Chapter 1410: Run, Run, Run!
If there is still an American fleet around at this time, then after Raeder releases the first wave of aircraft, when the second wave of aircraft is prepared, the air defense capacity of the fleet during this period is very limited! The Americans can completely kill themselves in one wave! Don't look at it as an armored aircraft carrier, but if the first wave makes the other party solid, it will be the same as it! After all, armor protection is only a supplement to the defense of aircraft carriers, and if the aircraft can't stop it, then the significance of the armored deck is really limited! In just 2 hours, Raeder's fleet and Crank's fleet will be wiped out by each other's attacks! And at this time, the explosive growth of radio communications in the United States also made Raeder deeply worried.
In response to this situation, Raeder also made an assumption, if the other side has no other fleet, then the best choice for this American fleet is to remain concealed and launch a surprise attack after discovering the German fleet, after all, the difference between the power of the two fleets is not large, and the gap between a first strike and the normal attack can be described as huge, as for reminding the TS18 transport fleet, this is not very realistic, after all, the transport fleet itself has a certain defensive power, with the strength of the Cranker fleet, at least in the first wave of attacks, there will not be much success. If two attacks were organized, then the American fleet would be left to seize the opponent by chance. Since this American fleet is in frequent contact with the outside world, there is only one possibility, and that is to gather other friendly forces to gather in this position!
Well, let's make another assumption, if there are no other American fleets around, then what will be the worst thing that will happen, it is nothing more than that the Cranker fleet is heavily damaged, and then the Raeder fleet, which is sure that the perimeter is safe, can easily take out the American hunting fleet that has been consumed, and then chase the TS18 transport fleet in one breath and beat it hard! Raeder thought about it, although he felt that this was a little unfair to his comrades-in-arms from the bottom of his heart, but it was not bad to exchange a few aviation cruisers for the stability of his own fleet from a purely tactical point of view. If there are other fleets around the opponent, you will at least have a chance to escape from Ascension. There is always a price to be paid for fighting a war, and it is also an option to exchange a small loss for a safe one. Tentative offensives in land warfare are aimed at this. Similar tactics can be used by the Navy, naturally!
Just when Raeder was determined to give up on rescuing the Cranker fleet for the time being, and even prayed to God in his heart for his general. Raeder could never have imagined that things would be so tortuous in the future. Since the end of the Falkland Sea War, Raeder no longer has to worry about Crank's safety, this guy is too cautious! It's so good to run! At first glance, the situation is not right. Slip away faster than anyone else!
Here's the thing, if you leave aside Raeder's words, then the U.S. military has the upper hand in terms of layout, reconnaissance and troop strength! Just wait until after dawn for Levi to find the Crank's fleet and wait for Crank's first wave of planes to be released. By that time, the Illega apparitions would not have been able to save the Germans! The first wave of aircraft is out, the second wave of aircraft is being rearmament, what do you let 4 aviation cruisers take to withstand the attack of 4 light aircraft carriers? The aviation capabilities of an aviation cruiser are difficult to attack in a single wave, and how many direct guard aircraft can be left in the sky over the fleet? Even if there is a squadron, what is the use of facing 4 Independence-class light aircraft carriers? The Germans are already on the verge of a trap and are just one step away from it! And Leavis thought very well, even if the Germans were lucky and couldn't kill him in one wave, would Cranker still be able to escape from his second wave of attacks and Fletcher? Just kidding!
Cranke really didn't know that he was being calculated by the Americans. (Okay.) I didn't know that I was also calculated by Raeder. At least before dawn, but when the 4 air cruisers raised all the planes used in the first wave of attacks to the deck, an unexpected circumstance startled Crank! An American TBF torpedo plane flying from the TS18 transport flotilla appeared over the Krankk fleet! At this time, Rank's mood was exactly the same as that of Nagumo when he found the American plane above him during the Battle of Midway in history, but the next reaction was very different, Nagumo decisively swayed between torpedoes and bombs, and carried out a repetitive operation of bombs for torpedoes and torpedoes for bombs, training the ground crew, and delaying precious time. The starting point for Nagumo's approach is to figure out whether to deal with the Midway land-based air force first or the U.S. aircraft carrier fleet first. Overall, they were ready to attack, but Cranker was different. When he found out that the American plane was above his head, his first reaction was to retreat!
Cranker was indeed from the attack fleet, and he led a fleet to sink the opponent's warships on the vast sea, but to protect himself. The role of containing the local navy is sometimes even greater than the former! What's more, isn't the most important task for Cranke now to cooperate with Raeder to encircle and annihilate the American fleet? Well, although he doesn't know where the Raeder fleet is now. So Cranke quickly figured out the situation he was facing, and if he was lucky, then the plane should have come from the TS18 transport fleet, obviously. This plane has already discovered itself, and it should have notified the fleet, in this case, the surprise attack battle will become a strong attack battle, considering the losses that you may bear, and the survival rate of your own small life after the loss, this cost seems to be a little bigger! Far more than the effect of sinking a few transports! And if this plane is not from the TS18 transport fleet, then the situation is even more critical! This means that the Americans have the presence of other forces in this sea area! If you hit 1 with 2, Cranker is still hairy! Hurry up and talk about the right way!
As a result, the five German cruisers formed a huge U-shape on the surface of the sea and retreated at full speed in the opposite direction, and in the process of retreating, the JU90 bombers in the back were replaced by BF109 fighters than recontained in the hangar. The entire fleet completed the transformation from attack to defense in more than half an hour, and at this time, the leopard of the Crank's fleet retracted its outstretched claws, and its whole body shrank into a ball like a hedgehog! And the Americans didn't expect that Krark would be so decisive! So timid?!
Naturally, the actions of the Germans could not avoid the American reconnaissance planes that had been dangling above, and a few minutes later, the news of the reverse withdrawal of the German fleet reached the TS18 transport fleet, and within a quarter of an hour, the news also reached Leavis! Levis's first reaction after getting this information was to startle the snake! At this time, Levis was depressed and told the TS18 fleet to let them plan early, but he didn't let them startle them. You've sent planes over people's heads, can people not know that they're exposed? What was supposed to be a hand-to-hand capture is now in trouble, and the distance between Levi's fleet and Crank's fleet is widening, and the other side is on the verge of its own attack. If you want to shoot to death, you have to get closer, and then the two sides decisively entered the chase battle. Do light aircraft carriers run faster than aviation cruisers? Looks like it's pretty much the same!
The commander of the TS18 escort fleet is also bitter, if the Levi and Cranke fleets are considered opponents of a grade, then the comparison of these 3 escort aircraft carriers and 4 aviation cruisers in his hands is not a grade at all. At least it's the difference between wild dogs and cheetahs! Not to mention the performance gap of warships, the number and quality of aircraft are also disadvantages. As for the quality of pilots, not to mention, you have always dealt with submarines without air defense capabilities, and you are fighting air battles with regular naval aviation units? It's not too much to say it's looking for death, right? If the other party really attacks with all his might, maybe he will have to confess here. Although you are a bait, you can't be beaten passively, right? As a weak party, if you don't want to be eaten by the other party in a daze, then at least you need to know where the other party is, when the engine will attack, don't wait until the end the bricks have been raised to the top of your head, you don't know, then you won't die? So the Americans preemptively eliminated the reconnaissance plane to determine the opponent's location according to the information provided by Levis, and because of this action, they scared off Crank! Let the whole plan be left without flaws at the last minute!
"God, what's going on with the old man today?" Levi cursed the TS18 convoy and Crank, planning the next battle plan. When the other party is determined to run. I'm afraid it's a little difficult to solve him alone, if you calculate the comprehensive speed of the two sides, the distance that can be shortened in an hour will be very short, no more than 5 nautical miles, and at least it may be extended, after all, you don't know when the Germans will change their course! Before the Germans reduced their speed, they really couldn't do anything to each other! Fortunately, however, it seems that the course of Fletcher's fleet intercepted the Germans! If you tell Fletcher, will you be able to get rid of your opponent? To be honest, the Tibetan cat cat who played with each other at sea for a few weeks. Leavis' patience is really stretched to the limit. Especially when victory is in sight, the desire to quickly solve the opponent is surprisingly strong! So, he decisively sent a request to the Fletcher fleet! Ask the latter to get their hands dirty!
If there is one of the most cautious admirals of World War 2 in history, then Fletcher must be counted as one of them. After receiving a telegram from Levis. Fletcher didn't act immediately, but was thinking about the game behind the fight. He didn't know that Raeder had already attacked, but he was cautious by nature and thought about what he would do if the Germans repeated the tactics of the last naval battle. The last time the Germans hid a fleet under the noses of the Americans and defeated the US Navy at a critical moment, will the Germans repeat their old tricks this time? Please report that the German fleet has returned to the safe zone in the Eastern Mediterranean. But God knows, will an aircraft carrier slip out of it? The regular fleet aircraft carrier is not comparable to those non-professional warships, and the regular fleet aircraft carrier can take off a maximum of about 45 carrier-based aircraft in a wave, of which the number of attack aircraft can reach 30! As long as one of them is unprepared, it is not impossible to sink an aircraft carrier with one round of attacks! So until the final hole card is solved, Fletcher doesn't plan to make a direct move!
Anyway, the target is already a turtle in an urn, how long can the Germans maintain high speed? They still want to get supplies? What about dreaming? The Americans have only 2 regular aircraft carriers, 5 light aircraft carriers, escort carriers, submarines, and camouflage reconnaissance ships in this sea area, and even Fletcher does not know how many. Especially on the preset battlefield, if Fletcher wants to, he can find out the details of any boatman's ship! The Germans simply could not get supplies, after all, supplies did not just come across, and it took a while to refuel and agree. And the so-called camouflage supplies are more often waiting in the predetermined sea area. Instead of changing positions at any time. The Germans had to consider the relationship between their fuel and range when fleeing, and unlike Levis, Fletcher was more and more calm at the end, and he thought that the Germans were going to be finished anyway, so what difference did it make if they were a little earlier or later?
Fletcher's decision was simple, it was up to Leavis to settle the matter himself. Unless Levis is defeated or a new hostile fleet appears, the Fletcher fleet will never move! "That battle is willing to drag on until tomorrow!" Leavis wrote this in the telegram. "We have plenty of time to wait!" Fletcher replied unmoved!
As a result, a very strange phenomenon appeared on the battlefield, with the Crank's fleet running, the Leavis fleet chasing, and the Fletcher fleet watching from the sidelines, and from time to time the deep tentacles probed the surrounding movements. So what is Raeder doing now? In fact, what Raeder was doing at this time was the same as Fletcher! He's also carefully searching the surrounding waters with his own methods, but he's doing it more stealthily! On the aft deck of the flagship aircraft carrier Moltke, a modified BF110TS electronic reconnaissance aircraft is ready to go. The plane, which did not carry any weapons of attack on the sea, was the treasure of the entire fleet, with a huge curved antenna under its belly and an Yagi antenna in the bow. This aircraft is equipped with sea search radar and radiolocation devices, and wants to use visual reconnaissance to find the opponent, and at the same time as discovering the opponent, he has actually been exposed, and only electronic equipment can be safer, especially the use of passive electronic equipment! After nearly 200 meters of taxiing, the BF110TS electronic reconnaissance plane took off, and he said that it was cruising around the fleet, searching for suspicious targets in the nearby sea area of 400 kilometers!
"Two days at most, if no suspicious targets are found within two days, we will take out those light aircraft carriers!" Raeder looked at the charts and looked up at the calendar, making up his mind. From the perspective of patience, it seems that Raeder is not as good as Fletcher, but in fact this is not the case, because Raeder knows whose home field it is, and even if he hides it well and stays for a long time, the exposure will still be exposed!
Last Saturday's update was late, it's not that the side position is not working hard! It's a problem in the background.,So the side bit was uploaded in advance.,The two more on the weekend won't thank you for your support.,Make up for it later.,I'm sorry~~~.。 (To be continued.) )