forces and camouflaged reconnaissance ships, we can monitor the routes in and out of the North Sea to a certain extent. However, if there is bad weather or night, there will be some monitoring problems, but we have fully considered the German fleet. At the same speed, we will add a reconnaissance line at the junction of the Norwegian Sea and the North Sea. It is impossible for the Spey fleet to enter the North Sea quietly," Lieutenant General Duff said.
"Well, after we received the news from the German fleet, the fleet's home port moved from the Firth of Forth to Scapa Flow. We also paid attention to air defense. The German fleet in Norway is becoming more and more active." Jericho said.
"Understood, we have deployed some fighters and interceptors. The entire fleet has also strengthened its air defense response. Each of our capital ships carries more than three seaplanes or catapult aircraft. Many of the pilots are from the Air Force. Selected from among the best pilots," Lieutenant General Duff said.
"If we win this naval battle, what will be the result?" Lieutenant General Duff asked before leaving. He did not ask what the result would be if we lost. Isn't that obvious? If we lose, of course the Germans will do whatever they say! But what if you win? Even if the High Seas Fleet loses, the German submarines can still continue to blockade the British mainland. The Germans can continue to consume them, but the British cannot. If they continue to consume them, the national economy may collapse! The defeat on the French battlefield was even more irreversible. It was too difficult for the British to survive this incident safely.
"What will be the result? This question is a bit big, but if the Germans are willing to maintain the submarine blockade, maybe it will result in us losing British Southern Africa?" Jericho said.
"Isn't Egypt and Sudan enough?" Lieutenant General Duff asked.
"The Germans' original plan was to exclude us from all of Africa and Persia. They might even ask us to abandon India. So, Lieutenant General Duff, do your best. The future of the British Empire depends on our future war. If we win, we still have a chance, if we lose, it’s all over,” Jericho said.
The God of War did not let Jericho wait too long. Five days later, an urgent telegram was delivered to Jericho. A British camouflaged reconnaissance ship sailing in the Atlantic discovered the German fleet! And a telegram was sent just before being controlled, and according to the location where the telegram was sent, the location where the two sides met was already 600 kilometers north of the Normandy Peninsula!
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