Naval exercises

  "The 101st Naval Air Squadron is ready, request to take off." The pilot's voice echoed through the ship island by radio.

  "Good luck allowed to take off!" The air traffic controllers approved their take-off application.

  The 12 torpedo bombers parked on the deck began to slowly accelerate in turn, and then flew into the blue sky.

  "General, you said, with these planes, can we really beat the blue side?" Dönitz looked at the planes flying into the blue sky and asked Raeder next to him suspiciously, "They have three battleships." "

  "I don't know." Raeder shook his head, "I am commanding this aircraft carrier for the first time, and I don't know how effective it is." "

  Dönitz and Raeder are now in the command room of the newly commissioned Count Zeppelin, leading the newly formed aircraft carrier group to participate in a special naval battle exercise.

  The reason why this exercise is special is that the Count Zeppelin will face three battleships alone.

  In Raeder and Dönitz's view, the exercise was very difficult, even though the three battleships that were opponents were old Helgoland-class dreadnoughts.

  "The 141st Naval Air Squadron requested takeoff."

  "Good luck allowed to take off!"

  The last group of 12 dive bombers, with permission from the tower, took to the sky from a brand-new deck.

  A total of 48 aircraft from 2 dive bomber crews and 2 torpedo attack aircraft flew to their target after a simple whole group in the sky.

  Before the Earl Zeppelin was completed, the Navy's ship design team planned to equip it with 20 fighters, 20 dive bombers, and 15 torpedo attack aircraft.

  However, when the Earl Zeppelin was completed, the naval design team realized that it underestimated the carrying capacity of the Graf Zeppelin - when the planned aircraft were crammed onto the ship, there was a large amount of hangar space.

  So they expanded the original squadron of fighters and bombers per 10 aircraft to 12 squadrons, and reduced the torpedo attack aircraft per 15 squadrons to 12 squadrons, but carried one more torpedo attack squadron than the original.

  As a result, the aircraft carrier Count Zeppelin carried a full 72 aircraft, which is 30% more effective than the original plan.

  While Raeder and the two, as the red side, were nervously waiting for the results, the three Helgoland class battleships on the other side, which were imaginary enemies of the exercise, did not seem so nervous because of the imminent arrival of the "enemy plane", and the sailors on the ship even leaned on their posts to talk and laugh.

  "Hey Hans, where do you want to go after the exercise? I heard that a strip pub has just opened in Kiel Harbour. A young sailor leaned against a 37mm anti-aircraft gun and said with a smile to the sailor next to him in charge of ammunition loading.

  "Really? New striptease tavern? Hans said with interest, "That's great, but Merkel, we have to get General Raeder and his aircraft carrier first, and the winner of this exercise can take a vacation."

  "Hell's aircraft carrier." Merkel pouted, "I don't think just one aircraft carrier can single out three of our battleships." "

  "That's true." Hans nodded, "Alas, I don't know what the Fuhrer thinks." There is no point in arranging such a drill at all. "

  "Hey, don't care what the Fuhrer thinks, in my opinion, it would be better to have this kind of exercise a few more times." Merkel said, "A drill is a vacation, how awesome." "

  "Haha, you're right." Hans laughed.

  "For the first time, I felt that the Helgoland was driving slowly." Merkel kicked the hull and complained, "Why is its top speed 21 knots?" It would be nice if it was 31 knots, then we would have found the Count Zeppelin early and kicked it hard in the ass. "

  "Spot enemy planes! Anti-aircraft artillery on alert! "Just as the two of them were chatting one by one, their opponent arrived.

  "Merkel, you can't kick the ass of the Graf Zeppelin now, but you can kick the ass of the naval aviation first." Hans teased.

  "It's better to teach naval aviation a lesson first." Hans said as he operated the twin 37mm anti-aircraft guns beside him, "Come on, naval aviators, let the anti-aircraft guns in Dad's hands ravage your ass!" "

  It didn't take long for the attack formation that took off from the Count Zeppelin to come to the sky above the blue ship formation.

  "Hey, boys, come to Daddy!" Merkel aimed the sight on the anti-aircraft gun at the cluster,Hehe laughed.

  As if hearing Merkel's words, the group of planes in the sky separated 12 dive bombers and began to dive down towards the Helgoland.

  "Fire! Fire! "The command to fire was heard from the horn next to the battle position, and the next second, two twin 88mm anti-aircraft guns and three twin 37mm anti-aircraft guns on the Helgoland began to shoot flames into the sky.

  However, the rate of fire of these two types of anti-aircraft guns is pitiful, especially the 37mm anti-aircraft gun, as a small-caliber anti-aircraft gun, its rate of fire is only 30 rounds / minute, compared with the theoretical rate of fire of the 40mm banging gun equipped by the United Kingdom is 160 rounds / min.

  "My Hans of Žinima, do you dare to reload faster?" Merkel, wielding her pit father's anti-aircraft gun, yelled at Hans, who was sweating and loading the shells.

  "Whew! ! I've loaded fast enough! Hans gasped and loaded the shell while cursing back, "You didn't use this gun on the first day, you don't know what rate of fire it is?" "

  "Hell! After this exercise, I must apply for a change of department! Merkel said and fired another shot, then waited for Hans to reload, "or transferred to a new ship, I heard that their newly equipped 40mm anti-aircraft gun has a super fast rate of fire!" "

  "Whew!" Hans stuffed the shell into the cannon, and then closed the bolt, "If you want to go, I will go, and the loader is not you!" "

  Merkel saw that Hans had finished reloading, so she aimed at another "enemy plane", but before he could fire, a word came from the radio behind him.

  "The Helgoland was hit by 10 250-pound bombs, all anti-aircraft gun emplacements were destroyed, the hull caught fire, and the bomb-dropping 131 Naval Air Squadron was shot down by a dive bomber."

  "I hit his plane! Exhausted and tired of fighting for half a day before a fight came down! Hearing this, Merkel slapped the anti-aircraft gun in front of her fiercely, then took the softened Hans and walked back to the ship with the other anti-aircraft gunners.

  In their place were a dozen damage crew members pouring out of the ship, spraying water into the hull with high-pressure water cannons to simulate fire extinguishing.

  At this moment, inside the bridge, the captain of the Helgoland and commander of the blue side, Johannes? Rear Admiral Bachmann was nervously looking at the six torpedo planes getting closer and closer on the right, and gave the order with a trembling voice: "The torpedo machine on the right side is coming!" Left full rudder! "