Chapter 1109 The Fleet Is Out

The next day, the German minesweeper pair began to clean the minefields, and it took ten hours to open up a lane large enough for the fleet to exit safely. In the early morning of the third day, taking advantage of the high tide, the 16 capital ships of the High Seas Fleet headed by the flagship Bavaria, under the cover of 12 light cruisers and 36 destroyers, sailed out of the port under the cover of early morning mist.

Hipper’s remaining three battlecruiser squadrons led the three light cruisers as the fleet’s reconnaissance force and formed an arc cordon 20 kilometers in front of the main fleet. The remaining 13 battleships belonged to 4 battleship detachments, which were formed into two columns to follow. The speed of the fleet after leaving the port was not fast, probably at an economic speed of 14 knots. Heading true north, heading in the direction of the North Sea Blockade.

"Should we use the alternate line to contact Colonel Lefetsov?" Scheer asked.

"No more, we don't know where they are, and we can't wait for them to arrive for a long time on the North Sea Blockade. My attack this time is more of a test." The prince thought for a while and said, of course, this It is certainly impossible to tell the soldiers below, this is detrimental to morale. For most of the middle and high-level officers and soldiers, the mission this time is to try to smash the North Sea blockade being rebuilt by the British. This is a low-risk mission. I definitely can't say that this time I plan to meet the big fleet.

Unsurprisingly, the prince, not long after the departure of the fleet, a British submarine discovered the main force of the high seas fleet sailing in the mist and sent a telegram to Jericho!

"The High Seas Fleet has been dispatched, heading north!" When Jericho received this telegram, he immediately ordered the fleet to assemble and prepare for dispatch! And inform the British Admiralty of the upcoming fleet attack. He has been waiting for this day for a long time! At this time, Jericho’s fleet has a total of 10 dreadnoughts, 10 super-dreadnoughts equipped with 343MM artillery, and 5 Vengeance-class battleships, plus 3 battlecruisers, totaling 28 battleships of various types, depending on the number More than 50% more than the high seas fleet! This is not counting the 3 armored cruiser squadrons, 6 light cruiser squadrons, and nearly 50 destroyers of the large fleet.

"Perhaps, after today, there will be a North Sea Square in London, the capital of the empire!" Jericho said excitedly. He now feels he has the hope to break the record of Nelson's predecessors and fight an unprecedented battleship duel.

At this time, Jericho’s fleet was stationed in the Gulf of Forth, not far from the Shetland Islands at the exit of the North Sea. In order to ensure that the German fleet was stopped, Jericho had lost his money this time. First of all, he asked the entire fleet to sail at a high speed of 18 knots or more, which is the maximum speed that old dreadnought ships can currently run! Let alone what kind of results can be achieved this time, the fuel consumption of the fleet alone is enough to make Jericho heartache!

"Let the aviation force dispatch all the V1500 long-range reconnaissance aircraft to conduct reconnaissance near the Shetland Islands. I need to find the traces of the German fleet as soon as possible."

"Also, let Major General Moore be more careful, this time they may be in big trouble, let them go north. Stay away from the High Seas Fleet." Jericho added later.

After nearly an hour of preparation, the large fleet began to sail out of Forth Bay. The first to dispatch was Major General Hood's reconnaissance fleet. Then there are a full 6 battleship squadrons, with the 5 most powerful Vengeance-class battleships taking the lead, then Jericho’s flagship Iron Duke, and the following 3 similar super-intrepid. The huge fleet is organized into a 6-row box formation at sea. This is the formation that the large fleet has practiced countless times before. If necessary, it takes less than 15 minutes to deploy a single line of up to 10 thousand. The huge battle line above meters, this will be the most powerful existence on this planet!

On both sides of the large fleet, two light cruiser squads were deployed, and three armored cruiser squads were in front of the main fleet. More destroyers are also gathered next to the fleet. A huge fleet of more than 1 million tons of steel appeared on the North Sea! According to Jericho's plan, the entire fleet will first arrive at the North Sea blockade, and then go south to find the German fleet for a decisive battle.

At this time, 12 V1500 four-engine large reconnaissance aircraft in Forth Bay, Aberdeen, and Shetland Islands also took off from their respective bases. This huge aerial giant showed their hideous teeth on the battlefield for the first time. Although they have no ability to face the sea, their threats should not be underestimated! The giant eagle flying above 3,500 meters is almost not afraid of anything. It is almost impossible to shoot it down with two J-1 machine guns! The radio direction finding equipment and jammers equipped on these aircraft can effectively reduce the opponent's soft power!

"We seem to have some new troubles, Your Highness." Scheer said and sent a telegram. This telegram was sent using a new frequency band. At the beginning, it was almost completely safe.

"Found the British super-large plane? Let the airship No. 12 continue to observe." The prince already knew something in his heart, and then ordered.

Naturally, it is impossible for the High Seas Fleet to launch a full-scale attack. In fact, as many as 24 submarines have been deployed around the route of the High Seas Fleet as a cordon. In the air, a total of 16 airships are distributed in areas ranging from 70 to 30 kilometers from the center of the fleet for reconnaissance. And 4 hours after the fleet sailed, the contact between the two fleets was not the surface warship ~lightnovelpub.net~ but the air reconnaissance force!

"Damn, what did I see?! Is this an airplane?" A few minutes ago, Lieutenant Pano, an observer of the Navy's No. 12 airship, pointed to a huge black figure in the distance and said in surprise. A behemoth with a length of nearly 20 meters and a wingspan of nearly 40 meters quickly flew past the front of the airship. At this time, the speed of this guy was over 100 kilometers per hour.

If only in terms of size, the No. 12 airship is far less huge than the other party, but as an aircraft, especially the aircraft of World War I, it can have such a large size, regardless of its performance, it makes people feel sincerely admired! However, at this time, the 12th airship will not forget to report to the main fleet immediately.

"Second Lieutenant, our telegram has been interfered!" The first transmission was a terrible failure, and there was a toothless noise on the communication frequency band.

"Then use other frequency bands. In addition, let's raise it a little bit. If the other party has weapons, we can't eat it!" Airship No. 12 used the new frequency band while slowly climbing, and this time, contact It succeeded.

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(End of this chapter)