Ciriacos was in a bad mood. This Thunderbolt operation did make him feel like he was struck by lightning.≧, it was not going well from the beginning. The chaotic intelligence made him run away, and the lack of air cover made his fleet passively beaten. At this time, he began to miss the unfinished aircraft carrier Zeppelin. If the aircraft carrier was accompanied, his fleet would be much better, right?

However, there is no regret medicine in this world. When the carrier-based aircraft of the Red Navy attacked on the air, the Tirpitz was sailing at the fastest speed, trying to avoid the attack. At that time, hundreds of officers and soldiers on the ship widened their eyes and held the weapons in their hands and stared at the direction of the enemy planes, ready to enter the battle at any time.

It was really high, the shells were loaded, and even the Germans used pistols. At 11:11, Tirpitz put all the anti-aircraft fire into the battle. The 105mm, 37mm and 20mm anti-aircraft guns, with golden ballistics and white trails, whistling into the sky, bursting out clusters of flame smoke from different shades at different distances and heights, and interwoven a dense barrage of fire net. The gray aiming circle on the barrel of the gun was transformed into a beast-fighting fire ring in the circus in a blink of an eye, and the RO-2 attack aircraft seemed to be beasts passing through the fire ring, and Tirpitz, located in the center of the fire ring, also began to turn violently and greatly.

The ro-2 attack aircraft formation dived to an altitude of 500 meters before releasing the bomb. However, due to the fierce blocking of Tirpitz's fire and violent high-angle maneuvering evasion and the lack of experience in the Red Sea carrier-based aircraft pilots, most of the initial attacks were lost. Tirpitz avoided at least 8 bombs.

According to Stepanyan's eyewitness records, hindered by the ship's fierce artillery fire, the subsequent RO-2 attack aircraft was forced to change the practice of entering the attack route from the tail of the target and began to enter the attack route from the head of the target. Some pilots were even frightened by the fierce firepower of the Tirpitz and gave up dive bombing. They changed to hollow (3,000 meters altitude) horizontal bombing, and as a result, all the bombs dropped fell into the sea 1,500 meters away from Tirpitz.

Not only Tirpitz was fighting desperately, but German fighter pilots were fighting desperately. Facing the RO-2 that lowered the altitude and cut from low altitude to launch a torpedo attack, some brave German pilots followed and braved the threat of their own artillery fire to chase the torpedo planes of the Red Navy. At least four of the B-109s were shot down by the anti-aircraft artillery fire of Tirpitz and Schánhorst.

Under this three-dimensional interception of front and back, the Red Navy's carrier-based attack aircraft suffered a lot of losses. After diving, leveling or entering the torpedo attack route, they were shot and fired one after another, and at least eight were shot down on the spot. Many Red Navy pilots with red eyes even tried to directly hit the enemy ship, but failed to succeed.

During the few minutes of life and death between the two sides, a bomb was thrown at Tirpitz and Schánhorst almost every 15 seconds, making it difficult for their gunners to breathe. According to German memories, a shock wave of nearly absent bomb explosion blew a 20mm gunner on the port side of Tirpitz from the battle position and fell on an adjacent gun position five meters away. Another German captain was angry by the crazy attack of the Red Navy, pulled out the Ruger pistol and fired all the bullets at the RO-2 attack aircraft that was swooping down from the sky.

Although the Germans even used pistols, Tirpitz was destined to suffer injuries. At 22:37, a 500-kilogram bomb was inserted into the rear deck of Tirpitz like a fast-puncture feather arrow. It was an armor-piercing bomb with a delayed fuse. It penetrated two decks in a row and finally exploded above the horizontal armored deck. 35 people were killed on the spot, more than 70 were injured, and a fire was caused. The worst thing was that the ship shell was also blown through, causing sea water to seep into and the hull to tilt by 3 degrees.

When the damaged personnel arrived at the scene, the bulkhead was burning black and broke like paper. Water columns squeaked on the boiling deck, and steam rose. Just two minutes later, another 500-kilogram armor-piercing shell fell near the port 105 gun position. 50 shells in a spare ammunition depot were detonated, triggering a violent explosion, completely blowing up the anti-aircraft gun, and instantly killing 40 gunners around. Some of them had no bones, while others were burned. According to witnesses' recollection, even though these "charred corpses" were still aiming or carrying ammunition, and the surrounding decks were burned pink!

Five minutes later, the third 500-kilogram armor-piercing projectile hit the hull at the back of the bridge of the Tirpitz, and a large hole with a diameter of four meters was blown up on the deck. Fortunately, the fuse was problematic and was detonated in advance, and it did not cause much damage to the inside of the hull. It is also worth mentioning that the explosion was caught by a photographer on the bridge at that time, leaving behind the last memory of the Tirpitz.

Immediately afterwards, another near-missile bomb fell into the sea on the starboard side, stirring up a water column soaring into the sky. Coincidentally, the splashing sea water poured down like a waterfall, extinguishing the flames on the deck, and flowing into the hull along the holes on the deck, extinguishing most of the fire in the cabin.

When the attack aircraft formation of the Red Navy withdrew, Tirpitz was hit with three bombs and two near-lost bombs, causing 102 casualties and 99 injured. The deck and some cabins were damaged, but the power system was kept intact, and its damaged pipe system was also normal. At the same time, the Schánhorst, who accompanied Tirpitz, was slightly lucky and only hit one bomb and one near-lost bomb, which was basically considered a minor injury.

According to Stepanyan's memories, the effect of the first wave of air strikes was only unsatisfactory, and it failed to destroy the enemy ships, and it was not even a serious injury. At that time, he was anxious and kept complaining that his comrades were not powerful enough.

But this is not because the Red Navy pilots are not good enough. To be honest, they fight bravely, but they are not experienced after all. A considerable number of pilots attacked targets of high-speed navigation at sea for the first time, and it is normal that the results are not ideal.

In addition, the Red Navy pilots also suffered heavy losses and accurately found a total of 52 RO-2s in Tirpitz and Schánhorst. Among them, two of them were forced to land due to injuries during their return flights, only 27 were left on the deck of the aircraft carrier. The remaining aircraft were either shot down by German ships or destroyed by German fighters. The loss rate was as high as 48%!

Of course, the battle has not ended. The Red Navy's second wave of attack aircraft against Tirpitz was already halfway. Even if Tirpitz was not severely damaged, its losses were not negligible.

After the air strike, the Tirpitz immediately began to rescue itself. Under the command of the damage control commander Major Hesher, all maintenance personnel, including carpenters, fitters, electricians, and mechanics, carried various tools, fire water dragons, gas masks, and carried out emergency repairs to the damaged areas of the warship.

The fires in the deck and hull were quickly extinguished or controlled. The damage control team members laid steel plates on the damaged deck to plug the loopholes in the hull, clearing the wreckage and water accumulation. At the same time, under the leadership of Chief Military Physician Lieutenant Colonel Schultz, the medical soldiers and the military doctors carried stretchers and first aid kits to treat the officers and soldiers injured in the battle. One hour after being shot, the Tirpitz basically returned to normal, and the ship fled south at a high speed of 29 knots.

Before the new battle breaks out, let's see the performance of other supporting characters in this battle. For example, the Scher, which was mentioned earlier as the power of the palace, is indeed very hard-working. The speed is too slow and it can't keep up.

In fact, at the beginning, according to Drell's intention, the Scher should not join in the fun. Just be a quiet **silk. But the beard disagreed. In order to hunt as many enemy ships as possible, the beard strongly demanded that all maritime forces could be invested, so the soy sauce party Scher was sent out.

When Ciriacos was preparing to retreat due to wrong intelligence for the first time, the Scher would catch up with the main battleship formation, and then inexplicably retreated. Of course, this time she was still the role of the palace behind.

Who would have thought that after walking back not long, he was ordered to turn north again. This time, Scher finally rushed to the front. After obtaining the information that the Z25 destroyer went to war with Shenmi, Scher immediately went to support at full speed. Since then, he has been hanging with the destroyer formation.

Then when Cyriarcos ordered the destroyer to mislead the enemy, the Scher said goodbye to the three destroyers, and for the time that followed, he was a commander who had been running south diligently.

However, as mentioned earlier, the Sher speed is too slow (the maximum speed is 26 knots), and its ship is relatively long, its power is aging, and the bottom of the ship is dirty, so the maximum speed can only be maintained at a little more than 24 knots.

This speed is not enough. When Gorshkov's formation quickly caught up with a speed of 30 knots, it was not surprising that it was caught. When he first discovered that there were large smoke columns on the sea in front, Gorshkov was quite happy. He thought that he had caught up with the German Navy's main battleship formation and could finally show his skills.

The extremely excited Gorshkov rushed forward with two battleships, two heavy patrols and two light patrols, and soon found the panicked Scher. Yes, Scher was frightened, and the six big guys rushed up with green light. It seemed that they wanted to be the king to take the bow!

But the poor Scher could not resist. Who made him less speed than others? Soon Scher was caught up, and the ship had to face the challenge tragically. Anyway, the entire Scher was prepared for the worst.

But what surprised the Scher was that the enemy's fleet seemed to have little interest in him. The two battleships and heavy cruisers fired a few shots at her and rushed straight south, leaving only two light cruisers and four destroyers to deal with her.

Why is this? The reason is very simple. Gorshkov believes that the Scher is just a behind the temple. The German battleship is still in front. What is the point of just cleaning up a thin-skinned Scher? Gorshkov's purpose is Tirpitz!

Therefore, Gorshkov naturally would not waste too much time on the Scher. It would be considered a very considerate to send two light cruisers to deal with each other.

The Brest and Odessa are Red Navy Type 36 light cruisers, with a standard displacement of 11,000 tons and a full load displacement of 13,200 tons. They have 12 152mm naval guns and 8 100mm high-level dual-purpose guns, with a maximum speed of 32 knots. In addition, the main armor belt is 152mm thick, horizontal armor 50mm, and also has a 20mm torpedo protective wall. Overall, it is good among the treaty light cruisers.

Of course, this is not a target, and there is no problem with ordinary cruisers, Type 36 light cruisers. However, it is a bit awkward to deal with evil heretics like Sher who are uncommon. How to say it? Sher's 6 280 cannons are powerful enough to destroy any treaty cruiser. It can be said that no treaty cruiser can withstand the attack of such "giant cannons" at normal combat distances. Once hit, Type 36 light cruiser will either die or be disabled.

However, it is said that the 36 light patrol cannot defend Scher's main gun, but Scher's defense is also a mess. In terms of normal combat distance, Scher's armor can only defend against the 5-inch (127 mm) class naval guns equipped by destroyers, and it is not possible to deal with the 6-inch (152 mm) naval guns. Moreover, Scher's main gun is of great power. However, the fire density is different and the fire speed is slow. When fighting with the Treaty heavy patrol and the light patrol, unless he can avoid "flying a kite" far away, he may still be blown up.

But the question is, can the Scher hide? Her maximum speed of 26 knots is really useless. Which newly built warship in the 1930s does not have a speed of 30 knots? Can she run away in front of these new cruisers?

Therefore, it is really impossible to "fly a kite". As long as the Red Navy's cruiser captain is clear enough, he can use his speed advantage to seek profit and avoid harm. How to seek profit and avoid harm? It is very simple, it is to use the advantage of speed to seize favorable shooting positions, use more artillery and faster firing speed to defeat the opponent.

The specific method is very simple. Try to move in the bow and tail of the ship of the Scher, and do not give Scher a chance to volley the six main guns. At the same time, try to maximize the advantages of all 12 152mm main guns, and try to fire as much as possible within a unit time.

Moreover, please note that Gorshkov also left four destroyers for the Type 36 light cruiser. These four small guns are certainly not opponents of the Scher, but the destroyer is equipped with torpedoes. It should be said that it is easier to capture the shooting position at the high speed of the destroyer to launch torpedoes to attack the Scher. Moreover, the existence of these four destroyers can also distract Scher, which creates better shooting conditions for the Type 36 light cruiser.

Facts have proved that this tactic is indeed effective. Except for the six 280mm main guns that are bluffing, the Scher is all garbage. To deal with destroyer targets, the 280 main gun is powerful enough to kill mosquitoes. Moreover, the Scher cannot just stare at the enemy's destroyers. Brest and Odessa are not vegetarians. The 24 152mm main guns can fire at least 12 times a minute. It is no joke that 288 shells fall down in one minute. How much can Scher eat with his small body?

What's more, the Brest and Odessa were also singular, just around the stern of the Sher, and they didn't run to the side of the Sher. The Sher really didn't dare to turn the bow and fight back, so they could only use the three main guns at the stern of the Sher to deal with the other side. Just watch silently for the Sher, because he really lost the other and couldn't hold on for long.

"Cast smoke, hurry!" Captain Sher Menderson Bolken ordered quickly. Then he raised his telescope again and looked at the enemy's reaction with a cold look.

Accompanied by the thunderous thunder, the first round of the 280mm main gun was shot out, but the landing point was remote, and there was no more gain than creating three giant water columns on the sea. At the same time, the 152mm shells of the Brest and Odessa also flew over. They shot very accurately and scored a hit in the third round of volleys.

The stern of the Sher ship was like a hammer. The telephone line connecting the stern gun position and the bridge was cut off, and the rear mast was damaged and the radio failed. Immediately afterwards, the roar of the cannon, the command sounds one after another, the screams of the frightened people, and the noise of the engine intertwined to form a terrifying symphony of hell.

Ten minutes later, the Scher was hit again, and a high-explosive bomb weighing nearly 50 kilograms hit the turret of its tail main gun. In an instant, the scattered shrapnel knocked the deck full of holes, and some of the sailors working at the tail of the ship immediately became bloody and bloody.

On the contrary, Scher's luck was not so good. A cross-fire formed in the seventh round of shooting. A 305-kilogram shell hit Brest just a little short of it, but it was almost useless. Soon Odessa took the place to "take revenge" Brest. A 152mm armor-piercing projectile inserted into the Scher's hull obliquely, easily tearing off its armor and exploded violently in the cabin.

This attack forced Scher to start paying more attention to Odessa and immediately counterattacked with the 150mm secondary gun at the tail, but the firepower was too weak and the effect was not ideal. It was at this time that the four destroyers finally occupied a favorable shooting position and fired forty 53-39 torpedoes in one breath.

At that time, Mendson Bolken was desperate. What is the concept of forty torpedoes? Let's put it this way, this torpedo completely covered the Scher. No matter how Scher avoided it, it would inevitably get thunder!

This is true. Even Menderson Bolken used his full-body skills to steer and dodge, and his bow was hit by a torpedo. The violent explosion blew a large hole of twenty square meters. The cold sea water suddenly poured into the hull, which instantly reduced the speed of the Scher's speed by three knots!

The situation was very bad. Mendson Bolken knew that he had to make a decision. It was meaningless to continue escaping, and he had no way to escape. In order to safeguard the honor of the German Navy, he was determined to turn around and fight the enemy to the death!

"Gentlemen, the last moment is here, for the Third Reich! Go forward!" (To be continued...)

ps: Bow to thank the parasite Schistosoma parasite, jsky, Chuanli Huagui, the giant among giants, 13 14, South Wanderers, lazy readers and comrade Juventus!
Chapter completed!