When it comes to the safety of their own territorial waters and convoys, the British rarely abandon their lethargic style of doing things.
Three hours after Admiral John Tovey issued the order, a Spitfire belonging to the Coast Defense Command plunged into Le Fjord wrapped in thick fog.
The model of this Spitfire is just Mark 1, to be precise, it is the PR reconnaissance type with weapons and radios removed.
It was replaced with a blue-green Komtin paint scheme that was more conducive to concealing its figure in the air. Two aerial cameras with a focal length of five inches were installed in the original position of the wing machine guns.
In order to ensure that the reconnaissance aircraft can successfully capture the target, the designer also installed a heating device on the Spitfire PR to ensure that the camera will not freeze in the low-temperature environment at high altitude.
Looking at the fog-shrouded coast below, Lieutenant Colonel Rotheram kept tightening the corners of his mouth, his expression unchanged for a long time. He slowly lowered his height, trying not to miss any hidden corner while ensuring his own safety.
According to intelligence provided by the command, there is at least one Bismarck-class and one Admiral Hipper-class in Norway at this time.
Although the opponent has not yet fought against the Royal Air Force, the anti-aircraft firepower of the battleships and cruisers will definitely be good, and he does not want to rush into the enemy's air defense circle for no reason.
The hard work paid off. Lieutenant Colonel Rotheram spent half an hour on the coast of Norway and finally found the target in the Grimstadt Fjord south of Bergen.
At the same time, the Bismarck's radar also showed an enemy plane that suddenly appeared like a ghost.
"The anti-aircraft artillery team is on full alert!"
"We can't let that reconnaissance plane leave! It will reveal our whereabouts!"
Under the command of the deputy gunner, the appropriate anti-aircraft guns of various calibers fired at the same time, including two 105 anti-aircraft guns, five 37-mm handguns and eleven 20mm anti-aircraft guns.
The young non-staff officers stood next to the gun positions, eager to fight alongside the veterans.
Suddenly, the entire sky was filled with traces of tracer bullets and bursts of fragmented barrages. The battleship Bismarck showed the world its "amazing" anti-aircraft firepower for the first time.
But something happened that stunned the opponent. The reconnaissance Spitfire was not shot down. Instead, it shuttled through the hail of bullets like a flexible petrel.
After taking the photos required by his superiors, Lieutenant Colonel Rotheram controlled the fighter plane to climb up without saying a word, and soon left the battlefield with his maneuverability.
As a senior pilot who had participated in the Battle of Britain, he glanced back at the battleship below with some confusion.
"What the hell?"
"Is this considered battleship-level anti-aircraft firepower?"
"I didn't expect that there would be unexpected gains in this mission. If Admiral Tovey knew that the German's mid-circle firing rate was so low, he would definitely jump up with joy."
After watching the enemy reconnaissance plane leave, the sailors on the battleship Bismarck reluctantly left their combat posts. Everyone was busy nervously because they knew that their fleet was about to set sail again.
At the same time, a lieutenant colonel officer walked into Lütjens' command room.
"Your Excellency, Commander, this is the weather forecast for today and tomorrow. God is on our side, and the best time for the fleet to set off is in half an hour."
Lu Shuai took the information, scanned it with sharp eyes and said, "Go and call the captain."
After a while, Lindemann returned to the captain's command room. His expression was very solemn, and he was obviously dissatisfied with the result of the battle just now.
As the former principal of the Naval Gunnery School in Kiel, he keenly discovered that there were major problems with the anti-aircraft firepower of the battleship Bismarck. It was not just that the dedicated fire control systems of the SK-C/33 and SK-C/37 models were incompatible with each other. Matching is so simple.
If the enemy sends an aircraft carrier to launch an attack from the air, the consequences will be absolutely disastrous.
"Here, this is the weather forecast. There will be cyclones and thunderstorms in the next two days. It will be difficult for enemy reconnaissance planes to detect us."
"I request the fleet to leave here as soon as possible and set off for the Denmark Strait immediately. We must hurry up and enter the Atlantic Ocean, only there is barely safe."
After hearing the order from his commander, Lindemann quickly adjusted his state and replied: "Yes! Sir!"
In the following period, the battleship Bismarck entered secondary combat readiness.
Except for the anti-aircraft gun crew, everyone else performed their duties and prepared to set sail. The entire warship immediately became busy in an orderly manner.
Passwords were passed back and forth between the bridge and the foredeck, and the signal squad quickly sent a notice to Prinz Eugen via directional beacons.
The windlass began to rotate, pulling up the wet anchor chain one section after another.
Twelve high-pressure Wagner boilers are operating normally, driving underwater propellers to rotate. This huge warship gradually moved slowly and gradually disappeared into the thick fog.
······
Three hours later, a Spitfire reconnaissance aircraft successfully returned to the airfield with the British Coast Defense Command.
Since the fighter plane was not equipped with a radio that could communicate with the ground, Lieutenant Colonel Rotheram could only patiently verify his identity according to the pre-agreed method.
As soon as the reconnaissance plane landed, he couldn't wait to climb out of the cockpit.
Facing a group of officers eager to understand the situation, he could only shout and dismantle the camera on the plane.
"The Kraut's fleet is in Grimstadt Fjord, with three destroyers besides Bismarck and Prinz Eugen."
"Everyone, get out of the way! Hurry up and arrange a car to take me to see Commander Tovey! I have important information to report to him! I discovered a major flaw in the enemy fleet!"
The staff took the camera from the plane and left quickly. The next step was to take out the film, develop it, and enlarge it.
The news quickly spread back to the headquarters of the Home Fleet. The rear admiral looked at the photos on the table and said with joy:
"We were lucky enough to first see the enemy sailing out of Sweden and now to find it in Norway."
"The pilot of the reconnaissance plane just now reported information about the opponent's air defense. It seems that sea bombardment alone can devastate the battleship Bismarck."
After hearing his subordinate's words, John Tovey took off his hat and shook his head depressedly.
"Lucky? Check the weather forecast."
"The cyclone is approaching in the next two days, and the visual range of both the fleet and the air force will become worse."
"Everything will be shrouded in rain and fog, and the pilots will definitely not be able to find Bismarck and Prince Eugen. Don't say that we are lucky again. It's really unlucky."
After determining that the target of the enemy fleet was the Atlantic Ocean, the British Home Fleet Command used Bergen as the center and used a compass to draw a circle with a radius of 600 nautical miles at a speed of 25 knots.
Based on the past action trajectories of the three German navies, John Tovey judged that the opponent would most likely still go through the Denmark Strait. After carefully analyzing the chart, he made the final decision.
"Go and urge Hood and the Prince of Wales to form a fleet and set off as soon as possible."
"Our old aunt is a fierce woman who can win the war, and the little boy will thrive in the war. Anyway, now we can only rely on the old and the young."
"Those damn pirates should sink to the bottom of the sea and feed the fish."
It is not unreasonable to say that Hood is an aunt. After all, she is a battlecruiser designed and built by the Royal Navy at the end of World War I. It now has a history of twenty-five years.
The reason why the Prince of Wales is called a little boy is also very simple. The battleship was only completed in March this year and officially joined the Royal Navy's battle order last month.
Many crew members are still training, and even the artillery aiming device has not been fully debugged.
John Tovey would never have sent such a combination if it had not been for the purpose of paving all the entrances to the Atlantic Ocean.
Half an hour after the Home Fleet issued the order, Hood and the Prince of Wales passed through the outer anti-submarine net and slowly left Scapa Flow.
Both sides began their respective actions at the same moment, and the invaders and defenders were about to meet.
The perspective returns to the Bismarck. At this time, his navigation was relatively smooth.
It's a pity that the entire sea area is full of enemies. The three Z-drivers were forced to return due to their range. Apart from Prince Eugen, they had no other partners to fight alongside.
In the captain's cabin, Lütjens and Lindemann were smoking cigars and chatting.
"Your Majesty Commander, the fleet should be safe now."
"The enemy may think that we are still in the Grimstadt Fjord, and they can't get the exact news that we have set sail. Even if they guess that we have set sail, they can't guess which route we will take.
"But do we really need to take a long detour through the Denmark Strait? Other channels are close and wide. If we change our route now, we should be able to enter the Atlantic Ocean one day earlier."
After hearing his captain's question, Lu Shuai began to answer it patiently.
According to the last intelligence received by the fleet, most of the warships leading the British Home Fleet are still squatting in the port. No matter how fast they were, they would not be able to reach the Denmark Strait in time.
Moreover, the current weather near Iceland is very bad, and the visual distance on the ship is no more than two nautical miles, which can avoid the possibility of fighting the enemy as much as possible.
Even if they encounter the enemy, they will only encounter one or two cruisers at most.
With the strength of Bismarck and Eugen, they can definitely eliminate each other in a short time.
"At this moment, I still stick to my orders. Everyone must stick to their posts. Even if they are taking a rest, they must stay where they are. No one is allowed to leave their posts without permission."
"As we take control of the oceans, Daiying will pray to us for peace."
······
Denmark Strait, HMS Suffolk resumes patrol.
It was already evening, and the cyclone seemed to have swallowed up the setting sun. The entire warship was constantly swaying in the huge waves.
There were several lookouts around the bridge, wearing raincoats and holding binoculars to carefully search the sea surface.
Suddenly, a sharp whistle sounded from the ship's public address system, followed immediately by the captain's voice issuing an order:
"Dear crew members, we are now reporting news from the mainland. The German battleship Bismarck, accompanied by the cruiser Prinz Eugen, is approaching the Atlantic Ocean."
"Due to the weather, the Air Force is temporarily unable to conduct reconnaissance. We only know that the enemy is in the north of Iceland, and there is a high probability of approaching the Denmark Strait at a speed of 25 knots."
"Everyone's task is very simple. You only need to discover them and report them to the local fleet headquarters. Next, the entire ship will enter radio silence. Please stick to your posts."
As soon as these words came out, most of the soldiers on the deck and superstructure changed their expressions.
That was a battleship equipped with a fifteen-inch main gun. If you were lucky, the opponent could even hit its own cruiser more than ten nautical miles away.
Once they fight, the enemy will definitely transform into a giant beast.
After hearing the captain's broadcast, the captain put down the black tea in his hand and ordered:
"Send double the number of lookouts for me. Next, the deputy lookout chief and I will personally lead the team! Before the enemy was discovered, the entire department stood firm in two waves!"
"If anyone is not serious and responsible, it will put the lives of all crew members in danger."
Before the sailors could respond to their officers, the deputy watchman came to the bridge with several lookouts, who were swaying in the howling wind.
But at this moment, someone seemed to see something. He pushed aside his comrades, held his breath and stared into the distance with his binoculars. There is a vague thing over there that is approaching quickly.
"Starboard 140 degrees! Warship found!!"
The piercing scream attracted the attention of all the lookouts, and more than a dozen pairs of telescopes looked towards the starboard side. The outline of the target is getting closer and closer, and the two black and white camouflage battleships look like ghost ships in the cyclone.
"Starboard 140 degrees! Two warships!"
In the pilothouse under the bridge, the helmsman was standing there steering the ship. Suddenly, short, urgent commands came from the microphone above his head.
"Left full rudder!"
"quick!"
Although he didn't know what was happening in the outside world, the helmsman still turned the steering wheel immediately out of instinct, and the heavy cruiser Suffolk changed its course sharply.
At the same time, he saw the heavy cruiser Norfolk with full starboard rudder.
The two cruisers in the same fleet were actually traveling at full speed in completely opposite directions at this moment. This was definitely a very outrageous thing.
Soon, the helmsman understood everything.
Because countless cannonballs flew diagonally from behind, it looked like an angel spreading its wings of light between Norfolk and Suffolk.
Judging from the water splashing near the hull, the enemy should be using 105 and 150 caliber artillery shells, but the rate of fire is insanely fast.
"Boom boom boom!"
Several high-explosive bombs hit the superstructure, and four raging fires ignited on the entire hull. The damage control team rushed out with water pipes, but they were unable to put out the fire for a while.
······
The perspective switches to the battleship Bismarck again.
Seeing more and more secondary guns hitting the enemy ship, Lütjens took off the headphones on his head and rushed towards the deck.
The inexplicable behavior of his boss left Captain Lindemann confused.
"Your Majesty Commander! What are you going to do? The battle is not over yet?"
"The command is temporarily handed over to you! I'm going to help the secondary battery team move the shells! The current rate of fire is not fast enough!"
Lu Shuai's use of the secondary artillery piece was just a joke.
I found that no one seems to be interested in European naval battles. I will send the Persian cat away tomorrow and return to Shanxi.
Luoyang and Anshan have to take part in the naval battle.
(End of chapter)
