Chapter 658 Smoke Column!

On May 16, at 11:10 a.m., 33 nautical miles north of the Skagrak Strait.

British Royal Navy, First Cruiser Division of the Home Fleet, flagship Nottingham.

The bow collided with the wind and waves of the North Sea, and the 6,000-ton light cruiser advanced at a high speed of 25 knots. In the distance next to it were two sister ships of the fan-shaped formation, the Rosttorft and Birmingham, as well as four W-class destroyers, which were built in batches after the battle in the Strait of Hormuz a few years ago, using a new model. A high-speed destroyer with power.

Although the W-class destroyer is fast, it can only be said that it is helpless to use the destroyer as a light cruiser. The biggest damage to Britain since the beginning of the war is not a few capital ships sunk by the Chinese, but at least 30 cruisers lost in the Pacific and Indian Oceans!

Every British naval officer knows that if you want to maintain the dominance of the ocean, you must have a large number of cruisers, otherwise the arsonist would not have built large light cruisers and ocean destroyers so intensively, because they are the most important force to maintain their long-term maritime existence, but now because of the main British docks They were all crowded with capital ships. Not long ago, it was hard to vacy a few and occupied by five semi-finished products pulled from France, so the first cruiser detachment, which should have been included in at least five light cruisers, only got three.

"Captain."

The shouting of the first mate interrupted Brigadier General Alexander Sinclair's thoughts. After raising the binoculars in the direction of his fingers, several trawlers flying the Norwegian flag immediately appeared in the camera.

"Sent a destroyer to check. These guys always like to carry prohibited items."

"Yes."

In the flag, the destroyer No. W21 rushed to the fishing boat. Seeing the Hampers gathered together, the nervous guys and the sailors on the deck laughed.

"This is a rare good weather. The fog is blown away, the sun shines directly on the sea, the blue sea is covered with masts, and the distant coastline seems to be calling us."

"Idiot, don't show off your mouth there. Come and help!" The sergeant kicked the buttocks of the guy who was singing with the railing, and then threw a large bundle of thick bulletproof cloth into his arms and said viciously, "Maybe when the war is over, you can be a bard, but now go and tie these to the chimney for me!"

In the laughter of his companions, the sailor climbed up the chimney with a thick cloth ball in his arms, and then tied the cloth ball that was thicker than the thighs outside the chimney with everyone. This is a simple anti-bullet damage method. When the shrapnel is stuck into these soft cloth balls, the speed and damage will be minimized, and the thin inside can no longer be hurt. Weak parts.

Of course, only light cruisers and destroyers need these. The big guys with thick armor behind them don't care about the shrapnel at all. Even the shells are difficult to penetrate them.

"These heartless bastards."

Brigadier General Sinclair smiled and withdrew his eyes from the deck from the play and laughter. He was very satisfied with this situation. Although the war was not beneficial to the treaty, as long as everyone did not lose confidence, there was still hope of victory.

"Brigadier General, we are probably in trouble." The second-pilot ran into the bridge and said breathlessly, "I just checked and found that our two torpedo launches were locked. If they can't be repaired as soon as possible, the torpedo can't be launched."

" Damn it, those workers must have made a mistake in the repair." The staff immediately shouted, because the Nottingham had just returned from the shipyard a few days ago, and he couldn't think of any other reasons.

"Let Bryker see if it can be repaired. In addition, write down this question and remind me that I don't want to forget it after meeting a German."

"Yes, General."

The staff officer nodded immediately. Before he took out his notebook, a sad shout suddenly came next to him: "Airship!"

Brigadier General Sinclair, who was ordering to continue to inspect the ordnance, suddenly turned his head and saw two Zeppelin airships suddenly appear on the high-altitude clouds behind the Norwegian fishing boats. Although the German airships often went to patrol the sea, it was the first time to come so far away.

"Battle alert, anti-aircraft gun preparation."

"Du Dudu!"

The sad siren immediately made the deck of the warship busy. The sailors who were strengthening the protection of the warship immediately rushed to the battle position. The anti-aircraft gunner quickly turned the muzzle and pointed to the dirigible in the distance. However, because the distance was too far away, no one fired immediately.

"It's too far, more than 23,000 yards." The gun officer shook his head. The range of the 47mm anti-aircraft gun was only 9,000 yards, and it could not reach the other side at all.

Brigadier General Sinclair frowned at the airship. Since the large-scale use of aircraft in the Far East, Europe has also been affected by this. Although the aircraft is not as good as the other party, there are more and more things about using the airship for long-distance reconnaissance, so he is not worried about himself, but afraid of the first battle patrol led by General David Betty. The yang yang jian detachment will be exposed.

"Command W23, W33, W34 to accelerate and use anti-aircraft guns to drive it away." Brigadier General Sinclair went to the chart and asked, "General Betty, where did they arrive?"

"About 30 nautical miles behind us, the speed is maintained at 21 knots, but now the clouds are very low, and if the German airship rises, it can't be seen." The staff pointed to the chart and said.

"Drive them away, you can't let them continue to go north."

"Yes, brigadier general, don't worry."

The three W-class destroyers that were ordered immediately accelerated to 30 knots. The little guys rushed past the airship and probably felt the threat. The airship began to turn and climb slowly.

Seeing them leaving, Brigadier General Sinclair was relieved when the corners of his eyes were suddenly stabbed by a few small dots.

"Airplane, it's a German seaplane!"

"God, order the lookout to pay attention to the search. There is a German [***] ship activity nearby!"

=======“Mt. Gen., Lieutenant General Martin and the Second Battleship Squadron are here." 75 nautical miles north of the Skagrak Strait, adjutant Coleman ran into the bridge.

Jelko turned his head and saw that the four Iron Duke-class battleships of the second battleship squadron slowly joined the formation under the protection of three light cruisers, which made him relax, because it meant that all 20 capital ships currently available in the Grand Fleet had arrived, plus Betty who had already departed. A total of 30 capital ships are fully prepared for a total of 30 battleships.

20 capital ships were organized into five battleship detachments. Under the protection of nearly 60 auxiliary warships, they took the shape-shaped route and headed for the Skagrak Strait at a speed of 15 knots. The seagulls danced chasing hundreds of meters of tails.

Such a spectacular scene made many British sailors couldn't help shouting, but Jellico was not excited at all. When he had one of the world's most powerful fleets, an embarrassment made him helpless, because he had not received whether the German fleet had left or not. Correct information about the jasper anchorage.

When he thought that the Germans might be drying their buttocks on the deck now, he smiled bitterly from the bottom of his heart. It was not easy to send a large fleet. 30 capital ships, nearly 100 auxiliary ships, and dozens of large transport ships can be filled with coal and heavy oil consumed at one time.

"Where is Betty?"

"The first battlecruiser detachment is about 45 nautical miles away from us, and the first cruiser detachment is searching 30 nautical miles ahead of them."

Looking at the position depicted on the staff's chart, Jellico frowned. Whether it was the forward's first cruiser detachment or Betty's first battlecruiser formation, it seemed to be a little far away from his main force.

Do you want them to slow down? Or let the main team speed up?

Jelko took a deep breath. Before making this decision, he must determine the time and whether the Germans came out or not, because Betty was the bait he threw. If the Germans really came out, then Betty and his fleet would attract the enemy, but if they didn't show up, they could also lead them away. The attention of the Germans allowed the main force of the Grand Fleet to stay here for a few more days without being exposed.

Has that bastard Reinhardt Scheer come out or not?

Just as Jelico hesitated and didn't know if he should order Betty to slow down, the correspondent hurried to the bridge: "Lt. Lieutenant General, the headquarters telegram, they said that they had not confirmed the news, but the flagship call number of the Jasper anchorage in Wilhelmshabu was still there half an hour ago, and the day in Wilhelmshaven was still there. Because there were no clouds, the reconnaissance aircraft was intercepted by the German patrol aircraft before it approached the reconnaissance, and it was not certain.

"Unconfirmed? Bastard, what kind of information is this!"

Jelko was so angry that he drove away the correspondent, but although he was angry, he could not take back Betty's forward bait because he could not determine the German's actions. However, perhaps it was the strong psychology of the British navy. He and everyone seemed not to realize that it was too big to use three battleships and seven warcruisers as bait. !

"General."

Just as the flagship was a little bored because he couldn't determine whether the German fleet went to sea, the staff suddenly shouted after getting off the phone: "Brigadier General Sinclair reported that they found two German seaplanes and were intercepting them!

In addition, General David Betty also reported that there were a large number of radio signals south of the Skagrak Strait. The telegrapher said that it was very similar to the previous German cipher signals!"

"General." The communications officer who had just been driven away also rushed into the conning tower at this time: "Submarine E12 reported that they found that five German capital ships and four light cruisers were moving north to the strait, but the distance was too far to determine the type of ship."

"Five capital ships!"

Jeliko immediately walked to the chart. At this time, the staff had marked the approximate position. From the perspective, they were rushing to Betty.

Is it an outpost of the German main fleet or a squadron?

There is only one way to quickly determine, plane!

Because Campania was temporarily transferred to Australia, there was only one urgently modified seaplane carrier and seaplane carried by each ship in the Grand Fleet at this time. Although the Pacific Ocean is already the world of fighters, Jellico doesn't believe these little guys, because the environment in the North Sea is really bad, sometimes It is foggy at noon, and the wind and waves are high, so the role of the plane here is not as good as that of the calm Pacific Ocean.

Judging from the distance, this sudden German fleet is about 50 nautical miles away from Betty and 130 nautical miles away from itself. That is to say, even if the seaplane takes off now, it will take more than an hour to get the exact answer.

Jelko took out the telegram that the headquarters could not determine whether to go to sea just now, looked at the chart, and gave the order: "The plane is leaving. I have to make sure whether it is the main force of Germany. In addition, I will inform Major General Betty to slow down. He is a little far away from us!"

"General, do we need to speed up?" The staff officer asked.

"Acceleration?" Jellico frowned. If only five capital ships came, they could be dealt with with Betty's strength. Now the acceleration may expose the main force and scare the Germans back. This is not worth the loss for him who is eager to kill the Germans. "order the ships to inspect the equipment and start refueling the destroyers for an hour. After that, everyone entered the state of battle, in addition. Jellico pinched the telegram, looked at the dark blue sea, and then looked at his watch.

It's 11:30, and it will take at least two hours for Betty to contact the other party, so after thinking about it, she waved her hand: "Maintain the original speed for the time being."

Just as Jellico hesitated, Hipel, who got the report of the plane and airship, was completely excited. Although the three light cruisers were not a real meal, they were precious to break the British blockade!

"Accelerate, order the ships to start preparing for battle."

"Order the light cruiser to rush over, you must entangle them and wait for me to arrive."

Hipper seemed to return to the scene when he participated in the sea battle of Siby Road Island. At that time, he got a true meaning. Speed is the source of victory!

The pilot cruiser Erpin, located at the front of the fleet, began to accelerate, and the left and right wings of Frankfurt and Wiesbaden also began to accelerate. Then, thick smoke also emerged from the chimneys of the five battlecruisers at the same time. With Germany's scientific and technological strength and excellent manufacturing technology, although there is no steam turbine, The average speed of the five war patrols still reached 24 knots.

"Stop them!"

Brigadier General Sinclair stood in the bridge of the flagship Nottingham and shouted loudly. The dense shells pulled out lines of fire in the sky, and then burst into a black smoke, and the fragments spread around, making the two German seaplanes seem to fall into the waves of anger.

It should be said that after fighting with Xinhua before, Britain has learned a lot of experience in dealing with aircraft. All ships are equipped with many machine guns and rapid-fire guns, and they are all aimed at defending against high-speed metal aircraft. Therefore, under the leadership of three light cruisers, the anti-aircraft guns of the First Cruiser Squadron are very dense, making the two Germans The pilot had to dodge, so he didn't find Betty's fleet behind him.

War is a combination of all kinds of coincidences, misunderstandings, luck and bad luck. When two fleets with comparable strength collide, whoever finds the other first means that he can take the initiative.

Unable to get the help of the plane immediately, Brigadier General Sinclair knew this very well, so he was ready to speed up and look forward.

It's just that at this moment, no one knows that the two light patrol teams with their own purposes are sprinting head-on like two sharp spears. Whether it's the Nottingham or the Elpin, the atmosphere on the deck has begun to burn!

"The pillar of smoke!"

At 1:30, the Lookout of the Elpin was the first to find the smoke column in the sky, and at the same time, the Nottingham also found its opponent.

(to be continued)