"The war has finally broken out, and our hunt is about to begin." Looking at the fading West Coast of the United States, Su Mo on the Persia, the flagship of the Iranian fleet during the war, was filled with emotion. On the third day of the outbreak of the war, the Iranian fleet, which had been stationed in the United States under the pretext of a visit, left the port and began to sail towards the depths of the vast Atlantic Ocean. All 5 warships of the Iranian Navy made a sortie, and the two second-class aircraft carriers USS Persia and USS Darius were in the middle of the attack. The front and rear were the heavy cruisers Tabri Mond and Tehran. The aviation cruiser USS Qom was located 120 nautical miles in front of the fleet and served as the fleet boundary. The 7 destroyers were divided into two groups, and the 5 destroyers were divided around the fleet. The other two destroyers were on either side of the Qom, serving as air defense guard posts.

During its stay in the United States, the fleet mainly did the following things, first of all, it established contact with the US Navy, and the two sides worked together to develop a cipher and a replenishment plan at sea. Then all the warships were debugged with newly installed radar and communications equipment, and at the same time a batch of spare engines and components were taken from the United States. In his spare time, the U.S. Navy conducted several exercises, including resupply exercises at sea as well as confrontational exercises. Although there were Chinese, British, American, and Iranian officers and men in the fleet, after a period of coordination, the fleet commanders unanimously agreed that the fleet had formed a combat capability. You can participate in the battle at any time. The god of war did not make the Iranian fleet wait too long. On the first day after the outbreak of the war, the Iranian submarine squadron responsible for breaking diplomatic relations left the United States ahead of schedule. And three days later, the main Iranian fleet also embarked on the journey.

At the beginning of the war, the Allied transport ships had little protection against the sudden arrival of the Iranian fleet, and on the one hand, the Allied powers did not expect that this fleet would fight in the Atlantic. They had thought that this fleet, which was in the name of the Iranian Navy, would eventually be taken over by China or the Entente. After all, fighting against the mighty Allied fleet in the Indian Ocean is undoubtedly seeking death. And if you fight in the Atlantic, just supply is a difficult problem to solve. On the other hand, the size of the Allied fleet was simply too large. They are distributed all over the world. Even if the notification arrived, the Allies did not have the ability to provide escort assistance to all ships, not to mention that in the face of such a fleet of nearly 200 aircraft of all kinds, in the absence of aircraft carriers, even the battleship escort would be a meat send-off in the face of an attack by hundreds of aircraft.

"The cruiser Qom is going to attack a transport ship to the northwest, which, according to intelligence, is supposed to be transporting livestock products from Argentina, and if it can be captured, our food problem will be solved. And the main fleet was going to attack target No. 3 in the northeast direction. At this time, two German ships transporting ore. Cunningham finished speaking, and looked at Summer and Fletcher to ask for their opinion.

"It doesn't matter, there won't be any presence that can threaten us until the Allied fleet arrives. Let's just train the soldiers. Fletcher said. Su Mo then signaled that the formation of attack aircraft on standby on the deck could depart. Because Allied fighters were almost impossible to encounter at sea, Summer did not arrange fighter sorties, and each aircraft carrier only arranged 12 Seagull attack aircraft on standby. Well, if Xu Jie knew that his beloved pirate would be used as an attack aircraft at the earliest, he would probably be embarrassed.

The pirate's landing vision is not good, and it stands to reason that it is not suitable for getting on the ship. However, with the intervention of the traverser and the installation of optical landing equipment, the landing problem of the pirate was also solved, coupled with the large range and huge bomb load of the Seagull, as well as the sturdy body, this aircraft gradually won the approval of the fleet attack aircraft pilots. Even a few discerning pilots thought that if a high-power air-cooled engine could be installed, this aircraft would be a good carrier-based aircraft.

"It's just an attack exercise, just to hit two ships. You actually brought almost all the weapons except torpedoes? Wait, there's a trainer bullet in there?! Su Mo said in surprise after looking at a group of attack planes that were lining up to take off. There were a total of 12 aircraft, 4 of which carried 250KG bombs. Each aircraft carried three rounds, one bomb on the central axis of the belly, and two training rounds on the lower part of the wing. The other four planes were carrying rockets, carrying a total of eight 5-inch rockets. The last four planes were each hung with 100KG small bombs and 500KG training bombs. It looks like it's a dive bombing.

"It's so easy to find the goal, how can you do it if you don't practice well?" Cunningham said with a smile. The other side has no ability to resist, and the structure of the civilian ship is very fragile, and a civilian ship of 10,000 tons is likely to be directly sunk by a 250KG bomb. Even taking into account the problem of hits, it will not take 12 planes to sink these two ships.

"All attack aircraft have been rotated so far?" Fletche asked. "Is there something going on? As you can see from the recent attacks, you've got your hands on almost every fleet. Is something wrong? Is the Allied fleet coming, or something else? Fletche, who had a keen sense of smell, sensed something strange in Summer and Cunningham's arrangement.

"It's something, but it's just a guess at the moment, it's not certain. According to intelligence, there is a fleet of high-speed transport vessels numbered four-wheeled carriages about to depart from the port of Kiel, and the average speed of this fleet is around 15 knots, which is a typical high-speed fleet. There are about 12 ships with a total tonnage of nearly 180,000 tons. It was loaded with a large number of spare parts, weapons and various military supplies. We want to kill him. Canning looked at Sumer, who had no objection and said.

"I'm afraid it's hard. From our position, even if we could intercept our adversary, we would probably only be able to operate in the waters west of the Strait of Gibraltar, but this area is close to the Spanish Sahara and the Spanish mainland, and to act there would be tantamount to pulling teeth out of the mouth. Fletcher shook his head. In peacetime, a fleet departing from the German mainland could enter the Atlantic Ocean via the English Channel. Then, as long as you can sail past the west coast of France, you can enter Spanish waters. Here they will receive cover from the Spanish Air Force. This must greatly reduce the time of sailing, and also greatly reduce the entire ambush area that can be used.

"It doesn't matter, our submarine forces are already waiting at the west entrance of the English Channel. We have 4 submarines deployed there. And the other day, these submarines have already achieved results, one of the two German transports was sunk, the other was seriously damaged. The elite German fleet was concentrated in the Mediterranean and Indian Oceans, and they did not have sufficient forces to provide escorts. Su Mo said.

"That is, the other side can only enter the Atlantic Ocean from the north of the United Kingdom? If that were the case, we would have plenty of time. Fletcher thought for a moment and said.

"Tensions remain high, with a number of twin-engine bombers and long-range patrol aircraft deployed in the Canary Islands and the Spanish Sahara. These guys are nasty. We need to clean them up first. Otherwise, in daytime battles, our every move will be under the noses of the Allies. If the Spanish fleet were to be dispatched, the twin-engine bombers flying from Africa would still inflict fatal damage on the fleet once our fighters were entangled. Cunningham smiled.

"Where is the Spanish fleet?" Fletcher asked. "At the moment two aircraft carriers belonging to the Spanish Navy are being repaired in dock and the other is cruising east of the Strait of Gibraltar, the latter was provided by the French three days ago." Cunningham said.

"What about the German fleet and the Austro-Hungarian fleet?" Su Mo added. "They're all in the Indian Ocean. Does this need to be asked? Cunningham was stunned for a moment, but then said very dryly.

"However, according to the information we received before we left the United States. Our intelligence agencies call the entire Adriatic and Aegean region a no-go zone. We know very little about the situation with the fleet deployed here. According to the intelligence gathered by the Entente in the Indian Ocean, there are only about five aircraft carriers in the entire Indian Ocean region. And the number of aircraft carriers in the entire Entente is more than a dozen! We have been hanging at sea for a month, and the total tonnage of the knocked out transport ships is already close to more than 200,000 tons. Could it be that the other side will be indifferent? Su Mo said.

"Sss Cunningham gasped. Although Su Mo didn't say it explicitly, the implication was already obvious. It is quite possible that this is a conspiracy of the Allies, and the so-called sea transport fleet may be a decoy. With a fleet of nearly 180,000 tons, this decoy is enough to attract the Iranian fleet to make a desperate bet. If you think about it at worst, God knows what exactly is in this fleet. Is it arms, supplies? Or maybe nothing? At the thought of this, Cunningham felt a chill rise up his spine.

Although Su Mo and the others have realized that this may be a conspiracy of the other party, in the face of a full fleet of 180,000 tons, Su Mo and the others cannot give up easily, and don't forget, this is still a fleet sailing to the Indian Ocean. If it is really loaded with munitions, then whether or not this fleet can be stopped will have too great an impact on the situation of the war! The so-called people die for money, and birds die for food. In the face of such a big fish, if they let it go directly, Su Mo and the others would still be quite unwilling.

"We still have time, if the information from the French does not show signs of the Germans passing through the English Channel, we can also draw 2 submarines from the west entrance of the English Channel to the Strait of Gibraltar to have a look, and if the Allied fleet strikes, we can at least have an early warning." Su Mo thought for a moment and said.

While the three chiefs of the fleet were discussing, a telegram had arrived from the air cruiser USS Qom, and that the refrigerated transport had been captured, carrying thousands of tons of beef, mutton and poultry. This means that the entire fleet, after eating canned food for more than a month, can finally improve the food. And the attack aircraft group sent by the main fleet also destroyed these two ships. For now, this seems like a good sign.

"The camel fleet has already departed, and we have chosen to take the northern route. The situation on the southern front was somewhat complicated, with the discovery of the opposing side's submarines in the English Channel. And attacks have already been launched against our fleet. The staff officer sent a document to Rear Admiral Gont's desk, which, after being combined with other intelligence, was sent to the High Seas Fleet's overseas headquarters in Crete.

"Is this fleet really a transport fleet that urgently supplies arms to the Middle East, as the documents say? Don't they know that the Iranian fleet is wreaking havoc in the North Atlantic? After the staff officer withdrew, Major General Gonter whispered to Dönitz on the side.

"It's really going to the Middle East, and it does have some supplies on it. But how much is not clear. Some of the ships in this fleet are loaded in Danzig, and I have seen quite a few vehicles and tanks being loaded before. Dönitz said. And one way or another, these fleets are urgently needed for the war. They are fast merchant ships. The average speed is about twice as fast as that of the average ship. Our capacity in the Indian Ocean is a bit tight. Once these ships are in place, it will improve our logistical supply situation. ”

"But no matter how fast a ship is, it's no faster than an aircraft carrier and the planes on it. If the other party already knows this news, then the situation of this fleet may not be optimistic. Major General Gangte said with some concern. Wait, could this be a trap? A decoy to lure the Iranian fleet to attack? "That's not what we know, I don't know what Admiral Luknar and Jordi will do." Dönitz snorted. It's okay to guess about the idea of the peak, but it's not okay to talk nonsense. And at this time, thousands of miles away on the island of Crete, the top brass of the Allied Navy was working on a big plan.

The pressure on the German Navy is far greater than the outside world thinks. The loss of more than 200,000 tons of transport ships in a month, nearly 100 million marks, made the Kaiser angry. In his opinion, this is a complete dereliction of duty on the part of the Navy. It's just 5 capital ships. At that time, under the command of Admiral Schell, the German High Seas Fleet dared to fight the mighty British Grand Fleet in a disadvantaged situation. And repeatedly won. And now? The Combined Fleet of the Central Powers remaining in the Mediterranean was far stronger than its opponents, and from Wilhelm II's point of view, he really couldn't understand why the High Seas Fleet had been unable to solve this problem. And not only did it not solve the trouble, but the main force of the Allied fleet actually did not make a big move! This made the Kaiser even more unbearable.

In fact, the High Seas Fleet also has unspeakable secrets. Led by Count Spee, Luckner and Raeder jointly implemented a plan to replace the carrier-based aircraft of the German aircraft carrier fleet. Because of the major restructuring of the fleet, the types and assignments of aircraft have changed significantly, and the training of pilots and ground crews also takes time. In this case, although the German navy had a large naval size, it could not draw many troops. It is not easy to scrape together the troops needed for the Indian Ocean operation, and there is really not much left to pick up.

Thanks to the book friend hukaikaka for the tip~~~, as well as the book friend Magic Jack, athlon9527, the dog that plays with frogs, i-sleeper, and the monthly pass support of nostalgia for the time when I was young~~~. From today, the side position is more than 4K per day. I hope that book friends who like this book can support it a lot~~~. (To be continued.) )