"The trial operation can begin!" Cunning's mind said calmly, but there was something moving in his heart. The British had been preparing for this trial for a long time.

As the former No. 1 naval power, the British have always been very interested in the tactical study of the navy. They are also keenly aware of the role of aircraft carriers.

When Italy invaded Ethiopia in 35, Pound, then commander of the British Navy's Mediterranean Fleet, had a plan to attack the warships anchored at the Taranto military port with carrier-based aircraft.

Lister, who later served as commander of the Mediterranean Fleet's aircraft carrier force, discovered the plan, studied it in depth, and reported it to Cunningham. Cunningham also realized the great potential of this plan.

At that time, the Italian Navy and the British Mediterranean Navy had fought several times in naval battles such as the Battle of Cape Stillo, and suffered some small losses, knowing that they lacked air cover and support, and could not take advantage of the British army. As a result, the commander of the Italian navy, Campioni, adopted a passive strategy of avoiding war, only going to sea when escorting the North African route, and as soon as he found that the British army was in trouble, he immediately turned around and returned home, and retreated in the military port of Taranto, no matter how the British army led him, he just closed his door. Relying on mine formations, shore artillery, and air force defenses, the British could not help them.

Faced with the conservative strategy of the Italian fleet similar to that of the later Italian football team, Cunningham liked this plan very much, and decided to take the initiative to attack the Italian fleet cowering in the military port of Taranto from the air. So he instructed Lister to begin the necessary preparations. But there were many good things, and the operation that was supposed to be carried out on the day of the British army on Gillian Day was postponed for various reasons, even after the instigation of the butterfly wings, "still greatly delayed the time."

Taranto was the most important naval base in Italy, with almost 70% of the Italian navy of battleships and heavy cruisers moored. The Italians still attach great importance to it, even the air defense forces, more than 200 anti-aircraft guns are deployed" plus the anti-aircraft artillery fire on the warship, the anti-aircraft fire can cover almost the entire port area.

"Taranto's anti-aircraft firepower, although strong, their anti-aircraft artillery units did not have the ability to fight at night, which was a fatal flaw." The British gathered a lot of information, and Lister was keenly aware of this when he saw the Italian port defenses. At this time in the British Isles, even at night, there are often fights. If the anti-aircraft artillery units lacked the ability to fight at night, "it would have simply allowed the German bombers to fly directly onto the roofs of Buckingham Palace."

"Their 22 searchlights, although they are quite numerous, are not deployed in a suitable location. There are a lot of loopholes. Perhaps their blocking balloons pose the greatest threat to us, but God forbid Great Britain, the storm at the beginning of the month destroyed more than half of the 90 balloons, and the Italians have not had time to repair them. Lister laughed, and after a fight with the Germans, the Italians "really weren't very good," and they didn't seem to have even half of the mine nets in their harbors, maybe only a third of them. And their mine net is only 8 meters deep, and there is still a gap between the bottom of the sea, and our air-dropped torpedo is set to a depth of 10 meters, just enough to pass through the mine net and explode at the bottom of their warship. Boom! Let's open the champagne of victory and celebrate! ”

On 11 November, the British launched a night attack on the port of Taranto, and the source of the attack was the aircraft carrier that sailed across the sea. However, there are some differences from history that the British did not make one, but two. Cunningham threw all the "Excellence" and "Eagle" in his hands into this sneak attack, "and even took some of the Swordfish, torpedo planes and pilots from the Ark Royal."

"It's a bit gambling, but the situation in London is even more critical. The battleship Bismarck of the Germans was already in service. We need to solve the problem on the Italian side as soon as possible and send troops to support London. Canning said worriedly. The Germans had a reference for the three Yamato-class battleships, and the Bismarck battleship under construction was partially adjusted, and in January, it was just put into service.

When the news reached the ears of the British, the British also understood that their little aqueduct was almost no longer able to stop the Germans.

"This time, we will definitely succeed!" Lister clenched his fists and said, after a moment of silence.

"What? You say our fleet is finished? "Mussolini had not slept since receiving the news of the attack on the port of Taranto late at night, but when it was dawn, he waited for such bad news.

Of the 5 battleships anchored in Taranto, the "Cavour" and "Lidorio" were torpedoed and sank; "Duirio" was heavily flooded below the bridge, was badly damaged and ran aground on the beach: "Veneto" and "Kai With" were injured. There was also the sinking of the cruiser "Taranto", the cruisers "Zara" and "Bōla" were damaged.

It can be said that the main battleships of the Navy of the Italians lost most of them. In addition to those that sank, even those who were injured needed more than half a year to repair. The seaplane hangars, oil depots and shipyards in the port have been badly damaged and need to be repaired. There is no one year to slow down.

Mussolini quickly calmed down. Now in the Mediterranean, it is clear that the British have gained absolute superiority. And if the Italian Navy is not careful, it may usher in a second catastrophe.

"Protect the remaining ships! Scatter them to the ports of the north! "This is the plan proposed by the Italian Navy, and although Mussolini is annoyed that this is a bit embarrassing, survival is more important. At this time, in addition to the battleship "Doria", Italy had only one Veneto-class battleship under construction, and the battleships "Roma" and "Empire" had just been launched and had not yet entered service.

If the Italian Navy is attacked again, I am afraid that it will not only be the Italian Navy, but also the ports around Italy.

"That's all there is to it!" Mussolini said helplessly, he regretted a little in his heart, when he saw that the Germans were becoming more and more dominant in the skies over Great Britain, and the desire to take advantage of it led him to send a large group of 88 planes to participate in the air raid on the British mainland just yesterday. If these planes had come to the rescue of the port of Taranto, they might have suffered fewer casualties.

"These planes must be brought back, or the planes from the British aircraft carrier will be able to attack Rome directly." He immediately sent a message to Hitler. At this time, face is not important, and how to get through this difficult time is important.

"The Italians ceded sea dominance in the Mediterranean." Although the German naval commander, Field Marshal Raeder, had a cold expression, he was also very helpless about the Mediterranean. The British controlled the Strait of Gibraltar, leaving the German navy isolated from the Mediterranean Sea only by the Italians. But this time the Italians were so devastated that they were afraid to retreat. The Mediterranean is already under the control of the British.

"The war situation in North Africa is probably even worse. The maritime transport of the Italians over the Mediterranean would be curtailed, and the maritime transport of the British would increase significantly. Raeder said solemnly, "Even some ships of the British Mediterranean Fleet will turn to the North Sea, so the pressure on us to intercept will increase." ”

"I would have liked the British fleet to go out of the Mediterranean and into the North Sea." Hitler was right. In the Mediterranean, because the British controlled the choke point, it was difficult for the Germans to intervene, and if the British ships ran to the North Sea, the Germans, who had a strong navy, would not have to be afraid. The chess game in the Mediterranean has come alive.

Hitler was a little helpless about this ally. In his opinion, whatever the Italians do, the result is failure. The Italians attacked Greece, except for the first week when they forced Greece back fifty or sixty kilometers, after which there was no progress, but the Greeks counterattacked.

As soon as Greece went to war, it fell in favor of the British, which led to the construction of air bases in Greece.

In order not to affect Romania's oil production, Hitler had instructed the German Army General Headquarters to prepare a plan for an invasion of the Balkans and to put Greece down once and for all.

"Since Mussolini asked their plane to return, let them go back. Plus, send another 500 planes to help them! Hitler turned to Goering.

The Germans had already gained the upper hand in the air war in Great Britain, and Hitler did not want problems in Italy. Although the French had already been defeated, with Italy in southern Europe, the Germans had saved a lot of trouble.

"Be sure to gather all relevant information in all directions!" When Yamamoto heard the news, he immediately instructed the naval attaché stationed in Italy to conduct a detailed investigation and search of the matter. At this time, the Japanese themselves had already begun to determine the direction of the southward wind, and even the plan for a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor to deal with the possible threat of the Americans had already begun to be planned. This great war of the British undoubtedly gave Japan himself an excellent example. Let many "Day" themselves be more confident to complete the future enlarged version of the assault Taranto.

"Thorough and meticulous pre-war preparation and training and modification of pilots and aircraft participating in the war are essential!" Yamamoto Fifty-six commented on the reasons for the victory of the British, and detailed and true information came first. ”

"The opponent's information must be true!" He repeated it again, but with a sigh in his heart. At this time, it was a foregone conclusion that the "Japanese" themselves would go south, but many of them did not realize the strength of the Americans. The apparent military power of the Americans is only the tip of the iceberg. Although this plan is only a reserve plan and does not necessarily have to be implemented, once the war is launched, can it still be controlled?

"I hope this plan is never used!" The British only used more than 30 torpedo planes and more than 20 torpedoes to achieve such brilliant results, creating a precedent for attacking the enemy's naval base with aircraft carrier-based aircraft and achieving complete victory, and once again proving to the world the tremendous power of aircraft carriers. But it is not what Meng Xiang wants to see.

"Italians are still so unsettling!" Meng Xiang shook his head and sighed. In order to vigorously sell the battleship, he even pushed part of the original credit of the pioneer military aircraft carrier to the head of the pioneer cannon, as much as possible to reduce the attractiveness of the aircraft carrier. Meng Xiang, who had a little impression of this incident, also reminded the Italians on the side and sold some anti-aircraft guns. But this time the British unexpectedly used two aircraft carriers, although they also lost a dozen aircraft, but they achieved even more impressive results, and have pushed the role of aircraft carriers into the spotlight of the calendar stage.

"As the bomb load of an aircraft increases, bombs comparable to giant naval guns can be thrown farther. Aircraft loaded with torpedoes could attack more flexibly. I am afraid that in the future, aircraft will play a major role in future naval battles. After all, Fan Chong has more contact with the aircraft carriers of the vanguard army, although he mainly understands the army, but he also has a vague idea of this issue, and the British raid case has given him an advanced military concept and theoretical lesson, which makes him sigh.

Meng Xiang nodded, in the future ocean, the attack of aircraft will be sharper than that of naval artillery. The new hegemon of the seas is beginning to show its fierceness.

"It's still a good day, and you have paid attention to the main energy of naval construction on aircraft carriers as early as possible." Fan Chong sighed again.

Meng Xiang only smiled bitterly in his heart at this time, now I am afraid that the eyes of the whole world have begun to pay attention to the aircraft carrier. Although the traditional forces still believe in the power of battleship cannons, some countries have begun to pay attention to the construction of aircraft carriers. Even Mussolini, the guy who shouted that he didn't need to build an aircraft carrier, had just written to Meng Xiang, asking Meng Xiang if he could transfer the Ark Royal-class aircraft carrier in the hands of the vanguard.

The Vanguard originally had three Ark Royal-class aircraft carriers, two of which were later sold to the Germans. Although the Germans have not been put into use because of Goering, they are still in the process of training. After Mussolini was hit by this heavy blow, he paid more attention to aircraft carriers and took a fancy to the spot aircraft carriers of the Vanguard Army. After all, the situation in Italy is more critical at this time, and the spot is far more suitable than the futures in the hands of copycat companies, and it is not hesitating to buy at a high price.

This Meng Xiang can be sold to him, after all, the vanguard still has two modified aircraft carriers Midway, and there is no need to fight for the time being. Subsequent shipyards will continue to replenish new warships, not to mention a large amount of money in the account. However, Meng Xiang was more worried about his battleship business.

"It seems that we need to find an opportunity to revive the majesty of the battleship! Let the world be crazy about big ships and big ships again! Meng Xiang thought in his heart