Imperial Overlord

At the Luftwaffe base on the island of Malta, there are many me-109e fighter jets parked at the airfield, and several Stuka dive bombers can be seen further away. . fastest update

Frankly speaking, the attack ability of German pilots against sea targets is really very general. Many pilots have not undergone systematic sea attack training before the war, and the actual combat effect is not very good.

However, the German attack aircraft force stationed near Malta has a lot of experience. They have sunk quite a few British transport ships and are quite experienced.

In the command tower of the base, a commander of the Luftwaffe looked at the telegram in front of him, dumbfounded, not knowing what to do.

News came from the Italian Navy that they saw the British fleet approaching Malta and hoped that the Luftwaffe on the island of Malta would take off planes to intercept the British fleet!

The Luftwaffe officer who saw this telegram really wanted to scold his mother, because looking out the bright window of his office, the sun was about to set on the horizon to the west.

"Don't the Italians know that a plane taking off at night cannot attack targets at sea? Don't the Italians know that the sun is about to go down now?" The German officer couldn't help but complain.

He can only watch the British naval fleet leave now, and even pray that the British fleet will not lose sight of it and stop to fire at the military installations on the island of Malta!

You must know that the German defense force in Malta, especially the sea defense force, can only be bought from the French two torpedo boats.

As for the British, in the Mediterranean fleet, there is the existence of the battleship HMS Warspite. This battleship has 4 double-mounted 381mm main guns!

If the British can't think about it, they will wash Malta in the dark and **** here, and the German army on the island will not have a better life tonight.

"Let me go to trouble with the British? If the British don't come to trouble me, that's God's manifestation!" The German officer muttered in a depressed tone.

In fact, he also knew that the British navy fleet rushed to Malta, 80% to use the night to forcibly break through to Gibraltar.

Stop and bombard German targets on the land of Malta here, it's basically impossible, after all if they delay for a while, the Italian Navy may kill them from behind.

The Italian fleet in pursuit of the British Mediterranean Fleet has two Cavour-class battleships and a Veneto-class battleship as the main force of the Italian navy!

In this case, the British navy could not imagine the possibility of perishing with several German field airfields on the island of Malta.

At this moment, on the battleship HMS Warspite, the de facto flagship of the British Navy's Mediterranean Fleet, Cunningham stepped onto the deck of the battleship.

"Stand at attention!" The captain of the battleship Warspite, who had been waiting on the deck for a long time, as well as senior officers such as the adjutant, stood at attention and saluted Cunningham.

They really admire the Mediterranean Commander in front of them now. Relying on his tactical arrangements, the Mediterranean Fleet left the Mediterranean Sea where they fought in despair, holding the glory of victory.

On the mast of the battleship HMS Warspite, the commander's flag representing Cunningham's position was slowly raised by the sailors. The giant battleship of the British Navy was still so majestic in the dim light.

During the day, Cunningham placed his headquarters on the USS Tejas because he was directing carrier-based air strikes.

After all, this aircraft carrier Radiance is a cutting-edge battleship that was just launched in 1939, and it is also equipped with more advanced weapons and equipment.

If this aircraft carrier is equipped with a new type of carrier-based aircraft, the combat effectiveness of the British Navy's Mediterranean Fleet should be able to go to another level.

It is a pity that all the carrier-based aircraft carried by this aircraft carrier have been exhausted, and now its combat effectiveness is only the self-defense weapons equipped on both sides.

"It's hard work." Cunningham stood on the deck where the sea breeze blew, and after returning to a military salute with a smile, he walked towards the bridge.

"Gibraltar just sent the abbreviated hg phrase... with the newly set highest-level password." As they walked towards the bridge, the captain of the battleship Warspite reported what had just happened.

"Oh?" Hearing this news, Cunningham knew that the reinforcements he was waiting for in this breakout had finally set off from Gibraltar.

hg stands for "H fleet set off", which means that Sir Somerville's h fleet will enter the Mediterranean to cover the retreat of the Mediterranean fleet towards Gibraltar.

"Great, even if they are here, then we will be safe, and we will be able to join the H fleet at dawn tomorrow, and there will be no threat at that time." Cunningham thought about it in his heart, his face hung up. Came up with a nice smile.

"Sir, if possible, can we bombard the island of Malta and attack the German airfield and defensive positions here?" Warspite's chief mate followed up the stairs and suggested to Cunningham.

Cunningham just sneered when he heard this suggestion. He knew that the series of victories under his command had made many officers and soldiers in the fleet unable to find their positions.

He stopped in his tracks, then turned around and asked, "Do you know how many torpedo boats the Germans have here? One or two?"

Because the island of Malta has been under the control of the German army for some time, it is simply convenient to hide several torpedo speedboats in the port.

The British spy service was completely unable to infiltrate the sparsely populated Malta, so Cunningham and Churchill and others did not know enough about German news, especially in Malta, and there was no news at all.

Immediately afterwards, Cunningham threw a second question: "I don't know? Who knows if the Germans will get French or Italian destroyers to deploy here?"

Since no one knows whether the German ** team has a destroyer-like weapon in the hands of the local defenders, rashly attacking is a very irrational choice.

In the dark night, the muzzle flames fired by the British battleships were as dazzling as torches. Isn't that a clear indication of the enemy's target?

Torpedo boats and destroyers cut into the vicinity of the British fleet through the cover of the night, and suddenly released a large number of torpedoes, enough for the British fleet to drink a pot!

On the contrary, if the British fleet does not fire, it can ensure that its own fleet is also hidden in darkness. It is interesting at this time. Neither side can see the other, but they are in peace.

The same principle, of course, also applies to aircraft. The current level of weapon technology restricts the night combat capability of aircraft.

There is no other reason that restricts this ability, but because in the dark sea, the German aircraft cannot find the target of the attack, on the contrary, it may have to pay the cruel fact of crashing into the sea.

At this time, if the light control of the fleet itself is kept dark, then the German aircraft cannot carry out the attack.

However, if the British battleships opened fire at night, and the Germans took off and intercepted them, they could find the British fleet at once with the main guns firing, er, a huge dawn.

Cunningham asked a question at this time, waiting for the other party's answer: "I don't know? What if the German plane just took off and was waiting for us to fire in the sky?"

"Sorry, we don't know..." The captain and adjutant had already dismissed the idea of ​​shelling Malta at this time.

"Don't know? Dare to yell at Malta without knowing it?" Finally, Cunningham dropped such a sentence, pushed the door and walked into the bridge of the busy battleship Warspite.

...

In the Italian fleet, the commander of the Italian Navy sent a definite message that they were approaching the island of Malta, attacked the British fleet in Benghazi and Sirte, and at this moment were moving to the island of Malta.

The reason why the course of the British Mediterranean Fleet was finally confirmed was because a returning Italian patrol plane found the British fleet moving towards Malta.

At this time, it can be confirmed that the British not only want Benghazi but also Sirte, the British even want to attack Malta!

Of course, it is also possible that the other party wants to cross the blockade from the vicinity of Malta and return to Gibraltar safely.

"It's not the way to chase like this... If the British don't attack Malta, then they can cross our Sardinia tomorrow morning." An Italian naval officer said to his superior with some depression~www.wuxiaspot.com~ Crossing over The British fleet in Sardinia, as long as it joins with the British Royal Navy H fleet that may come to meet, the British fleet can be said to be completely safe.

"The Germans returned the telegram... They said that the sky had darkened and they could not take off planes to attack the British fleet..." On the other side, the Italian officer in charge of communications also brought bad news.

"The British attacked Benghazi, and they attacked Sirte... As a result, we were so confused and let the fleet run away?" The Italian admiral asked with a dumbfounded answer.

He knew that if he sent this result back to Mussolini, his life might be over.

"Continue to the island of Malta! The fleet is speeding up! In any case, bet on the probability of them attacking Malta... If they open fire, then we can't let this enemy fleet run away!" Standing on the bridge The commander of the Italian Fleet on the board spoke with a somewhat depressed order.

All he can do now is to try to pursue the British fleet... After all, the British fleet's schedule is too perfect.