At this time, Crank's head was a mess, and it was supposed to be a big fish, but it turned out to be a big fish, but it could be a shark! How can Crank's feelings be embarrassed? Fleet B has already been discovered, and it may not be long before it becomes fish on the chopping block. So what to do yourself? If you can know the position of the other party now, then you can secretly attack the other party, but at the moment Cranker doesn't even know where the other side is, and more importantly, the air cruiser is full of attack planes, and if you want to release the reconnaissance planes, you have to take the prepared planes back to the hangar and then redeploy, which is quite a cost of time. According to the requirements of the German naval aviation, in general, an aircraft carrier formation was to arrange a small aircraft carrier to release reconnaissance aircraft, but in terms of the strength and conditions in the hands of Krrank, this was obviously not possible. Now Cranke feels very lost, the fleet is in danger, and he doesn't know where the other party came from! He didn't dare to contact Fleet B, God knows if the other side had a plane carrying advanced radiolocation devices! Once you're exposed, it's all over. In this kind of thinking of scaring himself, the retreat in Cranc's heart became stronger and stronger, and the aimless voyager of the two air cruisers on the sea seemed to be a traveler who had lost his direction.

"In a quarter of an hour, send me all the escort warships of the Entente countries that have been discovered by submarines in the last ten days!" In the end, Cranke decided to wait a little longer, after all, a retreat might not necessarily work, and if the opponent's air force was strong enough, maybe after cutting off the B fleet, he could turn around and eat himself. Although he did not know the location of the other party, Cranke believed that he was not far away from the other party, as evidenced by radio lateral direction and inference, and when the signal was received, the energy attenuation was not large. Even the officer in charge of the radio can judge the approximate model and distance of the other party's radio equipment based on the signal, which is not the same as accurate positioning. If you confirm that the other party finds out, then needless to say, you have to fight if you can't beat it! After all, no matter how fast a battleship is, it can't outrun a plane! To paraphrase a common saying, even if you die, you have to pull a cushion on your back!

After carefully studying the intelligence. Kranke came to the conclusion that, first, the naval base of the Entente was currently stable throughout the South Atlantic, that is, there were no new forces entering on a large scale. Not only did not the fleet carriers, but even the light aircraft carriers did not come! Second, the coordination of the other side is relatively limited, and this is not like a coordinated operation in a certain theater, but a temporary idea. Otherwise. He couldn't be in relative safety right now, and Crake felt like he hadn't been exposed, at least for now. Third, the opponent's strength should be relatively limited, which is speculated based on the previous two conditions. The opponent's strength is no more than 2 or 3 Jeep aircraft carriers.

Although it may be enough to destroy Fleet B, in terms of aviation power, Fleet A is really not necessarily afraid of its opponents! And in terms of defense, the air cruiser is still stronger than the other side, and as long as a bomb goes up, the other side is estimated to be about the same. What's more critical is that this strong man captured by history seems to be strong, but it is full-time anti-submarine. If we are fighting for air supremacy and attacking ships, it is really difficult to say what level we can fight. After all, the profession is not right! After this series of analyses, Colonel Cranke decided to stay and fight!

Although I have strengthened my belief, I still can't solve the problem of where the opponent is. "Guys, listen, we already know the location of the TY33 transport fleet, and according to reconnaissance and intelligence, the authenticity of this fleet has been confirmed, and the other side thinks that everyone should understand that they used the TY33 fleet as a bait to lure Fleet B to take the bait. But what they didn't expect was that the bait was so fragrant that it lured us in, and the Americans had already lost a convoy of transports. It is impossible for them to throw away TY33 again. So, the position of the opposing team's fleet should be with TY33, at least not very far away. Our scout is centered on TY33! In the end, Cranke determined the direction of the investigation half on the basis of intelligence, half on his own judgment, and he was gambling if he was not careful. I'm afraid that I and Fleet A will die without a place to be buried!

After determining the position of Fleet B and the position of the TY33 transport fleet, and then according to the range of action of the American carrier-based aircraft, Colonel Cranke and his subordinates roughly determined the direction of reconnaissance, and the other side's fleet should be close to the former on the connection line between the TY33 transport fleet and the B fleet! At this time, Fleet A was not far away from the TY33 transport fleet, and the straight-line distance was only about 200 kilometers. At this distance, even BF109 fighters can be used as reconnaissance aircraft, of course, it may be somewhat difficult to send a report, but in order to cope with this sudden situation, the Germans did not have time to change planes, and 6 BF109 fighters equipped with long-range communication equipment took off from the aviation cruiser to carry out reconnaissance in a fan shape, although the number is not much, but this is already the highest amount of reconnaissance aircraft that fleet A can send under the condition of ensuring attack power!

The Americans were still moving faster than the Cranc, and just as the BF109 fighters were dispatched, the first wave of attack consisting of 30 planes on the two escort aircraft carriers had already set off, and one after another the planes roared up from the deck. After 20 minutes, all the planes had risen into the air and completed the formation, they began to fly in the direction of the German B fleet, Colonel John had already played the first set of cards in his hand, and in a short time he and his fleet did not have any effective air defense. The formation of F4F fighters and TBF attack aircraft flew towards the target at a speed of 250 kilometers, and if nothing else, they would reach the target in an hour.

Because of its proximity, the BF109 can search nearby waters at a higher cruising speed. At this time BF109TF as it approached the search area, it was determined to increase the cruising speed to 400 km/h. Entering a high-speed cruising state, two BF109 fighters cut into the attack aircraft course of the SN12 escort aircraft carrier battle group in an oblique line! Thus, a scene that shocked both sides of the war appeared, the first thing that the German reconnaissance aircraft discovered was not the SY33 transport fleet, nor the American fleet, but the planes sent by the American fleet!

The BF109 fighter flying from an altitude of 4000 meters clearly discovered the American aircraft group flying below him, and the course of the other party should be exactly in the direction of the B fleet, so if the reverse thrust is carried out according to the course of the other side, you can clearly know the approximate location of the two escort aircraft carriers, after discovering the enemy aircraft, the pilot of the two BF109 fighters did not attack, but began to send a report to the German fleet, and he used a reserved frequency band. Messages sent in this band can be received by both Fleet B and Fleet A. It took nearly eight minutes for this crucial telegram to be sent, and after it was sent, it was accompanied by electromagnetic conduction. The situation on the entire battlefield has changed upside down!

"Between the clouds, I saw the blue-painted planes, flying in a neat formation towards Fleet B, about the size of two squadrons, and I breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of these. We know the position of the other side, and the A fleet I am in has not been exposed, I can't help but rejoice for myself, now the situation has completely changed, it's time for us to do it, I sent a telegram, on the one hand, let the A fleet know the position of the other party, ready to attack, on the other hand, for the B fleet to provide early warning, if lucky. The comrades of Fleet B were able to block this wave of attacks. Ensign Moore, a German pilot who played a huge role in the First Naval Air Assault in World War II, was fortunate enough to survive the entire Second World War, and he proudly mentioned it in his memoirs published after the war. And because of this telegram, Second Lieutenant Moore became a captain directly after the war and was awarded an Oak Leaf Cross.

"Great, the other side's forces are very limited! They should only have two escort aircraft carriers, otherwise, they would not have sent only 30 aircraft to deal with a formation with aviation cruisers, and this number of aircraft groups does not exceed the upper limit of the defense of aviation cruisers! Colonel Cranke said excitedly after receiving the telegram. From this telegram he saw through the weakness of the other party! He is not afraid at all that the other side still has air defense forces, because judging from intelligence, it is possible to have residual combat strength unless the Americans concentrate all the escort aircraft carriers. And with Fleet A still unexposed, it seems that the other side should not leave too much defense! After all, aircraft carriers are attack weapons. If there is spare strength, the escort aircraft carriers of the Americans should increase the attack force!

36 aircraft of various types were already positioned on the decks of two aviation cruisers, and the two battleships began to move into the upwind direction in preparation for the take-off of aircraft. With the help of ground crews, a BF109 fighter went into the designated take-off position and, with the help of hydraulic equipment, opened the wings that folded behind him. The engine output gradually increased until it reached its maximum rev, and as soon as the pilot applied the brakes, a BF109 fighter jet rose from the deck like a sharp arrow. Then one after another planes took off quickly. In about a quarter of an hour, the Germans completed the take-off and marshalling of the planes and began to fly in the direction of the estimated group of opposing aircraft. After the release of the attack aircraft group, Colonel Krake was not idle, and immediately asked the two aircraft carriers to start preparing fighters for air defense, and the remaining 10 BF109 fighters in the hangar were raised to the deck, and ejected after adding 300L of auxiliary fuel tanks.

At the same time, Colonel Hoffman, the commander of the B Fleet, who received the information from Second Lieutenant Moore, also breathed a sigh of relief, "It turns out that there are only 2 squadrons!" Major Hoffman said in his heart, and at the same time the fighter unit of the B fleet began to take off, and the 18 BF109 fighters lined up on the deck soon flew into the air, and then the JU90 attack aircraft, which were already half loaded with fuel and full ammunition from the hangar. The attack of the other side was not long in coming, and soon after all the planes took off, the radar at the top of the mast of the heavy cruiser Hamburg detected the incoming aircraft group in the distance, but by this time, the B fleet had also completed its defense, and from a tactical point of view, both German fleets had done their best, and the rest was up to the performance of the brothers!

"It's coming!" Guided by the battleship's radar, all the BF109 fighters went into interception positions, and in the lower position in front of them, the American F4F fighters and the attack aircraft behind. "Concentrate forces to attack attack aircraft, and leave the fighters alone!" After the squadron leader gave the battle order, 18 planes formed a formation of 9 twins and began to launch a dive attack in turn, and when accompanied by a whistling sound from the sky, the American pilots knew that the time had come to fight hard! The F4F fighter in front bravely greeted it.

However, the BF109 fighter has a performance advantage after all, the BF109E is already stronger than the F4F, and the new BF109F is even stronger. The German aircraft group that swept at high speed did not do much entanglement with the opponent's F4F fighters at all, but directly attacked the bulky attack aircraft behind, whether it was the F4F carrying bombs or the TBF group carrying torpedoes, at this time their speed was not even 300 kilometers, like pregnant antelopes facing the ferocious cheetahs.

20MM SHELLS AND 15MM MACHINE GUNS RAINED DOWN FROM THE AIR, AND IN JUST THE FIRST SHOT, TWO F4F PLANES WERE SHOT DOWN, ONE PLANE'S COCKPIT POSITION WAS SMASHED INTO A SIEVE BY A DENSE CANNONBALL, WHILE THE WING OF THE OTHER PLANE WAS SLASHED OFF, AND THE HEAVY WEIGHT MADE THE PLANE LOSE ITS BALANCE IN AN INSTANT, AND THEN SPUN DOWN. The fighters in the front row simply could not keep up with the pace of the Luftwaffe's attack, and between the tossing and turning in the air, the outdated F4F fighters showed their decline. If it weren't for the weak firepower of the BF109 fighters, I am afraid that it would not be long before the attack planes in this wave of US aircraft would have been lost. The Americans were not stupid either, the group of attack aircraft began to reduce altitude, and the formation was disbanded, flying towards the target in small groups. Rely on shallow dives to get out of the target.

However, the Americans are not without the strength to fight back, as the attack aircraft group reduces the altitude, the German BF109 fighters also began to drop in altitude, and because the firepower is not very powerful, an attack may not be effective, then it is necessary to re-occupy the attack position to launch a second attack, in this repeated attack, some novices ignore the loss of fighter energy, the altitude is getting lower and lower, and the speed is also rapidly decreasing in the turn and roll. And after no speed at low altitude, the BF109 fighter is really inferior to the F4F fighter in dogfight! “

"Some of us make mistakes, and in the fight they always unconsciously go around in circles. If it is a momentary hovering in a short period of time, it may not be a problem, but if we continue to circle at the expense of speed and altitude, our rotation speed will be slower and slower, the BF109 fighter has the advantage of speed and climb, and if it is circling, it is really inferior to the F4F, in this air battle, we have at least 3 fighters lost in the dogfight. In the post-war summary, the commander of the Nuremberg aviation unit wrote in his record.

Thanks to the book friend zhouyu1976 for the reward~~~, as well as the book friend f663026, the queen of hell, and Yan Huangzhong's monthly pass support ~~~~~. (To be continued.) )