Chapter 1005 Aircraft Carrier Combat
The British weakness was that this was their first time using aircraft carriers. They had no idea about combat between aircraft carriers and did not have complete aircraft carrier tactics, while Charles had advanced knowledge of aircraft carrier combat.
"British aircraft carriers have a single runway and a straight deck." Charles pointed to the British aircraft carrier model and said while discussing the battle plan with Major General Pierre:
"That means they can't take off and land at the same time."
"That is, they cannot launch fighter jets while their aircraft are entering landing procedures."
"If they launch more than 12 aircraft per carrier, there will be a gap in air defense."
Major General Pierre immediately understood what this meant:
"It takes more than an hour to launch 12 planes, and more than an hour to land them."
"And their total aircraft time in the air is only about two hours."
"In order to ensure that no aircraft would be unable to land due to lack of fuel, after launching 12 aircraft, only a small number of aircraft could be kept in the air for air defense, and the fuel was insufficient."
"Yes." Charles nodded. "Now is the best time to attack the enemy aircraft carrier!"
…
Over the main battlefield, Colonel Will shot down three French seaplanes with great satisfaction. He swept away the gloom that had been suppressed in his heart and cheered excitedly.
When he looked at the fuel gauge, he saw only a quarter left, and realized it was time to return.
There is a sequence for plane landing:
The first 12 fighter jets to take off consume the most fuel, so they should return first and enter the landing procedure.
Next came the second batch of 12 aircraft. They could hold out on the battlefield for about half an hour, but they were almost ready to withdraw.
Colonel Will took out a flare from the storage compartment, loaded it skillfully and fired one.
This is the signal to return.
Aircraft carrier operations often involve mathematical calculations, and the calculations must be precise. Even the slightest mistake may lead to an irreparable disaster.
The aircraft carrier group was about 50 kilometers behind the battlefield, and Colonel Will's group found them without much effort.
He first flew the fighter plane in circles around the aircraft carrier, trying to reduce altitude and speed.
When both were within the appropriate range, he cut in from behind on the carrier's course and, under the command of signal flags, aimed for the runway.
Every landing is a life-and-death challenge, which is no less than fighting with enemy planes in the air. Colonel Will gives it his all.
Fortunately, after a period of shaking and vibration, the fighter plane finally stopped steadily on the runway.
Cheers rang out from the ground crew and comrades on both sides.
It was a remarkable attempt, and Colonel Weir was proud of it.
Taking off from the sea and launching a fighter jet from a ship instead of a seaplane was unprecedented!
The Royal Navy was the first and only one.
Only the British Royal Navy can do it, and that's why Britain can become the empire on which the sun never sets!
Then, another fighter plane landed on the deck, and the "Insurgent" a nautical mile away was doing the same thing. Both aircraft carriers were busy recovering the fighter planes.
However, just as the third fighter plane landed on the deck, someone suddenly shouted, "Aircraft, there are aircraft groups approaching!"
Looking in the direction indicated by the sound, I saw a group of dense black dots in the southwest.
"Is that our plane?" someone asked.
Colonel Will originally thought so too. There was only ocean in that direction and no islands, so it was impossible for enemy planes to appear.
But on second thought, it seems unreasonable.
Britain has only two aircraft carriers and both are here. At the same time, the second batch of British fighter jets are in the west and are unlikely to appear in this direction, especially the number is not right.
With doubts, Colonel Will quickly ran to the empty deck and pointed the telescope at the target aircraft group.
This sight gave him a fright. Although the target group of aircraft was far away, some of them were obviously inverted gull-shaped aircraft. They were the French army's latest fighter jet, the "Jeanne A".
(Note: At this time, Colonel Weir was not aware of other modifications of the French inverted gull-shaped wing.)
"It's the enemy." Colonel Will shouted, "It's an enemy plane, prepare for battle!"
The sharp and long air defense sirens immediately sounded, and the soldiers who had just cheered were instantly in chaos. Some were giving signals, pushing fighter planes, distributing ammunition, and operating anti-aircraft machine guns...
Most people run around like headless flies.
If they had experience in aircraft carrier operations, they would know that in this emergency they should immediately push the aircraft, fuel and ammunition on the deck into the sea.
But they don't know.
Some people thought of it, but the officers did not give orders, so they dared not act rashly, otherwise they would likely be punished and sent to a military court, or even be treated as spies.
Then another mistake occurred:
A fighter jet stayed in the air too long and was forced to land without clearing the runway.
As a result, after knocking down several people in succession, the nose of the plane tilted, lost balance, slid off the deck and fell into the sea.
Many people screamed in surprise, but had no time to rescue and could only let the current sweep the fighter plane into the bottom of the aircraft carrier and crush it to pieces.
“Bang!”
"Da da da!"
The destroyers and cruisers opened fire.
But they were all twin-mounted "pom-pom cannons" and anti-aircraft machine guns, and these small-caliber guns could not pose any threat to fighter planes flying at high altitudes.
Colonel Will found a signal gun in the chaos and fired two shots into the air as quickly as possible.
One shot represents a retreat, two shots represent an attack.
The order was given to several fighter planes stranded in the air.
The meaning is clear and cruel:
You cannot land safely in this emergency situation, and landing may cause greater disasters and accidents.
In this case, you have no choice but to fight with your back against the wall. Use your remaining fuel to block the enemy planes. Maybe you can buy time for the aircraft carrier to turn defeat into victory!
The British pilots were very brave. They thought of this and resolutely turned their planes to meet the enemy aircraft.
But it didn't work.
Several "Jenny A" fighter planes swooped down with a whistling sound. After a burst of machine gun roars like tearing cloth, the "SE5a" fighter planes fell from the sky one after another like kites with broken strings.
"SE5a" has a speed advantage over "Camel", but lags behind "Jenny A" in terms of speed, maneuverability and dive stability.
Among them, "dive stability" is particularly important. The inverted gull-shaped wing of "Jenny A" effectively reduces vibration during high-speed dives, which not only ensures structural stability but also shooting accuracy during dives.
Colonel Will was almost going crazy.
Just at this moment, he saw more than a dozen fighter planes flying from the west.
It was the second group of British fighter planes to land. Colonel Will was delighted and quickly fired a signal flare to the group of planes, ordering them to attack.
However, at this time, the French aircraft group circled around the British aircraft carrier group and did not rush to attack.
At this moment, Colonel Will had only one sentence in his mind: "It's over, they're waiting for the fighter planes to run out of fuel!"
(End of this chapter)
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