The British's secret plan was unknown to the Italians, who were eyeing Malta. Of course, as time went by, it soon came time to launch the battle.
Palermo is the largest city in Sicily and the largest port city on the island. Relying on the convenience of its port, Palermo has also become the logistics center of the Malta Campaign. A large number of transport ships gathered here, and in addition, they were preparing for landing operations.
The Marine Corps also assembled here. This also caused its port warehouse to be filled with various combat supplies, and some of the items that could not be piled were covered with tarpaulins directly at the dock.
At this time, a large number of soldiers gathered at the pier, and they were queuing up to board the transport ship. On the other side of the pier, a large number of weapons and equipment were also placed on ships with the ability to load and unload with the help of cranes.
In addition, warships have also been activated outside the port at this time. This is the reserve fleet led by Lieutenant General Negovan. They will provide escort for the transportation formation and provide fire support at sea.
In addition to preparations at sea and on the ground, preparations for combat in Malta also extended to the sky.
The airships that shined in the border battle also appeared in Palermo.
On the outskirts of Palermo, a large open space has long been cleared, and this is the parking place for the Second Italian Airship Wing.
What is the Second Airship Wing?
This is a long story. In the border battle with France, although the airships used by Italy brought great convenience to the battlefield, the management of the airships was very poor. Although in peacetime, the Italian military did not manage airships.
, there is already a squadron formation, but this formation can still be used to manage airships with fewer navy and army, but it is not suitable at all after recruiting civilian airships.
You must know that before the war, there were a lot of private airships in Italy. Among them, Alitalia had nearly 300 airships of various types for air transportation. After the war broke out, most of these airships were recruited by the military.
One more thing needs to be said here. After the war broke out, there were 21 Italian private airships abroad at that time, including 7 in Britain, France, Russia and their overseas territories. 4 airships responded quickly and took off to leave the hostile forces. 3 airships
It is impossible to dodge and be controlled by it.
Among these airships, the Swan that flew across the Atlantic Ocean was the most thrilling. It was flying an air route from South America to Europe and was passing over the British and French colonies in Africa.
As soon as he received the news of the outbreak of war, the captain immediately ordered the airship not to dock at N'Djamena, which was originally used as a supply station, but to fly directly across the Sahara Desert.
Thanks to Swan's many years of experience flying South American routes, coupled with the superb skills of Swan's staff.
The Swan crossed the Sahara without any danger, finally resupplied in Sabha, and then rushed all the way back to Rome.
In fact, the British in N'Djamena were already prepared that as long as the Swan landed, it would be confiscated on the grounds of enemy supplies.
The British are still very interested in this giant airship.
Speaking of which, before the war started, only Germany and Italy were able to manufacture giant airships in the world. It is not easy to manufacture such an airship with a length of more than 200 meters, because making a larger airship does not just need to be enlarged, it needs to be redesigned.
Structural support frames also need to consider various aspects such as maneuverability.
Of course, this kind of giant airship is also more popular with airlines. After all, it can carry more cargo or people without increasing consumption much, which allows airlines to make more money.
However, most of the world's giant airships are owned by Alitalia. The world's largest airline, relying on its special status with Zeppelin Company and Italian Airship Company, has a monopoly on most giant airships. Only German Airlines can
With the home field advantage, other airlines can only watch Alitalia swallowing up the huge profits from intercontinental flights.
It is precisely because of this that after the war broke out, the Italian military was able to recruit a large number of airships. These airships gave the Italian military great convenience in air transportation, ground attacks, airborne and other aspects.
Italy was able to recapture the Savoy region, and the airship definitely took the first place in the credit.
In mountainous areas where there are more restrictions on use, airships have lived up to expectations, so in seas where there are fewer restrictions, the role of airships will definitely be greater.
This is indeed the case. In terms of reconnaissance alone, the Navy is extremely satisfied with airships.
In fact, airships carry radios and conduct surveillance in the sky at speeds of hundreds of kilometers, which is more convenient than naval warships.
Of course, this excludes extreme weather, but then again, the Mediterranean is not the North Sea, so how can there be so much extreme weather.
Therefore, in order for the airship to play a greater role in the Battle of Malta, it is imperative to use a larger organization, and this is how the second airship wing came to be.
The airship wing has 5 brigades, with a total of 139 airships. Among them, the first brigade is mainly composed of small airships, which are mainly responsible for reconnaissance missions and occasionally perform aerial fire support.
The second and third brigades are mainly composed of medium-sized airships, and are also the airships with the largest number of airships in the wing. These airships are mainly the main force in air attacks, and also perform reconnaissance, high-risk transportation, airborne, parachute and other tasks.
As for the fourth brigade, it is dominated by large airships, which are mainly responsible for transportation, airborne and other tasks.
As for the fifth brigade, it is also the brigade with the smallest number of airships. It is composed of giant airships. These airships are also responsible for transport and landing tasks.
However, unlike other airships, the giant airship's relatively large load capacity allows the military to modify and reinforce it. It can carry heavy weapons such as artillery, so that troops in urgent need of heavy firepower can quickly receive firepower support.
This can provide more fire support to troops with limited conditions such as paratroopers and mountain infantry.
Of course, given the high cost of these giant airships, missions such as bombing and parachuting behind enemy lines are generally not allowed to be carried out. Because each of these airships can hold up to a destroyer, and coupled with their vulnerability, losing one of them can easily
It makes the military feel distressed.
Now, these large and small airships are taking off from the field outside Palermo. They will serve as the first wave of firepower in the Battle of Malta, unleashing it on the heads of the defenders. They will clean up the enemy for the landing Marines.
obstacle.
Of course, not all airships were preparing to take off, and the intimidating big guys on one side of the field did not move.
But anyway, Italy's attack on the island of Malta has begun.
The next step is to see the battle of wits and courage between the two sides, who can have the last laugh.
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