Chapter 269: Sleepless Night

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In London, in a small conference room next to the office of the First Lord of the Admiralty of the Royal Navy, Churchill and his officers we

In London, in a small conference room next to the office of the First Lord of the Admiralty of the Royal Navy, Churchill and his officers were discussing their next operational plan. If one were to ask which department of the British military was currently in the most trouble, it would undoubtedly be the navy.

In the Battle off the Coast of the Netherlands, which had just ended not long ago, a task force of the German Navy had routed 14 warships of the British Royal Navy, sinking one battleship and one aircraft carrier. If one were to also count the cruisers and destroyers, Britain had not suffered such a painful defeat since the Battle of Jutland.

So this time, Churchill planned to give Germany the most severe retaliation. He ordered the Royal Navy to assemble its largest fleet and to completely blockade the German sea lanes. Just like in the First World War, they would trap Germany on the narrow European continent. Then, relying on their absolute advantage in resources, they would wear down this aggressive challenger, Germany.

Moreover, as the First Lord of the Admiralty of Britain, Churchill’s thinking was even more radical. He hoped to engage in a decisive naval battle the next time the German navy went out to sea, to use their superior strength to crush the newly established German High Seas Fleet in one fell swoop.

“The Hood is on its way back from the Mediterranean. The Italians have been very well-behaved this time. They didn’t even send out planes to track our ships,” an officer said, pointing to a huge sea chart with a pointer. “Spain does not have the guts to attack us. The German naval base there is not well-established. They do not yet have the strength to intercept our battleships in the Strait of Gibraltar.”

Another officer glanced at the report in his hand and reported to Churchill, “On another front, to support the main French operations, our army’s transport fleet is constantly shuttling back and forth across the English Channel. The plan is to transport at least one hundred thousand soldiers to France within this month. In the end, we will deploy 300,000 soldiers on the main front.”

“News from the American side is that they have no interest in participating in the war, not even a willingness to mobilize. In the US Congress, the mainstream thinking is still a policy of isolating Europe. Although President Roosevelt is very willing to provide us with support, due to pressure, this support is not free,” an official in charge of diplomatic affairs briefly introduced the situation of their allies. “On the other hand, the US military is very interested in the Battle off the Coast of the Netherlands. They hope to send officers to our side to study the specific process of the entire operation.”

“You handle this matter. In addition, hire American technicians at a high price to come to Britain. We need to produce several models of fighter planes at the same time, and we are a bit stretched,” Churchill said, holding his forehead. He then fell silent again.

The plan to withdraw the fleet from the Mediterranean was a move of desperation, because Britain had discovered that its fleet had no good way to deal with Germany’s aircraft carriers. This shortcoming in carrier-based aircraft had greatly diminished the combat capability of Britain’s carriers. Moreover, in terms of the quality of the aircraft carriers themselves, the German Navy’s new carriers were slightly superior.

The only aircraft carrier that Britain could field that had a performance comparable to the Graf Zeppelin-class was the newly commissioned HMS Ark Royal. And the others, such as the Courageous and the Glorious—the number of carrier-based aircraft on these carriers could not match the German warships.

“Our army will deploy a fleet between the coast of Denmark and the Baltic Sea to lure the German navy out. We will deploy two support fleets here and here, composed of destroyers and light cruisers. These warships are all ships with relatively strong anti-aircraft capabilities. Once they rendezvous, they can temporarily protect themselves,” an officer said, pointing to the map and once again explaining the entire operational plan.

He then pointed to Scapa Flow and introduced proudly, “Then the main force of the navy’s Home Fleet will sortie in full force and directly engage in a decisive battle. Although our army is at a disadvantage in terms of carriers, this time we have concentrated a full five battleships. In this aspect, we have an overwhelming advantage.”

“Alright, that’s enough of the operational plan presentation. We have already debated it twice. There shouldn’t be any major problems,” Churchill interrupted the officer’s endless talk and turned to look at the two men in suits who had been silent.

He forced a smile and said to the two men, “The navy needs a brand-new warship, an aircraft carrier that is sufficient for fleet air defense operations. With reference to the German carrier model, it must at least be in the 30,000-ton class and be able to carry at least 65 advanced carrier-based fighters—similar to the Ark Royal.”

“The production of this type of aircraft carrier is very time-consuming. If we start construction immediately, it will delay the production of other ships, and it will not be able to enter service this year,” a man in a suit replied. He was the official responsible for communication between the British Navy and the shipyard manufacturers, and his words carried a lot of weight.

“Can’t it be completed no matter how much we rush the work? I have heard that the Germans’ new shipbuilding technology has greatly increased their shipbuilding speed,” Churchill asked with a frown. “And this technology has already been copied by our spies. Is it really so difficult to replicate?”

“The Germans have a high level of craftsmanship in manufacturing, and we do not have a great deal of experience in their sectional construction technology. So even if we adopt it, we will not be able to build a warship for use within a year,” the official said with a sigh. “I hear that Germany has been using this method to build the Hercules-class transport ships since 1925. They have already accumulated more than ten years of experience. Our technology is not as mature as theirs.”

“Then, according to the quality of the Ark Royal, can the new warship be put into service at the end of 1939?” Churchill finally asked helplessly.

“We will do our best. If we can start construction together, we should be able to build three carriers of a similar class by the end of 1939, at any cost,” the man said after a moment’s thought.

Churchill nodded. “Then do it quickly! The future of Britain is entrusted to these warships.” He knew that these were just words of comfort, to comfort others and to comfort himself. According to the Germans’ construction speed, they would soon be launching their fifth and sixth aircraft carriers, followed by the seventh and eighth… By 1940, Germany would have a terrifying fleet of eight aircraft carriers, while Britain, even with all its efforts, could only maintain a number of seven to eight. This was clearly something he did not want to see.

After a few seconds of silence, he collected his mood from the decline of the Royal Navy and looked at the other person. “How is the development of the new fighter plane?”

“It has all been completed. The new fighter has been put into production in two models, and more than 100 have been equipped so far,” the man said proudly. “The navy model is named the Roc, and the army model is called the Defiant. This plane, after testing, can completely replace the navy’s Gladiator fighter and has very powerful air attack capabilities.”

He saw the light in Churchill’s eyes and continued to boast, “This plane has a flight speed of 480 kilometers per hour, which is completely comparable to the German export-model ME-109C fighter, and its firepower is also very powerful.”

Of course, on the other hand, this Defiant fighter also had its irreparable flaws. In general, there were three major design flaws: first, obstructed by the cockpit, the gunner’s forward firing angle was only 19 degrees. When an air battle was proceeding rapidly, it was difficult for the gunner to see the target clearly in a short period of time. The pilot also had no dedicated gunsight.

Second, there was not enough space in the turret. The gunner could not carry a parachute, and when the machine gun was pointed to the rear of the plane, the turret hatch was blocked, obstructing escape. Therefore, when the fighter was shot down, the gunner had to first point the turret in the direction of the pilot in order to get out of the turret, and then go to the aircraft cabin to get a parachute to escape. This was fraught with difficulties.

Third, the weight of the turret and the gunner, and the air resistance caused by the turret, meant that its flight performance as a two-seater was not as good as that of a general single-seat fighter. This was also the most fatal flaw, because for an air superiority fighter, not being able to catch up to others and not being as agile as others was a very serious problem.

But the military was already very satisfied. After all, this plane was不知道 how many times stronger than the biplanes like the Gladiator in their hands. So, almost without hesitation, Britain began to mass-produce this fighter to counter the increasingly terrifying German air force fighter units.

Good news came. This plane, with its very strange turret attack angle, had achieved a victory in an air battle over France. Relying on their sudden firepower, British pilots had shot down two patrolling Fw-190D fighters, sweeping away the fear and gloom that had pervaded the Allied air forces about the German Fw-190D.

Of course, the navy had only equipped a few of these planes, because relative to land, the narrow deck of a naval aircraft carrier was not very suitable for the takeoff and landing of this type of aircraft. So Churchill said, “We must also step up the experimental work on the new fighter! I hear you have already found a brand-new design… At the earliest, by the end of 1939, we must catch up to the gap with Germany in fighter planes!”

“Yes, sir! I understand! I will urge the design personnel to complete the design work for the new fighter as soon as possible,” the man said with a nod.

“Ring, ring! Ring!” The phone on Churchill’s desk rang, its sound a bit jarring in the late night. Churchill frowned. In his memory, the phone in the First Lord of the Admiralty’s office had never rung at such a late hour.

“Hello? Hello…” Churchill picked up the phone. An instinctual premonition made him feel that something major was about to happen tonight.

“It’s a disaster, Churchill! The fleet at Scapa Flow has been ambushed by the Germans!” the voice on the other end of the line wailed hysterically. “The Royal Sovereign… the Royal Sovereign is sinking! My God!”

“What madness is this in the middle of the night? How could the German fleet possibly ambush Scapa Flow? I confirmed myself yesterday that the Imperator and Graf Zeppelin are in port at Wilhelmshaven for maintenance!” Churchill cursed. “Are you an idiot?”

“We’re finished! Finished! The Courageous is on fire! Prepare yourself! This time we’re finished! Truly finished! Beep… beep…” The person on the other end said his last two sentences and then hung up.