Some people believe that the German warship that was discovered may have been just a patrolling German destroyer. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

Although the Norfolk reported that the German battleship had a displacement of about 10,000 tons, some officers still believed that the Norfolk overestimated the tonnage of the German destroyer because of the darkness of the night.

If it was just a German destroyer, it was probably just a patrol mission. This kind of thing has happened before, and the other party will immediately turn around and flee after dawn.

Of course, if it was really a destroyer, then it was more likely that the German warship would sail alone - then everyone would have made a false alarm this night.

This is obviously an optimistic estimate, Dudley? Pound preferred to believe that the Norfolk had indeed discovered a German cruiser of larger tonnage.

Another estimate is that the cruiser is the Prinz Eugen! But if it was really the main German battleship, the Prinz Eugen, the intentions of the Germans became wonderful.

It is possible that the German Navy dispatched the Prinz Eugen and went on a solo expedition hunt in the Atlantic. In this way, it is likely that the German warships will sail for the Danish Strait early the next morning, or, after being discovered, turn around and return to Wilhelmshaven!

At the same time, if it is really the Prinz Eugen, it is possible that it will be the spearhead of a small fleet. For example, behind him, it is likely that the battleship Bismarck will follow!

Thinking of the battleship Bismarck, Dudley? Pound was a little unsure -- this cutting-edge German battleship was better than most of the battleships in service in Britain.

If the Germans had really dispatched the Bismarck, the naval battle would have been a bit tricky. Dudley? Pound felt that this might be the most dangerous possibility he would ever face.

As for the fact that all the main warships of the German fleet, including aircraft carriers, poured out of the nest, this possibility Dudley? Pound didn't even think about it.

Because in his opinion, it was impossible for the German fleet to dispatch all its families in one go. He was also the commander-in-chief of the Navy, and he knew that his opponent, Raeder, could not make such a bold choice.

The rest of the possibilities are not so important, because the two cruisers that meet the criteria for judgment are none other than the Prinz Eugen and the lesser-known Nuremberg.

No matter which battleship it is, when the day comes, the truth will be revealed. As soon as the identity of the battleship is confirmed, the British Navy can take immediate action.

But now, Dudley? Pound felt that he should make some arrangements in advance for the following German battleship.

He turned his head to the side and ordered his men: "Dispatch the cruiser Dorset to the ocean east of Iceland and stand by!" ”

Immediately after, he thought for a few seconds, and decided that he should leave the port of his fleet and prepare to intercept the opposing fleet.

So he gave the order for the home fleet to be dispatched: "Order the battleship George V, with two battleships, the Ramirez and the Revenge, to stand by in the waters south of Iceland!" ”

Dudley now? Pound, it was not yet taken into account that the Germans would send out the aircraft carrier Zeppelin, which had just been commissioned for a short time. He arranged the arrangement against the German battleships, preparing to encircle the German battleships that were going to enter the Atlantic.

In his opinion, the German fleet consisted of two or three warships at most, nothing more than the Prince Eugen followed by the Bismarck, plus a battle cruiser Gneisenau!

As Commander-in-Chief of the British Navy, Dudley? Pound knew all about the battleships in the hands of the Germans.

Because compared to the British Royal Navy, which has a big business, the German Navy can handle nothing more than a few surface ships.

The Scharnhorst and two pocket battleships are not there, and which of the remaining big ships is not registered in the Royal Navy's small black book?

Before you know it, another 2 hours have passed. It was already 2 o'clock in the morning, and the ships of the British Royal Navy had begun to be deployed around this German naval operation.

The aircraft carrier Fury, which by this time had already rushed to the Norwegian waters with two other destroyers.

Early tomorrow morning, the Swordfish carrier-based aircraft on this aircraft carrier will attack and confirm the full situation of the German naval warship.

If the attacked German battleship did not return, then what awaited him was the British aircraft carrier Dreadnought, which followed closely.

The two carriers took off from the carriers to target the German ships, sink the German ships, or force the German ships to follow the route designed by the British Navy.

Then, whether the German warships took the Danish Strait or the dangerous waters on the south side of Iceland, the main forces of the British home fleet would surround them and block the way of the other side.

Three battleships, along with two more that would be reinforced later, would jam each other, engage in an artillery duel, and eventually sink all the German ships!

According to this script, unless the German naval ships returned and fled before dawn, they could not escape the pursuit of the British naval fleet in any case.

Originally, the Fury was only an auxiliary ship, but because the home fleet really couldn't come up with any decent warships, it had to use the Fury as a reconnaissance aircraft carrier to find the location of the German ships.

In Dudley? In Pound's heart, the real air strike was completed by the aircraft carrier Dreadnought. As the second ship of the Tejas class aircraft carrier, the Dreadnought is a beautiful aircraft carrier specially designed.

Originally, the Dreadnought was supposed to be launched for service at a later date. However, because Li Le accelerated the course of history, the Dreadsome, like the German Navy's Tirpitz, was launched into service ahead of schedule.

So, Dudley? Pound has an aircraft carrier with decent performance, and it is quite close to the theater of operations.

By this time, the British fleet had all left port, including the two aircraft carriers Dreadnought Fury, and five battleships, King George V, HMS Revenge, HMS Ramirez, USS Nelson and HMS Rodney.

The home fleet sent so many warships at once, Dudley? Pound thinks he has a chance to win this time.

However, under very tremendous pressure, he issued a plan for this battle -- there was already a problem with the oil reserves of the British mainland, and the consumption of oil on such a large-scale naval dispatch would be huge.

You know, there are also two aircraft carriers in the Mediterranean Fleet, the battleship Barham, the battlecruiser Prestige, and the Brilliant and Eagle in the Mediterranean Fleet.

In addition, the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal, which was under the jurisdiction of the H fleet, as well as the battlecruiser HMS Hood and the battleship Sovereign, had also left Gibraltar.

The main reason for the British Navy to dispatch such a large fleet was that at 3 a.m. an unknown spy near a German port sent back a vague but vital message - "I can't see the Bismarck!" ”

This telegram solidified Dudley? Pound's judgment, he thought that the German Navy must have sent out the Bismarck, or at least the Bismarck, and another cruiser!

With such a tricky enemy, Dudley? Pound and his front-line commander Charles both believed that a fleet should be dispatched to find a way to intercept the powerful German warship.

The main reason why so many warships were dispatched was because there was really not a single battleship in the British Navy that could be comparable to the German battleship Bismarck.

If you can catch up, you can't beat it, and your combat effectiveness can't catch up...... The British Navy was embarrassed by the embarrassing incident, and they could only use superior forces to find a way to drag down and annihilate the enemy ship.

……

Just after three o'clock in the morning, the German battleship moved to the designated turning position. Here they are to collectively turn and sail towards the north-western seas towards the Danish Strait.

Rutteyans, who had long been unable to wait to get rid of the British patrol ship, quickly gave the order to turn when this moment came: "Let the fleet turn as fast as possible!" Turn the rudder 20 degrees to the left! ”

Soon, the directional lights carried the news, and the cruiser Nuremberg, which was at the forefront, quickly began to turn.

And following Nuremberg, the Bismarck also began to turn. The entire fleet, according to the pre-planned plan, began to deviate from the Norwegian coastal route.

The long wait made Lütjens and the German fleet under his command lose patience. The British cruisers that followed them were really difficult for the German sailors to sleep.

Now that there is a chance to get rid of this troublesome enemy, of course everyone is willing. Soon, the fleet had deviated from its original course and headed in the other direction.

Of course, this turn, the British cruiser Norfolk did not know. It was still moving at its original speed and course, not even noticing.

After a few minutes, the observer realized that he could no longer see the German battleship behind him.

He rubbed his sour eyes, then raised his binoculars and looked at them carefully for a long time, finally confirming that the German fleet had disappeared.

At 3:10 a.m., Norfolk sent a telegram to the British mainland, confirming the loss of contact with the German battleship.

It was impossible to get Norfolk to turn back to the German battleships. Who knows whether the German battleship turned back or turned around and decided to open fire?

Therefore, the greatest courage that the cruiser Norfolk could show at this moment was to turn to the northwest and try to restore contact with the German battleships.

And the loss of contact with the German battleships left the British Royal Navy confused again. They did not know whether the German battleship disappeared because it was almost dawn and returned to the sea, or whether it changed its course by turning the rudder in order to get rid of contact with the British cruiser.

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