The Rise of the Third Reich

"Damn it, they are actually twin-engine Ju188 torpedo bombers! Where did they come from?" With the help of the searchlight, Rear Admiral Mullinix finally saw clearly what the invading enemy planes looked like.

They are not carrier-based aircraft taking off from an aircraft carrier, but the famous shore-based night torpedo aircraft Ju188E-2 torpedo bombers! However, the range of this kind of aircraft is only 3,000 kilometers at most, and the combat radius is 1,000 kilometers at most. How can it fly here?

There are no German bases within 1,000 kilometers nearby! Could it be that they all took off from aircraft carriers?

"Fire! Fire quickly!" Rear Admiral Mullinix looked at the Ju188E-2 torpedo bombers flying closer and closer, and no longer had the thought to think about where they came from? The order to fire was issued repeatedly.

"Boom boom boom..."

Almost at the same time as Rear Admiral Mullinix shouted, the 127mm high-level dual-purpose gun installed on the port side of the Soviet Union began to fire wildly. Orange fireballs kept flashing in the night sky, but the density was not too high.

The Soviet-class anti-aircraft gun system has been upgraded in the United States. The anti-aircraft gun configuration standards are exactly the same as those of the Iowa-class battleships. It has only 20 127mm high-level and flat dual-purpose guns, 10 of which are installed on the port side of the battleship. Because there is no radar fire control, the shooting accuracy at night is not high, and you can only rely on radio proximity fuses to try your luck. Unless the aircraft is "caught" by a searchlight, it is unlikely to be hit.

"Don't worry about the 127mm guns." Colonel Peltz, who led the attack with 24 Ju188E-2 torpedo bombers, was experienced and naturally would not take the firepower of 10 127mm guns too seriously.

"Maintain altitude and speed." He gave the order through the throat communicator, "Launch torpedoes from a distance of 2,500 meters, and then immediately pull up and leave the battlefield."

Ten 127mm guns are not scary, but the threat of dozens of 40mm anti-aircraft guns and 20mm machine guns cannot be ignored, so Peltz did not dare to get too close.

Dropping torpedoes at a distance of 2,500 meters is a bit far for ordinary torpedo aircraft attack methods. Although the range of airborne torpedoes is sufficient, it is difficult to hit if it is too far away. However, when using golden comb tactics for high-density crossfire, 2,500 meters is already a distance that can pose a huge threat to surface ships.

The 24 Ju188E-2s are now divided into two teams, each with 12 aircraft, forming a triangular six-plane formation in the air - one in front and one in the back - this is a fairly high-density formation, that is, a torpedo attack at night. It can be used at all times, but if it had been during the day, it would have been dispersed by enemy fighter jets and 127mm anti-aircraft guns.

Colonel Peltz personally led a group of 12 Ju188E-2s to attack from the port side of the Soviet Union battleship, and another 12 Ju188E-2s attacked from the front of the Soviet Union battleship formation. Each Ju188E-2 carries 2 F-5 airborne torpedoes. A total of 48 torpedoes are like two combs, rushing towards the prey from below the sea water at the same time!

"5000 meters!"

"4800 meters!"

"4600 meters!"

"4400 meters!"

"4200 meters!"

"..."

As the navigator Sergeant Schmidt reported the count, Colonel Peltz had already piloted the aircraft into the fire range of the 127mm anti-aircraft gun. At this time, the 40mm anti-aircraft gun on the Soviet Union also started firing, and the firepower density suddenly increased. Countless 40mm tracer bullets were like lightning, piercing the night sky, weaving a dense fire net in the sky.

"3000 meters!"

When Sergeant Schmidt called out this number, the plane piloted by Colonel Peltz shook suddenly. He knew that his plane had been hit by a 40mm shell!

However, this shell obviously did not cause fatal damage to the sturdy Ju188. This aircraft is quite strong!

The Ju188E-2 aircraft trembled violently and continued to fly forward. It would soon reach the designated position for releasing torpedoes.

"Colonel, there's a fire in the right engine..."

Peltz heard someone reporting the loss of the plane to him, but he didn't care at all and just asked loudly: "Distance?"

"2700 meters!" Sergeant Schmidt shouted.

"All attention!" Colonel Peltz gave the order through the throat communicator, "Prepare to drop bombs!"

"2500 meters..."

"Release!" As Colonel Peltz shouted, all the bombardiers pressed the button to release the torpedoes. 22 torpedoes fell into the water one after another (one Ju188 was shot down during the attack). A few dozen seconds later, the Ju188E-2 attacking from the front of the Soviet Union also dropped 20 torpedoes (one of the 12 Ju188s attacking from the front) 2 were shot down). Just when 42 torpedoes formed two "golden combs" in the water, cutting through the sea water, dragging a trail of bubbles, and pounced towards the huge battleship Soviet Russia, the bomber piloted by Colonel Peltz fired another fierce burst. Shaking, and then the cold wind with the salty smell of sea water poured into the cabin.

"Colonel, we've been hit again!"

Someone yelled, but Colonel Peltz ignored it and just pulled up the control panel with all his strength. The nose of the plane raised with difficulty, relying on the only remaining engine to climb upwards. At this time, several beams of light suddenly shot at Colonel Peltz's plane, followed by a burst of fierce artillery fire. One of the 127mm radio proximity-explosive artillery shells exploded in the air less than 10 meters away from the plane, and the flying shrapnel swept away the aircraft. On the left wing of the plane, not only did it punch a dozen large and small holes in the wing, but it also set the left engine on fire!

The Ju188E-2 aircraft could no longer fly, and Colonel Peltz could only try to control the aircraft to make an emergency landing on the sea. At the moment when the belly of the plane slammed into the sea, Colonel Peltz suddenly saw a huge fireball out of the corner of his eye, rising on the port side of the big battleship on the sea!

Colonel Peltz and his crew members later successfully escaped from the sinking aircraft, but they were too far away from the Vienna and other three cruisers responsible for the rescue. Finally, he was picked up by the American light cruiser USS Denver and imprisoned in a prisoner of war camp in the United States, where he spent the last years of the war and made some friends from Japan...

…

Boom boom boom...

The battleship Soviet Russia was hit by a torpedo! Not one, but as many as eight 450mm-caliber F-5 torpedoes slammed into the underwater parts of the Soviet battleship's port side and bow. Four of the torpedoes hit the Pulese double cylindrical anti-torpedo system between the keels of Soviet Russia No. 64-153. There were no serious consequences, but the explosion energy tore open the arc-shaped mine protection armor. This resulted in more than 3,000 tons of water intrusion.

However, the total length of the Soviet Union's Pulese mine protection system is only 123 meters, which is not enough to protect the entire underwater part. As a result, the remaining four torpedoes were all outside the protection range of the Pugliese mine protection system near the bow and stern.

One of them hit the port side rear near the auxiliary helm room, tearing a huge hole. Within a few minutes, the water ingress spread to all cabins in the area, and the stern of the ship sank, causing the warship to explode.

Another torpedo hit near the storage room at the front of the port side, causing an 11-meter by 9-meter hole in the surface of the ship's hull. It also caused a large influx of seawater, which soon flooded the diesel power generation unit at the bow of the ship. machine, causing a power system failure, and four water pumps stopped operating. Thousands of tons of seawater poured in and could not be discharged.

Another torpedo hit the forward oil storage tank less than 20 meters away from the port side forward storage room. It also penetrated with one hit and opened an 8×5 meter hole. It not only caused a large amount of fuel leakage, but also caused More than 2,000 tons of seawater poured in.

The last torpedo hit the most vulnerable position of the Soviet Union - the cambered gunwale of the unprotected area at the stern of the ship, causing extremely serious water intrusion, with up to 4,000 tons of seawater pouring into the hull.

Although the destructive power of the aerial torpedoes that hit the Soviet Union was limited and none of them hit the critical point, they could not withstand too many of them. A total of 8 holes were opened in the port side and bow of the Soviet Union, just over a dozen holes. Within minutes, more than 20,000 tons of seawater poured in. As a result, the hull tilted severely to the left, and due to a water pump failure, seawater could not be discharged for a while.

But when more than 20,000 tons of seawater surged in, the Soviet battleship's damage control had a big problem! Not only did the "new American sailors" on the ship have poor damage control skills, but they also scrambled when encountering large amounts of water.

Moreover, there are problems with the quality of many of the leak-proof and damage control equipment on the ship-these equipment were produced by the Soviet Union itself. Due to the lack of relevant experience and shoddy manufacturing, they were unable to function at critical moments. The "old American officers" on the ship were not mentally prepared for the quality problems produced by the Soviet Union and were at a loss after encountering a large number of equipment failures. As a result, valuable time was wasted.

At 4:10 a.m. on September 7, 1944, Rear Admiral Mullinix, the captain of the Soviet battleship, painfully discovered that his battleship was beyond saving.

At 4:15, Rear Admiral Mullinix issued the order to abandon the Soviet Union. At this time, the Soviet Union battleship was severely damaged, and the bottom part of the starboard side was even exposed to the water.

At 4:44, after most of the crew evacuated, the Soviet battleship with a standard displacement of 59,150 tons capsized and sank in the icy Atlantic Ocean.