Chapter 160

The naval battle has ended, and all the fighter planes of the Third Reich Air Force have returned.

But the wreckage of the warships on the sea, the sailors who fell into the water, and the smell of gunpowder smoke remaining in the air all showed how fierce the previous battle was.

This is definitely the first large-scale attack on a fleet using aircraft in the history of human warfare.

The Mediterranean Fleet of the Royal Navy of the Empire on which the Sun Never Sets unfortunately became a witness to this battle. And it’s the losing side.

Three battleships and one battlecruiser of the Mediterranean Fleet were all destroyed in this battle. Two Norfolk-class heavy cruisers were also sunk. Two of the three Leandershire-class light cruisers were sunk, and the other one was seriously damaged. Of the ten Horde-class destroyers, only two were sunk.

This is already a fatal injury to the Royal Navy's Mediterranean Fleet. Even for the Royal Navy, this is a big loss.

After all, the Royal Navy now has dozens of warships compared to its peak days in the past.

The current Royal Navy only has 23 battleships in total. Now four ships were lost at once, and two more were damaged and needed repairs. This has almost brought the Royal Navy to the point of breaking out.

"Oh, God! Is the Royal Navy really becoming obsolete? Our main fleet that dominates the world's oceans is actually no match for these aircraft!"Admiral Andrew Cunningham seems to have serious doubts about himself.

Yesterday he also led the Mediterranean Fleet to victory, killing two battleships of the Kingdom of Caesar, and severely damaging the remaining two.

But today he lost Four battleships, as well as two heavy cruisers, two light cruisers and two destroyers. If you include the two injured battleships, the Mediterranean Fleet only has three light cruisers and 12 destroyers available in a short period of time. With such strength, let alone maintaining the hegemony of the Empire on the Mediterranean, it is impossible to defeat the navy of the Kingdom of Caesar and cut off the sea route between the mainland of the Kingdom of Caesar and Libya.

"Commander, I'm afraid we have to report this to the country immediately. said Lt. Gen. Bruce Fraser.

Gen. Andrew Cunningham nodded.

"You can send a telegram to China and I'll take a rest. Order the fleet to evacuate immediately after rescuing the sailors who fell into the water!"General Andrew Cunningham ordered

"Yes, Your Excellency, Commander!" Lieutenant General Bruce Fraser replied.

Although there are no ships left in the Mediterranean Fleet. But no one can guarantee whether the Third Reich will kill them all and deal with them all! Therefore, it is better to retreat as soon as possible.

The results of the naval battle shocked all countries.

Especially the Empire on which the sun never sets, they believed even more. The powerful Mediterranean fleet was not lost in the hands of the Caesar Kingdom's naval fleet, but was instead destroyed by the fighter planes of the Third Reich.

Although the Japanese The Empire already has 7 aircraft carriers. However, they have always regarded aircraft carriers as auxiliary battleships, rather than the key force that determines the victory of naval battles.

Lord Admiralty Sir Dudley Pound also had to go to Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain There, explain to him the reasons for the defeat of the Mediterranean fleet

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, in yesterday's battle, the Mediterranean Fleet had already won. We sank the battleships Count Cavour and Andrea Doria of the Kingdom of Caesar's naval fleet. Although the battleship Royal Sovereign was later hit by an aircraft from the Kingdom of Caesar and was seriously injured. The battleship Barham also sustained some minor damage. But in fact, the injury was not very serious. It only needs a period of repairs before it can be re-entered service. It can be said that the Imperial Navy's battle against the Caesar Kingdom Navy was successful!"Sir Dudley Pound said.

Neville Chamberlain nodded:"Then why did it suffer such a disastrous defeat later?"

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, early this morning, the Mediterranean Fleet attacked the Port of Sirte and destroyed the entire port. The Port of Sirte was the Third Reich's main port for exporting Libyan oil. Originally we tried to cut off the Third Reich's access to Libyan oil through the port of Sirte. But unexpectedly, the Third Reich deployed a large number of fighter planes in Libya. So much so that the Mediterranean Fleet was besieged by two to three hundred fighter planes of the Third Reich during its retreat. Moreover, these fighter planes of the Third Reich have extremely strong sea strike capabilities. So much so that the Mediterranean Fleet suffered extremely heavy losses under their siege."Sir Dudley Pound said.

Neville Chamberlain couldn't help but frowned.

"In other words, can the aircraft equipped by the Third Reich pose a huge threat to the Royal Navy?"

"Yes, Your Excellency Prime Minister. It seems that the Third Reich's research in this area has once again gone ahead of the empire. said Sir Dudley Pound

"Well, what is the Navy going to do? asked Neville Chamberlain.

"Your Excellency, the Navy will develop more advanced fighters next. We plan to use the Air Force's Hurricane fighters and Spitfire fighters to improve them into the Navy's Sea Hurricane fighters and Sea Spitfire fighters. In addition, new dive bombers and torpedo attack aircraft will be developed. In addition, in view of the heavy losses of the Mediterranean Fleet, the construction progress of the Lion-class battleship must be accelerated. said Sir Dudley Pound

"Well, I support the Navy's plan. No matter what, the Royal Navy is the most important foundation of the empire. We absolutely cannot be defeated by the Third Reich. Even the Third Reich is ahead of us in the field of aircraft! Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain said

"Yes, Your Excellency Prime Minister."Sir Dudley Pound nodded.

"However, the Mediterranean Fleet destroyed the Port of Sirte and cut off the Third Reich's access to Libya's oil channels. This is good news. Without enough oil, the Third Reich will be doomed step by step!"Neville Chamberlain couldn't help laughing.

"Your Excellency, the Prime Minister, next the Royal Navy will dispatch a battleship and a battlecruiser to reinforce the Mediterranean Fleet. Further cut off the sea transportation line between Libya and the Kingdom of Caesar. In this case, the Third Reich would not be able to obtain oil from Libya. said Sir Dudley Pound

"Very good, the army's attack on Libia will soon begin. Once the army takes Libya, the oil there will be ours!"Neville Chamberlain has obviously made two plans.

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