Chapter 2196 Betty’s Debut
"Your Excellency, Commander, we have discovered traces of the German fleet. One of our V1500 long-range reconnaissance aircraft was shot down by German aircraft in Area 5. According to intelligence, these aircraft are not seaplanes. They may be disposable ejections by the Germans. Aircraft. Of course it could be..." Lieutenant General Charles Madden, Chief of Staff of the Grand Fleet, hesitated: "It could also be an aircraft carrier."
"Find the location of the German fleet, nothing else is important!" Jericho said.
"Another of our long-range reconnaissance aircraft is tracking. It discovered the other party's radio communication and determined the approximate heading. If it is not attacked, it will send us a telegram to confirm its position in about half an hour." Lieutenant General Madden said.
"It seems that we have a good start today. The location where we just fought is not far away from us! Immediately send a report to the reconnaissance unit in the nearby sea area. We want to find this German fleet. In addition, tell Thomas and Betty that we need them Find the Spey fleet as soon as possible, and then tear a piece of flesh from them!" After saying that, Jericho looked at the clock hanging on the wall again and frowned slightly.
The actual situation is not as good as what Jericho said just now. Apart from anything else, it is very pessimistic in terms of time. At around 3 o'clock in the afternoon, the target is still more than 100 nautical miles away from the Grand Fleet headquarters. , calculated based on the 50 nautical mile combat radius of bombers and the 35 nautical mile combat radius of torpedo attack aircraft, the large fleet must advance 50 nautical miles towards the target! And this is assuming that the opponent's fleet is immobile.
In reality, however, is it possible that the Spey fleet is not in motion? Obviously impossible! What will happen to the Spey fleet? No one knows this. If you are lucky, everyone will meet each other in the same direction, and they will meet each other soon. But if you are not lucky, if the Spey fleet turns around and leaves, then the big fleet will not be able to catch up with the other party!
Therefore, for Jericho, the only ones who have the most hope of catching the Spey fleet are the Thomas fleet and the Betty fleet. They are fast and can go first! As for whether it can be discovered later and whether the carrier-based aircraft can be sent within the combat radius, it depends on the situation, or more importantly, luck!
And even if the situation is good and Betty's fleet is close enough to launch an attack, then look at the time. Before night falls, Betty's fleet has at most one chance to attack! Otherwise, Betty will wait to prepare for landing carrier-based aircraft at night. There is no doubt that recovering carrier-based aircraft at night in this era is simply a disaster, both for pilots and aircraft carriers!
"This is really a bit tricky." Jericho said in his heart, but he still decided to listen to the opinions of the officers below at this time. In principle, he agreed with this attack, because from the intelligence point of view, the High Seas Fleet seemed to have just left William The port is still far away from the Grand Fleet, and I am very safe! If it's safe, why not give it a try?
At the same time, on Thomas's flagship Queen Elizabeth, Thomas was also discussing the attack plan with Betty, who had just boarded the ship in a transport boat. They were even more aggressive than Jericho. They didn't think about whether to attack at all, but directly considered how to attack!
"If the enemy fleet is in this area, if our two fleets advance at a maximum combat speed of 24 knots, they can arrive in this area in 3 hours, and then I can release the first wave of carrier-based aircraft, counting With the timing of takeoff, fleet formation and attack, my fleet can barely complete the recovery before nightfall." Betty said to Thomas after drawing a range with a pencil on the huge chart and marking the planned route with a dotted line.
"Even if the carrier-based aircraft can launch an attack, it will be difficult for my fleet to catch up with the target.
distance is too far. If we rely solely on carrier-based aircraft to attack, the most we can do is slow them down. The combat radius you just drew should be for bombers, right? Bombs in the 400-pound class did limited damage to battleships. Thomas hesitated and said.
"No, I mean torpedo planes. We can do this. After we release the attack fleet, we continue to approach the target. In this case, when the fleet is recovered, we can shorten the distance between us by at least 30 kilometers! Well, In this case, the combat radius of the torpedo aircraft is enough." Betty said.
"That's fine. If we go head-to-head with our opponents, then maybe I can use naval guns to kill them." Thomas thought for a while and said. As a result, the two hit it off and decided on this battle plan. After reporting it to Jericho, the plan was approved, so Thomas' fast fleet and Betty's aircraft carrier fleet left the large fleet and sailed towards the target direction at a high speed of 24 knots.
At this time, God seemed to be on the side of the British. By following the returning JU5 attack aircraft, the V1500 successfully discovered the German fleet. Subsequently, this long-range patrol aircraft had been flying less than 300 meters above the sea. Start reporting the position of the Spey fleet to the British fleet. And this kind of long-term radio communication will naturally attract the attention of the Spey fleet!
"Your Excellency, Commander, we seem to be in trouble." After a moment, an officer said to Count Spee who was studying the route in front of the chart.
"What's going on?" asked the count.
"It should be a plane. They discovered our location and sent a telegram." The officer said anxiously.
"Damn it, the Americans are not very reliable in doing things!" The count immediately thought of the problem. The initial interception operation took place 80 kilometers away from the fleet. It was impossible for the British aircraft to detect themselves, and in the previous Shortly after the three planes returned, a British plane spotted them. There was only one possibility, and that was that the American plane was targeted when it returned!
"Do we need to avoid it now?" a staff officer said worriedly.
In fact, it is relatively easy for the German fleet to avoid it now. The British fleet is definitely to the east of itself, and it is impossible to get behind it unless their warships can reach a speed of 40 knots. Therefore, as long as it turns westward, the British fleet will certainly not be able to bite itself. This is the safest way. But the count seems not to want to do this! He wanted to use this opportunity to wear down the British.
"Order the destroyer squadron to move forward 5 nautical miles and form a cordon in front of the fleet. Then the fleet will perform a zigzag maneuver. Send a signal to General Sims and ask him if he is willing to try to intercept a wave of British fighters. Well, that's it. The earl thought for a while and added: "Also, find the spy hiding in the low sky for me, and either drive him away or kill him."
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