Australian Storm 1876 - Chapter 1041

Chapter 1041 Shocked

The observation ship of the Royal Ocean Empire, which arrived at the theater with the British 5th Fleet, is the heavy cruiser “New York” sent by the Atlantic Fleet. This is a heavy cruiser converted from an American-made battleship, with a total of 8 ships in the same batch.

in the tall commander tower

A group of middle and senior officers headed by Rear Admiral He Jiaben, deputy commander of the Atlantic Fleet, were observing the fierce battle in the sea with a solemn expression, and the sight in front of them surprised them.

“General, look at the front right at 2:00. There are large pieces of debris and stains scattered on the sea, and there are many dead bodies of officers and soldiers floating on the sea. It is a sunken battleship. I don’t know if it belongs to the British or the Germans?”

“The battle was very intense, but unfortunately the British seemed to have poor accuracy in shelling due to poor visibility at sea.”

“Oh, my God! It was a British warship that was sunk, and the corpse floating on the sea was wearing a British sailor’s uniform. This has been confirmed.”

“Wait a minute, hello… Guys, there’s still a piece of wreckage here, it seems to be a British warship too, why are they so unlucky?”

The officers exclaimed in surprise. Judging from the monitored communication records, it didn’t take long for the fleets of the two sides to go to war in a hurry, and the losses on the battlefield were a bit big!

Looking out from the large and bright front window glass of the “New York” heavy cruiser, the sea is turbulent, the light is dim, and the thick smoke lingers in the sky, the visibility is quite poor.

From a distance, only the rumble of artillery fire and the flashing of shining muzzle flames could be heard, and the huge steel hulls of the two sides in the fierce battle were looming. Both sides were injured.

The British 5th Battle Squadron didn’t care about this at all, and one after another huge warships rushed past the New York and swooped at the opponent at a high speed of 22 knots per hour.

just beyond the past

The 381mm artillery of the “Queen Elizabeth” class battleship roared furiously.

Looking at the past from the perspective of the observation group

The huge steel hull of the “Queen Elizabeth” class battleship that fired the main gun salvo suddenly slumped. The huge recoil of the main gun caused the entire hull to slide tens of meters away. The clamor slammed into the past, and the explosion on the sea produced a water column with a height of more than 70 meters.

Taking the explosion center as the origin, the instantaneous huge water pressure can shred any 110mm armored steel plate within a radius of 150 meters, and the power is really terrifying.

Powerful reinforcements arrived on the battlefield just in time, alleviating the crisis in the British Betty fleet.

The 5th Battle Squadron “Queen Elizabeth” class battleships exerted the powerful power of their 381mm cannons. After several rounds of salvos, two shells hit the German battlecruiser “Von der Tann”. There are two main turrets, one in front and one behind.

One cannonball blew its front turret into scrap metal, and one cannonball opened the rough half of the rear turret. Hundreds of German officers and soldiers in the front and rear artillery units were killed immediately, and the whole ship was billowing with thick smoke and fire. Completely lost in combat.

The coal bunker of the battlecruiser “SMS Moltke” was penetrated by a shell, and a 152mm secondary gun located on it was thrown into the sea, almost giving it a large opening.

The Germans were very lucky. The 381mm shell did not explode in the battlecruiser “Morch”, but penetrated the hull and fell into the sea to explode, splashing a large amount of water.

The Germans’ counterattack was equally sharp. When the German fleet’s rearguard was beaten by the British high-speed battleship, the German fleet forward was frantically attacking the “Queen Mary” battlecruiser.

At 16:20, the shells fired by the German battleship penetrated the rear three turrets of the “Queen Mary”. It exploded like the previous “Indefatigable”, and the entire battleship was blown in half.

In the eyes of the British officers and soldiers, when the high stern of the “Queen Mary” disappeared into the sea, there were 1266 crew members who sank with the ship. This is the third main ship sunk in the war. , only 17 crew members survived.

“New York” on the heavy cruiser

“These Europeans… What a terrible fight!”

Rear Admiral He Jiaben and Brigadier General Lu Dingyi, Chief of Staff of the Navy’s Atlantic Fleet, looked at each other and smiled bitterly at the corners of their mouths, as if they had known this before.

Due to the smoke of gunpowder on the sea, the dim light, and the poor visibility, the British and German navies are getting closer and closer. It became a pot of porridge.

Not only were the battleships fighting each other, but the destroyer fleets of Britain and Germany were also fighting each other. The British destroyers, with their larger size and stronger firepower, completely overwhelmed the German destroyers.

The fierceness of the body-to-body fight made the person who watched it stunned.

Coupled with the timely arrival of the Royal Navy’s 5th Battle Fleet, which flanked from the left and the right, the war situation began to develop in the direction of the British.

watched for more than 10 minutes

Rear Admiral He Jiaben frowned, shook his head, and muttered, “That’s not right, the British fleet’s cannonballs are far more powerful than the Germans, so why is the German fleet’s cannonballs more powerful?”

“Deputy Commander, I also found this problem.”

“Could it be that the German artillery shells used a new type of time-delay fuze, the shells would break through the surface armor of the battleship and penetrate deep into the interior to explode, causing greater collateral damage.”

“It’s very possible, and the possibility is extremely high.” Major General He Jiaben nodded with a serious look. He also considered this possibility. Delayed explosion fuze is a new type of ammunition equipment for the Navy. Due to the complex technology and high cost, the cost is high. , the Ocean Empire is only equipped with part of the main ships.

As a highly developed industrial country, Germany has strong strength in new chemical and electronic industries, and has the ability to develop new types of ammunition that can be called “killer”. This is a very important discovery.

This was a very important discovery, and he immediately ordered the gunners and other officers; “The order went on, and immediately carefully observe the movement of the Germans’ bullets, and analyze the performance of their new ammunition fuze, armor-piercing power and collateral damage power, forming a convincing technical report.”

“As ordered, Your Excellency.”

The order was carried out immediately. Major General He Jiaben nodded calmly. He glanced at his watch. It was 4:33 pm. He turned to Brigadier General Lu Dingyi and said; The cruiser sank. The original 6:5 situation of the main ships of the two sides became 3:5, and the German side had only one serious damage and one minor injury. become so weak?”

“Deputy Commander, I am also considering this question you mentioned.” Brigadier General Lu Dingyi replied with an incredible look on his face; “The Royal Navy is equipped with our first-generation wireless rangefinder and has a deep naval tradition. , The training level is extremely high, and it stands to reason that it is impossible to be beaten by the Germans. This is too magical. Even if the German army is equipped with a delay fuze, it is impossible to have such a great power?”

“There is only one possibility…” Major General He Jiaben said with a solemn expression; “The German spies did not steal the first-generation radio rangefinder technology, but a new technology with dynamic ranging capabilities…”

“Impossible!” Brigadier General Lu Dingyi blurted out.

Then he looked at Admiral He Jiaben in shock, suddenly realizing that this topic was extremely sensitive, and quickly closed his mouth tightly, shaking his head without a trace.

As senior officers of the Royal Navy, both of them know how strict the security measures of the Empire’s sensitive technology are. The whole of Tasmania is a cage, and it is almost impossible to leak without permission.

The only possibility is that senior officers with access to sensitive technology leaked secrets.

The two of them were talking when they were suddenly alarmed by the rumbling explosion in front of them, and they cast their gazes in the same direction.

on the boiling sea

The decoy fleet led by German Vice-Admiral Hipper was fighting and retreating, leading the British fleet to the German High Seas Fleet. Falling behind, about 9 to 10 kilometers away from the former team.

The German battlecruisers “De Flinger”, “Seedlitz” and “Von der Tann” slammed the British “Tiger” battlecruisers to attack the front, and fired three consecutive hits. Round salvo.

The first round of shots was close, the second round of adjustment formed a stride shot, and the third round of several hits, the battlecruiser Tiger was shrouded in a dense forest of water columns, two dazzling sparks emerged from the hull, and the hull track There is a noticeable shift.

This was the hit of two 305mm artillery shells and the damage caused by several near misses. Lieutenant Colonel Luo Qin of the “New York” gun factory carefully observed and shouted loudly; “Report to Your Excellency General, it can be confirmed that the German army used the delay gun. When the fuze is detonated, the shell will explode inside the ship after hitting the hull, causing more damage.”

“Very good, keep watching.”

At this time, the British counterattack arrived.

After retreating from the 2nd Scout Group of the Hipper Fleet, the 3rd Battlecruiser Squadron led by Major General Hood of the United Kingdom discovered the 1st Scout Group of the Hipper Fleet at a distance of 9300 yards.

Major General Hood led the 3rd War Cruise Squadron to turn immediately, making the fleet parallel to the German 1st Reconnaissance Group, and fired at it at a distance of 8500, pouring ammunition frantically.

The firepower of the British 3rd Battlecruiser Squadron was extremely accurate and fierce, and its shell density made the German “Morch” think that it was fighting 8 to 10 British “Malaya” class or “Iron Duke” class battleships.

Every 25 to 30 seconds, a large wave of densely packed shells will smash down, which is extremely threatening.

The British 3rd War Cruise Squadron has been hidden in the thick smoke, and can only observe the shining muzzle flame when firing, but cannot see the fleet’s movement trajectory.

Just over 10 minutes

The German battle cruiser “Luzov” was hit 8 times by “Invincible” and “Indomitable”, of which 4 shells hit the broadside torpedo platform and the bow torpedo platform below the ship’s waterline, resulting in about 1,500 shells. tons of sea water poured into the hull of the “Luzov”.

Severe flooding caused the bow of the battlecruiser “Luzov” to sink below the surface.

Due to the heavy damage, the ship immediately adjusted its course and tried to leave the battlefield. The German destroyers who escorted the “Luzov” from the battlefield were G37, G38, G40, S33, S34, V30 and V45, a total of 7 ships destroyer.

In the process of leaving the battlefield, the British Major General Hood led the 3rd Battlecruiser Squadron to follow closely, vowing to sink the German heavy cruiser “Luzov” and avenge the British naval battleship.

However, the situation on the battlefield changed in an instant, which no one expected.

At 4:48, the fog that had been covering the British 3rd War Cruise Squadron suddenly dissipated, and the “Invincible” with the smoke from the chimney and propellant as the background was directly exposed to the enemy ship’s field of vision. within range.

The German battlecruiser “Luzov”, which was severely damaged, turned to the right and was commanded by its own rear fire control room, and fired three salvos at the “Invincible” at a distance of 10,900 yards.

The first round of salvos exceeded the target by 400 yards, causing a loneliness. After the German ship quickly adjusted, the second round of salvos formed a straddling fire, and when the third round of salvos fell, the “Invincible” appeared clear. Visible red fire, followed by a violent explosion of the ship.

Before the “Invincible” appeared, the German “Derfflinger” battlecruiser fired 5 salvos in the direction of the ship at intervals of 30 seconds, all of which were close.

When the “Invincible” appeared, the “Derfflinger” fired three salvos at the ship at a distance of 9,600 to 9,800 yards within one and a half minutes, and hit the “Invincible” in the third salvo. “No.

The result was tragic

The fatal blow to the “Invincible” was a shell that hit the ship’s rear turret. After the shell penetrated the armor, it exploded inside the turret, directly blowing off the top armor of the turret.

The flames from the explosion quickly spread into the turret drug storehouse. The British ship had little time to take effective damage control measures. The subsequent explosion caused the “Invincible” to break into two sections.

This process only took 10 to 15 seconds. After being split into two sections, the bow and stern of the ship remained floating on the water for a while. Statistics after the war showed that the ship had only 9 survivors.

This is the 4th battleship sunk by the British army, and the fierce sea battle has just begun.

How is this possible?

Not only the officers and soldiers of the British Royal Fleet were shocked, but the officers of the Royal Navy Observation Corps of the Ocean Empire on the heavy cruiser “New York” were all so surprised that they could not close their mouths, and they could put a duck egg in their mouths.

Just look at the damage consequences of the British and German warships being hit. This kind of result is like a joke, and the gap is a bit unreal.

After hitting eight large-caliber shells, the German battlecruiser “Luzov” staggered to escape the fierce battle.

However, it was closely pursued by the 3rd Battle Cruise Squadron led by Major General Hood of the United Kingdom. It launched round after round of shelling, and was hit by 17 shells one after another. Buried in seawater.

That’s it, still stubbornly floating on the sea, it’s so unsinkable, don’t you think it’s angry?

On the other hand, the battlecruiser “Luzov” had been crippled. After observing the clear outline of the British battlecruiser Invincible, the Germans who reacted immediately turned their guns to counterattack, and a shell penetrated the “Invincible”. P” turret and caused a big explosion. The “Invincible” eventually sank into the sea with 1,026 crew members, including Major General Hood.

After finishing the work, the battle cruiser “Luzov” left the battlefield under the cover of a group of destroyers, sailed into the dark distance, and disappeared with all the wounds on her body.

This…this…this is too incredible!

(end of this chapter)