"Captain, the flagship sent a telegram, and the air team will arrive in a few minutes. Their task is to disrupt the formation of the opponent, and we will kill the enemy ships that are single!"
Dunnitz did not look back at the operator behind him, but kept his eyes tightly on the periscope. The roar of engines and the sound of propellers churning back to the water came from the surface of the water. Everyone on the submarine and the sailors All listening quietly.
"It seems that the big British guys are here! Where are our other submarines?" Dunnitz asked, as his U-039 was floating under the sea 3 nautical miles ahead of the left of the British fleet.
"Lieutenant Colonel Muller and the other submarines are 7 nautical miles ahead of the British fleet, and the British fleet will enter their attack range in a quarter of an hour! The High Seas Fleet led by Grand Marshal Tirpitz is 25 nautical miles ahead of the British fleet for 20 minutes. Then they met with the British fleet!" The navigator quickly calculated the result based on the content of the telegram.
"Well, let's give the British an aperitif first! 1/3 speed ahead! The bow torpedo is ready!"
The German sailors moved quickly, and soon they put their sea wolves into combat.
"Torpedo No. 1 is ready, mine No. 2 is ready, and the ship is confirmed!" Dunnitz stared intently at his target-the giant battleship "Hercules" at the front left of the British fleet.
"The ship has been determined! The nearest ship! The distance is 1000 yards and the launch angle is 80 degrees!" The weapon commander quickly calculated the attack data.
"Torpedo No. 1 is launched! Torpedo No. 2 is launched! Put away the periscope and the submarine dives to a depth of 15 meters. Turn left 15 degrees and move forward at full speed!" After seeing the torpedo out of the warehouse, Dunnitz snapped the periscope. Listen to the expected explosion with the others on the boat.
After dozens of seconds, there were two booming explosions on the surface of the sea.
"Oh!" The sailors and officers all high-five to celebrate.
"Advancing at 1/3 speed. The submarine rises to a depth of 5 meters!"
From the periscope, Dunnitz clearly saw a fire on the port side of the "Hercules", and its speed had obviously dropped. Only one small destroyer stayed beside it and turned around. Other warships have already started to take the "Zigzag" anti-submarine route, and he once again ordered the submarine to dive and start turning.
"Very good! Don't be too greedy, we will eat it today!"
U-039 quickly returned to the attack position just now, when the periscope rose again. Only the battleship Hercules was left on the sea just now, as well as the apparently lonely destroyer.
"Captain, the bow torpedo is ready!"
"Very well, count the shots!" Just as Dunnitz commanded U-039 to launch another attack, the British sailors on the destroyer found a periscope looming on the sea surface. The destroyer then fired its cannon on this side, and the shells continued. Landed near the submarine.
"Damn! Put away the periscope! Dive urgently!" Dunnitz ordered depressedly, as long as he didn't get close to the water. The British have nothing to do with themselves.
"The submarine dives to a depth of 30 meters, the heading remains the same, keep going!"
"Captain?" The sailor looked at Dunnitz in a puzzled manner, when the submarine was facing the British battleship.
"Execute the order! We have to talk from under that battleship and attack it from the other side! I hope our periscope will not touch its bottom!" 30 meters is already the maximum depth that U-039 can reach. The boat is 5 meters high, the shortest periscope is 3 meters, and the battleship is about 10 meters below the waterline. As long as there is no accident, U-039 can pass under it.
"Away at 1/3 speed, everyone try not to make noise!" It was also the first time that Dunnitz commanded a submarine to do such a technical action, and he couldn't help but feel a little nervous.
Everyone stayed quietly in their battle positions. Some people even held cups and affixed them to the bulkhead to listen. There was only a slight but rapid rotation of a propeller above their heads. It seemed that the battleship "Hercules" had already It stopped completely.
Time was flowing minute by minute, and beads of sweat slipped from the faces of the sailors. Everyone was worried that the sound of a submarine colliding with the bottom of the enemy battleship would be heard in the next second. Dunnitz stared at the watch closely and calculated the distance. Five minutes later, he ordered U-039 to float again.
Through the periscope, Dunnitz saw that the battleship was just 500 meters behind the submarine, and the destroyer was still on the other side.
"The stern torpedo is ready to be launched. After launch, the submarine strives to complete the steering in the fastest time!"
Following his order, the torpedo operator at the stern of the boat could not wait to unscrew the launch valve. The torpedo snorted out. As the submarine was turning rapidly, Dunnitz turned the periscope in the opposite direction, keeping his sight on that boat. On a battleship with a standard displacement of 20,225 tons. The battleship that lost its power was the best target for torpedoes. Soon a water column appeared on the right side of the Hercules, and the British officers and soldiers on the ship began to run around. Some people rushed to their gun positions, and more people began to put down their lifeboats.
When the British destroyer appeared at the stern of the Hercules, U-039 also completed its turn.
"Torpedo No. 1 is launched! Torpedo No. 2 is launched! The submarine is advancing at full speed and diving quickly!" Dunnitz had no need to observe the sea at this time. The British battleship with a standard displacement of 20,225 tons, completed in August 1911, had already written. On his book of honor.
At 5:45 pm on September 2, British naval officers and soldiers announced the abandonment of the ship. The Hercules began to sink slowly to the bottom of the sea. Historians say that this moment marked the official start of the Battle of the North Sea between Britain and Germany in 1914.
At this time, the British fleet, which had been attacked by a large number of submarines and planes, was in chaos, and even a light cruiser slammed into a battleship. All the warships left their original formations as much as possible to avoid torpedo attacks, and the commander of the British fleet, Admiral Gerrid, was at a loss. After 15 minutes. His watchman sent a wailing that almost stopped his heart-a large number of German battleships were found ahead.
"God!" Jellied sat slumped on the ground, his warships have been scattered to all corners of this sea area, let alone offense, even a decent defense cannot be organized.
At 5:50, the "Frederick the Great" boarded. Tirpitz stared at the chart on the table, and several staff officers were calculating the position of the ground based on the calculation, and constantly marking the position of the fleet. The rangefinder kept reporting the distance to the British fleet. At this time, the British fleet has been divided into three unconnected teams. The closest to the high seas fleet are the five Intrepid-class battleships. They are the Giant Giant, the St. Vincent St. Vincent, the Bellerophon, the Bellerophon, Le Lophon-class gorgeous, Orion-class imperial, the main force of the German high seas fleet divided into two diagonal columns to outflank the sides of these warships.
"15,000 yards!" Tirpitz looked up at the British battleship that became clearer and clearer. An order to fire was given: "Target the British fleet, all shoot!"
The German fleet's artillery fired the first batch of shells. The shells had not yet fallen. I saw the muzzle of a British warship in the distance. A large cloud of smoke mixed with orange flares sprayed out, and the British also opened fire.
The first batch of shells from the German warships hit the British warships. But the first batch of British shells bypassed the German battleship column and landed on the sea in the distance. German heavy surface warships have adopted a new uniform azimuth firing command system for the entire ship. When all the artillery fires, the impact points are small, and the shooting effect is obviously better than that of the British battleship.
Tirpitz stood on the bridge and looked at the entire battlefield. A dozen other British battleships were entangled in landed aircraft and submarines more than a dozen nautical miles to the northeast, unable to escape. The five British warships are at a disadvantage in terms of firepower and tonnage.
The guns of both sides were still firing volleys. The five British warships were in chaos due to being flanked by two sides. At this time, they were almost fighting on their own. A row of shells hit the high water column on the side of the "Frederick the Great". Through the smoke that dissipated, Tirpitz discovered that the British battleship was the "St. Vincent" launched in 1901. He immediately ordered: "Send the signal, let the Caesar, King Albert and Cedri Concentrate on the firepower of the Ci, and hit the Saint Vincent first!"
3 The mighty German warship concentrated all its firepower on the head of the "St. Vincent". With a bang, an artillery shell hit its foredeck, and the bow of the "St. Vincent" sank down. , A secondary gun turret flew up into the sky. Within a few minutes, the "Saint Vincent" was shot in succession, and the huge warship was bumped under the impact of heavy artillery shells. Then, a fatal blow came.
The central turret of the "St. Vincent" is a large turret equipped with two 12-inch main guns. The turret is tightly protected by steel armor with a thickness of more than 11 cm. In the small space inside the turret, dozens of British gunners kept on Busy. The heat of the propellant burning turned the turret into a large furnace. Although the smoke exhaust fan on the turret kept rotating, the inside of the turret was still too hot. The observer's entire body was leaning on the observation window to distinguish the impact point, thinking about other things from time to time. The gunners issued a revised order. Another shell was loaded into the barrel, and a gunner grabbed the match string and waited for the launch command. At this time, a shell from the "King Albert" landed exactly on the top of the turret, and the half-ton shell penetrated the inside of 11. The armor of the turret fell into the interior of the turret. There was a loud noise, and shrapnel in the turret flew horizontally. Under the strong air wave and violent vibration, all the living things in the turret instantly lost consciousness. A few seconds later, a python-like tongue of fire had burned near the opening of the ammunition bay, and the steel channel glowed a terrible dark red. Soon, the flames burned through the passage to the ammunition compartment below the deck, and a terrible explosion sent the entire battleship and all its members into another world.
The sailors on the British battleship "Magnificent" have not recovered from the huge flames and impacts of the "St. Vincent" explosion. Several shots from the German battleship "Helgoland" hit their warship, shaking violently. Almost all the British sailors fell on the deck. Several huge verbal words appeared near the waterline of the "Magnificent". Hundreds of tons of seawater rushed into the cabin frantically. The battleship suddenly stalled and then left the battlefield. Three minutes later, two other German battleships "Thuringia" and "Caesar" used two salvos at a distance of 10,000 yards to send the standard well-drained 18,800-ton battleship to the bottom of the sea.
The "Frederick the Great" and the "Katherine" aimed their muzzles at the 22,200-ton standard battleship "Imperial", and hit the "Imperial" in turn with beautiful clip-on shots. Two German armor-piercing projectiles penetrated the armor of its front main gun and exploded in the turret, igniting the propellant in the turret, the fire spread, and a large cloud of black smoke rose higher and higher from the turret's breach. After 30 seconds, the fire reached the ammunition bay. Then came the big explosion of the landslide. Thousands of tons of turrets were thrown into the air at an altitude of 60 meters like a toy. The Imperial ship shook suddenly and immediately turned to the right and fell into the water. Following a huge vortex, the huge hull was swallowed by sea water. Of the 752 crew members on board, 745 were killed along with the ship. British Navy Second Lieutenant Hans was one of the lucky few who survived when the battleship exploded. The powerful air wave threw him directly into the sea, which was very lucky for him, because then there was a lifebuoy at his hand. Within a few seconds, the battleship tilted 30 degrees to the right, and sporadic explosions occurred from time to time, totaling less than 20 seconds. The battleship was submerged in the water. There are several sailors around Hans, but they are all drawn to the bottom of the sea by the vortex of the sunken ship.
The British battleship "Giant" is in confrontation with the German Caesar-class "Regent Louise Polder". Originally at a disadvantage, with the addition of another German battleship "Oster Freeland", the battle has completely lost suspense. The "Giant" was completely unable to parry under the cross-fire of the two German battleships. A shell hit the central turret of the Giant. The artillery suddenly failed. Three minutes later, the "Oster Freeland" hit the Giant again with a salvo. The shells penetrated the thick armor and went all the way to the bottom, exploding and destroying the thick keel. The standard displacement was 20,225 tons. The Giant split into two and quickly sank into the sea.
The battle reached white-hot as the British warship sank. The artillery shells fell into the water and caused a jet of water to the sky. The fire on the injured ship burned and reflected half of the sky. Soldiers struggling in the water floated on the surface of the sea, floating everywhere. Dead fish, bloody corpses, the scene is terrible.
So far, Tirpitz is very satisfied with his fleet. Five British warships have sunk 4 and 1 wounded. No warship on his side has been seriously injured. After that, the "Thuringia" and "Sedritz" The number was hit by a few shells, but the problem was not big. The remaining 10 British dreadnoughts became the last stone in his heart, especially the battle squad where the British flagship is still 6 nearly intact battleships. At this time, they are twisting their awkward bodies and avoiding Germany again and again. In the attack of the aircraft, four battleships and several destroyers of another combat team entered the center of the submarine ambush circle, and now they are full of smoke.
"Jelid, now it's your turn!" Tirpitz quietly stared at the British warship with the flagship signal flag in the distance. The St. George naval flag destroyed almost every dream of his. Today, he finally wants one. Sweeping the depression in his heart, he ordered his 16 dreadnoughts and 3 battlecruisers to form 3 columns, consisting of Nassau, Rhineland, Posen, Caesar, Catherine and Alden The Fort formed a right-wing column to deal with the four British battleships that had fallen into a submarine ambush, while other battleships from the left-wing column and the center column attacked the battleship squad where the British flagship "George V" was located.
The German fleet began to think about the northeast. They easily swept through 2 British light cruisers and 1 destroyer within range, and went straight to Admiral Gerrid and his flagship "George V".
"The British warship wants to escape!" The roar of the German sailors came from the watchtower. Tirpitz raised the telescope, and the "George V" with the five battleships beside it began to turn around. It seemed that Admiral Jellied was about to retreat.
The German High Seas Fleet's flagship "Frederick the Great" issued a signal: "Battlecruisers plug in at high speed to intercept!"
Tirpitz knew very well that at this time the torpedo planes and bombers had returned home, and the British warships were also outside the submarine ambush circle, and the second wave of planes would arrive an hour later. If they were not intercepted in time, Gerrid might Will slip away from him. At this time, all three vigorous ship shadows filed out from the fleet, swiftly sailing through the waves to the turning British battleships. They are the speed gods of the German navy: the battlecruisers "Sedritz" and "Maoqi". And the "Von de Tann".
Tirpitz prayed silently in his heart: Whether the British fleet can be wiped out depends on you!
The British Admiral Gerrid sat in the control tower of the "George V" in a daze. The King of England trusted him to command the most powerful British fleet in the world, and now only this pitiful remains. Of the six warships, the humiliation suffered by the empire in the past two days is something that no one would dream of. In Gerid's dictionary, there was never the word escape. Although occasionally the British Empire's navy would retreat, it was only temporary. There has never been a time when a soldier flees like a dog who is a bereavement. The British Empire's navy has never left his comrades and partners behind, but today he has left behind several struggling British warships dozens of nautical miles behind him.
"General, there are three German battlecruisers and a group of destroyers behind us. They are coming at high speed and will soon be in our range!"
"Use the stern main gun to drive them away! The fleet retreats northward at full speed!" Jellied had no intention of fighting at this time. He only wanted to reserve some hope for the British navy. Moreover, the British Dreadnought-class battleships are fast and firepower For the design concept, those clumsy German battleships cannot catch up with themselves as long as they escape the pursuit of German battlecruisers.
"Yes, General!"
After the adjutant left, Jellied was worried about where his broken fleet was going to flee. The Port of Inverness in the Gulf of Moray was too close here. German planes could come there at any time. He felt that at least he needed to go to northwest Scotland. Rodel of the Ministry is considered safe.
Soon after, the two double-armed 45-diameter 13.5-inch main guns at the rear of the "George V" began to roar ...