The German Navy's Carrier-based aircraft were still Biplanes. However, improvements in engine technology had greatly increased both their bomb loads and speed. Whether fighters or Bombers, they were already far ahead of Germany's opponents. Germany's next-generation aircraft would be all-metal Monoplanes, far more powerful than these Biplanes with metal frames wrapped in fabric skin. However, it would likely be some time before the next generation of aircraft entered service.
In the sky, Carrier-based aircraft taking off from the German Navy's aircraft carriers flew southward in orderly formations. Through the Atlantic Fleet, they could accurately determine the American fleet's position, saving them the trouble of searching for the enemy.
Even though there were no enemy aircraft in this stretch of sea, the German Navy's Carrier-based Aircraft Unit still flew in strict tactical formations. The Bombers and Torpedo bombers flew beneath the main formation, while the fighters flew above it, so that upon spotting enemy aircraft, the fighters could immediately swoop down from high altitude and attack.
More than a hundred Carrier-based aircraft flew toward the battlefield from the heavens. Like a dark cloud moving across the sky, they cast vast shadows over the sea, as though even the sun had been blotted out.
In the waters near São Miguel Island, the German Atlantic Fleet was retreating northward. However, under deliberate control, their retreat was not fast, and the distance between them and the American fleet was steadily shrinking. Yet because the two sides had previously been more than twenty kilometers apart, the American fleet would need several hours to catch up. That was enough time for the Carrier Fleet's Carrier-based aircraft to reach the battlefield.
"Commander, the Carrier-based aircraft have already departed. They are expected to reach the battlefield in forty minutes," Vice Admiral Schmidt, the Atlantic Fleet's chief of staff,