Bismarck

After all, he had seen Warspite, heard of Hood, and was a man who had seen a lot of battles. He knew very well that with the range of the German ship's search, at this distance, they must have discovered him now! But the actions of that old ghost Lütjens... Not only has he not turned yet, but he has not even used the most basic electronic interference. It's as if he deliberately wanted to give him a T-excellence - what's the old saying from the East? If something is abnormal, it is a monster trying to make a change...

Wait! Are there a few more words?

He shook his head vigorously, not thinking about those messy things. He only looked at the map board in front of him, and saw Lütjens moving in a straight line at full speed getting closer and closer to him...

---------

From time to time, the radio station could hear the cries for help from the US battleship fleet. Although the theoretical offensive and defensive capabilities of the three Colorado-class ships were not inferior, the ablation of the artillery under the strong charge, the training of the sailors, and the gap in the US Navy's gunnery concepts obviously made them unable to compare with the artillery attacks of those evil spirits that seemed to have crawled out of the abyss of the deep sea! In fact, at this moment, the cries for help from the three US battleships on the radio station were already one after another. Even though they were tough and thick-skinned after being hit repeatedly, the artillery attacks of the battleships were no joke!

Not to mention, the Germans on the other side also used the tactic of high-explosive bombs to wash the deck and non-armored areas! Even though the Colorado-class battleship has a large defense area and many compartments, the unprotected upper deck and superstructure are now riddled with holes - evil spirits do not need observation instruments to fight, but battleships do!

Cries for help came from the radio headset, making Somerville's head swell!

And in just a few minutes, with a closing rate of 1100 yards per kilometer, the distance between Somerville and Lütjens has been reduced to less than kilometers!

After some contemplation, the navy's duty and the allies' call for help finally prevailed:

"… Forget it, never mind! Whether it's rescuing our allies or Lütjens, you've given me a T-failure, there's only one thing left to do now - pass on my order! All battleships, lock onto the German fleet! R-class battleships, use high-powered charges... Distance 32000 yards (29 kilometers), my fleet is already in range... Everyone! Fire!!"

32000 yards, this is the maximum range of the Queen Elizabeth-class battleship Warrior at an elevation of 30 degrees. The main guns of the three R-class battleships following Warrior, Resolution, Sovereign, and Ramirez, only had an elevation of 20 degrees, and could only reach this distance by relying on the strong charge that severely burned the gun barrel.

However, with the fighter plane right in front of him, Somerville could no longer care about so much!

Following Somerville's order, the thirty-two 1-inch MK main guns roared one after another! The dense barrage of bullets dragged out colorful tracers across the night sky, and the two German ships in the distance were covered with a fierce momentum! ! At the speed of these shells, it only takes one and a half minutes to fly kilometers!

No matter how difficult it is to observe and how inaccurate the artillery fire is, relying solely on the density of firepower, as long as there are no major errors in the coverage area, even if the target is not hit, it can force Lütjens to turn and avoid!

Lütjens on the opposite side did turn - but after hearing the radar soldier's report, looking at the situation on the map board, and gazing at the tracer in the dark sky that was still halfway through its flight with a long tail in the air, Somerville's eyes froze on the spot!

As soon as I fired, the Lütjens on the opposite side turned 60 degrees, and the heading changed from due north to northeast! By the time they finished turning, my shells were still in the air, flying around aimlessly without reaching the sky or the ground!

This……

As a veteran of the navy, Somerville knew for sure that the battleship had a large tonnage and strong inertia. If it was not prepared in advance, it would take at least one or two minutes from the time the rudder was turned to the time the ship began to change course! And from the beginning of the turn to the end of the turn, it would take nearly a minute to complete!

They had not seen any signs of pre-steering and frequent changes of course on the radar, but...if that was not the case, how could the timing be so accurate?! Was this a coincidence, or was it a long-planned plan...

The more he thought about it, the colder Somerville felt on his back!

Before Somerville could figure this out, the brilliant flash of the gun muzzle behind the distant horizon had lit up again! In the dark night, this sudden flash of brilliant light, and the roar that everyone knew would be conveyed along with the flying shells, seemed like a huge shadow pressing on everyone's heart, so iron-blooded and ruthless!

"Helmsman! Evade immediately!"

In the 0.1 second when he saw the flash, which was just the time of human reaction arc, Somerville had figured everything out instantly! Not only that, he also had a bad feeling in his heart: Lütjens, the old ghost, had been pretending not to notice him, and then attacked the battleships of the American fleet, and released electronic interference to hinder his observation and the Americans' request for help - all of this, I'm afraid they are actually coming for him!

Then the target of this round of shelling is obviously obvious!

On the battleship Bismarck, who had just fired a round of salvos, looked at her captain with shining eyes!

Perhaps the person who knows you best is your enemy! Lütjens and Bismarck could guess what Sommerville was thinking. And... Bismarck was sure that if the captain could meet Sommerville directly, then the captain might even be able to use his endless disguise to say to Sommerville:

"Your analysis is correct! Unfortunately - it's too late!"

If there is no prior preparation, then the time it takes for the battleship to start turning from the rudder to the time it starts turning is not as long as the time it takes for the shell to fly 30 kilometers! So... isn't it too late? !

The shells fired by Bismarck and Tirpitz had no tracers, but this unobservable bombardment only deepened Somerville's fear! In his pupils, which were infinitely enlarged by the darkness of the night and the mixture of fear, even though he could not see anything, Somerville did not know why, but he had a premonition of impending disaster in his heart...

Now I can only pray to God for his blessing, so that the damn steering effect of my ship can be improved a little bit...

But, obviously, at this late hour of eleven-thirty in the night, God had probably gone to sleep - just when he felt that the battleship beneath his feet showed a slight sign of changing course, tall columns of water appeared one after another around him due to the explosion of the battleship's shells!

Moreover, this kind of water column was not the kind of mindless random shooting from all the gun ports, but a very regular one, four water columns followed by four water columns, distributed in two groups of four guns on the left and right sides of the ship!

Sommerville's eyes suddenly widened - German Navy standard gunnery: half-salvo positioning + salvo fire coverage! Just now this was half-salvo positioning, so the next thing is...

"Main guns fire back! Everyone take cover! Damage control team in place! Turn the steering gear to full left!" From the cabin of the old battleship, which was twisting its body awkwardly, came Somerville's hoarse and trembling voice.

Although the Queen Elizabeth class's maximum speed of 24 knots at the beginning of its service was amazing in World War I, it has been more than 20 years now, and this clumsy old warship, whose legs and feet are no longer flexible after years of service, is not like its sister, the Warspite, which can still run by lifting its skirts. Although the sailors hurriedly turned up the boiler's forced ventilation to the maximum, and although the helmsman was still desperately pulling the steering wheel even if the steering gear hit his head, no matter how much she wanted to make evasive actions, how could she escape the bombardment of the evil spirit? !

Although there were artillery fire and tracers from another direction in the southern night sky, the effective range of the American battleships had no effect on the German fleet, which was already 30 kilometers away and was getting farther and farther away after turning...

Suddenly, two loud bangs erupted, and two fireballs were thrown directly from the upper deck of the Warrior battleship by the evil spirits on the opposite side! ! And the German ships and men were not done with the attack. While the Warrior had not escaped the shooting range and the fire control parameters had not yet expired, the two battleships Bismarck and Tirpitz used their full sixteen SKC34 main guns at intervals of half a minute to fire at the Warrior of Somerville!

Several rounds of fast, accurate and fierce volleys directly hit the battleship HMS Warrior, the flagship of Admiral Somerville, commander of the British Indian Ocean Fleet, which was trying to evade and counterattack hastily, into billowing smoke and raging flames!

Moreover, after the German fleet turned, the distance between it and Somerville was actually getting closer and closer!

"Report to the General, the flagship is seriously damaged... What should we do now...?"

After finally surviving the fierce and continuous volleys, several officers, covered in dust and some with injuries, began to ask for tactical guidance with sad faces.

Summerville, who was also covered in dust and blood, saw that his flagship had been badly damaged. He clung to the railing tightly, staring with bloodshot eyes at his men who seemed to be frightened, and shouted: "What should we do? Fly in a zigzag pattern and keep moving forward! Get close and fight back! - Now we have no choice but to keep moving forward! We must keep the distance from them! Otherwise, we will be dragged to death by the German ship's kite tactics and range! - Radar operator! Fire control officer! Report the enemy ship's position and distance parameters to me!"

Before Summerville finished speaking, a radar soldier's voice came from the side: "General, the optical sight is out of order now, and the fire control radar is also interfered with. The detailed parameters can no longer be measured... I can only say that the closing rate just now was about 500 yards per minute..."

"Shut up! Hurry up and tune the frequency to measure the distance! Otherwise, we will all die here!!" Somerville shouted angrily, interrupting the radar soldier's complaint. But just after he finished yelling at the radar soldier, the signalman shouted again: "General, Marshal Cunningham called - they are still south of the high-speed convoy and are rushing over at full speed. Ask us what our current situation is!"

Hearing that Cunningham was still to the south of the high-speed convoy, Somerville's face became even gloomier - the south of the high-speed convoy was at least 60 kilometers away from here! With the combat power of the Evil Spirit-class battleship and a speed of 33 and a half knots, which was faster than a cruiser, how could Cunningham catch up even if he had a speed of 28 knots? !

It looks like I'm going to die here... But even if I die, it won't be in vain!

In his mind, Somerville briefly calculated the number of Lütjens's bombardments and the duration of the battle, and soon he had a plan and realization in his mind:

"Tell him that the situation is very bad! The Warrior is badly damaged, and the American Colorado class is also seriously injured! But tell Cunningham that old ghost Lütjens should not have many main gun shells left after fighting to this extent! ... In the name of the last glory of the Royal Navy, I will continue to move forward! Fight to the last ship... As long as I can consume Lütjens's combat power, even if I die, it will only be a waste! (Boom!)"

With a stern face, Somerville replied to the signalman without thinking, his solemn face full of awareness of being ready to die - just like the old general on the ancient oriental stage who knew he was going to die but chose to fight to the death!

Although in the next second, the bridge of the battleship Warrior was hit by another shell!

A thick smoke enveloped the bridge, and everyone, including Somerville, was knocked to the ground by the violent shaking!

"Somerville! It's Cunningham!! Hear the reply! Hear the reply!!"

On the smoke-filled bridge, his head hit the chart table hard, and Somerville, who was dizzy from the fall, stood up shakily. When he touched his forehead, he felt a sticky warmth in his hand! But before he could react, Cunningham's anxious call came from the microphone of the radio next to him.

The medic rushed over, applied powder to Summerville's head, wrapped it with gauze, and stopped the bleeding. Summerville, who was a little more awake, sat down next to the radio and picked up the microphone weakly - the dizziness from the injury had not yet passed, although Summerville was still very clear in his mind what he should do.

"... Cunningham, don't worry, I'm not dead yet!" He spoke with a bit of breath and his head was still a little confused.

"It's good that he's not dead! But that's not what I want to talk about! I want to tell you that just now, something happened to the slow convoy!" Cunningham on the other side of the microphone was also very angry: "Prince Eugen bypassed all of us and is now heading towards the slow convoy from the northeast!"

"What? Eugen?!" Summerville was stunned, and his face fell in an instant: "...This...this is a trick to lure the tiger away from the mountain?!"

"That's right! So don't fight Lütjens head-on, and quickly pull your battleship back!" Speaking of this, Cunningham was also very upset: "The Air Force just sent a report that their night bombers discovered that two Japanese aircraft carriers were less than five hours ahead of us! So we can't let them move us around like this! Come back immediately and defend with all our strength!!"

"Well... if that's the case... (Boom!)... Zizi... Zizi..." Summerville was halfway through his words when another loud noise came from the ship! And when the vibration of the explosion died down, there was no sound from the radio!

"Damn it, Lütjens, you bastard!" Somerville gritted his teeth, threw the microphone away unwillingly and looked back at the wall clock.

It was 23:40! Only ten minutes had passed since he launched the first round of artillery fire at Lütjens!

In ten minutes, according to the closing rate, the distance is now only about twenty-five kilometers - although, the three R-class battleships under his command have to use powerful charges to complete the shooting at this distance!

It seems that the task of cutting off the rear will be very difficult...

However, what we, the Royal Navy, want is to die on the battlefield!

Thinking about it, Somerville shouted to the signalman next to him: "Come here, fix the radio immediately! Another person, use light signals to notify the three ships behind, and tell them to turn around together. I will take the Warrior to cover the rear and turn the rudder immediately to rescue the slow escort team!"

Light signals are usually sent by searchlights, which are rarely used when engaging the enemy at night! Light signals exposed outside the cabin are both dangerous and easy to expose one's position to the enemy.

But now, I can’t care about so much!

"This... is it!" Looking at his commander's eyes that were like a wounded beast, the light signal messenger shrank his neck, grabbed a helmet and put it on his head, then quickly ran out of the hatch of the command room.

Even though he knew that if he was hit by the battleship's main gun, ten pot lids would be of no use. In the face of such a huge war machine, relying solely on manpower would be useless.

Watching the messenger run out, Summerville's serious face showed what he was thinking...

Chapter 634: Desperate Transport Fleet

The moonlight had sunk to the edge of the sea horizon, and in the dim night, on the flight deck of the Zeppelin aircraft carrier, under the illumination of the night deck landing and take-off lights that emitted a dim red light, more than a dozen aircraft were being carefully and nervously watched by the ground crew who were looking at the reflective blocks on the edge of the flight deck runway, and were forming a take-off formation little by little.

In order not to expose the target, the headlights cannot be turned on for deck operations at night. The reflective blocks nailed to the edge of the deck runway are the means of ensuring that the ground crew and the aircraft will not fall into the sea.

At the front of the fleet on the runway, a BF-109 fighter with a white edelweiss painted on its fuselage was parked quietly in front of the bridge. In the open space on one side of the flight deck, several sailors with flashlights tied with red cloth on their helmets were busy refueling and loading their plane.

The owner of this plane, while his fighter was still refueling and loading ammunition, was in the pilot's waiting room under the bridge, holding the pilot's helmet in one hand and saying something to the pilots:

"...Prince Eugen should start attacking their low-speed transport fleet now, but the attack power of one ship is not enough! And they still have a certain cover force... But if they want to resist Prince Eugen, their air defense will definitely be exposed!"

"According to the arrangement, the attack aircraft group will contact the Prinz Eugen for navigation, and then have the JU-87s hang flares to illuminate the target - this time there are six JU-87s, two radar reconnaissance aircraft, two to drop flares and conduct bombing effect assessment, and two to carry electronic jammers! I will guide the attack route of the other twelve attack aircraft, avoid the artillery attack range of the Prinz Eugen, and carry out the attack - do you understand!"

"Understood!" The pilots below shouted in unison.

"That's good, get on board now!" Zeppelin waved his hand, grabbed his helmet, and was the first to walk out of the pilot waiting room under the bridge. The rest of the pilots also lined up in neat rows and followed one by one, heading for their mounts. If someone noticed carefully, they would find that, by coincidence or some other "specific" reason, their instructor walked up to her plane, which was no longer painted with a shot-down mark, but directly painted with a three-digit shot-down number, the Edelweiss fighter. At the same time, the ground crew had just filled up the fighter's tank with fuel and were pulling the refueling nozzle out of the tank refueling port. At the same time, the ground crew who were checking the runway on the other side also cleaned the entire runway in front of it at this time...

On the bridge of the Zeppelin aircraft carrier, Bangtai stood silently at the corridor, watching the planes take off one after another under his feet with the roar of propellers. It was not until the last plane left the flight deck that Bangtai lowered his head and glanced at his watch. The minute hand of the German military watch, which was ticking quietly, jumped to the moment of 23:59 on October 18th and 00:00 on October 19th.

"It's a new day again..." Bangtai sighed. When Zeppelin is not around, the safety of the Zeppelin aircraft carrier has to rely on him.

"Order: Turn rudder, head southwest 235 degrees! Make sure we don't get too far away from Eugen!"

While issuing combat orders, he turned around and walked towards the command cabin. However, when he entered the door, Bangtai turned his head and took a last look at the empty sea outside the porthole. Bangtai couldn't help but feel a little worried in his heart.

The heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen has been separated from his Zeppelin aircraft carrier, which also means that the aircraft carrier under his feet belongs to his partner who commands the GR-186 carrier-based aircraft wing. Her safety now depends entirely on him!

"Ah... I'm probably the most stressed-out aircraft carrier captain in the world..."

With a wry smile and a self-deprecating shake of his head, Bonte walked towards his command position. From beginning to end, this German Navy Rear Admiral, who had been working hard and hiding behind the scenes, silently supporting Commander Lütjens and his partner Zeppelin, had a faint smile on his face, but it only belonged to a true soldier.

As long as we can win, what does a little bit of hard work in obscurity matter?

-

The Zeppelin, which was sailing northeast against the wind and launching carrier-based aircraft, was not far from the slow-moving escort fleet that was engaged in a tense battle with the Prince Eugen as if it were facing a formidable enemy.

Just 70 kilometers southwest of Bangtai, a fight was brewing on the sea...

"…It's the Prinz Eugen! Enemy attack!"

"…Escort! Where is the convoy?"

"…This is the destroyer Ollie in front of us on the left! The firepower of the German ships and crews is too strong, we can't stand it... (Boom!)"

“…Pull the smoke! Pull the smoke quickly!”

“… Formation! Fight! Hurry up… What? The distance is too far, they can’t make it?! Assholes!”

In the dark night, the Prince Eugen, painted in dark blue with gray and black camouflage, rushed straight towards the panicked escort team like a hungry great white shark under the command of Top! Compared with her sisters, her petite body now exploded with huge strength.

Because it was a head-on attack, the distance closed very quickly! In just 20 minutes, the distance between the two sides was quickly shortened from 37 kilometers to 18 kilometers! And the destroyer in front of them was directly beaten into a cripple during this time!

but……

Just when it seemed that the destroyer Olybee could no longer hold on and a hole had been torn in the destroyer defense circle outside the slow convoy, a series of ominous flashes suddenly appeared in the dark night sky from the side and rear of the Prince Eugen!

Just twenty or thirty kilometers west of the slow transport convoy, under the order of Cunningham, Rear Admiral Giffen was leading four battleships to provide escort for the high-speed convoy!

The speed of the four standard-class old battleships was too slow, and they could not disrupt the existing formation of the merchant ships in the transport team. However, even the most old battleships could still reach a speed of more than 20 knots! Under the command of Major General Giffen, these veterans who had served for many years had already formed a battle line and rushed out from the high-speed escort team!

Dozens of 356mm naval guns, whether times or times, under the order of Major General Giffen, began to fire at Prince Eugen with all their might!

The four old battleships were 25 kilometers away from Eugen. Even if the artillery fire at this distance was operated by sailors, and even if the US fleet had just begun to grope for some last-minute artillery training on highly maneuverable enemy ships, this distance was already within the effective range of the battleships! And there were four battleships!

If four battleships join forces to attack a normal heavy cruiser, the threat would be enormous.

The covering fire was enough to make Prince Eugen feel greatly threatened.

As soon as the flash of artillery fire appeared, the experienced Top discovered that something was wrong and ordered Eugen to dodge immediately. But in less than a minute, the shells fell one after another, creating tall water columns around the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen!

Although Top’s rich experience can tell that although the bombardment of the US fleet is fierce, the dispersion of the bullet impact points is relatively large, and the bombardment positions are relatively sparse...

But at least the density of this bombardment looked quite impressive! Moreover, the density of the firepower of the four battleships had completely covered the entire perimeter of the Prince Eugen!

After all, they are four battleships...

Top instinctively felt a little scared...

Even though Eugen's body could be considered a heavy cruiser, it was still too thin compared to the thick armor of her sisters, and she would be seriously injured if hit by a battleship's shells.

Holding onto the railing of the warship, she tried to stand firm, looking back at the warship under her feet, which was constantly swinging its wake to the left and right! The only advantage was that Prince Eugen's maneuverability was much better than her sisters, and she was much more skilled in dodging shells.

But in the next second, the entire warship suddenly made a sharp turn with a sharp tilt, and almost at the same time, a shell with a long tracer flew past the edge of the bridge at lightning speed! Even an old sailor like Top felt a little seasick when he saw this scene...

No, even the experienced drivers can’t do it anymore…

"Tsk...Eugen, it seems a little difficult..." Gritting his teeth, Top wondered whether he should retreat.

“Top Top, it’s okay!” The pretty face shook her head, and her two long ponytails swayed left and right like rabbit ears: “If Sister Bismarck and Sister Grape can fight until now, then I can definitely do it too… Top, be careful! You can’t dodge the shells… ah!”

Before he finished speaking, a round of shells had already hit the Prince Eugen! Seeing that he could no longer dodge, Eugen crouched like a frightened little rabbit, shrank his head, and hugged his hands... However, although the projection can do this, the battleship cannot.

In the next second, the top of the mast of the bridge was hit hard by a ball of flames!