Bismarck

"Sister Bismarck, Sister Grape, they launched torpedoes!"

"I saw it, but..." Bismarck frowned, feeling that something was wrong: "Not only is the range of this wave of torpedoes too far, but it seems that not all of them are directed at us..."

"Yes, there are several groups of torpedoes heading for the entrance of Bermuda!" Ti Zi, who was holding the water cannon and sweeping around, glanced absentmindedly in the direction of the torpedo attack and responded unhappily.

It's too smelly here, too hot, and too dirty...ahhhhh, everything is so troublesome!

Ti Zi, the otaku who thought she was a lady, saw herself working so breathlessly. She had been enduring for a long time and wanted to find a place to vent.

However, when she looked at the serious Bismarck, she could only purse her lips and decided to fight the British.

The fire was still raging, and a layer of burning oil had accumulated on the beach. However, the collapsed oil tank in front of us was relatively far away from other oil tank clusters, and the tank body and stored fuel were relatively small. Under the fire foam that isolated the air, the fire had been reduced a lot. Although the raging sea of ​​fire was still flowing around under the high temperature, it was close to the beach, and the flowing river of fire directly rushed into the sea of ​​fire on the bay. The fuel in the oil separator that we were fighting was at least temporarily stabilized - in addition to adding foam to the foam tank of the foam fire extinguisher, everyone just had to hold the water cannon and guide their own body to fire!

During the intervals between the bombardments, Bismarck and Eugen took some time to bring sandbags and boulders to block the hole in the oil tank isolation pool caused by the shelling.

Although the sandbags and boulders are very heavy, this does not seem to be a problem for the men with more than 100,000 horsepower.

The girls with super powers were carrying fire-fighting equipment back and forth in the fire scene.

However, there were plenty of sandbags around the pump station and in the trenches, so there was no need to worry about a shortage of materials. As for the high temperature... wouldn't it be cooler if Tirpitz poured water on us?

Anyway, the sisters are not human beings. First, they are not afraid of suffocation, and second, they are strong. As long as they are not engulfed by the sea of ​​fire, they are not afraid of ordinary high temperatures.

Although, after more than an hour of firefighting, the three sisters were now all black. The black smoke from the burning fuel had turned the golden Persian cat into a black Persian cat...

Hamsters and rabbits are no exception, they all came out of the ink.

Moreover, the oil smoke is sticky and cannot be washed off. It is dirty and disgusting. But at least it seems that there is some hope for this oil tank.

Such a large oil tank, although mixed with a lot of foamy water, but there are at least tens of thousands of tons of oil. If the burning oil on the sea surface is also recovered, it should be possible to barely return home...

The future is still bright.

As for what to do with these water-containing heavy oils after they solidify again... Bismarck, Tirpitz and Prince Eugen looked at each other and smiled knowingly.

In order to be good pirates, the sisters all carried oil-water separators.

As long as the fuel is not completely solidified, it can be used to remove moisture. As for the blockage of foam and the corrosion of salinity... If it is a normal warship, it may be impossible to solve it, but who are they! Besides, Bismarck had considered the fuel problem of Pirate Cat several years ago!

only……

"Although Zeppelin is sending planes, we can't just leave those American warships alone..." Bismarck looked at the direction of the American fleet in the distance and began to think.

Just behind the reef area on the other side of the waterway, the American destroyers were already firing salvos of torpedoes and starting to pull smoke to turn - although at this distance, even without their own guidance, their own and Tizi's 152mm secondary guns, as well as Eugen's 203mm main guns, could cover these 2200-ton guys with four groups of sixteen torpedoes. Even now, an American destroyer had obviously been injured by the fire of medium-caliber artillery!

However, the key now is not whether they can defeat this US fleet, but whether they can get the sisters to the oil depot's dock before the fuel runs out.

Now he and Tizi were more than seven kilometers away from the waterway entrance, and Eugen, who was shot and injured in the previous assault on the artillery, and Zeppelin, who was not good at close combat, were even farther away from the waterway entrance! From the waterway entrance to the oil depot dock, there was still at least an eight-kilometer sailing distance - a fifteen-kilometer sailing distance, a speed of sixteen knots, even if there were no Americans messing around, even if there was no need to avoid American torpedoes, it would still take half an hour to get there!

You know, there are only a few drops of oil left now...

and……

"Sister Bismarck! Sister Bismarck! The British army is coming from the direction of the waterway!"

Eugen's voice rang in Bismarck's ears. The Persian cat turned around and saw nearly a thousand British soldiers running over from the road on the other side of the oil depot near the open sea bay! I saw this group of people driving trucks, dragging anti-tank guns, and carrying 40mm machine guns - whether it was a ping-pong gun or a Bofors - they were divided into several teams and entered the positions on the coast separately. With the help of the ruins of the artillery and even the craters from the previous shelling, the engineers were blasting and assembling prefabricated iron components to quickly build new fortifications.

It seems that even now, they probably know that they are running low on fuel, but they still have to fight on!

As the secretary of the fleet commander, Bismarck knew that the elite Marines concentrated on Eugen were actually only more than 300 people! And this group of British troops numbered thousands, with scattered fortifications and heavy weapons. Not to mention the Marines, even for his sisters entering the harbor, they were a threat.

"If we delay, we won't be able to get fuel. Besides, Bermuda is only 950 kilometers away from the Norfolk base. That means the American reinforcement fleet will arrive here by midnight at the latest..."

Looking at this group of people, Bismarck's eyes became a little sharp:

"We are in a time crunch, and every second counts... Tizi, Eugen, I know you don't like trouble and killing people, but everyone is clear about the current situation... So in this case, in order to win, we can only attack these ordinary soldiers!"

“…So finish the battle quickly and go back to rest…” Tizi curled his lips and looked coldly in the direction of the British position.

Eugen had a bitter face, but after thinking about it, he pouted a little and nodded...

Chapter 721

"…We are 12 kilometers away from the enemy destroyer and 16 kilometers away from the enemy cruiser. The situation is getting worse for our fleet, and the enemy destroyer has probably already launched torpedoes… Although at this distance, the only torpedoes we can launch are slow-speed torpedoes, but our fuel…"

The situation on the nautical chart was very bad, and Lütjens was worried.

The four American Brooklyn-class heavy light cruisers on the opposite side, under the tactical analysis and command of the flagship Helena, were using sixty six-inch machine guns to fire madly at them at an average rate of one round every three or four seconds. Dense water columns rose and fell around the Bismarck and Tirpitz, just like real machine guns!

Especially now that the fuel is running low, it is impossible to keep a distance from the enemy and cannot make effective evasive maneuvers. As soon as the battle started, the Bismarck battleship was hit by seven or eight shells in a row. Not only were its two 105 anti-aircraft guns destroyed, but the superstructure also started to catch fire. It was a big loss. Although the 152mm shells could not threaten the Bismarck's armor under normal circumstances, the threat would be no less if high-explosive bombs or even high-explosive incendiary bombs were used to set fire to the deck.

Under normal circumstances, even if he lost the ability to evade, with the combat effectiveness of the two battleships in his hands, Lütjens was confident that he could directly repel the opponent's attack. However, in addition to the high-speed shooting of the four six-inch machine guns, there were also American destroyers.

Not everyone would dare to take the salvo of nearly fifty torpedoes with their face.

"Order the formation to turn southwest, we will retreat temporarily..." Before he could finish his words, there was a loud bang, and the top of the bridge command post was hit by another shell!

Although the explosive force of the 152mm high-explosive bomb could not destroy the heavily armored command post, the shock and vibration of the explosion transmitted through the air in the nearly sealed command post felt like being trapped in a big bell and then being hit hard with a sledgehammer, making people feel dizzy and suffocated, and very uncomfortable. Some of the weaker ones even coughed up bloody phlegm.

What's worse is that the explosion of the shell directly paralyzed the fire control device on the top of the bridge.

You know, that was the last usable main gun fire control device on the Bismarck battleship after a series of fierce battles. Although there were several independent fire control mapping rooms on the Bismarck, after the main aiming device was destroyed, except for a few rangefinders on several main turrets that were too low to measure accurately, there were only 150 secondary gun aiming devices left. And those secondary gun aiming devices were still directing the Bismarck's secondary guns to fire at the turning American destroyers!

The fire control device was paralyzed, which meant that the battleship's main gun fire had lost control.

But at this moment...

"captain!"

A golden-haired German Persian cat with one hand covering its eyes came out from nowhere. Her body was still a little sticky and greasy. At this moment, there seemed to be some marks on her face - those 152mm cannons were aimed at her superstructure, just like a slap in her face.

And the most crucial thing is that with the superstructure being attacked, the fire control equipment is no longer very useful. You have to know that if the warship's superstructure and anti-aircraft firepower are destroyed, it will also lose its combat effectiveness.

and……

Isn't it just that it's out of oil now? How dare a cricket light cruiser come over and hit me in the face?! Do you really think your battleship is made of paper?!

Bismarck also got angry - no matter whether you are a sea mother or not, you are dead!

However, when he saw his Persian cat actually came back, Lütjens was also stunned: "Why are you back? How is the oil depot?"

"The fire at the oil depot has been partially controlled. Eugen and I are back to join the artillery and torpedo attack. Grapes is still watching. Captain, the British have sent troops to occupy the coastal defense positions, and..." Bismarck's eyes were very sharp. His cat pupils were firmly locked on a US cruiser that was in the front and had the most fierce firepower...

"Besides, Captain, even if we want to land, we have to deal with these Americans first!"

Amid the roar of the battleship Bismarck, a round of 380mm high-explosive bombs was launched directly at the American light cruiser fifteen kilometers away. The American heavy cruiser sailing in the front had no time to dodge and was hit by two 380mm high-explosive bombs on the spot! The Brooklyn-class cruiser tilted and slowed down, and the flooded hull also made it gradually deviate from its course...

Flagship killer! Counterattack!

"Captain, I paralyzed one of them!"

Bismarck, who had been living a very depressed life since the Battle of the Azores, finally felt relieved after instantly paralyzing an enemy ship. He clenched his fists and began to ask for praise from his captain.

However, Lütjens' expression showed no sign of easing: "Bismarck, turn quickly, they launched torpedoes before, and now their torpedoes are coming!"

"Captain, don't worry. I can see the trajectory of their torpedoes. The distance of the trapezoidal formation they set up before is inconsistent, so there are flaws in the torpedo net. At worst, I can just let Lindemann drive the main body of the Grape to follow us."

The Persian cat turned around to look at his captain, and blinked his eyes in a cute way: "By the way, Captain, Eugen has also returned to Top. Top said that he is coming over to release guided torpedoes. Let's turn and speed up~"

"Eugen? Speed ​​up?! He still has fuel now?!" Lütjens was really shocked when he heard the words of his own ship cat.

The Persian cat at home did save a little fuel, but that was during the previous bombardment of the artillery fort. The Zeppelin suppressed the heavy artillery on the opposite side, so it was able to slow down and save fuel. The fuel consumption of Bismarck at full speed was about 72 tons of heavy oil per hour, and theoretically only 12 or 13 tons of oil at a speed of 16 knots. However, since it was wartime, Bismarck was always able to accelerate at any time, so the actual fuel consumption was calculated based on the fuel consumption of 24 knots, that is, 26 tons per hour.

From 5:10 until now, his Bismarck and Lindemann's Tirpitz have been sailing at 16 knots, which saves about 30 tons of fuel. With the remaining fuel, it is enough for them to sail at full speed for another half an hour. Lütjens is very sure of this. But...Prince Eugen has been sailing at full speed before, and basically never slowed down. How can there be fuel now? !

"She has fuel, Captain, have you forgotten? You only let Eugen and the others join the battle at 4:15. Before that, they had been outside the battlefield, accompanying Zeppelin." Hearing the captain's question, the Persian cat, which had already severely damaged another US cruiser with a round of artillery fire, turned around and said to Lütjens with bared fangs and claws.

Although the Americans regarded him as a sick cat without any strength, Bismarck soon used his strength to tell these Americans that even if he was on the verge of running out of ammunition, his strength would not be reduced at all.

"Uh..." Lütjens smiled bitterly and slapped his forehead. He finally remembered: "Is that so..."

"Yes, yes, so they still have fuel!" Looking at their captain who finally patted his head, the smiling Persian cat continued, regardless of how happy he looked with so much coal-black color on his face. The crew members couldn't bear to look at their secretary.

"…The Americans' torpedoes are intended to drive us outward as far as possible, but there is a gap in their formation's torpedoes… Captain, let Lindemann follow us and accelerate to a full speed of thirty-two and a half knots, and we can go straight through that gap!"

"Well, as long as you are sure!" Seeing his own ship cat looking so confident, Lütjens felt relieved - if he didn't even trust the warship he was with day and night, who else could he trust?

Nodding, Lütjens ordered the messenger to pass on the message to Lindemann, asking Lindemann to command the Tirpitz to speed up and follow him. However, seeing the ship turning, Lütjens still wanted to get to the bottom of it: "Bismarck, what is the matter with the gap in the torpedo net you mentioned?"

"Well, maybe they want to block our route into the bay..." Bismarck chuckled, picked up the pencil for marking and made a few sketches on the nautical chart. While sketching, he said, "Because they enter the torpedo position in echelons, the destroyers in front and behind will have different directions and positions..."

Lütjens nodded. He knew this basic tactical situation - in fact, there is an explanation for the navy's basic formations: unlike the general impression, the wheel formation is the most powerful formation for air defense and escort, but it also has very high organizational requirements, and the wheel formation is generally not used in surface combat. There are only three most basic formations left: horizontal column, vertical column and echelon.

Among them, the horizontal column (and its variant, the goose column) is the formation with the widest front width and the widest search range, and is generally the first choice of the vanguard fleet. The column is the formation that can best exert the attack power of artillery and torpedo warfare, and is also the formation that is least likely to be in disarray. The artillery and torpedo warfare of the surface fleet is traditionally fought in a column formation - the so-called "battle line tactics" means this; and the echelon is divided into the left echelon and the right echelon. This formation is the fastest to change into other combat formations when entering the battlefield - generally it is a column to facilitate the use of firepower.

However, when the echelon becomes a column, the formation must be deployed in the direction in which the echelon is tilted - otherwise friendly ships will block your firepower!

Lütjens figured it out in an instant!

The Americans on the other side didn't know why - probably because they were too far away from the battlefield and didn't have time to adjust the formation, the actual formation of the destroyers when they entered the battlefield was the left echelon. In theory, if they wanted to take the initiative, they could only deploy to the left - but the left side was a shoal and reef area, and even destroyers didn't dare to go deep into the reef area! If they deployed to the right, the torpedoes of the American destroyers at the back of the echelon would first sink the people "blocking" them!

Therefore, the Americans could only rush into the shoal area with the left echelon under the fire cover of the cruisers, and then turn back at the edge of the reef area after releasing the torpedoes! Although this can take the initiative and directly expose the torpedo tubes on the other side after turning, the biggest problem is that because the left deployment angle is very small, there will be a difference in position between the destroyer in front and the destroyer behind!

Especially the Americans have six destroyers, and the length of the entire formation is close to five kilometers!

According to the orthodox torpedo tactics, with the distance from the target to their own formation as the core, and pursuing the largest fan of torpedo attacks at the same time, the four American destroyers in the middle can indeed spread out a huge torpedo net. However, the distance between the American destroyer in the front and themselves is too close, and the distance between the last one and themselves is too far. If these two destroyers release torpedoes individually, there is no way to coordinate with the torpedo nets of the other four destroyers!

So the Americans probably thought of the possibility that they might rely on speed to "bring" the Bermuda Channel, so they let these two destroyers release torpedoes to try to block their possibility of entering the Bermuda Channel! But the positions of the two destroyers in front and behind are nearly five kilometers apart! In other words, no matter what, there will be a gap in time between the first and the last!

Although if the opponent is an ordinary elite battleship, this gap is not a big problem - ordinary battleships simply cannot see torpedoes at a long distance, and by the time the distance is close, it is too late! But is the battleship on my side an "ordinary" elite battleship? !

Hey Hey……

Lütjens' eyes gradually narrowed with laughter - Eugen released guided torpedoes, and Zeppelin's planes carrying anti-ship missiles also took off! The oil depot also rescued a pool of fuel, so...

Just as the bandit Lu Yi was laughing in his mind, the Prince Eugen, which had accelerated to 32 and a half knots, rushed out from the side of the turning Bismarck battleship like a sharp knife, firing continuously with her rear main gun - that position was right between the Bismarck and the US fleet, a perfect position for a torpedo strike!

"Torpedo tubes, target American destroyers! Fire anti-navigation torpedoes head-on, speed 40 knots, six torpedoes at once!" Following Top's order, Prince Eugen made a turn at sea, and the six torpedoes in the two torpedo tubes on the starboard side were thrown into the sea one after another with the sound of "bang! bang!" from compressed air!

"With an anti-navigation mine of forty knots, they can either turn around and disrupt the route of their own cruisers, or take it with their faces!" Top, with a cigarette in his mouth and an unscrupulous look on his face, stood by the porthole with his arms folded, looking at the American destroyers that were turning ten kilometers away, as if he had already seen these guys being smashed, tilted, or even broken into two by Eugen's guided torpedoes.

Eugen stood beside Top and nodded without saying a word. However, when Top saw the heavy cruiser next to him, his cynical expression disappeared and he looked a little apologetic...

"Eugen, is your arm okay?"

"Top, I'm fine..." Eugen shook his head gently.

Top cursed himself inwardly again. Why did he feel so distressed when he saw Eugen's smile? In the previous artillery battle, her bow ammunition depot was pierced by a 234mm fortress gun. Although the fire had been put out by flooding the ammunition depot, and the ammunition depot filled with water had been emptied again, even so, her two front main turrets were now unusable.

Until now, she has not been able to use much strength in her left arm.

However, there was no need for her to use the main gun to fight the enemy now...

"Eugen, turn around. If we can get to the waterway entrance directly by going through that hole, we should have the Marines prepare..."

Before Top could finish his words, the girl with twin ponytails on the opposite side was nodding her head happily, smiling: "Yeah! Okay, okay! We'll turn right away - Prinz Eugen, full speed for all three vehicles! Speed ​​270 degrees due west, heading thirty-three and a half knots - let's go!"

"As expected... Has this girl been suppressed for too long... She is obviously a well-behaved and cute girl, but as long as there is a battle, even if she is injured, she can be so happy..."

Looking at the cheerful girl in front of him, Top felt even more guilty. However, on the battlefield, this emotion was quickly suppressed.

A 40-knot torpedo, an anti-navigation torpedo, and a self-guided torpedo... It would be strange if the American destroyers on the opposite side didn't die...

Just as Bismarck, Tirpitz and Prince Eugen began to turn one after another, and Top and Lütjens were both thoughtful, behind them, in the direction of the Zeppelin aircraft carrier, a buzzing sound like bees began to be faintly heard from the sky - the last group of fighters that took off from the Zeppelin aircraft carrier - three BF-250T109 fighters carrying 2 kg guided bombs, and ten FW-500T fighters carrying 109 kg guided bombs and airborne torpedoes respectively, had also circled around from the outside of the Allied fleet!

Following the order of Zeppelin who had been monitoring the battlefield in the sky, the guided bombs were dropped from a distance! And those FW-109s carrying torpedoes, under the piloting of Major Rudel, the acting commander of the Zeppelin aircraft carrier bomber brigade, rushed towards the two remaining light cruisers of the US fleet that were circling the outer periphery of the shoal area!

On one side is the shoal, and on the other side are torpedoes! Each of these American light cruisers carries more than 3,000 tons of fuel! As long as they are forced onto the shoal, then...

Although I don’t drink, but… I think the instructor will give me a medal when the time comes…

On the other side, in the center of the fire, a little hamster with an injured arm was circling between three water cannons in different locations, with an impatient expression on his face...

"It's such a hot place, and it stinks. It's so troublesome!"

"Sister is so mean... How can I take care of three water cannons by myself... My arm is still injured!"

Tirpitz, who was extremely angry, looked at the British troops passing by from time to time outside, gritting his teeth and thinking: When my sister and Eugen finish dealing with the American fleet and come back to act together, how should I catch the British soldiers and vent my anger?

Chapter 722: Death Assault

When the American destroyers and cruisers were hit one by one by torpedoes that dropped from the sky or suddenly emerged from the sea, and were then paralyzed and half-dead on the shoals, the three hungry German warships, Bismarck, Tirpitz and Prinz Eugen, which had no time to care about the miserable state of those American warships, finally met together outside the entrance and exit of the Bermuda Waterway.

The only one that was farther away was the Zeppelin aircraft carrier, which had moved farther away to avoid the US fleet.

The British were also not idle on several islands in the Bermuda Archipelago.

In addition to the existing minefields (although there is no Uzuki due to the abilities of the ship girls), during the previous battle, the British also began to set up various obstacles on the waterways leading into the port - from small fishing nets and anti-submarine nets used to try to hook propellers to large mines. It can be said that they have everything.

In addition, in the small harbor surrounded by several islands beside the entrance channel, British MTB torpedo boats and American PT torpedo boats are ready. The British even requisitioned several speedboats, which seemed to be filled with explosives...

The last remaining forces of the navy were like this, and the British Army did not give up. Although the artillery had been completely destroyed by the German evil fleet in the bombardment, there were still thousands of British officers and soldiers who rushed over from the hinterland of the island - they dragged anti-tank guns and anti-aircraft machine guns, and took trucks to the coastline in the northeast of the island, and then dispersed and hid among the rubble and ruins. Especially those hills that were not far from the coastline were the first choice of the British - it can be seen that the British idea was to take into account that the artillery of the battleships at close range could not bend the reverse slope targets, and the dispersed deployment could minimize the threat of the battleships' terrifying bombardment. Such a deployment can undoubtedly guarantee the greatest survival probability of the British fortress garrison!