Bismarck

but……

Although Lütjens really wanted to "talk about life experience" to this subordinate who was always steady, capable and serious about his work, but this time he inexplicably failed to deliver, he could not say anything given the current situation.

Because of the current war situation, there is no time to think about anything else.

However, neither the Bermuda Fortress, which was resisting stubbornly and even willing to self-destruct its oil depot, nor the American reinforcements that could arrive at any time, would be allowed to do so...

It has already happened, and there is no point in scolding. So, there is only one way...

"Zeppelin!" Lütjens, with a stern face, finally spoke without emotion (actually a little unhappily).

"In..." Zeppelin, who had his head down, trembled all over. He took a step forward, lowered his head, and waited for the result of his fleet commander's decision.

After such a big mistake, Qiberin felt a little scared.

Although I feel very complicated, it is my fault after all... I still want to have a chance to make amends...

While Zeppelin was still singing with anxiety in his heart, Lütjens continued the previous topic:

"We have one last chance now, but it can only be done by you... Bomb Bermuda. You have to send out a wave of planes every 45 minutes. Can you do it?"

The commander in front of him did not turn around, but just spoke these words word by word, but Zeppelin raised his head in an instant. And her eyes, which were originally dark due to regret, immediately burst out with a kind of determination to make up for her mistakes, and immediately responded: "Yes, if you send out twelve to sixteen planes every forty-five minutes, I can do it... Commander, what do you need me to do now?!"

As a serious air wing commander, Zeppelin still wanted to make up for her previous negligence with action - if necessary, she would even save the fuel that the fleet urgently needed at any cost...

"Eugen said that the seabed here, except for the island area and the shoal area, is hundreds or even thousands of meters deep..." After putting down the radio headset, Lütjens did not look back and continued to speak word by word: "...They still have a garrison fleet nearby... Zeppelin, listen carefully! It is now 4:10, you continue to bomb their artillery positions. But after 5 o'clock, as soon as their fleet comes, you send all your planes out to bomb the American fleet! No matter what, you must find a way to force the American warships onto the shoal! - Let me say it again! Not to sink them, nor to drive them away, but to force them onto the shoal! Do you understand?!"

"Huh?!" Hearing the commander's request, Zeppelin, who had not yet had time to put his determination to make amends into action, immediately had a face full of (QAQ), and his head was full of...

Now he still had 20 planes that he could dispatch, and it would not be difficult to attack the Allied fleet, but... he was not trying to sink it or drive it away, but to force the enemy to the shallows...

What the hell is this?

(PS: The shoals are not marked on GOOGLE satellite images and public data. They were marked on an original British map when I was looking for more information... In addition, the three new forts were found on historical defense maps. They have basically been turned into parks in current satellite photos...)

Chapter 716:

The fleet was about to run out of ammunition and fuel, and had no way to retreat. Under the order of Lütjens, who had gambled everything, it began to launch a more fierce and even desperate attack on the British artillery of the Bermuda Fortress.

Under the command of Governor Edward Noiles, who believed in the importance of poison and even dared to implement a scorched earth policy, the Allied defenders, who had already blown up their own oil depot, were as excited as if they had been injected with chicken blood.

Although they didn't know why the German ships on the opposite side were so accurately firing at the artillery batteries, the Allied soldiers were still confident that their fortress could delay the enemy - even though a considerable number of heavy artillery had been destroyed, they still had twenty-one 381mm fortress guns, eighteen 234mm fortress guns, and sixty-three of the 71 152 coastal guns that could face the northwest corner. Even the farthest gun could firmly block the narrow waterway of the only entrance and exit - the Bermuda Islands were surrounded by either shoals or reefs, and it was almost impossible to land from other directions.

Moreover, the US fleet cruising on the periphery is currently on the other side of the island, in an advantageous position where it can attack or defend.

Not to mention, the oil depot has now been blown to pieces.

Even if Lütjens really paid a heavy price to capture the Bermuda Fortress, he would not be able to obtain more supplies by looting the civilian gas station on the fortress. In this case, why not fight this kind of battle where "the Royal Navy will fight whenever it sees the enemy, and victory is achieved as long as the enemy is weakened"?

Having judged that the Lütjens fleet was already at the end of its strength, they overcame their fear of the legendary "German evil spirit" and rolled up their sleeves, relying on the powerful firepower of the fortresses, and raised their guns high to fire back at the iron Leviathans that were rumored to be deeply sinful and once dominated the Atlantic...

Especially the front line in the northwest corner, the artillery batteries that blocked the route into the port. Although four of the six 381mm fortress guns had been destroyed before, and even the two 234mm fortress guns of the remaining guns could not reach Lütjens, which was 381 kilometers away, the last two mm fortress guns of the remaining Royal Bermuda Battery were still struggling to return fire at the enemy warships that were just two small black dots on the sea and sky line in the setting sun in the distance...

The bombardment of Bismarck and Tirpitz was very fierce. After a few minutes, the accurate bombardment covered a British artillery position. However, the hit rate of the fortress artillery on the opposite side was not vegetarian at all, and the Grape was not on the ship at the moment. A shell did not dodge. With a loud bang, right in front of Lindemann, the second main turret of the Grape was hit by a shell on the turret top cover that had been thickened to 200 mm. The shell landed at more than degrees and smashed through the entire turret top cover on the spot...

"Damage control team! Put out the fire!" Lindemann, who was injured by the shock wave of the explosion, covered his wound and gritted his teeth, but fought to the death.

In the heart of the Atlantic Ocean, under the setting sun, smoke was everywhere and bullet holes were everywhere...

At this moment when the artillery battle was in full swing, the Zeppelin aircraft carrier, which was at the end of the formation and out of the range of the fortress guns, had its fighter planes, which had just returned, re-mounted with modified missiles by the ground crew under Zeppelin's command. They formed an attack formation on the flight deck, and took off from the deck of the aircraft carrier, which was sailing at full speed, with the storm stirred up by the propellers...

Zeppelin, who was ordered to take the responsibility in times of crisis and redeem herself for meritorious service, poured all her frustration and anger on the British artillery batteries at the Bermuda Fortress. Under her command, the German aircraft fleet carrying bombs reached the allowed bombing distance in just a few minutes.

"Damn the British, go to hell - everyone listen to my orders! Altitude 2500 meters, 15 kilometers away from the target... 'Fan Jian Dao Dan', drop the bomb!"

Under the demon-like voice of Zeppelin, which was no longer cold but full of the anger of a witch, the pilots of more than ten planes pressed the bombing button together. The target of this round of missile bombing was not the first-line artillery that was fighting with the two battleships Bismarck and Tirpitz, but the other second-line artillery equipped with 381mm fortress guns behind the five first-line artillery guns, the Matrow artillery not far southwest of the oil depot, and the Castle Island artillery southwest of the airport. In addition, even the two 26mm fortress guns in the St. David Island artillery next to the airport, which had a range of only 234 kilometers but could cover the two 381mm fortress guns not far behind the Matrow artillery and the Castle Island artillery, were also opened by the "anti-ship missiles" that fell from the sky along with the five mm fortress guns of the two artillery guns.

Speaking of which, should this be called an air-to-ground missile?

"Commander. The two 381 artillery batteries and one 234 fortress battery on their second line have been destroyed. Now several artillery batteries on the periphery of our first line have been penetrated! I left another team of planes on the deck, and we can send out another wave at any time!"

"Well done!" Lütjens, holding the telescope, looked at the columns of smoke rising from the opposite side and waved his fist fiercely.

Seven heavy artillery pieces were directly destroyed by a round of air raids by Zeppelin. As a result, the first-line artillery positions of the Bermuda Fortress, except for the last 381 fortress gun that was still resisting, now only the last dozen or so 152mm coastal defense guns were left. To deal with these coastal defense guns, even Prince Eugen could join the battle.

Although the firing rate of the 152mm coastal defense guns was faster than that of the 381mm and 234mm fortress guns, their range and power were flawed. The only thing that was worrying was that the number of coastal defense guns with a range of only 25 kilometers was too large. If we didn't count the guns that were not facing this direction, they still had fortress guns in the front line, and in the back. Any one of the fortress guns could block the only entrance and exit of Bermuda Harbor.

The range of Prince Eugen's guided shells was only a little over 25 kilometers, and the heavy cruiser's defense was not enough. What's more, she was also loaded with marines, so she had been on the periphery, cruising around the main body of Zeppelin.

But now, there are too many 152 coastal defense guns. If time is insufficient, she can only come up to join the battle...

There was basically no need to think about this kind of thing. Lütjens immediately made up his mind:

"Come here, pass on my order. Tell Top to move the Prinz Eugen up to attack together with Bismarck and Tirpitz. Hurry up and destroy the last 381mm fortress gun. Then we will go up and attack their second-line artillery!"

"Yes!"

The bombardment and air strikes on the fortress and the battleships in the Atlantic Ocean were in full swing. On the other side, in the fire at the oil depot, it seemed that something was still stubbornly moving...

The oil depot was located on a small hill by the sea. It was bombarded and the oil melted under the high temperature - even the viscous heavy oil, now carried the temperature of the flames, and flowed quickly down the hill - even the burning oil flowed into the sewers, and then flowed into the sea. Now on the sea, from several sewer openings, a large area was filled with burning crude oil, turning into a sea of ​​fire with thick smoke.

In the southeast corner of the oil depot area, near the sea, against a red and black background filled with roiling, roaring, and suffocating stench, a Persian cat and a small hamster with its arms hanging were guiding the artillery fire while quietly moving through the flames, oil stains, violent winds, noise from the fire, and billowing smoke...

This is the edge of the fire, and it is also a location close to the sea. At the edge of the high-temperature fire, the violent updrafts attracted all the open sea breezes from the surrounding sea, and the fierce wind whistled in the ears.

"Sister! Found it! The generator room is here!" The treasure-hunting mouse, who was walking in front with one arm hanging and a set of carrying gear with a bunch of magazines stuck in it, closed his eyes, moved his nose, and then waved his other uninjured paw to the Persian cat sister who was following behind him, pointing to the back of a small mound that was still burning.

In the previous bombardment, one of her main turrets was hit by a British armor-piercing shell. Although Lindemann didn't need to react, she immediately turned on the automatic sprinkler system. However, this injury, which was not light even for a battleship, was enough to make the usually lazy and cute otaku look a little grimace at this moment...

After the breakout, she was basically a little hamster with bared front teeth and a bit angry...

However...her ability to rummage through boxes and drawers to find things is indeed that of a treasure-hunting rat.

"I'm coming."

Behind Tizi, Bismarck, who was carrying a light machine gun and whose pockets were also filled with magazines, ran over quickly. The cat and the mouse turned around the pile of earth that seemed to be still burning. Behind the pile of earth was a small, low house half buried in the earth. It was the emergency generator station of the oil depot and the pump house of the oil depot's water pumps.

This emergency generator station and water pump house were hidden under a small mound of earth with a slightly protruding terrain in an open area near the sea in the oil depot area. Due to the protruding terrain, the fuel flowing around did not bring the Burning Legion here. The front of the pump house faced northeast. Next to this open space was the bay surrounded by volcanic rocks and shallows of the Bermuda Islands. Even the pier of the oil depot dock was only about a hundred meters away from here.

Because the location here is the position of the deep fortress artillery facing the southwest, and it is half buried behind a small mound of earth. At the same time, it is in an open area between the two oil tank areas in the oil depot area. Therefore, it is not affected by the artillery fire and the raging fire. Even though there is a sea of ​​fire a hundred meters in front of this small mound of earth, and there are two oil tanks still burning behind it, but except for the little fireworks caused by a few bomb craters, it is much better than the raging fire all around.

In particular, a pump house that had not been destroyed was found.

Oil depots are important places for fire prevention, and under normal circumstances, there are always a large number of fire-fighting facilities. In particular, high-power water pumps must be the first choice for fire fighting in oil depots.

Although, under normal circumstances, the British would not give themselves a chance to put out the fire, but...

In front of Bismarck and Tirpitz, two wires were led out of the door of the pump house. One of them led to the direction of the engineer headquarters that Bismarck and Tirpitz had taken care of before, and it was completely useless. The other wire turned into a broken line and pointed in the direction of the pump house - about 20 meters in front of the pump house, there was a place that looked like a traffic trench and could provide a certain amount of shelter. Now there were two huge bomb craters there, and the unextinguished bomb fire was still billowing with smoke.

At the edge of the crater, besides a few bodies with incomplete limbs lying there, there were also several puddles of blasted things scattered around in a large area, in clumps or pieces, sticky and with blood-red pieces of cloth or strangely blown helmets, and even shattered parts...

Even though they were veterans of many battles, Bismarck and Tirpitz were disgusted after seeing this scene and immediately turned their heads away.

Although they had guessed what was going on - it seemed that the engineering team was planning to blow up the pumping station right on the spot after hearing the gunshots, they were unlucky that before they could press the electric detonator, the fortress artillery bombardment came without hesitation...

The engineers who were planning to blast the water were blown to pieces by their own artillery fire, but the pump station, which was protected by a small earth mound and happened to be located on the reverse slope, was intact. When Bismarck and Tirpitz, unable to contain their surprise, ran into the pump station to check the generators, water pumps and other firefighting facilities inside, the surprise was even stronger.

"The generator is fine...it's started! Grape, how's the water pump?"

"The pump is starting, I'm fine here... Sister, can we go put out the fire now?"

"Yes, we can go put out the fire after these two are fixed. But..." Persian Cat said, looking around: "If we want to put out the fire, we have to go to the warehouse next door, push out two more large fire-fighting water cannons that can still be used, and connect the water pipes..."

"Ah? Why is it so troublesome..."

Grape, who was afraid of trouble, hung his head with a (ˉДˉ;||) look on his face, and even his ahoge hair drooped down.

Looking at his lazy sister, Bismarck didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

========================

At this moment, on the other side of the battlefield, the commander of the Allied garrison fleet looked at the battlefield situation not far away where all the heavy artillery of the first fortress line had been destroyed, and was thinking hard about the situation of the war...

"Lütjens' fleet is still capable of fighting... When is the best time to send our cruisers and destroyers into battle?"

“Let me think about it carefully…Emmmmmm…”

Spinning shells can also be guided

The "Copperhead" guided artillery shell is a shell weapon system developed by the US Army and Martin Marietta, codenamed XM712CLGP. It is fired by a 155mm artillery and is laser terminally guided, making it possible for artillery to accurately strike point targets at long distances. This weapon system is "the first to turn artillery shells into precision-guided missiles." The weapon system began to be demonstrated in the late 60s, entered the test prototype research in 1972, completed mass production in 1980, and began to be delivered to troops in 1981.

The range is 4000 to 20000 meters, the hit probability is 80-90%, the circular error probability is only 0.4 to 0.9 meters, it is equipped with 6.4 kilograms of shaped charge, triggered fuse, and laser irradiation guidance.

The firing process of the Copperhead laser-guided artillery shell is as follows: after the forward observation (target illumination group) finds the target, it notifies the artillery and uses the laser illuminator to illuminate the target. The artillery sets the target code and timer to the shell according to the laser illuminator code and the target distance, and then fires. After the projectile is ejected, the inertial switch is connected to the power supply, and the timer starts working. The tail fins on the projectile open as the shell rotates. After the projectile reaches the maximum ballistic height, the timer turns on the wing to increase the range. After the projectile reaches the target area, the seeker on the projectile receives the laser beam reflected by the target and guides the projectile to fly along the beam until it hits the target.

(Russia) 25 "Red Earth" 152mm guided artillery shells

The Red Earth 2K25 artillery shell system is the first 152mm laser terminal-guided artillery shell system developed and equipped by the former Soviet Union/Russia. It was equipped to the former Soviet Army in 1984.

The projectile has a mass of 52.8 kg and a charge of 6.5 kg. Its main task is to fight tanks, but it can also deal with other targets, such as artillery, anti-aircraft weapons, and solid targets. At a maximum range of 20 kilometers, the probability of hitting a tank is more than 0.9! In addition, the missile also has an effective anti-sea strike capability.

该型炮弹需要制导小组持续使用激光照射目标。配套激光指示器质量60千克，照射距离：对坦克目标5-7千米；对海上目标12-15千米，照射持续时间 6-15秒。

During combat, the forward observer searches for the target 3 to 5 kilometers away from the target area, determines the distance and direction of the target, and transmits the target information to the command post. If the target is within the range, the command post transmits the firing parameters to the artillery. While loading the artillery with laser-guided shells and aiming it at the target, a notification is sent to the forward observer, and then the artillery fires.

After the shell is fired, the observer aims at and tracks the target. When the shell is 3 kilometers away from the target, the synchronization device automatically starts the laser indicator to illuminate the target (for 6-15 seconds).

The laser seeker in the warhead can search an area with a diameter of 1 km. After receiving the laser signal reflected by the target, the seeker locks onto the illuminated target. Before hitting the target, it changes to a top-down flight and attacks the top of the tank where the protection is weak. The attack angle is generally between 35° and 45°.

Chapter 717: Mutual Consumption

In the Governor's Mansion in Hamilton, Sir Edward Noylis was holding a cup of high-end black tea produced in Ceylon, leaning on the balcony chair with his legs crossed in an indifferent and slightly decadent manner that was unique to hereditary aristocrats. Opposite the balcony was the northeast direction of the Bermuda Islands - the billowing smoke from the burning oil depots, mixed with the roar of artillery fire. In the eyes of this noble family, the cruel war was more like a "lost oil painting" that could be elegantly appreciated while tasting afternoon tea in an elegant salon. The war situation did not seem to worry him.

The news of the destruction of artillery batteries one after another was sent to the Governor's Mansion by the soldiers, and then reported to this balcony through the butler and secretary. However, the owner of the Governor's Mansion did not care about it at all, as if it was not his oil depot that was blown up, and it was not his artillery batteries that were destroyed. In fact, the Governor was able to take a sip of red tea that was as bright as blood, and after listening to the secretary's report, he was too lazy to even turn his head and calmly commented:

"They were able to fight the fortress artillery like this. It seems that the German evil spirits are quite capable..."

"Uh..." The butler and secretary standing behind the lord felt a little speechless.

The German evil fleet on the other side is so fierce that even the fortress artillery can't withstand their brutal and accurate firepower. Why is the Governor not in a hurry...

But think about it, this guy didn't even take his own oil depot seriously, and he blew it up whenever he said so, and if the engineers couldn't blow it up, he asked the artillery to blow it up... It should be said that such a ruthless guy is worthy of his hereditary aristocratic birth.

"By the way, you just said that all the 15-inch artillery of the Royal Bermuda Battery on the front line has been destroyed, and now the German ships are heading northwest, firing at our six-inch coastal defense guns as they go?" The Governor continued to sip his tea elegantly, as if the cruel battle in front of him had nothing to do with him, and continued softly: "So, where is our garrison fleet now?"

"Um..." The secretary and the butler looked at each other, and finally the secretary stammered and said, "Well... according to the previous combat plan, the garrison fleet sent by the United States was sent to the northwest of Bermuda to hide and wait. There is no contact between them and the German fleet..."

As the secretary spoke, he secretly looked at the Governor’s expression. However, they could only see the back of the Governor’s head as he leaned back in the recliner. He continued to hold the red teacup with a calm expression. As for whether he wanted to laugh, they could not see it standing behind the Lord…

Although there are only four heavily-armored light cruisers and six destroyers, all of which are American, the governor, as a civilian official, actually has no authority to directly order them to act. However, now that the fortress is under bombardment, the Allied garrison fleet is still standing by to do so... If you tell others about it, it will always be a little embarrassing, right?

But what the secretary and the butler didn't see was that the lord's face was smiling even more happily:

"Not participating in the war? Not participating in the war is good."

"???"

As if sensing the embarrassment of the secretary and the butler behind him, the lord continued to lean lazily against the back of the soft recliner, raising the red teacup in his hand: "The German warships are so powerful, it would be meaningless to join the war now and die!"

"That?"

"'That'? What are you talking about? Don't you think that, with the behavior of that bandit Lütjens at the Cape of Good Hope, after our oil depot is bombed, he will probably turn his attention to the fleet!" Lord Noiles couldn't help but sneer, and then continued in his aristocratic decadent tone, "Go, call the headquarters for me and tell them what I said, and ask them to keep the fleet on standby on the periphery - they can only join the battle when Lütjens is about to enter the waterway to attack the fortress, and stay on the periphery at all other times! In addition, tell the garrison fleet that even if they want to sink in battle, they should sink it to the deep sea outside the island's continental shelf!"

At this point, a hint of ferocity flashed across Lord Noilis's handsome face:

"As long as I'm here, Lütjens won't get a drop of oil!"

--------

"Order: One compass point to left, heading 290 degrees west-northwest, speed and a half knots! Continue the bombardment!"

"Left one compass point, heading 290 degrees west-northwest, speed thirty-two and a half knots! Got it... turn completed!"

As the helmsman reported the course data after the turn, the 152-ton battleship drew a white arc on the sea. Together with the Hamster high-speed heavy artillery minesweeper following closely behind, it sailed towards the new course while continuing to fire at the thirteen mm coastal defense guns of the five British front-line artillery batteries.

This place is more than 152 kilometers away from the British artillery, far exceeding the maximum range of the 25 coastal defense artillery of only 100 kilometers. Even if the battleship does not force the coastal artillery to maintain horizontal navigation - except for the artillery guidance of the cat and mouse sisters on the shore, normal artillery fire is not a big threat to the coastal defense artillery protected by the solid artillery even if half of the artillery's theoretical impact points are within the range of ± yards. However, outside the enemy's maximum limit range, you can unilaterally and recklessly bombard the enemy's position without scruples, and you can also guarantee a high hit rate (under the guidance of the ship girl's artillery fire), which will undoubtedly make the long-suppressed sailors revel for a while.

Although no one was allowed to move on the deck when the battleship was firing, this did not stop the sailors from squeezing their heads against the portholes, watching the continuous bombardment while listening to gossip from questionable sources and dancing with joy...

"We hit it! We hit it!"

"Another one destroyed! Well done!"