Bismarck

Her best friend Hood, her old friend Somerville, her husband's favorite student Willis, as well as Counterattack, Determination, Lion on the Slipway, Anson, Victory, the aircraft carrier Ark Royal, Fury, and Fortress of Gibraltar, as well as her first meeting with Zeppelin in Crete, the night battle with the cat and mouse sisters in Zawiat Zanzur, the life-and-death struggle in El Alamein, the Support Operation in which she was almost killed, the killing of two new American warships on the way to the breakout, and the Battle of Fortress of Cape of Good Hope, which was simply a loss of moral integrity just half a month ago...

It would have been a good thing if your Zeppelin had been sunk before.

Damn those German sailors.

"May the merciful God bless you guys so that you can attend Zeppelin's funeral before the ship sinks!"

As a mortal enemy, War-weary naturally cursed viciously. The old witch, who was almost thirty years old, stretched out her finger and drew a cross on her chest as if she was setting up a tombstone for someone...

Chapter 693: I want to take a break

"The blood bank is short of type B blood. We are urgently collecting type B blood! Does anyone have type B blood?!"

"I'm type B blood, I'm here to donate blood!" Following the nurse's shout, several lightly wounded soldiers who claimed they were type B blood stood up, holding up their military information ID cards, pointing to the B-type blood stamp on them, and some rushed to the door of the temporary blood donation station...

In the makeshift operating station converted from the dining room of the Tirpitz aircraft carrier, behind the temporarily pulled up white curtain that seemed to still have a trace of blood, under the dim temporary lighting, military doctors and nurses were busy rescuing the injured.

From time to time, someone was carried out, and from time to time, someone was carried in. The doctors were nervously performing surgery on one wounded person after another, almost like an assembly line, carrying someone in and carrying him out at the same time.

The nurses were also busy with their nursing work, pushing and pulling out cart after cart of surgical instruments, bandages, medicines, plasma, etc. in various operating rooms.

One painful groan after another, accompanied by the sound of the doctors and nurses talking quietly, and their movements cast bizarre shadows under the dim light, as if the god of death was holding a scythe and standing in the shadow of the makeshift operating station with a strange sneer.

In the innermost operating room, several doctors and nurses were surrounding a middle-aged man who was seriously injured and unconscious, receiving a blood transfusion and an oxygen tube, and were concentrating on saving his life.

The life of Rear Admiral Friedrich Bonte, Deputy Commander of the Lütjens Fleet and Captain of the Zeppelin aircraft carrier, is still in danger...

The brutal air raid finally ended...

Under the air attack of an absolutely superior number of aircraft, Lütjens' fleet suffered heavy casualties.

Because he was previously arranged at the end of the anti-aircraft formation, he suffered the least damage. However, for a ship weighing only more than 10,000 tons, Prince Eugen was also severely damaged. He controlled his body and cruised back and forth in this sea area.

Little Eugen on the bridge, with her head covered by bandages, was like a frightened little rabbit that could not hide. She looked around nervously, searching for any enemy that might suddenly appear from somewhere. Of course, at the same time, she also had to lower the lifeboat to rescue the pilots who parachuted into the water.

Although seeing the injuries suffered by his three sisters, Eugen just wanted to cry...

She was only hit by two or three bombs, but her sisters were injured much more severely than she was, especially Sister Zeppelin. She could only think about what she had seen when the bombs exploded. Her eyes almost turned red just thinking about it.

Now that my sisters are badly injured, I must do a good job of guarding!

Eugen wiped away her tears with a pouty look on her face, and continued to look around in indignation. Her two long ponytails also swung back and forth with their owner.

Top, who was watching his own ship girl, saw it with his own eyes and felt pain in his heart. However... looking at the other three warships lying on the sea behind him, Top could only sigh anxiously and helplessly...

Just do what you can do first...

Just behind the Prince Eugen, three large warships were floating half-dead.

In order to protect the Zeppelin which was seriously injured and dying in the bombing, the anxious Bismarck directly blocked a torpedo with his own hull, and Tirpitz even blocked two torpedoes in a row!

Now on the sea, a large hamster was crying in pain, lying on the sea surface without moving. The two huge holes in her bow and abdomen that were blown up underwater were now being welded in the water by the damage control team using a simple crane to hang small pieces of steel plates. Under the water below the steel plate crane, some welders wearing diving suits were holding special underwater welding machines, risking the risk of electric shock at any time, and were working hard to weld the damage to the hull bit by bit underwater.

As the German Navy has always had the need for independent overseas operations, it has developed simple underwater welding technology very early. Although this technology is complicated to operate and has safety issues, and the different water depths at the welding locations also determine different welding operation processes, and most importantly, direct underwater welding will affect the strength of steel, it can still be used if it is only for maintenance welding connections.

As long as the welding and positioning can be achieved, the rest depends on the battleship itself.

Fortunately, the amount of explosives in the aerial torpedo was not large. Apart from the damage to the structural strength of the bow where it was blown open and the underwater resistance it brought, the torpedo on the side of the ship did not penetrate her anti-fish belt TDS, but only caused some water ingress into the boiler room and fuel leakage.

Overall, although the large hamster was grimacing, fortunately the damage was not too serious. It was just that Tirpitz, who was working underwater to repair it, was temporarily unable to move...

-

On the other side of the sea, the damaged, blazing, and powerless Zeppelin aircraft carrier was being towed by the equally damaged Bismarck battleship. With a cold sweat on his forehead and gritting his teeth, Bismarck dragged Zeppelin out of the smoke screen bit by bit.

Fortunately, the Zeppelin was hit by a torpedo on each side, so the tilt of the hull was not large and it could maintain a certain balance for the time being. Moreover, although the previous damage was serious, the generator was still able to work. In addition, during the overhaul after the Battle of Newcastle, under the Persian cat's imagination and the commander's last operation, he still replaced it with a fairly advanced fire extinguishing system. So far, the fire situation has been controlled, and there is no need to worry about the empty hangar exploding.

However, it was an aircraft carrier after all, and its inherent design had many weaknesses. Apart from other things, the "free surface" caused by the accumulation of large amounts of foamy soap water used for firefighting in the hangar and the large compartments caused a loss of stability. If the tilt of the aircraft carrier, which was already too tall and had average stability, was not well controlled, it would gradually increase - until it could not be saved.

Fortunately, it is only the initial stage and the tilt is not very obvious, and the waterline of the Zeppelin is not seriously damaged. Otherwise, due to the need to arrange the hangar on an aircraft carrier, the position of the boiler flue is naturally very low. Once the water floods the exhaust pipe and flows back into the boiler room, it is basically impossible to save it.

(PS: This was a common problem for aircraft carriers during World War II...)

However, Captain Bangtai had just been carried into the emergency room... The Zeppelin aircraft carrier now urgently needed someone to take charge.

"Everyone...attention...I am Zeppelin...I am going to...land..."

Before it could be dragged out of the smoke area, the Edelweiss fighter, whose vertical tail rudder had been shot off, had already staggered into the smoke area.

After she used all her strength, she finally managed to hook the arresting cable at the rear of the flight deck. As soon as the plane came to a stop, the ground crew, who had already cleared the rear half of the flight deck after receiving the notice, rushed over and hurriedly carried Zeppelin, who was so weak that she couldn't even stand. After Zeppelin got off the plane, the ground crew pushed her plane, the severely damaged Edelweiss fighter, to the side of the runway.

"How's the damage control team? And...Bontai..."

Zeppelin, who had just been carried out of the cockpit, asked about the safety of the damage control team and Bangtai before she could even stand up. Although, in fact, she could feel that the damage control team was desperately trying to repair the damage on her body. As an aircraft carrier, she seemed to be able to support it for at least a few more hours. Now that the captain was seriously injured, as the commander of the GR-186 wing, she was the person with the highest rank on her body!

"Captain Bangtai was injured and is still being rescued..." Seeing that he couldn't even stand steadily and seemed to be in great pain, sweating all over, gritting his teeth, unable to speak, and gasping for air, many people began to persuade her to take a rest: "Instructor, why don't you take a rest?"

However, these well-intentioned persuasions did not move the already extremely weak Zeppelin! The ground crew only saw the extremely weak Zeppelin raise his hand tremblingly and shook his hand...

"I... I won't go down... I... can't go down yet... Help me... to the landing observer... " Although she was very weak and she didn't even realize that her projection had become a little dim, she still asked the ground crew to find a chair and put her in the landing observer's position behind the bridge.

The safety of Bangtai is still not certain in everyone's mind, and the damage control team has not given up their efforts.

and……

She will personally guide the dozen or so planes left in the sky back home!

She also has to stay in her own body and preside over the rescue work of the damage control team!

Even now, whether his original body can be rescued is still unknown...

However, even if her original body could not be saved in the end, she still wanted to ensure the safe evacuation of everyone on her original body.

"There is no time anymore... Pull up the arresting net for me... Go call the fleet... Land... Hurry up!" Zeppelin's voice was still a little weak as she sat in her seat. Her originally cold and expressionless face remained cold, but the corners of her eyes and mouth that trembled from time to time also betrayed the pain she had suffered.

Even now when the tilt is not serious, she still has to ensure the stability of the flight deck!

"Ah...ok!"

Not daring to disobey the insistence of their own wing commander, the men hurried down to prepare for the landing. Fortunately, the damage on the deck was basically on the front deck, and the rear deck only needed to be simply cleared and the arresting net pulled up.

In addition to commanding the landing, Zeppelin also had to command the damage control team on the ship.

"Damage Control Team, this is Zeppelin..."

Her voice remained calm, providing calming comfort to many of the crew members.

"The smoke duct of the bombed No. 2 boiler room was damaged... and the No. 1 and No. 3 boiler rooms next to it were also damaged..."

"The No. 4 boiler room at the front has water entering from a torpedo on the right side, and one of the fans is damaged... The steam pipes on the surrounding transverse bulkheads are damaged. The stuffing box of the pipe is leaking..."

Although she had to pause after each sentence and Zeppelin began to breathe weakly like a human, her voice was still sonorous and powerful, which was admirable.

"The former 150mm main gun ammunition depot on the left side of the middle rear, a mine in the warehouse is now flooded, and the surrounding No. boiler room and No. engine room are also flooded... The left fan is damaged... Some compartments and pipes are cracked and leaking..."

"You... first clear the boiler exhaust duct, clear the area first and then cover it... first let the remaining three sets of boilers work to restore power... At the same time, send people to the underwater leaks in the boiler room that is flooded... wait until the speed is restored, then seal the flight deck... and lay a temporary runway..."

"Also pay attention to pumping and draining water... to ensure the stability of the hull..."

"Oh, right... Ground crew, the boxes of fighter jets that were just loaded are at the back of the hangar... Find a few people to drive a crane... Go and assemble them... Prepare for the next round of enemy airstrikes..."

--------

One command after another was issued to one damage control team after another.

Under Zeppelin's damage control command, the sailors cooperated very well and began to repair the damage one by one. No one thought there was anything wrong with her, an air force wing commander, commanding the damage control team to repair the ship. In fact, in the WIFI space, Zeppelin was also instructing the Bismarck that was towing her to tow her in a straight line as much as possible to provide the pilots with the most convenient landing.

The arresting net was quickly pulled up. But Zeppelin still refused to go down. Although she was already very weak, she still wanted to watch the pilots she had trained return safely one by one!

"Instructor, you are now..."

"It's okay... I don't have to go down yet... I just want to see... they land safely..."

"This……"

Seeing that they could not persuade her beloved instructor, but seeing Zeppelin's weak appearance, they couldn't disobey her wish... In the end, the ground crew just persuaded her to rest on the chair at the landing command position. Because she still wanted to watch her planes perform the difficult operation of landing with only half of the deck.

"Now only the rear half of the deck can be used for landing. Everyone stay steady... Line up! Land in order! Follow instructions!"

"...Brothers! The instructor is so injured now, we can't let her worry anymore...Also, if you are not sure about landing, look in the direction of Prinz Eugen and parachute or make an emergency landing on the water! We have already agreed that the search and rescue team of Prinz Eugen will pull you out!"

"Got it! We'll keep an eye on it!"

"We have already suffered such a huge loss, we cannot lose another plane because of my operation!"

"Landing No. 3, follow my instructions for approach... the altitude and speed are all fine, and the heading should be slightly to the left!"

"... I'm landing, brothers, by God... Hooked?! Brothers, I'm hooked!"

"Very good! One has landed successfully! Let's continue with the next one... Very good! That's it!"

"Hehe! I succeeded too! Actually, it's not difficult at all even if it's just half a deck!"

“Then I’m coming too… Oh no?! Shit, I didn’t hook it!! Aaaaaaah!!!… Fortunately, fortunately, the interception net covered it… Ouch…”

"... Buckhorn, you are such a rough guy. What kind of landing technique is that? You wasted all the special training given by the instructor... Fortunately, it's not a big deal. You just hit your head. God bless you. Get up and get off the plane! Others are still landing!"

"Hey, hey! I'm just worried about the instructor, so my hands are shaking, okay?!"

"Tsk, whatever you want!"

"Tower, two JU-87s that were conducting reconnaissance in other directions have also returned..."

"Got it! We'll arrange for them to land!"

Watching one carrier-based aircraft after another landing safely on the deck - no matter if they were hooked and stopped, or were caught in the net without being hooked, or even climbed down from the cockpit in a mess after half landing and half falling, and listening to the noisy and bustling flight deck, Zeppelin's eyes became more and more dim, but the smile on his mouth became more and more obvious...

With the last of his consciousness, he glanced at the operating room where Bangtai was being rescued, the damage control team who were repairing the damaged and flooded parts of his own boiler room and flue, and the damage control team who had gradually brought the fire under control and started draining water and repairing the damage on the flight deck. Then he looked at the ground crew around him, who had already surrounded the last landed plane and carried out the injured pilot and put him on a stretcher...

It seems that everything is getting better in an orderly manner... I think there won't be any problems for the time being...

I'm really tired.

While no one was paying attention to him, Zeppelin, who had been tormented by fatigue and pain for half a day, finally closed his eyes slowly and gradually disappeared from his seat...

On the seat that disappeared quietly, as the smoke from the damaged hole on the front deck gradually disappeared, a ray of afternoon sunlight was sprinkled through the smoke column that had begun to fade. This small corner seemed to be outside the war... Only Bismarck's anxious and panicked shouts when he found something wrong were left in the WIFI space...

"Zeppelin?! Zeppelin?! Zeppelin!!!"

"Huh? Where's the captain?" The pilots who got off the ground were surprised to find that the captain was missing. Shouldn't he be sitting there?

"Did he go down?"

"Strange, I didn't see it either..."

Chapter 694: Relentless Pursuit

"Zeppelin? Zeppelin?"

Bismarck could no longer sense Zeppelin's presence, and panicked, he called out on the WIFI for a long time, but there was no response...

"What's wrong with Zeppelin?" Hearing his sister's tone, Tirpitz panicked and asked hurriedly.

Then she really found that there was no Zeppelin perception.

Tirpitz anxiously stared at the aircraft carrier being towed behind him and stamped his feet. The tears in the corners of his eyes had gathered into small puddles, as if they could flow down at any time.

But she had no way...

"Sister, what should I do..."

"I don't know either···"

Bismarck stood on the corridor outside the bridge with his lips tightly pursed.

The corridor originally used for observation was half destroyed in the battle, forming a gap like a broken bridge.

"What's wrong? Bismarck?" Lütjens was originally handling things on the bridge. The battle had just ended, and all kinds of data had to be collected here. He was very busy. By chance, he saw Bismarck standing in the corridor with his back to him. The smoke passed between the two of them, and that ominous feeling suddenly surged into his heart.

Bismarck turned his head slowly, and two lines of tears suddenly appeared on his stubborn face, which startled the latter.

Looking at the state of his own ship cat, Lütjens, who was calculating the battle situation at the nautical chart, suddenly felt a pang in his heart.

"What's wrong?" He immediately put down what he was holding and walked over.

"Zeppelin she..."

Lütjens knew that the girls under him had a small radio circle. But seeing his own secretary ship like this.

Could it be... Zeppelin... Lütjens was a little afraid to think about it...

"What happened to Zeppelin?!"

"Captain... Zeppelin has disappeared."