Among the group of high-speed torpedo boats currently in service in the German Navy, "Lightning" is like a petite assassin, with the skill of coming and going like the wind and sealing the throat with one sword, and "Thunder" is a powerful crossbowman, with a fatal continuous shooting skill, and has certain close combat capabilities.

In the northern waters of Flanders, a second wave of German high-speed torpedo boats composed of "Lightning" and "Thunder" launched a fierce attack on the British fast fleet. In order to cover the main cruiser fleet, a combat team composed of four British destroyers took the initiative to advance and severely damaged a large German torpedo boat led by rapid artillery fire. They were soon attacked by six "Lightning-14". This high-speed battleship was driven by a single man, equipped with no guns, and was only equipped with a 450mm torpedo tube, with a built-in G12 steam gas torpedo torpedo.

The two "lightning" in the front rushed towards the same British destroyer in a staggering manner, and their crews were all elite sergeants Flinz Herthis and Corporal Rimann Besler. The two did not serve for a long time, but they had outstanding performance in driving high-speed torpedo boats, and both had the opportunity to represent Friedrich's shipyard in the international water racing race. Herthis won the runner-up in the 1913 Venice Competition, and Besler also won a good ranking. The two also received non-commissioned training at the Danze Naval School and were able to enter the ranks of non-commissioned officers from ordinary sailors.

Looking forward from Herthis' cockpit, the British destroyer's flames flashed, and the slender side profile easily reminded people of pikes, but the pikes did not have such sharp teeth. A series of mechanical shells attacked, stirring up rows of splashes on the sea. These splashes extended rapidly and were about to hit his torpedo boat in a blink of an eye. Herthis subconsciously turned the steering wheel. This "Lightning-14" was like a championship row that was sprinting towards the trophy, making a perfect turn at the last turning point. One point was more, and one point was less, just avoiding the shells shot by the enemy ship.

The number of guns and cannons in front of these British destroyers has more than doubled compared to the conventional arrangements when the war broke out, but their main structure has been finalized in the design stage. It is easy to stuff guns and cannons into the upper layer of the deck, and it is difficult to maintain a coherent and smooth supply of ammunition during combat. If it is disturbed by enemy artillery fire, the ability to continue combat will be even more difficult to ensure.

Taking advantage of the interval between the opponent's machine gun shooting, Herthis and Besler chose a straight line assault. In a blink of an eye, the outline of the British destroyer appeared completely in their scope, and sufficient clarity also means that they are within the effective range of the torpedo.

Seeing the flash of machine gun shooting on the side of the British warship, two high-speed warship elites adjusted their courses agilely. The two ships "Lightning-14" quickly moved closer. At this time, they had already separated the front and back: Besler was more than 20 meters ahead, and Herthis followed closely. The longitudinal positions of the two "Lightning" were close to overlap, but they did not interlaced each other, but were very quickly shifted in reverse.

When the scope could no longer accommodate the complete outline of the British destroyer, Bessler took the lead in launching the torpedo.

Herthis's "lightning" did not fire the torpedo, but instead made an S-type maneuver. Seeing the British destroyer turning right to avoid Besler's torpedo, he shrewdly aimed at the British ship to launch the torpedo in front.

In this era, all torpedoes are direct torpedoes that cannot change their direction after being launched. After launching the torpedo, the primary task left for high-speed combat boat drivers is to evacuate safely. Therefore, Herthis and Besler's "Lightning-14" still twisted coquettishly until they re-entered the smoke screen. Before this, they heard the explosion from the sea behind. Looking back, a ball of rolling black smoke was rising above the British destroyer they were attacking together.

At this moment, it doesn't matter whose torpedo hit the target. The two gave each other a thumbs up through the hatch. However, the war is cruel, and not everyone who devotes himself to the battlefield can escape with the glory of victory like Herthis and Besler.

The losses of the high-speed warships that launched an attack on this British destroyer detachment were not bad. Only 5 of the 16 high-speed torpedo boats rushing towards the British fleet entered the torpedo range. In the end, only one large torpedo boat and eight high-speed warships survived. These lightning strike ships have become disposable consumables on the battlefield.

Even so, the third wave of the German Navy's torpedo boats arrived as scheduled.

On the sea, the British fleet gathered its formation again. After two rounds of torpedo attacks in the front, their ships and personnel were not seriously damaged, but the consumption of ammunition and energy was very unfavorable to the subsequent battle. Seeing another group of German torpedo boats approaching, British officers and soldiers could only grit their teeth and continue to fight. This time, the Germans sent a total of 1 large torpedo boat and 12 high-speed combat boats, which was only half of the forces of the previous two attacks. If the two groups of torpedo boats in the front attacks were smooth, they were here to detect leaks. However, at this point, the British rapid fleet still had the strength, and continuing the previous offensive tactics was tantamount to seeking death.

Out of their respective tasks and missions, the British fleet and the German torpedo boats faced each other, and another fierce and cruel battle was about to begin. However, not long after, the large German torpedo boats led the formation suddenly turned around, and the high-speed battle boats behind them also turned around and retreated. It seemed that they had received a retreat order from the command ship behind them. However, the group of German torpedo boats did not withdraw completely, but remained within the sight of the British fast fleet and closely monitored the other's actions.

The attack of high-speed warships was not good, and the torpedo attack aircraft of the Bismarck became the best choice for delaying the British fast fleet. However, for a long time since then, they did not appear in this sea area again. It was not because of the take-off and landing and loading, but because the German dreadnought group and the British main fleet were indistinguishable, and the torpedo attack aircraft then played the role of a surprise victory.

When the German support fleet was located, only 9 of the first wave of "Thunder" came back. The officers and soldiers of each ship were surprised. They learned that the British fleet had not suffered a catastrophic blow. The German officers and soldiers on the five high-speed torpedo boats were silently doing their work. They lifted the return high-speed torpedo boats from the sea, installed torpedoes and fuel, repaired the leaks urgently, and replaced the crew who were injured or unable to continue fighting for other reasons with reserve personnel.

On the command ship, the young Captain Christian August showed heavy emotions. The young man was also a "high-speed elite". He was the first "eliver" to join the high-speed torpedo boat test brigade. He participated in a total of 62 water racing events, won four times, and entered the top three 19 times. These honors alone were enough to beat most high-speed combat boat drivers of the German Navy, but he had never gained practical experience and had a royal identity as outstanding.

Nowadays, Christian is the chief of staff of the high-speed torpedo boat mothership team, and also serves as the chief instructor of the German high-speed torpedo boat school. Although he knew the battle situation in advance, he was still furious and excited when he saw the embarrassing scene of the high-speed torpedo boats returning home. He heard from the participating pilots that the British fleet had severely damaged the unfavorable German high-speed torpedo boat group with fierce shrapnel shooting, and he wanted to drive the boat himself to participate in the battle and use top driving skills to break the dense firepower array of the British fleet.

"Hmph! The enemy's shotgun was like sprinkling sand on the water, one after another. We avoided many attacks, but in the end we were still shot."

The Navy First Class was a "Thunder" pilot. He was sitting on the deck for treatment by a military officer. During the battle, his warship was punched by a shotgun. Fortunately, the shotgun, slightly smaller than his fist, penetrated the tempered glass cover and penetrated from the right side of the hull, causing only a slight leakage. He himself was cut by the fragments of the cockpit, and the back machine gunner did not even scratch. However, the young man was obviously shocked by this experience. After boarding the ship, he sat in the corner in a daze.

After hearing this, the officers and soldiers surrounded him shook their heads. Although the shrapnel was not fresh equipment, the torpedo boat group wanted to forcibly break through the defense of the British fleet in frontal battle, the shrapnel was a huge problem.

Christian kept standing on the bridge gangway and listened to the first-class private's speech. Although the content was not surprising, he heard something strange and walked down the gangway.

"So... the enemy ships fired quite a lot of shrapnel during the battle?"

The first lieutenant quickly stood up and saluted: "Sir!"

Christian asked without regard for etiquette: "According to your estimate, how many shrapnel shots have a British warship fired?"

Private First Class was obviously suddenly at this question. He tried to recall and answered: "Uh... if one gun was fired at least 15 rounds per minute, and a warship would probably be...120 rounds."

"They use the ship's side toward you most of the time to play the role of the main gun in the rear?" Christian asked again, and after receiving a positive answer, he nodded thoughtfully: "Even if half of the shells are shrapnel, one main gun has only about 40 rounds, and the two rounds of attacks have consumed most of them."

At this time, another corporal pilot who was resting next to him interjected: "When our plane was close to the British fleet to project torpedoes, the British warships also used shrapnel, but it was not that long, and they took about six or seven rounds together."

"Oh?" Christian immediately saw a car in front of him. Unless this British fast fleet was just here to fight hares, they would have to carry the corresponding number of armor-piercing shells, and the load capacity of the shrapnel should be within their estimated range.
Chapter completed!