artillery arc

Chapter 592: Eagle over the White Sea (Update 38/81)

On January 1, the Plossen heavy cruiser Lützow was ten kilometers from the White Sea coast.

Captain Otto Lindemann stayed on the bridge until twelve o'clock, then he yawned and said to the first mate: "I'm going to have dinner, you continue to be on duty."

First mate: “Yes.”

Lindemann walked out of the bridge, stopped on the corridors on both sides, and looked at the White Sea coast ten kilometers away.

He likes to enjoy the scenery when he leaves like this.

After all, it is written in the Proson Naval Combat Manual: It is recommended to spend at least one minute every day to appreciate the scenery of the sea in order to better serve the Proson Empire.

Lindemann didn't care what the combat manual said, but he did like looking at the scenery at sea.

Sometimes when he was in a good mood, he would get some French fries from the battleship's kitchen and feed them to the seagulls circling around the ship.

He also likes seagulls very much. The reason why he joined the navy was because he liked watching seagulls in the Port of Hamburg when he was a child.

Lindemann looked at the seagull absentmindedly.

The Lützow had been carrying out its current mission for more than a week, and had not received a single shot of support from the other side, as there were no Ante troops within range. The officers and men on the warship had been slack for a long time, and Lindemann had to order the boatswain to organize the soldiers to scrub the deck every day.

Lindemann followed the seagulls with his eyes, and suddenly saw a few special seagulls in the distance towards the sea level.

He narrowed his eyes and stared at the seagull for several seconds before he suddenly realized what he was seeing. The hairs on his body stood up.

Lindemann turned and rushed to the bridge.

The first mate saw him and reflexively shouted, "Captain, come aboard the bridge!"

Lindemann: "Plane! Plane is approaching us! Combat alert!"

The first mate immediately pressed the combat alert button on the bridge wall.

But he was still confused and kept asking: "What plane, where is it?"

Lindemann pointed to the sea level and said, "Plane! Are all the air defense observation posts blind? Can't they see the torpedo planes flying over the sea? The Bismarck's steering gear was damaged by a torpedo plane! From then on, the air defense observation operation manual should specifically mention to pay attention to torpedo planes!

"Speed ​​up the battleship! Go full speed ahead! Rudder to right! Avoid this wave of attacks first!"

"Full right rudder!" The helmsman repeated the order while turning the steering wheel frantically.

The first mate leaped in front of the engine clock and turned it to full speed ahead.

----

In the engine room, the chief engineer was having lunch when he suddenly heard the engine bell "ding-ling-ling". He immediately looked over and his expression changed.

He pushed his lunch aside and yelled, "Lunch break is over! All hands on deck! Full speed ahead!"

While the engineer was repeating the order, the chief engineer went to the bell, pulled the handle on his side all the way back, and then pushed it forward to full speed.

The jingling sound echoes with the roar of the accelerating engine.

----

Lindemann grabbed the handles on the bridge with both hands to resist the tilt of the hull caused by full speed ahead and full starboard rudder.

His eyes were fixed on the approaching torpedo planes.

Because the distance was close enough, he could clearly see that they were fifteen torpedo planes, and they were not the slow-moving biplane Swordfish torpedo planes, but the low-wing, metal-fuselage United States torpedo planes!

Needless to say, they were piloted by experienced United States pilots in the Pacific.

The Lützow's large-caliber anti-aircraft guns had already opened fire, and the sky near the sea was filled with black smoke clouds from time-fuzed shells.

However, this did not stop the fifteen Seagulls.

Lindemann kept a close eye on the movements of the enemy planes, and when he estimated that the ship's direction of travel was almost parallel to the direction of the enemy planes' approach, he shouted, "Straighten the rudder!"

"Straighten the rudder!" The helmsman steered frantically again.

The tilted hull slowly straightened out.

Lindemann saw that the enemy's lead plane was circling to the left. Because the enemy's wings were erected, the projection in his field of vision changed from a horizontal line to a horizontal and vertical crosshairs.

This means that the lead aircraft has given up the attack and chosen to occupy the attack position again.

The other torpedo planes also followed the lead plane and circled left.

Lindemann breathed a sigh of relief, and then the phone rang.

He didn't wait for the first mate to answer the phone, and picked up the phone first: "Bridge!"

"Air defense observation post, enemy planes are overhead and diving!"

"what?"

Lindemann threw away the receiver and pressed himself against the window glass in front of the bridge, trying to look up at the sky, but he could see nothing. He suddenly had an idea, turned around and rushed out of the bridge, and when he looked up on the corridor, he saw a series of black shadows rushing down from the direction of the sun!
"Anti-aircraft guns!" Lindemann shouted. "The firepower above is too weak. What are the gunners doing?"

----

Major Wooster felt somewhat relieved: "The enemy's anti-aircraft firepower is really weak, even inferior to that of the Fuso Empire!"

Backseat machine gunner: "The anti-aircraft firepower of the Fuso Empire is not a big deal, right? I didn't even feel the enemy firing - I mean at Midway. But at the Battle of Santa Cruz, South Dakota mistook us for Fuso planes, and the firepower was terrible."

Major Wooster: "Don't mention it. Our team lost six planes in Santa Cruz, and four of them were lost in South Dakota."

Backseat Gunner: "Is it okay to chat like this? Can we hit the target?"

"Don't worry, the maneuvers of the Prosons are terrifyingly gentle compared to those of the Fuso Empire. Look, I'm going to throw a bomb into his boiler chimney!"

Wooster said.

"Bester is going to be an instructor, and I am the best dive bomber pilot!"

----

Lindemann clearly saw the moment the enemy dropped the bomb.

He stared at the black object and watched it smash into the chimney of the Lützow.

Lindman's scalp was tingling, and he knew what would happen next without even thinking about it.

As expected, the middle deck of the Lützow arched upward, and then an explosion from bottom to top overturned the deck and everything on it.

The seaplane catapult arranged near the No. 1 chimney was completely lifted up, and the plane directly "flew into the sky".

The shockwave hit Lindemann head-on, knocking him against the railing on the other side of the bridge.

"Ouch, my waist!"

Soon after, the second and third bombs fell. One hit the anti-aircraft gun deck in the middle of the ship, and the other missed the starboard side. The shock wave in the water caused the navigation clock on the bridge to fall off and hit the ground, shattering the glass.

More bombs fell, and the water stirred up by the bombs soaked Lindemann like a drowned rat.

He could vaguely hear anti-aircraft guns firing, but the sound of the guns was so sparse that it seemed impossible to effectively stop the enemy planes.

He wanted to stand up, but he couldn't move on the ground. He must have injured his spine or something else.

He could only use his last bit of strength to shout: "Damage control! Damage control! Put out the fire! Stop the leak!"

The next moment he saw the helmsman rushing up to him, then climbing up the railing and leaping off.

"What are you doing! I haven't given the order to abandon ship yet!"

Before he finished speaking, the first mate appeared in Lindemann's sight: "Captain! The engine room is finished. The No. 2 main turret reports that the bottom cabin is flooded. The ship is going to sink!"

Lindemann grabbed the first officer by the collar: "It's just a few planes!"

"Captain, in the Pacific Ocean, a few planes sank four aircraft carriers of the Fuso Empire! Now is the age of airplanes!"

----

Major Dodge, the captain of the VT6 torpedo squadron of the United States th Carrier Air Wing, looked at the smoke-filled cruiser and asked the navigator in the back seat: "This cruiser should not waste torpedoes, right? Even if it goes back, it will not be able to leave the port for at least half a year."

"Indeed." The navigator replied, "How about we patrol along the coastline for a while based on the information provided by Ant? We should be able to encounter the enemy's evacuation ship."

"Okay, let's do it. VT-6 calling VF-6, VT-6 calling VF-6!"

Soon a response came over the radio: "VF6, VT6 please."

"We believe that the current target cruiser no longer needs to be attacked by torpedoes. Prepare to fly south along the coast to look for the enemy's large ships for withdrawal. Please accompany and cover."

"VF6 received, we'll follow you. Watch out for the fuel."

"Do not worry."

Dodge gently tilted the joystick, and the plane easily entered into a circle, and after turning half a circle, it flew south.

All of his attack aircraft formations turned with him.

A team member asked on the radio: "Why don't you go and finish off the enemy? What if the cruiser doesn't sink?"

"It doesn't matter if it doesn't sink. It will be out of action for at least half a year. We need to sink the enemy's transport ship so that the enemy can retreat with fewer troops. Everyone, open your eyes!"

"Don't stare, it's right ahead, Captain!"

Dodge also saw it, five large transport ships!

"Attention, everyone! Five large transport ships spotted! No enemy aircraft cover. I repeat, no enemy aircraft cover! Make sure to fire all your torpedoes on the port side of the enemy ships! Got it? Port side! Attack freely in a two-plane formation!"

(End of this chapter)