As Antonescu prepared to fly to Rome, the long-prepared Battle of Cyprus also began.
The naval formation consisting of five aircraft carriers and two battleships took the first step and embarked on the journey again from Athens with the crew who had been relaxing for three days. Speaking of which, the navy's several capital ships are basically operating at full capacity. The air raid is over.
After the port of Alexandria, there was immediately the battle in Greece, and then the battle in Crete.
Even an Iron Man could not withstand this continuous rotation, so Lieutenant General Fernandez took advantage of the end of the battle in Crete to return to Athens early and gave the crew three days of leave.
By the way, Fernandez was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general during this period. So he no longer had to hold the rank of major general and command a fleet that should have been commanded by the lieutenant general.
Naturally, three days is not enough to satisfy the crew, not to mention that they have to rotate. Each crew member can only count as two days of rest at most. But there is nothing you can do if you are not satisfied, who still has a mission.
Although the three days of rest did not restore morale to its best, it was at least much better than before, and at least the work efficiency was greatly improved.
After Fernandez set off with his fleet in a mighty manner, the island of Crete, which served as the air force base in this battle, was also ready. On the island of Crete that had just been captured, before the smoke cleared,
, the military began expansion at the original Greek airport.
Crete originally had three airports (a secret airport was later discovered), which could accommodate no more than 400 aircraft. After Romania captured it, it immediately began large-scale expansion. Bulldozers, excavators, cement, steel bars and other construction machinery and materials,
It has replaced weapons and equipment as the priority delivery target.
After ten days of work, two airports were expanded and a new airport was built on Crete. Its aircraft capacity never exceeded 400, but increased to 800.
Of course, the expansion of the airport can be completed so quickly. In addition to the sufficient materials and the hard work of the engineering troops, it also has a lot to do with the fact that the current fighter planes do not use the runway. Although it cannot be like during World War I, only a flat piece of grass is required.
That's fine, but you can also flatten the dirt to make a runway, but you won't be able to use it a few times.
Now, in addition to a large number of people catching flights at the airport, there are also troops whose clothes are obviously different from those of the army. They are talking in twos and threes outside the airport, with a look of nervousness, excitement and excitement in their eyes from time to time. Yes, they are.
The 1st Parachute Division and the Independent Parachute Brigade have just arrived in Crete by boat in the past two days.
These paratroopers are obviously no different from other troops in the first battle, but it is not their turn yet. Because in order to protect these dear sons, the Air Force needs to clear obstacles for their air landing.
But everything has to wait until the fleet commanded by Vice Admiral Fernandez arrives in the designated area.
So has the fleet commanded by Vice Admiral Fernandez arrived?
After three days of sailing at sea, the fleet finally arrived 300 kilometers northwest of Cyprus in the early morning.
On the flagship battleship Borcos, Fernandez said to the communications staff.
"Send a message to the Air Force in Crete and tell them that we have arrived at the designated location."
"Yes, General."
Following Fernandez's telegram, the Air Force on Crete also began to take action. The alarm bell rang at the airport, and the pilots, under the orders of the base commander, ran to their respective fighters. They lined up neatly.
The team jumped up from the airport. Under the leadership of the pilot aircraft, they lined up neatly and flew to the island of Cyprus.
On the fleet side, the five aircraft carriers are also preparing for flight. The first batch of fighters must be fighter jets because they need to ensure air superiority. At present, Romanian carrier-based fighter jets have been completely replaced by HF201 fighter jets. This carrier-based fighter jet
There are so many advantages that it has completely conquered the whole navy. There is no reason not to use fighters with better performance.
And in order to meet this mission, the three large aircraft carriers carry not 24+2 fighter jets, but 36+4 fighter jets. Coupled with the two modified aircraft carriers (94 fighter jets), the number of carrier-based fighter jets exceeds
Two hundred is entirely prepared to provide escort.
These fighter jets were released non-stop and were quickly organized. They took over the escort mission from the R20 fighter jets and protected the bomber group as they flew towards Cyprus.
When the large-scale fleet arrived at the island of Cyprus, British fighter planes had already taken off. Since the air raid on Alexandria, the British and French armies in the Middle East had long been frightened, and the early warning in the sky had been extended to 200 kilometers away from the coast. The aircraft patrolling the early warning every day,
All sea areas are patrolled at regular intervals.
And with such a large fleet (more than 500 aircraft in three batches), you can spot it even if your eyes are not scared.
Therefore, when they flew more than 140 kilometers away from the sea off the island of Cyprus, the patrol plane had already discovered their traces. Although two HF201 fighter jets shot down the fleeing enemy plane, the telegram had already been sent.
After receiving the telegram, the island of Cyprus immediately sounded the air defense siren, and the fighter planes on duty at the four airports on the island immediately took off without hesitation. They will serve as the first wave of interception fighters to intercept the incoming Romanian fleet.
At the airport behind them, fighter jets were also constantly being launched into the air.
As the commander of the island, Major General Dowding Hughes naturally attaches great importance to it, and he has been mentally prepared for the Romanian attack.
"Has Brigadier Blanc's plane taken off?"
Major General Dowding Hughes, who had just rushed back to the headquarters, immediately asked about his adjutant, Captain Markley.
"General, Blanc just ordered the Air Force fighter planes to take off to meet the incoming Romanian enemy planes."
Major General Dowding Hughes was very satisfied with the adjutant's answer. He took the documents handed over by other staff officers and continued to ask. "Very good, so where is the air defense force?"
"The air defense department has been prepared for a long time. In addition, for the residents on the island, we have also asked the relevant departments to notify them to take shelter."
"Very good." Major General Dowding Hughes stopped, thought for a while and continued. "Order all troops to enter the fortifications, be alert to any ships appearing on the sea, and be careful of their landing. This air attack is likely to be a prelude to the landing.
.Also send a telegram to General Wavell to report that we have been attacked by enemy air attacks. Also send a telegram to General Simolin in Syria that we need support."
Yes, Major General Dowdinghus intends to direct French aviation in Syria to the island of Cyprus to help defend it from Romanian air attacks. This is also part of the military cooperation between the two countries. Although France has many fighter jets in Syria,
They are all old models, but there are also new fighter jets like the MS.406 fighter jet.
This is France's main fighter jet, and in order to defend its colonies in the Middle East, France gritted its teeth and supported 80 of them, which were organized into two flying groups.
Moreover, France is more concerned about the defense of Cyprus than the United Kingdom, because the island is more important to it than the United Kingdom. As long as the island is not taken away by the Romanians, the French colony will have no worries.
In addition, Major General Dowding Hughes is somewhat less confident in his own air power. Although Cyprus currently has a lot of fighter aircraft, it does not have the most advanced Spitfires. Cyprus only has Hurricanes and a small number of Gladiators.
Does Britain have the most advanced Spitfire fighter jets in the Middle East?
Yes, and there are four squadrons, but they are all in Egypt.
Because defending Egypt or the Suez Canal is the top priority for the UK, Cyprus is not worthy of the UK deploying this fighter jet to the island. You must know that the UK currently only has 16 squadrons of Spitfires (butterfly effect), which can draw four
One percent is enough to show how much Britain attaches importance to Suez.
However, while Major General Dowding Hughes was intensively making arrangements, the first wave of fighters from the two sides met.
In the sky, both sides discovered aspects.
"Go forward, 2nd and 3rd Squadrons will take cover. 1st Squadron will go with me to shoot down the enemy bombers."
The commander of the British Air Force led the team and commanded his fighter planes to give tactical instructions.
"The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Escort Squadrons will step forward to intercept, and the 4th and 5th Escort Squadrons will be responsible for covering. Let's go up."
Following the instructions from both parties, nearly 40 HF201 fighter jets immediately rushed over, and more than 40 Hurricane fighter jets also attacked.
Another group of British fighter planes that wanted to attack the bomber group were also stopped by the fighters of the 4th and 5th Squadrons. Now the two fighters were fighting to the death in the air.
"Da, da, da~"
"Ta, tower, tower~"
After the two parties approached each other, the place was immediately filled with firepower. The British 7.7 aircraft machine guns from the Hurricane and the 20 mm cannon and 12.7 mm machine guns from the HF201 fighter planes performed an aerial chorus together.
However, the result of the air battle was that two British Hurricane fighter jets were severely damaged at the beginning. One of them was probably hit by a 20mm cannon. Half of its wings were smashed, and the pilots felt that they could no longer control it. It was shaking.
Flying like a drunkard.
This made the British pilots frown a little, because they had heard about the air battle in Alexandria before. At that time, some surviving pilots complained that the firepower of their fighter planes was so poor that they could fight the opponent for a long time, but they were hit by the opponent.
The shuttle is no longer able to fight anymore.
I didn't expect that I would also encounter this kind of situation. But in this situation, it was impossible to wait for them to change the cannon and fire. They could only operate the fighter planes separately and bite the tail fin desperately.
It was only after they entered into a close fight that they discovered that they basically couldn't bite the opponent's tail. It was the other party that bit their own tail, and no matter how they maneuvered, they couldn't get rid of it. Whether it was circling or accelerating, the Hurricane they were driving couldn't get rid of it.
Fighters are no match for the enemy's HF201.
So this is very uncomfortable. Except for a few people who are able to temporarily escape the enemy's rear-end collision due to their superb skills, other fighters are trapped in this dilemma.
Such a battle was a torment for the British fighter jets, and the commander of the British fighter group couldn't stand it. At this moment, he discovered that the enemy bombers were trying to bypass them and reach the island, so he immediately responded. "If this continues,
No, charge at the enemy bombers."
So under the leadership of the commander, these Hurricane fighters immediately pounced on the bomber group, completely ignoring the HF201 fighters chasing them behind them.
