Bismarck

"Left front! Four missiles, speed 28 knots, distance 10 kilometers!" Bismarck replied: "Captain, I have already told Tizi and Eugen! But except for Eugen, our current speed is not up to par, and I am also towing Zeppelin..."

"Speed ​​up immediately! You can see clearly, you take the helm and find a loophole to get out!" Without saying a word, Lütjens let Bismarck control her main body.

"Ok!"

Following Bismarck's response, Lütjens instantly felt that the battleship under his feet began to accelerate, the hull was shaking slightly, and the sound became duller - there was no doubt that his own ship cat must be going all out!

The battleship Bismarck began to accelerate, and the thick steel cable was instantly straightened and tightened under the overload power of 160,000 horsepower. The Zeppelin aircraft carrier, which was towed by the steel cable, also accelerated.

Although, during the towing, all the officers and soldiers on the aircraft carrier felt the sudden and fierce pulling force, the fatigue and mental stress of the emergency repairs, under the influence of external forces, even the strong soldiers were still staggering.

In the innermost room of the operating room, the doctor who was operating on Bangtai's back injury was momentarily unsteady due to the sudden and violent pulling force on the hull floor. Fortunately, the doctor remained calm and his hand holding the scalpel trembled, narrowly avoiding the sharp scalpel in his hand from Bangtai's neck, who was lying on the operating table...

It was almost like cutting Bangtai to death on the operating table...

Looking at the scalpel on the makeshift operating table, which was so close to Bangtai's neck, the doctor rolled his eyes and said, "This scalpel can't be used anymore. Change it."

"Yes!" The assistant, who had just stood up, nodded, took another scalpel from the sterilization basin on the iron rack, and handed it to the doctor...

----

He found that the torpedo was very far away from him, and the range of the torpedo determined that the attack range this time could only be a straight line fan. Bismarck had enough time to drag Zeppelin's body to the side and avoid this attack.

However, everyone's brows could not help but furrowed tightly...

Now that we have avoided this, I am afraid that the maintenance work will be difficult to do... We still have to think of a way to ensure the speed of maintenance...

Besides, who can guarantee that there is only one submarine here?

Lütjens has already started thinking about how to speed up maintenance.

And Prince Eugen's 203mm artillery has also begun to speak:

"They are plotting against me! You annoying British people!"

Seeing that the other party wanted to dive and run away after launching the torpedo, the angry Eugen directly hit it with a round of 203mm high-explosive shells. However... although Eugen's artillery fire was quite accurate in position, unfortunately, the flying speed of the 203 shells was still a little slow. At this time, the British submarine had successfully dived and avoided it...

Eight jets of water were thrown out, but nothing was hit! Moreover, in the vision of Bismarck, Tirpitz and Eugen, the sneaky shadows of several British submarines seemed to appear again...

"Captain...what should we do? There are so many submarines around us..."

"Tsk, it really lingers..." Lütjens smacked his lips and looked at Bismarck and said, "Can you tell what level of submarine it is?"

Bismarck nodded, put his hands over his eyes, and looked: "Okay, let me see... U-level, about four, and their locations are probably scattered around us."

"U-class?" Lütjens was relieved. "U-class submarines are too small, slow, and scattered... theoretically we just need to speed up and leave here, but... if we set sail now, what will happen to the maintenance of the Zeppelin?"

Lütjens glanced at the clock on the wall with some worry—the air raid was scheduled at 12:30, and now it was almost 2 o'clock...

If the British really prepared a second wave of aircraft, they should have arrived by 2:30 at the latest - even if they were heading towards us, at a speed of 25 knots, they might even arrive earlier...

"As for Zeppelin's body... she had already arranged for emergency repairs before she disappeared, but..." Although he knew that Zeppelin's injury should be just temporary like his own, Bismarck was still a little depressed by the severity of her body's injuries: "The biggest problem now is the damage caused by the two torpedoes. Two of the four boiler rooms were flooded. If we add the factors of increased resistance caused by the damage to the hull and the ingress of water, even if the chimney is repaired, the remaining two boiler rooms can only sail to 24 or 25 knots..."

"So...how is Bontai doing now?"

Lütjens asked Bonte, and his eyes were also looking at the aircraft carrier towed behind the Bismarck battleship. In fact, in Lütjens's eyes, it was like a movie, flashing back to the memories of Bonte working with him on a daily basis...

Although Bontai's character has always been not to show off, but the calm and reliable Bontai has always been his most capable right-hand man. Now that Zeppelin and Bontai have been beaten like this, although he is iron-blooded and serious, and he doesn't cry easily, but Lütjens' eyes are actually a little bit moist...

The careful Persian cat saw the faint moisture in her captain's eyes, and knew that her captain was forcing himself to suppress his discomfort in his heart. Bismarck also felt the same way, and even lowered her head a little. However, she still sorted out her thoughts and continued to report the relevant situation: "Captain Bonte is still being rescued, and the result is not known yet. I hope God bless him and Zeppelin..."

"...Okay then... send divers to the boiler room to plug the internal underwater damage, and continue to have them block the flight deck and chimney flue to ensure that her main body can sail on its own... As for the self-repair of external damage and underwater welding structure strength... let's get her moving first."

Lütjens thought about it and came up with this idea: "First, find a position where it is difficult for their submarines to intercept and tell me. I will drive your main body and drag the Zeppelin to break out over there. Let Tizi and Eugen form a single horizontal formation on the left and right to cover us in front. No matter what, drag the Zeppelin out of the submarine encirclement first!"

"Okay!" Bismarck nodded, and then informed her two sisters on WIFI that she was going to change the formation, and teleported back to the Zeppelin aircraft carrier to continue to take charge - the ship's perception could scan the damage and repair situation of the entire ship! So she also had to command the damage control team to repair it as soon as possible!

At this time, 200 kilometers northeast of Bismarck and her men, five British aircraft carriers were divided into two wheel formations under the cover of eight destroyers, and were moving side by side on the sea at a speed of knots.

One of the three aircraft carriers in the wheel formation - the armored aircraft carrier HMS Vengeance and two light aircraft carriers - was nearing the end of the work of recovering the planes that had been sent out previously. However, the decks were covered with damaged planes, and they could not continue fighting for the time being.

However, not far away, the two giant-class aircraft carriers in another aircraft carrier wheel formation did not participate in the recovery operation, and at the end of the flight deck, there was another group of aircraft waiting to attack...

ps: I’ve been obsessed with 2B recently and I want to write a 2B fanfiction...

Chapter 696: Zeppelin is able to move

Under the protection of Tirpitz and Prince Eugen on the left and right, the battlecats towing the aircraft carrier began to accelerate. Under the powerful pulling force of the Bismarck battleship, the Zeppelin's body of more than 30,000 tons was also towed and moved.

But... as the speed increased, the surging sea water continued to pour in from the gap that had not yet been welded.

The damage control team, who were sweating profusely while rescuing, were immediately swept away.

Cool.

Although the speed was only a dozen knots, it was a great problem for the damage control team. Under the strong water pressure, not to mention that underwater welding operations were difficult to continue, even the damage control team members wearing heavy diving suits were washed away and could not stand steadily. Even those minor breaches and damaged areas in the cabin, which had been tightly clamped by the damage control clamps, began to show traces of water seepage under the strong pressure. As for the bulkheads that had been deformed by the impact of the explosion, they would occasionally emit bursts of unbearable wail...

Another person who was overwhelmed was the secretary Bismarck, who was sitting directly on the Zeppelin and personally supervising the rescue work. Although Bismarck was now a veteran, and as a projection of a battleship, she naturally had a familiarity with warships. In fact, under Lütjens's many years of training, Bismarck had already become a capable naval soldier.

But... Zeppelin's injury is too serious.

Even though Bismarck, who was born with the advantage of perception as a ship girl, was doing her best to command and dispatch the damage control team to rescue, she was still in a state of panic...

New conditions kept appearing, and her body was already full of holes.

"What? The generator is running low on power? Our emergency plane is already on deck... OK, that's it! Tell the chief engineer to transfer all the power on board, except for the radar and the operating room, to the welding machine, water pump and emergency lighting. Turn off everything else..."

After hearing the report from her subordinates, Bismarck gave the order without hesitation. Just like when a person is seriously injured, the body will mainly supply the important organs. She also directly abandoned the pawn to save the king.

"Attention hangar, the temperature inside some of the rubble piles is still very high. Keep cooling them down to prevent them from re-igniting. Also, pay attention to draining the accumulated water! The stability of the hull must not be damaged any further, understand?!"

"Yes, understand!"

"Has the flight deck been repaired? Has the structure been checked and is there any problem? Okay! Then you will immediately move to the smoke duct to reinforce that side!"

"Damage control team in boiler room number two! Reinforce the walls and structure immediately!"

"Immediately organize the sealing of the breaches in the dome armor and the flue, and weld temporary watertight walls! We must not let the water seep in!!"

"The water leakage in the No. 4 boiler room seems to be getting bigger. Add another water pump to pump out the water - Damage Control Team! Move faster!"

Bismarck, who was monitoring the condition of the Zeppelin in real time, saw that the water level had increased again and couldn't help but speak anxiously.

"What? The chief engineer is looking for me?" Bismarck answered the phone under the gaze of the messenger and spoke hurriedly.

"Yes, is this the chief engineer? The ship's longitudinal tilt has not been eliminated. Have you already concentrated all the fuel in the rear fuel tank?"

"…What? The fuel has been pumped out? And the ballast tanks at the back have been filled with water but it's still useless…Okay, then find a few unimportant compartments at the back and continue filling them with water to ensure that the hull does not tilt…"

"understood."

"Yes, yes! Go now! Go now! Make sure the flooding doesn't submerge the dome armor and the chimney!!"

After hanging up the covers of the microphones that were almost constantly ringing at his side, the overwhelmed Bismarck felt extremely anxious.

In order to accommodate the hangar, the smoke duct structure of Zeppelin was almost attached to the dome armor, and the exhaust outlets of the sixteen boilers in the four groups of boiler rooms were all next to each other - although there was still a partition wall between each group of boiler rooms, that simple partition wall was damaged beyond recognition after the explosion of the bombs dropped by the bombers, and is now completely useless.

The layout of Zeppelin's hull structure is such that the dome armor is just a little higher than the waterline!

The Zeppelin was flooded almost entirely at the bow, and now the hull was tilted forward, with its head in the water and its buttocks facing the sky. Even from the back, half of the steering gear could be seen on the waterline - with the low position of the dome armor, the safety of the flue could be said to be very dangerous! Once the waterline overflowed the dome armor, it could directly flood the entire boiler room through the breach in the flue... At that time, my sister would really be beyond rescue!

He shook his head fiercely, as if he could get rid of the possibility of fear in this way - now is the most critical time to rescue Zeppelin! As the promise they made together, Bismarck could not allow himself to be abandoned just like that.

but……

Just at this moment, the British, who were taking advantage of the situation, came to cause trouble again.

Fate is almost mocking, explaining what it means when misfortunes never come alone... or when it rains, it pours.

"Report! Radar detected enemy aircraft!" The radar soldier in the command room shouted hysterically, and everyone in the command room, who were already on high alert, instantly became Spartans... "...My fleet is at six o'clock, true position is 30 degrees northeast by north! About 130 to aircraft! Distance is kilometers, and the estimated engagement time is less than half an hour..."

Bismarck gritted his teeth helplessly and opened all the microphone covers in front of him...

"Everyone, pay attention! The flight deck has been repaired! Now I order: All aircraft on the flight deck that can take off should prepare for emergency takeoff immediately! Everyone else continue to perform damage control operations!"

"The first priority for the entire ship is to protect the chimney and the armor. We must restore the power of the Zeppelin to sail autonomously before the air raid arrives... Everyone, saving the Zeppelin depends on whether the armor can stop the flooding and whether the chimney can restore the boiler power! So, we are counting on you for this aircraft carrier!"

Bismarck's almost forced words were choked with sobs... and the crew members who were doing damage control - except for the seriously injured, the military doctors, the pilots and ground crew on the flight deck, all the remaining crew members of the Zeppelin aircraft carrier, held the damage control tools in their hands tighter as Bismarck spoke...

Although the air raid was imminent, the sailors did not give up.

The ground crew on the flight deck pushed the fighter planes that had just been repaired and put together, and which were still being refueled with hand pumps just a moment ago, to the end of the runway together with the trailers loaded with oil barrels; inside the cabin, one steel frame after another supported the steel plates that were wailing in the bending, and one cork and plugging plate after another also supported the cracks that were still leaking water. Amid the water seepage behind the sandbags and the roar of the pumps, one steel plate after another was welded in the water by the damage control team members with all their skills. The welds gradually blocked the cracks, and even pulled out the prototypes of several waterproof walls to prevent the water from flooding into other cabins...

Good fortune never comes alone, and misfortune never comes alone! However, even though the cruel fate has been so bad to everyone, for the sake of Zeppelin and the aircraft carrier Zeppelin, no matter what the result is, everyone has already spoken with their actions, saying that they are determined to fight to the last moment to save the aircraft carrier!

-----

"A submarine has been spotted... Top Top, I'm going to fire!"

Following Eugen's energetic shout, her eight 203mm main guns roared! But before she could observe the results of the bombardment, she saw four white streaks on the sea in the distance!

"Top Top! I see torpedoes! Four torpedoes! Ten o'clock on the port side! Distance 7600 meters! Speed ​​about thirty knots!"

Eugen, pulling Top's sleeve, jumped on his feet and pointed in the direction of the incoming torpedo.

"Eugen, turn on the active sonar and see if there are any other submarines around!" Top held the telescope with a serious expression.

"Hmm, let me see... there shouldn't be any, just that one... um, they dived again..."

Eugen's head drooped a little, and so did his twin ponytails. The charge of the 203 high-explosive bomb was less than nine kilograms, and the trajectory at this distance was relatively flat. The shells that exploded only on the sea surface were still a weak threat to the submarine that immediately dived after launching the torpedo. The only result was that the enemy submarine's command tower was damaged...

If it was Bismarck or Tirpitz's 64MM high-explosive bomb with a charge of up to 380 kilograms, the submarine would have been blown to pieces long ago!

"Forget it, let's evade first..." Top, who knew that his shells were too light, spat unwillingly. He put down the telescope, thought about it, and turned to Eugen and ordered: "Notify the flagship and Tirpitz that there is a torpedo on the left. It is recommended that the fleet turn left collectively..."

"Well, okay..."

The little rabbit with drooping ears was a little unhappy, but still nodded obediently. However, in the next second, Eugen's expression changed instantly...

"Top Top! Sister Bismarck said the British planes are chasing us again!"

"What?! They're catching up with us again?" After hearing the news, Top, who was already a little irritable, could no longer remain calm.

With a flick of his hand, the hat was angrily thrown to the ground:

"Brit! I @#￥%#￥...!!!"

Meanwhile, in a hamster nest in the command room of the battleship Tirpitz...

"Four Fulmars, four Spitfires, sixteen torpedo planes... damn British!"

A fierce little hamster with red eyes was staring at the back of her with gnashing teeth. She hadn't had any snacks for days and was mumbling about the enemy she had detected. In the name of a lonely tech geek in the north, her radar had received the search echo from the radar on her body and had clearly seen the group of lingering enemy planes behind her...

However, although the hamster's grunting sound was not loud, it was still heard by her owner.

"Tizi, what are you talking about?"

"Where are those British aircraft?" Tizi, looking unhappy, angrily repeated to Lindemann what he had observed about the enemy. After hearing about the size of the enemy's aircraft fleet, Lindemann's expression also became very interesting...

Even spat.

These guys who only know how to add insult to injury probably hope that Zeppelin will sink completely!

In the previous fierce battles, not only did the warships suffer damage, but also a lot of anti-aircraft ammunition was consumed. Especially those 50mm anti-aircraft machine guns that had both stable gun mounts and armor protection, which were almost the backbone of anti-aircraft firepower. The total number of 50mm anti-aircraft shells on the entire ship was only more than !

Cricket has three thousand anti-aircraft shells. Even if we only calculate based on half-board anti-aircraft firepower, it will only be enough for another ten minutes as long as there is full air defense!

Lindemann also knew that Bismarck and Eugen's remaining ammunition would definitely not be much more than his own. Once they ran out of ammunition and food, they would be really finished.

Eight fighters suppressed the anti-aircraft firepower, and then sixteen torpedo planes took turns dropping mines, not to mention that they had not yet completely escaped the encirclement of submarines.

Given the dire situation where Zeppelin can only move if he is towed by Bismarck, if he is unlucky, not only will Zeppelin not be able to be saved, but even Bismarck, which is unable to maneuver while towing Zeppelin, may suffer heavy damage.

"Tizi, what did the commander say? Ask your sister how long it will take to repair the Zeppelin boiler?" Lindemann, who was so anxious that he could not sit still, turned around twice, wiped the cold sweat from his head, gritted his teeth, and continued to instruct Hamster: "If it really doesn't work, I'll tell the commander. At worst, we can move our position back a little bit, and I'll go up with you to serve as an anti-aircraft fire barrier for them!"

"Ah... okay!" Tizi rolled his eyes helplessly, and felt the pain from his old wounds. Then he lowered his head unwillingly, and gritted his teeth resignedly...

Okay, okay, for my sister.

It is true that she was afraid of pain, injury and trouble, but she was even more afraid that something would happen to her sister and Zeppelin.

Although she had a resigned expression on her face, Lindman on the side was amused.

only……

Tirpitz, who was originally lazy and looked like he had lost all hope in life, was stunned for a moment, and then his face suddenly changed from cloudy to clear sky in an instant - although, behind the clear sky, there were no high waves or anything like that...

"Lindemann! Good news... My sister just told me that Zeppelin's body has just repaired the boiler flue!... She can move on her own now!"

"Really?" Lindemann suddenly became happy. If Zeppelin could move...

"But the bad news is that her boilers need blowing..."

"Cao!" Lindman hit the hamster on the head with a needle.

"Ouch!"