Chapter 1683： South Indian Ocean II

Chapter 1683 Southern Indian Ocean (2)

Half an hour later, the telegram was delivered to Earl Su Xiong's desk, and the accidental discovery of a seaplane from the Allied Powers really surprised the Germans. It’s okay for the Japanese to install a few seaplanes on the Katori, but with a few planes, it’s not the same to keep track of a target for a long time while investigating. This shows that the other side’s aircraft has some many! Otherwise, an unsure target will not be tracked for at least half an hour.

"Our guests are here, and the Swordfish is sailing eastward. If the Japanese warship is to the east, they should soon be able to see each other’s plumes. After all, the latter is a large fleet, and they are all coal-burning ships. And we can now consider moving the remaining fleet to the west, with submarines and auxiliary cruisers! Pull out a cordon and search for the Japanese fleet."

"The Japanese seaplane has already set off, and from the current point of view, there is no radio communication. It means that the distance between their plane and the fleet will not be far. Without radio, the other pilot can still find the way home. !" said Major General Rodhart, who is proficient in aviation operations.

"Can our reconnaissance plane go out to find the target?" Lieutenant General Su Xiong asked.

"This, it may be possible to find the target, but we may not have time to deal with them today. Our two capital ships are at least 100 kilometers away from each other, and it is already afternoon, and it is only a short distance from sunset. It's only 4 hours. We want to chase and destroy the opponent time is a bit tight." Major General Rodhart said.

"Moreover, if there are more Japanese reconnaissance planes, they are likely to spot us at a long distance. If this is the case, if the battleship's guns cannot participate in the battle, things will be difficult to handle." Rydell is the same as before. In this critical moment of battle, he tends to attack at dawn, with plenty of time and cover if he is on the east side of the enemy fleet.

While the big men of the German fleet were considering how to accurately locate the Japanese fleet, the Japanese revealed their position at a critical moment! The Japanese seaplane that was monitoring the Swordfish had some problems while returning, so it sent a distress telegram. Not only was this telegram intercepted by the nearby German submarine U289, it was also deciphered!

"It's a pity, if we can get a few hours ahead, we will be able to bite the Japanese fleet!" At this time, the semi-submersible submarine U289 was hidden in the afterglow of the sunset, less than 6 kilometers away from it. At the place, a Japanese destroyer is transferring the pilot of the seaplane to the battleship. And after dark, the submarine can't keep up with the Japanese destroyer even if it shoots a horse!

However, what the Germans did not expect was that just when the Germans thought that the destroyer would directly destroy or abandon the seaplane after recovering the pilots, a new warship appeared in front of the Germans in the distance. And, the captain of U289 determined that from the appearance of this ship, it was definitely not any Japanese ship mentioned in the previous intelligence.

"This ship is long and slender, so it is unlikely to be a civilian ship. There seems to be a lot of seaplanes on it? This should be a seaplane carrier! My God! The Japanese assigned an extra seaplane carrier to this fleet. Ship!” After zooming in on the imaging magnification of the periscope, the captain of the U289 submarine exclaimed after seeing the row of drainage on the battleship boarding the plane.

The Japanese don't abandon a seaplane that costs thousands of pounds! The small destroyer was unable to retrieve the aircraft at all. Therefore, after the destroyer rescued the people first, the personnel checked that the aircraft had the value of recovery, so they asked the Takachiho seaplane carrier to come over and prepare to take the aircraft. However, after the Japanese fleet evacuated, after confirming that there was no danger in the surroundings, the U289 submarine surfaced, turned on the antenna, and used a brand new communication frequency to report to the main fleet under the cover of night.

"Now, things are getting more and more interesting. Our first wave of attack sequence has to be changed." When the information was received, it was at dinner time, so the high-level German fleet, who did not care about the meal, met again, except for the original In addition to the 4 battleships, there is also a seaplane carrier. This is not just a question of one more boat, this seaplane carrier directly improved the Japanese fleet's reconnaissance capabilities by 2 levels! More trouble than an extra light cruiser!

"The order of the first wave of attack targets will be adjusted. We will hit the seaplane carrier first. Although it is equipped with seaplanes, it can still put pressure on our bomber formation. In addition, the J-3S we used for guest bombers are Isn't it about giving up the bombing mission to deal with the Japanese seaplane?" Raidel asked.

"Four J-3S fighters can completely solve this problem. It can even be solved with reconnaissance aircraft. The number of our attack group can remain the same, but because of the addition of an additional warship, the margin of the aircraft carrier Constellation There may be problems, and I am afraid that the investigation will be handed over to the battleship troops." Rod Hart thought for a while and said.

"You take care of the attack, and the investigation is left to me." Count Su Xiong said. The two fast battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau carried a total of 10 seaplanes, of which 2 were Spare parts. In addition, accompanied by the fleet is a camouflage cruiser, which also carries 4 seaplanes, a total of 14 seaplanes, one dispatch As long as luck is not particularly bad, you can definitely find Japan The position of the fleet. After all, the German fleet now knows the approximate position of the Japanese fleet. The night is about 8 hours. At the speed of the fleet, it would be good to be able to go 80 nautical miles. The fleet controls the course and speed, and should be able to narrow the distance overnight.

"Tomorrow my Gneisenau will be close to the Japanese fleet. If in the end, the carrier-based aircraft cannot solve the battleship Katori independently, I can send it on the road." Ryder said.

"Yes, there is no problem." Su Xiong nodded, fairly satisfied with the plan.

"By the way, there is one question I have always wanted to make sure, and that is, can the Japanese seaplanes carry weapons?" said Lieutenant Colonel Kimmel, who had not spoken.

"If they can carry bombs or even torpedoes, it would be too bad." The lieutenant colonel rubbed his nose and said. After all, the earliest carrier-based attack aircraft was a seaplane. This thing was done by the French in 1914. So, In this era of World War I, the seaplane carrier cannot be underestimated!

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(End of this chapter)