Bismarck

If the main armor of the waterline is hit, it will be difficult to repair in a remote area like the Eastern Mediterranean...

I don’t know if the Italian shipyards are efficient, but it will definitely delay the war! Although Athens also has a shipyard, whether it can repair ships is not important. Are the workers in the shipyard willing to repair ships for the “invaders”?

Maybe the resistance organization will stuff explosives into their bodies directly...

Tsk tsk, dynamite stuffed inside the body? It seems like he has thought of something bad.

In...out...**i

Bismarck refocused his attention with a little embarrassment and locked onto War-weariness.

I can’t let the captain see that I was distracted just now... Although the two shells I was hit by were not serious, who can tell what happened on the battlefield...

"So...War-weary, you should take my shot too!"

"——Counterattack the artillery fire, lock on!"

"Fire!"

Even with the smoke blocking the view, the huge muzzle flame still illuminated half of the sea surface. And the 150mm secondary turret kept firing in the direction of War-weary without interruption!

The lethality of the 150mm guns is not enough, but it is enough to deal a heavy blow to the damage control team and the firefighting team! And...

Just over fifty seconds later, a flash of fire accompanied by blazing flames exploded in the direction of the Warspite...

-

"Warspite! The forward bridge has been hit!"

Cunningham, who had finally recovered from the violent shock of the explosion, looked nervously at War-weary who was holding his forehead beside him...

"Belle, are you okay?"

“It’s okay, this injury is nothing…” Although it hurts, Yanzhan’s beautiful face is full of determination!

No hesitation or fear at all!

"They turned due north, and the closing rate slowed down to only 617.5 yards (565 meters) per minute..." Warspite reported the battle situation while continuing to lock on the Bismarck battleship!

In those cold eyes, there is a raging fire of revenge!

"To avenge Hood and for the glory of the British Empire Royal Navy!"

"Don't be too happy too soon, Bismarck."

The heavy artillery roared, and the Bismarck battleship was hit by another bullet! Even through the thick smoke, you can see the flames rising into the sky against the night sky!

"Destroyer Squadron 23658 and 21647, continue to move closer to me as planned! Also, Queen Elizabeth! Warrior! Aim in the direction of the fire! Distance 617.5 yards ( meters)! Range change rate yards! All battleships! Focus your fire!!"

The voice of Secretary Belle Dura Despicio suddenly rang out in the tactical channel of the British fleet. The Queen Elizabeth and the Warrior instantly found the target's location from the confusion of electronic interference and smoke. For a moment, a dense rain of bullets like hail and meteorites smashed towards the direction of the fire according to the Warspite Report...

Bismarck, who was busy putting out the fire in the smoke, was hit by two 381 main gun shells in a row by the sudden dense rain of bullets!

Although the Bismarck was leaning against the tilted hull, it paid the price of a shell that could have grazed it at the expense of the minor part of the deck edge on the left side of the stern. However, it managed to use the 170 mm lower edge armor of the main side armor belt to barely block a very dangerous shell that came down close to the waterline and could have an underwater penetration effect!

However, due to the inertia of the shell, it still penetrated the 170 mm armor before exploding. The unique mechanism of the British explosive shells, which shattered the opponent's armor and created large shrapnel and caused damage, still caused considerable damage to the Bismarck!

The large fragments produced by the violent underwater explosion directly penetrated an auxiliary engine room, damaging it, and caused water to enter a nearby boiler room and an engine room!

If the underwater armor had not been increased from 45 mm to 70 mm during the Icelandic naval battle, it would not be as simple as just letting in some water!

Although it has not yet affected the speed, for a while, there were all kinds of dangers...

Bismarck gritted his teeth and was forced to use some of his mental energy to "mobilize" his body, cooperating with the damage control team who were desperately tightening the screws of the round table-sized waterproof plug against the turbulent sea water, trying to quickly block the breach! On the other side, they continued to fight back with their own artillery!

however……

"Hold on, sister! I'll help you deal with this troublesome old witch!"

With a loud shout, a round of 380mm armor-piercing shells fired from the Tirpitz enveloped the Warspite with a column of water! Two shells hit the rear mast and stern of the Warspite one after the other! The firing clock that transmitted firing data to the other two British battleships was blown into the air in a violent explosion!

But this is not the worst...

"Report! The underwater part of the Y turret ammunition depot was hit and water is entering the ammunition depot!! Y turret cannot be used temporarily!!"

"hateful!"

After one punch, the table next to Cunningham even lost a corner, but fortunately everyone was busy fighting and no one noticed.

Just thinking about being called an old witch over and over again, Yan Zhan was so angry that he gritted his teeth. Which girl would be happy to be called that?

And being called like that by a girl younger than me?

It's a blatant mockery!

But at this moment, a big hand reached out and grabbed War-weary's trembling hand...

"Calm down! Don't rush into a fight with them! They are two ship girls! And they can run faster than us!"

“Don’t let anger cloud your judgment.”

Even War-Yan, who was furious, could instantly recognize who this voice, which was supposed to be always cynical, belonged to.

Somehow, War-weary felt his anger calm down instantly...

She took a long breath, and her towering chest rose and fell slowly and dramatically.

"Commander, please give us your combat instructions!"

"The First Destroyer Fleet is now 5 yards behind us at 14000 o'clock on our right, and the Second Destroyer Fleet, which was previously serving as a reserve on the periphery of the battlefield, has also arrived, 16500 yards in front of us at 150 o'clock on our right! We should withdraw now. If we don't, it will be difficult to retreat once our destroyers are killed by the guns of their battleships!"

Yan Zhan turned around quickly and found that it was already seven fifty!

The Bismarck and Tirpitz had moved from a position parallel to and slightly behind them to a position slightly ahead of them!

If they continue running like this for ten to fifteen minutes at most, the two German shipmen will be able to turn right and grab their T-heads! !

He was so busy fighting that he forgot the time! He even forgot that they were much faster than him!

If the battle drags on for a long time, he might be able to severely damage Bismarck and Tirpitz, but he and the other two sister ships will most likely not be able to escape!

The destroyer fleet was arranged to cover their retreat - the German 150 guns had a range of 23000 meters! If they were delayed any further, the destroyers would sooner or later suffer heavy losses under the continuous and tight 150 gun attacks from the two ship girls on the opposite side!

The Zeppelin was not far behind, and the Indomitable aircraft carrier on their side was definitely not a match for the Zeppelin, an aircraft carrier that could carry out strong attacks and suppression in the sea!

By then...you really won’t be able to escape!

War-weary was instantly frightened and broke out in a cold sweat!

Cunningham glanced at his own War-weary and saw that War-weary also looked like he had figured it out and was afraid. However, he just smiled and didn't say anything else. He just grabbed the microphone and issued combat orders as the commander of the Mediterranean Fleet:

"I order the cruisers that have left the battlefield to continue advancing towards Tobruk, and after the bombardment is completed, go directly to Malta! Two squadrons of destroyers should move closer to the battleships, ready to torpedo the German fleet at any time! Battleship, the entire fleet turns right, we will fight and retreat at the same time!"

Chapter 444: The Fox Who Was Happy for Nothing

Cunningham was right...

In the command room of the battleship Bismarck, 20 kilometers away from the command room of the Warspite, Lütjens was indeed deciding whether to further pressure the British fleet's course...

Another round of 381 armor-piercing shells came crashing down! Bismarck's mental power was fixed on the most threatening shell! The hull tilted, and among the large cluster of tracers in the night, there was a tracer that was supposed to hit the front of the turret directly. After this tilt, it hit the 210mm armor on the top of the turret (which had been reinforced after the modification) at an angle small enough to bounce off! Accompanied by an extremely piercing noise, there was a spark caused by friction... This shell that could have directly destroyed a main turret just narrowly passed by the top of the turret! Only a faint groove caused by the impact and friction of the shell was left...

The huge impact force caused the metal to dent.

"Captain, a new British destroyer fleet with four destroyers has arrived. They are at one o'clock on the right front, 32000 meters away from us! Heading 225 degrees due southwest, speed knots!" Bismarck reported the position of the newly emerged enemy while marking the nautical chart as usual.

Knowing that Bismarck was a bit overwhelmed and the distance was not too far, Lutjens directly asked Hyde to take over the operation of the fire control system of Bismarck. The Persian cat only had to be responsible for correcting the errors of the fire control system from time to time. In this way, the work of a certain secretary cat was suddenly made a lot easier.

Soon, the newly discovered destroyer fleet was also marked on the nautical chart.

"Well... the original destroyer fleet is 31000 meters away at four o'clock in the southwest direction... It seems that old guy Cunningham is going to run away!" Lütjens pounded the table and said this.

"Are you going to run...?" Bismarck took the opportunity to come over and take a look while the British shells of the next round of bombardment had just been fired. That's right! The five destroyers of the British First Squadron, which had followed the cruiser and were preparing to bombard Tobruk together, had already abandoned the British cruiser that was heading to Tobruk and were rushing over desperately. The four destroyers of the newly appeared British Second Squadron rushed directly between him and the Warspite!

And no matter which way you turn, as long as you want to chase after Warspite, you will inevitably fall into the situation of being hit by anti-ship mines!

What's more, it's not certain that Cunningham will turn at a large angle now! He can just turn right a little bit, wait until he completely meets up with the destroyers, and then turn around and leave the battlefield!

As expected... I was so busy fighting that I ignored the battlefield situation...

He hummed and nodded. While waiting for the captain to issue combat instructions, Bismarck continued to turn his mental power back to observe the trajectory of the shells, estimating whether the landing point of the shells could be avoided.

"The time now is... almost seven fifty, and the current situation... is almost there! Order: notify Tirpitz, the entire formation maintains a single column, and turns left two compass points (one compass point is 8.125 degrees)! Start steering now, and start turning at seven fifty! Put pressure on them as much as possible! Strive for more opportunities to attack!!" Lütjens thought for a moment and made a quick decision.

"Okay, but wait a minute! The shells are coming down!! Hold on tight!" Bismarck agreed straightforwardly, and at the same time Lütjens felt the hull begin to tilt.

Within a few seconds, the hull beneath their feet began to tremble slightly again - it seemed that the Warspite's salvo had just missed the target again!

Although the most dangerous round of bombardment was avoided, the next round was the duet of the two battleships Queen Elizabeth and Warrior... Although the accuracy was much lower and there was smoke blocking it, it was still a joint salvo of two battleships...

Although it seems that the accuracy of these two rounds has become slightly worse than the previous two rounds?

You can think about it in your mind, but you can't stop manipulating the body!

Besides, I have to convey the order to Tizi quickly... If a large warship really wants to turn, it will be very clumsy. If we waste time, the formation of the turn will be wrong...

Soon, the ladder received the order from the WIFI and began to turn. However... for some reason, almost at the same time as we turned, the British fleet on the opposite side also turned right by two compass points...

Is this a coincidence...?

-----

Time on the battlefield always seems so long, but in fact it is so short...

After five or six rounds of bombardment, the time was already 7:55. In these short five minutes, both the British and German fleets suffered damage, but... overall, the combat effectiveness of both sides seemed to be not seriously affected.

On the bridge of the Warspite, the fire that had been caused by the previous hit had been extinguished, and the Y turret ammunition depot that had been pierced below the waterline had mysteriously reduced the amount of water entering it. After the water pump was turned on, the seawater that had poured in was quickly drained out, and it could be put back into use without any impact on the speed.

"Tsk... Even with two sister ships assisting in the bombardment, one against two is still a bit of a stretch...?"

While War-weary dodged the shells in a somewhat awkward manner, he controlled all eight main turrets to continue firing at the cat and mouse sisters...

Under the night sky, over the Mediterranean Sea, tracers flew across the sky and bullets rained down...

"Second Destroyer Fleet, arrive here on orders!"

Amid the dense rain of bullets, the Warspite's radio finally received a call from the British Second Destroyer Fleet for reinforcement.

"Order, Second Destroyer Squadron, execute the third combat plan!" Cunningham grabbed the microphone and gave the order.

"Understood!" The flagship of the Second Destroyer Fleet immediately responded and headed straight for the German fleet! Soon, accompanied by the roar of heavy artillery, Tirpitz's exclamation sounded over the WIFI...

"Sister! The British destroyer launched a torpedo!!"

"Don't panic. How far is the destroyer from you?" Tizi was so panicked when the distance was still quite far... Bismarck frowned slightly and asked back rudely.

"Uh...20500 meters..." The voice became smaller and smaller. Maybe Tizi also knew that he was wrong...right?

What a troublesome hamster... Bismarck sighed softly with a little mixed feeling. Now Hyde was in charge of fire control, and Bismarck, who was mainly responsible for avoiding and correcting errors, took the time to continue scanning the battlefield situation. The second team of destroyers that appeared in front seemed to have collectively launched torpedoes and were beginning to turn. The first team of British destroyers that were originally on the battlefield in the back had gradually caught up at a speed of 90 knots. However, Warspite and the others had already turned around at this time, turning to a course of degrees to the east. Did they seem to be planning to leave the battlefield?

This kind of thing still needs to be reported to the captain...

"Captain! Tizi reports that the British second destroyer squadron has launched a torpedo! The distance is 20500 meters, and the position is at one o'clock on Tizi's hour!"

"Should we launch torpedoes at this distance..." The captain looked at the clock. It was 7:56 pm... If the British destroyers were already in place, it looked like the pursuit was about to end...

The British torpedoes have a range of only 15000 yards, and they have to run at a speed of 35 knots for a full ten minutes. In general naval battles, they are of little use, but if it is an anti-naval battle, this range and time of the torpedoes is enough to keep them out of 20000 meters!

After all, although the speed of the two battleships under his command is 36 knots, the destroyer also has a speed of 36 knots, and the slow speed mode of the torpedo is 35 knots! This means that it is absolutely impossible to bypass the torpedo fan, and it is also impossible to bypass the destroyer...

And destroyers usually have a round of spare torpedoes, not to mention they have another destroyer fleet coming...

If they really intend to use anti-navigation mines to prevent us from pursuing Warspite...

Moreover, in addition to the destroyers, Cunningham still has three battleships including the Warspite! If a big fight really comes, they can still repair in Alexandria or withdraw to the mainland through Suez for repairs, and their logistics here...

Never mind, let's fight again next time...

After making up his mind quickly, Lutjens stood up from his chair and ordered Bismarck: "Tell Tizi to prepare to turn. Turn due north at 8 o'clock. If they leave, we will withdraw our troops!"

"Also, take a look at the damage and consumption."

"Yes!"

-

With two British destroyer squadrons covering the rear, the naval battle ended just like that. The battle was very grand, but the end result was just a few rounds of shooting at each other, which made both sides a little depressed...

Of course, the two commanders were relieved. After all, if the battle was really intense, they would be sad if their warships were damaged.

"…Bismarck fired 380 102mm shells, Tirpitz fired 98 shells. In addition, the high-speed sailing for half an hour just now consumed more than 400 tons of fuel. In addition, damage, leakage and water ingress caused the loss or contamination of 37 tons of fuel on Bismarck, and there was no additional loss of fuel on Tirpitz... Damage situation: Bismarck was hit by seven shells, part of the superstructure was damaged, two oil tanks were leaking, an auxiliary engine room was destroyed, an engine room and a group of boiler rooms were flooded, and two 2mm anti-aircraft guns and one 105mm anti-aircraft gun were lost. The damage and fire are now under control...Tirpitz was hit by three shells, and a 150mm turret was out of order..."

On the bridge of the Bismarck, which was slowly returning westward, Lütjens was listening to Bismarck's report with a bitter face, while worrying about the maintenance and consumption of fuel and ammunition...

Meanwhile…

Just as the bright lights of the artillery fire in the northeast gradually dissipated, in the shallows about ten kilometers away from the shore of Zawiyat Zanzur, two British cruisers were conducting another round of ship position calculations...