afterglow

Chapter 335 Big turning point; hunting and counterattack
If I can see you, you can naturally see me.

The Germans actually discovered that the unknown ship was coming towards them more than ten minutes ago. The Herbert patrol sounded the battle alarm at 8:44 and reported to other ships in the fleet at the same time.

However, after observation and comparison, both the battle cruiser Franz and the destroyer Bugyos mistakenly believed that they were actually two "merchant ships."

The battle alert was lifted.

But only a few minutes later, the Franz discovered its mistake, hurriedly sounded the alarm again, and notified the fleet to prepare for battle.

"It's a Prestige-class battlecruiser, and the other one is the Hood!" Colonel Kurt reported loudly.

"Adjust the course to 350!" Lieutenant General Walter urged again: "Complete battle preparations as soon as possible, they may be about to open fire."

The First Battle Group was required not to engage in battle with the Royal Navy fleet, which had superior strength, but now the main ships of both the enemy and ours were two battlecruisers, which did not violate the orders of superiors.

The Franz-class battlecruiser is equivalent in nature to the Scharnhorst-class from another dimension. However, because they are not in a hurry and the German Society has relatively sufficient resources to develop supporting equipment, the Franz-class is equipped with SK .C/34 triple-mounted 350mm, 50 times caliber naval gun.

At this point, it is much stronger than the Scharnhorst class, which chooses triple-mounted 283mm main guns in order not to delay the service time.

The armor-piercing projectile weighs 625kg, has a muzzle velocity of 880m/s, and a 20km armor-piercing depth of more than 360mm. It is powerful enough to cause a fatal blow to the Prestige, Hood and Dunkirk classes.

The Hood's main armor belt is 305mm thick and tilted inward at 12°, making it an embarrassing blow at a combat distance of only five nautical miles.

Of course, facing the armor-piercing projectiles fired from the 381mm main guns of the Hood and Repulse, the Franz class was also unable to resist.

"They opened fire!"

The lookout posts of several German warships observed the conspicuous flames when the British warships fired in the distance.

Ten seconds later, the 9000mm armor-piercing projectile, which flew over a distance of more than 381 meters, landed 200 meters away on the left front of the Albert, splashing a tall column of water into the sky.

However, the German sailors who had been disturbed by the storm all night seemed to be a little numb. This water column was not necessarily more scary than the stormy waves.

"Comrade Commander, it is confirmed that it is the water column of a 381mm artillery shell!"

"The range measurement of the Albert is completed, the distance is 9200, and they are about to open fire."

Twenty seconds later, the nine 350mm main guns of the battlecruiser Albert roared in unison.

Only one minute later, the Franz also opened fire.

The distance between both sides can be said to be very close. Under normal sea conditions, it usually only takes two or three rounds to form a cross-fire. However, the current bad sea conditions make the shelling spread of both sides astonishingly large.

The exchange of fire between Britain and Germany lasted for about 10 minutes. The Hood formed a straddle fire in the fifth round of salvo - that is, the shells fired in one round of fire were distributed on both the far and near sides of the target at the same time. In a sense, this It is equivalent to hitting the target. As long as you continue to fire, the target will be hit. It is a matter of probability.

The British destroyers initially tried to seize a favorable position, but the undulating waves made this attempt meaningless.

So the seven destroyers lined up in formation before and after the two capital ships, and opened fire on the German warships.

Under the gray sky, rain and snow were flying, and the wind was howling. The Beihai, which had been "calm" for twenty years, became lively again.

The roar of large-caliber naval guns resounded through the sky, and everything was silent—everything between the sea and the sky was suppressed.

Although the poor combat environment greatly affected the artillery accuracy of the British and Germans, as long as the sample size is large enough, no matter how unlikely the event is, it will eventually happen.

At 9:14 in the morning, after nearly fourteen rounds of shooting, a small probability event happened naturally.

"...Helmut, what are you doing? Can't you even perform 30% of your usual training performance now?"

When the first mate of the Albert was questioning the chief gunner, a 381mm armor-piercing projectile hit the stern of the battlecruiser!
"boom!!!"

All the officers and soldiers on the ship felt their bodies tremble, and the internal lights flickered.

The weak armor could not withstand the attack of heavy artillery shells. Several cabins in the stern were easily penetrated, and dozens of pounds of explosives were detonated inside. Most of the crew members were shattered to pieces on the spot, and only a handful of them were seriously injured and survived.

Fireworks and smoke spewed out of the gaping hole, like a volcano erupting.

Just like the kind of firework nozzle used when opening champagne to celebrate, countless fragments of structural steel and various equipment flew out!

The faces of the officers on the bridge changed drastically, and their expressions became solemn. The captain shouted loudly: "Statistics on the damage!"

What's a bit funny is that after fighting for so long, the British destroyers also scored a hit, and a 120mm high-explosive bomb landed next to the bridge of the Albert.

"Boom! Crash——"

Even if the armor cannot be called solid, it is not something that a mere 120mm naval gun can touch. This shell has no effect other than shattering some glass.

The icy cold wind penetrated the bridge through the damage, making the officers here shiver.

About 3 minutes later, the Franz finally achieved a cross-fire.

Immediately afterwards, she got a hit with extraordinary luck in the next salvo.

The second of the nine armor-piercing bullets fell into the sea 15 meters from the side of the Hood. After entering the water, its trajectory was rapidly changed due to the sudden change in density. This 350mm armor-piercing bullet rushed forward almost flatly.

"Boom!"

A dull explosion sounded, and the water bomb hit the Hood two meters below the waterline, tearing a large hole there.

The underwater protection system played its due role, but it caused more or less damage to the Hood.

Another shell was even more terrifying - it hit the bridge directly!
The 625kg armor-piercing projectile pierced through the armor and exploded immediately.

Three officers and eight sailors were killed on the spot, and more people were injured than they could count with two hands.

Fortunately, the conning tower was not hit. Otherwise, whether the Hood's eleven-inch-thick conning tower can block the 350mm armor-piercing projectile depends on how God rolls the dice.

This severe blow caused her to temporarily lose command. The rangefinder and shooting director malfunctioned, and the communication line was also unstable. Fortunately, the backup line was working normally.

"Aunt Hood" was silent after being slapped. Black and gray smoke columns rose from her bridge, but they were relatively sparse because the howling north wind quickly blew them away.

The fierce artillery battle between both sides continued. After sailing farther and farther in parallel, the British and German fleets turned around in unison, continuing to shoot at each other while circling.

Because in this case neither the reinforcement fleet nor the aviation force could arrive in time, so this sea area became an isolated place for the decisive battle between the two sides.

There is no foreign aid, which is fair, right?
But in fact, the Workers' Navy side still had the advantage, because the extra Herbert heavy cruiser was not a soy sauce.

At 9:28, a 381mm armor-piercing projectile from the Repulse hit the mainmast of the Albert.

The explosion itself caused few casualties, but the main radio antenna was destroyed and the radio direction finder malfunctioned.

Immediately afterwards, another shell from the Hood hit the bow of the ship.

The armor-piercing projectile traveled almost unobstructed and penetrated several cabins, but did not detonate and eventually went straight out from the other side.

over wear!

In addition to causing a small amount of water intrusion and minor injuries to two sailors, it failed to cause any effective damage.

"Set up the emergency antenna and check the damage!" the captain ordered.At about this time, the Royal Navy destroyers once again began trying to seize a favorable position.

I don’t know if it was an illusion, but the wind and waves seemed to be a little lighter than half an hour ago.

Realizing that these little ones were planning to cause trouble, the heavy cruiser Herbert immediately turned its guns and began to suppress the British destroyers.

The 203mm naval gun cannot pose a sufficient threat to the Repulse and Hood, and is only the icing on the cake. However, it is a big killer when dealing with small destroyers.

The German destroyers also began to try to do what the opponent was doing - try to use torpedo attacks to disrupt the opponent's formation.

The six destroyers changed course one after another, deviating from their original positions and turning to the southwest.

About 4 minutes later, the Albert's retaliatory shot fell on the Repulse.

A 350㎜ armor-piercing bullet hit her A turret impartially!

The nine-inch, 228mm armor was unable to block the fierce shells at such a close distance, and was easily penetrated.

The shells that penetrated and exploded were like firecrackers thrown into an iron barrel. In the dull explosion, dozens of British officers and soldiers inside were bloody and bloody, and most of them died on the spot.

The two rounds of 381mm armor-piercing projectiles and propellant packs that had just been transported from the bomb shaft to the turret were being loaded, and were naturally detonated.

All this happened in less than a second.

"Boom—"

This MkI twin-mounted 381mm main turret was almost blown away, the base connection was severely deformed, and the 700-ton turret was skewed in place.

Fire and smoke billowed as far as the eye could see, and the slippery deck was quickly dried by the heat.

"It was observed that the main turret of the Repulse was destroyed. Well done, comrades!"

The German fleet cheered in unison, and the nervous officers and soldiers beamed with joy. The tension and joy were displayed on their faces at the same time, which looked quite funny.

Discovering that one's own capital ship had suffered heavy damage, the Royal Navy destroyers responded quickly.

The destroyers Hunter and Firefly turned their course, activated their smoke generators, and pulled out a wall of smoke on the sea to cover the Repulse.

However, strong winds on the sea seriously affected the effectiveness of the cover - the smoke dissipated much faster than usual.

So the two unanimously launched torpedoes at the German fleet. Deterrence was greater than attack, so they did not seriously measure and launch the torpedoes.

The brave actions of the two destroyers successfully protected the Repulse, but also caused them to be targeted by the heavy cruiser Herbert.

"Boom! Boom!"

The Herbert's artillery fire was so accurate that it hit the Hunter with two shells in the second salvo.

The 203mm bottom-fuse grenade hit the starboard side of the Hunter, tearing a huge hole there. A water tube boiler here was turned into scrap metal on the spot.

Another shell exploded in front of Battery B, instantly blowing the MkIX 120mm naval gun into pieces. The gunners who controlled the gun were also reduced to limbs and arms.

Some intestines and minced meat were stuck to the bridge glass, and blood quickly flowed to the left, down, and right.

The tenacious British sailors continued to fight hard, using the remaining three naval guns and anti-aircraft machine guns to fire fiercely at the heavy cruiser in the distance.

But the Herbert didn't show mercy, she beat the guy mercilessly.

Another shell hit the Hunter's stern, detonating the depth charges stored there.

In the deafening explosion, with a standard displacement of only [-] tons, she almost jumped out of the sea, and then fell back!
The keel was severely damaged and the tail basically no longer existed. This small destroyer transformed into an inferno filled with flames and smoke in 30 seconds.

After being hit by another 150mm grenade, the Hunter capsized to the right at a speed visible to the naked eye, and a considerable part of the crew had no time to evacuate.

The victory has been decided, how can the mantis arm block the chariot?
The German sailors, who thought they were righteous, stopped firing on the dying destroyer and instead attacked the Firefly.

However, the German fleet's luck seems to have run out.

At 9:47 a.m. Oslo time, the sky was bright, visibility was greatly improved, and the wind and waves were rapidly decreasing.

At this moment, the Hood struck a fatal blow at the Albert.

A 381mm armor-piercing bullet hit the waterline, tearing a large hole, and cold seawater surged in.

Another shell hit under the No. [-] turret, penetrated the side armor belt, and arrived at the ammunition depot here...

At the penultimate second of 47:[-], the British sailors saw a scene they would never forget——

A huge flame burst out from the rear part of the Albert, and countless large and small fragments were thrown into the sky!

The huge internal explosion caused the integrity of the battlecruiser to cease to exist, and the reserve buoyancy was instantly negative.

The captain realized that the situation was irreversible and there was no need to make unnecessary attempts, so he decisively ordered to abandon the ship and evacuate.

Now it was the British's turn to cheer.

But they seemed to be happy too early.

At the same time, 2 nautical miles west of the British fleet, a periscope was carefully observing the scene.

The U-44 submarine is a Type VIIB submarine that set sail from Wilhelmshaven six days ago to perform patrols in the waters of western Norway.

They almost ran out of batteries last night, so they surfaced and used the diesel engine to sail and recharge the batteries. However, the huge waves caused by the storm forced them to dive down to escape.

Just walking around like this, in the morning, the sonar soldier reported that he seemed to have discovered an unusual and sudden sound, but he could not be sure whether it was the noise of the waves.

As a result, U-44 chose to float to periscope depth.

The captain, Captain Wolfe, was overjoyed—the enemy and our fleets were at war, and the fight was inextricably linked. How could such a good opportunity come across?

"No one noticed us. This is an excellent opportunity." He suppressed his excitement and said seriously: "Are you ready, comrades?"

"Of course!"

"This is a Prestige class, that's a... No, that's the Hood... Great, get the torpedo room ready. Now, figure out the launch parameters."

The damaged Retaliation planned to leave the battle, but the situation on the Albert made the officers and soldiers see a turning point, so they immediately decided to continue fighting.

"emission."

"Puff-puff-puff-puff-"

A few seconds later, four G7a 533mm torpedoes quietly left the bow launch tube of the U-44.

(End of this chapter)