It is inevitable to be nervous when going into battle for the first time. Most of the pilots recruited by the Italian Navy are not "veterans" who are familiar with the sky. The air force takes up too many resources. If it were not for the support from China, the Italian Navy would not have received a fighter jet until the war started.
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The fighter jets equipped by the Italian Navy are worse than the British Spitfire, but they are much more powerful than the "Sea Gull" carrier-based aircraft on the Ark Royal. After experiencing the initial tension and panic, the Italians
Concentrating their energy on the fight, the fighter jets on both sides with a speed of over 500 miles per hour rushed within each other's range almost in the blink of an eye. A fierce aerial battle immediately began in the sky outside Oran Bay.
The Italian dive bombers rushed down from an altitude of 3,000 meters towards HMS Ark Royal, which was only escorted by a few destroyers on the sea. The British latest aviation warship maneuvered to evade at high speed on the sea, but it was difficult to escape.
Chased by a plane ten times faster than it.
Relatively speaking, three battleships with strong air defense capabilities are attacking the French battleships in the Mirsk Biel port. The Royal Ark is almost defenseless. Most of its carrier-based aircraft are still over the Port of Oran. Even if they return, they will not be able to attack.
It has almost run out of fuel and cannot fight in the air for a long time.
In just ten minutes, almost all the British fighter planes were shot down. The unscrupulous bombers were chasing the Ark Royal with all their strength. The only British aircraft ship in this area had already been hit by several 250-kilogram bombs.
Aerial bombs were fired, and a raging fire broke out on the deck. The two destroyers were also hit by bombs and suffered heavy damage.
The Italian pilots flew the plane very low, almost touching the bridge of the Ark Royal before dropping the bombs. Black smoke was rising everywhere on the sea, which turned brown in the dusk sunlight.
At 6:20, Italian torpedo planes rushed to the battlefield. At this time, the British had withdrawn the attack formation from the port and rendezvoused with the severely damaged Ark Royal. 16 torpedo planes launched a torpedo attack on the British fleet.
The battered HMS Ark Royal was hit by two more torpedoes, and HMS George V and HMS Resolution were also hit by one torpedo.
The British fleet suffered heavy losses, but unfortunately the Italians only sank three destroyers, and the British main force was still on the sea.
Samuel commanded the fleet to retreat towards Gibraltar. The Italians had dropped all their bombs and torpedoes and had no choice but to return.
Admiral Cavgliani is very happy. The Italians severely damaged the British fleet in their first battle. This was the second country to defeat the British Empire at sea after the Republican Navy. This will be a good morale booster.
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Fang Minghao was most concerned about the situation of Ark Royal. After learning that the aircraft carrier had been severely damaged, he breathed a sigh of relief. At least when the Italians attacked Oran Port, the British could not send out aircraft warships for the time being.
They come out to cause trouble. As for battleships and cruisers, they are no match for aircraft ships.
During the entire attack, the Italian side only lost 8 aircraft, but severely damaged three British battleships and sunk three destroyers. It can be said to have been a beautiful victory.
The British attack on the French fleet was very successful. All the French battleships were damaged and ran aground. However, their attack on the French fleet was not worth the gain. Not only were they attacked by the Italians, but they also lost the Royal Navy during their retreat.
Ark aircraft carrier. On the other hand, the angry French immediately regarded Britain as their enemy, and the Vichy government immediately announced that it would break off diplomatic relations with Britain the day after the British attacked Mirsk Biel.
Two former allies have now become enemies.
Taking advantage of the situation, the Italian navy took advantage of the chaos and landed that night. The 1st Marine Brigade occupied the port of Oran, which was less than 5 nautical miles away from Mirsk Biel, and surrounded the Mirsk Biel naval base.
Italian Prime Minister Mussolini announced that in view of the British attempt to seize the French fleet, the Italian Navy will take over the defense of Mierskebiel to prevent the French warships here from falling into the hands of the British. In addition, the leader also threatened,
If the French fired at the Italian army, it would mean breaking the armistice agreement. The Italian side would no longer be bound by the armistice agreement and would fully attack France.
The Germans had an ambiguous attitude. On the one hand, they persuaded the Italians not to take action against France, but on the other hand, they put pressure on the Vichy government, demanding that they hand over Mirsk Biel to the Italians for defense unconditionally.
On July 8, the Italians transported heavy siege artillery to Oran, and then issued an ultimatum to the French. Mussolini demanded that the French hand over control of the port before 3 p.m., otherwise the Italians would launch an attack
A full-scale attack, and the French Vichy government will be fully responsible for the consequences.
The French fleet in Mirskbil had lost all its capital ships, leaving only one heavy cruiser and some light warships. It was no match for the Italians in any case. After repeated weighings, the French finally gave in, and Admiral Darlan ordered to let them go.
Admiral Suhr handed over control of Mirskbier and led the remaining French warships back to the Toulon naval port. The defense of Oran Port was first handed over to the Italians and let them fight to the death with the damn British.
Admiral Cavliani took over the military control of the entire Oran Bay area from Admiral Jean Sur. After a simple handover ceremony, Admiral Jean Sur took the heavy cruiser Foch and the three
A cruiser and eight destroyers left the Bay of Oran and returned to the French mainland.
Marshal Campioni took the heavy cruiser Lazar to patrol the newly acquired territory of the Italian Navy.
Fang Minghao also received a medal from the Italian head of state. The victory against the British Navy gave the leader the ability to show off to the Germans. At least for now, the Italian Navy's performance is better than being chased around by the British.
The Germans are more than a little stronger.
Naturally, the Prime Minister will not begrudge the rewards to the naval officers who participated in the war.
The Italian Navy Commander-in-Chief patrolled the entire Mirsk Bier Bay. Four battleships, two heavy cruisers, three light cruisers and four destroyers were stranded or sunk in the harbor. There was black oil floating everywhere.
"What if these warships are salvaged and repaired?" the Navy Marshal said to Admiral Cavliani.
"It should be possible. We have already checked that the Dunkirk and Lorraine were lightly damaged and can be driven back to Italy under their own power after salvage. The other warships may need to be towed by tugboats," Kraft said.
Liani reported the situation to the commander-in-chief. If these warships were salvaged and repaired, it would be very helpful to enhance the strength of the Italian Navy in a short period of time, but he had some questions, "Will the French agree to us doing this?"
"Don't worry about him. Let the Ministry of Foreign Affairs negotiate with the French in this regard. What we need now are warships." Marshal Campioni said. Under the current circumstances, it is almost impossible for the French opinions to influence the Italians' decision-making.
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"But the British will never let us bring these warships into the country easily," Cavliani said.
"This is a troublesome matter. We need more planes to defend this place." Marshal Camp Xianoni frowned. Maybe the British will attack here with all their strength soon.