Chapter 737: Fight, Navy (Part 2)

"Boom!"

As a ball of fire rose from the midship of the USS Alabama, the night battle in the ice sea immediately entered its climax. The battleship with a full load displacement of more than 45,000 tons was kicked in the ass, and the stern shifted several meters to the left.

The main armor belt with a thickness of nearly 300mm (the thickest part reached 310mm) was like a thin wooden board, and was instantly penetrated by a French shell flying from 23,000 meters away.

The credit goes to the 380mm/L45M1935 gun of the French battleship Jean Bart. The armor-piercing shell fired by this gun weighs 884 kilograms and can easily penetrate the 365mm thick carburized surface hardened alloy steel 23,000 meters away. The armor of the USS Alabama could not resist it at all!

The fire immediately burned in the cabin in the midship of the USS Alabama. The shells did not penetrate into the critical cabins, but exploded in cabins such as the captain's room and the commander's cabin (there are flagship facilities on the Alabama), and ignited many decoration materials.

Such damage is not fatal to the Alabama, but it is a bad sign - it has been targeted by 16 French cannons and 6 German cannons! However, the opponent of this American battleship is not doing well now. It has fought back alone for several rounds before, choosing the Tirpitz battleship, which is suspected to be the flagship, as its target, and just fired a straddle shot.

Now the six battleships of the 1st Squadron of the Allied Combined Fleet have all aimed their main guns at the Tirpitz based on the observation results of the Alabama! 54 406mm cannons are tilting shells crazily, and it is only a matter of time before they hit.

The question now is whether the Tirpitz is more durable or the Alabama is more durable?

"Hit it, sir, we hit a King George V-class ship!" At 11 o'clock in the evening, the gunner on the Hindenburg shouted excitedly. The deck of the Duke of York, which was being hit by two Hindenburg-class ships, was covered with fire and smoke, and its speed was obviously slowed down.

Admiral Lütjens laughed triumphantly, knowing that the King George V-class ship was finished. The reduced speed and the burning would turn it into a target for V3 missiles!

"Send power to the 3rd Squadron, launch V3 at this burning King George V-class ship, all 6 missiles!"

Just as Admiral Lütjens gave the order, British Vice Admiral Phillips, commander of the 2nd Squadron of the Allied Combined Fleet, on the damaged and slowed Duke of York battleship, also smelled the smell of danger.

"Where is the enemy fleet rushing towards us?" he asked loudly.

"It's almost 24,000 yards!" The chief of staff of the squadron answered loudly.

"Change the target of the bombardment, direct all firepower at the enemy fleet approaching us quickly, and attack its No. 6 and No. 7 ships... Duke of York and Anson attack No. 6, Howe and two Soviet battlecruisers attack No. 7!"

It turned out that Vice Admiral Phillips had already noticed this enemy fleet approaching him quickly. German remote-controlled guided missiles and remote-controlled glide bombs have long been the source of fear in the hearts of every Royal Navy officer.

The King George V class in Vice Admiral Phillips's hands is a very solid battleship, with the thickest side waterline armor reaching 15 inches (381mm), even the Hindenburg class 406mm cannon can withstand it for a while. But if you encounter a V3 missile weighing more than 2 tons, it might be "hit in one shot".

So after the radar detected the rapidly approaching 3rd Squadron of the European Combined Fleet, Phillips immediately ordered the escorting light cruiser to approach and fire flares. It was discovered that the No. 6 and No. 7 ships in this 7-ship formation were likely to be the so-called "missile cruisers".

At a distance of 23,000 yards, 36 14-inch (356mm) guns and 12 380mm guns on the three King George V-class and two Kronstadt-class ships were all aimed at the two P-class ships.

At the same time, the 3rd Squadron of the European Combined Fleet, the Blücher (heavy cruiser), the Gneisenau, the two Dunkerque-class and the three P-class ships aimed all their main guns, 1 cannon and 18 280mm guns) at the Soviet battlecruiser Kronstadt. A fierce artillery battle immediately broke out between the three large fleets!

Because it takes time to re-aim and correct the trajectory, the Duke of York was the one that was hit in succession at the beginning of this two-on-one artillery battle. The two Hindenburg-class ships are standard large ships carrying small guns, so the accuracy of the artillery fire is guaranteed.

So the 406mm shells hit the target again and again, and the Duke of York was like a lit firecracker, with fire spots flashing all over the body. In the blink of an eye, the fire was burning everywhere on this sturdy battleship.

Just as Vice Admiral Phillips was holding the armrest tightly and gritting his teeth, the four Italian Veneto-class battleships also fired a cross-fire (the targets were Anson and Howe respectively), and it was only a matter of time before the two King George V-class battleships were hit.

As long as these two King George Vs were severely damaged by the Italian Ansardo "powder cannon" (the Italian 381mm L50M1934 gun was the most powerful among the 380mm guns of this class), then the 2nd Squadron of the Allied Combined Fleet would be crippled!

…

While the three British King George V-class battleships were in a tough fight, the German Tirpitz also tasted the taste of bullets raining down. Six of the most powerful battleships of the United States and the Soviet Union used 54 406mm cannons to tilt shells towards it.

At 11:05, a 406mm heavy shell fired by the battleship Massachusetts penetrated the thin bow armor of the Tirpitz and exploded in the sailor's rest cabin. Although this shell did not cause any serious damage to the Tirpitz, it provided an important coordinate. As the impact point was captured by the fire control on the Massachusetts, the six powerful battleships of the Allied Combined Fleet completed the ship gun calibration!

At 11:08, the battleship Tirpitz was hit again, and three of the 54 406mm armor-piercing shells hit its deck.

In an instant, the A turret at the bow seemed to be blown away. The armor-piercing shell weighing 1.225 tons penetrated the 360mm thick turret armor from the front. The explosion occurred inside the turret. The huge power not only killed all the members of the gun crew, but also blew away the huge turret. The Tirpitz immediately lost a quarter of its firepower!

The other two 406mm shells that hit the Tirpitz also caused considerable damage. One of them penetrated the main armor belt on the side and exploded between the dome armor and the main armor. Although it did not penetrate the dome armor, the huge vibration cracked a steam pipe, causing the Tirpitz to lose a quarter of its power instantly. The speed of the battleship dropped to 20 knots.

Another 406mm shell hit the speedboat deck of the Tirpitz, not only blowing several speedboats into pieces, but also igniting something unknown, causing a fire.

At almost the same time when the Tirpitz was hit, the American battleship Massachusetts was also hit by a 380mm shell fired by the Bismarck. The Massachusetts' 310mm side armor belt also failed to withstand the German 380mm caliber high-speed light shells. The shell broke through the armor plate and exploded outside a boiler room of the Massachusetts. Although the result was not fatal, it also damaged several pipes and caused a fire. The speed of the Massachusetts also dropped sharply to about 15 knots.

Seeing the Massachusetts suddenly slow down and emitting flames, Rear Admiral Lindemann, who commanded the 2nd Squadron of the European Combined Fleet, had a flash of inspiration and came up with a way to save the Tirpitz.

He ordered the Prince Eugen, Barbarossa and Schlieffen in the formation to stop firing immediately and began to attack the Massachusetts-as if they were preparing to approach and launch a V3 missile!

This change really frightened Admiral Ingersoll on the Soviet Union. He quickly ordered all battleships to aim their guns at the Barbarossa and the Schlieffen, and also ordered several light cruisers and destroyers escorting nearby to rush up and fire torpedoes at the Prinz Eugen.

This order saved the Tirpitz from the bombardment of 54 406mm guns, but in the last round of salvos before these guns turned their guns, two more 406mm shells hit. One of them cut off the B turret of the Tirpitz, causing the battleship to lose half of its firepower. And another 406mm shell penetrated the stern of the Tirpitz, also causing a fire.

Now this giant battleship with a full load displacement of up to 52,900 tons can only hang up the flag of "Our ship is severely damaged and withdraw from the team" and run away.

At this time, the devastating disaster began to befall the 2nd Squadron of the Allied Combined Fleet.

Before the three King George V-class battleships and two Kronstadt-class battlecruisers hit the two P-class missile cruisers, six powerful V3 missiles had been launched.

In the darkness, only six light spots (the tail lights of the V3 missiles) were seen flying at a very fast speed towards the burning battleship Duke of York!

Although the anti-aircraft guns on the Duke of York fired desperately to block it, only one of them was shot down, and three of the remaining five V3s successively hit the 36,000-ton British battleship, which was famous for its strong defense capabilities...

After three huge explosions, the hull of this 36,000-ton giant ship broke into two parts from the stern. Only three minutes later, nearly 1,900 officers and soldiers on the ship - including a Soviet Red Navy political cadre who was temporarily on board and the squadron commander Lieutenant General Phillips, all disappeared in the cold Atlantic Ocean, and no one survived!

The night battle in the ice sea reached its climax!