When news of the unexpected appearance of the German landing fleet in the eastern waters of the English Channel, advancing towards the Wash, reached the British naval Rear Admiral Patterson, he was leading his squadron slowly and despondently off the east coast of Scotland, about 30 nautical miles from Cape Wrath. Although this squadron was not the backbone of the British fleet, it possessed the two most powerful and resilient battleships in the entire British Navy — the "Nelson" and "Rodney," each equipped with nine 16-inch (406mm) guns, known alongside Japan's two Nagato-class and America's three Colorado-class battleships as the "Big Seven," the seven battleships with the largest caliber guns!
In the era of massive ships and guns, commanding such battleships was probably the dream of most naval commanders. However, the rapid development of aviation technology meant that aircraft, once considered mere "tricks," now truly had the capability to challenge large ships. Just a few hours earlier, this British squadron had been forced to turn back under pressure from a group of German bombers. Twenty years ago, such a situation would have been unimaginable!
Patterson had the navigation officer calculate the distance, speed, and time, pondered for a moment, and then exclaimed, "I knew the German fleet wouldn't just randomly shell targets on the English coast; they must have a plot! A landing? Hmph! They've probably picked the wrong time! Order the fleet to turn south at 18 knots!"
Led by the "Nelson," followed closely by the "Rodney" and "Ramillies," with two light cruisers and six destroyers as escorts, the massive fleet took over a minute to complete the turn on the sea — the weakness of the two super-heavy battleships, without a doubt, lay in their speed and maneuverability! When they were first commissioned, the Nelson-class could reach a "top speed" of 23.5 knots in calm waters. After more than a decade of service, even with all their might, they struggled to reach 23 knots.
The aging Revenge-class battleships were even worse off, barely managing 20 knots. Consequently, some historians believed that the sinking of the "HMS Royal Oak" by a German submarine held more symbolic significance. After all, throughout the entire war, the Revenge-class battleships mainly undertook auxiliary tasks such as escort duty.
"Sir, the Rodney signals: the Germans' actions are very strange, and they suggest we take attacking action cautiously!" reported the communication officer aboard.
"Strange? Well, it is indeed strange! They clearly have the conditions to land near Southampton, yet they're just bluffing, almost luring our main fleet into the English Channel. This way, they believe they've gained valuable time and can carry out the landing near the Wash! Hmph! Such tactics are bold, but they may be overestimating their air force's strength — can they still threaten us at night?" Patterson said somewhat skeptically. "This Hamilton, always overly cautious!"
This Hamilton referred to Admiral Darlington Hamilton of the navy, not Ian Hamilton of the army, the current captain of the "Rodney," thoughtful and prudent in character.
The communication officer remained silent, and the executive officer, Fernant, approached quietly and said, "Although the aircraft may not be a threat, their fleet could enter the North Sea at any time. Wasn't it in the intelligence reports... that the Bismarck likely entered service last month? It's touted as the most elite modern battleship in all of Europe, with a displacement of nearly 50,000 tons!"
To this statement, Patterson responded somewhat wearily, "Even if it's big, it's only armed with 8 15-inch guns, a bunch of rookies. Should we just stand by as you suggest tonight?"
"It's not that, I'm just worried that since the Germans could come up with such a bold plan, there might be more schemes behind it! If...," Fernant paused, meeting Patterson's gaze, "if the Germans have laid mines or ambushed a large number of submarines along our route, we'll..."
Patterson's previously good mood finally cooled down, pacing back and forth in the command room with a stern face, like a trapped beast. Just last November, this battleship had been hit by a magnetic mine laid by the Germans, sustaining severe damage to the starboard side of the hull, damaging the davits, and injuring up to 73 crew members. It took four months in dry dock for repairs before rejoining the fleet just before the Norwegian campaign.
At this moment, Patterson must still vividly remember that experience. As for the German submarines, the "HMS Royal Oak" had already fully demonstrated the terrifying destructive power of torpedoes against battleships. Although the Nelson-class's waterline armor was thicker than that of typical British battleships, it was by no means invulnerable — if hit by torpedoes and its speed affected, it wouldn't be ideal to remain within the normal operating radius of the German Air Force after daybreak!
Under the anxious gaze of the officers, Patterson finally stopped pacing, and said to his executive officer, "Right! The Germans should know we can't send all our warships south; they're bound to protect their own landing fleet rigorously. This means they likely set up an ambush on our route south. We've been too careless just now! But... we can't do nothing, can we?"
"Of course, we can't do nothing, we just need to try to avoid the German ambush as much as possible!" Fernant said cautiously, so as not to damage the old captain's dignity.
"Yeah, avoid the German ambush, change course to another route!" Patterson hurried to the navigation chart, "Go around from the east? Hmm, our speed isn't enough!"
"Although the Ramillies has good firepower, our two battleships are enough to smash the German landing forces!" Fernant followed.
Patterson nodded, "Yeah! From the experience at White Island, the Germans have changed from aggressive cavalry to skilled miners, digging deep trenches on the landing field weakens the effect of our artillery! So, we must shell them as soon as they land!"
"From cavalry to miners? Haha, General, your analogy is brilliant!" Fernant praised with a smile, showing wisdom beyond his 38 years of age to serve as a deputy battleship captain, not only in terms of military qualities but also in handling interpersonal matters.
"Hmph, today we'll make them change from miners to rats again!" Patterson estimated in his mind, "Pass my orders, let the Ramillies, Romulus, and Royal Oak be responsible for support and assistance, the rest of the warships form a battle column, increase speed to 22 knots, and turn left 5 degrees together! Also, closely monitor any messages from headquarters and bring them immediately upon receipt!"
"Yes, sir!" the communication officer quickly relayed the order, leaving Patterson and his executive officer discussing the battle situation with anticipation by the navigation chart.
After that, almost every half-hour, the communication officer reported another urgent telegram from headquarters: the German fleet appeared again near the Wash, bombarding the British coastal defenses with naval guns; the German fleet dropped landing craft and small boats, attempting to transport landing troops to the shore, but were fiercely repelled by British artillery fire; subsequently, some German warships targeted and shelled the British artillery positions deep inland; the German
landing fleet attempted a second time to rush into the harbor with medium and small ships, but the British artillery on both flanks, undeterred by the German fleet's intimidation, counterattacked vigorously, sinking multiple German ships, but also suffering significant losses themselves...
Each telegram made the atmosphere in the warship's command room become more solemn and anxious, and these two emotions, which should not have appeared together, silently influenced the thinking of the British commanders. In the evening, Patterson once again ordered: the fleet to accelerate to a maximum of 23 knots and sent out seaplanes for the final reconnaissance before nightfall (although the Nelson-class apparently did not carry seaplanes, this weakness was compensated by accompanying light cruisers).
Shortly after the two "Walrus" planes left sight, the communication officer almost burst into the bridge command room: "Sir, headquarters sent an alert, radar detected a large number of German aircraft taking off from Norway and heading towards us!"
"A large number? How many approximately?" Patterson, with a cigarette in hand, asked calmly.
"I don't know, headquarters didn't say, should we send a report to inquire?" The communication officer asked somewhat hesitantly.
"Forget it. Maybe they're too far away to judge — if they knew, they wouldn't keep it to themselves! The Germans have spotted us; are they trying to force us to retreat again?" Patterson said, taking a drag from his cigarette, "Order the fleet to maintain course and prepare for anti-aircraft action!"
The Nelson-class, with a full displacement of 38,000 tons, was simply an arsenal of the big ship and big gun era. In addition to the formidable 16-inch main guns, it also had 12 6-inch (152mm) and 6 4.7-inch (120mm) secondary guns, all of which could be used for anti-aircraft purposes. Furthermore, with the outbreak of war, the ship's medium-range and close-range anti-aircraft firepower had also been exponentially increased: 16 40mm guns and 60 20mm guns made it a veritable hedgehog at sea!
Of course, the number of guns did not necessarily mean absolute air defense capability; in addition to normal radio communication equipment, the Nelson-class battleship was not equipped with radar. The command of all ship's guns still relied on traditional optical range finding and the control of the shooting commander. Moreover, due to the fact that all three triple turrets of the main guns were located on the forward deck, designers had to allocate most of the anti-aircraft firepower to the middle and aft sections of the battleship!
Ten minutes later, the German aircraft group flying from Norway appeared in sight, and the British headquarters finally provided new information: the attacking German aircraft numbered between 30 and 40. As the Royal Air Force had already deployed its limited forces for anti-landing operations, this British fleet had to rely on its own strength to resist the German air raid.
Patterson was well aware of the blind spots in his battleship's air defense firepower, so he dispatched the two anti-aircraft cruisers, "Dido" and "Six Maidens," to the front left positions of the two battleships, with accompanying destroyers assigned to both sides of the fleet.
The incoming German bombers split into two groups, one heading towards the British fleet and the other towards their rear. Seeing this scene, Patterson frowned: Were the Germans targeting the "Ramillies"?
His fleet was about to face a huge challenge from the German bomber group, especially when those twin-engine German bombers descended to low altitudes near the sea, Patterson had already anticipated that they would use torpedoes instead of traditional level bombing. The intensive gunfire from ships erupted, creating a dense black-gray barrage in the direction of the German bombers.
The advantage of large bombers carrying torpedoes for attacks was that they could attack targets further from the shore, often creating sudden attacks. The disadvantages were also evident: they had poor maneuverability, large size, and had to maintain low-level horizontal flight before launching torpedo attacks, increasing the probability of being hit by concentrated enemy fire during this stage.
Just a few minutes later, five German bombers were shot down by the concentrated anti-aircraft fire, and the remaining He-111 pilots, seeing they had entered torpedo attack range, dropped their torpedoes without hesitation, then quickly pulled up and returned, leaving trouble to the British.
The anti-aircraft fire continued to roar, but the attention of the British officers and men on board turned to the surface of the water. At this moment, the executive officer, Fernant, bravely took on the heavy responsibility, personally directing the "Nelson" in a clumsy posture to evade the torpedoes on the sea. Those white water trails looked distant, but the sheer number gave a feeling of unavoidable doom. The gunners on the ship's gun positions were overwhelmed, and although they managed to blast three or four torpedoes, more torpedoes came through the interception net at a rapid pace.
Every ship in the fleet was doing its utmost to evade torpedo attacks, but there were still those who chose to fulfill their duties between life and death. Two destroyers, sticking by the "Nelson" on the port side, bravely protected it. Seeing that the massive battleship could no longer evade one of the torpedoes' attacks, the destroyer "HMS Haw
ke" (H.84) on the forward side bravely rushed forward...
The last torpedo passed far beyond the stern of the ship, and Patterson and his officers finally breathed a sigh of relief, regaining their senses, drenched in sweat. Looking around, both battleships and three cruisers were unharmed, but the loss of the two destroyers was still deeply regrettable. Although there might be slightly more survivors on a ship attacked by aerial torpedoes compared to one hit by a submarine, watching the sinking sister ships and the bodies of the dead floating on the sea, the officers remained silent, one by one.
Just at the moment when everyone was in grief, the communication officer once again rushed into the bridge command room, "Ramillies... Ramillies... hit by two torpedoes, serious hull damage, very... dangerous!"
Upon hearing this news, Patterson remained silent, looking at the aftermath on the sea, he fell into a dilemma of thought. Advance or retreat, this simple choice suddenly became unprecedentedly difficult!