Film and Television: Starting from the Journey to Guandong

Chapter 132 The era of artillery is over

The two mines that Lao Chang gave them had actually been discovered a long time ago. Although they were both shallow coal mines, the mining difficulty was much higher than that of the coal mines that have been excavated so far, so they have been kept undeveloped.

At present, Lao Chang needs to use a large amount of domestic coal to hedge with foreign coal to regulate the economy.

This was certainly not his idea, and he didn't have the brains to do it, but there were many experts around him, so it was not surprising that he could think of this trick.

As for why it was left to Zhu Chuanren to develop, maybe it was because he didn't want Lao Kong's family to be the dominant one and needed someone to check and balance the financial power of his brother-in-law.

In fact, Lao Kong also understands that it is impossible for his family to make all the money. It is also a good thing to have someone to check and balance him, which can make him safer.

The most important thing is that Lao Kong knows Zhu Chuanren's temperament very well. In essence, they are the same kind of people, who love money and are afraid of death. Such people can never become enemies, and cooperation is the way to go.

No, when Zhu Chuanren's men traveled to Shanxi Province, the first person they visited was the grandmother of the Kong family, and they presented her with a Pixiu carved from glass and imperial green. The old lady was so happy that she couldn't put it down when she picked her up.

If it weren't for the fact that it was too heavy and inconvenient to hold, she could sleep with it in her arms.

Zhu Chuanren did what he wanted. He not only paid homage to the dock, but also expressed his intention.

I'm not here to steal food, I'm here to cooperate with you and make a fortune.

After Lao Kong learned about this, he immediately asked his wife to return the gift and gave Ni Sichun a pure gold Pixiu. The size was the same as the jadeite one, and even the shape was exactly the same.

As we all know, Pixiu must appear in pairs.

The two Gods of Wealth, who were at the top of the pyramid during the Republic of China, thus reached a silent cooperation. The two parties did not even meet or exchange a word.

Of course, they won't make it public. Since they know that Lao Chang is murmuring in his heart, they can't get too close and even show hostility appropriately. Only in this way can they win Lao Chang's favor and they can continue to make money, right?

The two of them worked well together, and it would be boring to add another person, so the two showed a strong tacit understanding.

First of all, Lao Kong warmly welcomed Renhe Mining's entry into Shanxi Province and gave him a great degree of support. He even said that the Zhu family and the Kong family were considered one family in Shanxi Province.

What do you mean?

Even if Zhu Chuanren comes to Jin Province, you local snakes must give me the same status as Lao Kong, otherwise it will be a rebellion, and there will be no discussion about destroying you.

Immediately afterwards, Zhu Chuanren had to expand the dock because he wanted to build a water airport, and he handed over this project to an engineering company owned by the Kong family. Even if this order was not cut corners and done normally, he could still make a profit of 700,000 to 800,000 yuan. .

Yes, it’s that crazy!

Do you think this is over?

wrong!

Dinghai Bank raised funds publicly, but in the end it only accepted investment from one company, the Central Bank.

The Central Bank also granted Dinghai Bank a very high loan, the key is no interest!

According to Zhu Chuanren's estimation, the money will not need to be repaid in 10 years.

The two families went back and forth, and all the money in China was made by them.

The key point is that the two people are still at odds on the surface.

When Zhu Chuanren faced Lao Chang's special envoy Shi Jing, he said bad things about Lao Kong, while Lao Kong often gossiped around Lao Chang, saying that Zhu Chuanren was too young to control such a huge wealth and should be restrained!

These two people have finally studied the book "The Actor's Self-cultivation".

The two never meet each other, and they never look good to each other in public. But in private, the two wives have a very good relationship. They often gather together for afternoon tea. To others, the relationship between the two families seems a bit strange, but in the eyes of those who are caring, They are all masters, masters, masters.

Knowing that Zhu Chuanren had deep connections in the arms industry, Lao Kong persuaded people to turn a deaf ear to Lao Chang. It was time for the navy to start up, otherwise it would be over.

And Lao Chang was indeed moved and put forward the slogan of 10 tons in 60 years.

As for where these 60 tons come from, some of them are built independently, and the other part has to be imported from abroad.

With Lao Kong assisting him, the import task naturally fell on Zhu Chuanren.

According to the original history, during this period, Lao Changhui arranged for his subordinate Xiao Chen to order a light cruiser Ninghai from the Harima Shipyard in Hyogo Prefecture. The cost of building the ship is 432 million yuan in French currency, which is paid in installments at a discount from Northeastern soybeans.

In the original history, Ninghai was the largest warship purchased since the Republic of China, with a length of 106.7 meters, a width of 11.9 meters, a draft of 3.96 meters, a displacement of 2 tons, and 958-inch armor in some locations.

The power part is four oil-charcoal mixed-fired boilers, three reciprocating main engines and three-axis propulsion, with 10 horsepower, a maximum speed of 579 knots, and an endurance of 23.2 nautical miles at 12 knots cruising.

配备140毫米双联装炮3座6门，最大射程10000米；76毫米高炮6门，机关炮10门；

535 4mm torpedo tubes and 8 torpedoes;

Equipped with a depth charge delivery device, equipped with 9 depth charges;

It can carry 2 water reconnaissance aircraft without catapults. When in use, it is lifted to the water surface by a crane and takes off from the water. It was developed by Neon Timepiece Co., Ltd. and built by the Aichi Factory. It is codenamed Aichi AB-3, which is Ninghai-1. , with a cruising speed of 137 kilometers per hour, a ceiling of 4300 meters, and a range of 970 kilometers.

At that time, Jiangnan Shipyard had a chief designer named Ma, who used the backup engine and Fuzhou Shanmu Institute to imitate Ninghai-2 No. 1, which was equipped with this ship and had similar performance.

The crew consists of 42 officers, 97 non-commissioned officers and 222 soldiers.

宁海号于1931年2月20日安放龙骨，同年10月10日下水，经过各种性能试验，符合我方技术要求，于1932年8月26日驶抵魔都。

A flag-raising ceremony was held on September 9, and the ship was incorporated into the 1st Fleet. The first captain was Colonel Gao Shenxian, the former captain of the sea ship.

The Ning Hai ship arrived in neon Yokohama from Shanghai to attend the state funeral ceremony of Marshal Togo Heihachiro, the naval commander of the Russo-Japanese War, and returned to the Harimo Factory for renovations.

In view of the fact that Jiangnan Shipyard has been able to meet the requirements for building various warships over the years, the Ministry of Navy decided to have the plant build another sister ship, Pinghai, imitating Ninghai. Neon will provide components and the design is the same as Ninghai, and hired the original Ninghai ship Shipbuilding director Jimbo Sonan served as the technical chief engineer of Jiangnan Shipyard and was responsible for supervising the construction. The original budget was 1 million yuan.

The keel of the ship was laid on June 1931, 6. In order to encourage the self-production of new domestic ships, Navy Minister Xiao Chen personally went to the factory to attend the ship's groundbreaking ceremony.

However, due to the tense relations between China and Japan, Neon's parts supply and technical support were affected, and it was delayed until September 1935, 9, before it could be launched, two years later than originally planned.

By the time the airship sailed to Neon Aioi Port to install artillery weapons, it was already June 1936, 6, only one year left before the outbreak of war.

The Ninghai ship took one and a half years to become an army, but the Pinghai ship took a full five years.

But after all, this is a light cruiser made by China, with a displacement of 2 tons. The power unit is five boilers, four burning coal, one burning heavy oil, and two reciprocating main engines for twin-shaft propulsion. The horsepower is slightly smaller than that of Ninghai, about 383 , 7 horsepower, a maximum speed of 488 knots, and a cruising range of 21 nautical miles at 12 knots.

The size of this ship is slightly the same as that of "Ning Hai", but the draft is slightly shallower. It was originally scheduled to be equipped with the same 140 6 mm main guns as Ning Hai, 76 4 mm anti-aircraft guns, and 533 4 mm torpedo tubes.

In addition, 57 4mm anti-aircraft guns and 4 high-speed machine guns were added. However, when the ship went to Japan to assemble weapons, relations between China and Japan were already very tense. The anti-aircraft guns and high-speed machine guns were rejected by Japan, so they had to purchase Krupp and Bofors guns from a German company in Shanghai.

This ship does not have a surface reconnaissance aircraft, so the appearance structure behind the chimney is different from that of Ninghai because it does not have a hangar.

The first captain was Gao Shenxian, the former captain of Ninghai. In April 1937, he was incorporated into the 4st Fleet and became the flagship.

According to Xiao Chen's later Jiangyin shipwreck blockade tactics in the early days of the Anti-Japanese War, he knew that there was a huge disparity in strength between the Chinese and Japanese navies and that a traditional fleet decisive battle between the two sides would never occur, so it was impossible for the two cruisers to perform their "cruising" functions.

However, the navy in front of the station has the effect of intimidating local warlords. This is especially important to the central government. To achieve this, the ships must have a majestic appearance. Therefore, although the Ping and Ning ships only have a tonnage of more than 2 tons, they are It is equipped with six 6mm main guns, and the "Ninghai" ship is even equipped with aircraft.

Although it is scary, it is obviously top-heavy and lacks stability, which is not conducive to ocean going.

In fact, the Pinghai and Ninghai ships spend most of their time operating in inland rivers or along the coast. They are mainly used to intimidate enemies on land. They are nominally cruisers. In fact, there is no need to consider fighting on the ocean.

Xiao Chen knew this very well, so these two cruisers with seemingly unreasonable designs were born.

The Ninghai-class light cruiser is the most advanced warship ordered by the Republic of China Navy from Neon before the all-out war. It is also the largest warship built during the Jinling period. This class of ships includes the Ninghai and the sister ship Pinghai. It was sunk after the Battle of Jiangyin. Neon was raised and used again, but was sunk by the Uighur Army in 1944.

Zhu Chuanren knew history and knew that in front of an aircraft carrier, no matter how powerful a giant ship was, he could not resist it. Therefore, he did not blindly suggest that Lao Chang buy a giant ship just to make money. Instead, he sincerely explained to Lao Chang through some newspaper clippings and letters. What will be the direction of future ocean competition?

First of all, there are probably two directions for future ocean competition, one is the Pacific direction and the other is the Atlantic direction.

The Pacific Ocean is dominated by aircraft carriers, while the Atlantic Ocean is still immersed in the afterglow of the roar of artillery.

Let’s talk about the Atlantic side first. There is no doubt about the German shipbuilding strength. Isn’t the Bismarck, known as the strongest battleship in the second station, a German handiwork?

The battleship Bismarck is 241.55 meters long, 36 meters wide, with a maximum draft of 9.99 meters, a standard displacement of 41637 tons, a full load displacement of 50300 tons, a maximum speed of 30.12 knots, and a maximum endurance of 8500 nautical miles.

舰上装备8门380毫米主炮，12门150毫米副炮和36门机关炮。（因为小胡子喜欢大口径而改为380mm大口径主炮）

In comparison, the Ninghai is equivalent to Big Head Son, while the Bismarck is a Hulk-like existence.

俾斯麦号战列舰于1936年7月开工，1939年2月14日下水，1940年8月24日建成服役，是当时吨位最大、技术最先进的战列舰。

The Bismarck battleship has a standard design displacement of 35000 tons, a length of 250 meters, a width of 38 meters, a draft of 10 meters, four twin-mounted 381mm main guns, turbine-electric device, a maximum speed of 30 knots, and a maximum endurance of 8000 nautical miles/19 knots. It is decided based on the actual situation in Germany.

First of all, the Kiel Canal that connected the Baltic Sea and the North Sea at that time (a canal dug by Germany at the end of the 19th century to shorten the voyage from the North Sea to the Baltic Sea and to allow free navigation between the North Sea and the Baltic Sea during the war, completed in 1935) stipulated that the restriction on ships was that the length must not be More than 250 meters, width not more than 38 meters, draft not more than 10 meters.

Secondly, the purpose of the Bismarck is not purely for fleet decisive battles, but for fleet operations, ocean cruising operations, and diplomatic-breaking operations (targeting large pirate ships).

After Germany lost all its colonies after World War I, its warships could not rely on colonial supplies like other countries. Therefore, the ship has very good endurance and can cruise 19 nautical miles at a high speed of 8000 knots.

The main battlefields of Italy and France are in the Mediterranean area, so the Italian Veneto-class battleships and the French Richelieu-class battleships have poor endurance.

Thirdly, considering the small number of German naval ships, battleships must often fight at a numerical disadvantage. In naval battles, fighting at a numerical disadvantage without high speed is very dangerous, so the Bismarck also increased its design speed.

Finally, the Bismarck's main gun has a long life and a rate of fire of 2 to 3 rounds per minute.

In addition, the ship also inherited the German shipbuilding tradition during World War I, which was to adopt a large number of watertight cabin designs, with at least 22 main watertight cabins plus a larger number of secondary watertight cabins to protect the core of the ship during wartime.

Judging from the above characteristics, the Bismarck is well in line with its design intention of being a "battleship with ocean-going ability to break diplomatic ties." However, due to a miscalculation of the endurance of the steam engine, the Bismarck was unable to perform the task of breaking diplomatic ties well, and was actually a coastal defense battleship.

The battleship Bismarck adopts a design that takes into account both comprehensive protection and key protection.

The Bismarck has a dome armor and a strong 320 mm thick main armor belt to form a strong side protection. In fact, the dome armor and vertical armor jointly participate in the side protection, rather than completely following the First World War. Dome armor design.

In short, the Bismarck-class defense system is effective in close combat, but in long-range artillery battles, especially when attacked by high-depression angle armor-piercing projectiles, the protection is relatively insufficient.

Because Bismarck adopts a dome armor layout, the cabin utilization rate is not high. In order to increase the speed, the power cabin section must be lengthened, and the seat ring will be squeezed forward and aft. The seat ring is deeply compressed for the mine protection layer, so that it cannot be wide enough to accommodate a 3-unit 15 In order to start construction of the Bismarck class as soon as possible, it is obviously not feasible to reset the 3-unit 15-inch turret.

Using the World War I design became the easiest option.

Therefore, the final design of the Bismarck was a battleship with a single turret equipped with twin 380 mm caliber naval guns and a total of 4 turrets. The main turrets were symmetrical in the piggyback layout, with two turrets arranged on the front and rear decks.

Therefore, from the perspective of later generations, the Bismarck was not the most powerful battleship at the time, but compared to the British Empire Navy, the opponent of the Third Reich Navy, it was an unrivaled powerful battleship.

When the Bismarck went out to cruise, no ship in the British navy could compete with it.

However, the Bismarck's power seemed to only exist on paper. It did not perform brilliantly in actual combat, and seemed to be built just to perform tragedy.

In 1941, the German Third Reich was at its peak, and the army's "iron torrent" attacked from left and right, immediately attacking the Czech Republic, Poland and France, and taking all of Central and Western Europe into its hands.

Looking around, only Mao Xiong and Ying Ying were still lying on their beds, but they could only fend for themselves and had no time to take care of themselves.

Carrying the lingering power of surrendering to France, Germany aimed directly at the British Isles across the English Channel.

However, due to the extremely powerful naval power of the British Empire, Germany was unable to send its army to the British mainland.

This is where the "big bombing" begins.

For the Allies in the future, the "Concession Act" signed by Rothover at the beginning of the year was a timely blessing, and a large amount of U.S. aid began to be transported to the United Kingdom by sea.

At this time, Britain was under unprecedented military pressure.

Buckingham Palace in London was bombed for the second time.

If the proud British were to completely surrender to German command, the only way to do this would be to cut off the transportation lines from the Americas to Western Europe on the vast Atlantic Ocean.

The conundrum for Germany was that the Royal Navy had overwhelming advantages over the Third Reich.

At this time, the German naval fleet had only four battleships, Scharnhorst, Gniseno, Bismarck, and Tirpitz, which was still under construction.

At this time, the British Empire's navy had 15 battleships, and 5 more were under construction.

Not to mention, the British aircraft carriers, destroyers, and cruisers all far outnumbered the Germans.

Only submarines in the vast Atlantic Ocean are the greatest threat to opponents.

But at this time, the Germans were very proud and full of confidence.

As early as the First World War, German floating ships had been attacking everywhere, causing great damage to British and French shipping along the long coast of western Europe.

Now, the Axis powers are establishing comprehensive superiority, Rommel has dealt a heavy blow to the British in North Africa, and the British chain from Libya to Iraq is being smashed.

The British Empire's fleet needed to fill holes on all sides.

In August 1939, the German High Command tentatively dispatched the heavy cruiser "Admiral Graf Spee" to cruise in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.

It wreaked havoc on the British sea lines of communication.

The Germans successively captured 9 British merchant ships, with a total displacement of more than 8 tons.

Recorded disturbances reached more than 100 ships, delaying the transportation of more than 60 tons of displacement cargo.

Although in December, after the ship severely damaged the British task force at the mouth of the La Pula River, it was surrounded in the neutral port of Montevia, Uruguay, and finally sank.

But the brilliant record gave the German Navy a boost of confidence.

From January to March 1941, the German Navy launched a military operation code-named "Operation Berlin". Two battleships Scharnhorst and Gniseno formed a team. Under the command of High Seas Fleet Commander Gunther Lutjian Under Si's command.

Breaking through the British blockade. A safari operation was launched against the British supply fleet.

Lütjens developed the tactics of guerrilla harassment and then leaving, destroying 22 ships, causing great trouble to Britain.

The German high command highly praised Lütjens's success. The experience of surface ships attacking the British transport arteries gave German Navy Commander Erich Raeder great glory for a while, and successfully increased the blind confidence of the German army.

Always cautious, they decided to use the big one to completely cut off the British army's Atlantic supply line.

The two battleships Scharnhorst and Gniseno, which had sortied in the spring, had to be repaired in the French port of Brest after intense fighting.

The Tirpitz has not yet been launched, so Redel can only play his trump card, the most advanced battleship of the Third Reich and the flagship battleship Bismarck.

This military operation was still handed over to his general Gunther Lütjens, who had just been promoted to admiral due to military merit.

But this old subordinate was very resistant to the empire's military adventure.

He did not believe that relying on the Bismarck could compete with the entire Royal Navy. He believed that the entire High Seas Fleet would need to fight to have the possibility of victory. However, the repairs of the Scharnhorst and the Gniseno and the Tirpitz The construction takes time.

Unfortunately, the Germans didn't have just that kind of time.

The German high command believed that the confrontation with the British had reached a critical moment.

Uncle Xi made a lot of money from his many risky gambles in the early stages of the second station, and he is not afraid to gamble again.

For this reason, Uncle Xi also personally inspected the "Bismarck" to encourage the navy. The German military deployment is to maintain a fatal blow to the U.S. supply fleet across the Atlantic. This time they dispatched the most powerful surface ship "Bismarck" battleship and "Prince Eugen" heavy cruiser.

According to the plan, the battleships Scharnhorst and Gniseno remaining in French Brest will be added to the fleet at any time after repair.

The German Navy dispatched a large number of submarines to cooperate with the actions of the surface fleet. To this end, an officer of the submarine force was stationed on the flagship "Bismarck" battleship.

The Germans' sophisticated fighting style was once again on display, as the Luftwaffe conducted additional reconnaissance of British naval bases and the North Atlantic before the fleet's departure.

The German Navy also set up multiple fake radio base stations to disrupt and confuse the British, successfully distracting the attention of the British.

May 1941, 5. The German fleet, under the command of the newly promoted Admiral Gunther Lütjens, left Gotenhafen and sailed into the Baltic Sea.

The Gotenhafen of those days has become the Polish city of Gdynia today. Things have really changed.

On May 5, the cruiser Gotland, belonging to neutral Sweden, discovered the German fleet in the Baltic Sea.

Soon, the British got intelligence about the large German naval fleet going to sea the next day.

Lütjens's fleet passed through the Cole Fjord near Bergen, Norway, and the ghost of the Nazi navy appeared in the North Pacific.

On May 5, a British reconnaissance aircraft flying over Cole Fjord reported to British Naval Headquarters the news of the discovery of the German fleet.

The British Admiral Tovey, who had suffered a lot, immediately ordered Rear Admiral Walker to send out a cruiser fleet to strengthen surveillance.

Rear Admiral Walker stepped up patrols in the Denmark Strait and sent light cruisers for close reconnaissance in the waters between Greenland and Iceland in the North Atlantic and south of Iceland.

The encirclement of the fleet headed by the German battleship "Bismarck" was launched almost at the same time. The fleet commanded by Vice Admiral Holland was dispatched from the Caspar Flow Naval Base in the Orkney Islands of Scotland, UK, with the task of blocking the southern part of the Denmark Strait. export.

The fleet is led by Britain's most powerful battleship "HMS Hood", accompanied by the latest battleship HMS Prince of Wales, and as many as six destroyers escort the two battleships.

At the same time, the main British fleet, headed by the battleship King George V and the aircraft carrier HMS Victory, supplemented by four cruisers and seven destroyers, moved towards the southwestern coastline of the British mainland.

It can launch operations against the invading German fleet in the northeast at any time.

The British were afraid that their main fleet would be weak. During the voyage, a warship garrisoning a nearby port soon joined the battle sequence.

An order from the British Royal Admiralty intercepted by the German radio monitoring department clearly issued a combat mission to search for two German warships from Bergen to the North Atlantic.

It can be said that the military operations of the German Navy are no longer secret.

Seeing the German navy's unscrupulous and almost naked military provocation, the British understood that this was a huge gamble that would determine the fate of the country.

1941年5月23日下午19时22分，赫兰海军中将舰队中的萨福克重型巡洋舰发现了迎面而来的德军舰队，彼此不到7英里的距离。

The Suffolk did not immediately engage in battle, but turned on its radar to conduct reconnaissance of the Germans.

Soon Admiral Tovey of the main fleet of the British Navy and Vice Admiral Holland of the partial division had obtained exact data on the course, speed and position of the German fleet.

The Suffolk attempted to get close to the German fleet, but was quickly blasted away by the battleship Bismarck.

Therefore, they followed them, and at the same time, Vice Admiral Helan's other ships sailed westward with all their strength in order to concentrate.

In fact, the Germans already knew that they had a tail. From the beginning, Commander Brinkmann of the cruiser "Prince Eugen" intercepted the Suffolk's radio signal.

Fleet commander Lütjens did not choose to retreat or interrupt the operation to escape as before.

Because he understood that at this time and that time, the advantage of the flagship battleship Bismarck was not in speed, but in combat power and defense.

Therefore, during this expedition, he had already realized that he was going to die, and he carried out the task of cutting off the supply line at all costs, and he was done with it.

At midnight on May 5, the following British fleet lost radar detection contact with the Germans.

Vice Admiral Holland had reason to believe that Lütjens had escaped.

Based on the consistent style of this master of guerrilla warfare, he believed that the German fleet had chosen a consistent routine of avoiding reality and making up for the illusion.

Therefore, he decided to pursue northward alone and formulated a detailed battle plan.

His "Hood" and "Prince of Wales" will focus on attacking the "Bismarck", and the remaining six destroyers will besiege the "Prince Eugen".

Before this combat plan had time to notify the neighboring troops, Helan led the fleet to launch the operation.

At 5:25 a.m. on May 2, Suffolk, who was following the Lütjens fleet, discovered the German army again. It turned out that the German fleet had not left Suffolk's surveillance range and was still sailing southwest toward the British mainland.

Vice Admiral Holland suddenly panicked, and the fleet heading north had to come to a sudden stop.

He ordered the fleet to advance towards the southwest German fleet at full speed. The main force "Hood" even advanced at full speed of 28 knots, suddenly leaving the escorting destroyers behind.

At 5:24 in the morning on May 5, the British caught up with the German fleet, which had been waiting for a long time.

Vice Admiral Holland was really smart. He did not wait for the follow-up warships, nor did he join up with the excited main fleet of the Tovey Navy around him, nor did he seek help from the nearby Rear Admiral Walker's warships.

Instead, he launched the attack alone.

At 5:52, about 12 nautical miles away from the German fleet, the "Hood" took the lead in opening fire.

At the same time, the "Hood" and the "Wales" continued to approach the enemy. Launched a crazy charge.

Soon, the "Bismarck" and "Prinz Eugen", which were horns between the German forces, opened fire on the "Hood" in unison.

Close hand-to-hand combat was very detrimental to the "Hood" because it almost exposed the fragile deck to the effective range of the Germans.

In the first close range shot, the "Hood"'s artillery did not hit the "Prinz Eugen";

Three shells from the "Prince of Wales" hit the "Bismarck".

The "Bismarck" in a defensive posture did not suffer fatal damage, but one of the shells penetrated the "Bismarck"'s thick armor, forming a large hole, causing the battleship's speed to drop to 26 knots.

The shells of other artillery shells scratched the battleship's oil storage tank, leaving oil traces on the sea when the ship sailed.

The German counterattack was fatal. The Hood's ammunition magazine was hit and a fire broke out.

When the time came to 6 o'clock in the morning, the distance between the warships of the two sides was only 7-8 miles. The "Hood", commanded by Vice Admiral Holland, turned to the left in an attempt to use the stern cannon to bombard the opponent.

At this time, a 380mm main shell from the "Bismarck" hit the deck of the "Hood", causing a violent explosion. The "Hood" was instantly torn in half and sank quickly.

1415 crew members and Lieutenant General Holland died, and 3 sailors on the ship survived.

The battle between Britain and Germany's strongest battleships ended with the sinking of the Hood.

The battle continued, and the British ship "Prince of Wales" was unable to support itself on the battlefield, and the situation took a terrible turn.

The bullets from the "Bismarck" and "Prinz Eugen" poured in, and other German warships also surrounded them, like a pack of wolves about to surround their prey.

The "Prince of Wales" was hit by three 3mm shells and four 380mm shells, and the front and rear turrets of its warhead were destroyed.

Relying on the fact that he had just launched into the water a few days ago and was in his prime, the "Prince of Wales" was still able to maneuver.

At 6:13 in the morning, Commander Luck of the heavy cruiser ordered a retreat and left the battlefield under the cover of releasing smoke.

The Germans were victorious in this encounter. Admiral Lütjens went in the opposite direction, changed his guerrilla warfare style, and set an ambush on the Helander fleet.

The battleship "Bismarck" killed the British Navy's most powerful battleship "HMS Hood" with one blow, ending the pre-war suspense of the world's most powerful battleship.

Now, Lütjens has two options. One is to go to any nearby Norwegian port for repairs. His current location is about more than 1000 miles away from the nearest one.

The bad thing is that Britain still has a squadron led by Wolfe in the North Atlantic, and although the "Prince of Wales" withdrew from the battle, it did not leave. The Germans did not know the danger of this remnant ship.

Another option was to head to the French port of Brest and join the two battleships undergoing repairs there.

After consulting the German headquarters, Lütjens received the order to leave the escort cruiser "Bismarck" for repairs in the port of Brest.

After learning the news that the "HMS Hood" had been sunk, the entire British Navy was shocked.

They immediately adjusted their maritime combat deployment.

Seeing that Vice Admiral Holland's fleet had been defeated, Tovey ordered Wolfe's North Atlantic Squadron to move closer to the German fleet for surveillance.

At the same time, the British Naval Command deployed main warships such as the battleship "Rodney", the aircraft carrier "Ark Royal" and the heavy cruiser "Sheffield" from various fleets to encircle and suppress the German army, and various naval battle groups received operations Take action after the order.

Soon, the ships of British Rear Admiral Wolfe's North Atlantic Squadron, like hyenas on the grassland, began to appear around Lütjens' fleet like ghosts. This time the British army's close reconnaissance operation was very decisive.

The Germans knew that the British army's target was the "Bismarck", and the big treasure in Lütjens's hands was now a target.

As a master of mobile warfare, the German admiral certainly could not sit still and wait for death.

Therefore, after enduring Wolf's pursuit for a day, the German fleet suddenly launched a counterattack on the afternoon of May 5. The battleship "Bismarck" turned around alone and rushed towards Wolf's fleet.

Wolff was more cunning than Holland, who was killed in the battle. He had little shrimps in his hands, so of course he would not fight the "Bismarck", so his fleet immediately dispersed.

The "Bismarck" single-handedly covered the evacuation of the cruiser "Prince Eugen" and other ships from the battlefield. Ten days later, the "Prince Eugen" safely arrived in Brest, France.

Now, the battleship "Bismarck" has become a lonely ghost at sea.

All the British naval forces were thrown in frantically.

Late at night on May 5, nine land-based torpedo bombers flew over the "Bismarck" battleship and launched an intensive bombing campaign.

The "Bismarck" fought back vigorously because of the cover of darkness.

This British raid did not achieve the effect. Only one torpedo exploded on the starboard side of the battleship, but under the protection of the thick protective armor, it did not cause any real damage.

On May 5, Lütjens once again performed his best trick, radio silence.

Wolfe's North Atlantic Squadron lost its target and they were unable to locate Bismarck's exact location.

After swarming like headless flies over the Bismarck's last exact location, they found nothing.

The Wolf fleet had no choice but to retreat north. What they didn't know was that the "Bismarck" battleship, like a hunting lion, followed the Wolf fleet towards Iceland for more than 100 miles.

Then, quietly break away to the southeast.

Seeing that the duck in his hand was about to fly, the British Admiral Tovey was very angry. He immediately ordered to increase the scope of monitoring and investigation of the German army.

The "Bismarck" must not be allowed to escape.

At 5:25 pm on May 13, the British army finally intercepted a piece of radio intelligence useful to them. A German submarine tracking a British aircraft carrier cruising on the west coast of France sent out intensive contact signals.

This was followed by an intensive radio contact along the western coast of Germany.

Through intelligence analysis, Tovey speculated that the "Bismarck" battleship would take a circuitous route to the southeast and finally reach Brest, France.

As a result, various British naval battle groups began to move closer in this direction.

5月26日上午10点20分，英国军舰卡塔利纳号率先发现了隐蔽的“俾斯麦”号战列舰，它离法国海岸只有690英里的距离。

Tovey was overjoyed after knowing the exact location of the battleship "Bismarck", but it seemed that the German flagship was about to escape its own encirclement.

He immediately ordered the nearby cruiser "Sheffield" to pursue the "Bismarck", and at the same time ordered all carrier-based bombers on the "Ark Royal" aircraft carrier led by Admiral Somerville to take off and attack the "Bismarck".

At 14:50, a group of torpedo bombers attacked the "Bismarck" in an air attack, but none of the 11 torpedoes dropped hit it.

At 5:26 on May 17, the cruiser "Sheffield" appeared near the "Bismarck", blocking the only way for the battleship to pass.

At this time, the "Bismarck" was very tired and unable to launch an effective attack.

At 20:47, Ark Royal's torpedo bomber group attacked again. Since the "Sheffield" provided the coordinates, the bombing was very successful.

Two torpedoes hit the battleship, one hit the middle armor of the "Bismarck", and the more fatal one hit the rudder at the rear. The ship was unable to sail. Then, the "Sheffield" rushed over and engaged in a dogfight. .

On May 5, the "Bismarck" was trapped and still fighting, but it was surrounded by the British navy. From 27 to 8 o'clock, the unnavigable "Bismarck" and the British ships launched a fierce battle.

Admiral Tovey committed the main British fleet to participate in the battle.

The "Bismarck" was out of ammunition, scarred and unable to fight back. It was finally sunk by the British cruiser HMS Dorsetshire off the coast of France. Only a few hundred people survived, and its commander Lütjens died on the battlefield.

The sinking of the battleship "Bismarck" dealt a heavy blow to the German navy, and their plan to cut off British maritime assistance went bankrupt.

The British Imperial Navy regained the initiative at sea, which meant that Germany could not completely conquer its enemies on the Western Front, and the Third Reich had no choice but to slip into a difficult and passive situation.

Judging from this battle, the era of roaring cannons has really passed.

If it were a one-on-one duel on the sea, the Bismarck might not be afraid of any opponent and would have a high probability of winning.

But this is war, not children's play house. Only a fool will tell you about chivalry when they can beat you. Winning is the right way, and losing will lead to death.

What's more, even the Bismarck cannot remain strong forever, because the enemy is likely to build a battleship with more powerful firepower and stronger protection to compete with you.

So, the end of the battleship came.

Even if Zhu Chuanren wanted to make money, he couldn't mess up on this matter. He had to remind Lao Chang that it was useless to just pile up cannons. You had to find a way to gain air superiority.

No matter what happens, you can think of a solution under the sea!

However, in this era, countries are extremely secretive about submarine technology. Don't even think about building one, and you may not be able to buy it if you buy one.

(End of this chapter)