Bismarck

"Okay... bombard! Hold on tight, everybody!"

The captain had just finished making his arrangements when another shell came at him! A shining tracer from the night sky dived in front of the evading Bismarck, dragging an almost straight line of light, and a tall column of water was created near the Bismarck, which turned hastily. Even the main fire control director at the highest point of the bridge was doused!

The already dim night light in the command room flickered twice, and seemed to become even dimmer. Bismarck's perception of her own body also told her that the pressure of the faucet on her body seemed to be a little lower...

"Captain, the auxiliary engine room is flooded, and a set of generators has tripped!"

"Hold on, keep going!"

Lütjens, with a cold face, was not moved at all, and even his eyelids did not twitch! And this determination also infected Bismarck, who had been through life and death with him...

"…Yes!"

Bismarck gritted his teeth and changed his course once again. Changing his course once a minute on average was already the limit of the rudder's operation...

However, at least I can guide the planes in the sky to intercept the enemy's air strikes...

A bunch of small dots of light representing aircraft on the radar display were woven into a patchwork in the night sky. Under the identification of the friend-or-foe device, Bismarck turned left at full rudder as required by combat regulations to face the enemy aircraft attacking from the left wing, while guiding the fighters in the sky to fight with the British bombers on the left wing.

As for the other group of enemy planes on the right wing... Bismarck looked back slightly at his rear, and saw grapes that were beginning to turn head-on towards the right wing group.

My sister and I have separated, which has given us enough space to cover each other. Now, it all depends on how efficiently I and Tizi can cover each other...

Amid the dense gunfire, three heavy planes were shot down by the fighters of the GR-186 wing, which was full of ace fighters. After the remaining six or seven planes crossed with the German fighters, they were defeated by the gunfire of the Tirpitz battleship's port anti-aircraft guns, which formed an alternating cover with the Bismarck. On the other side, the British aircraft group rushing towards the Tirpitz also had to disperse in front of the salvo of the Bismarck's 380 main gun shells - the scattered aircraft group had a big flaw in the attack! Moreover, the two warships on the sea were pulling smoke and releasing electronic interference, plus dazzling searchlights. Even though there were flares on the sea, the British pilots said MMP.

The British aircraft group, which was exposed and dazzled, was forced to disperse, and the clever Persian cat took advantage of this opportunity to lightly flick its tail (rudder) and slip out from the gap where the aircraft group was dropping bombs.

---------

Just two minutes ago, when the handsome commander of the Cape of Good Hope battery command post saw Bismarck and Tirpitz begin to disperse and form an air defense posture, his mouth was almost grinning to his ears!

"Very good! The air strike forced the Bismarck to start evading... If the Bismarck's evasion direction is to turn left, then according to the rule that the bow of a warship's anti-aircraft defense is the stern, the Bismarck's evasion direction must be northwest - listen to my orders! Target the Bismarck! Cape Battery, fire all four guns at once! Fire!"

Accompanied by the roar of the muzzles, the four 381mm main gun shells on the Cape of Good Hope battery, which had predicted the Bismarck's evasive direction, changed their previous approach of scattering and attacking all possible evasive spaces around the Bismarck. Instead, they concentrated and slammed hard in the direction of the Bismarck's evasive direction one after another!

Bismarck, who was concentrating on firing and evading, was about to breathe a sigh of relief after escaping the bombing, but was shocked to find that the trajectory of the British artillery fire had covered him right in the middle. It was too late to evade...

"Captain! Hold on tight! Be careful of the shelling! (BOOM!!)"

After all, the power of the bombardment was extraordinary. Even the most experienced people would be nervous under the threat of death. Hearing the bombardment warning from Secretary Cat, even Lütjens' face turned pale, and seeing Bismarck unable to avoid the shells, he even closed his eyes tightly in nervousness. She only had time to reverse and slow down her propeller under the violent vibration of the gearbox, and even just finished the words of warning to pay attention to the bombardment, a violent fireball exploded at the bow of Bismarck with a loud bang!

The 20-inch shell that came straight down at a -degree angle kilometers away directly penetrated the -millimeter explosion-proof plate on the deck, and then broke through four or five decks, and then suddenly exploded at the -millimeter waterproof steel plate supporting the secondary armored area of ​​the flanks in the waterline inside the bow! The power of the explosion of kilograms of high explosives in the ship is extraordinary? Even half of the deck was blown directly into the sea by the gushing air waves and flames in the violent explosion! The flying fragments made the steel plates in this area full of holes, and even the -millimeter steel plates near the waterline were cracked under the shock of the explosion! And in the next moment, the surging sea water poured in wave after wave!

Although for Bismarck, as long as there is time and free time, she doesn't even need to do it herself, the ship's maintenance team can repair this during the voyage, but at least now, she has just recovered to a speed of more than 180 knots after turning, and it has dropped to 220 knots in an instant - and because the propeller and gearbox were suddenly reversed before, the sudden change in the moment of inertia of the tens of thousands of tons of warships has brought about a violent impact, and she still feels a dull pain in her legs! The only good thing is that because of her sudden deceleration at the last moment, and the - mm thick armor protection in front of the armored box structure, she finally avoided the most critical front main gun ammunition depot...

"Phew... I'm so scared. These British people are quite capable..."

The battle-hardened Persian cat quickly recovered, and even stuck out its tongue and made a face.

"Sister! How are you?" Ti Zi's concerned voice came over the WIFI.

"It's okay, it's okay, Tizi, I'm fine... Be careful! The plane over there is about to drop a bomb!"

After all, he cared about his sister. As soon as he said this, a round of anti-aircraft shells hit him. Among the group of planes that were about to drop bombs, the Wellington bomber that was closest to Grapes and posed the greatest threat had its wings blown off on the spot! The bomber, which lost control on the spot, spiraled and rolled, dragging a ball of fire in the night sky where flares were half-lit and half-extinguished, and fell into the sea while spinning!

However, at the position of the artillery in the distance, there seemed to be a few flashes of light that foreshadowed the bombardment! Seeing that the situation was not good, Bismarck did not care about anything else and hurriedly turned around, but he could not enter the range of the guided artillery shells for a while!

“…These scumbags are so annoying!”

On top of the large hamster that had just sneaked into the gap in the British aircraft attack, the little hamster next to Lindemann angrily climbed up from the hamster nest. Seeing her sister being harassed by the British army one annoying thing after another, she, who was originally lazy with headphones on, also became angry. She raised her head with a fierce look on her face, staring directly at the direction of the Cape of Good Hope battery - the battleship was her main body, even if she didn't measure it specifically, she could know that the battery on the cliff opposite the Cape of Good Hope was within the range of 30 kilometers of guided artillery shells and powerful charges! The fire control system on the battleship Tirpitz, which continued to turn, automatically locked the direction of the battery. The rotating main turret cooperated with the distance parameters of the fire control director, and raised the thick gun barrel high...

"You scum... there is no need for you to continue to exist!"

---

Accompanied by a shout that was indifferent but with a hint of gnashing teeth, the muzzles of the eight SKC34/380 main guns erupted with a roar that seemed even more violent than usual!

But in the eyes of Tizi, whose arm was aching from overexertion, the problem of overloading the gun barrel seemed not worth mentioning at all! In the ruby-like pupils of the lonely queen of the north, she seemed to be able to see the projection of the cannonballs flying high into the sky, escaping from the sea and whistling farther and farther away.

The shells gradually slowed down due to the inertia of the trajectory and the air resistance, gradually flew horizontally, and then slowly turned into a dive, heading for the location of the Cape of Good Hope Fortress, which was pitch black in the night but still clear in the eyes of the battleship girl! The earth was getting closer and closer, and the speed of the falling shells was getting faster and faster. The fortress gun turrets illuminated by the fire of the Cape of Good Hope Fortress, which was still firing continuously, were also rapidly enlarged in Tirpitz's mind, and became clearer and clearer!

Under the control of the ejected wings, the shells carried the resentment of the battleship Tirpitz, that is, the girl herself. Eight huge iron lumps tore through the unpredictable wind and clouds in the dark sky, pierced through the clouds and fog, and plunged into a main turret of the Cape of Good Hope Battery!

Before the fortress artillerymen around the battery could come to their senses from the sudden splash of dust and rocks, eight huge fireballs suddenly exploded the next second, turning the area around the fortress gun position on the battery, inside and out, into a ball of flame that shot into the sky!

There was even a moment of confusion on the British artillery battery!

"…Turret No. 4! Give me a reply!"

"...Damn it..." The British artillery commander turned around and shouted, leaving the phone in his hand that was no longer likely to be answered, "The remaining artillery, continue to fire at full speed... Even if we can't defeat that damn evil spirit, we will make them break a layer of skin!"

"Yes!"

After all, John Bull's fighting spirit, or his stubborn character, was so firm that he continued to fire under the strict order of the artillery commander. However, the artillery, which suddenly reduced its firepower by a quarter, always made the Persian cat next door feel that it was relatively easier for him to evade...

After the airstrike, one of the main guns of the turret was destroyed. Now there is nothing that can stop the Persian cat from entering the range of the 30-kilometer guided artillery shells.

The British aircraft in the sky were chased by German fighter planes, and they flew back with five dead and seven injured, but only three German planes were damaged, and the nine bombs and torpedoes dropped at the effective bombing range still had no results. However, another wave of British aircraft radar signals appeared far away on the other side of the Cape of Good Hope Mountains...

"Captain, seventy kilometers away, their planes are coming again!!"

"Seventy kilometers? We still have some time! Let's destroy the remaining three guns of the Cape of Good Hope Fort first!!"

"Okay, Captain!... Hmm? Another round of bombardment, Captain, hold on tight!" Bismarck responded while turning to avoid another round of bombardment, and turned all of her eight main guns. Even her rear main gun has been turned to the extreme position on the port side! Buzzers on the entire ship rang frantically. Except for the basically sealed 50 anti-aircraft gun turret and 150 secondary gun turret, all the German sailors exposed on the port side covered their helmets and left the anti-aircraft gun positions, running into the hatches one after another in a hurry but in an orderly manner. And when the door of the last cabin or bunker was just closed, the eight SKC34/380 guns on the Bismarck battleship finally began to speak! And the next moment, on the other side of the battleship Tirpitz, her eight main guns also joined in and sang a duet of cat and mouse with her sister!

"Isn't it just a cannon? I don't think you are qualified to be my opponent!!"

“It’s so annoying… It’s so annoying! You should just disappear!”

The muzzle flames of the two warships tore through the oppressive darkness of the night off the Cape of Good Hope...

Chapter 678: Chain Schemes (Part 1)

By the time the second group of British aircraft from 70 kilometers away arrived in a hurry, it was more than ten minutes later.

Even in order to control the error of artillery fire, Bismarck and Tirpitz both controlled their firing rate to one round every one and a half minutes. However, after seven or eight rounds of salvos of guided shells, the four 15-inch fortress guns of the Cape of Good Hope Battery had been almost completely destroyed.

However, the British artillery counterattack was also done with all their strength. Nearly ten rounds of artillery counterattacks also hit the Bismarck battleship's middle side and the outer side of the rear deck with two shells. Although one shell hit the deck, the other shell was barely withstood under the cover of the 145mm upper armor belt and the dome armor that had been strengthened to 160mm. However, not to mention the loss of secondary guns and anti-aircraft guns and water ingress, the raging fire alone could make it a good target in the dark without even flares!

Moreover, before setting sail, in order to prevent Eugen from having insufficient torpedoes to carry, the four torpedo tubes of Bismarck and Tirpitz were filled with sixteen torpedoes.

"Phew, luckily we avoided this place..." Looking at the damage control team on the main ship, gritting their teeth and insisting on standing on the deck that was tilting back and forth due to the continuous evasive violent turns amid the roar of anti-aircraft guns, and the damage control team with safety ropes hanging on them walking on the slippery deck and struggling to lift the fire hoses to fight the thick smoke and flames, and they have initially suppressed the fire, Bismarck patted his chest and muttered with some fear.

But... the torpedo is so dangerous, is it really a good idea not to throw it away yet?

Looking at the British planes that were intercepted and killed twice by the eight remaining German fighters in the sky, and whose dense formation was directly broken up by the fierce crossfire of his and Tizi's anti-aircraft artillery, but were still flying towards him from all directions, trying to get into bombing range and even intending to turn himself into a kamikaze missile for special attack, the somewhat nervous Persian Cat thought for a while, and then looked at the captain who was still calm, standing behind the radar soldier beside the automatic mapping board, staring intently at the radar display screen, and asked.

"No, the torpedo won't be dropped." The captain, still calm, turned his head slightly, looked at his own ship cat and smiled: "Don't worry, I came from the destroyer fleet, don't you know? This thing is not so easy to explode. Besides, if this thing is in the torpedo tube, it's easy to drop it."

(PS: Torpedo explosions are indeed very rare, and in general, the power of external torpedo tube explosions is not enough to damage the hull structure of large warships, because a one-meter gap in the air can actually reduce the power of the explosion shock wave by more than 60%. In fact, apart from the contemporary Kursk nuclear submarine, even in the entire World War II, together with the similar depth charge explosions, it seems that there are only a few recorded cases of torpedo explosions on the heavy cruiser Chokai in Samar Island and the destroyer Kisaragi in Wake Island...)

"Oh..." Bismarck nodded.

I always feel that I am a little reluctant...

After all, carrying such a big and dangerous thing on your body always makes you feel a little scared, and there is no special place to put it like a cannon shell, it is all exposed outside.

What if it seems scary at first glance?

The pouting Persian cat twisted its body and dodged a "Great Britain Kamikaze" that was dragging a long trail of thick smoke. The rest of the British bombers in the sky had already started dropping bombs, but this wave of bombers only had a few of them, and they were even less threatening than the last wave of bombers ten minutes ago, both in number and threat. Not to mention that the last wave of bombing was coordinated with the fortress artillery, and in this wave of attack, the fortress artillery had been hit hard and was almost no longer a threat...

"It looks like their air force has reached the end of its strength!"

Although bombs were whistling down around him in the dark night sky outside the porthole, the captain stared at the radar screen with a sneer in his eyes, as if he didn't care at all - even if the flight paths of these planes disappeared in the blind spot of the radar center point, but...

Things that cannot be seen by radar and cannot be seen by the naked eye in the dark are of no use in front of the two ship girls under his command.

Not to mention that this wave of enemy planes had been thrown into disarray by the crossfire of the two ship girls.

There would always be gaps in the attack of a chaotic team. Even if the Bismarck was evading, it would take a minute to turn the rudder. But under the anti-aircraft fire net, even if there were no gaps, gaps could be created.

Bomb after bomb, no matter it was dropped from high altitude, flying low, or even attacking with water-skipping ballistics, were all brushed past by Bismarck. Only a few near misses caused vibrations due to the shock waves, and a British kamikaze hit the backup director of the main gun on the rear bridge of the Bismarck (the back of the head?).

None of the damage was serious - if it was an ordinary warship, there might be a certain amount of water ingress, or even a crack in the hull, which would greatly increase the resistance. However, with the comprehensive protective structural strength and the Persian cat's own repair ability, this amount of water ingress and fire was completely within the controllable range.

but……

"...Bismarck, they didn't even use torpedoes in this round of attack?" Lütjens asked curiously. It was really strange to attack without torpedoes.

"Yeah, this round is full of bombs. Last round there was only one group of torpedo planes with four or five torpedoes - and we dodged them all."

"Oh? So..." Lütjens glanced at the clock, frowned, thought for a moment, and continued to give orders: "Okay, keep moving forward. It's almost four o'clock now. They still have a battery over there. We must try to rush into False Bay before dawn - by the way, while we still have time, count our damage and consumption."

"OK, all right!"

Bismarck turned around and went to contact his sisters. Lütjens's brows did not relax, but he sat down at the chart table and silently began to analyze the enemy situation marked on the chart:

"…The Cape of Good Hope is an escort distribution center for the British. Their main mission is anti-submarine warfare. But if they knew we were going to break out, they should have been prepared anyway."

"The width and depth of False Bay are both over 30 kilometers. If we take the draft of the Bismarck into consideration, our activity area will be even smaller, and we may have to slow down our sailing speed..."

"…There are land on three sides here, and the east and west sides are hundreds of meters high mountains. If a plane wants to attack, it will have to lower its altitude rapidly and have little time to observe. Only the city in front and the sea in the back are relatively open, which is more suitable for planes to come in for air strikes…The current wind direction is northwest by north, and the airspace of the Gulf artillery battle is full of flying shells, which is not suitable for aircraft operations, so it is likely that they will go around behind us to outflank us…"

"In addition, according to intelligence, they have two heavily-armored light cruisers, six destroyers, and seven frigates in the harbor... Well, they will probably first use the crossfire of more than 30 fortress guns in three directions to block the entire bay, and then use destroyers to attack us head-on while we are slowing down as we enter the bay, and use planes to outflank us from behind. It would be very dangerous to besiege us from all sides like this... I don't believe that Willis, as Cunningham's right-hand man, didn't have this in mind in his battle plan..."

"But..."

Looking at the nautical chart and thinking about the combat situation, Lütjens laughed. That radiant smile gave people the impression of a shrewd old fox.

"Captain, the statistics are out... Hey, hey, hey! Captain, stop grinning!"

The Persian cat slammed the folder in his hand on the table in front of the captain, which shocked Lütjens and finally brought him back to his senses. However, the secretary cat didn't care whether his captain was in a daze or not. He snorted at his captain and rolled his eyes before reporting the results and losses:

"…From 6pm yesterday to now, we have shot down 24 of their planes in air defense operations, and the number of damaged planes that can be verified is 19, all of which have been confirmed by photos or multiple people."

“另外，我和提子从开打到现在，一共消耗了200发左右的380毫米主炮弹、2400发105毫米高炮弹、以及8000发50毫米和24000发37机关炮弹；齐伯林的飞机也只剩下了49架。包括天上战斗巡逻的七架飞机在内，现在齐伯林那里还有二十三架战斗机能够出战……”

"Tsk, that's quite a loss..."

Looking at the bill that Bismarck "slapped" in front of him, Lütjens' face looked unhappy.

If we take the Bismarck and Tirpitz as examples, the loss of anti-aircraft shells is close to 20%! Even if we take into account the anti-aircraft ammunition that can be "equalized" from Zeppelin and Eugen, the loss has reached %. And the loss of fighter planes has reached one-fifth...

Lütjens knew better than anyone that the Mid-Atlantic Ocean was the narrowest point in the entire Atlantic Ocean ahead of him in his breakout journey, while the port of Brest in the North Atlantic Ocean was also the doorstep of the Royal Navy's Home Fleet!

Now that his fleet had no way of getting supplies, he was using his ammunition as economically as possible, but...

"Forget it, we have already fought till now..." Lütjens smiled bitterly and asked Bismarck, "Bismarck, have you spotted their new fleet of aircraft?"

Hearing his captain's question, Bismarck concentrated and sensed: "No, no new enemy aircraft have been found from just now until now."

"No... Then it seems that their planes should be gathered together, waiting to be dispatched at dawn!" Lütjens nodded, and finally thought for a while, and gave an order: "It is four o'clock now. Tell Lindemann and Tizi that we should separate our formation a little bit, and use one ship to deal with two artillery batteries. We should try to shoot down the four 381 fortress guns on their other side around :, and then prepare to assault False Bay! At the same time, order Bonte to send fighters to cover our assault before five o'clock in the morning - do you understand? If you understand, go and pass the order!"

"Yes! Inform Lindemann that we will separate our formation a little bit from Tizi's... At around 4:30, we will destroy the four artillery batteries on the other side, and then prepare to assault False Bay! Also order Bonte to send fighter planes to cover our assault before 5 o'clock!" Bismarck repeated the combat order - this was a special insurance measure to avoid remembering the order incorrectly.

Hearing Lütjens nod his head after hearing the correct retelling, Bismarck, whose order was finally confirmed, quickly extended his paw to salute, and began to pass on the order to his sisters...

---------

The hands of the clock ticked, just as time was advancing slowly regardless of human will. The Bismarck, whose twin 50mm anti-aircraft gun turret was destroyed by another shell in front of the right side of the bridge, and the Tirpitz sisters, whose sailor's dormitory was destroyed by the 15-inch bomb behind the chimney in the middle of the hull, entered the False Bay, the core position of the Cape of Good Hope Fortress, side by side, hand in hand.

It was nearly five in the morning, the last dark hour of the night.

But this also means that the unpredictable dawn is approaching...

The blazing fires at the forts on the mountains on both sides of the entrance to False Bay were particularly conspicuous in the dark night. In Bismarck's eyes, it was like the dim lights in the depths of the deep, terrifying and intricate maze of the RPG game in his "previous life", guarding the deep door of the boss room. And he and Tizi were the protagonists who killed monsters, passed levels and obtained tools...

Glancing at the trembling Grape two or three kilometers to his right, Bismarck, who was also a little nervous, scanned the enemy situation in the harbor with a sense of trepidation...

At the innermost part of False Bay, there are two 234-inch heavy artillery turrets and eight 234mm fortress guns of Khayelistsha Battery; on the hillside east of the bay, there are also eight 234mm fortress guns of the East Battery, equipped in single-barrel turrets on a reinforced concrete base. And the Simon Town Naval Port, the headquarters of the Cape of Good Hope Fortress to the west of the bay, and the North Battery on the hillside north of the port, are dotted with a full mm fortress guns! These fortress guns are scattered far and near, just enough to cover the entire harbor!

In addition, in front of the transport ship anchored in the deepest part of the harbor, on the line of Simon's Town-Seal Island-East Battery, two heavily armed light cruisers and six destroyers were also patrolling back and forth - especially those destroyers! Relying on their shallower draft, smaller and more flexible hulls, and familiarity with the harbor waters, these hound-like guys turned back and forth, and could hit them head-on at any time!

After all, this is a fortress, and fortresses are very powerful. Even if he has guided artillery shells, which are theoretically only available decades later, the fortress's hit rate is no lower than his own.

Judging from the previous battle with the eight fortress guns at the two forts at the entrance of the bay, although the eight fortress guns were distributed on both sides of the entrance, they could be defeated one by one, but the four 381mm shells and one near miss were real hits. Looking at the grape next to it, the hangar in the middle of her hull in front of the transport boat was also blown into a mess by a -inch shell...

Without even having to deliberately estimate the hit rate and number of shellings of both sides, Bismarck felt a little helpless - even in terms of the hit rate that the ship girl was most proud of, the fortress turret was on par with himself.

You know, this is based on the premise that I used guided artillery shells...

Although he had broken through the Gibraltar Fortress and conquered the Alexandria Fortress, both times were either by trickery or joint attacks with the friendly African Corps for mutual support and cover - and they fought back and forth in the port of Alexandria for more than a month.

But this is the first time I've ever faced a fortress head-on...

Moreover, in such a bay, the speed of himself and Tizi has been limited to 24 knots. With a weight of 50,000 tons and a draft, it is not fun to go too fast and get stranded in a bay surrounded by land on three sides. Even if it is calculated that 5:30 today is the time of high tide, but according to the waxing moon in the first half of the night, even if it is high tide, it is only a low tide...

(Tidal rules: Look at the waxing and waning of the moon - that is, the lunar date. The high tide time before the 0.8th is the lunar date * 15, and after the 0.8th is the date - * . In addition, around the first and fifteenth day of the lunar month are astronomical high tides, while the upper and lower quarter moons - that is, half moons - are low tides.)

The fortress guns had a hit rate comparable to his own, and there were a total of 32 fortress guns inside! Moreover, his own speed and evasion rate in the harbor were more restricted than in the open sea - he would run aground if he was not careful! To tell a joke, Bismarck always felt that this time his opponent was written as Cape Fortress, but in fact it was pronounced as Harbor Princess...

Moreover, such an opponent was trying to snatch the oil from her mouth under the muzzle of her gun...

Now, she can only hope that the captain's imagination can be of some use...

Just when Bismarck was feeling a little scared, he and Tizi had already sailed into False Bay.