() When David Beatty's main fleet sailed to the waters west of Great Coniba Island, the battle patrol formation 50 nautical miles ahead suddenly sent a telegram, saying in the telegram that two water reconnaissance aircraft took off from the battle cruiser.
The plane lost contact 50 minutes ago and did not send a telegram back to the fleet as specified. When the battle patrol dispatched two more water reconnaissance planes,
When searching for the previously missing aircraft in the same direction, it was discovered 20 minutes ago that the two reconnaissance aircraft had also lost contact. Therefore, the commander of the battle cruise squadron sent a telegram to David Beatty asking what the next step would be.
Various actions were taken, and three more reconnaissance planes were dispatched to increase the distance between them and conduct reconnaissance in the same direction.
"Stupid pig!!! He should have sent this telegram 20 minutes ago, not now!" David Beattie read the telegram and handed it to the captain of the "Iron Duke" next to him while cursing bitterly.
The commander of the battle patrol unit who sent the telegram.
"Before departure, I told him many times not to underestimate the enemy and to pay attention to every unique detail. Doesn't he think that losing four reconnaissance planes in a row is not unique enough? If in the North Sea,
If they were Germans on the other side, I'm afraid they would have already sent a telegram when the reconnaissance plane was lost for the first time, even if it was a false alarm!!"
"I'm also curious, why do they keep losing reconnaissance planes?" The captain of the Iron Duke muttered while reading the telegram.
"Order the battlecruiser fleet to return at full speed immediately, at full speed!" Venting his dissatisfaction, David Beatty issued a new fleet order to the staff, emphasizing the key points.
In fact, it is not to blame Count Betty for being angry. Most of the British support fleet this time were main ships drawn from the British Home Fleet and the Mediterranean Fleet, and these captains and senior naval officers were all in the battle that just ended.
Royal Navy elites who had at least one battle with the German Navy during the war, but it was these elites who personally defeated them
The German Navy is known as the second largest navy in the world, so they are very confident and arrogant. They only believe everything they see. They completely dismiss the rumors of the Federal Navy in the South China Sea. They believe that everything about the Royal Navy is the world's largest navy.
First, a series of new weapons, such as German submarines or South China Sea federal submarines, are short-lived and not worth mentioning.
Although David Beattie has repeatedly emphasized that there should be no underestimation of the enemy after he became the commander of this support fleet, for these stubborn and conservative Royal Navy generals, this is just a breath of fresh air passing by their ears. The effect is
Basically nothing.
As if planned, shortly after Earl Beatty issued the order for everyone to return, the battle cruiser squadron sent a telegram. At first, David Beatty thought it was the arrogant captains who were targeting him again.
What kind of confirmation telegram was sent due to different views on the order? However, after seeing the face of the staff officer who sent the telegram, David Betty's heart couldn't help but twitched, and he quickly opened the folded telegram, and after just one glance,
I almost fainted.
In this message, the commander of the battle patrol squadron informed David Beatty with certainty that about 50 aircraft had just flown over the battle patrol squadron, and the flight direction was led by David Beatty.
The direction of the main fleet, and the direction they are flying from is the battle cruiser squadron
Directly east of the team, there is a vast sea. Only more than 100 nautical miles away are Great Nicobar Island and Sumatra Island. This means that the range of this orangutan aircraft must be at least 800 kilometers.
.And it must be fully loaded with bombs or torpedoes.
The more Count David Betty thought about it, the more he felt that the fleet was in extreme danger. At this time, another report further confirmed his thoughts. This report was a report from a destroyer of the main fleet to the flagship. A few minutes ago, it
A radio signal has just been intercepted. The approximate location of the signal is just north of the main fleet, very close.
There is no doubt that this signal was sent by the federal submarine, and the 100 was sent to the orangutan, and the content sent by David Betty did not even have to think about it. It must be the location of the main fleet led by him. As for why the federal submarine can
Sending a signal without being discovered by the destroyers of the fleet is no longer an issue that Count David Betty needs to consider. What needs to be considered now is how to command his fleet to defend against these dozens of aircraft.
No matter how decisive, brave, and wise Count David Betty was in the First World War, it was a performance against a known enemy. But now what Count David Betty needs to face is a completely unknown combat method.
A large number of planes went to air attack the enemy fleet, and it was on the vast sea. This new combat method was unheard of by David Beatty and his staff. As for how to deal with it, they also didn't know.
Regardless of whether he knew how to deal with it or not, as the commander of the entire fleet at this time, David Betty could not allow his fleet to face danger and do nothing. Therefore, David Betty suppressed the depression and helplessness in his heart and ordered each ship in the main fleet to
Slightly widen the distance between the ships to facilitate the maneuvering of the ships, then increase the speed of the main fleet to wartime speed, and retreat at full speed towards the Colombo Port.
In addition, David Betty ordered all water reconnaissance aircraft carried by the battleships to take off and provide limited protection for the fleet over the fleet. Although these reconnaissance aircraft had very weak firepower, and some even had no weapons, David Beatty could only use all the reconnaissance aircraft that could launch
Everything that works is used, even if it is used as an obstacle in the air.
Finally, Earl David Betty, in his capacity as commander of the support fleet, sent a telegram to the British Governor in India. The content was basically the same as the telegram sent by Lieutenant General Kuntz, the commander of the U.S. fleet. He first reported the fleet's
The current situation encountered, and then assure the country that he will do his best to reduce the losses of the fleet, etc.
Just when the main fleet commanded by David Beatty had just turned its course from east to west in a very unified and precise graceful turn, the two destroyers on the left side of the fleet sent semaphores respectively.
A large number of aircraft were spotted in the sky behind.
Subsequently, the lookout posts on several battleships in the middle of the fleet also discovered this situation one after another. Since it was a little past 10 o'clock in the morning, strong sunlight just shot from the left and rear of the fleet, and those federal aircraft also
It was flying from this direction, so when the observation posts saw the orangutan, they were already lowering their altitude and preparing to launch an attack.
David Betty tidied up his navy uniform, which was already very straight, and straightened his hat. Then he picked up a telescope on the command platform, walked to the outer bridge, and looked towards the rear of the fleet.
The number of aircraft that appeared in David Beatty's telescope was completely inconsistent with the number reported by the battle patrol detachment. The difference was basically twice the number, which made Count Beatty believe that it was not his battle patrol detachment commander Ben's company within 100.
The numbers were countless, but the enemy planes came not only from one direction, but they were able to accurately converge on the vast sea, which made Count Betty's heart sink a little.
This gorilla aircraft is completely unlike the aircraft built by the British or the United States or even the Italians and French. They do not have two or three layers of wings, but only one pair, and they are respectively long on the lower part of the fuselage. The lines of the entire fuselage are very
It is simple and smooth, and it is almost impossible to tell where is the skeleton and where is the cover, just like a beautiful ivory carving.
However, now that these carvings were gradually approaching his fleet, and seeing the big oblong thing under their belly, David Betty's heart sank a little more.
If the orangutan was carrying bombs, Count David Betty would be much less worried, because he commanded five battleships, all covered with thick armor. Although the horizontal armor of the deck was the weakest point,
But David Beatty believed that he wanted to blow up
It takes more than a few planes and a few bombs to sink a battleship of this tonnage. What's more, although the damage control of the British sailors is not as good as that of the robot-like German sailors, it is not much worse. (To be continued.
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