Bismarck

Chapter 339: The German crew escaped

"Captain! Bismarck is heading towards the Denmark Strait!" The radar officer suddenly turned around and said, then quickly handed over a map of the Persian cat's track.

Bismarck suddenly turned 135 degrees. Originally heading towards the Faroe Islands, it now headed towards Iceland, which is the upper exit of the Faroe Channel.

Walking into a trap? Looks like it.

But Nelson's captain didn't believe that Lütjens would be so stupid. There were already people in the Faroe Islands, but he would still run to the American territory in the Atlantic.

"The only place they can go is the port in France, so they must go west in the end." He grasped the fundamental problem after a little thought.

But what if we go this way?

"Lütjens wants to get rid of us!" He immediately judged that Bismarck's speed was more than half faster than Nelson's, and he wanted to rely on his excellent turning signal to avoid fighting with him.

"Go and tell General Tovey that Lütjens has begun to escape."

"Signal Rodney to turn left and make a thirty-degree angle with Bismarck's course. We are blocking her path to France!"

"Notify the heavy cruisers and have them catch up and delay the Bismarck's speed!"

"understand!"

The British fleet began a difficult turn. It turned out that even if two battleships were sent, at this speed, the initiative of the battle was still in Bismarck's hands.

But the good news is in the hands of the British.

"General, the rain has stopped!"

The heavy rain that lasted for a day and a night finally ended, and the vision began to recover. When the mist began to dissipate, Bismarck's figure suddenly appeared in the British sight.

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"General, will Bismarck escape?"

Above Hood, Tovey also received the news, but at this time Hood was still very far away from Bismarck.

"Rodney and Nelson may not be fast enough for us to get there. If Bismarck avoids fighting with them..." the staff officer said worriedly.

After all, with a speed difference of more than ten knots, she can go any way she wants, and the Faroe Channel is so large that there is plenty of room for avoidance.

"That's possible." Tovey groaned for a moment. "Let Rodney and Nelson do as much damage as possible to Bismarck and slow her down. It's raining there, right? It should be possible."

"If all else fails, there is the Prince of Wales."

"The Prince of Wales is in Scapa Flow," the staff officer reminded.

"Bismarck will definitely return to France, so let the Prince of Wales set out immediately to intercept her on her way."

"Yes!"

"Full speed ahead!"

Unconsciously, Hood's speed increased to 35 knots, cutting through the waves.

-

"Damn it, why did the rain stop at this time!" Bismarck couldn't help but say.

"We were exposed."

At this time, Bismarck was turning at full speed and heading southeast, while the British fleet was turning at a distance of 15,000 yards.

"The enemy's heavy cruiser is catching up."

"Don't worry about them. Focus on Nelson! We'll open fire when they turn the corner."

"understand!"

The cruiser's guns began to fire, and rounds of high-explosive shells came at them. Regardless of the accuracy of 15,000 yards, even the few shells that were fired occasionally did not do much damage after they exploded. Bismarck did not evade at all. Her attention was all on Nelson, and she had to cripple at least one of them!

The turning battleship was unable to fire accurately, and at the same time, the nine guns were slowly turning from one side to the other, which meant it had no ability to fight back.

Water splashed around Nelson constantly, and the distance of 15,000 yards was not a big problem for Bismarck.

"Aim at its bow waterline and use your homing shells!" Lütjens ordered, "Disrupt their formation."

If they were allowed to make a big turn in front of the battle line, a round of 18 shells would not be enough for Bismarck to handle. It turns out that hitting the waterline is something that can only be encountered by chance, just like Benzi's years of studying underwater shells is just a joke. Once the shells are fired, it is not your turn to command. It is only useful if you hit them. However, with some cheating abilities, this thing can also be achieved.

The self-guided shells were lifted from the Bismarck's ammunition depot and stuffed into the gun barrel.

"Strong charge!"

Nelson's front waterline was protected by an armored belt. Although the bow would not be very strong due to the focused protection, in order to improve its penetrating power, Bismarck still decided to try a strong charge.

"boom--"

The people in the bridge clearly felt that the vibration this time was much greater, and Bismarck's wrist also felt a stutter.

He closed his eyes and sketched out the trajectories of two of the missiles in his mind. Then he adjusted them slightly and gradually converged to the same place - in front of Nelson who was turning.

Because of the adjustment of trajectory, these two special shells were a little slower than their companions. The other six shells all lost their target and fell into the sea. Before the splashing water fell, there was a loud noise at the bow of Nelson's ship.

The wind cap on the head of the shell was instantly twisted and deformed, sticking to the wall of Nelson's ship, greatly increasing the friction, and then the projectile behind it penetrated into it.

With a "crash", the entire bow was blown open by the internal explosion, just like a patient's mouth was cut open. The weak area of ​​armor on one side was torn open, and there were two consecutive explosions side by side on the left and right, leaving a huge hole. Sea water poured in. Nelson's turning force was suddenly stopped, and he was obviously slower than Rodney.

"What's going on!" Captain Nelson was going crazy. The Bismarck was focusing fire on him. Just now, a shell hit the bow of the ship. From the observation port of the bridge, he could clearly see the scene of flying debris. A piece of the bow deck had disappeared.

"Captain, our ship's bow was hit by a bullet at the waterline, and a large amount of water is taking in!"

"What are you standing there for? Call the damage control team." He yelled, "This is really weird. The last time we exchanged fire with Bismarck, the waterline was also hit. This time it was hit again. How can Bismarck be so lucky?"

"Is the ammunition depot and the front main gun okay?"

Fortunately, the main gun positions were protected by heavy armor and were not affected by Bismarck's shells, but the large amount of water entering gave him a headache.

At this time, Rodney had completed the turn first, and all the cannons were aimed at Bismarck. Its captain also received Tovey's order to try his best to reduce the speed of Bismarck.

"Open fire."

Finally, nearly twenty minutes after Bismarck's sneak attack, the battleships of the British fleet fired targeted shells.

"Attention, start evading!"

Bismarck felt he was facing a formidable enemy.

First round, missed.

However, with the help of radar, the British calculated the distance to Bismarck in real time. Combined with optical aiming, their accuracy was not bad and they fired a cross-fire in the first round.

Nelson, who arrived late, finally completed the turn, but due to the increased resistance, it could no longer keep pace with Rodney. It could only aim its gun at the fleeing Bismarck from behind.

The two Nelson-class ships exchanged parameters and opened fire at the same time. Eighteen shells formed a dense barrage that covered an entire area.

"It's up to you." Lütjens didn't say much and held the handrail tightly.

Bismarck nodded slightly, and the barely visible side of the ship made a sharp turn, and the water rushed over the side of the ship. A 406 heavy shell brushed the side of the Bismarck and fell into the sea, while another one went up a little and hit the anti-aircraft gun director directly, piercing the fragile superstructure armor immediately. After a burst of gunpowder smoke, the entire spherical director disappeared, and the officers and sailors inside were the same.

However, this injury was not a problem for the entire ship. Bismarck did not even report it to Lütjens. However, the officer in the command instrument seemed to have been seen last time during the New Year...

"There's a fire on the side of the ship," said Bismarck.

This was caused by the cruiser's high-explosive bombs. The special gunpowder inside ignited the hull and could even melt the steel. Every piece of it was red, and Bismarck felt hot.

"Damage control team, put out the fire!"

The two sides fired shells back and forth, and Nelson was gradually left behind. With a distance of 15,000 yards and a speed difference of 10 knots, it would only take Bismarck an hour to get out of their range. However, the British had already calculated this.

"Captain, their route is at an angle to mine..." Bismarck also discovered that, since the British were not sailing parallel to him, they were taking a shortcut and being intercepted in front. Even if he had a high speed, he would still suffer a loss.

"There's nothing we can do. The position they occupy is better. Let's run for a while, then turn and go west." Lütjens understood the British thinking. They should hide when they should hide and fight when they should fight.

Gradually, Nelson was left behind and even out of the effective range of Bismarck. The only ones who could keep up were the cruiser and Rodney. In the fierce exchange of fire, Bismarck was hit by several bullets, but luckily, the superstructure was hit and no fatal damage was done. Rodney was also hit from a long distance. In addition to the waterline being damaged by Bismarck, he only lost some secondary guns and the armor belt was not penetrated by Bismarck.

"Turn and head due south!" Lütjens ordered.

His goal was not to go to the Denmark Strait. If he continued to go forward, he didn't know what kind of ship he would encounter, so it was time to turn - although this would allow Rodney to temporarily close the distance.

Continuing to fire, Bismarck used dense fire to interfere with Rodney's aim, forcing it to evade continuously. However, Rodney had no other choice at this time. If he let Bismarck escape without being seriously injured, it would be a big loss for his own people.

"Oops, cannonballs!"

A round of nine, all armor-piercing shells, cut through the sky.

"Bridge!"

Bismarck quickly saw where the shells would land, and one of them actually hit the bridge.

The main gun that had just been loaded opened fire without warning. Bismarck tried his best to turn sideways, and then used the recoil of the gun to move his ship sideways more than ten meters.

His head shook violently as if it was hit by a sledgehammer, and suddenly his legs went weak and he knelt down.

"What's wrong?" Lütjens quickly helped her up.

An armor-piercing shell hit the bottom of the bridge, and the floor was shaking. Lütjens thought it was the vibration that caused her to fall.

But Bismarck's face suddenly turned pale, and then he looked at his ankle blankly.

"The stern of the ship was hit..."

A shell that should have hit the water surface hit the ship again because of its forced change of position. The armor-piercing shell penetrated the horizontal armor at the stern and hit the steering gear room without warning, directly blowing up the steering gear and getting it stuck at an angle.

Is this a repeat of the Rheinmanufacturing exercise?

Bismarck suddenly seemed to be in a daze.

"What's the damage?" Lütjens continued to ask.

"Captain, the steering is out of order!" the sailor at the helm suddenly shouted. The rudder in his hand seemed to have a thousand pounds of force and could not be moved at all.

"The steering gear compartment was hit and the steering gear is stuck." Bismarck calmed down again. What was there to be afraid of? Wasn't he prepared for this situation? He had prepared for this moment for several years. How could he let history repeat itself?

Absolutely not!

"Captain, switch to the emergency rudder. The steering gear is broken." Bismarck said, "I will adjust the angle back now."

In fact, the direction can be controlled by using the speed difference of different axes, but there is no chance of escaping in this way. In comparison, the emergency rudder is more reliable, although the maneuverability will be greatly reduced.

"Does it affect your avoidance?" asked Lütjens.

"Of course there is, but there is no better way."

The so-called removal of angles was simple and crude for Bismarck. She simply abandoned the two rudders and changed the structure from the root to separate them from the hull.

"Emergency rudder deployed!"

The ship was finally straightened. The crew members were familiar with the placement of the emergency rudder as they had done it countless times. Soon a new rudder was hung on the stern.

Just as she expected, mobility now became a problem. She could no longer dodge the artillery shells flexibly, and now had to face the artillery fire head-on to force her way through the blockade area.

Then a shell hit her side, piercing it, causing water to enter and the oil tank to leak.

History has once again demonstrated its powerful inertia.

Bismarck's speed was reduced to 33 knots.

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"General, Nelson sent word that Bismarck has outrun their range."

Tovey was stunned by the result, but he could only accept it helplessly. He couldn't ask too much from the two slow-moving old ladies.

"What were their results?"

"Rodney hit Bismarck several times, including one hit on the stern of the ship that caused a ten-minute loss of steering control, and another hit on the oil tank of the Bismarck, which leaked fuel and reduced her speed."

Tovey hesitated for a moment, slapped his thigh and stood up.

"It's up to us now, catch up!"

ps: Finally there is good news... the big sister is still alive =. =

Because he had just been transferred from the ICU to the general ward, it was said that if he was sent to the hospital half an hour later, he would have turned into a Persian cat...

Chapter 340: Fighting against T-Inferior

"Let's get rid of it for now."

Bismarck let out a long breath, and felt a little relieved as she watched the two battleships moving further and further away in her mental power.

Neither side suffered much damage in this battle with the Nelson class. Only one rudder was scrapped and the external oil tank was punctured. According to Bismarck's control over the ship, plugging a hole in the oil tank should be a piece of cake. However, the crew would definitely go crazy if they had to patch the hole in public.

Bismarck had no choice but to seal the leaking compartment and let the oil flow out so that the seawater could fill the oil tank, which also caused a slight decrease in speed.