It's better to conquer them than to command the steel torrent

Chapter 242 | Awesome! (Combined into one)

“Of course, no problem, sir. No aerial bombs can threaten the Glorious,” Colonel Ramsey Lister replied without hesitation.

"What if it's a near miss?"

"Near misses can cause some damage to the hull, but within the limits of what can be tolerated, only torpedoes pose a lethal threat."

Andrew Cunningham nodded slightly, a bold idea emerging in his mind.

The HMS Illustrious armored aircraft carrier is fundamentally different from the wooden flight deck aircraft carriers common in that era. In addition to the difference in the literal meaning, the two are also different in structure, especially the British armored aircraft carrier, whose deck is an integral load-bearing structure with the hull.

After experimentally building HMS Ark Royal, the Royal Navy recognized the superiority of armored aircraft carriers and thus began construction on two Illustrious-class carriers based on it.

The Illustrious-class ships adopted the high freeboard and enclosed bow design of the HMS Ark Royal, which was well-suited to the relatively rough sea conditions of the Atlantic Ocean. Of course, its most distinctive feature was its armored flight deck design.

The 76-millimeter (3-inch) thick alloy steel flight deck is immune to attacks from 454 kg (1000 lb) of conventional aerial bombs, greatly enhancing survivability.

Armor-piercing bombs can penetrate the flight deck of the HMS Illustrious, but they are expensive, rare, and contain far less explosive than ordinary bombs (in order to improve the structural strength of the bombs), so even if they penetrate, they are unlikely to cause serious damage.

British armored aircraft carriers were the precursors to modern aircraft carriers. While American and Japanese wooden flight deck carriers—such as the Essex and Shokaku classes—could carry more carrier-based aircraft, their structural strength and survivability were weaker, and they were not well-suited for carrying jet aircraft. Therefore, British armored aircraft carriers continued to flourish after the war.

With a displacement of over 20,000 tons, HMS Illustrious could only carry about 30 carrier-based aircraft, while the Yorktown-class carriers of the same period could carry more than 80.

“Let’s go, Lister, to the situation room. I want to study the feasibility of an idea.”

"As you wish, Your Excellency."

Cunningham spoke to Colonel Lister, who stood at attention and saluted.

Currently, the Royal Navy's temporary task force consists of only one aircraft carrier, HMS Ark Royal, but after HMS Illustrious crossed the Atlantic, there will be two.

So how effective can two aircraft carriers be?

The moon rises and sets, the sun rises and sets, and days and nights pass in the blink of an eye.

At 6 p.m. on August 13, a Royal Navy T-class submarine quietly approached the Norfolk Naval Base.

Despite only carrying out patrol and reconnaissance missions, the skilled and daring captain attempted to infiltrate the anchorage to launch a surprise attack and make a name for himself. However, the submarine was defeated by the layers of barriers set up by the American Navy and was blocked by the anti-submarine net.

The captain's chaotic private life and his ambiguous relationship with two female soldiers on board had long been a source of trouble, causing dissatisfaction among many submariners.

So when discussing whether or not to back down, the captain and the others had a heated argument, which wasted a lot of time and put everyone in danger.

After being discovered by patrol boats, the submarine was subjected to a full-scale pursuit and was eventually sunk by depth charges dropped by a US destroyer the following morning, resulting in the loss of all its crew.

A false alarm!
Because of this incident, the American Navy became increasingly convinced that the Royal Navy was plotting a submarine surprise attack on the Atlantic Fleet, and therefore placed greater emphasis on submarine protection measures at its naval bases.

Little did they know, a threat was already approaching, but it wasn't coming from underwater.

On the same day, a large Sunderland seaplane belonging to the Royal Navy flew all the way to Norfolk Naval Base.

Norfolk Naval Air Station (the naval shore-based airbase) immediately dispatched several Buffalo fighter jets to intercept and drive away the massive seaplane, but failed to shoot it down.

The Atlantic Fleet was thus even more convinced that the foolish British were furious because of the failed submarine raid!
In fact, the Sunderland seaplane took dozens of reconnaissance photos from different angles, which were quickly developed and sent to HMS Hood, where they were presented to Cunningham.

"Alright, I'm issuing instructions that submarines operating off the east coast may expose themselves, provided it is safe to do so. If they face danger, they must retreat immediately. I hope Lady Luck is on our side."

A shortwave radio signal flew into the sky and, after being reflected by the ionosphere, spread to all directions.

At 6:15 a.m. on August 15, it was a cloudy day.

On 27th Avenue in downtown Portland, a convoy of three Dodge trucks is slowly driving along, with some of the trucks carrying parts of the SCR270 early warning radar system.

America's earliest radar was the SCR269, which was successfully developed last year. The improved SCR270 has better performance, with a maximum detection range of up to 240 kilometers (for aircraft), and the detection range for targets flying at a low altitude of 300 meters has been reduced to 32 kilometers.

Drawing on the experience of European wars, the American military also placed greater emphasis on the importance of air defense, and thus established a dedicated command organization—the Air Defense Command.

This convoy belongs to the American Army Corps of Engineers. The Army has just established an Air Defense Command and plans to build fixed radars in key locations on the West and East coasts to form a complete air defense early warning network.

Naval bases such as Newport News and Portland are naturally included.

In the lead truck, the private in the passenger seat looked out at the street scene and shouted, "James, have you heard? The Ivanros are gathering troops, and they may soon be invading south."

"So what?" the driver, a private first class, said dismissively. "Kruger and General MacArthur's troops have also finished assembling in Louisiana. We can definitely defeat them and kick their asses hard with our boots."

“I am very worried. The Ivanros are too powerful. The Vallanders and Marianne have both failed.”

“They only have a few divisions. General MacArthur said we will take Quebec before Thanksgiving and end this war.”

"Thanksgiving Day?"

"One month of defense, one month of advance, one month of attack, and finally kicking the Ivan Rossites and Britons into the Atlantic to feed the sharks. General MacArthur was very meticulous," the private said casually, holding the steering wheel.

"Great." The private lowered his head, picked up his water bottle, and took a few sips.

At this point, the convoy arrived at the coastal road, with the boundless blue sea on one side and the naval base diagonally ahead, where large and small warships could be seen anchored.

Battleships, in particular, were enormous, even from such a distance, resembling small hills.

The private drank half a canteen of water and quenched his thirst, but when he put down the canteen and turned to look out the window, he could vaguely see a large group of small black dots in the distant sky.

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Private Peter thought he was blinded by the rising sun, so he rubbed his eyes and looked again, still able to vaguely see a large group of small black dots in the distance.

But those little black dots seem to have gotten a little bigger?
"What's that? An airplane?"

"What are you talking about, Peter? There are planes over there." The private first class, who was focused on driving, was puzzled. The convoy was very close to the construction site. The barracks and radar station were already taking shape. The next construction plan was to erect the steel frame and hoist the radar antenna, and then lay various cables.

At this point, more people noticed those small black dots of unknown origin.

Once the outlines of the biplanes became visible, someone asked in surprise, "Huh? Are those Navy guys doing flight training so early today?"

One of the people next to him said disdainfully, "They eat so well every day, they should train harder, otherwise they're just wasting taxpayers' money."

The planes flew from east to west, and the sun was rising from where the sky met the sea in the east.

The biplanes were shrouded in the soft morning light, appearing and disappearing intermittently.

It wasn't until they got closer that people noticed the blue, white, and red concentric circle insignia on the tail of the plane.

Private Peter asked doubtfully, "I remember that the insignia of naval aircraft have a five-pointed star."

At this moment, someone was the first to react, shouting in alarm, "Those are Britons! Air raid! Air raid!"

Twenty or thirty seconds later, swarms of swordfish swept overhead, about a hundred meters above the ground.

A sergeant quickly drew his Colt pistol from his waist and fired several warning shots into the air.

Another lieutenant, who was supervising the construction at the site, paused for a moment, then sprinted towards the barracks, dialed a phone, and shouted, "Enemy planes are attacking! This is not a drill!"

Norfolk Naval Base boasts a prime location, nestled against the ocean, making it a perfect haven from the waves.

Sixteen or seventeen Swordfish aircraft appeared out of nowhere, taking advantage of the rising sun to fly over the naval base, and then made a perfectly synchronized 90-degree turn.

Now, the British pilots could see more than a dozen capital ships of the Atlantic Fleet anchored at the anchorage and docks, all of them facing sideways.

Suddenly, anti-aircraft fire from the ground and ships erupted, but it was chaotic and disorganized.

A barrage of 12.7mm tracer rounds came one after another, followed by sporadic 28mm anti-aircraft gun tracer rounds.

As is well known, when capital ships are docked in port, they must be equipped with lightning protection nets and air defense balloons.

The so-called anti-torpedo net is a ring net deployed around the capital ship. Incoming torpedoes will either crash into the anti-torpedo net and get stuck, or explode prematurely.

According to intelligence, the Americans deployed anti-torpedo nets on their battleships and heavy cruisers to a depth of 30 feet (9.14 meters). Therefore, the Britons set the flight depth of their aerial torpedoes to 33 feet, so that the torpedoes would just pass by the bottom of the anti-torpedo nets and detonate on the bottom of the warships.

【Picture】

Seventeen or eighteen Swordfish torpedo bombers suddenly entered the harbor, with a clear division of labor, and they rushed towards their respective targets in twos and threes.

It's already early morning, and visibility is quite good.

It can be said that the Americans attach great importance to defense, with anti-aircraft guns, searchlights, anti-aircraft barrage balloons, lightning protection nets, and so on.

More than twenty air defense balloons formed a dense blocking area. Theoretically, this thing has a great negative impact on aircraft flying at low altitudes and high speeds, because if you are not careful, it may cut off the wing, resulting in the destruction of the aircraft and loss of life.

At this point, the Swordfish, which was criticized for its slow speed, actually showed excellent adaptability. Its slow flight gave the pilots ample reaction time.

Success is also due to speed.

Facing sporadic and chaotic anti-aircraft fire, the Swordfish pilot calmly maneuvered his clumsy biplane, wobbling around the anti-aircraft balloons before taking up his attack position.

Swordfish drones swooped down to an extremely low altitude of eleven or twelve meters above the sea surface, fearlessly rushing towards those quietly lurking steel beasts.

Swordfish pilots dropped MkVII 18-inch (457 mm) aerial torpedoes from a distance of only 500 to 600 meters.

After hitting the water, the aerial torpedo quickly sinks to a depth of 24 to 26 meters, then slowly rises to the set depth, approaches the target, passes by the lightning protection net, and finally explodes with a bang!
The third ship of the New Mexico-class, the USS Idaho (BB-42), became the first victim of this surprise attack. Two aerial torpedoes struck her starboard hull, causing massive flooding that was difficult to stop. She listed 24 degrees in a short time and sank soon after.

The second Wyoming-class battleship, USS Arkansas (BB-33), was even more unfortunate. This grandfatherly antique was the oldest battleship in the American Navy's fleet. Built before the outbreak of the European war, its underwater protection design was extremely outdated. As a result, an 18-inch aerial torpedo that hit the midships of the starboard side took her life.

In addition to the Swordfish attacking the warships, the Royal Navy also had more than a dozen Tunneling Flying Flying Fighters. These aircraft were rather bulky and not actually very good fighters, because the Royal Navy, with its peculiar logic, insisted that carrier-based fighters must be operated by two-person crews.

These slugs were armed with light bombs under their wings. While the Swordfish were calling out the names of the American warships one by one, the slugs were swooping down to strafe and bombard small ships and dock facilities.

"Boom—boom—"

In just a few minutes, the once peaceful Norfolk Naval Base was transformed.

Explosions rang out one after another, and rising flames illuminated half the sky, with tracer rounds of different calibers intertwining to form a scorching fire net.

The harbor was in complete disarray, with various lightweight debris and spilled viscous black heavy oil floating on the sea. Sailors who had abandoned ship struggled to swim to shore...

At 6:23 a.m., the heavy cruiser HMS Northampton (CA-31) was hit in the front third by a torpedo, causing the 203mm main gun magazine to explode. The violent explosion seemed to make the 10,000-ton behemoth leap out of the sea, and a black mushroom cloud mixed with flames shot up hundreds of meters high.

The nearby heavy cruiser USS Quincy was also nearly destroyed by a torpedo, but fortunately the torpedo's depth-setting device malfunctioned, causing it to travel too shallow and get stuck in the anti-torpedo net.

"Where did these Britons come from? They appeared like ghosts at dawn!"

"Shut up!"

"Quickly, bring the ammunition over here!"

On the destroyer USS Benson (DD-421), sailors were running around in a hurry. A junior lieutenant grabbed a female warrant officer and ran behind the 'Chicago Piano' 28mm quadruple anti-aircraft gun.

"Warrant Lieutenant Moore, calm down, just like in training..." He reassured him while pointing at the swordfish flying low a kilometer away and shouting, "Fire! Shoot down those sons of bitches!"

"Ta-da—Ta-da—"

Warrant Officer Moore spun the wheel and slammed on the firing pedal. With a swift motion, a series of shells struck the Swordfish that had finished dropping its mines and was preparing to retreat.

Speed ​​is both its strength and its weakness.

(End of this chapter)