The buzzing of the aircraft engine came from the horizon. The sky above the strait was clear and cloudless, and the field of view was very good. The British fleet's air defense lookout soon discovered the coming German aircraft fleet in the telescope's lens.

"The orientation is 030, and there are more than fifty, which are single-engine aircraft!" The lookout loudly reported that the two rangefinders of the air defense command post had locked the orientation of the German aircraft group. The rangefinder began to measure the height and distance of the enemy aircraft, and then reported the measured data to each air defense gun position via telephone.

As the flagship of the local fleet, Kent has installed a verification type of carrier-based air-based search radar under development. This undefined meter wave radar can only simply detect the orientation and distance of the enemy aircraft, and cannot detect the accurate altitude of the aircraft. At the same time, the data error is very large and it cannot meet the standards that can be used as a reference for fire control.

The air defense system on Kent gave Tovey a headache. As a treaty heavy cruiser that was very careful to use tonnage, the British naval designers did not leave her much modification allowance. This heavy cruiser lacked enough deck space to accommodate more air defense platforms.

With the advancement of aircraft technology, threats from the air are no longer a joke. Since 35 years, the Royal Navy has begun to upgrade and modify its ships to air defense firepower. The problems of treaty cruisers like the Kent-class are very common, which makes naval experts very scratch their heads.

The final solution developed by experts for the Kent-class heavy cruiser is to dismantle the torpedo launch device of this class heavy cruiser and install the third and fourth air defense artillery at the location where the launch tube was originally placed. However, the Kent is the only warship in this class that has not removed the torpedo system. Therefore, among the ships of the same class, the air defense firepower is the weakest, and they can only rely on an eight-unit ping-pong cannon on both sides of the bottom of the bridge to be responsible for air defense.

This 8-unit 40mm anti-aircraft gun, which has a rough appearance and looks powerful, has fully proved its value as the main anti-aircraft naval gun in the Royal Navy in the battle with the Luftwaffe. It proves with the blood of countless naval soldiers that it is completely a bluffing product.

This thing looks like it has eight gun barrels, which seem to be fired one after another, causing continuous anti-aircraft fire. But in fact it is not the same thing at all.

Because this kind of artillery barrel is so short that it has a very scam-free speed and extremely strange ballistic trajectory. Why did it choose a gun barrel that is only one and a half meters long for an anti-aircraft gun? There are many speculations and explanations within the Navy. The more reliable one is that those mistresses in the Navy Ordnance Bureau advocate diligence and thrift. They cannot waste the two million two-pound gun shells left by the Royal Navy Arsenal during World War I.

Therefore, this advanced air defense weapon with a high degree of automation was installed with a short ridiculous gun barrel. The result of the reduction in the initial velocity was too short and the curved trajectory. The projectile spread was very large and it was impossible to continuously and accurately track a target. Therefore, the original design of eight gun barrels to fire alternately to maintain fire continuity was cancelled. In order to ensure the hit target, the fire density can only be increased during one launch. The quantity can be used to make up for the lack of accuracy. The eight-piece ping-pong cannon turned into eight gun barrels and fired shells at the same time. Each gun barrel had a rate of fire of two shots per second, and could only shoot a ball of scattered barrage, and could not shoot the bullet wall that was originally designed.

Moreover, this type of artillery is too large in size and weight, and it is relied on the motor for rotation and pitch. The gun stand is slow and it is difficult to keep up with the current moving trajectory of the new aircraft. Since the fire control radar that can improve the efficiency of the ping-pong gun has not been successfully developed at this time, all aiming and command still depends on manpower. It can be said that this type of artillery has a good power except for ammunition. Other indicators can no longer cope with the existing air strike mode.

Kent's anti-aircraft gunner tweaked the handle and pointed the ping-pong cannon to the side. The single-tube 20mm Olekon machine cannon and the firing nests on both sides of the hangar were all loaded and ready to fire at any time. The British Royal Navy officers and soldiers watched the slowly approaching German aircraft group nervously, waiting for the first wave of dive attacks to arrive.

The Gaoping dual-purpose guns on the peripheral destroyers and light cruisers have begun to fire one after another, and a black and gray bomb mist exploded in the distance. A series of bomb mists hang up and down in the air, slowly drifting with the airflow at high altitude.

Tovey was very disappointed with the performance of the outer air defense fire. Although the direction of the shelling was very accurate, the distance and height were abnormally different. He had several rounds of violent launches, let alone shooting down the enemy planes, even the edge of the aircraft group was not touched.

The German planes maintained a neat formation and slowly approached the British fleet. At this time, four warships in the core area, including the Kent, also began to shoot into the air with their secondary guns. The 102mm high-explosive grenade exploded into the air, and hundreds of fragmented shrapnel were shot out at high speed around.

The German aircraft fleet did not waver at all, and continued its original course and flew towards the head of the British fleet.

"They seem to be climbing?" Tovey was puzzled by this. The German aircraft flew extremely high, and it was initially estimated that it was about 3,000 to 4,000 meters. Without a telescope, you can only see a group of small black dots as big as ants. Especially now the sky is covered with black and gray high-speed barrage. Without careful identification, you can't even find a shadow.

The German aircraft group was already in the air, and they easily flew through the outer air defense circle. The seemingly fierce air defense firepower of the British Air Force perfectly explained what is the external and the middle dryness and bluff. Tovey felt his stomach swelling and his whole body felt weak.

"They are going to dive! They are going to dive!" A non-commissioned officer shouted. At this time, the Kent's nautical bridge was in panic. Except for a few air-defense machine guns, the weapons on the warship all hit the highest elevation angle. However, facing the target almost vertically above the head, the gunners said they were powerless and could only wait for these gods of death to attack.

"These aircraft are not Stuka! You can't dive attack at all! The ship's left rudder is 60 degrees! Start to avoid maneuvers! Order the formation to disperse and pay attention to the direction of the ships." Tovey pushed away the helmet handed over by the captain, and he held the fence of the nautical bridge and issued an order loudly to the panicked officers and soldiers.

"The Germans are above our heads! They are passing towards the Cumberland!" The deputy captain reported loudly with his telescope.

"They did not dive, perhaps because they wanted to attack Queen Elizabeth. They ordered the anti-aircraft guns from all ships to concentrate their fire and cover Queen Elizabeth with all their strength." Tovey put down his telescope and wiped the tears stimulated by the sun with the back of his hand.

"They flew over the Queen... Where are they going?" The deputy captain looked at Tovey with a puzzled look.

"Unbelievable, they just flew away like this?" Tovi was also confused.

The German aircraft fleet was like they had never seen the British fleet, and they flew straight over the head of the British fleet in neat formations. They were disdainful of the British fleet's shelling. General Tovey felt a humiliation that he had never experienced before. The German aircraft fleet's attitude was like a slap in the face of the Royal Navy.

"Order all ships to stop shooting! Re-form. Pay attention to the order of formation and form an air defense formation." Tovey twisted his swollen neck, walked to his commander's seat and sat down with his backrest. He gave a series of orders to the fleet's staff.

"The radar continues to search the surrounding area, be careful that the German aircraft group will turn back again. This is not impossible. Order each ship to check the ammunition allowance and report the loss. Give me a cup of coffee." Tovey frowned. He turned his seat and looked at the chart on the chart table carefully.

"No matter what, the whereabouts of the fleet have been exposed. Perhaps countless German planes will soon rush towards us. The fleet enters a first-level combat readiness state. We need air cover now. Why is there no news in London yet?" Tovey asked loudly to the adjutant of the staff.

"The last contact was fifteen minutes ago, and the command again ordered everything to go as planned. The air cover force had set out and we would be able to meet with them soon."

"Sir! Report from the Radar Room. A large group of aircraft is passing through the route and flying towards the British coast!" The deputy captain stepped forward and reported.

"Hmm? How many planes are there for these damn German guys?" Tovey took a cup of coffee from the orderlyman.

"The radar operator reported that there were a lot of peaks, and he couldn't count so many peaks."

"The incompetent Royal Air Force, Doddine should be sent to the Tower of London beheaded! Even if the enemy cannot be defeated, at least he should fight to the end and make the enemy pay the corresponding price. A soldier should do his best to defend the country and the people, and if necessary, he would do whatever he wants to sacrifice his life. During this period, the cabinet allocated a large amount of resources and manpower to the Royal Air Force, but Doddine gave us such an answer. German planes do whatever they want over the UK, but he would only let his plane circle around the city of London and watch the German planes burn the British rural towns one by one to ashes. I really doubt our air cover... not good."

Tovey's hand holding the coffee shook a little, and the coffee that was shaking from the edge of the cup dripped down his wrist and dripped onto his straight military pants.

"Damn!" Tovey stood up suddenly and put the cup on the chart table. The orderly man quickly handed over the white rag hanging on his arm.

"Send a report to London immediately to report what we found. The Luftwaffe dispatched a large fleet of aircraft, which may be targeting our air cover troops and asked them to issue a warning immediately, otherwise it would be too late!" Tovey said to the staff member loudly while wiping his pants with a rag.

"As for orders, sir." The staff officer saluted Tovey, turned around and ran down the bridge of the nautical ship.

"Hope I guessed that it was wrong. Now our air cover may be in trouble. Although I didn't have hope for those guys from the beginning, with them we can get much trouble. We are in danger now, and everyone must be vigilant. I want each of you to keep your eyes open and search every inch of the sky and the sea. We will be attacked at any time." Tovey threw the rag back to the orderly, then walked to the front of the bridge and picked up the telescope.

"Order the Avant-garde destroyer once again advances five thousand meters, and Leander and Ajax fill up the space, and Berwick and Campbell pay attention to the observation of the right wing..."

"The destroyer discovered the enemy ship! At two o'clock, five nautical miles away, there were seven small ships! It was sailing along the French coast."

"Secretize the type of enemy ship." Tovey picked up the telescope and looked at the report position, and vaguely saw a shiny white dot on the sea level. It should be the splatter of the bow.

"Why did you find out so close?" Tovey asked angrily.

"The other party is too small and the hull seems to have been disguised, so it is difficult to find it in the distance."

"It's a German torpedo boat. They might want to go around behind us, and should they order the destroyers to drive them away?" the Fleet Chief of Staff suggested.

"Okay, order Napier and Nerissa of the Twenty-third Destroyer Detachment to drive them away, well... Let the Glasgow follow and cover the two destroyers. The sailors on the two ships are recruits and the captains are also newcomers. Some support may be needed. Order them to pursue for up to ten minutes, and then return to the formation immediately."

Tovey was very touched by the German torpedo boats. He once valued the most. Just two months ago, the destroyer he commanded was raided by two German torpedo boats at night, and finally sank into the North Sea with one hundred and seventy subordinates. Five people survived. Two of them were also caught and captured by the German torpedo boats.

The German torpedo boat has a strong structure, strong horsepower and fierce movements. It often launches raids on British fleets patrolling at night in the straits. If it weren't for the small number of overall numbers and the lack of experience in crew members, the results would have definitely not been just like this now.

If Tovey had air support in his hands, the plane was the best weapon to deal with them. But Tovey had only a bunch of warships in his hands, so he could only drive away the torpedo boats from a distance.

Tovey has been entangled with Italian torpedo boats in the Mediterranean several times. These speedboats will follow the fleet from afar, reporting the fleet's position, course, speed, ship type and number. Every move is to the headquarters, and will come up to harass and attack whenever they have the chance. This is really annoying.

Of course it is best to sink them if possible, but the German torpedo boats can reach more than 40 knots and have a flexible steering, so they can definitely run away as long as they want to run.

Tovey stood by the bridge and watched the two destroyers and a light cruiser turn quickly and break out of the formation, then increased his horse and rushed towards the German torpedo boat.

"We will reach the target waters in three hours. Even if the Germans find us now, their fleets will not have time to evacuate. They may send a fleet to intercept... to London, we need the latest information from the Dover coastal observation post, whether the other party's fleet is still in the port. Whether the German navy's warships have been dispatched. We have been dispatching for fourteen hours, but there is no useful information.

Now that our fleet has been exposed, I have no idea what is waiting for us. Tell London that if we don’t give us the latest information, I will interrupt this mission and lead the fleet back, and all the responsibility will be borne by me personally. I feel very bad now. We are now charging towards the enemy with our eyes blindfolded, and the Germans have seen us clearly, and the Admiralty Department cannot even support the simplest intelligence. I cannot sacrifice the last remaining power of the Royal Navy local fleet inexplicably. I will be responsible for my subordinates." Tovey said angrily to his chief of staff.

At this moment, a huge roar suddenly came to mind in the distance. "The Nerissa exploded!" The bridge lookout hand shouted loudly.

Tovey and a group of naval officers rushed to the side of the bridge, each holding up the telescope and looking into the distance. A huge smoke column was dissipating on the sea surface in the distance. You could vaguely see the stern of the Nerissa slowly lifting. The propeller and tail rudder had already been exposed to the water. The main engine should still be running, and the propeller blades were slashing in vain in the air.

Tovey saw that the Napier in front of Nerissa was slowing down and seemed to be preparing to turn around and rescue his friend. The Glasgow, located behind Nerissa, had deflected the bow and avoided the out-of-control destroyer.

"Is it a shelling or a torpedo?" Tovey asked the lookout.

"I don't know, there is no warning at all. The ship suddenly exploded like this. I guess it might be a torpedo. The water column splashed very high, surpassing the mast of the Glasgow." The lookout hand was frightened by the tragic scene, and his voice trembled and reported to the commander.

Tovey wanted to continue asking for details, but suddenly there was a loud bang in the distance. This time it was the Napier. In an instant, like a volcanic eruption, a huge column of water rose from the sea, wrapping the front half of the poor destroyer in it, revealing only a small sharp bow. The erupting column of water wrapped the bow of the destroyer and slowly lifted her from the sea. People could see the red hull under the waterline. The next second hundreds of tons of sea water fell down with gravity, smashing the poor destroyer back into the sea, and the entire bow was pressed into the water.

Then, in front of the commander of the Royal Navy's local fleet, accompanied by a creepy and harsh noise, the Napier broke into two pieces from the bridge position, and the rear half of the hull began to roll rapidly. After a few seconds, it turned over, revealing the red bottom of the ship. The front half of the hull floated crookedly on the water with two main guns.

"O my God, Jesus Christ, that's mines! The Germans set up minefields there! Those torpedo boats are a damn bait, oh my God." Captain Kent wailed loudly.

"Send Nester to rescue the fallen people, telling them not to get close and put lifeboats. Order Glasgow to stop the ship immediately..." Before he finished speaking, the roar of mines sounded again on the sea. This time, two sounds rang out in a row. (To be continued, please search for Astronomy, the novel is better, updated and faster!
Chapter completed!