"Our submarine discovered two British aircraft carriers in one day. One of them was improved with the hull of the battle cruiser. It is said to be nearly 200 meters long. If the British aircraft carrier design is not too bad, then they will have at least 70 aircraft carrying capacity. The other one should also have a capacity of 30 to 40 aircraft." Admiral Hippel said to Schell as he looked at the report in his hand.

The so-called judging others by oneself generally means that the opponent may be underestimated, but sometimes it may be higher than the opponent. For example, this time, the flagship of the German Empire's High Seas Fleet, the USS Wittjesbach, was designed by the crosser himself. In name, it means building a ship, but the hull itself is the standard for aircraft carriers in later generations, and the hull leaves very sufficient space for carrier-based aircraft.

The improvement of the Furious was very hasty. Although it was due to the length brought by the high-speed ship, the hull was too narrow, and the British changed it was hasty. On the surface, it looked pretty good, but in fact, it was not that. According to the actual operation of the British, the aircraft carrier was only 50 aircraft, and because the aircraft carrier was too narrow, it was very difficult to operate 50 aircraft. From the perspective of the deck area and actual size, the aircraft carrier was also a circle smaller than Vettelsbach. After all, Denitz was observed through a periscope, so errors were inevitable.

"It seems that we need to re-value the orders of His Majesty the Emperor. If the British had other aircraft carriers, our greatest advantage would be offset a lot. In this situation where there was no advantage in all aspects, it would be a very bad thing to fight the British in the northern North Sea." General Schell said.

"It is difficult for us to grasp the entire situation simply by relying on submarines. Our reconnaissance of the British land-based aviation in the Shetland Islands is still very limited. We don't even know how their airports are set up, and it is difficult to determine how many aircraft there are on the islands. So, I hope to use the Black Hawk long-range reconnaissance aircraft squad." said an officer next to me.

"Black Hawk?" Schell turned his gaze to Hippel.

"Damn, what are you looking at me?" Hippel was a little depressed. A trace of hesitation appeared in his eyes.

"General Hippel, if it is convenient, I hope you can make a mistake with Crown Prince Ruprecht about this matter. After all, from the perspective of organization, the Black Hawk long-range reconnaissance aircraft team belongs to the Bavarian Air Force rather than us. Now, there is only this air force in Germany that can perform such long-distance aerial reconnaissance." Schell said.

The Black Hawk long-range reconnaissance aircraft team is equipped with Germany's largest k-8 bomber, and it is also the world's first aircraft equipped with three engines. The reason why it has not been made into a layout of two wings similar to the ordinary 4-engine bomber in later generations. The very important reason is that the strength of the wings of the aircraft in this era is generally not high, and it is not realistic to install a high-power engine on the outside of the wing. Haven't you seen that the British v1500 are directly connected in series with two engines?

The k-8 bomber is equipped with three 450-horsepower engines to 550-horsepower engines. (different engines are used for different models) the maximum take-off weight is close to 12 tons. The maximum flight speed is around 180 kilometers per hour. When flying at a speed of 120 kilometers per hour, it can fully cover the entire northern part of the North Sea. The 60 k-8 bombers equipped by the Black Hawk long-range reconnaissance team are the largest organization of this type of aircraft in Germany.

Previously, this bomber formation was mainly responsible for assisting the Navy and Army in areas near the Baltic Sea. If it was to perform long-range reconnaissance missions in the North Sea, it must also be approved by Crown Prince Ruprecht, and the German Navy did not have the right to assign new tasks.

"Well, I will contact His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, but to make the application more formal, I hope you can also issue a statement in the name of the Admiralty." Hippel thought for a while and said.

"I will." Scher nodded and said. In fact, Scher and Hiper knew that the German Emperor and Ruprecht had been very stalemate recently because of some problems. Although it has been eased, this impact has had very negative effects in the German Navy. The Bavarians in the navy, especially the Bavarian air force personnel of the aircraft carrier detachment, believe that their kingdom has been treated unfairly. Although these have not led to more serious consequences due to the guidance and suppression of the Bavarian boss in the fleet, both Scher and Hiper know that the current fleet is somewhat abnormal.

Fortunately, Ruprecht did not intend to make things difficult for Scher and others. In Ruprecht's perception, Scher was a pure soldier and did not care much about politics. When encountering problems, he was more accustomed to considering the issues from a military perspective rather than political needs. Moreover, if the prince wants to return to the High Seas Fleet in the future, he needs to first understand what the British North Sea blockade line is like. So he agreed very happily to Scher and Hippel's request, but at the end of the telegram, the prince still asked the German High Seas Fleet to be cautious in attacking. After all, those who lost the war in one afternoon were not only the British Fleet, but also the German High Seas Fleet...

Therefore, after the first round of submarine reconnaissance, the German High Seas Fleet began to conduct aviation reconnaissance on the Shetland Islands. The K-8 heavy bomber that had been on the Eastern Front and the Baltic Seas finally appeared in the British's sight.

Long-range aviation reconnaissance, especially long-range aviation reconnaissance without cover of fighter jets, is a very dangerous thing. The north-south direction of the North Sea is around 900 kilometers wide. If you fly back and forth from Germany, the range will be at least 2,100 kilometers. This is almost close to the maximum range of the k-8 bomber.

(Don't doubt whether the range of the World War I aircraft is enough. For the famous V1500 in history, this bomber can fly 1,300 miles with a payload of 1 ton! This bomber is 1 ton taller than the internal oil! The data source is the Jane's 1 fighter aircraft. If you play the limit, the maximum fuel capacity of the v1500 is 2,000 gallons, which can fly 30 hours! The maximum speed is 99 miles per hour! So, as a K-8 bomber of the same level, it is really no problem to go to the Shetland Islands for ocean reconnaissance.)

Moreover, there are a large number of British fighter jets over the Shetland Islands. Now British fighter jets equipped with 13.2mm machine guns have greatly improved the lethality of bombers. In this case, how to safely and effectively reconnaissance has become the biggest problem for the Black Hawks.
Chapter completed!