Sixteen carrier-based FW-190 fighters stood parked on the deck of the high-altitude carrier Zeus. All of them had completed their pre-flight preparations, and the pilots were already seated in their cockpits. At a single word from the Commander, they could take off immediately.
It was not just the carrier Zeus. The same was true of all eight carriers in the German Atlantic Fleet's Aircraft Carrier Formation. The only difference was that Sovereign-class carriers had sixteen carrier-based FW-190 fighters on their decks, while Constellation-class carriers carried fifteen carrier-based BF-109 fighters.
These fighters included not only the original Fighter Group aircraft, but also the reserve fighters. To fend off the American Navy's coming attack, the German Navy had committed even its reserve fighters.
"General, our carrier-based aircraft group should have begun its attack on the Americans' carriers by now, shouldn't it? I wonder how many American carriers they can sink." Lieutenant General George Fredberg, the Atlantic Fleet's chief of staff, looked full of anticipation.
"By my reckoning, they should have launched the attack already. But we cannot underestimate the Americans' air-defense fighters. Their fighters may not match ours in performance, but dealing with our Dive Bombers and ground-attack aircraft will be no problem for them." Admiral Rolf Kars said. He had always maintained a clear understanding of this.
"General, our carrier-based aircraft group reports that it has broken through the Americans' air-defense fighter interception. However, the formation has suffered enormous losses. Forty fighters and more than a hundred Dive Bombers and Torpedo Bombers have been shot down," a staff officer reported.
Admiral Rolf Kars could not help but shudder upon hearing this news. Such losses were undoubtedly immense for them. The first carrier-based aircraft group to take off had numbered only a little over three hundred and fifty aircraft in total. Their