Chapter 618 Georgia (9)

In the Sevastopol headquarters, Deputy Commander Sergei Georgievich Gorshkov was caught in a dilemma.

Originally, the plan was to lead the German fleet into the ambush of the aviation force, but the fleet was attacked by German submarines, the Paris Commune was sunk, the Voroshilov sank, and Commander Oktyabrsky's life and death were unknown; should this mission continue?

He couldn't make the decision, so he could only ask Kuznetsov for instructions.

Kuznetsov didn't expect this to happen. After a long silence, he spoke slowly and firmly. "The Kremlin needs news of victory. Comrade Stalin said that even if a German battleship is sunk, it will be a great achievement!"

"..." Having said that, Gorshkov could only bite the bullet and continue the mission.

The next morning, just as the sky was getting light, Gorshkov sent a large number of reconnaissance planes to search for the German fleet.

Although the Black Sea is also a sea, its area is far less than the four oceans. The Black Sea is 1,150 kilometers long from east to west, 611 kilometers wide from north to south, and 263 kilometers narrowest in the middle, covering an area of ​​20,000 square kilometers. Two hours later, one of the reconnaissance planes found the German fleet.

The observer on the reconnaissance plane immediately reported to Sevastopol. "Report, the German fleet was found in Sea Area 12. Repeat, the German fleet was found in Sea Area 12!"

Upon receiving the report, Gorshkov immediately ordered all air forces to attack.

"Take off! Take off quickly!" At a field airport, ground crew members were waving small flags in their hands, directing an SB-2 twin-engine bomber to take off.

The SB-2 is the first all-metal aircraft in the Soviet Union, with a fuselage and skin forming an integral load-bearing structure. The initial model is equipped with two M-100 engines, driving two metal fixed-pitch propellers. The engine radiator is arranged at the front end of the engine, so several vertically arranged thermostatic shutter blades can be seen from the appearance. The aircraft flies faster than most fighters of the same era and was an advanced bomber in the mid-1930s.

In the early days of the Great Patriotic War, old aircraft accounted for a large proportion of the Soviet Air Force. The SB series bombers participated in the battle against the invasion of the German army, but their performance was obviously backward and was gradually replaced by new aircraft as the war consumed them. In addition to bombers, the SB series also has torpedo planes.

The fighter models involved in this operation ranged from the old I-15 to the most advanced Yak-1 and MiG-3, which can be said to be varied.

When the first wave of more than 50 Soviet aircraft arrived at the No. 12 sea area, the German fleet had already formed an air defense formation and was ready. The destroyers and cruisers on the periphery immediately tilted their firepower into the sky. Tracer bullets whizzed across the sky, and dense shells formed a huge firepower network in the sky.

The leading Soviet pilot Ivan couldn't help but tremble in his heart. The enemy's anti-aircraft firepower was too dense.

Before he had time to think about how to break through this terrible firepower net, a loud "boom!" exploded in front of him. Ivan had no time to react. The plane crashed into the explosion area of ​​the shell. Several shell fragments hit the plane, crackling and opening several holes in the fuselage.

"..." Looking at the big hole on the dashboard, Ivan lowered his head with difficulty and saw a bloody mess on his chest. He opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, but suddenly spit out a mouthful of blood, fell weakly on the dashboard, and the whole plane rolled down.

This was just the beginning. The brave Soviet pilots rushed to the large warships in the center of the German fleet, but they were shot down one by one without exception, and even the first line of firepower defense could not be broken.

The Soviets didn't know that Yannik sent this fleet into the Black Sea purely to practice with them, the Soviet air force.

There is a saying that "a hundred exercises are not as good as one actual combat". It is perfect to use the slightly backward fighter planes of the Soviet Union to practice, and it will also be an experience for the future battle against the US Navy.

For this reason, the warships of this fleet are all anti-aircraft.

The outer destroyers are based on the "Fletcher class", the king of the US Navy's anti-aircraft destroyers in World War II. It consists of 5 127mm (replaced with the German Flak 40 128mm heavy anti-aircraft guns) dual-purpose naval guns and their fire control devices, and is responsible for the dual tasks of attacking surface ships and long-range air targets. The maximum elevation angle reaches 85°, and the naval gun can simultaneously undertake sea strikes and air defense tasks. In addition, there are four twin-mounted 40mm Bofors anti-aircraft guns and 6 twin-mounted 20mm machine guns.

The light cruiser is based on the Atlanta-class light cruiser of the US Navy in World War II. The "Atlanta" class light cruiser can be said to be an outstanding representative of full-time anti-aircraft ships, among which the fourth ship "San Juan" performed the most eye-catching in naval battles. She played the advantage of dense firepower in many battles, shot down a large number of Japanese suicide planes, supported the fleet's last "protective umbrella", successfully protected the aircraft carrier from the attack of suicide planes, and won a total of thirteen battle stars throughout World War II.

Its weapons and equipment are 12 127mm dual-purpose naval guns (also replaced with the German Flak 40 128mm heavy anti-aircraft guns), 36 40mm Bofors anti-aircraft guns, and 16 20mm anti-aircraft machine guns.

The most exaggerated thing is that there are two anti-aircraft battleships converted from battleships in the fleet.

It was not Yannick's idea to convert the battleship into an air defense model. During World War II in the original time and space, the United States converted the "Wyoming" battleship designed and built before World War I into an air defense training ship.

The reason why the Americans converted it into an air defense training ship was firstly because the battleship was old and unsuitable for participating in large-scale naval battles; secondly, at that time, battleships were no longer the protagonists of naval battles, and even the "Iowa"-class battleships were To serve as the "flower protector" of the aircraft carrier, a large number of surface ships have been equipped with many anti-aircraft guns, so corresponding combat personnel need to be supplemented.

The most powerful artillery of the modified battleship "Wyoming" is a large number of 127 mm naval guns; as well as a large number of Bofors and Oerlikon anti-aircraft guns. This is very rare in the history of battleship development. The "Wyoming" became the first battleship without large-caliber naval guns.

Yannick ordered people to modify the battleships Malaya and Warrior received from the United Kingdom. All the main and secondary guns on the battleships were removed, and 11 twin 128mm anti-aircraft guns and 12 single 128mm anti-aircraft guns were installed. Anti-aircraft guns; 24 twin-mounted 40mm Bofors anti-aircraft guns; 50 20mm anti-aircraft guns, with countless muzzles standing like hedgehogs.

Moreover, this 128mm anti-aircraft gun shell is equipped with a radio proximity fuze, which further improves the hit rate.