While Chen Mo was formulating a plan to attack Italy, the Anglo-Egyptian fleet, which had been sailing at sea for several days, finally encountered the Italian Navy's fleet.
The first thing to collide was the destroyers of both sides.
As the vanguard of the fleet, these destroyers, which are set like elementary school students in later generations of Ship Girl games, are usually responsible for multiple tasks such as patrolling, reconnaissance, and anti-submarine warfare. When necessary, they even serve as escorts for the capital ships to block them.
torpedo.
This is no joke. In real naval battles, the purpose of destroyers and frigates is not only to serve as reconnaissance and vanguard of the fleet, but also an important duty to block torpedoes for the capital ships.
After all, it is easy to replenish and build a small destroyer or frigate. During World War II, various countries built a large number of destroyers and frigates, and the capital ships were astonishingly expensive. Not to mention the high cost of each one, they were also a direct indicator of the fleet's combat power.
Assure.
The destruction of a destroyer or frigate will not have much impact on the fleet's firepower output, but the destruction of a capital ship will immediately cut off a large part of the fleet's firepower output.
A real naval battle is obviously not a naval battle in some magical world, where a dozen or twenty battleships can have a chaotic battle.
Each capital ship is also extremely valuable, and usually has a large number of accompanying fleets. It is impossible to find people on one ship to fight alone.
However, at this point in time, the Germans did not have enough naval ships due to the restrictions on the size of their navy after World War I. This resulted in the fact that even if they built a battleship like the Bismarck, they could only let her
A single ship is deployed to carry out diplomatic-breaking operations, rather than acting as a true capital ship and accompanying the fleet.
Of course, the Italian Navy does not have any problems in this regard. Although under the restrictions of the "Washington Treaty", the size of the Italian Navy is only one-third that of the United Kingdom and the United States, and the total tonnage of battleships is only 177,800 tons, but their three battleships are accompanied by
The fleet is still very complete.
Therefore, when the forwards of both sides began to exchange fire, the destroyers of the Italian Navy were still fighting back and forth with the destroyers of the British Navy.
As the battle between the destroyers began, the capital ships on both sides also began to speed up, preparing to enter the battlefield.
However, at this time, among the Anglo-Egyptian combined fleet, only the feint fleet composed of British naval battleships led by Cunningham headed towards the Italian Navy, while the air attack fleet composed of the Glorious and two Egyptian aircraft carriers began to launch their own
Carrier-based aircraft.
The carrier-based aircraft used by the British Navy at this time were the same as in history, which were bi-wing propeller aircraft Swordfish attack aircraft.
This is a carrier-based aircraft designed by the United Kingdom in the 1930s. It was also the main carrier-based aircraft used by the British naval aviation in World War II. A total of 2,392 aircraft were produced in history, and they achieved great military exploits.
In addition to the original Taranto air raid that sank and damaged three battleships, during the battle to hunt the Bismarck, the Bismarck was also damaged by torpedoes dropped by Swordfish attack aircraft, leading to her eventual sinking.
However, although the Swordfish attack aircraft can be said to have outstanding achievements, it cannot hide that the Swordfish attack aircraft is already an outdated old aircraft.
Gu Wu
The old-fashioned bi-wing design, the three-seater open cockpit and only 7.7mm machine guns at the front and rear, and even more annoyingly, the speed of only 225 kilometers per hour and the maximum ceiling of 3,260 meters, it is simply like a World War I model.
Old stuff, not new weapons that could be used to fight World War II.
In comparison, the Egyptian Navy's carrier-based aircraft are undoubtedly much more powerful.
Because Chen Mo equipped the Egyptian Navy with the famous Skyraider attack aircraft of later generations.
This is a follow-up model developed and designed by the United States after the end of World War II to replace the SBD attack aircraft, the main model of the U.S. Navy in World War II. It is also the last type of propeller-driven ship purchased on a large scale by the U.S. Navy before jet aircraft entered service.
Carrier aircraft.
It adopts the most classic single-wing propeller aircraft design layout, an all-metal semi-monocoque fuselage, a three-point landing gear design, a bubble-type closed cockpit, and is close to the Wright R-3350-8 with four times the horsepower of the Swordfish attack aircraft.
The supercharged radial piston engine provides this aircraft with almost three times the flight speed of the Swordfish attack aircraft, twice the ceiling, and a terrifying load that can even take off with two Swordfish.
In fact, the theoretical maximum loading capacity of the Skyraider attack aircraft is 6,622 kilograms, which is approximately equal to the empty weight of three Swordfish attack aircraft.
However, due to the design and load limit of the pylon, the Skyraider attack aircraft cannot reach the theoretical maximum load weight.
But even so, the Skyraider attack aircraft can still carry 12 113-kilogram aerial bombs and three 227-kilogram aerial bombs, with a total weight of 2,041 kilograms of external weapons.
What's especially terrifying is that in addition to aerial bombs, the Skyraider attack aircraft can also carry napalm, air-launched torpedoes and air-launched rockets. It is an all-rounder that combines bombing and torpedo attack capabilities.
Even if it is only the weapons carried on the fuselage, the four 20mm cannons built into the wings of the Skyraider attack aircraft can also hoist the Swordfish attack aircraft.
So, when the two aircraft carriers of the Egyptian Navy began a full-deck assault and launched all carrier-based aircraft, the British Navy's aviation basically looked at the Skyraiders like monsters.
Compared with their own Swordfish attack aircraft, the white-painted Skyraider attack aircraft attracted their attention like a graceful white swan, making them immediately disgusted with the Swordfish attack aircraft.
"Oh my god! What kind of plane is that from the Egyptians? Why don't the higher ups equip us with such an aircraft?" A British airman looked at the intense conflict between the Skyraider attack aircraft passing by and the Swordfish attack aircraft he was piloting.
He couldn't help shouting loudly to his co-pilot and machine gunner in the back seat.
The contrast between the two is even stronger than that of the ugly duckling and the white swan, especially when the Sky Raider attack aircraft completed the formation, shook its wings and greeted the British, then flew away at nearly twice the speed. The British Naval Aviation
I was so jealous that I wanted to bite my handkerchief.
But even so, they followed quickly and arrived at the battlefield almost a third of the time late.
And when they saw the Italian Navy's fleet through the clouds, what appeared in front of them were three battleships that were already on fire and several other ships that were sinking on the sea.
Obviously, the Egyptian navy's aviation forces had completed their attack and had taken the first bite of this naval battle.
