my head

Soon, the entire fleet was adjusted, heading 280, 24 15-inch, 20 6-inch and 20 4.5-inch guns aimed at the Italian fleet heading 130, and the gunner's finger had already pulled the trigger. At 22:27, the British fleet, which had completed its preparations, turned on the searchlights from the destroyer HMS "Hound Dog" and covered the No. 3 ship of the Italian formation.The killing is about to begin.

How could Admiral Yaquino have never imagined that his order would send his fleet into hell.Although Major General Catagno obeyed the order, he still underestimated the danger.Because the Italian fleet did not make any effective preparations for night battles.They only equipped the torpedo tubes with flash suppression equipment, but not on the artillery. It is said that Italian officers believed that it was impossible to use the main gun in night battles.In addition, because they usually do not pay attention to the research of night combat communication and fire control equipment, these devices are not suitable for night use.Why does such a fleet dare to return to a dangerous sea area at night to rescue friendly ships?This is because they believe that the British fleet has no possibility of catching up, and even if it does, it is absolutely impossible to send a large ship like a battleship to pursue it at night.According to Aquino, he thought the British would just leave the destroyers around.Therefore, when the British had already aimed their guns at the Italians, the Italians had almost no mental preparations for the upcoming battle, and Major General Catagno was only worried about the actual situation of the "Pola".

In fact, as early as 21:55, the Catagno Squadron was discovered. They were detected by the British light cruiser "Ajax" equipped with a 279 radar. After the radar screen of the "Ajax" showed that there were 5 unidentified ships 3 nautical miles ahead of itself, it immediately reported to the top.Colonel Mike, who was commanding the destroyer fleet to pursue the "Veneto", received this report.At the moment, he is 10 nautical miles northeast of the Catagno fleet.The navigator analyzed the messages and charts.It was found that the position of the unknown ship reported by the "Ajax" was only 21 nautical miles away from its own position at 55:4.Because the radar positioning accuracy was not high at that time.A difference of several nautical miles is common.So Mike judged that the "Ajax" found himself, and ignored it.In fact, not only the radar had errors, but there were also errors in the nautical chart operations in the shaking warship at that time. The double errors of the radar and the nautical charts superimposed, resulting in the Catagno Squadron, which was 21 nautical miles away from Mike's fleet at 55:10. 4 nautical miles, this is really a mistake.The Catagno Squadron seemed to have escaped this catastrophe, but a greater catastrophe awaited it.

The ignorant Catagno squadron continued to advance in the dark.At this time, the destroyer "Alfieri" led the queue, followed by the "Zara", "Fiume", "Betty", "Carducci", and "Oriani". At 22:26, ​​two red flares were raised in front of her bow.Major General Catagno knew it was launched by the "Pola" and was in contact with himself.However, not long after he saw the signal flare, a beam of strong light suddenly shone from 3000 yards away, covering the No. 3 ship "Fiume" in the formation. The outline of the number is also very clear in the night sky.For a moment, the Italian navy officers and soldiers were stunned.

"Boom", the panicked Italians saw a row of flames rising from the British ship and heard a deafening sound. "Battleship!" shouted the experienced man.Rear Admiral Catagno's hopes were shattered—he had thought it might be the British destroyer fleet that attacked them.In an instant, the will of the Italian naval officers and soldiers collapsed.People who haven't waited to wake up look for hiding places.The first row of shells from the British roared and landed on the "Fiume" ship.Because it was a short-range flat shot from 2900 yards, the first salvo of the "War Spite" hit 6 of the 15 5-inch armor-piercing projectiles!Then, there was a series of explosions, and the entire body of a rear turret was overturned and pressed against the side of the hull. Thirty seconds later, the second salvo of shells fired by the "War Spite" fell immediately. This time, all 30 main guns fired, and several hits were made again.In the meantime, the first salvo of the four main guns on the front of the "Warrior" was also aimed at the "Fiume".The "Fiume", which was hit by these shells, turned into a ball of fire in just 8 or 4 minutes. The hull tilted severely to the right, quickly lost power, and slowly left the queue.Only 2 minutes later, the warship, which barely fought back, disappeared into the sea, leaving only countless life rafts and struggling people.

The destroyer Alfieri was attacked almost at the same time as the Fiume, and the battleship Barham shot at him. The battleship "Barham" originally planned to shoot the "Pola" which fired red signal flares. When it was about to fire, it received an order to change its course. Just as it was turning, the gunnery officer saw the "Alfieri" in the afterglow of the searchlight Destroyer silhouette.As the guns were ready and pointed in this direction, he gave the order to fire at once. How could a destroyer like the Alfieri withstand direct fire from 15-inch guns at a distance of 3100 yards? At least 4 of the 2 armor-piercing shells hit directly, and the entire hull, like a praying mantis blocking a car, burst into a series of explosions.

The "Fium" had just been disabled, and then it was the turn of the flagship "Zara". The Warrior and the Barham opened fire on it almost simultaneously, and the Warspite quickly joined the fray.The first two ships each fired 5 salvos, and the latter fired 4 salvos. All important parts of the "Zara" - the conning tower, turret, main engine room, boiler room, etc., were directly hit by 15-inch armor-piercing shells, and the explosions overlapped one after another.The 8-inch guns that resisted sporadically were all silenced, and the barrels were twisted and pointed in all directions.The main engine has stopped, and the explosion caused by a boiler splits the hull from the middle.There was even a forward turret blown off its mount by the blast, rolling like a toy across the flaming deck and into the sea.At this time, there were many casualties in the command tower.Seeing that the situation was over, Major General Catagno tidied up his military uniform, walked calmly across the hell-like deck, walked to the stern, ordered to abandon the ship, and directed the placement of slow explosives, preparing to sink the flagship.

Having tasted the joy of one-sided combat, the British battleships stopped firing.And withdrew from the chaotic battlefield at 22:38. 2 minutes later.British destroyers began to sweep the battlefield. At 22:59, the burning "Zara" and "Alfieri" were spotted by the British destroyer "Stuart" and "Havok", and the "Stuart" launched a torpedo , no hits. At 23:05, the slow explosive on the "Zara" was detonated, and the flames became more violent, but it seemed that God intentionally tortured the "Zara", and it still did not sink. 23:15. The "Alfieri" suddenly turned over and sank into the sea at once. Two minutes later, "Zara" suffered two salvos from the 2-inch guns on the "Stuart", which had no effect except for a few explosions. At 4.7:2, walking around the battlefield, the "Havok", which witnessed the tragic appearance of the three ships "Zara", "Fiume" and "Alfieri", fired at the Italians again. Four torpedoes were fired, but none of them hit.

Until 2 o'clock, Mike's squadron arrived on the battlefield, regardless of the struggling Italians in the water.Go straight to the place where there is fire.At this time, almost all the "Zara" can be burned has been burned, and there are only a few fires on the upper deck-this is enough. The "Zara" was hit by three torpedoes from the destroyer "Jarvis".After the huge explosion, the water column rushed dozens of feet high, and the fire reignited, lighting up the sea for miles - now littered with wrecked warships, floating corpses, life rafts and helpless sailors. At 3:2, the "Zara" finally turned its huge body over with relief, and took Major General Catagno—no one knew whether he was alive or dead at that time—and gradually sank into the sea.

After the British bombardment began, other Italian destroyers found that the situation was wrong, and they turned their rudders and left the team to escape. The "Oriani" was damaged by the 6-inch secondary guns of the "War Spite" and the "Giobeti" was fired by the 15-inch cannons of the "War Spite", but they all relied on speed, night cover and battlefield The chaos fled.Only the "Carducci" was hit by the shell of the "Havok" at 23:08, and was torpedoed by the opponent 7 minutes later, and was buried in the sea at 23:30.

At this moment, the "Pola" can almost be said to be a bystander. It floated motionless on the sea surface. When it was attacked, the damage to the electrical equipment caused the artillery on the ship to be staggered, and the entire hull was pitch black. one slice.Although it was once discovered by the British ship "Barham", the sudden appearance of the Catagno squadron to rescue him distracted the attention of the British, so it did not hit the shells of the British battleship.Until 24:[-], it was discovered again by the searchlight of the "Havok".Perhaps the "Havok" was too small compared to the huge hull of the "Pola", so it was considered by the captain of the "Havok" Watkins to be the "Veneto".Half an hour later, the Mike squadron chasing the "Veneto" rushed over.Although the report was corrected later, it was too late, and Mike joined the battle by mistake.

At 1:40, the searchlights were aimed at the "Pola" again, this time it was the destroyers "Hound" and "Griffin", and the panicked people crowded on the upper deck had to cover their eyes.However, the British did not attack immediately, they were waiting for Mike's squadron. At 3:25, the "Jarvis" that sank the "Zara" approached it, and some people on the "Pola" jumped into the water without waiting for the approach.After that, the British kept shouting to the Italians in the water: "Catch this! Poor thing!" They threw the cables over, and the Italians boarded the "Jarvis" with the help of the cables.Including those rescued from the water, there were a total of 257 people.While rescuing the Italians who fell into the water, the British also organized a group of gunners to rush to the "Pola" with screams, removed the small guns they lacked, and returned to themselves from another springboard. warship. Fifteen minutes later, the cable was untied, and the "Jarvis" launched a torpedo against the "Pola"-it did not explode, and the destroyer "Nubia" next to it made up one. At 15:1, the "Pola" exploded and sank.At this point, the Italian 1st Cruiser Squadron was wiped out, leaving only sailors struggling in vain on the sea.Finally, Admiral Cunningham, the commander of the British army, sent a telegram to the Italian Navy Ministry in a gentlemanly manner, asking them to rescue compatriots who were still struggling at sea. (To be continued..)