The orders received by the British naval high command from Prime Minister Churchill were to repel the Japanese fleet. Against four mobile task forces scattered in the Atlantic, their fate would be sealed if they were to blockade maritime traffic lines with their carrier-based aircraft. The destructive power of the task forces in disrupting maritime traffic far surpasses that of U-boats. Therefore, it is crucial to relentlessly strike when they crawl out from the Mediterranean.
However, easier said than done. The disparity in strength was evident, and, more precisely, the enemy was overwhelmingly superior. Nevertheless, the British cannot afford not to fight, and above all, engaging the enemy is a tradition of the Royal Navy. Moreover, there was no need to annihilate the Japanese fleet. Inflicting considerable damage and driving them away would be sufficient. If that can be achieved, disregarding their own losses is possible. However, this plan is only viable because the Atlantic Fleet came to their aid. A formidable fleet, including three new battleships, and above all, the presence of the aircraft carrier Hornet. Her arrival significantly boosted the carrier-based aircraft capabilities.
The Royal Navy anticipated this day and, with Prime Minister Churchill's cooperation, forcibly recruited ace-level experts from the Royal Air Force. These experts underwent model conversion and takeoff and landing training to become impromptu carrier crew. Originally highly skilled individuals, they completed various training in a short period, and now, apart from navigation, they were no less competent than dedicated carrier crew, and in terms of aerial combat skills, they were clearly superior. The fighter planes they operate are American-made F4F Wildcat fighters.
Using American-made aircraft in a battle for the survival of Britain may be ironic, but British-made aircraft are clearly inferior in terms of reliability and, perhaps more importantly, ease of takeoff and landing. Above all, in a situation where action is imperative, there is no room for hesitation over reputation.
Force Z
- Illustrious (48 × Martlets, 6 × Swordfishes)
- Victorious (48 × Martlets, 6 × Swordfishes)
- Battleships King George V, Duke of York
- Battlecruiser Renown
- 4 light cruisers, 16 destroyers
Force Y
- Furious (36 × Martlets, 6 × Swordfishes)
- Eagle (24 × Martlets, 6 × Swordfishes)
- Battleships Nelson, Rodney, Malaya
- 2 heavy cruisers, 2 light cruisers, 16 destroyers
Atlantic Fleet
- Hornet (72 × F4Fs,18 × SBDs)
- Battleships South Dakota, Indiana, Massachusetts
- 4 light cruisers, 16 destroyers
The Royal Navy also had the state-of-the-art battleships Anson and Howe, as well as the outdated battleships Queen Elizabeth and Valiant. However, Anson and Howe had just been completed and were not yet familiarized through training. Queen Elizabeth and Valiant were undergoing repairs or modifications and couldn't join the battle. Furthermore, in the Atlantic Fleet, the fourth ship of the South Dakota-class, the Alabama, had already been deployed. However, due to incomplete training, her dispatch to Europe was postponed.
While the American fleet came to provide support, there was no expectation of support from the combat aircraft squadrons based on the British mainland. The distance between the relevant combat area and the British mainland was considerable. Moreover, the Royal Air Force was fully occupied with defending the homeland, and the impression of the British navy among the various units was extremely unfavorable. Additionally, the shift of German airpower from the Western Front, previously facing Britain, to the Eastern Front, preparing for the summer offensive against the Soviet Union, left the Royal Air Force grappling with a shortage of skilled pilots.
On the other hand, looking at the enemy, the German battleship Tirpitz was showing activity in the North Sea, and Italy's Vittorio Veneto and Littorio were acting as bodyguards for the lacking surface strike capabilities of the Japanese fleet. The Italian fleet, which had tended to avoid confrontation, would undoubtedly change its stance and engage if a favorable situation for them emerged in the battle between the British and Japanese fleets. The Axis powers were fully engaged in total war in this battle. Therefore, the British fleet could not afford to lose, even if it meant a life-or-death struggle for the kingdom.
Hence, the Royal Navy, to embody the concept of Noblesse Oblige, went into battle with commanders at the forefront. Harsh battles were anticipated to the extent that there was concern that the soldiers might not follow unless the commanders led. Despite some health concerns, Admiral Pound volunteered for frontline duty. Admiral Cunningham took command of the Nelson of Force Y, assisting Pound and focusing on the confrontation with the Japanese fleet.
The information that the Japanese fleet had traversed the Mediterranean and entered the Atlantic at dawn was known to all the British fleet personnel, including Pound. Despite being considered a declining power, Britain still excelled in intelligence gathering, including espionage. The Japanese fleet, on the other hand, must have known that they were deployed at the exit of the Mediterranean Sea through information from U-boats, the German Luftwaffe, and spies working within the British mainland.
Pound was told that the Japanese fleet, led by Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto with Vice Admiral Kiyohide Shima as chief of staff, highly valued information. Enemy reconnaissance planes, likely dispatched by Yamamoto, appeared over the British fleet. In as early as an hour and a half, or at the latest, two hours, a massive Japanese aerial assault would be imminent. Pound ordered an increase in speed toward the direction where the reconnaissance planes appeared, based on radar analysis. To leverage their only advantage, the artillery capabilities, they had to dive into the enemy's embrace.
The battle for the fate of Britain and Europe was about to commence in the skies of Europe and on the open seas.