Chapter 1112 Missiles in the Atlantic Ocean 25

"Sir, the enemy's battleships are firing at our ship!"

The air inside the Veneto battleship also solidified. The Americans actually bet on the right treasure and found the flagship of Major General Hufumeier right away!

This is not the era before the appearance of fire control radar. At that time, at a distance of 20,000 meters, and at night, even if there were seaplanes dropping flares, it was difficult for battleships to hit each other. Now with the help of fire control radar, at this distance, there are three or five rounds of salvos that can be cross-fired, and there will definitely be hits within ten rounds...

"What is the distance now?" Major General Hufumeier took a breath and asked loudly.

"27,300 meters!"

It is a little far away. In theory, it is difficult to penetrate the armor of the Soviet class. However, there is also intelligence that the Soviet class cut corners during the construction process, using surface hardened steel instead of high-strength carburized steel. If this information is true, then at 27.3 kilometers, the 381mm cannon of the Veneto class is enough to penetrate the main armor belt of the Soviet class.

"Fire!" Major General Hufumeier no longer waited, "Concentrate firepower and hit hard!"

"Yes!" The gunnery officer answered loudly, then picked up the phone and gave the order to fire.

Because of the emergence of the radar fire control system, ranging and aiming became very easy. Just before Major General Hufumeier gave the order to fire, the ranging work had been completed long ago. Now with the order to fire, the 18 381mm cannons on the bows of the three Veneto-class ships on the sea surface also began to roar at the same time!

"Boom!"

Amid the flashing of the cannon flames, more than a dozen water columns rose on the sea surface 27 kilometers away! Because the distance was far and the speed of the three Veneto-class ships when they fired was too fast, none of the 18 shells hit, but the landing point of the shells was not too far from the Ukraine.

The fire control radars on the three Veneto-class ships quickly captured the high water jets, and at the same time, the three Ar196 seaplanes that had already flown over the Ukraine also dropped flares, covering the Ukraine battleship in a white light.

As soon as Major General Hufumeier raised his telescope and wanted to take a closer look, a series of fire flashed in the eyepiece. This is the second round of salvos fired by the Ukraine!

When he thought of 9 powerful 406mm shells flying towards his head, even Hufumeier, who had participated in two world wars, couldn't help but take a breath.

The decisive battle between battleships is definitely the most nerve-testing thing for soldiers, especially since the cannons of both sides are sharp enough to destroy the armor of the other side's battleships!

If you must find a similar situation in the history of war, it can only be compared to the "line infantry shooting".

The shells fell dozens of meters behind the Veneto, which was much more accurate than the first round of salvos just now.

Obviously, cross-fire will soon appear.

As soon as he thought of this, the Veneto battleship trembled violently again, and then there was a loud noise and fire. The three Veneto-class battleships also fired a second round of salvos!

Now it depends on who can hit it first? I hope God can stand behind Germany! Rear Admiral Hufmeyer prayed to God in his heart.

"Crossfire!"

God didn't seem to hear Rear Admiral Hufmeyer's prayers. In just the third salvo, 406mm shells fell around the battleship Veneto.

"Damn it!" Hufmeyer cursed in his heart. After the crossfire, it was a hit!

"Avoid!" Hufmeyer ordered immediately.

He knew that it was only a matter of time before his battleship was hit, and the American battleship had no chance to escape. It would definitely be hit in three or four rounds. Now it depends on whether the Veneto can hold on?

So Hufmeyer decided to let his battleship use S-shaped evasion to delay time. Of course, the evasive action will affect the shooting accuracy of the Veneto, but the Vittorio and the Empire are also equipped with the most advanced radar fire control system, which can observe and aim by themselves.

"Sir, the target is evading..."

In the Ukraine, before the gunner's voice fell, more than a dozen water columns appeared around the battleship.

The Germans also fired a crossfire!

"Damn it!" Rear Admiral Chandler's forehead also broke out in cold sweat, but he had no choice but to evade, because he only had one battleship. If he ran an S-shaped route at sea, the main gun aiming would be affected. But he was not particularly worried, because the Soviet Union had a solid defense!

"Distance?"

"27,000 yards!"

Hearing the report of the navigator, Rear Admiral Chandler's heart beat sharply. At this distance, the Soviet-class waterline armor could hardly withstand the 381mm shells of the Veneto class.

But... the problem should not be big. Chandler knew that the thickest armor of the Soviet-class main gun ammunition depot and the command tower was more than 380mm, reaching 420mm and 425mm respectively. In addition, there are several armored partitions with a thickness of 180-365mm inside the hull!

The total tonnage of armor owned by this battleship is as high as 23,306 tons, which is said to be the heaviest in the world!

"Keep shooting!" Chandler decided to use the Ukraine's solid armor to fight for a way out.

The goddess of luck soon favored Chandler and his Ukraine. In just the sixth salvo, a 406mm shell fired by the main gun of the Ukraine hit the No. 2 turret at the bow of the battleship Veneto. At a distance of 27,000 yards (24.6 kilometers), the 380mm armor on the front of the Veneto-class main gun turret could barely reach the 406mm caliber light shell. However, the violent collision and explosion still caused huge damage to the turret. Nearly half of the gun crew members were killed on the spot, and the remaining personnel were bleeding from the mouth and nose and unconscious. One of the three 381mm gun barrels was broken by the explosion, leaving only a short section, and the other one was bent upwards and deformed.

This turret has lost the ability to continue fighting!

"Damn German gun..." It was found that the Veneto did not smoke much after being hit, and there was no big explosion, so it was known that the shell that hit did not cause fatal damage.

As a 406mm shell, it can't deal with the armor of the Veneto class at a distance of 27,000 yards. How can the Germans make such a bad cannon?

If it was replaced with the American MK7 cannon and MK8 armor-piercing heavy shells, the Veneto class would have been severely damaged! Why couldn't the US government export MK7 cannons to the Soviet Union back then?

Just when Rear Admiral Chandler was complaining about the US government and German arms in his heart, his battleship hit the Veneto again - the Soviet-class large ship light artillery layout can improve the accuracy of the hit!

This time the shell penetrated the deck of the bow of the Veneto, drilled into the sailor's cabin inside the bow and exploded, causing a small fire, which was still not a fatal injury.

Both hits did not cause serious damage to the opponent! Rear Admiral Chandler seemed to hear the goddess of luck speaking German! With shaking hands, he reached into his jacket pocket, took out a neat handkerchief and wiped the sweat on his forehead. Just as he was about to put the handkerchief back, the huge Ukrainian ship seemed to be hit by something, and the stern suddenly pushed to the right, and the people in the command tower suddenly fell to the ground.

Hit!

Rear Admiral Chandler, who was holding the handrail to stabilize his body, thought: It doesn't matter, the distance is still far, and the 381mm gun of the Veneto class will definitely not hurt the thick armor of the Ukrainian... Although the German cannons are not good, their armor steel is still good.

But the desperate bad news came soon!

"Sir, the stern was hit. The armor-piercing shell penetrated the armor belt outside the power compartment and exploded outside the boiler room, breaking an important steam pipe..."

"How is this possible!?" Major General Chandler shouted in disbelief, "The armor steel outside the power compartment is 375mm thick, and it is high-strength carburized steel forged with Krupp technology... Could it be that the Soviets used unqualified steel plates when building battleships?"

Major General Chandler has already guessed... This is probably a fake super battleship!

At around 2:20 am on September 7, 1944, when a 381mm shell fired by the battleship Vittorio penetrated the main armor on the port side of the battleship Ukraine again and exploded on the headquarters deck, Major General Chandler was loyal to recognize such a cruel reality-he was commanding a fake super battleship!

Not only are the nine 406mm main guns not worthy of their name, they are not much stronger than the 380mm cannons, and even the armored steel that is three or four hundred millimeters thick is fake, and was easily penetrated by the 381mm Italian guns!

If he can return to the United States alive this time, Rear Admiral Chandler will definitely have those seemingly thick armored steels taken to Bath Iron Works for research to see who is the fake and inferior steel?

At this moment, the huge hull of the Ukraine battleship shook violently again!

Ukraine was hit again!

In the command tower of the Veneto battleship, Rear Admiral Hufumeyer tightly grasped the telescope, staring at the huge battleship that was hit and on fire more than 23,000 meters away, and the excitement in his heart was hard to suppress.

He felt that he was favored by the goddess of victory, so he encountered a water-filled battleship on the battlefield!

"Boom!"

The battleship under Major General Hufumeier's feet trembled again because of the firing of three 381mm cannons. After the flash of cannon fire, a ball of fire first rose from the middle of the hull of the Ukraine 23,000 meters away, and then there was an even more violent explosion. With the help of the light of the flare, Hufumeier saw a large ball of white gas suddenly rushing out from the hole opened by the shell.

Major General Hufumeier, who had rich battlefield experience, knew that this was a boiler room of the enemy ship that was hit.