Chapter 759： Airborne to Cyprus (Part 1)

As Antonescu was preparing to fly to Rome, the long-prepared campaign in Cyprus also kicked off.

The naval formation consisting of five aircraft carriers and two battleships took the lead, and the crew from Athens, who had been relaxing for three days, embarked on the journey once again. Speaking of, the current naval capital ships are basically operating at full capacity. After the air raid on the port of Alexandria, Greece fought immediately and then Crete.

Even the iron man couldn't stand it even after spinning, so Lieutenant General Fernandez took advantage of the end of the battle in Crete and returned to Athens ahead of schedule, giving the crew three days off.

By the way, Fernandez's rank of lieutenant general was also promoted during this period. So he no longer has to hold the rank of major general to command a fleet that should have been commanded by a lieutenant general.

Naturally, three days can not satisfy the crew, let alone they have to rotate, and each crew member can only count as two days off at most. It's just that you can't be satisfied if you are not satisfied.

Although the three-day rest did not restore the morale to the best, it was at least much better than before, and at least the work efficiency was greatly improved.

When Fernandez set off with the mighty fleet, the island of Crete, which was the air base in this operation, was also ready. On the newly captured island of Crete, the military began to expand the airport in Greece while the gunpowder smoke had not yet dissipated.

Crete originally had three airports (later discovered a secret airport), which can accommodate no more than 400 aircraft. After Romania seized it, large-scale expansion began immediately. Construction machinery and materials such as bulldozers, excavators, cement, and steel bars have replaced weapons and equipment as the priority delivery targets.

After ten days of rush work, two airports were expanded and one was built on Crete. Its aircraft capacity has never exceeded 400 aircraft, increasing to a capacity of 800 aircraft.

Of course, in addition to sufficient materials and the desperate construction of the engineering troops to complete the expansion of the airport so quickly, there is also a great relationship between the current fighters not picking the runway. Although it cannot be done as in World War I, as long as a leveling grass is enough, flattening the soil can also be used as a runway, but it does not take a few times.

Now, in addition to a large number of planes catching up at the airport, there are also troops that are clearly dressed differently from the Army. They are talking outside the airport in twos and threes, with a trace of tension, excitement and excitement in their eyes from time to time. Yes, they are the first paratrooper division and independent paratrooper brigade that have just arrived in Crete by boat in the past two days.

These paratroopers are obviously no different from the other troops in the first battle, but there is no one in their turn. Because in order to protect these pro-sons, the Air Force needs to clear obstacles for their airborne.

But everything will not work until the fleet commanded by Lieutenant General Fernandez arrives in the designated area.

So has the fleet under Lieutenant General Fernandez arrived?

After three days of sea voyage, the fleet finally arrived 300 kilometers northwest of the island of Cyprus in the early morning.

On the flagship battleship Borkas, Fernandez spoke to the communications staff.

"Report to the Air Force in Crete, telling them that we have arrived at the designated location."

"Yes, General."

With Fernandez's telegram, the air force on Crete also began to move. An alarm bell rang at the airport, and the pilots ran to their fighter planes one after another under the command of the base commander. They lined up neatly and jumped up from the airport. Under the leadership of the pilot, they lined up and flew to the island of Cyprus.

On the side of the fleet, the five aircraft carriers are also making preparations before launching. The first batch of fighters must be fighters because they need to guarantee air supremacy. At present, Romanian carrier-based fighters have been completely replaced by HF201 fighters. This carrier-based aircraft has too many advantages and completely conquered the navy. There is no reason not to use better-performing fighters.

Moreover, in order to meet this mission, the fighters of the three large aircraft carriers are not the 24+2 planes they carry, but 36+4 planes. In addition to the two modified aircraft carriers (94), the number of carrier-based aircraft fighters exceeds Two hundred is completely prepared to provide escort.

These fighters were not parked and flown, and the formation was quickly completed. They took over the task of **** by R20 fighters and protected the bomber group to fly to Cyprus.

When the large-scale fleet arrived on the island of Cyprus, British fighter jets had already taken off. Since the airstrike on Alexandria, the British and French forces in the Middle East have long been scared, and the early warning of the sky has been pulled two hundred kilometers away from the coast. The aircraft that patrols early warning every day patrol all sea areas at regular intervals.

And such a large-scale fleet (more than 500 aircraft in three batches) can be spotted if you don't scare your eyes.

So when they flew more than 140 kilometers off the island of Cyprus, the patrol plane had already spotted their tracks. Although two HF201 fighter jets shot down the desperately fleeing enemy plane, the telegram had already been sent out.

The island of Cyprus, which received the telegram, immediately sounded the air defense sirens, and the fighter planes on duty at the four airports on the island immediately lifted off without hesitation. They will serve as the first wave of interception fighters to intercept the incoming Romanian fleet. At the airport behind them, fighter jets were constantly being lifted into the air.

As the commander of the island, Major General Dowdin Hughes naturally attaches great importance to it, and he is psychologically prepared for the Romanian attack.

"Has Brigadier General Bronk's plane take off?"

Major General Dowding Hughes, who had just rushed back to the headquarters, immediately asked his adjutant Captain Markley.

"General, Bronk just ordered the Air Force fighters to take off to meet the incoming Romanian enemy aircraft."

Major General Dowding Hughes was satisfied with the adjutant's answer, and he continued to ask while taking over the documents handed over by the other staff. "Very good, but where is the air defense force?"

"The air defense department has already prepared, and the residents on the island, we have also asked the relevant departments to notify them to take shelter."

"Very good." Major General Dowding Hughes stopped and thought about it to continue. "Order the troops to enter the fortifications, watch out for any ships appearing on the sea, and be careful when they land. This airstrike is likely to be a prelude to the landing. In addition, I will send a telegram to General Wavell to report that we have been attacked by the enemy. In addition, it is for Syria. General Simmering telegraphed, we need support."

That’s right, Major General Dawdin Hughes intends to guide French air forces in Syria to the island of Cyprus to help defend it against Romanian air strikes. This is also part of the military cooperation that the two countries have seen. Although many of the French fighters in Syria are old models, there are also new fighters like the MS.406 fighter.

This is France's main fighter jet, and in order to defend its colony in the Middle East, 80 aircraft from France gritted their teeth and formed two flying regiments.

And France is more concerned about the defense of the island of Cyprus than the United Kingdom, because the island is more important to it than the United Kingdom. As long as the island is not taken away by the Romanians, then the French colony will have peace of mind.

In addition, Major General Dowding Hughes lacked confidence in his air power. Although Cyprus currently has a lot of fighters, it does not have the most advanced Spitfire. In Cyprus, there are hurricanes and a small number of gladiators.

Does Britain have the most advanced Spitfire in the Middle East?

Yes, and there are four squadrons, but all of them are in Egypt.

Because defending Egypt or the Suez Canal is the top priority for Britain, Cyprus is not worthy of the British deploying this fighter to the island. We must know that Britain currently has only 16 Spitfire (butterfly effect) squadrons, and one quarter can be drawn, which is enough to see how much the United Kingdom values ​​Suez.

However, as Major General Dowding Hughes was intensively deploying, the first wave of fighters from the two sides met.

In the sky, both sides have discovered aspects.

"Come on, the 2nd and 3rd squadrons will cover, the 1st squadron will go with me to destroy the enemy bombers."

Lead the British Air Force commander, directing his fighter planes to give tactical instructions.

"The 1st, 2nd and 3rd **** squadrons stepped forward to intercept, the 4th and 5th **** squadrons were in charge of covering, and we came.

Following the instructions of the two parties, nearly 40 HF201 fighter jets immediately pounced, and more than 40 Hurricane fighters also flew up.

Another group of British fighters that wanted to attack the bomber group was also stopped by fighters from the 4th and 5th squadrons. Now the two fighters are fighting in the air.

"Da, da, da~"

"Da, tower, tower~"

After the two parties approached each other, they immediately filled the area with firepower. The British 7.7 aircraft machine gun from the hurricane and the 20 mm machine gun and 12.7 mm machine gun from the HF201 fighter played an aerial chorus together.

It was just that the result of the air battle caused Britain to have two Hurricane fighters hit hard at the beginning of the game. One of them should have been hit by a 20mm cannon. Its wing was broken in half, and the pilot felt unable to control it. It dangled and flew like a drunk.

This made the British pilots frowned, because they had heard about the air battle in Alexandria before. At that time, surviving pilots complained that the firepower of their fighter plane was too bad It was okay to fight the opponent for a long time, and he was already unable to fight anymore when he fought against the opponent.

Unexpectedly, I also encountered this situation. It's just that in this situation, it's impossible to wait for them to change their cannons to fight, they can only operate their fighter planes, biting the tail wing desperately.

It was only after entering a close fight that they found that they basically couldn't bite the other's tail, because the other side bit their own tail, and they couldn't get rid of it no matter how they maneuvered. No matter if it is hovering or accelerating, the Hurricane fighter he drives is not the opponent of the enemy's HF201.

So this is very uncomfortable. Except for a few people who are able to temporarily get rid of the enemy's rear-end collision with their superb skills, other fighters are all caught in this dilemma.

Such a battle was a torment for the British fighters, and the commander of the British fighter group couldn't stand it. It happened at this time that the enemy bombers were trying to get around them to reach the island, so he immediately responded. "It's not going to work like this, attack enemy bombers."

So under the leadership of the commander, these hurricane fighters immediately rushed to the bomber group, completely ignoring the HF201 fighters chasing them behind them.