The Rise of the Third Reich

"boom!"

As a ball of fire rose from the middle of the battleship Alabama, the night battle on the ice and sea immediately entered a climax. The battleship, with a full load and a displacement of more than 45,000 tons, felt as if someone had kicked it in the butt. The entire stern of the ship moved several meters laterally to the left.

The main armor belt, which was nearly 300mm thick (the thickest point reached 310mm), was like a thin wooden board and was instantly penetrated by a French artillery shell flying from 23,000 meters away.

What made the contribution was the 380mm/L45M1935 gun of the French battleship Jean Bart. The armor-piercing projectile launched by this artillery weighs 884 kilograms and can easily penetrate 365mm thick carburized surface-hardened alloy steel 23,000 meters away. The armor of the USS Alabama cannot resist it!

The fire immediately broke out in the cabin amidships of the battleship Alabama. The shells did not penetrate the very dangerous cabins, but exploded in cabins such as the captain's cabin and the commander's cabin (there were flagship facilities on the Alabama), igniting many decoration materials by the way.

Although such damage is not fatal to the Alabama, it is a very bad sign - it has been targeted by 16 French cannons and 6 German cannons! However, the opponent of this American battleship is not having a hard time now. It has counterattacked several times alone before, choosing the battleship Tirpitz, which is suspected to be the flagship, as its target, and it has just launched a straddle shot.

Now the six battleships of the 1st Battle Group of the Allied Combined Fleet have all aimed their main guns at the Tirpitz based on the sighting results of the Alabama! The 54 406mm cannons are tilting the shells crazily, and it is only a matter of time before they hit.

The question now is whether the Tirpitz is more durable or the Alabama is more durable?

"Hit, sir, we hit a King George V-class!" At 11 o'clock in the evening, the gunnery officer on the Hindenburg shouted excitedly, and was hit by two Hindenburg-class ships. There was fire and smoke on the deck of the Duke of York, and the ship's speed slowed down significantly.

Admiral Lütjens smiled proudly, knowing that the King George V was finished. The reduced speed and fire will turn it into a target for V3 missiles!

"Send power to Team 3 and fire V3 at the burning King George V. Shoot out all six!"

Just when Admiral Lütjens issued the order, British Vice Admiral Phillips, who was the commander of the 2nd Fleet of the Allied Combined Fleet on the damaged and slowed battleship Duke of York, also smelled the smell of danger.

"Where are the enemy fleets rushing towards us?" he asked loudly.

"Almost 24,000 yards!" the team's chief of staff replied loudly.

"Change the target of the bombardment, direct all firepower at the enemy ship formation that is rapidly approaching us, and hit its No. 6 and No. 7 ships... The Duke of York and Anson hit the No. 6 ship, the Howe and the two Soviet battleships. Cruiser fights No. 7 ship!”

It turned out that Lieutenant General Phillips had long noticed this enemy formation that was rapidly approaching him. German remotely controlled guided missiles and remotely controlled gliding bombs had long been the source of fear in the hearts of every Royal Navy officer.

The King George V class in the hands of Lieutenant General Phillips is a very strong battleship. The thickest part of the waterline armor on the side reaches 15 inches (381mm). Even the 406mm cannon of the Hindenburg class can be carried for a while. But when encountering a V3 missile weighing more than 2 tons, it might be "killed" by one shot.

Therefore, after the radar detected the rapidly approaching 3rd Fleet of the European Combined Fleet, Phillips immediately ordered the light cruiser escorting nearby to move in and fire flares. It was found that ship No. 6 and ship No. 7 in this seven-ship formation are likely to be so-called "missile cruisers."

At a distance of 23,000 yards, all 36 14-inch (356mm) cannons and 12 380mm cannons on the three King George V-class ships and two Kronshtadt-class ships were aimed at the two P-class ships.

At the same time, Blücher (heavy cruiser), Gneisenau, 2 Dunkirk-class ships and 3 P-class ships of the 3rd team of the European Combined Fleet used all main guns, 1 cannon and 18 280mm cannon) aimed at the Soviet battlecruiser Kronstadt. A fierce artillery battle immediately began between three large ship formations!

Because it takes time to re-observe and correct the ballistics, at the beginning of this two-on-one artillery battle, the Duke of York was hit one after another. The two Hindenburg-class ships are standard large ships carrying small guns, so the accuracy of the bombardment is guaranteed.

Therefore, the 406mm shells hit the target one after another. The Duke of York was like a lit firecracker, with fire spots all over its body. In the blink of an eye, fires ignited everywhere on this sturdy battleship.

Just as Lieutenant General Phillips was clenching the armrest and gritting his teeth, four Italian Veneto-class battleships each fired a straddle shot (targeting the USS Anson and the USS Howe respectively). These two King George V-class battleships It was only a matter of time before he was shot.

As long as these two King George V are severely damaged by the Italian Ansaldo "powder cannon" (the Italian 381mm L50M1934 artillery is the most powerful of the 380mm artillery), then the 2nd Allied Combined Fleet will Even if the team is crippled!

…

While three British King George V-class battleships were engaged in a bitter battle, the German Tirpitz also experienced a rain of bullets. Six of the most powerful battleships of the United States and the Soviet Union fired their shells at it with 54 406mm cannons.

At 11:05, a 406mm heavy shell fired by the battleship Massachusetts penetrated the thin bow armor of the Tirpitz and exploded in the sailor's rest room. Although this shell did not cause any serious damage to the Tirpitz, it provided an important coordinate. As the impact point was captured by the fire control on the Massachusetts, the six powerful battleships of the Allied Combined Fleet completed Gun calibration!

At 11:08, the battleship Tirpitz was hit again, and three of the 54 406mm armor-piercing shells hit its deck.

In an instant, the No. A turret located at the bow of the ship seemed to be blown away. The armor-piercing projectile with a total weight of 1.225 tons penetrated the 360mm thick turret armor from the front. The explosion occurred inside the turret. The huge power not only killed all The gun crew members also flew this huge turret. The Tirpitz suddenly lost a quarter of its firepower!

The other two 406mm shells that hit the Tirpitz also caused considerable damage. One of them penetrated the main armor belt on the side and exploded between the dome armor and the main armor, although it did not penetrate the dome. A, but the huge vibration cracked a steam pipe, causing the Tirpitz to instantly lose a quarter of its power. The battleship's speed dropped to 20 knots.

Another 406mm shell hit the deck of the Tirpitz's speedboat, not only blowing several speedboats into pieces, but also igniting something unknown, causing a fire.

At almost the same moment when the Tirpitz was hit, the USS Massachusetts battleship was also hit by a 380mm shell fired by the Bismarck. The Massachusetts' 310mm side armor belt also failed to withstand the German 380mm caliber high-speed flick. The shell broke through the armor plating and exploded outside one of the Massachusetts's boiler rooms. Although the result was not fatal, several pipes were damaged and fires were caused. As a result, the Massachusetts's speed dropped significantly to about 15 knots.

Seeing the Massachusetts suddenly slowing down and bursting into flames, Rear Admiral Lindemann, commanding the 2nd Fleet of the European Combined Fleet, had an idea and came up with a way to save the Tirpitz.

He ordered the Prinz Eugen, Barbarossa and Schlieffen in the formation to immediately stop firing and begin to attack the Massachusetts - as if they were preparing to fire V3 missiles at a close distance!

This change really frightened Admiral Ingersoll on the Soviet Union. He quickly ordered all the battleships to aim their guns at the Barbarossa and the Schlieffen respectively. He also ordered several light cruisers and destroyers escorting nearby to Rush up and fire torpedoes at Prinz Eugen.

This order allowed the Tirpitz to save its life from the bombardment of 54 406mm guns, but in the last salvo before these guns turned their muzzles, two more 406mm shells hit. One of them chipped off the Tirpitz's B turret, causing the battleship to lose half of its firepower. A 406mm shell penetrated the stern of the Tirpitz, also causing a fire.

Now this giant battleship with a full load displacement of 52,900 tons can only waver and run away with the flag "Our ship has been severely damaged and has withdrawn from the team" hanging out in despair.

At this time, devastating disasters began to befall the 2nd fleet of the Allied Combined Fleet.

Before three King George V-class battleships and two Kronshtadt-class battlecruisers hit two P-class guided missile cruisers, six powerful V3 missiles had been launched.

In the darkness, only 6 light points (the tail lights of the V3 missiles) were seen flying towards the burning battleship Duke of York at extremely fast speeds!

Although the anti-aircraft guns on the Duke of York fired desperately to block it, only one of them was shot down, and three of the remaining five V3s hit the 36,000-ton British battleship, which is famous for its strong protective capabilities... …

After three huge explosions, the hull of the 36,000-ton ship was broken into two pieces from the stern. Just three minutes later, nearly 1,900 officers and soldiers on board the ship - including one who was temporarily on board. The political cadres of the Soviet Red Navy and the commander of the team, Lieutenant General Phillips, all disappeared into the cold Atlantic Ocean, and no one survived!

The night battle on the ice sea has reached its climax!