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Text Chapter 976 The bloody Mediterranean

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    March 4, 1941, the fourth day of the landing in North Africa.

    In the Port of Oran, the thin mast tips of the battleship Brittany protruded abruptly from the water, like a pair of eyes, silently watching the American warships passing by.  In the strong fort in the harbor, the remaining guns of the French navy were all aimed at the escorting British ships in the distance, but they were indifferent to the American ships that continued to pour into the harbor.

    This is perhaps the most bizarre sight in the war so far. Due to strict confidentiality measures and negligence in German and Italian intelligence, the U.S. Second Task Force escorted the landing troops to Oran, and Germany did not know that the U.S. military had landed in North Africa.  After a period of symbolic resistance, Nogues, the governor of French Algeria, declared neutrality, but he prohibited any British soldiers and warships from approaching, otherwise he would cancel the non-resistance policy.  Nogues's choice represents the mentality of the entire France.  The joining of the United States allowed France to see the possibility of no longer having to kowtow to Germany and the dream of restoring a free France. However, they did not dare to offend the powerful German army occupying Paris, so they pretended to resist for a while and then chose neutrality, and then waited for the US military  Incorporation.  However, the "trebuchet" operation that shocked the world eight months ago is a humiliation that the whole of France will never forget, the ghost of the Brittany, and the sinking of the Richelieu!  The hatred between Britain and France is like this mast. They would rather die than surrender.

    Anyone can get close, but not the UK!

    This is France¡¯s choice.

    This kind of stubbornness is admirable, but it also leaves Britain helpless.  The US military successfully landed in Oran, but it took two days for the British army to attack Algiers.  If de Gaulle had not taken the initiative to replace the first batch of landing troops with the Free French Army, I am afraid that the Algiers landing would have been dangerous.

    With the Allies promising not to allow British troops to appear in Oran, the French army finally laid down all their weapons.  One American transport ship after another successfully entered the Port of Oran without any danger.  Ironically, the airport facilities destroyed by naval guns during the trebuchet operation were never repaired, so the US Army Air Forces had to continue to stay in Gibraltar.  Nearly a hundred ships were crowded in the harbor, and five divisions of American soldiers, holding Camel cigarettes in their mouths, officially landed in the North African desert.  Thousands of M3 Lee, M3 Stuart tanks, former Soviet T26 and domestic 31F tanks delivered by China to the Free French Army.  Unloaded from the cabin with the help of a crane.  Trucks, heavy artillery, light armored vehicles, etc., show the profound industrial heritage of the United States.

    A smooth landing does not mean victory. After learning about the British and American landings, Rommel exerted pressure through Hitler and strictly ordered the French troops in Algeria and Tunisia to resist. Then he assembled an armored division, an infantry division and two Italian infantry divisions to quickly occupy Tunisia.  , and then along the coastline, quickly seized Annaba and Constantine controlled by the French army.  The two sides are currently fighting fiercely on the front line of Kissna. Britain and the United States have invested a total of two armored divisions and two infantry divisions.  Hoping to block the rapidly approaching Rommel.

    When the landing troops rushed to the battlefield one after another, 12 "Thunderbolts" and 16 US military P-40 "Warhawks" formed two columns, and then parted ways after arriving in Oran.  The "Thunder" headed north to Ibiza, Spain, and the "War Eagle" continued west to Algiers.  After bidding farewell to the US aircraft, Mo Yucheng ordered the aircraft to climb to an altitude of 6,000 meters and begin fuel-saving cruising.  Although Liu Mingchang was in the queue, he took the initiative to let the former take command in order to help his comrades adapt to the European air combat method more quickly.

    The patrol route of the Dragoon Squadron took off from Gibraltar, arrived in Oran with the US military, then turned north to Ibiza, Spain, and then turned back to Spain's White Coast.  Finally follow the coast back to Gibraltar.  The total length of this patrol route is 1,550 kilometers, so each "Thunder" needs to hang two large auxiliary fuel tanks when setting off.  The US military's P-40B "War Eagle" has a short range, so it can only patrol the North African coast closer to Algiers.  Due to the pressure from Sardinia and Malta, the carrier-based aircraft all stayed 600 kilometers southwest of Sardinia.  Responsible for intercepting the incoming German and Italian air forces and protecting the safety of the landing site.

    It was a difficult four days, because the airports in Oran and Algiers needed to be renovated, so the arrival of the US military aviation will not be until March 6.  Fortunately.  The German and Italian Air Force, which worried the Allied Command the most, also failed to play its role. In the first two days, it only invested less than 80 fighters, which increased to 130 yesterday.  And because the combat radius is short.  Therefore, under the protection of four aircraft carriers and a total of 330 fighter planes stationed in Gibraltar, they failed to approach the landing site in the end. Instead, Rommel, who quickly approached the landing site, became a thorn in his side.  "It's the Enterprise Look, the F4F Wildcat is being released." Less than fifteen minutes after flying north across Oran, Mo Yucheng discovered the Enterprise and Hornet aircraft carrier battle groups on the sea.  Further away, the aircraft carriers Glory and Ark Royal loomed on the sea.  Because Gibraltar is far away, four aircraft carriers were the main air defense force during the landing operation.  More than a hundred F4F "Wildcat" and Fulmar fighter jets built an air barrier between the Italian island of Sardinia and the landing site.

    When the "Thunderbolt" arrived in the sky, the two aircraft carriers of the U.S. Second Task ForceWhile quickly releasing fighter jets, the fleet also accelerated its maneuvers to the northeast.  "It seems that an enemy plane has been discovered." Mo Yucheng said loudly on the radio, then dialed the radio station's contact channel and asked for the reason.

    "Captain, a large number of enemy planes appeared in the direction of Sardinia. The reconnaissance plane confirmed that there are at least 52 fw190 fighter jets. They want us to help." Within a while, Mo Yucheng asked about the situation.

    "52 fw190s! How far away are they?"

    "About 140 kilometers."

    Hearing that there were 52 fw190s among the incoming enemy planes, Liu Mingchang was shocked and immediately took out a pen and paper to calculate the distance and fuel.

    No wonder he was nervous, just because the fw190 is Germany's most cutting-edge fighter jet.  The main reason why this fighter appeared earlier than in history was the pre-war Sino-British "thousand bomber" business, as well as the stimulation of thunder and lightning sweeping the Soviet army on the Central Asian battlefield.  At that time, Germany believed that since it could even sell bombers, China might not sell the "Thunderbolt" to the United Kingdom, so it immediately accelerated its research on fighter jets with stronger capabilities.  After a year of hard work, it was finally finalized in October last year and a small amount was put into British battlefield experiments.  The results were mixed. It was still difficult to deal with the Thunderbolts, but it worked well against British aircraft.  Originally Goering wanted to continue improving, but the United States' declaration of war angered him, and he immediately ordered full-speed production while improving.

    Because it has just been put into production and pilots need to adapt.  Therefore, even if the fw190 was dispatched in the past few months, it was only a small-scale experimental operation of one or two teams and no more than 10 aircraft.  But I didn't expect that this time, 52 aircraft were dispatched at once!  It would be strange if Liu Mingchang was not surprised.  Fortunately, although the fw190's weakness has not yet been found, everyone knows that it has "short legs." At this time, the British and American fleets are still 550 kilometers away from Sardinia. This means that even if the auxiliary fuel tank is installed, the fw190 can only last for fifteen years.  Must retreat within minutes.

    After a quick calculation, Liu Mingchang was a little disappointed, because according to the current remaining fuel.  If the Dragoon Squadron were to intercept, they might not even have enough fuel to return to Oran.  He would not risk the lives of his comrades, so he pressed the throat intercom: "Tell the Enterprise that we don't have enough fuel."

    ? 52 fw190s, it is definitely a hard battle for the f4f and fulmar.  But for this operation, the two British aircraft carriers and the two American aircraft carriers canceled their torpedo aircraft preparations, and carried a total of 167 Fulmars and F4F Wildcats. If they can't survive for fifteen minutes, it should be okay, right?

    On the Enterprise number.  Knowing that the Dragoon Squadron could not participate in intercepting the FW190, Communications Captain Tonate was extremely angry: "Sir, they said there was insufficient fuel. I think they want to see our show." The dirty Cold War between China and the United States in the Pacific is still here  There was an uproar among the officers.  In addition, his younger brother died in the Battle of Wake Island not long ago, and yesterday there was news of the Chinese navy attacking Wake Island. Therefore, Tonate and many US military officials lack a favorable impression of China.  Of course, there is also an element of jealousy in this emotion.  Because inside the U.S. Navy.  In particular, Hainan Airlines pilots are very envious of the "Thunder" and "Lightning" fighter jets known as the "double electric".  After the Battle of Wake Island, King also asked pilots in the UK to test-fly the "Thunderbolt". Afterwards, the pilot even called for the purchase of "dual-power" patents from China.

    A country that lags behind the United States.  It makes me suffocate just thinking about having better airplanes than the United States.

    Fletcher knew about Tonate¡¯s brother¡¯s sacrifice, so he just smiled at his dissatisfaction and complaints.  But if he could turn back time, he would immediately cancel the liaison captain who had personal emotions and later led to a big mistake.

    But now he didn't: "Let them continue north, speed up their takeoff, and stop the Germans!" Fletcher put down his telescope and asked about the new fighter: "I heard that both Grumman and Republic submitted designs for new aircraft.  draft?"

    Liu Mingchang and Mo Yucheng naturally didn't know that others were jealous and hated them, so they said goodbye to the escorting F4F and continued flying north.  About twenty minutes later, the long and narrow appendix-like island of Formentera appeared on the sea level.  Although Spain is a neutral country, in fact, in the three days after the landing operation began, Allied transport planes traversed its airspace almost every day, which made Hitler particularly annoyed.  But even Yang Qiu was extremely puzzled. He angrily scolded Franco for being two-faced every day, but never mentioned entering Spain.  Even the German army was extremely puzzled. Many people even believed that their leader had suffered from "temporary shock syndrome."

    This is the farthest point of the patrol, and there is not enough fuel to return to Gibraltar, so Mo Yucheng immediately ordered a turn.  But just as the fleet turned toward the Spanish coast, a large black spot suddenly appeared below the cumulonimbus clouds on the left.

    "Four o'clock! A large number of enemy planes!"

    "Cavalry No. 6 calls Big E (Enterprise code), Cavalry No. 6 calls Big E! A large number of enemy planes have been discovered! At your eleven o'clock position, 127 kilometers away!" Almost as soon as the enemy planes were discovered, Mo Yucheng called the United States  2nd Task Force.

    The sudden appearance of the German fleet did not panic Fletcher, because he came out this time with a total of 126 F4F "Wildcat" fighter jets, and 72 were sent to intercept the FW109. At this moment, he still has 54 Wildcats on hand, which is enough to withstand a wave of attacks.  More importantly, the range of German aircraft was seriously insufficient. At this time, the Second Task Force was already more than 600 kilometers away from Sardinia. Apart from bombers, the only ones that could reach here were BF110 escort fighters.

    The bf110 suffered serious losses in the Battle of Britain and has been considered a twin-engine fighter with poor maneuverability and poor acceleration, and is not suitable for fierce daytime air battles.  The f4f is not as good as the bf109 and fw190, but it is more than enough to deal with the bf110 and bombers.  So he first ordered the interceptor fleet to take off, then ordered the dragoon squadron to intercept the escorting BF110, and finally contacted the 20 P-40s rushing to Oran to help.

    Fletcher was right. When the Enterprise and Hornet desperately released their fighter jets, Mo Yucheng finally saw clearly the type and size of the enemy aircraft.  57 He111 and JU88 bombers, escorted by 38 BF110C-4 twin-engine fighters, were mighty and murderous.  "Pay attention to the time, we only have fifteen minutes of fuel left! Maintain the two-plane combat formation. Listen up! The maneuverability of the BF110 is very poor. But there is thick bulletproof armor around the cockpit, and its weak points are the acceleration and wings! Also!  , never be exposed to its front! This guy has four machine guns and two 20mm cannons in front of it! Do you remember them all?"

    "remember!"

    "Okay, follow me and climb." After receiving the order, Liu Mingchang quickly took over the command and took the opportunity to tell his new comrades the weaknesses and countermeasures of the BF110 escort fighter.

    At this time, the German planes also discovered the Dragoon Squadron, so the bomber group immediately turned towards the fleet and accelerated, and the 38 escorting BF110 also left the formation and rushed towards the "Thunder".  But with its super climbing ability, the Dragoon Squadron was still ahead of the opponent's arrival.  Got the height first.  The air war over Britain has been going on for more than half a year. Of course, German pilots know the performance of the "Thunder". Even the latest fw190 fighter cannot suppress it, let alone the bf110, which has exposed its weaknesses.  Therefore, as soon as the "Thunder" was seen climbing, the BF110 immediately dispersed to increase the distance between the lead aircraft and the wingman, so that whether the "Thunder" attacked the lead aircraft or the wingman, they could quickly counterattack.

    The battle of wits and strength between the two sides extends from Britain to the Mediterranean, facing the reaction of BF110.  Liu Mingchang led the Dragon Cavalry Squadron to respond to all changes by remaining unchanged. With its super mid- and low-altitude capabilities, he quickly dived towards the BF110.  Whatever tactics the German pilots used.  The gap between the two aircraft was too great, so 6 were shot down in the first round of dives.  Liu Mingchang's experience became the key at this moment. The bf110's fragile wing protection and slow acceleration performance were completely unable to prevent the 12.7mm machine gun from being fired.  Almost falling one after another.  "Look, the F4Fs are coming. Hey, why don't those two attack?" The sharp-eyed Mo Yucheng had just shot down a BF110.  Before I could get excited, I saw two F4F "Wildcats" appearing on the periphery, but the strange thing was that they did not attack the bombers, but flew towards me.

    Liu Mingchang had seen this kind of scene many times, and he snorted: "Pay attention, they are learning our tactics!" He did not say that the worst thing about the US military currently is not the equipment, let alone resources and technology.  But tactics!  Facts have proved that the gap in experience of the US military at this moment is simply unbearable!  The first two batches of Army Aviation P-40 Warhawks put into the UK suffered extremely heavy casualties in the face of BF109.  In the Battle of Wake Island, the f4f "Wildcat" may not be as good as a zero battle in terms of fighting alone, but if there are good tactics, the two Lexington-class aircraft carriers will not be helpless, so Fletcher will not give up.  This is a good opportunity to observe the Chinese Air Force tactics up close.

    Knowing that the US military is stealing troops again, the Dragoon squadron entangled with BF110 cannot drive them away, so it is better to finish the fight and go home as soon as possible.

    The two F4F "Wildcats" worked hard to absorb the air combat experience of the Dragoon Squadron, and when they were photographed with camera guns, the 42 F4F "Wildcats" behind them had already entered the German bomber group.  At this moment, another wave of 22 BF110 fighter jets appeared in the clouds above the German bomber fleet.  Liu Mingchang is not afraid of the BF110. Even if it is doubled, it may not be able to stop the retreating Dragon Cavalry Squadron.  But there was a sight that made him slowly frown.

    There is a small black spot hanging under the belly of the second batch of BF110 aircraft.

    Auxiliary fuel tank?

    No matter who sees the black spot under the belly of a fighter jet, 99% of the time, unless they look at it from a close distance, they will think it is an auxiliary fuel tank.  But the experienced Liu Mingchang felt something was not right, because he had fought against the BF110 many times and had seen them bombing the ground. There were also cases of the BF110 participating in dive bombing during the Polish and French campaigns.  More importantly, in the recent air battle over Britain, the two BF110s he bitten finally managed to shake him off and escape with their superb diving skills.  At that time, the dive angles of both fighter jets exceeded 60 degrees, which was no worse than the JU87 Stuka bomber.

    This shows that the bf110 is capable of dive bombing!

    Last but not least, when this wave of bf110 saw their partners being entangled by them, they didn¡¯t immediatelyHe threw away the "auxiliary fuel tank" to help, but instead accelerated towards the fleet.  A sudden thought made him press the throat intercom again: "Yucheng! Contact the Enterprise and ask Wildcat to intercept the batch of BF110 on the left. I think they are a bit strange!"

    After many years of cooperation, Mo Yucheng is the person who believes in Liu Mingchang the most.  So contact the enterprise number immediately.  But it was obvious that Captain Tonate, who received the communication, believed that the Dragoon Squadron was wrong.  Because according to the order of aircraft carrier interception, bombers always come first, not to mention that he has never heard of a twin-engine fighter jet capable of dive bombing.  His reason actually makes sense. Fighters can dive, but having the ability to dive does not mean they are dive bombers.  Because dive bombing requires the installation of additional deceleration equipment, special altimeters, recovery devices, sights, etc.  Since it does not have the ability to dive.  That would not pose a threat to the fleet.  Therefore, he stubbornly believed that the Dragoon Squadron was "making nonsense" and allowed Mo Yucheng to explain, insisting on intercepting the bomber with all his strength first.

    What¡¯s more important is that he didn¡¯t tell Fletcher what Mo Yucheng said, which ultimately led to a tragedy!

    "** Lure! You stupid pig! Mule! BF110 can dive bomb, so they are carrying bombs, they must be bombs!" The yin and yang Captain Tonate angered Liu Mingchang.  I think he and his comrades fought in the British Channel for eight months, saw seven or eight types of German aircraft, and were fighting every day when he opened his eyes.  When I sleep and dream at night, I study tactics to deal with German aircraft. How can I care about a mere idiot who is full of resentment and knows nothing!  So he immediately adjusted the frequency and yelled and cursed loudly.

    Captain Tonate's face turned green.  Unexpectedly, the other party actually opened his mouth to curse, and he was so angry that he immediately responded with a string of curse words.

    "Son of a bitch! These American jackasses!" Liu Mingchang was furious. He simply ended the communication, switched back to the squadron frequency and shouted: "Abandon the bomber. Come with me to intercept the BF110 over there!" Compared with the ignorant US military,  The Dragon Cavalry Squadron has been convinced by Liu Mingchang.  So when they hear the shout, they immediately throw away their respective opponents.  Accelerate and chase the bf110 that is almost out of sight.  "Tornat, what's going on?" When the Dragoon Squadron was chasing bf110, Fletcher noticed the strange-looking Captain Tonat and asked.

    "Damn it! Those damn Chinese! They actually asked us to give up intercepting bombers and asked us to intercept fighter jets first. Damn it! Don't I know who is more important?" Captain Tonate was extremely angry and repeated Liu Mingchang's words.  .  The other officers did not notice anything unusual, but Fletcher suddenly jumped up, picked up the binoculars and rushed to the porthole: "Quick, ask the British! Does the BF110 have the ability to dive bomb?!"

    Fletcher¡¯s actions made Captain Tonate finally wake up from his personal emotions, and he was so frightened that he quickly contacted the British Navy¡¯s flagship aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal.  Two minutes later, the answer from the other party made him shiver: "Sir the British said the BF110 conducted many dive bombings when it was in France."

    "Damn it!"

    At this time, Fletcher had no time to curse Captain Tonate, stamped his foot fiercely, and shouted: "Let everyone stop them! Concentrate all firepower and kill them!"

    "Big E is calling! Big E is calling! The target is the bf110 fleet due north, intercept with all your strength!" The flight controller pushed away the troublesome Captain Tonate and personally called the F4F Wildcat above to intercept with all his strength.  But it was too late. Before the last eight F4F Wildcats over the fleet rushed up, the BF110 carrying 1,000 kilograms of aerial bombs had already appeared in sight.

    "Stop them!" Liu Mingchang shouted loudly and rushed away from the belly of a BF110.  Six 12.7mm machine guns flashed twice in a row, sending the BF110 into black smoke. After that, it rolled several times in succession, forced it to draw an arc at a large angle, and avoided the second BF110 that shot at it.  Turning over with a kite, it actually rolled over the back of this BF110 aircraft.  When he leveled again, the nose of the plane was already pointed at the second BF110 wingman.

    With a line of fire, the wingman turned into a ball of fire.  Then, under the wide-eyed gazes of the F4F "Wildcats", he used the flaps to forcefully slow down, allowing the second BF110 to rush past him from the side.  After re-accelerating, he grabbed its tail and fired violently.

    These few movements of the rabbit and the falcon can be called a personal mobile target shooting performance, which dazzled everyone.  Not to mention f4f, even the dragon knights were stunned.  But just when Liu Mingchang bit the fourth BF110, countless dark brown smoke balls suddenly appeared in front of him.  This made him immediately realize that he had entered the anti-aircraft firepower circle of the U.S. Second Task Force!  As an ace pilot who has received rigorous training, he knows very well what it means to accidentally enter the fleet's fire circle.  But he didn't want to let go of the BF110 in front of him. In his opinion, if one more shot down, the friendly forces would be less of a threat, so he immediately ordered Mo Yucheng and others to avoid it and continued the pursuit.

    The moment he pulled the trigger, several shells exploded around him at the same time.  The thunder and lightning and the bf110 hit by him both spewed out black smoke and were carried into the sea.

      No one knows what Liu Mingchang was thinking at the time. Many people even felt that he was not worthy because the following was not his country¡¯s fleet.  But no one can deny that he is a real soldier!  In a foreign country, there are only winners, losers and enemies in my mind.  When his body returned to China a week later with a record of shooting down 28 aircraft, he was immediately awarded the first-class Medal of the Republic, the country's highest honor.  Three days later, US President Roosevelt sent a memorial message and awarded him the Purple Star Medal, which has a high status among American soldiers.

    Liu Mingchang became the first soldier to receive medals from both countries since the war began, but his sacrifice still failed to save the USS Enterprise.

    Although the U.S. fleet¡¯s anti-aircraft firepower is very strong, they do not have VT shells at this time.  Therefore, in the eyes of elite German pilots, this level of anti-aircraft firepower is at most the same as that of London.  At 11:37 noon that day, the Enterprise was attacked by seven BF110 dives.  Finally, there were two aircraft carriers that hit.  It was later learned that in order to destroy the fleet, the German army equipped the bf110 with 1,000 kilograms of aerial bombs this time!  The two bombs easily penetrated the flight deck, one exploded in the hangar, and the other exploded deep into the living module.  Since there were no attack missions at the time, all 28 SBD dive bombers carried by the Enterprise were piled in the hangar.  The explosion and subsequent violent flames continuously detonated the aircraft's fuel tanks, causing a series of explosions in the hangar.  Although the USS Enterprise uses an open hangar with strong ventilation capabilities, it would be too late to cut off the bow of the ship, let alone ventilation, in an explosion of this scale!  Twenty minutes later, the oil depot storing 20,000 gallons of gasoline was ignited, and the entire Enterprise ignited thick black smoke. Looking down from the sky, the battleship was surrounded by thick smoke, and even the mast could not be seen.

    After an hour of fighting, Fletcher and the U.S. Navy finally gave up on saving the aircraft carrier and ordered destroyers to sink it.

    After counting, 977 people were killed and 312 injured.

    The sinking of the USS Enterprise was not only another heavy blow to the U.S. Navy, but also affected the situation in North Africa.  In the afternoon of the same day, the inspired German and Italian air forces launched successive sorties from Tunisia and Sardinia. Although they failed to sink any more warships, they disrupted the British and American fleets. As a result, at 8 o'clock that night, an Italian submarine broke through the defense circle.  , the British battleship Nelson, one of the G7s, fired four torpedoes at close range.

    Although the captain worked hard to sail the battleship back to Gibraltar, it eventually took in too much water and sank in the harbor shortly after entering the harbor the next afternoon.  (To be continued)
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