Long live Joachim

Chapter 82: Sea and Sky Embryos Sir, the wind is now northeast with a speed of 33 knots. The 2nd and 3rd tactical teams are ready for takeoff In the narrow and crowded bridge of the Prince Heinrich, a young naval officer reported real-time weather conditions to the commander. The "Prince Heinrich", which started construction in the late 19th century and was completed and put into service in the early 20th century, was originally an armored cruiser. After modification, it became the second aircraft carrier of the German Navy. Its current captain, Lieutenant Colonel Otto Herrer, who just turned 40 a few months ago, is a young and strong naval officer. He mastered airplane piloting skills as early as 1909 and became one of the first flight instructors in the German Navy. In 1912, the German Naval Flight School was established, with Herrer serving as both principal and chief instructor, training the first batch of carrier based pilots for Germany. After the secret service of the Bismarck, Herrer served as the flight commander of the ship and launched an attack in the Battle of Jutland, using aerial bombs to bomb British battlecruisers. It can be said that this is a commander with a profound theoretical foundation and rich practical experience, who understands the role of naval aviation in modern naval battles, is familiar with the abilities of pilots and the performance of carrier based aircraft. Perhaps no one in the entire German Navy is more competent in this important role than him. Adjust the course and move forward in the wind! After receiving the command to attack, the second tactical team took off first and launched an attack on the British fleet in the central waterway of the Faroe Islands. The third tactical team unloaded torpedoes, loaded aerial bombs, and waited for the command to attack. "Herrer decisively issued a series of instructions. The second tactical team on board is composed of Hubert-E3 twin seat monoplane bombers. This new type of carrier based aircraft can carry 300 kilograms of aerial bombs to bomb targets within 150 kilometers. The German Navy has also installed a new 100 kilogram armor piercing bomb, which can effectively penetrate 80 millimeters of deck armor when dropped from a height of 200 meters - only a few battleships in this era have deck armor that exceeds this thickness. At the same time as turning northeast, the "Prince Heinrich" replied to the flagship of the High Seas Fleet, the "King", with a light signal: everything is ready, and a carrier based aircraft formation can be dispatched to attack enemy ships at any time. Due to the current sea conditions, aviation torpedoes cannot be used normally, and torpedo planes have been changed to carry aviation bombs. After a moment, the "King" sent back a brief communication signal: agreeing to launch an attack, wishing the pilots good luck! On the flight deck, which is 24 meters wide and 128 meters long, four Hubert-E3 carrier based bombers with wingspans of up to 11. 6 meters are arranged in a staggered formation in the takeoff area at the stern of the ship. The 160 horsepower Daimler engine emits a loud roar, and the razor shaped twin bladed propeller rotates rapidly, driving the airflow that causes the crew behind the aircraft to flap their clothes haphazardly. At this moment, the waves rising from the sea were four to five meters high. Under the influence of the wind and waves, the "Prince Heinrich" with a displacement of over ten thousand tons was clearly swaying horizontally and vertically. The flight crew had to use wooden pads under the wheels to prevent the planes on the deck from slipping. Upon seeing the takeoff signal, the air crew pulled out the wheel pads of the 4 carrier based aircraft of the 2nd tactical team one by one, and watched them move towards the bow one after another. The sea breeze coming towards us is already of strong wind intensity. A few years ago, airplanes couldn't take off in such weather, but now these planes with smooth lines, solid structures, and strong power can fly proudly, which shows how magical the power of technology is. After a difficult and slow flight glide, the Hubert-E3, with an aviation bomb hanging from the wing root and below the fuselage, took off one after another. They gradually climbed and turned sideways in the gloomy sky. The whole process seemed trembling and leisurely, but after the turn was completed, their flying speed significantly increased in a downwind state. In no time, they became small black spots, and below these black spots, at the end of the sea level, a faint bluish gray color could be seen. Between East Island and Kars Island in the central northern part of the Faroe Islands, the mighty British fleet is sailing at full speed towards the open waters outside the strait. At this moment, looking down at the sea from the sky, the three British battlecruisers in a cross shape and the seven British main ships arranged in a straight column are very eye-catching. The former has a large and slender hull, while the latter has a relatively short and wide hull. At the northern end of this strait, the former is separated from the latter by five or six nautical miles. In this narrow waterway, light combat vessels and auxiliary ships cannot provide adequate protection for the main ships. If the German Navy deploys a large number of submarines and high-speed torpedo boats here in advance, and the weather is calm and pleasant, there will be a great chance of launching a massacre against this British fleet. The British, who had been defeated in the previous naval battles, certainly knew this very well. So after leaving the Dogger sandbar and heading north, they only stopped at the Scarpaflo naval base in the Auckland Islands. Before approaching the Faroe Islands, they dispatched submarines, aircraft and airships to carry out a detailed reconnaissance of the surrounding waters, and determined that the ambush ships without the German navy had quickly arrived. As a result, the sudden appearance of German planes disrupted the mentality of the entire British fleet, leading to a strange scene of hundreds of naval guns fiercely firing on a German carrier based aircraft. Look, that's our bomber... Good luck, brave guys On the bridge of the Iron Duke, Charles Madden held his military cap in his hand and waved it vigorously, while two Vilthorpe Falcon style seaplanes attached to torpedoes flew low from a distance. The British planes sent for reconnaissance had not yet found the trace of the German main fleet, and only found a large torpedo boat of the German Navy more than 30 nautical miles northeast of Karls Island. In this situation, Lieutenant General Madden smelled a danger signal from the oppressive atmosphere and the not so violent sea wind. He felt that the British fleet's aviation could not wait any longer and must act decisively before the Germans caused big trouble to the British fleet with carrier based aircraft - by deploying torpedo planes to search the waters northeast of Karls Island. After discovering the German fleet, he took direct attack action, and the primary target was the German aircraft carrier, followed by their battlecruisers and dreadnoughts. However, Sir Jackson did not agree with Madden's proposal. He advocated deploying torpedo planes after determining the position of the German fleet. After all, the torpedo planes carried by the British fleet were seaplanes, which were easy to launch and launch. Landing in the wind and waves and then hoisting back to the mother ship would be a very difficult process, equivalent to only one opportunity for torpedo attack. The tactics of the German navy were cunning and varied, and the current situation was far from enough to determine that the German main fleet was north of Karls Island. The two almost had a heated argument. At this moment, veteran Edward's statement helped Madden by suggesting that the four torpedo planes carried by the "God of Competition" should help Betty clear the way - the 1st Battlecruiser Squadron was heading northeast of Kars Island. As a theoretical expert in the navy, Sir Jackson's stubbornness often manifested in the strategic level. Unlike Jericho, he was not as experienced in grasping the timing of combat. Coupled with his personal relationships, he was willing to listen to the insights of veteran Edward and trusted his judgment. So, the "God of Competition" quickly dispatched all four torpedo planes, while the other two seaplane carriers, the "Hagamet" and the "Luno", also released two torpedo planes each, launching the first round of attack on the German fleet still hidden in the dark with eight Villethorpe "Falcons". When British torpedo planes flew in pairs over the main fleet, two Newport IV seaplanes used for combat reconnaissance missions also appeared in the nearby airspace. They attempted to locate and shoot down the previous German carrier based reconnaissance plane, but the cunning German carrier based reconnaissance plane disappeared completely after hiding in the clouds. The German pilots were obviously aware that their communication frequency was being interfered with by the British fleet, which prevented important reconnaissance intelligence from being transmitted. The most direct way was to return as soon as possible - if the British could realize this and follow with reconnaissance or even torpedo planes, they would not only be able to find the accurate location of the German fleet, but also have a chance to strike the enemy. However, none of this happened. Under the command of David Beatty, the three battle cruisers and four light cruisers of the British fleet finally sailed out of the narrow waterway that was not conducive to fleet maneuvering, presenting a large open water area in sight. The concern about the reenactment of the Battle of Mingliang has not become a reality. The powerful German fleet did not appear in front of them in a fully prepared manner, but where is this terrifying and cunning enemy? Jackson, Madden, Edward, Betty, Browning... the senior officers of the British fleet were all eager to know the answer. The British torpedo planes turned towards the northeast at the northern end of Kars Island, and not long after, four German carrier based planes suddenly appeared at the northern end of the island. After determining the flight route based on the outline of the island, these German planes quickly descended and pounced on the British fleet sailing at an altitude of about 200 meters above the sea. The flagship "Iron Duke" was at the forefront of the British main fleet and naturally became a priority target for German pilots to attack. This time, the lookout on the British escort ship issued timely warnings, and after the previous warm-up, each ship reacted quickly and fired at the incoming German aircraft. In an instant, hundreds of shells flew into the air, weaving a dense network of firepower over the fleet. The scene was magnificent, and the British officers and soldiers received great psychological comfort from it - with such careful preparation, our fleet would not be as overwhelmed by the harassment of German carrier based aircraft as in previous naval battles, right! If the delay fuse of the shell is set to explode one second after firing, the explosion distance is about 600 meters. If it is set to explode two seconds later, the explosion distance increases to 1300 meters. Only with accurate calculation and setting can multiple warships form a barrage area that is difficult for enemy aircraft to pass through. However, such harsh conditions were impossible to achieve in 1914. Four German carrier based bombers braved the storm like eagles and finally flew over the British fleet through the barrage, dropping bombs on the "Iron Duke" with rudimentary bomb sights.