A group of fighter planes flew over from the east in a dense mass. Looking at these fighter planes, the soldiers of the United Fleet couldn't help but cheer. They were not other planes, they were all German planes, and they were all dive bombers. There were forty or fifty of them.
They were all Stukas. Although they were ordinary models and did not have the most effective torpedoes against battleships, they carried giant semi-armor-piercing bombs weighing 1,000kg. The day finally came when the Royal Fleet was bombed by aircraft.
The first target to be targeted was the Nelson. Perhaps it was because it was the slowest and had the largest gun barrel. As the Air Force, they would not look at anything else, but the thicker barrel was powerful.
I still know that a 1,000kg bomb fell from the sky and hit the position between the two main guns. The shock wave generated by the explosion forcibly lifted the Nelson's gun barrel a little.
This is just the beginning. Goering has spent a lot of money this time. The Stuka pilots are all selected excellent pilots. This is why it is so slow to arrive. Goering wants to use this battle to prove that the navy is not
If you need your own aircraft, the Air Force can definitely take care of these.
Fortresses are often broken through from the inside. The Nelson's defense is very strong, but like all battleships, its deck cannot be covered with steel plates three to four hundred millimeters thick, and its armor is only 152 millimeters.
I only saw countless roaring Stukas constantly pulling themselves up, rising to an altitude of two to three thousand meters, and then falling from the sky like performing acrobatics. The nearly 90-degree angle made many anti-aircraft guns useless. The ones on the deck
The navy soldiers finally realized the fear that the army said. Listening to the roar getting closer and closer, countless people shouted like crazy, but they could not stop the one-ton bomb on the Stuka plane from carrying a huge
The inertia rushed down, and the Stuka naturally pulled up the nose of the plane and flew up.
Dive bombers usually attack tanks that are several meters wide and long. Now they are asked to bomb this giant ship that is hundreds of meters long. Although the warship is constantly maneuvering, the hit rate is still surprisingly high, as long as there are no Germans hit by anti-aircraft fire.
Five out of ten planes accurately hit the battleship deck with their bombs. It was not clear for a while whether the battleship was hit by the combined fleet or bombed by planes.
The deck of the Nelson was littered with corpses of those killed in battle, but perhaps due to luck, the bombing did not hit its ammunition depot or boilers and other important parts. John Tovey on the heavy cruiser Norfolk in the distance was slowly
Slowly lowering the telescope, his tears slowly fell. It was so tragic. The aircraft carrier force was almost wiped out, and all the battleships were injured. One of them sank, one lost its combat effectiveness, one slowed down, and one was surrounded by the air force.
, a decision must be made, otherwise the great Royal Navy may really lose four battleships here. As for the destroyers and cruisers that have the upper hand, they cannot change the overall situation in such a naval battle. Once the main force of the combined fleet wins,
You can easily shoot those destroyers or cruisers to death.
But there is still hope. John Tovey has not forgotten that he still has reinforcements, which is why he refuses to retreat. He looked at the time and saw that it was almost nine o'clock. The only way now was to wait for reinforcements. He
Ask immediately. Send a report and ask where the Warrior and Resolution are.
After a while, the rewards came.
What, it won't arrive until about eleven o'clock, which is another three hours. We can't hold on for that long. John Tovey knew his current situation very well, and he decisively issued the order to retreat, ordering the George V
Persevere until the end, and if it doesn't work, scuttle it and leave it to the Germans. After ordering the Nelson to be cut off, they should prove their loyalty to the British Empire. Order the Duke of York to lead the retreat from the battlefield, and retreat in the direction of five o'clock. There is
The reinforcements coming from Fleet H will be safe as long as they can meet them. In addition, the destroyer and cruiser formations are responsible for covering. The entire army retreats while fighting. Quick, I want to go to the York to continue commanding the battle.
At 9:13, the British army retreated. Lütjens, who discovered this situation, of course would not let his rare victory end like this, and immediately began to issue orders to order the Bismarck to deal with the George V and Tirpy.
The Bismarck was pursuing the front, and the Richelieu and Jean Bart used their speed to get around them. They couldn't let them slip away. Call a destroyer quickly. I want to go to the front line to take command. The Bismarck can no longer be used as a flagship.
The speed of the Duke of York, the only British force with the most complete combat capability, is only 25 knots, and the speed of the Nelson is less than 20 knots. Although the speed of the three battleships of the Combined Fleet has also dropped even further, it is still difficult to catch up with the Duke of York.
It was only a matter of time before the destroyers and cruisers constantly harassed the Combined Fleet. As for the Combined Fleet's own destroyers and cruisers, more than half of them had been sunk and seriously injured because they were outnumbered.
Although the speed of the two Richelieu-class ships also dropped when the war started, they could still maintain a high speed of 27 to 28 knots, especially the Jean Bart. Its power was the latest model, with a full 165,000 horsepower. When the war started,
The maximum speed can reach 32 knots. At this time, it can also sail at a speed of more than 30 knots. From the sea, you can see the British army running ahead and the United Fleet chasing behind. Two of the large ships are circling around to intercept it.
.
The George V, which stayed behind, had no combat power at all. Under the threat of the approaching Bismarck, it finally began to sink at 9:37. The sinking lasted for a full hour before ending, which fully demonstrated the unyielding British army.
Seeing the scuttling of the George V, the Germans on the Bismarck were deeply touched by their courage. Who still remembers the High Seas Fleet that was forced to scuttle itself a long time ago...
On the other side, the pursuit battle lasted for almost an hour. The distance between the Tirpitz and the Nelson was shortened to less than 10,000 meters. The two ships continued to bombard each other, with bursts of gunfire and thick smoke billowing. Nelson's defense was indeed very strong.
Strong, and the attack power is not low. You fire a volley from both sides, and I fire a volley at each other. At this distance, the shells of both sides can break armor, which makes the battle extremely fierce.
The Richelieu and Jean Bart have successfully surpassed the main force of the Royal Home Fleet. In just one hour, their return route will be completely cut off.
At this time, another group of planes flew in, still German dive bombers, but this time these planes no longer carried bombs, but thick and long torpedoes.
This is the Stuka's improved JU87E, and it is also equipped with torpedoes that are more suitable for naval battles. Looking at these torpedo planes, the Royal Fleet couldn't help but let out a wail, and the corresponding sound was the cheers of the United Fleet.
The Stukas first detoured to the Richelieu and Jean Bart, and then lowered their altitude to less than a hundred meters from the sea. In fact, most of these pilots had no actual combat experience with torpedo aircraft. They only followed the training requirements.
Three aircraft form a team. After calculating the lead time, launch from a distance.
Fighting an aircraft at a distance of one or two thousand meters is not a simple matter for the fleet on the wave. If the war just started, the personnel would be complete, but now that the battle has been going on for several hours, many anti-aircraft guns are
was blown up, and more importantly, the Royal Home Fleet did not arrange an air defense formation at all, which made it impossible for them to win a few counterattacks, and they could only continue to maneuver and dodge.
A light cruiser was hit after dodging two or three torpedoes. This was the first one, and then battleships were hit one after another. When these planes shook their butts and left, the Nelson behind them was also hit.
After two shots of fish, his speed slowed down even more, and he was about to fall behind completely.
The Duke of York was still safe despite the two destroyers blocking mines, but John Tovey on the battleship already felt the smell of death. If reinforcements were not available, it would really be impossible to evacuate.
At 10:27, the Richelieu and Jean Bart turned again, preparing to outflank.
Quickly generate power again to confirm how long it will take for Fleet H to arrive. John Tovey asked again.
Just as the dispatcher was sending the report, cheers came. A soldier came in and shouted happily that reinforcements are coming. Our reinforcements are coming. It's Fleet H.
10:43
At the most critical moment, two battleships from the Mediterranean Fleet H rushed to the battlefield.
Looking at everything on the battlefield, Lieutenant General James Somerville, who led the team, could not believe his eyes. The Royal Navy was actually at a disadvantage in the naval battle. Nelson was beaten to death, and only two of the four battleships were left. George V
Both the Shi and the Prince of Wales are gone. Even if he were killed, he would not guess that this was due to their bad mood. The only possibility is that it has sunk. God, when was the last time such a loss happened? Even the last time
In the Battle of Jutland, the Royal Navy did not lose two battleships at once. Oh, look, the Nelson seems to be almost immobile. Well, there are three battleships.
The current situation is that the Tirpitz and other ships of the Combined Fleet are in the far north, the Royal Home Fleet is in the middle, the Combined Fleet Richelieu and Jean Bart have already penetrated the Royal Home Fleet, and the Royal Mediterranean H Fleet is in the farthest.
The southern end is about 30,000 meters away from the Richelieu and Jean Bart fleets, and immediately enters the combat range. The Warrior and the Resolution are both old ships, with a speed of only about 25 knots. This is due to the replacement of the power system, but after all
It was a fresh force, and it opened fire fiercely at the nearest French battleship Richelieu, and together with the British home fleet, formed a pincer attack on the two ships.
The battlefield immediately began to divide, and the two French ships began to face Fleet H. The Tirpitz accelerated and prepared to take the Nelson as soon as possible, and then pursue the Duke of York.
At this moment, an extremely dramatic scene occurred. The Richelieu's No. 2 main gun suddenly exploded, and the huge barrel was abruptly broken into two pieces. At the same time, a small half of the entire turret was blown open.
Naturally, none of the gunners survived.
Everyone watching this scene was stunned, and Lütjens, who got the news from a distance, simply started to curse.
The Richelieu, as the party involved, was also stunned. It had a total of eight main guns, but this explosion prevented half of its firepower from firing. Moreover, such an accident made the gunners of the two French ships' main guns a little nervous.
It doesn't matter if you are frightened and killed by the enemy's shells, but if you are killed by your own main gun, this is nothing. Such farce can't help but add a touch of comedy to the cruel sea battle.
When John Tovey saw such a scene, he almost jumped for joy. It seems that the goddess of victory still cares about the British fleet.
The Richelieu formation, which had lost a quarter of its firepower, was suddenly unable to suppress the H fleet on the opposite side. Although it was an old ship, it was equipped with 15-inch artillery. It was already stronger than the French ship in terms of artillery bombardment, and
Germany also did not equip the French warships with the latest radar fire control, allowing the modernized Fleet H to slowly take advantage.
Looking at this situation, fearing that a good victory would be reversed, Combined Fleet Commander Lütjens gave the order to just let it go and just take down the Nelson. At this time, the speed of the Nelson had basically dropped to five or six knots.
It has become a fixed water target with an extremely obvious tilt.
At 11:27, the Richelieu changed direction and began to retreat. Seeing this situation, Fleet H, whose first priority was rescue, did not pursue it, but covered the retreat of the Home Fleet.
At 11:32, seeing that there was no hope of breaking through, the Nelson began to sink.
At 11:37, with the last sound of running, the Battle of the East Atlantic ended. French Major General Mazan stepped onto the Tirpitz and came to Lütjens. He said a little embarrassedly, Your Excellency, this matter
Something happened to us by surprise.
Lütjens shook his head and said that this matter is not your responsibility. Although the life of the battleship's main gun is not long, it will never explode after firing less than a hundred rounds. I will report this matter to the head of state. We
You need to check carefully to see if it is because of spies.
Mazan did not expect that Lütjens would speak for him, and he felt grateful immediately. Looking at the Nelson that was sinking gradually, he said it was a pity that they were not captured all. Now the Duke of York and Fleet H are returning to the Fortress of Gibraltar.
, the battle there will probably be even more difficult.
Lütjens said this with a slight smile...Who knows.
Reporting the telegram sent by General Dönitz. A sailor came in and said.
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The 7th and 8th detachments of our Seawolves have arrived at the designated location. Please inform the other party of the possible arrival time.
Lütjens clapped his hands and said hello and told Dönitz that the opponent had just left the main battlefield and would arrive at his location in about seven to eight hours. He asked him to prepare well and give the opponent a big gift. To be continued...