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Part One Twenty Years Chapter 12 The Star-Spangled Banner Falls (5)

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    (The Battle of Orkney Islands has only the last section left)

    "("King of the North Atlantic" Section 7, The End of the Union Flag[8])

    The battle between the third battle fleet and the fast fleet ended with the latter gaining a certain upper hand.

    At 14:10, the three modified Queen-class battlecruisers of the First Battle Fleet, the front group of the fast fleet, opened fire one after another with a total of eighteen 15-inch main guns. The shells hit the vicinity of the Third Battle Fleet like thunder hammers.  Large water columns splashed on the dark ocean, adding more ferocity to the boiling North Sea.  Occasionally, one or two capped armor-piercing bullets caused a near-missing effect. The splashing water column violently washed away the deck of the steel giant like a waterfall, cleaning away the smoke marks on the deck caused by the firing of the main gun.

    When the Second Battle Cruiser Fleet, with three Prestige-class battle cruisers as the main force, joined the battle group, the Germans also sounded the clarion call for counterattack and reckoning.  The majestic main gun of the Bavaria raised its head proudly, pointing its muzzle glowing with cold light and murderous aura at the battle cruiser Barham, which was less than 12,000 meters away.

    On the watchtower of the British battleship marked with the Union Jack flag, the rookies stared with wide eyes, couldn't help but hold their breath, and watched in horror as the German prehistoric monster suddenly erupted with a terrifying death light, and then majestically surrendered to a mere twenty people.  The flight time of the multi-second cannonball increased to more than 20 centuries, until the large-caliber cannonball splashed down near the fast fleet, causing a shocking storm.

    The battle line decisive battle between two fearless fleets heading towards each other was completely different from the traditional combat mode of the Battle of Jutland. Due to the relatively high speed of the fleets heading towards each other, it was difficult for the artillery department to accurately observe the distance of the target ship.  Aiming, azimuth and range calculation, as well as the judgment and correction of the impact point of the shells, single-ship bombardment is not only inefficient, but also easy to lose the target ship, because misfires lead to poor fire distribution.  The battle taking place on the battle line evolved into a disorderly melee.

    In order to avoid this situation, the fleet commander usually chooses to focus fire on the opponent, concentrate all the firepower of the fleet, and project as much firepower as possible to a general area in a short period of time until the next round of firing direction adjustment is made.  This concentrated fire area usually covers one of the opponent's fleets or is on the opponent's route.

    At the southernmost end of the naval battle battlefield, both warring parties unanimously chose the method of concentrating fire, but the effects were completely different.

    British artillery shells sparsely hit the vicinity of the Third Battle Fleet.  For the British, who have a large number of 15-inch main guns, this weak bombardment is simply a waste of money. Their opponents, the big and round Bavaria-class, K?nigs and Kaiser-class battleships, were baptized by the British bullets.  Zhongshenglonghuohu.

    Compared to the British.  After the German Third Battle Fleet, which had rich combat experience, strong will to fight, and a high degree of integration between man and ship, ended the first few rounds of inefficient calibrated fire, the subsequent rounds of bombardment began to improve.

    The first target of the Third Battle Fleet is the First Battle Cruiser Fleet, which is the front fleet of the fast fleet composed of three modified Queen-class battle cruisers.  Although the Third Battle Fleet has many records of hitting its opponents.  However, the modified Queen-class battle cruiser was rough-skinned and fleshy enough, so in the fight with the German strongmen such as the Bavaria-class and the King-class of the seventh detachment.  The Queen class, which removed a main turret to add boilers and armor, was not inferior at all.  It even severely damaged the battleship K?nig with concentrated fire before the German fifth squadron joined the battle group.

    The Germans time-consumingly and laboriously carried out several consecutive rounds of concentrated fire. Except for the Malaya, which was designed to cover the retreat of the main fleet, all the other ships of the First Battle Patrol Fleet passed smoothly.  When the Germans angrily focused their fire on the Second Battle Cruiser Fleet, the time to reap the rewards had arrived.

    The battle lines were facing each other in a decisive battle, and the hit rate of the main guns of both sides was frighteningly low, even so.  The Third Battle Fleet still severely damaged the British Second Battle Cruiser Fleet for a period of time.

    During the second round of concentrated fire to adjust the target ship, the battle cruiser Reputation was hit by a 350mm armor-piercing projectile, which caused the ship to be directly penetrated from the upper armor belt to the underwater shipbuilding steel, forming a ** type  of water.  As a result, this expensive battleship, which had undergone three magical modifications, instantly tilted 4 degrees to the right.  The speed dropped to 18 knots.

    The performance of the battle cruiser Resistance was even worse. In the third round of concentrated fire, two 305mm armor-piercing shells were hit by the Resistance. Large holes were dug out in the side waterline and the only turret on the stern of the ship. The only thing to be thankful for was  It was the second 305mm armor-piercing projectile that did not do much after tearing open the Tianling cover of the X turret, allowing the Resistance battle cruiser to persist on the North Sea for nearly twenty minutes.

    Now that the Germans have tasted the sweetness, the Third Battle Fleet, personally commanded by Heidi Silem, has absolutely no reason to wash its hands in a golden basin. It just pursues the Second Battle Cruiser Fleet, shouting and killing.

    So in the violent explosion, the battle cruiser Renown sank.

    In fact, the second battleThe patrol team did not lose unjustly.  The prestige level can also be called the magic transformation revenge level, but it is also a magic transformation made by British magicians and part-time shipbuilding designers to 'turn decay into magic', but the two effects are completely different.  The battle cruiser, which was transformed from a high-speed battleship with oil-fired boilers, is equipped with three twin 15-inch main gun turrets. While maintaining a top speed of 28 knots, it also has a 13-inch thick waterline with main armor. In the past, the upper armor was cut corners.  The belt is not ambiguous at all. It can be said that the battle cruiser was modified from a traditional battleship with coal-fired boilers. With the same three 15-inch main guns and a top speed of 28 knots, it only has a 7-inch waterline and main armor.  , even if David Beatty ordered the Prestige class to be returned to the factory to replace the armor after taking office as the British Third Sea Lord, its main armor on the waterline was still only 9 inches.

    The angry British were not to be outdone and began to focus fire on the German fifth detachment. However, although the four Caesar-class battleships of the fifth detachment did not have enough firepower, they were more than enough to withstand the British unreliable concentrated fire, so they became the two fleets.  After completing the process of passing each other, the British lost the Reputation, and the Defiance fell at the end dragging thick smoke that covered the sky, looking shaky; the battle cruiser Warrior, which had been seriously injured before, barely remained in the battle order of the battle line.  , but it¡¯s also in a bad state.

    The distance between the two fleets continues to widen, and it becomes increasingly difficult to accurately hit the opponent. Although Heidi Silem does not expect what kind of results the third battle fleet can achieve, it is still necessary to let go of the two lingering battle cruisers.  Unexpectedly, the senior officers of the Ocean Fleet heard the vicissitudes of the roar of Heidi Silem, who had maintained a "gentlemanly manner" before.

    On the main fleet battle line, the German surface wolves harvested the remaining two battleships of the British Second Battle Fleet like melons and vegetables.

    It is precisely because of the delay of the battleships Marlborough and Benbow and the excessive affection for the battleships Joe V and Hercules that the Ocean Fleet accidentally distanced itself from the British First Battle Fleet.

    At 14:30, the roar of artillery over the North Sea finally stopped.

    On the main fleet battle line, British destroyers inserted into the battlefield at high speed, used torpedoes to intimidate the Germans outside the range, and released smoke to cover the retreat of their own battleships.  In the battlefield of battleships vs. battlecruisers, the fast fleet strode away from the entanglement of the third battle fleet and rushed towards the north at high speed.

    ¡®The Third Battle Fleet and the First Battle Fleet symbolically pursued the large fleet that fled deep into the Firth of Forth. The First Reconnaissance Group gave up the pursuit of the Indomitable battle cruiser and searched north for the fast fleet. They were allowed to return within half an hour.  ¡¯

    After a few hasty explanations, Heidi Silem, who asked the deputy commander of the fleet to take over the command, walked out of the sweltering command tower and came to the trestle where the smell of gunpowder smoke and blood had not yet dissipated.

    ¡®General, we won?  ¡¯

    The victory in front of us is like the collective will and lust of the German nation. Even in the wildest and most perverse dreams, such a glorious victory has never appeared: Resolution, Marlborough, Ben Bow, Joe V, Orion.  , Hercules, Giant, Centurion, Collingwood, Neptune, Royal Oak, Canada, Bellerophon, Magnificent, South Africa, Singapore, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Indomitable  HMS Renown, the young German navy sank twenty Royal Navy battleships in one breath at the doorstep of the British. The price paid was only the sinking of three battleships and the heavy damage to six battleships. This is a very small price.  .

    The German young man with a bandage on his head stood timidly behind the command tower, looking with reverence at the Navy God of War who took off his military cap, holding a cigarette in his mouth and blowing the sea breeze, and asked pitifully.

    ¡®General, did we really win?  ¡¯

    Heidi Silem held the armrest of the trestle and looked up at the sky, holding a smoky cigarette in one hand, while the other hand took out the small bottle of rum that was secretly brought on board.

    Silem skillfully bit off the cork of the wine bottle and swallowed a few mouthfuls before the fleet staff officer, Rear Admiral Levantezo, could stop him. Until the melancholy rum soothed his nerves that had been tense for more than three hours.  Then he turned around and replied:

    ¡®Little Brandeis, I¡¯m sure!  ¡¯

    When Silam said these words, he did not know that behind the smoke created by the British destroyers, the Grand Fleet flagship Revenge, which had lost speed, gradually fell to the end of the battle line, so that David Beatty had to move the headquarters in advance.  Moved to the battleship HMS Sovereign; I don¡¯t know that the four Stars and Stripes battleships are still on their way south. The advice given to the Americans by the British Admiralty, which suffered from command failure due to the tragic defeat, is still to go south at high speed; I don¡¯t even know that the fast fleet broke away from the Oden battle cruiser.  Behind the line of sight, the main engine of the battle cruiser "Resistance" shut down, and soon after, the ship broke apart and sank due to uneven stress on the hull.

    At this time, there was no greedy seabird in the North Sea, and the dark ocean was covered with wounds. Silam clenched his fists and repeated vigorously:

     'yes, I'm sure!  ¡¯ (To be continued.)
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