Bismarck

"Hmm...about 5 nautical miles to the right in front of our route, the periscope has appeared..."

Tizi wrinkled his nose in dissatisfaction and snorted.

"What a nuisance... Such troublesome submarines. My sister seems to have been injured by them before, Captain!"

5 nautical miles... is just over 9 kilometers. The destroyer didn't even notice it. It's very dangerous for a battleship to get close to a submarine...

"Can you shoot it down?" Lindman became interested. Although the distance of 9 kilometers is not far, it is still not easy to shoot down a submarine lurking at periscope depth. After all, the submarine target is too small, and the design must take into account the water pressure resistance, so the structure is relatively strong.

And it's a good opportunity to see how good Tizi is at shooting. The main gun firing at sea and so on... let's fill it in here!

"Sure!" Tizi nodded vigorously!

After being bored all day, I can finally play the cat-and-fish game!

"Okay, I'll let you shoot. Also, tell me the coordinates and I'll tell the gunner and the others so they won't get suspicious."

"Yeah, yeah! No problem! Just watch me!!"

Soon, Lindemann's voice came from the microphone in front of the gunner: "Temporarily change the target now! Position XXX, distance XXXX, high-explosive bombs! Eight rounds in a salvo!"

Although it was a bit puzzling, Tirpitz's gunner still carried out the order.

Although they were not very skilled in the operation, the sailors quickly loaded the main gun of the Grape with high-explosive bombs and "manipulated" the main gun of the Grape to point at the new target.

Although it looked like a peaceful sea and it didn't fit the exercise plan, he was the captain after all... The gunner, who was full of complaints, felt puzzled but still executed the order. But soon he was stunned... After a round of roars from the main gun of the Grape, the exploding water column, with a bunch of oil and parts, flew into the blue sky in full view of everyone...

What did this...hit?

ps: I will update again in the evening depending on the situation! Please give me a monthly ticket~ Please please~

Chapter 146: Deployment Mission

The dull bang was different from the sound of naval guns hitting the sea in the past. Amid the sound of the rushing water, there seemed to be a sound of steel being torn.

Many sharp-eyed crew members seemed to see scattered solid... wreckage through telescopes.

Soon a crew member came to report the abnormal situation, and Lindemann ordered Tirpitz to turn around and sail towards the incident area.

In the sea area that was accurately covered by Tirpitz's artillery fire, various debris and objects floated on the water, and a thick layer of oil stains kept rising from the bottom of the water.

The experienced gunner immediately determined what had happened. It was obvious that a submarine had been sunk...

"Oh my God, what's going on? A submarine was blown up by a cannon? Is this a fish bomb...?"

"This is the first time I've heard that a submarine can be hit with a main gun... Captain, how did you do it? Oh my God!"

The stunned gunner couldn't believe his eyes, but a pool of oil and debris on the sea told him clearly that a submarine had indeed been blown up by a shot.

Lindemann smiled mysteriously.

Involuntarily, in the minds of everyone on the bridge, the image of the "unreliable guy" who usually looked careless and basically teased his female secretary every day, suddenly began to become mysterious and tall...

Two days later, Tirpitz successfully completed the sea trial and returned to Wilhelmshaven in high spirits.

It was indeed a joyous occasion. An enemy submarine was sunk during the sea trial. There are not many such events in the history of the navy.

And it used its main guns for anti-submarine warfare... The crew of the Tirpitz felt that they would soon become a legend like the Bismarck.

At the dock, Lindemann, accompanied by Admiral Wilhelm Marschal, commander of the German Grand Fleet, first reviewed the navy's crew formation, and then signed an agreement with the shipyard representative that the sea trial had passed and agreed to the formal commissioning of the Tirpitz battleship.

Of course, the trouble-averse Grape, with the approval of Lindemann who was afraid of the exposure of the ship girl, is now staying in bed with a pillow and sleeping. She designed her room by herself, and moved all kinds of things up there. Lindemann had to admit that this little girl has a high artistic talent, at least the room she designed is very beautiful.

This can be considered a scenic spot on the iron-blooded battleship, a scenic spot that belongs only to you.

Lindemann's face softened at the thought.

"You did a good job. The Navy is very satisfied with the test results." Admiral Marshal was in a good mood after signing the agreement. He even walked onto the Tirpitz for a walk around.

He patted the railing on the side of the ship, looked at the scenery, and expressed his satisfaction with this huge warship.

Marshal looked at Lindman beside him, suddenly remembered something, and asked with great interest.

"By the way, how did you know there were submarines there?"

"The submarine was in an unfortunate position, facing the sun, while I was facing away from it. I saw the reflection of his periscope from the conning tower's director..."

Lindemann, who had been well prepared, was not nervous at all and spoke nonsense with a thick face - anyway, the British submarine had been blown into pieces by a cannon, and without any evidence, who knew whether what Lindemann said was true or false.

"Well, I see..." There was no expression on Admiral Marshal's face, and it was unclear whether he believed it or not. It was estimated that there was nothing he could do if he didn't believe it.

He asked the next question directly: "Lindemann, are you also running at 36 knots during this sea trial?"

"Ah? Yes, Tirpitz's speed is 36 knots. I am very satisfied." Lindemann smiled. This was something everyone knew, and he had no way to hide it. He just admitted it openly.

"But I asked the experts, and the same type of power components provided by the power system contractor can't reach this speed at all. The experts said that the power must be at least 25 horsepower to reach this speed, and the power design of the Bismarck class is 15 horsepower. Did you find anything this time?"

"No, there is nothing found, everything is normal!"

Lindemann fooled his boss without batting an eyelid.

"The more likely problem is that the chief engineer reported that there was basically no leakage in the power system. You know, there will always be some leakage. Moreover, at such a high power, we can only say that the quality is probably very good. In addition, the temperature of the boiler did not overheat for some reason, although the temperature of the forced ventilation was higher than the rated temperature, and the fuel consumption seemed to be greater... This is not abnormal. At least such a high speed also requires so much energy. We have not found out the specific reason. I think this is probably God's blessing on the revival of Germany, Amen~"

After Lindman finished speaking, he squinted his eyes and made the sign of a cross on his chest with his hands.

Admiral Marshal did not doubt anything and nodded. After all, having such a super battleship would not be a bad thing for the navy.

He turned around and smiled, "In that case... I understand. There is one more thing I want to tell you. The Navy Department has issued an order, which can probably be regarded as Tirpitz's first mission. We are now at war with France, and now they have hundreds of thousands of people surrounded by us in the Dunkirk area. But now the army's supplies are insufficient, and the offensive is not going smoothly, so now a transport team has been temporarily arranged to transport a batch of urgent supplies to the army. The specific task is to send these supplies to Antwerp, Belgium via Middlesbrough in the Netherlands, to ensure that the army can encircle and annihilate those desperate British and French people."

Seeing that Lindemann understood the significance of this operation, Marshal smiled and continued, "Although we have arranged destroyers, frigates and minesweepers to protect the convoy, and the relevant routes and rivers are also under our control, our light warships are not strong enough. If the British send out fleets and aircraft to intercept, the convoy will still be in danger. So you may have to follow behind and provide cover for the convoy."

"No problem!" Lindemann saluted straightforwardly: "When do we leave?"

"Tomorrow, May 5, the convoy will depart from Hamburg and is expected to arrive in Middelburg between the 23th and 25th. As long as we send them to the mouth of the Maas River, the mission will be completed. What do you think?"

"Yes! We guarantee to complete the mission!" Lindemann stood at attention and saluted General Marshal.

"Very good, then this escort team will be under your command. I wish you success!" After returning the salute, Admiral Marshal walked off the warship under the watchful eyes of Lindemann and the officers and soldiers on the ship.

ps: Tizi is going to Dunkirk~ If you don't give me monthly tickets, I will make Tizi lose everything! Don't make him lose his clothes!!! Second update is here

Chapter 147: Dunkirk

"Notify everyone now to immediately fill Tirpitz's tank with gas overnight and carry enough ammunition. Also notify the main officers of each department and find the person in charge of the escort team to hold a meeting in the conference room after dinner. This is Tirpitz's first mission, and we must fight beautifully!" After watching Admiral Marshal's car disappear in the port area, Lindemann turned around and said to the messenger.

"Yes! Captain!!"

After several messengers saluted in unison, they ran away.

Due to Reger's advance order, Tirpitz brought two base shells, so the ammunition depot was basically full. Even after the sea trial, not much was actually consumed, and the shells basically did not need to be replenished. The supply was quickly completed under the overnight rush, and the oil tank was refilled after the sea trial.

At eight o'clock in the evening, the heads of various units and department heads arrived at the conference room on time. With the assistance of Tirpitz, the meeting started quickly. Since it was the first mission, Lindemann arranged everything in detail and the meeting ended at midnight.

At the end, he confidently patted the shoulders of his subordinates and said to everyone:

"Do a good job! Our Tirpitz will also fight for the honor of Bismarck!"

"Yes, Captain!"

The next morning, after a brief stay, the Tirpitz sailed out of Wilhelmshaven again...

"Wow...I want to go home...either to the sea or the ocean."

Off the coast of Middelburg, the Netherlands, under the setting sun above the horizon, a depressed and drooping ship was floating on the sea surface in boredom - she had no control over her hull at all. If it weren't for the dedicated sailors on the ship, the ship would probably have become like that now, right?

Looking at his own secretary ship lazing in the corner with a bit of helplessness, Lindman laughed at himself. It was always like this every time they went out to sea. He had nothing to say.

Fortunately, Tirpitz was quite serious when it came to his work and did not do it perfunctorily, which made him slightly satisfied.

Lindemann looked at the destroyers patrolling around searching for submarines and the minesweepers busy clearing the waterway at the mouth of the Meuse River. He then looked at the nautical chart and the watch. He thought about it: "Well... It is 5:26 p.m. on May 5, German standard time, which is 26: p.m. on May , local time... It's getting dark, and it's still very dangerous for the transport team to stay here. In this case..."

He looked at Ti Zi, who was suffering from stay-at-home syndrome, and asked her, "Ti Zi, did you notice anything?"

"Don't take a nap, pay attention..."

"No, there are no planes, submarines, or anything. I have been keeping a close eye on it!" Grapes raised his head listlessly and looked at Lindman.

"Lindman, don't slander me, I will be angry!"

Although her sleepy look didn't seem like she was monitoring seriously, Lindman knew that Grape was just being lazy and cute. She had already discovered and shot down a submarine and two reconnaissance planes along the way.

Isn't anti-submarine warfare the job of destroyers? Why can battleships do it so smoothly? Everyone was a little bit unbelievable.

Looking at his secretary ship, he was lazy and delicate on weekdays, but in fact he was very sensitive, and his hair would stand up in an instant at the slightest disturbance...

Lindemann often made malicious speculations. He knew that the projections of battleships all corresponded to part of the hull. So, did the ahoge on Tirpitz's head correspond to her radar?

"Are you monitoring yourself for dozing off?"

Lindemann looked at his lazy and cute cat-like boat, grinned wickedly, said a few words and walked out to find the communications staff.

He didn't know if it was a psychological illusion, but Lindman always felt that the soft and humming protest from Grapes behind him sounded like a puffed-up cat.

Sure enough, it’s so fun to tease your own secretary ship.

"If this goes on, people will bully my ship more and more. This won't do... I have to restrain myself." Lindemann hummed a tune and walked quickly into the chart room, smiling helplessly and shaking his head.

However, when he entered the chart room, the previously smiling Lindemann had already adjusted himself into work mode - after all, he was now the captain of a battleship, with greater responsibilities, and he had to be more mature in front of his subordinates.

The staff officers working below stood at attention and saluted when they saw their captain coming down. Lindemann returned the salute and asked, "How long will it take for the minesweeper squadron to finish? It's getting dark now."

Darkness has a significant impact on mine clearance and other operations, so we must hurry.

An officer on duty stepped forward and flipped through the log book. "At 4:45 local time, they said they had almost finished cleaning. Now it's time for a final check, which will take no more than an hour. It's been more than 40 minutes now."

“It should be passable.”

"No, ask them about their progress. It's getting dark, and we must get the transport team into the estuary before dark." Lindemann ordered.

"Yes!"

The staff officer saluted and ran out to give the signal.

Soon, he came back to report: "The minesweeper confirmed that there are no mines on the main channel, and the transport team can enter the mouth of the Meuse River."

"Very good, let the transport ship enter the estuary. We only need to cover them as they enter the estuary and our mission will be accomplished."

Lindemann nodded and waved his hand again to let the staff officer go and send the signal.

Soon, Lindmann saw from the porthole that, under the guidance and command of the frigates and minesweepers, more than a dozen transport ships were lined up in an orderly column and slowly entered the mouth of the Maas River from the side of Middelburg.

As long as these ships enter the estuary, the mission will be accomplished...

But...was the mission too smooth?

Lindemann looked at the team slowly passing by him with some confusion. This was not the British style.

The situation of their fleet must have been exposed, but from the time they received these transport ships in Hamburg on the 23rd until now, a full 72 hours have passed, and the journey has been calm, not like being in a war. Only the submarine shot down by Grapes and two reconnaissance planes reminded us of what era it is now...

What's even more strange is that this place is only 80 nautical miles away from the British mainland, which is 150 kilometers away. Logically, it should have entered the range of activities of the British Channel Fleet and the British Royal Air Force. It's only less than half an hour's flight, but there has been no situation until now...

Lindman had never heard of the old Chinese saying that "anything abnormal is a demon", but his thoughts must be similar to that saying.

Confused and puzzled, facing the calm, he felt a strong sense of uneasiness in his heart.

Worried, Lindmann asked several other staff officers if there was any situation, and they all said everything was normal and there was nothing wrong.

Then, still worried, Lindemann ran to the command tower to ask Ti Zi, but even Ti Zi said that he had not found anything.

Although he did not find anything, and gradually, Lindeman watched the transport ships enter the Maas River one after another, until the last ship entered the river mouth, he did not find any problems. But Lindeman felt that the situation was a little abnormal, and he could not find any clues... He could not help but become a little impatient.

After walking around in the command tower, Lindemann couldn't figure out what was going on, so he just gave up and walked to the microphone and turned it on: "I'm Lindemann. Our mission has been completed. We are now starting to evacuate. But! It's dark now, and we are very close to the British, so from now on, I order the formation to go into Level 1 alert! Lookouts, searchlights and radars are all on double duty, ready to respond to emergencies at any time! Be on guard against night attacks!! "

After Lindman finished speaking, he put down the microphone cover and looked at Grape who was lying on the side...

Tizi, who was staying at one side, opened his eyes and turned his head lazily: "Tizi knows what to do, the sensor is always on... In such a peaceful environment, there will be a big trouble later... Woo... So let me take a rest now..."

The sound became quieter and quieter, the head lowered and lowered, and finally he lay directly on the windowsill again...

Seeing this, Lindemann held his forehead with a wry smile on his face, with an expression that said "I lost to you". He walked to the microphone and was about to turn on the microphone to order the formation to evacuate.

But at this moment, Grape, who had just drooped for less than a minute, suddenly stood up like a cat that was sleeping soundly but suddenly had its tail stepped on, and even the pink hair on its head stood up: "Captain! A large number of ships were found 20 nautical miles to the west!" After saying this, he pouted, "It turns out there is trouble..."

"What's going on?!" Lindemann turned around instantly and looked straight at his warship: "How many ships have they got? Are the British finally coming to deal with us?"

"Let me see... There are three light cruisers and about ten destroyers, with a speed of 20 knots. It doesn't seem like a very powerful fleet, and they are not heading towards us..."

"Not aimed at us?" Lindmann was stunned. The second Bismarck-class battleship was right here, but it was not aimed at them?

"Which direction is that?"

Their heading is... south? Wait... Lindemann, there are ships behind them! Those ships are... minesweepers and transport ships! ! "Tizi, who had previously looked disdainful of trouble, carefully sensed it.

"Lindmann! The British have at least three light cruisers and ten destroyers protecting a large number of transport ships 20 nautical miles due west of us! Head due south!!"