15 April 1942, North Atlantic.
Dozens of military ships of various types flying the US flag are escorting more than 100 British merchant ships on the vast Atlantic Ocean. 2 brand new South Dakota-class battleships, 2 Wyoming-class battleships, 2 New York-class battleships, 2 Mexico-class battleships, 1 Florida-class battleship, 4 New Orleans-class heavy cruisers, 4 Omaha-class light cruisers, 21 destroyers of various types, and the USS Raider and USS Wasp.
A full 50 warships, together with 3 military tankers and 3 fast supply ships, formed the largest escort fleet since the beginning of the Atlantic War.
The U.S.
Atlantic Fleet was almost in full swing, using a fleet that covered almost the entire ocean to demonstrate to the German Empire on the other side of the Atlantic Although the United States of America suffered a despicable sneak attack a few months ago, losing 10 battleships and 1 aircraft carrier, for the United States, this loss is only scratching the surface, and the United States can still take out 9 battleships and 2 aircraft carriers in the Atlantic, including 2 powerful South Dakota-class battleships Although the South Dakota class was a treaty battleship, there was no one to care about the treaty when the construction of this class of battleships began.
So its standard displacement is not 350,000 tons, as stipulated in the treaty, but 380,000 tons.
The super-heavy tonnage and excellent main gun gave the South Dakota class strong firepower and decent defense.
According to the Americans' own estimates, this class of battleships was enough to fight against the German Bismarck-class, and even if it met the German Hindenburg-class, it would have the strength to fight.
Therefore, after the commissioning of the two South Dakota-class, President Roosevelt already had the confidence to be tough on Germany in the Atlantic.
However, in the flagship battleship Nantakota, Vice Admiral Jonathan Ingram was not as confident as Roosevelt, standing in front of the porthole of the bridge and looking at the Atlantic Ocean shrouded in morning mist, he was even a little worried.
That's right, the commander of the Atlantic Fleet's heart has been in a state of trepidation ever since the fleet sailed off the coast of Canada.
It's not that I'm afraid of the Germans' wire-controlled gliding bombs, so I can bully the declining British Royal Navy, but it's not so good for the U.S.
Navy.
Immediately after the US military figured out how the Germans used high-altitude bombers in combination with glide-by-wire bombs, several 38 fighters with turbocharged engines were deployed in Iceland.
As long as it is within a combat radius of 38, Lieutenant General Jonathan Ingram does not have to worry at all about being attacked by wire-controlled glide bombs.
Although there is still some distance in the North Atlantic that cannot be covered by the 38 deployed in Iceland, it is far enough away from the German airfields in Brest and Bergen that even the 108 and FW200, which have a huge range, cannot cover it.
However, Vice Admiral Jonathan Ingram knew very well that his fleet could not resist the new capital ships of the European Combined Fleet, and there were too many of them, and there were 2 Hindenburg-class, 2 Bismarck-class, and 3 Scharnhorst-class, and the Americans could not distinguish between the Scharnhorst-class and the Barbarossa class, 4 Veneto-class, and 3 Richelieu-class, a total of 14 cutting-edge battleships In addition, the Germans also have 4 aircraft carriers running rampant in the Atlantic, this is not a joke, if these 4 aircraft carriers carry aircraft according to American standards, 300 commonly used aircraft can be stuffed, and it is the Arctic day, there is almost no night on the shipping lane near the Arctic Circle to cover the fleet, but sometimes there are several hours of fog every morning.
To tell you the truth, he really didn't want to escort the hapless British However, the United States now had to escort the British again, because the Germans were too ruthless in the Battle of the Faroe Islands, sinking four British fleet aircraft carriers, which made the British Royal Navy no longer able to keep the North Atlantic shipping lines open.
The United States had to intervene to maintain it, or Britain might surrender.
The British have now begun to shake Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret to Canada, and it is said that more middle- and upper-class British people and troops will go to Canada in the days to come.
Moreover, the battleship "Duke of York", which escorted Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret to Canada, suddenly suffered a mechanical failure in the port of Quebec City, and is still in Canada to repair This is a brand-new battleship, why did it break, it seems that the British Empire is really in decline All indications are that the British Empire can no longer hold on, and the United States will either enter the war immediately, or watch the Germans dominate the world.
So when Roosevelt offered to escort more than 100 British freighters and tankers laden with supplies in the name of striking Japanese ships in the Atlantic, there was no disagreement at the highest level of the entire United States.
This has already shown that the vast majority of American bigwigs believe that the time has come to declare war on Germany, and that there is only one reason to provoke the anger of ordinary Americans But what if the Germans had the same idea, what if they sent a powerful fleet to the Atlantic to sneak attack, did they want to turn the Atlantic Fleet into another Pacific Fleet?
So from the moment he received the order to escort the convoy, he had a strong feeling of uneasiness in his heart.
"Did you find anything about the light cruisers" Vice Admiral Jonathan Ingram turned around, and in order to detect the German fleet in advance, he sent four Omaha-class light cruisers equipped with SG-type sea search radars to guard the front and rear of the convoy at a distance of about 15,000 kilometers to the left and right of the escort fleet.
"Nothing has been found except for the Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth who had sailed out of England an hour earlier, and four escorting destroyers."
The Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth are two 80,000-ton luxury cruise ships, and they are very fast, both exceed 30 knots, and if they use troop transport, as long as they are not afraid of crowding, they can cram 150,000 people at a time.
Since the beginning of the World War, these two superships have been transformed into troop carriers, transporting countless soldiers to battlefields around the world.
In early April, the two superships returned to the Port of Liverpool at the same time.
Now it was again loaded with troops and dignitaries from the British mainland to defend Canada "They weren't attacked," Lieutenant General Jonathan Ingram suddenly felt a little strange.
Now the hegemon in the Atlantic is not the British Royal Navy, and the Germans will not watch these two priceless super cruise ships not fight "Nope."
The staff officer replied, "They were unharmed along the way, and they were not attacked." ” It's really lucky, Vice Admiral Jonathan Ingram thought to himself, it turns out that the Nazis also dozed off, I hope these blonde supermen squint a little longer, so that their fleet wives can send British merchant ships to the vicinity of Scotland.
The American vice admiral turned out to be an honest man, and he did not expect that the British had played a word game with him, and the two British super cruise ships were not attacked, not that they did not meet the German fleet In fact, they were spotted by German planes only a few hours after leaving Liverpool, and then they were also met with a giant battleship, the battleship Hindenburg, and several other large battleships, as well as many more light cruisers and destroyers.
But now there is a tacit understanding between the two sworn enemies of Britain and Germany, and the Germans will not fight the steamers leaving the British mainland.
Although the superior people of the British Empire took the gold and silver treasures and left on a ship to Canada to engage in "one British and each watch", the two super cruise ships were safe and sound.
Just when Vice Admiral Jonathan Ingram breathed a sigh of relief and felt that his Grand Fleet might also go undetected, the fleet's communications staff officer suddenly shouted: "The Richmond light cruiser has discovered an unidentified fleet, and there are more than 10 of them" The atmosphere in the bridge of the South Dakota suddenly became tense, and more than 10 unidentified ships were most likely the German fleet Lieutenant General Jonathan Ingram wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and then looked out the porthole again, the morning fog had not yet lifted.
"Let the Richmond come near and ask about the situation with a lamp."
Lieutenant General Jonathan Ingram ordered, "All at the same time sound the battle alarm" "Tell them in light words that we are a U.S.
Navy cruiser and are on a free cruise mission in the open seas of the Atlantic, and let them leave immediately to avoid misunderstanding."
The captain of the Richmond, Major Clark, quickly commanded his cruiser to approach the "unidentified fleet" under a heavy fog.
The other side did not open fire, apparently still having some scruples about the United States.
So Major Clark followed the standard procedure and issued a warning with a lamp.
The U.S.
Navy is cruising freely, and it's the power of the U.S. to know no Not long after the Americans' lantern language went out, a huge "unknown ship" in the hazy sky also began to whisper.
"Major, they're whispering."
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Major Clark laughed, "I know what these Germans don't dare to fire about."
The first mate of the Richmond raised the binoculars and looked at it carefully, and then read it word by word: "We are the Imperial Japanese Navy battleship Mutsu, and we are on a mission to break diplomatic relations at sea, please surrender immediately, otherwise we will be sunk" "Ah," Major Clark almost fell to the ground in surprise, "how could it be that the Japanese battleship Mutsu could have reached the Atlantic" "Boom, boom, boom" In the thick fog, eight giant cannons of 406 caliber suddenly fired t1706231537: