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The battleship 'Franz Joseph I' began to turn desperately, trying to aim the bow of the ship at the incoming torpedo. However, the battleship 'Franz Joseph I' has a displacement of 33,000 tons and a length of 195 meters! It will take at least a few minutes to complete the turn! For high-speed heavy torpedoes, the distance of 600 meters only takes more than half a minute!
At this time, four other dive bombers above the battleship Franz Joseph I also began to attack. With this opportunity, their shooting percentage is much higher. Two of the four aviation armor-piercing bombs hit the battleship. One exploded on the front deck, directly blowing a big hole in the deck. The interior of the battleship was also blown into a mess, but fortunately the damage was not fatal. Another aerial bomb exploded on the side of the battleship Franz Joseph I, blowing up two anti-aircraft guns and killing several Austro-Hungarian navy sailors.
In the end, when the torpedo hit the battleship Franz Joseph I, the huge battleship did not have time to complete its turn. Six of the 12 torpedoes hit the battleship. The remaining six were missed, but the six torpedo hits were enough to send the battleship 'Franz Joseph I' to the bottom of the sea!
The waterline armor of the battleship Franz Joseph I is 300 millimeters thick. But it still seems a bit weak in the face of heavy torpedoes. In addition, the battleships of the British Navy have always pursued speed and firepower and underestimated survivability. This made the battleship 'Franz Joseph I' almost impossible to survive after being hit by six heavy torpedoes!
?In fact, this is exactly the case. Six torpedoes tore six large holes in the port side of the battleship Franz Joseph I, and cold water poured into the hull. Before the sailors on the battleship had time to close the watertight door, the battleship had already begun to tilt.
The commander-in-chief of the Austro-Hungarian Navy, Admiral Anton House, ordered the abandonment of the ship. After suffering such a heavy blow, the battleship "Franz Joseph I" no longer had any salvage value.
A few minutes later, this huge warship with a displacement of 33,000 tons capsized on the sea. Sunk to the bottom of the sea. Of the thousands of naval officers and soldiers on the battleship, only more than two hundred survived. The rest of the people all sank to the bottom of the sea with the battleship and slept here forever!
The battleship 'Ferdinand I' of the Austro-Hungarian Navy suffered no less blows than the battleship 'Franz Joseph I'. This battleship was purchased from China. It was originally the USS Massachusetts among the US Navy's Pennsylvania-class battleships. It was captured by the Chinese Navy during the Battle of the Bahamas and was later sold to the Austro-Hungarian Navy at a high price. It was named the battleship 'Archduke Ferdinand' at the time. After Archduke Ferdinand became the emperor of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the battleship was renamed the battleship 'Ferdinand I'.
The battleship Ferdinand I, with a displacement of more than 30,000 tons and equipped with four twin 381 mm main guns, is considered an extremely powerful battleship in the world. only. Facing the attack from the German naval aviation, this battleship still seemed very helpless. Although the Austro-Hungarian Navy installed a lot of anti-aircraft weapons on the battleships, as many as dozens of anti-aircraft guns and anti-aircraft machine guns. However, due to the unreasonable layout, there were many air defense loopholes, and the German naval aviation officially seized these loopholes to launch attacks.
There were more than twenty German naval aviation units besieging the battleship Ferdinand I, including a squadron of dive bombers and a squadron of torpedo attack aircraft. finally. The battleship "Ferdinand I" ate 5 aviation armor-piercing bombs and 5 torpedoes. The keel of the battleship was blown off, the entire battleship was broken into two parts, and it quickly sank into the sea. None of the thousands of Austro-Hungarian naval officers and soldiers on the battleship survived!
The 12 battleships of the Austro-Hungarian Navy became the main target of the German naval aviation. These warships sailed at high speed on the sea, constantly turning, trying to avoid attacks by German naval aviation. However, in the end their efforts were in vain.
Within 15 minutes from 6:13 to 6:28, the battleship Franz Joseph I, the flagship of the Austro-Hungarian Navy, was sunk. The battleship 'Ferdinand I' was sunk. Among the other six super battleships, the battleship 'Leopold VI' was sunk, the battleship 'Joseph I' was severely damaged, and the battleship 'Charles III' was sunk. sunk. The 'Josef II' was sunk and the 'Leopold VII' was severely damaged. Only the battleship 'Franz I' was luckier and only suffered minor injuries, and its combat effectiveness was not greatly affected.
In just fifteen minutes, the main force of the Austro-Hungarian Navy was destroyed. The German naval aviation only paid for 8 dive bombers shot down and 9 torpedo attacks.It was just the price for the plane and 4 Hurricane IV fighter jets being shot down! Moreover, so far, dozens of dive bombers and torpedo attack aircraft have not dropped bombs. The battleship "Franz I" and the four "United Forces" battleships that had escaped by chance undoubtedly became the targets of the German naval aviation. As for other cruisers and destroyers, they were completely ignored by the German naval aviation. After all, the huge hull of the battleship looks like a hill on the sea, which is particularly eye-catching!
The disastrous defeat of the Austro-Hungarian Navy was almost doomed. Although the Austro-Hungarian Empire is known as the third most powerful country in the world, the Austro-Hungarian Navy is also known as the third largest navy in the world. But compared with the navies of the first two countries, the gap between the Austro-Hungarian Empire's navy is too big! Moreover, both the Chinese Navy and the German Navy have regarded aircraft carriers and aviation as the main direction of development. The Austro-Hungarian Empire's navy was still dominated by battleships. Although in terms of the total tonnage of battleships, the total tonnage of the Austro-Hungarian Navy is already very high. But when faced with the overwhelming number of planes, it was still vulnerable!
The Austro-Hungarian Empire did not have the technology to build aircraft carriers. Although they had the intention to develop aircraft carriers and wanted to purchase aircraft carriers or import technology from China, they were declined by China. Aircraft carriers have replaced battleships and become a strategic deterrent force. China does not want this force to spread. The opponent Germany has already put a lot of pressure on China. If aircraft carrier technology spreads, China will face more enemies! As for Germany's aircraft carrier technology, although it lags behind China's. But based on the relationship between Austria-Hungary and Germany after the war, it was impossible for Germany to export aircraft carrier technology to Austria-Hungary! Therefore, although the Austro-Hungarian Navy ranks third in the world, there is no comparability with the navies of China and Germany!
In addition, the quality of the Austro-Hungarian naval officers was low. When faced with the attack launched by the German naval aviation, there was a lot of panic. The anti-aircraft firepower on the battleships was completely unable to be used, allowing the German naval aviation to take advantage of the loophole. The main force of the Austro-Hungarian Navy was wiped out at a small cost.
When the German naval aviation was preparing to redouble its efforts and sink all the battleships of the Austro-Hungarian Navy, the Chinese Air Force finally arrived. A brigade of F10 'Lightning' heavy fighter jets arrived on the battlefield from the west. The German Naval Air Force's Hurricane IV fighter jets immediately rushed to intercept. Although the combat capability of the F10 'Lightning' heavy fighter is not as powerful as the F11 'Vulture' fighter, it is thick-skinned and has powerful firepower. It pounces straight down from high altitudes and launches a fierce attack on the German naval aviation!
One after another, the German Naval Air Force's Hurricane IV fighters were hit and fell into the sea. The performance gap between the two sides' fighter jets is too big. Despite the great efforts of the German naval aviation, they are still powerless against a wing of the Chinese Air Force's 120 F10 "Lightning" heavy-duty fighter jets!
At this time, German Naval Aviation Rear Admiral Lucas ordered a retreat. Although they were not able to sink all the battleships of the Austro-Hungarian Navy, they were able to sink seven super battleships. They had successfully completed the task. If they continue to fight, they will pay a greater price under the attack of the Chinese Air Force. In this case, it will not be worth it.
The Chinese Air Force¡¯s F10 ¡®Lightning¡¯ heavy fighter jets launched a pursuit and shot down the German Naval Air Force¡¯s fighter jets one after another. To deal with German naval aviation aircraft, the tactics of the Chinese Air Force and Naval Aviation are very simple. The fighters climb to a high altitude, then dive down to launch an attack, then climb again, and then dive to launch an attack! Repeat this until the enemy fighter plane is shot down. In particular, the F10 "Lightning" heavy fighter has weak combat performance but good ceiling and climb performance, making it very suitable for this tactic.
Under the attack of the Chinese Air Force, the German naval aviation participating in this bombing operation was shot down more than 40 Hurricane IV fighters, more than 20 dive bombers and more than 10 torpedo attack aircraft, which was higher than the previous attack on the Austro-Hungarian Navy. The number of fighters lost during the attack was much higher!
After the German naval aviation fled in embarrassment, burning wreckage of warships were floating everywhere on the sea in the Bay of Astor. Some warships were sinking, while others were dragging their damaged hulls to the port. There are many corpses on the sea. These are officers and soldiers of the Austro-Hungarian Navy who died in the battle. This attack by the German naval aviation completely severely damaged the Austro-Hungarian Navy, and the main force was annihilated!