Battle of the Third Reich

The French 380mm hooded armor-piercing projectile, or apc for short, weighs 844 kilograms. Under the propulsion of four 74-kilometre propellant cartridges, the rifling speed reaches 830 meters per second and the maximum range is 41700 meters. A large iron mound with a weight of 1,600 jin flew towards you at a speed of nearly 3,000 yards per hour, and it made people shudder at the thought.

And the British don't have to imagine now, they will soon feel this horror. Somerville stood on the tall bridge of the Royal Ark, looking at the French cruiser that was interlacing forward in front of the fleet route. His heart was cold. The Royal Ark may not be able to run away this time.

The Royal Navy H Fleet should not have fallen into this Jedi. Everything was caused by the nature of the mission. It can be said that in the end, the responsibility was pitted by the Whitehall in London and the fat man.

To ensure a raid. . . . London will never admit to sneak attacks, they have 10,000 reasons to prove the justice and legitimacy of their actions, and the fault can only be the French and the world. In order to ensure the success of this raid and prevent the French from being prepared, this air raid must be carried out simultaneously with the British seizure of the French fleet in Hong Kong, so the operation was scheduled at night. Since it is a night sailing, to prevent disconnection and falling behind, the formation of the fleet must be contracted, and the distance between the ships should be close to the distance where they can see each other and can use light to communicate.

And no matter how the British conceal it, the essence of this mission is a sneak attack, and the fleet command level has a unified attitude of being a thief, that is, I can’t see others, and others will definitely not see me, and it has been deliberately narrowed. Search scope. Somerville gathered the fleet together, and even according to the regulations, the ships that went out for reconnaissance were not dispatched because he was worried that the reconnaissance ship might be hit by a passing merchant ship or patrol boat, exposing the fleet's whereabouts. Affect the completion of this task.

Another objective reason is that the size of this fleet is too small. In Churchill's plan, the operation was stable and won't be resisted by the French at all. Just run there, air strike, and then retreat. It's as simple as a cruise. There is no other naval force in this area except the French, and the French have been dead in the port all the time, so there is no need to include too many **** warships in the fleet. Only minimal defense is sufficient. Churchill is working hard to concentrate naval vessels on the mainland, how can he still be willing to send out.

So this so-called fleet is divided into fleets, in fact, there are only four warships combined. An aircraft carrier USS Royal Ark, a heavy cruiser USS Cornwall of the Kent class, and two destroyers of class A did not even bring the logistics supply ship. This lineup, even if Somerville is willing to invest in the investigation, can't do it, not to mention that he has no such plan at all.

Eventually, when the British found traces of the French fleet. The French have reached a distance that can be visually recognized.

When the French fleet discovered that there was an aircraft carrier in the fleet in front of it, the identity of the other party had been exposed. These are the British dogs who are mean and shameless, betraying faith, and putting a dagger to the back of their allies! Since the naval battle of Trafalgar. Ah no, from the time of the Hundred Years' War, new hatreds and old hatreds came to mind at the same time, and there was nothing to stop the French from venting their anger.

Three French cheetah-class destroyers advanced at high speed. Directly rushed towards two British A-class destroyers. The French cheetah class destroyer is an improved version of the famous jaguar class large destroyer. These three are all new ships just in service, with a displacement of 2,400 tons. It is equipped with five 138 mm single guns with 40 times diameter, dual shaft propulsion, and a speed of 35 knots. It can be classified as a light cruiser in other countries.

The British A-class destroyers are very shabby. They only have a small body of 1,300 tons and are equipped with four 120mmmkix single-barrel guns. The maximum speed is 35 knots. However, these two destroyers are 10 years old ships. Among them, the latest Enthusiasm was also put into service in April 30, the hull is old, the main engine is also seriously worn out, and it has already been unable to run the highest speed.

In the moonlight, in the face of the fierce French destroyer formation, the two British destroyers did not know what to do, and they were blinded by the volley of the French battleship. Although the bullet points are far from them, the kind of power like a mountain of mountains really scared the British sailors. Both destroyers have been involved in **** activities in the North Atlantic. Until that day, more than a dozen deep-water bombs have been thrown, even one shot has not been let go, let alone any shelling. Seeing a towering forest of water pillars suddenly set up a kilometer away, some recruits almost scared their urine into the crotch. This horrible power can make them such small boats as scrap iron in one blow.

The captain of the Antelope finally responded. He found that the flagship had not issued any command lights since the French fired. As the commander of the destroyer formation leader, he had to stubbornly follow the lessons learned in the naval academy. The standard response plan is launched.

He has seen that the destroyer has lost the conditions to launch a torpedo attack on the French battleship. The opponent’s large destroyer has already stared at himself. Two to three. There is almost no chance of winning. The only thing that can be done at present is to try to protect himself and divert the opponent. The destroyer formation reduces some pressure for the aircraft carrier.

Antelope made a choice he thought was the most correct. It sent a signal to follow the leader to the ardent ship trailing in the rear position, and then quickly turned to shoot a few guns against the French destroyer formation. The two destroyers Escape to the northeast at high speed. The French destroyer obtained the order to annihilate the British destroyer. When he saw that the other party wanted to run, of course he couldn't let it go. The three large destroyers immediately turned to the course that was diagonally facing the British destroyer.

Seeing that the two destroyers escorted did not say hello, they suddenly turned to escape, which really surprised the Cornish heavy cruiser who was speeding up from the rear.

In any case, when did the Royal Navy begin to abandon the main ship and fled without a fight. Even if the opponent is a battleship, it must be brave to charge the other side, this is the tradition of the Royal Navy. Cornwall cursed the two cowards while sending a light signal to the flagship to report the emergency. But looking back, the flagship is no longer on the original route. The Royal Ark has turned its bow and evacuated in the opposite direction at high speed. The whole ship turned off the lighting and looked at the darkness, without any reply to the Cornwall.

At that moment, Captain Cornwall's heart collapsed, and he found himself abandoned, even said to be betrayed. Although in the British Royal Navy, there are many such cases of sacrificing a battleship to protect the evacuation of friendly ships and large troops. During the study at the military academy, the officers of the Royal Navy generally expressed their understanding and support for this sacrifice. There were even those who vigorously chased the winners to plan for the tactical masters and use soldiers like gods.

but. Really when I became the victim in exchange for the escape of the friendly ship, the feeling was not so serious at all, but a frustration and chill. As a **** wing ship, it is his job to protect the flagship. If Somerville orders the Cornell to step forward to block the French warship and fight for the time for the flagship to retreat, then the Cornwall will surely step forward and fight to defend the Royal Navy of the British Empire. Of honor. But what is it now, ordering Cornwall to support the destroyer. Then he didn't even greet him, he turned around and ran away. This was obviously the Cornish decoy.

However, the captain of the Cornwall had no time to vent his dissatisfaction. Three French light cruisers intercepted to the right and detoured and found that the British aircraft carrier had reversed direction, and quickly adjusted their course accordingly. The Cornwall just stopped on their route, and the three La Galisoni class light cruisers were lined up. A column. Changing course, trying to seize the Cornwall T-head. In this case, it can only be dead. The British Royal Navy Cornwall adjusted its bow and rushed towards the French light cruiser.

Compared with the Royal Navy Cornwall, full of sorrow and determination, the aircraft carrier USS Ark has already stood at the gate of hell.

Somerville knew that once the Royal Ark was caught in a melee battle with the enemy's large ships, it must be dead. The Glory was the most vivid example. It was screened by two German war patrols, and the Royal Ark might also become As a member of this stupid example, Somerville was full of unwillingness.

Somerville is not prepared to die, he feels that the French fleet may be attracted by the escort. If the Royal Ark retreats with full force, with the speed of 32 knots of this aircraft carrier, and with the cover of the night, it should be able to be completely in the French. Before surrounding himself, escape from this dangerous sea. As long as you pass this level and escape the French sight, you can only rely on luck to find a lone warship again in the dark night.

Once escaped from this sea area, the Royal Ark can seek protection and help from the Mediterranean fleet. After that time, it turns back to the French to find this account.

However, Somerville's abacus hadn't started yet, and the cruel reality was already in front of him. The battleships of the French fleet did not turn to attack the destroyers and heavy cruisers. Only a large heavy cruiser broke away from the formation and turned towards the Cornwall. However, the Richelieu still maintained its high speed firmly, and turned towards the royal family. The Ark chased over.

Since the French battleship fired a salvo in the front, it had not fired another shot. They seemed to find that the long-distance shelling at night was not effective, and it also severely blocked the line of sight. They were not prepared to continue to waste ammunition on it.

Richelieu remained at the side of the Royal Ark without dissatisfaction, and the distance between the two sides was gradually getting closer. The Royal Ark has not dared to change its course, so it will only shorten the distance between the two sides. The only thing this huge fleet carrier can do now is to increase its horsepower and charge forward.

On the deck of the aircraft carrier, there was nowhere to go. The sailors tried to throw all the flammable items they could find into the sea. The fire hoses were all connected, and the control team was ready to go. At the rear of the starboard side, two twin 114 mm high-level dual-purpose naval guns slowly turned to the side rear, and the barrel was raised to aim at the approaching French battleship.

The battleship Richelieu slowly approached. The distance between the two sides was close to five kilometers. The British had been able to vaguely identify the turret and bridge of the French battleship. The British sailors stared in breath, staring at the enemy ship behind them with fear.

The French did not mean to open fire. It was still silent as a black giant rock slowly pressed towards the Royal Ark. Under great pressure, Somerville finally could not bear it. The French behaved in In his eyes, it was like a lion playing with a poor lamb, completely humiliating naked, the French were bragging about their power.

Somerville finally gave up hope of escape, and the Royal Ark has been in service for five years. It has not been overhauled in the dock, the machine has been worn out, and the bottom of the ship has not been cleaned for a long time. It must have been filled with barnacles. This boat can no longer run at a speed of 32 knots. The bottom tank boiler has been pressurized to dangerous power. , But the speed of the ship is still around 29 knots, and the other party’s speed exceeds 30 knots, and his own plan has been completely defeated.

In this case, there is only resistance. The Royal Navy will never bow its head to the French, and let the French know that the Royal Ark is by no means a lamb without resistance, or a prey that can be played around wantonly. The distance was close to four kilometers. The flat round turrets of the two 114-mm high and flat dual-purpose guns on the starboard side of the Royal Ark first issued a roar of resistance. Four rounds of 41 kg semi-armor-piercing shells were facing Riesel. The number left over. This distance is no longer a problem in naval battles, but a problem of inaccuracy.

The four shells that had been ranging and aimed for a long time were all hit, and two shells that hit the ship's side were immediately flicked by heavy armor shells. Not even one Mars hit, and the other two hit the deck and bow. The British watched two bright fireballs burst from the bow of the French battleship and the bottom of the bridge. Under the illumination of the fireball, the blue-gray paint of the French battleship bridge and the explosion of the bow flew up clearly. Pieces of debris. The British sailors on the deck and the bridge couldn't help but cheer, cheering loudly for the gunner.

But the French battleship still did not respond. The two shells did not seem to cause any harm to her. She still approached slowly and silently. That terrible sense of oppression slowly enveloped the entire deck of the aircraft carrier, the cheers of the British sailors gradually disappeared, and soon became silent.

The British shells actually hurt the French. The British battleship was shot with four water guns by a British battleship. Although it didn't hurt, it hurt its self-esteem. Admiral Lapold jumped violently inside the bridge, spitting Captain Mazan's face.

"Why the fault hasn't been ruled out! This is negligence! It's a crime! The engineer should immediately pull out and shoot! The shoot! I know that the trendy stuff like automatic loader is unreliable! If it was put in the past, we would have killed that god. The British barge was broken into pieces. Ordered a turret commander, if I can’t put the shells into the cannon in three minutes, I will put them into the cannon and beat them out.” Lapold waved his arms fiercely, frightened Demazan quickly shrank his neck.

"We can launch an attack with b turret first!" Mazan suggested.

"What I want to see is the volley, the main gun volley! Otherwise why do we have to wait until now, I want to see the British barge torn in front of me!" The commander of the French High Seas Fleet growled.

"Sir! A turret reports that the fault has been eliminated and you can shoot immediately." The deputy captain stood by the ship's phone and reported with the handset.

"What are you waiting for! Turn on the searchlight! Fire! Fire! The main cannon volley! Kill the British!" La Polder ordered loudly, he picked up the binoculars and ran excitedly to the lookout hole of the battle bridge, towards The British aircraft carrier looked away.

Richelieu was close to 1,500 meters, and two quadruple main guns were pointed flatly at the hull of the Royal Ark. Suddenly, the large searchlight beside the bridge of the Richelieu projected a dazzling beam of light, and the light of the Royal Ark was close by. There was a cry of exclamation on the deck of the British aircraft carrier. The British sailors were stunned by the sudden bright light. Many people turned their backs subconsciously or hid in the dark place of the shade.

At the next moment, eight giant guns of the French battleship shot a salvo at the Royal Ark. Eight heavy rounds hit the aircraft carrier's hull at a nearly horizontal angle of fire, and the latter half of the aircraft carrier was directly exploded.

Two shells penetrated directly into the semi-arc stern, one of which hit the auxiliary engine room at an angle, smashed the right axle gear set and then flew into the rudder cabin, then exploded at the bottom of the rudder cabin, directly destroyed The steering mechanism and the propeller blade shaft above, and an eight meter wide opening was also opened at the bottom of the ship.

Another one went through the back corridor and the wall directly into the right-wheel nacelle through the deck, and then used a violent explosion and shrapnel to create a death storm there. The dense steam pipe burst instantly and the boiling water was hot And steam filled the entire cabin, and all the people in the cabin were killed on the spot.

These two shells hit the last knot of the Royal Ark's noose, and the ship was already in danger.

The remaining six shells swept the entire bottom hangar, one of which exploded the main flue gas hidden in the hull, causing the temperature of the boiler room in the bilge to rapidly increase, and the other two swept the hangar and shredded Stored spare aircraft and ground staff on duty.

The deadliest shot hit an aviation gasoline depot. After the huge warhead easily smashed through two 20-mm-thick armor plates, it exploded in the oil tank, and the flame was like a storm sweeping in a flash. Throughout the entire lower deck, shock waves blew open each closed watertight door. Flame tongues were ejected from each opening in the hull. At the same time as the flames, there were debris blown out by the gas explosion and the crew who were on fire.

The Royal Ark's ship quickly descended, and the flames from the lower hatches and windows of the hull illuminated the hull. This ship was like a weird orange lantern at night.

Richelieu slowed down and began to run parallel to the Royal Ark. The secondary guns at the rear could finally be used. The French sailors happily manipulated the secondary guns to knock out the twin turrets on the side of the British aircraft carrier. .

Along with a series of violent explosions inside the ship, the huge hull of the Royal Ark issued a dull wail. It can be seen with the naked eye that the ship is leaning towards the rear, and the stern window is close to the water.

The British sailors had given up their resistance. They gathered on the searing deck of the aircraft carrier and stood blank, staring at the French warship in close proximity. The upper hangar had begun to emit thick smoke, and the pungent smoke enveloped the bow deck of the aircraft carrier, and everyone began to avoid the stern.

Due to the fierce flames of the lower lifeboat deck, these people have been unable to escape using the lifeboat or lifeline. A few people directly jumped off the deck more than ten meters high while holding the lifebuoy or wearing a lifejacket. Slowly holding it out of the water, but didn't see anyone swimming again.

"The main gun continued to load, the secondary gun and the machine gunner were on alert, letting the damage control personnel and the Marines on the deck, the captain, lean as far as possible." Looking at the tragic situation of the Royal Ark, Admiral Lapold nodded slightly. , And then issued an order to Mazan.

"But, Commander, that boat may explode at any time." Mazan reminded.

"How many hoses do we have, do our best to water the boat, throw the rope over, put down the lifeboat, Mr. Captain, the battle is over, we are the glorious French Navy, not the pirates." La Polder waved his hand Then, standing in front of the porthole with his hands behind him, Colonel Mazan vaguely heard that the admiral seemed to hum a song gently. (To be continued, please search Piaotian Literature, the novel is better and faster!