Arc of Gunfire

Chapter 592 The Eagle over the White Sea (Update 38/81)

On January 17, the Prosen heavy cruiser Lützow was ten kilometers away from the White Sea coast.

Captain Otto Lindemann stayed on the bridge until twelve o'clock, then gave a long yawn and said to the first mate: "I'm going to eat, you continue on duty."

First Mate: “Yes.”

Lindemann walked out of the bridge, stopped on the covered bridges on both sides, and looked at the coast of the White Sea ten kilometers away.

He likes to enjoy the scenery when he leaves like this.

After all, it is written in the Prosen Naval Operation Manual: It is recommended to spend at least one minute every day enjoying the scenery of the sea in order to better serve the Prosen Empire.

Lindemann didn't care what the combat manual said, but he did like to see the scenery at sea.

Sometimes when he was in a good mood, he would get some chips from the galley of the battleship and feed them to the seagulls hovering around the ship.

He also likes seagulls. The reason why he became a navy is because he liked to watch seagulls in Hamburg Port when he was a child.

Lindemann looked at the seagull absentmindedly.

The Lützow has been performing its current mission for more than a week, and has not fired a single support shot from the shore. Because there are no Ant troops within the range, the officers and soldiers on the warship have been slacking off for a long time. Lindemann had to order the boatswain to organize soldiers to scrub the deck every day.

Lindemann followed the seagulls with his eyes, and suddenly saw a few very special seagulls in the distance toward the sea level.

He squinted his eyes and stared at the seagull for several seconds before suddenly realizing what he saw, and the hairs all over his body stood up.

Lindemann turned and rushed into the bridge.

The first mate saw him and shouted reflexively: "Captain, come to the bridge!"

Lindemann: "Plane! Plane approaching us! Combat alert!"

The first officer immediately pressed the battle alarm button on the bridge wall.

But others were still confused and kept asking: "What plane and where is it?"

Lindemann pointed at the sea level: "Airplane! Are all the air defense observation posts blind? Can't you see the torpedo planes flying across the sea? The Bismarck was damaged by a torpedo plane and its steering gear was damaged! From then on, the air defense observation operation manual should be Special mention is made to pay attention to the torpedo machine!

"Speed ​​up the battleship! Move forward at full speed! Full right rudder! Avoid this wave of attacks first!"

"Full right rudder!" The helmsman repeated the order while turning the steering wheel crazily.

The first mate jumped in front of the clock and set the clock to full speed.

————

In the engine room, the chief engineer was having lunch when he suddenly heard the sound of "ding, bell, bell" from the engine clock. He immediately looked over, and then his expression changed.

He pushed his lunch aside and shouted, "Lunch break is over! All hands on deck! Full speed ahead!"

While the engineer was repeating the order, the chief engineer came to the clock, pulled the handle on his side back to the end, and then pushed it forward to the full forward gear.

The sound of jingling bells echoes the roar of the accelerating engine.

————

Lindemann grabbed the handle on the bridge with both hands to resist the tilt of the ship caused by full speed and full starboard rudder.

His eyes were fixed on the approaching torpedo machine.

Because the distance was close enough, he could clearly see that they were fifteen torpedo planes, and they were not the slow, bi-winged Swordfish torpedo planes, but the United States torpedo planes with single wings and metal fuselages!

Needless to say, they must be piloted by United States pilots who have proven themselves in the Pacific.

The Lützow's large-caliber anti-aircraft guns had already opened fire, and the sky near the sea was filled with black smoke clouds from time-fuse shells.

However, this did not stop the fifteen "Seagulls".

Lindemann kept a close eye on the enemy plane's movement, and estimated that the ship's sailing direction was almost parallel to the enemy plane's entry direction, so he shouted: "Correct rudder!"

"Stand the rudder!" The helmsman turned the helm crazily again.

The tilted hull straightened bit by bit.

Lindemann saw the enemy plane's pilot plane circling left, because the enemy plane's wings were raised, and the projection in the field of vision changed from a horizontal line to a horizontal and vertical crosshairs.

This means that the pilot aircraft has given up the attack and has chosen to occupy the attack position again.

The other torpedo planes also followed the pilot aircraft and circled to the left.

Lindemann breathed a sigh of relief when the phone rang.

He didn't wait for the first mate to answer the phone and picked up the phone first: "Bridge!"

"Air defense observation post, enemy planes are above us, diving!"

"What?"

Lindemann threw away the receiver and pressed himself against the window glass in front of the bridge, trying to look up to the sky, but he couldn't see anything.

He had an idea, turned around and rushed out of the bridge. He looked up on the corridor and saw a series of black shadows rushing downwards in the direction of the sun!

"Anti-aircraft guns!" Lindemann shouted. "The firepower above is too thin. What are the gunners doing?"

————

Major Worcester felt a little relaxed: "The enemy's anti-aircraft firepower is really thin, not even as good as the Fuso Empire's anti-aircraft firepower!"

Rear seat gunner: "The Fuso Empire's anti-aircraft firepower is no big deal, right? I didn't even feel the enemy firing - I mean at Midway. But it was the Battle of Santa Cruz. South Dakota mistook us for Fuso aircraft. The firepower was terrifying."

Major Worcester: "Don't mention it. Our team lost six aircraft in Santa Cruz, four of which were lost to South Dakota."

Rear seat gunner: "Is it okay to chat like this? Can you hit it?"

"Don't worry, the Prosen people's maneuvers are terrifyingly gentle compared to the Fuso Empire. Look at me throwing the bomb into his boiler chimney!"

Worcester said.

"Best is going to be an instructor. I will be the best dive bomber pilot!"

————

Lindemann clearly saw the moment the enemy dropped the bomb.

He stared intently at the dark object as it crashed into the Lützow's chimney.

Lindemann's scalp was numb, and he knew what would happen next moment without even thinking about it.

Sure enough, the Lützow's middle deck arched upward, followed by a bottom-up explosion that overturned the deck and everything on it.

The seaplane catapult arranged near the No. 1 chimney was completely lifted, and the plane "flyed" directly into the sky.

The shock wave hit Lindemann head-on and knocked him against the railing on the other side of the covered bridge.

"Ouch, my waist!"

Then the second and third bombs fell. One hit the anti-aircraft gun deck in the middle of the ship, and the other missed near the starboard side. The shock wave in the water caused the navigation bell on the bridge to fall off, and the glass shattered when it fell to the ground. land.

More bombs fell, and the water kicked up by the bombs drenched Lindemann like a drowned rat.

He could still vaguely hear anti-aircraft guns firing, but the sound of the guns was so sparse that it seemed impossible to effectively block the enemy planes.

He wanted to stand up, but couldn't move on the ground. He must have injured his spine or something else.

He could only use his last strength to shout: "Damage control! Quick damage control! Put out the fire! Stop the leak!"

The next moment, he saw the helmsman rush to him, then climb the railing and jump.

"What are you doing! I haven't ordered the ship to be abandoned yet!"

Before he finished speaking, the first mate appeared in Lindemann's field of vision: "Captain! The engine is finished. The No. 2 main battery tower reported water in the bottom tank and the ship is sinking!"

Lindemann grabbed the first officer’s collar: “It’s just a few planes!”

"Captain, in the Pacific, several aircraft sank four aircraft carriers of the Fuso Empire! Now is the age of aircraft!"

————

Major Dodge, the leader of the VT6 torpedo squadron of the Sixth Carrier Air Wing of the United States, looked at the smoke-filled cruiser and asked the rear-seat navigator: "This cruiser shouldn't have to waste torpedoes, right? Even if we drive back, it will take at least half a year." No more port."

"Indeed." The pilot replied, "How about we patrol along the coastline for a while based on the intelligence provided by Ant? We should be able to encounter the enemy's ship coming to withdraw troops."

"Okay, just do it. VT-6 calls VF-6, VT-6 calls VF-6!"

Soon a response came over the radio: "VF6, please speak VT6."

"We believe that the current target cruiser no longer needs a torpedo attack. We are ready to fly south along the coast to look for large ships of the enemy's withdrawal. Please accompany it with cover."

"VF6 received, we will follow you. Pay attention to the fuel."

"Don't worry."

Dodge tilted the control stick slightly, and the plane entered the circle lightly. After turning half a circle, it flew south.

His entire formation of attack aircraft turned with him.

A team member asked on the radio: "Why don't you go for a last-ditch attack? What if the cruiser doesn't sink?"

"It doesn't matter if it doesn't sink. It will be out of combat order for at least half a year. We want to sink the enemy's transport ship and let the enemy retreat with fewer people. Everyone's eyes are wide open!"

"Stop staring, it's right ahead, Captain!"

Dodge also saw it, five large transport ships!

"Attention, whole team, pay attention, whole team, five large transport ships have been found! There is no enemy aircraft cover, repeat, there is no enemy aircraft cover! Pay attention to hit all the torpedoes on the port side of the enemy ship! Understand, port side! Attack freely in a two-plane formation! "