Bismarck

Bismarck agreed immediately.

While she began to slightly adjust the angle between her hull and the torpedo, she also turned all her broadside firepower - eight 380 main guns and six 6 secondary guns - to the right, aiming closely at the several destroyers that were still following.

Of course, Bismarck did not forget to call his sister in his mental power.

"Tizi, notify Lindemann that we can start! The goal is to expel all the people on the right."

"Ouch... Trouble..."

"You have to know that the commander is not just talking. If you don't fight well, your dreams will become fantasies. Forget about giving me pasta. Give me steel all day long..."

"Wait! Sister! We can talk it over! Isn't it enough for me to just work hard..."

Seeing the hamster hurriedly raising his hand to make a gesture of assurance, Bismarck couldn't help but laugh secretly.

"Just work on it yourself."

-------

When Lütjens, the fleet commander, heard Bismarck's report that all the ships were ready, he expressed satisfaction.

Bismarck reported while looking at his captain with some surprise.

Even when faced with such a seemingly life-threatening situation, there was even a hint of a smile on the corner of his mouth.

How strange...

It feels like there is a bamboo in the chest.

Not worried at all?

That’s right, in fact, this was all planned in advance by Lütjens!

Otherwise, how could Grapes not sink two destroyers within 17,000 meters in ten minutes? Even the laziest hamsters wouldn't be so bad, right? You know, before setting sail, the three ship girls brought a batch of guided shells, plus a large number of secondary guns that could cover densely.

The threat of torpedoes is indeed great. With 340-365 kilograms of high explosives, even a ship girl would be unable to withstand a few of them. The first time Bismarck was hit by a torpedo, she was knocked unconscious for two days. Although her ability to withstand attacks became stronger and stronger, it was still very troublesome to be hit.

However, the range of the torpedo is still too short. The British MKIX torpedo has a range of only 45 yards at 7000 knots and 41 yards at 11000 knots. Even at a low speed of 35 knots, it is only 15000 yards! Moreover, this is the maximum range! In actual combat, unless it is a head-on attack, the actual range will be much shorter!

If it weren't for the night attacks and head-on anti-naval warfare, the torpedoes would have no chance at all!

At this close, you're just a sitting duck.

But it would be a big problem if we allowed these guys to wander around with torpedoes, as these torpedoes would be a threat to them.

Not to mention that they are a serious threat to the Zeppelin aircraft carrier, which is lagging behind, has weak self-defense firepower, and is more difficult to operate than a large battleship! Not to mention, if the assault fails, when the three sisters under his command are about to retreat, they will be hit by a wave of mines in front of them, which will be a lot of fun...

Therefore, we must seize an opportunity to severely damage the British destroyers! And the best way is to let them come to us!

And we can't let them have a chance to escape! And we can't let ourselves suffer any losses!

That’s why Lütjens planned it from the beginning, keeping a distance of 20000 meters before firing. In this way, even if the enemy fired a head-on torpedo, at a speed of 1.08 knots, kilometers per minute, kilometers would take a full minutes, and even if we take into account the Zeppelin with the worst steering effect, turning is nothing more than three minutes of steering effect and four minutes of turning - if the British use the fast mode, that’s another matter... But fast mode? Is the range of British torpedoes enough?

Moreover, the width of the strait area is 40 kilometers. As long as you block the center of the waterway, the British destroyers on both sides will be able to escape even if they want to!

The entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, which is only 40 kilometers wide, is the burial place chosen by Lütjens for these dedicated British destroyers!

and..

The torpedo design of destroyers and light cruisers only gives them two chances to strike, in addition to the torpedoes in the torpedo tubes, even with the spare torpedoes - and now, they have already used up one chance! In addition, it takes at least ten minutes for a destroyer to reload its torpedoes. And in a dark night like this with high winds, rough seas, and heavy rain, the difficulty of reloading will increase even more! Whether the next wave of torpedoes can be loaded is a problem.

Although the working conditions of a light cruiser may be better, cruisers are not designed to withstand lightning strikes!

That is to say, after "tricking" a wave of torpedoes in this way, they would not be able to launch a second torpedo attack within at least ten minutes - and after discovering that they had been tricked, even if they wanted a second torpedo attack, they could probably only hide behind the strait to launch it, right?

In that case, these potential threats outside that are disturbing the peace can be dealt with!

Therefore, this fake move deserves full marks!

Lütjens stood up from the chart table and looked at his secretary ship. Although she was not a human, but just a projection of a warship, they had known each other for so many years. Now he looked at her and saw that she was looking at him in the same way, as if they were in tune with each other and had a telepathic connection.

"What is the target data?" Looking at his own warship, Lütjens couldn't help but feel more confident.

"Distance 18000 yards, azimuth 75 degrees port, speed 1000 knots, heading 0 degrees, range change rate -0 yards/minute! Roll rate ! Position change rate !" The capable secretary ship reported the target information in a snap, and without Lütjens asking, she added at the end: "The relevant fire control parameters have been sent to the Tirpitz, and it will fire at the same time!"

Although she is usually heartless, at times like this, her own secretary ship is the most reliable. I wonder if this is the result of her strict training or a tacit understanding?

Anyway, Lütjens finally smiled happily.

"Order the battleships Bismarck and Tirpitz! Use the 380mm main guns and 150mm secondary guns, and load (guided) high-explosive shells! Target the British destroyer on the starboard side! Attack with all your might!!"

"Yes!" Bismarck saluted crisply - just like when they were doing exercises in Poland, in Narvik, in Reykjavik Bay, and on the Rhine... right?

Just when Lütjens was distracted, a flash of fire outside the porthole illuminated the figure that was originally hidden in the storm fog. Two dull noises of varying strengths came one after another, and the more crisp, regular roar of salvos indicated that the sixteen 380mm main guns and twelve 150mm secondary guns of the Bismarck and Tirpitz had issued a full-scale bombardment roar!

Moreover, in fact, in Bismarck's perception, the two fish on the other side who thought that they were done after launching torpedoes and were planning to escape along the coastline were also included in the attack range of the six 150mm secondary guns on the other side of the Tirpitz...

I just don't know which side is Tizi and which side is being fired by the gunner under Lindemann - maybe with Tizi's lazy nature, Lindemann and the gunner will be in charge of one side each, and Tizi will only be responsible for reporting fire control parameters and correcting targets?

(Lindemann and the gunner of the Tirpitz, who were sitting next to the main fire control panel and the reserve fire control panel on the rear bridge respectively, and Grape, who was sitting in the hamster nest next to the main fire control panel and was bored, sneezed collectively...)

But...British destroyers, your doom has come!

The loud noise and fire from the volley outside the porthole even overwhelmed the rolling lightning and rumbling thunder in the sky, which were said to represent the ultimate power of heaven...

But in the eyes of the British destroyer, this is not the power of heaven, but hell...

In the eyes of the British destroyer officers and men, several green lights suddenly appeared in the dark sea fog, like a will-o'-the-wisp flying out of hell to take people's lives, and plunged into the hull of the Eskimo at the front of the team - although the dispersion of the shells themselves can reach as much as 64 meters at this distance, even if the shells can only be guided and corrected within a very small range, they can greatly increase the hit rate on small targets such as destroyers! And the kilograms of charge is completely unbearable for the small body of the destroyer...

Before people could react, two fierce flames exploded under the front bridge and on the rear deck of the Eskimo, producing brilliant sparks and sky-high flames! It was like the red spider lilies that saved the souls of the dead, blooming the flowers of death. After a few seconds, it seemed that the depth charge on the rear deck was ignited by the flames. There were several continuous loud noises and flames. The burning light of life at the time of death was so dazzling in the dark rainy night. After the explosion stopped for just a few seconds, the stern of the ship, which was still burning and was blown to pieces, had been separated from the main body, like a torch drifting on the sea. In the thick wind, rain and sea fog, a tragic figure that had been severely flooded and was sinking rapidly was reflected...

Fortunately, thanks to the burning "torch", the Haida, which was following the Eskimos, turned the rudder in time to avoid the sinking wreckage, instead of crashing into the bodies of their comrades in the pitch-black night because they couldn't see the road clearly...

不过噩梦完全没有消散的迹象。虽然380主炮的一击必杀已经过去，但是俾斯麦号的六门150副炮仍然在以6秒钟一发的射速朝着残存的四条驱逐舰倾泻着火力——虽然150副炮的炮击并没有380主炮那种可怕的精确，但是射速却比380毫米主炮快了三四倍！而即使是以150炮弹的威力，被命中三到五发就足以使这些排水量不足2000吨的驱逐舰丧失战斗力！

Now, the middle part of the destroyer Haida was hit by a 150mm shell. Although there is no need to worry about the explosion of the middle torpedo tube for the time being due to the heavy rain, rough waves and the desperate rescue efforts of the British damage control team who braved the storm and risked being swept away by the huge waves at any time, the consequence of a large hole in the deck is that a set of turbines have been flooded by the seawater that keeps pouring in...

Not to mention, the 380 shells fired by the Tirpitz will soon roar in...

P.S. Didn't you guys notice yesterday that the length of the white line on the chart indicating torpedo firing (i.e. torpedo range) can't reach the cat house Zeppelin after it turns?

Chapter 390: Three Minutes of Counterattack (Part 2)

The British were caught off guard by the sudden bombardment, and some died or were injured. Various telegrams for help came one after another, which frightened the command center in the Gibraltar Fortress.

As a last resort, Somerville could only quickly let the remaining destroyers run further away. The Atlantic Ocean was now like a hedgehog, with sharp edges all over its body. The British watched from afar, but there was no place to bite, and they couldn't even get close. This feeling was really terrible.

Bismarck, one of the main culprits, was watching the British destroyers in disarray with a smug look on her face, and then she kept adjusting her ship's posture. She even had the energy to play a joke on Hyde in the bridge.

Seeing that the remaining few expulsion boats began to flee, Lütjens did not hesitate and ordered the artillery strikes to continue.

However, today's secondary guns don't seem to be very accurate.

"Hyde, command the 150 guns well. I have transmitted the data to you in real time. If you can't hit the target, you will be in trouble!" Bismarck walked to Hyde who was pretending to be serious and said in a low voice, "A few destroyers just ran away. The captain said that the secondary guns were not firing well enough."

"I'm just pretending for you now. I'm not the one commanding the secondary artillery." Hyde felt a little panicked when he saw her slightly raised hand. He had seen the commander's expression when he was strangled, cough cough.

"If your deputy misses the target, it is of course your responsibility and you have to take the blame for it."

"Why can't you control yourself?" Hyde asked quietly.

"I'm already controlling the ship and the main gun at the same time. Now let's add the secondary gun. Do you want me to do three things at once? Who do you think I am?"

"Who knows if you can do three things at once?" Hyde muttered.

However, having said that, he still made a phone call from the bridge to the fire control room, and spoke to them in a "majestic" manner, asking them to cheer up.

The deputy gunner was very helpless. He used to use optical aiming, but recently he suddenly started to use the numbers on the radar to blindly fire. The feeling was very different. It was good enough if he could hit the target...

Hyde's deputy said he had no tears to cry...

But the British people on the other side couldn't even make an expression of wanting to cry but having no tears...

Inside the fort's command center, a shocked and angry Somerville slammed his fist on the table covered with telegrams and drawings, making a bang that drowned out the beeping sound of the transmitter.

"Damn it, is this their true combat strength? Have they been hiding it before?!" Summerville shouted in disbelief to the staff officer beside him, although it was of no use shouting to the staff officer.

"This is their real artillery hit rate! We were fooled!"

But it was precisely because of this terrifying hit rate that he truly believed what Tovey said, that they did exist.

These days he has been thinking about what the combat power limit of a warship would be if there were such creatures as shipgirls. He has been evaluating and looking for the answer through communication with Tovey and his brief encounters with them.

High maneuverability, perfect use of the battleship's strength, powerful search and detection capabilities, and control over the hull, etc. He has always overestimated their strength, hoping not to be caught off guard, but now he realizes that he still underestimated it?

Moreover, they have been hiding their strength all along!

Being able to accurately hit small destroyers from more than ten kilometers away, completely isolating them from the torpedo range, does this mean that relying on torpedo strikes from destroyers is impossible?

At this time, dozens of torpedoes were still moving towards the target ahead.

Will it hit?

Somerville frowned.

"General, don't be anxious. Their course has not changed. They probably haven't discovered the torpedo. If they continue like this, they will be hit by the torpedo!" The staff officer comforted him.

As the commander, Somerville also agreed with the staff's opinion at first. After all, in such weather, how could a warship detect a torpedo at a long distance? If a torpedo is to be detected in foggy weather, it would be at least only a few hundred or even tens of meters away. There would be no time to dodge, so it should be very safe.

However, if it is a ship girl...

He suddenly remembered what Tovey said and his face changed.

Tovey had told him a long time ago that the submarine was underwater with only a periscope exposed. In the dark night, the Hood had already discovered its existence at a distance of five or six nautical miles, and issued a warning. Moreover, it began to evade the moment the torpedo was launched...

They are both ship girls, so what about the Bismarck?

The detection distance should be comparable, and this day is no different from the night Tovey encountered at that time.

Somerville was somewhat uneasy.

"No, you don't know. Torpedoes have little effect on them. Maybe they have already discovered our third and sixth cruiser-destroyer mixed formations rushing out of the channel. Maybe they will turn around later - wait! I get it!"

He couldn't tell others about the existence of the ship girl, so he could only say this to his staff. But before he could finish his words, he thought of a terrible possibility.

Why didn't Lütjens turn when he might have spotted the torpedo, and why did he hide the strength of his fleet at the beginning.

It suddenly occurred to him!

damn it!

"This is a trap! Damn it! They want to lure our destroyers together and catch them all in one fell swoop!"

Summerville pulled Sangzi and shouted to the staff, "Everyone retreat! Order the third and sixth cruiser-destroyer mixed formations to retreat into the channel immediately, and the other destroyers to disperse and retreat!"

Samoville howled forcefully, emotionally, and panickily, but after he had finished shouting he discovered that the word "incomprehensible" seemed to be written on the faces of his staff members.

I was totally confused.

There was silence in the command room. Everyone didn't know why he said that and were looking at him.

He slapped his head in frustration... No wonder they were so mysteriously calm, not everyone knew about the ship girl! Even if the staff member hadn't told him that "German battleships can't avoid torpedoes", he wouldn't have thought of Tovey's secretary ship...

Submarines five kilometers under the sea can be seen and avoided with confidence. Who knows if they found the third and sixth mixed formations that came out of the strait? With Lütjens' ability, would he not be able to see what those two formations were doing?

But there was really no time to explain so much. Furious, Samoville quickly grabbed the communications officer by the collar and roared, "Didn't you hear what I said?! Give me an order immediately!"

As soon as the commander got angry, the staff around him finally woke up and started to move. Although they were still confused, they thought it was the right thing to do.

Soon, all the expulsion groups received the message to retreat quickly.

-----

At this time, on the sea surface at the entrance of the Strait of Gibraltar, only two minutes had passed since the Atlantic Fleet's bombardment from the first wave of "green ghost fire" to now, but the British Fifth Destroyer Squadron felt as if two years had passed...

The main and secondary guns of Bismarck and Tirpitz fired at the same time, wantonly harvesting the destroyers that were loading torpedoes, just like cutting leeks.

Because the data flow between the two warships was real-time and uninterrupted, almost every time Bismarck gave orders, determined the target, and then the two warships fired at the same time. As many as sixteen large-caliber naval guns and countless 150 shells instantly covered the target before it ran away. In this case, almost no ship could escape from a round of salvos unscathed, even the petite and cute elementary school students.

Bismarck changed the target in each round. He received instructions from Lütjens that he did not have to sink the elementary school students, but he had to injure them so that they would lose the ability to attack again - one round of salvos could basically achieve this effect.

Although it seems like cheating, that the wolf has joined the flock of sheep, it is embarrassing, but this is the fact.

The destroyer, without torpedoes, was completely defenseless against the sudden approaching battleship fire.

The signals from the 7th Destroyer Fleet on the other side had just begun to transform into two consecutive screams that seemed to be shouting "Long live the British Empire...", with a hint of hysteria... and the few remaining destroyers on this side were also wounded by the artillery rain that seemed to be more violent and dense than the storm of severe convective weather in Gibraltar...

The third and sixth mixed formations at the entrance of the strait had disappeared again in the mist deep in the strait, without even the courage to reload and break in again. At the same time, Samoville's retreat order had sounded on the radio loudspeaker...

However, just as the order to retreat sounded on the radio, another destroyer was tragically hit by the German fleet's artillery fire...

This time, eight orange-yellow meteors fell at the rear of the fleet. The unlucky ship that was covered seemed to be the slowest, so it landed on the Vampire at the end...

A raging fire started and began to approach the torpedo that was being loaded.

The crew members rushed to put out the fire like crazy, but the flames continued to spread even in the rain, melting even the steel.