Bismarck

Toph couldn't help but have a bad feeling.

Soon, Kumets sent an order...

"…Top, your Prinz Eugen has the strongest enemy detection and friend-or-foe identification capabilities in the entire fleet, so you will continue to lead the charge this time! This is an order, do you understand?"

Looking at the light signal sent by the flagship Scharnhorst, Top couldn't help but think of Kumetz's smug and domineering face...

A low MMP curse, not sure if it should be said or not...

Chapter 487: Eugen's First Battle Experience

In the night in the southeast waters of Bear Island, the east wind rolled up thick clouds and brought light snowflakes.

A huge fleet with the Union Jack and the Stars and Stripes flying high is slowly moving forward on the surface of the Arctic Ocean.

Fifty kilometers southeast of Bear Island, a huge merchant fleet of twenty-six merchant ships was arranged in four neat columns with a spacing of 400 meters left and right and 800 meters front and back. They were heading due east at a speed of twelve knots, sailing slowly under the night of the Arctic Ocean.

The fleet escorting the merchant fleet was led by an old-fashioned D-class light cruiser and eight destroyers, forming a huge square formation on the sea - this formation was extremely useful in anti-submarine and anti-aircraft operations and was called a "safe". However, the fatal weakness of this formation was that it could not fight against large surface warships...

However, the task of dealing with large surface fleets was not accomplished by these destroyers and old light cruisers! Because everyone knew that just in front of the merchant fleet, thirty miles away, several huge figures stood like a wall on the rough sea...

Leading the way were four destroyers arranged in a single line for night search, followed ten kilometers later by a huge figure guarded on the left and right by two heavily armed light cruisers - the battlecruiser HMS Renown, the flagship of the Northern Escort Task Force and the personal ship of Admiral Tovey, commander of the British Home Fleet!

In this dark night when the wind has not yet stopped, "they" will use their iron bodies to intercept any German fleet that may suddenly rush out from the sea fog of the Arctic Ocean!

Far away from the surface interception formation, and also behind the PQ-3 Arctic Ocean convoy, about kilometers away, the support formation consisting of the USS Ranger, the light aircraft carrier USS Centurion, two anti-aircraft cruisers, and four destroyers was on standby - the current sea conditions had reached the point where the aircraft carriers could carry out deck operations, and the Allied ground crews were also lining up planes loaded with fuel and ammunition on the flight deck. In just five hours, when the sky was slightly bright, all the planes on the flight deck could be released to sink any enemy that might hinder the Arctic convoy!

In order to defeat the enemy of the free world, Hitler's Greater German Empire, Churchill, despite his deep hatred, still sent a large escort convoy to the Soviet Union, which suffered heavy losses in the Battle of Kiev. Moreover, he also issued a death order: requiring all supplies to arrive within a limited time! !

Although, this brought a lot of pressure to Tovey, who was in charge of the operation on the Renown...

"Tsk! If it weren't for this damn order from those damn politicians, I would have delayed the escort team for a while, and after the storm has completely passed, I would have concentrated my forces to break through the Germans' Bear Island interception line during the day tomorrow. Wouldn't that be safer than what we have now..."

Tovey, with a gloomy face, stood by the porthole outside the bridge command tower of the Renown, smoking a cigarette. The gloom, depression and coldness emanating from his whole body made even the east wind carrying snowflakes over the Arctic Ocean shiver...

Ever since the Hood battlecruiser was sunk half a year ago, and after watching the Gibraltar fortress being reduced to ruins by three German warship girls, Tovey's face became more and more gloomy day by day...

In addition to the self-blame for the battlecruiser Hood, he was also deeply wary of the German Navy's shipgirls...

In fact, Tovey was not very confident about this escort...

After all, according to the situation report sent by the Navy Headquarters, the Germans are expected to dispatch two battlecruisers, two heavy cruisers, and six destroyers...

At this time, the British Empire, in order to protect its interests in the Indian Ocean and the Far East, took away newcomers such as Glory, Victory, King George V and the Prince of Wales. Their own people would not be able to go to sea with only a reputation...

In particular, both Scharnhorst and Gneisenau had their main guns replaced, and their attack power was about the same as that of the Renown! Although their speed had dropped, it remained at 31 knots!

However, compared to the pitiful 227mm main armor and 102-127mm horizontal armor of the Renown, the defense of the two German Scharnhorst-class battlecruisers was completely abnormal...

350mm main armor, 50mm upper deck horizontal armor is followed by 80-105mm dome armor, the anti-torpedo area also has 45mm underwater armor, and even the inside of the hull has a layer of 40mm internal armor... This defense, judging from the data alone, is not much different from the Bismarck before the modification. Moreover, the current Shane has been replaced with a 380mm main gun, and now even the firepower is very close to that damn Bismarck... The Hood was sunk by that damn Bismarck...

Wait! I can't think about it anymore, it will bring back memories of Hood! Those damn German shipmen... Tovey shook his head fiercely and threw Shane's performance data out of his mind!

Just then…

"Report! Commander! The destroyer ahead reports that an enemy ship has been spotted! It appears to be only one Admiral Hipper-class heavy cruiser. The vanguard destroyer squadron is now engaging the enemy ship..."

The report from his men brought Tovey back to his senses. Moreover, in the howling east wind, the sound of artillery could be heard faintly!

Looking at the flashes of artillery fire reflected from the thick clouds in the east, Tovey lowered his head and looked at his watch:

It’s 10:00 p.m. on August 30th, and there are still five hours until dawn!

Now that the enemy has been discovered, that is to say, the battle cruiser and two heavily armed light cruisers in my hands have to hold them off for five hours...

and……

"…You just said that there was only one heavy cruiser on the other side?"

"Yes, sir! When I received the telegram, I had already asked the destroyer squadron to confirm again that there was indeed only one heavy cruiser fighting against them!"

After hearing his subordinates' reply that they had reconfirmed the report, Tovey, with a gloomy face, thought for a moment and thought of the possibility that the German fleet might be dispersed:

"Hmph!... Reconnaissance and luring the enemy... Order: The merchant fleet changes course and sails due north; Renown approaches the merchant fleet and informs the escort squadron. I will take over the command of the escort squadron directly! Also, let our two cruisers go up to support the destroyers! The command of the destroyer squadron and the two cruisers will be handed over to Rear Admiral Bonnet. Ask him to act according to the plan! As for the aircraft carrier support formation... Be prepared for combat and stand by!"

"Yes!"

----

"Report to the Commander! A report has been sent from the Prinz Eugen... Two British cruisers and four destroyers have been spotted 150 kilometers southeast of Bear Island. They are currently engaged! In addition, no large merchant fleet has been spotted!"

In the command room of the Scharnhorst, the communications staff was reporting the latest battle situation to Kumets.

"Really? Let me see..."

Kumets stared at the chart for a while, then began to exchange opinions with several staff members:

"It seems that Eugen has discovered the British vanguard formation. Their escort fleet...will it be near Bear Island?" An aide looked at the situation on the nautical chart and tried to analyze the battlefield situation.

"Is it also possible to turn north and go around the ice floe area from Bear Island?" said another aide.

"Well...but can Eugen's single ship withstand six of their ships? What was our previous plan?" Speaking of this, Kumets was still a little worried and felt it necessary to ask.

Although he had received Raeder's care and asked him to "pay special attention" to the Prinz Eugen, Kumetz also knew that Raeder did not want to treat Scharn the same way he had treated Bismarck and the others before - after all, the Prinz Eugen was the only ship girl in Raeder's hands now...

However, precisely because of this, coupled with the previous incident of the "rebellious Lütjens", and God knows whether Top and Eugen have any connection with those "navy traitors" over there... In the end, Raeder still chose to keep a close watch.

only…

After all, Admiral Raeder told me that we should only monitor Eugen and Top, not kill them! If Eugen was sunk, I guess I would be finished...

but…

Now we are on the battlefield, and the British have aircraft carriers! Although the British aircraft carriers cannot send reconnaissance planes due to the bad weather and darkness, if I rashly send a telegram and break the radio silence... I am afraid that at dawn, an opening bombing will be waiting for me! !

Thinking about the attack power of the Raider aircraft carrier, Kumets shook his head. He was not a brave general, so there was no need to gamble with his own safety...

Therefore, we can only rely on making the best possible plan - although plans can never keep up with changes, but even the worst decision is better than no decision...

"According to the plan we released before...if what we discovered is an enemy escort fleet or battleship, then everyone will gather there, but if what we discovered is an enemy vanguard formation...the person who discovered it will find a way to contain the enemy vanguard formation, and everyone else will continue searching. And if it is the vanguard formation discovered by Eugen, then Hipper's formation will go to reinforce Eugen..." Just as Kumets was thinking about his own little plan, a staff officer dug out the previous combat order and found the previous plan.

"Oh, that shouldn't be a big problem, right? If Hipper and Eugen are together, there are two heavy cruisers and two destroyers, which should be enough..."

After confirming the plan in the previously issued order, Kumets felt a little relieved.

As expected, if the headquarters makes decisions and plans in advance, there is no need to rely on emergency talents at the last minute, and there is no need to send a telegram to break the radio silence and expose your position...

Kumets was slightly thankful that he was an orthodox "command officer" and began to instruct his subordinates:

"That's it, let's continue searching! Scharnhorst, turn right one compass point, and we'll search in the direction of Bear Island."

"Yes!"

(PS: In fact, the data of armor thickness cannot represent everything. The design ideas and specific layout, and even the manufacturing and processing technology are also very critical. Moreover, the survivability of a warship is by no means just described by the thickness of the armor. Facing AP, HE, bombs, torpedoes, and even secondary guns... the performance is different! The historical underwater anti-fish armor of Schaan was too far outward and the support strength of the anti-fish area was not strong enough. There was no watertight compartment behind the anti-fish area. There were also problems with the defense and explosion resistance of various pipelines and the sealing packing settings passing through the compartments. In addition, the connection between the boiler room and the chimney, because the height of the boiler was higher than the original design, there could only be a "small step" that protruded a little bit - but in the final Battle of the North Cape, this theoretically almost The small steps that were impossible to be hit were hit by the 20 main gun of the Duke of York more than 356 kilometers away at an angle of 24 degrees, and hit the boiler room with one shot after just bypassing the 350 mm main armor! This shell destroyed a group of boilers and completely destroyed one of the two main steam pipes, causing Shane's speed to drop from the original 26 knots to only 10 knots! As a result, Shane, who had almost gotten rid of the Duke of York with a four-knot speed advantage, was caught up by the British fleet again! After being hit by about 200 shells and 11 torpedoes from a battleship, four cruisers and more than a dozen destroyers, the German Navy's North Norwegian Fleet Commander Major General Erich Bey and his 1400 officers and soldiers sank into the icy Arctic Ocean with a high battle flag in the funeral of the North Cape polar blizzard)

Chapter 488: Fly, Fly

The dark night provided good cover for the destroyers, and their speed was as high as over 36 knots. The torpedoes used in anti-navigation warfare had a "threat zone" of up to 20,000 meters!

Normally at this time, destroyers should be the king...

but……

As early as the Battle of Norway, Hipper had a record of using radar fire control to severely damage the Firefly in the smoke screen. However, with Eugen's ability as a ship girl, it was impossible for the four destroyers to hide themselves in the night!

This was Eugen's first actual combat, but in the almost entire year of "protection" life before that, Eugen was very active in his training.

After all, training was a rare time for her to "let some fresh air" after spending days behind bars... Compared to Tirpitz, who often let her go, Eugen was really serious, and was forced by the environment. It was just the natural gap between heavy cruisers and battleships.

As the will of the warship itself, the ship girl's control of her own artillery fire was instinctive. Not to mention, she had no other activities and could only focus all her attention on learning and training to relieve the boredom and grievances of the years.

Moreover, all along, his captain, Top, has been carrying the pressure from those bastards above on his shoulders and silently supporting him!

Even now, Top is standing by his side, encouraging him!

"Well... if this is my first actual combat, I'm going to fight well!"

Prince Eugen, who was on the battlefield for the first time, focused all his attention and locked onto the leading British destroyer...

"Main guns, aim carefully... Fire! Fire!" (I'm automatically imagining the voice of ship C Eugen, fly, fly, Führer: Fly over here!)

With the occasional flash of fire from the muzzle, rows of meteor-like fire lines rushed towards the British destroyer!

Although this is the first actual combat, if the opponent is a destroyer...

Although the distance of 25,000 meters seemed a bit far for an ordinary heavy cruiser, it was no more difficult for Eugen than her daily target practice. And facing her average rate of fire of one round every ten seconds, like a machine gun, the four British destroyers were in bad luck...

炮弹重达122公斤的L4.7瞬发弹头引信型203毫米高爆弹，装有近9公斤的烈性炸药！打在英国人仅仅只有不到十毫米外壳钢板的2000吨级驱逐舰上，是个什么后果…

By the time the two heavily armed light cruisers, each equipped with 12 152mm guns and with enough firepower to fight against heavy cruisers, arrived from ten kilometers away, two destroyers had already been badly wounded and had lost their combat effectiveness! The other two destroyers were also hysterically beating their rudders and dancing in the colorful barrage of the 203mm main guns and 105mm secondary guns of the Prinz Eugen...

"Damn you Krauts!"

From Rear Admiral Bonnet, the commander of the cruiser division, down to the British officers and soldiers on the two cruisers, they were furious! However… although the heavily armed light cruiser can completely fight against the heavy cruiser with the firepower density of twelve 152mm main guns, the light cruiser is a light cruiser after all, and the effective range of the 152mm main gun is nearly 203 meters less than that of the mm main gun!

Moreover, at this distance, everyone has armor, so it is not enough to just wash the deck with firepower density. The question of whether a single shot can penetrate the opponent's armor is very important!

But...the single-shot power of the 203mm gun is twice that of the 152mm gun!

In the era of big ships and big guns, isn't the competition about who has thicker steel plates and thicker gun barrels?

After all, armor is justice and the gun barrel is truth.

"Top, Top, they have two more cruisers!"

Eugen pointed in the direction of the British cruiser in the distance, and like a nervous little rabbit, he jumped and pulled Top's sleeve.

After all, it was his first experience, so Eugen was a little nervous, which was understandable.

"Hey, hey, hey, stop shaking! With your speed and artillery capabilities, can't you just drag them along and fight them?"

Top had been seasick before, and after being shaken by Eugen, he felt that his seasickness seemed to relapse. However, when Eugen, who was originally pulling Top's sleeve, heard this, he stopped, blinked his eyes, said "oh" in a cute and adorable way, and turned around to control his body and began to turn...

He looked so well-behaved and cute, which made Top feel both angry and amused.

As expected, although Eugen is a heavy cruiser, she is still just a child...

Even Top, who always had a bad temper and had been forced to suppress his anger for a long time, couldn't help but smile when Eugen shook him, and even felt like he was healed...

I wonder if Bismarck, Tirpitz and Zeppelin are usually so cute and well-behaved when they are with Lütjens and his friends? Wait! It seems that last time, the three of them teamed up to tease Eugen and made him cry...

Those boats are not cute at all.

The disheveled Top suddenly felt a bit of mixed emotions. He looked at Eugen beside him, only to see the blonde girl with twin ponytails, who was in a better mood, turning around and firing, even humming a cheerful tune...

--

"…What did you say? Bonnet said that their two cruisers couldn't defeat one ship? And now they are even forced to retreat?!"

On the bridge of the Renown, Torvey's roar shocked everyone in the command room into silence...

"...Yes, Commander... Rear Admiral Bonnet said... The Germans' speed is not slower than theirs, and... their hit rate is also very accurate at a distance of more than 20 kilometers. That distance is the maximum range of our six-inch main guns, and our accuracy is not at all... By the way, Bonnet said they used the maximum firing rate, six rounds per minute..."

In front of Tovey, who was like a volcano that could erupt at any time, the communications staff officer was afraid of being scolded, but his duty as a soldier forced him to grit his teeth and report the situation.

However, the staff officer who was ready to be scolded unexpectedly found that Tovey's face...did not get angry? Although it seemed to be even gloomier?!

Looks like this is a escape?

But why can we still see veins throbbing on the commander's forehead and his expression of gritting his teeth?

The communications staff couldn't help but sing a song of anxiety in his heart...

Tovek was in no mood to care about the communications officer's thoughts. He just suddenly thought of a possibility that he was most unwilling to face in his heart...

German ship crew

It has been less than half an hour since I ordered reinforcements and now Bonnet asks for help!

Based on his previous experience of dealing with Lütjens, Tovey had already judged in his heart that this heavy cruiser, which was able to defeat two at a time and force Rear Admiral Bonnet to turn around and run away, was most likely another German ship!

Just a few days ago, Lütjens and his three German ships had just driven the Mediterranean Fleet out of the Suez Canal. Even the hub of the Eastern Mediterranean, Alexandria, fell into the hands of the Germans! And now...

Even a heavy cruiser had a "devil spirit from hell" appear! ——Damn it, have they sold their souls to Satan! ?

Torvey gritted his teeth, turned his head and glanced out the window in the direction of Bonette.

If Hood were still alive, why would he be afraid of the evil spirit of this heavy cruiser?

As he thought about it, he remembered the girl with red glasses, who smiled and could make delicious black tea.

In the cold wind carrying snowflakes from the Arctic Ocean, the low-hanging clouds in the distance occasionally reflected bursts of bright yellow flashes!

Without looking at the nautical chart, Tovey could estimate that this place was only half an hour away from the battlefield in Bonette!