Chapter 251

Yes, the weather is good, the snow has begun to melt, but the North Atlantic sea is still cold, the North Sea is still covered with clouds of war.

According to the operational plan drawn up by the navy to cooperate with the west line attack, Admiral Reidel led the aircraft carriers Bismarck and tilbitz northward to attract the attention of the main force of the Royal Navy Fleet, while lutjans was ordered to lead the aircraft carriers Zeppelin and Empire southward to block the waters near the Netherlands.

The operation plan was named "scissors plan" by the supreme command. Akado is full of confidence in this battle. He ordered rader to return immediately after entering the North Sea for a few days, with the core of continuing to preserve his strength.

On the other hand, he ordered lutjans to go south and put on a show, in order to attract the Royal Navy's cruising fleet or aircraft carrier formation nearby to fight a naval battle and destroy the British naval vessels in the nearby waters, so as to create favorable conditions for the subsequent operations.

At this moment, the second fleet of the German high seas fleet is sailing on the sea, looking for the British naval target they need to challenge. As time went on, God didn't want the German Navy to wait. On the third day of the voyage, at sunrise, they found the British sub fleet to the north of their fleet.

"Report! The carrier based reconnaissance plane found the Royal Navy carrier based plane in the north and speculated that the other side had an aircraft carrier nearby. " An air force liaison officer reported loudly.

Lutjans, who was on the carrier Empire, came to the command desk, bowed his head and began to mark the position of the British fleet on the chart. Several combat staff officers gathered around, looked at the possible position of the British navy on the chart and talked about it one after another.

"Deputy commander, the British navy is likely to search for us all the way east here. Obviously, they are looking for us for a decisive battle!" A combat officer pointed to the chart and said, "we are in a very bad position now. If we go further south, we will be surrounded by the Royal Navy and blocked in the English Channel."

"Once we get there, it's over. We'll be wiped out by the French and British navies." Another staff member also anxiously said: "now we should stop going south, speed up the return to northeast, and withdraw to Port William."

With a frown, lutjans hammered the chart - covered command post, and the bridge was instantly quiet. He looked at his flustered subordinates, some of whom were still very young, some of whom were already old. He put his hat in his hand to cover his cap and said, "are we going to miss the plane again?"

"But! If it's a cruising fleet, we can ensure the total annihilation of this force. Now that we find the aircraft carrier, our advantage will not be so obvious, in case... "A staff officer advised.

"It's nothing but! The order of the Fuehrer is to destroy the British sub fleet. This is our task! Is there any doubt? " Lutjans said in a loud voice, "remember the message the Fuehrer sent us? Remember what it says? Have you all forgotten? "

All of them did not speak and looked at lutjans silently, hoping that he would change his mind.

"The Fuehrer is looking at us from afar, where he is looking forward to our victory! We just ran? And run back to the port of William like the last few times? " Lutjans frowned at the people around him.

Everyone was silent. They looked at their captain, at their commander, and could not say a word.

"We are soldiers of the Empire, we are the most powerful naval fleet in Germany! The people of our motherland have given us the most powerful warships, but we only dare to live under the protection of naval gun troops and those air force shore based aircraft? " Asked lutjans in a loud voice.

Everyone bowed their heads. They were depressed and ashamed of the idea that they wanted to retreat back to Port William.

"I can't give you courage, because you never lack courage! Gentlemen! Think about the heroes of rainbow operation who would rather lose their favorite warship than fight to the end! Think of the heroes who fought against the British in the battle of Jutland on the icy surface of the North Sea! Do we lack courage? "

"No!" The chief officer, the helmsman and the weather officer shook their heads. They could hardly hear them clearly.

"Do we lack courage?" Lutjans asked again in a loud voice.

"No!" Everyone answered loudly. Many people waved their arms and looked excited.

Lutjans asked aloud again, "so what are we so timid about now? Is it that we don't trust the Fuehrer? Is it because we don't believe we can win with the weapons in our hands? "

"No!" On the bridge, all the sailors and officers burst out with the fiercest cry. The cry was heartbreaking, and all of them answered the captain's question with the biggest voice they could.

Lutjans, who was holding his command post with one hand and his telescope with the other, gritted his teeth and said: "send a signal to the Zeppelin aircraft carrier! The content is as follows: I want to turn the bow! Take off in the wind and fight! If you're afraid of death, speed up and get out of the way! "

"Load all planes with weapons! Take off in 10 minutes. Fighters deploy air defense. After all the first attack aircraft took off, the whole army speeded up, turned the bow again and headed southwest. " Lutjans ordered in a loud voice.

"Turn the bow!" The first mate gave the order: "signal the convoy cruiser, we need to turn around."“ presentation! Captain, the Zeppelin aircraft carrier calls, the content is as follows: long live the Fuehrer, we are turning around to take off the fighter, you have to hurry up, or we will hit your butt. " Cried the telegraph man“ Speed up the steering The chief officer yelled to the phone: "left full rudder!"“ Speed up! Left full rudder One of the followers repeated the order loudly and began to work hard to turn the rudder wheel in his hand. The warship began to shake violently, the roar of the machine became more obvious, the huge aircraft carrier empire began to turn, the bow was chopped, the white waves from the sea stretched to both sides, looking so charming“ Take off the plane! All aboard! The battle begins Lutjans gave a loud order: "long live the Fuehrer! God bless Germany“ Radar on! Signal the escort destroyer! One level alert for external air defense and antisubmarine! The fleet is heading due north The chief officer confirmed the order in a loud voice“ Raise the battle flag! Signal the Zeppelin! Take off the fighter! Guard over the fleet Another officer called to the herald. On the deck of the aircraft carrier, the ground crew of the German aircraft carrier wearing various color vests are busy. Some of them are dragging the fw-190 Navy fighter to the take-off position, some are fixing small bombs under the belly of the aircraft, and some are checking the ammunition in the wings of the aircraft. One side of the Navy Aviation commander with chart to the pilot to explain the task, he held his hat in one hand, one hand was blown by the wind and the chart, yelled to the pilot: "there is no limit to this take-off! Shoot down any enemy aircraft you see. If any enemy ship comes into your sight, you are welcome! Sink it directly“ You mean, I'm free to fire? " The pilot pointed to the distance and said, "make sure you control the air in the sky and attack any enemy I see, right?"“ That's right With a big nod, the commander replied loudly. The pilot nodded and ran to his plane accompanied by the ground crew. The propeller of the nose began to turn. The ground crew helped the pilot pull up the cockpit cover. Then pull the small boarding ladder and bend away from the plane. In the cabin, the pilot put on his oxygen mask, and his voice began to come from the hoarse radio: "flight tower, this is Seahawk 1, I'm on the runway, the fuel is normal, the plane is in good condition, request to take off!"“ Permission to take off! Good luck. " In the earphone, accompanied by the hissing radio current sound, came the command of the tower. The plane began to accelerate on the deck against the wind. As it approached the end of the deck, the front wheel of the plane left the deck of the aircraft carrier. The pilot could no longer see any part of the aircraft carrier. There was a vast ocean in front of him. But he knew that he was flying, because the sea was farther and farther away from him, and he could feel that he was getting closer and closer to the yearning sky. Watching two fw-190 fighters fly out of the aircraft carrier, lutjans finally breathed a sigh of relief. The tense muscles of his left hand holding the telescope relaxed. No matter whether he won or lost, at least now his troops are fighting, at least his troops have the courage to fight! Only in this way can we strive for victory and win the victory that belongs to them. Two more fw-190 fighters were launched immediately after that, and the taxi atmosphere of the whole fleet became different. Now they are tens of nautical miles away from their opponents, and the battle is imminent. They are no longer able to run if they want to“ After two more fighters, start taking off, Stuka Lutjans thought for a moment and ordered: "our fighters are more advanced. Seize the time to attack first! Let me see if the British navy is really invincible! "“ Signal the Zeppelin! Fighters take off, six air defenses! Then take off the Stuka immediately! " As soon as lutjans had finished speaking, the chief officer confirmed the order in a loud voice“ Stuka uses half small bombs and half large bombs! Small bombs against escort ships! The main target of a plane with a large bomb is the other aircraft carrier! " He said, staring at the chart. Soon, one after another of the Stuka dive bombers began to take off, formed a flying formation over the fleet, and then with the command of the commander, they got into the clouds and flew towards their target in the distance.