"The distance between the enemy ships is 11,200 yards, and the position is 31,100 yards, 22 minutes."

The distance measuring station at the top of the bridge of the "Ireland" is transmitted to the shooting command station at the lower part by the 3-meter baseline rangefinder. The officers compare the moving speed and direction of the target and use the "Drell" fire console to calculate the parameters of the next round of main gun shooting. This fire control system, which uses mechanical components to perform mathematical calculations, is more accurate and efficient than the manual calculations in the past, especially for long-distance artillery bombardment, but it is not perfect, and it is not as good as the radar fire control decades later. When the war broke out, except for the "Mr. Margaret" who experimentally installed the Polum fire control system, the other British main ships were basically equipped with "Drell", but they were defeated in the Jutland Naval Battle, which is very telling.

"The shooting position is 31 and 2, the elevation angle is 9 degrees and 15 minutes, and the shooting is ready."

After issuing the shooting command, when each turret reported the "place" command, the British naval artillery commander pressed the firing gate and the main guns of the ship opened fire uniformly.

At this moment, the British fast fleet is in a favorable position across the T-head, but it is still more than 10,000 meters away from the German fleet. The 6-inch guns of the British light cruiser and the 4-inch guns of the destroyer are not very threatening. The fleet's firepower output mainly relies on the super-dreadnought "Ireland" and the armored cruiser "Black Prince".

The T-shaped position was seized by the opponent, but the German reconnaissance fleet seemed calm at this time. The three battlecruisers were lined up in neat single columns. For a short period of time, because of the obstruction of "De Fringer", "Gobern" and "Blüchel" could not aim and fire at the "Ireland". When the target position moved, they could only launch artillery shelling in the previous main guns. The effect of watching the aiming and range was affected by the smoke discharged by "De Fringer", and the accuracy of artillery fire was inaccurate.

At first glance, the German fleet is in a very unfavorable tactical position, but it is actually an inevitable process of charging into battle. In the following time, every step forward will pose greater pressure and threat to the opponent. No matter how the British fleet adjusts, the chance of turning the situation is constantly getting smaller. The only difference is that it chooses to fight and retreat or to break the ball to the death.

At the same time, in the front of the right of the German fleet, the lightning-striking ships of both sides were in a fierce melee in the waters behind the left. The large German torpedo boats fired a round of torpedoes first, but the British destroyers were very agile in evasion, and none of them hit the target. The British destroyer immediately returned with color. They used the exquisite combat formation as the main fleet, and used fast, precise and fierce shooting to attack the large German torpedo boat group with rapid, accurate and fierce shooting. When the lightning-striking ships of both sides rushed to a distance of more than a thousand meters, the Germans fired the second round of torpedoes, and the British destroyers also shot the torpedoes in a tit-for-tat. Then, the ships of both sides held a explosive swing dance to avoid the other side's torpedoes.

Fifty or sixty torpedoes flew on the sea at the same time. This scene was already surprising enough. What was even more surprising was that there was no ship on both sides in the lightning. However, the firefighting between the British and German light ships was not a formality. The number of torpedo tubes of British destroyers was small. They were mainly naval gun fire and were good at cooperating. Two or three British destroyers quickly appeared on the sea. Several levels of large torpedo boats built by the Germans later greatly enhanced the configuration of naval guns, and the combat effectiveness of a single body was the same. The British destroyers designed and built during the period were not inferior, but the tactical thinking and daily training and exercises of the officers and soldiers still focused more on torpedo attacks. At a distance of nearly hand-to-hand combat, their artillery fire was not as fierce as the British ships, but they repeatedly tried to use torpedoes to deal with the opponent. After a few rounds, three large torpedo boats on the German side were severely damaged, and only one destroyer in the British Navy was seriously injured. However, at the height of the entire naval battle, the large German torpedo boat group successfully entangled the opponent, making it impossible for them to directly attack the German fleet and disrupted Hippel's tactical deployment.

When the large German torpedo boats could not stand and retreated voluntarily, these British destroyers were already exhausted. Next, they had to break through the medium- and short-range fire resistance of the German fleet and survive the baptism of shrunk bombardment before they could approach the German fleet and launch torpedoes.

During the period when the light ships of the two sides started a fierce confrontation, Hippel's battlecruiser advanced at high speed under the heavy artillery fire of the "Ireland". Their front main gun gradually adjusted from the muzzle forward to the left toward the oblique angle, and the elevation angle of the gun barrel slowly decreased, and the bounce point gathered again to the periphery of the "Ireland".

"Our shell hits... an explosion occurred at the stern of the enemy ship... It would be great if it could be numb!"

The person who said this was Hippel's chief of staff, the young Major Erich Redell, and the shells that hit "Ireland" came from the "Gobe". Krupp's cannon is famous for its high-quality, stability and reliability. The skc/09 type 50-diameter 11-inch naval gun used by the Moltke-class battle cruiser and the Helgolan-class dreadnought is also a classic work. It is loved by the German Emperor William II and once appointed it as the standard weapon of the German battleship. Because the British Navy began to equip 13-point 5-inch naval gun and developed 15-inch naval guns, it had to withdraw this command with a strong personal subjective color.

In the Age of Fearlessness, the bridge commander tower, turret, and waterline are the key protection parts of the main ships, and the stern of the ship is not within this range. There is indeed a situation that Redell said on the battlefield. The "Goben" shot to crippled the powerful "Ireland" with one shot, causing it to lose its normal maneuverability, and then let the German fleet slaughter. However, the chance of a 11-inch armor-piercing projectile piercing through layers of decks and falling into the power compartment is only theoretical. In addition to the uppermost deck armor, boiler compartment, engine compartment and even exhaust ducts are placed under the protection of heavy armor. Moreover, the more important countries that pay attention to the survivability of ships, the greater their efforts they invest in the protection of the main warships, the more they are in the forefront of the world in this regard.

Not long after Redell said that, the hull of the "Deflinger" appeared strong tremor, but the battle patrol was not directly hit by enemy artillery fire, but instead ate a near-launched bullet that landed near the port side. At this point, the "Deflinger" was full of fire and was covered with scars. There were only 4 main guns available, the number of casualties of the crew had already exceeded 100, and the hull was leaking. All the damage managers were dispatched, and they were trying to race against time. The result of this race was directly related to the fate of the officers and soldiers of the ship and even the naval battle.

Due to the continuous changes in the positions of both sides, the German fleet gradually obtained the angle of volleys, and the rear main guns of the three battle patrols turned from starboard to port. After some adjustment, the main guns of all ships seemed to be linked by the same axis, and the shooting posture was highly consistent. Although only half of the artillery "De Fringer" was available, the precise shooting of "Gobe" and "Blüchel" still gave the German fleet an advantage in attack efficiency. As the combat distance continued to shrink, the "Ireland", a large warship that originally had the opportunity to fight side by side with the German Navy, began to withstand unprecedented fierce attacks.

At the request of Ottoman Turkey, the "Ireland" retained the design style of the British main battleship adopting a unified sub-cannon, but the caliber of the secondary gun was increased from 4 inches to 6 inches. The 50-dial 6-inch naval gun manufactured by Vickers was not inferior to the Krupp naval gun of the same type. During the battle, the port side secondary gun of the "Ireland" hit the "Deferringer" many times. However, under the fierce attack of the other two German battle patrols, only one of the eight sub-cannons on the port side could still open fire.

Under the desperate attack of the "Ireland", the situation of "De Fringer" became worse and worse. It soon suffered another large-caliber armor-piercing shell, and the No. 2 main turret was damaged without any suspense. Although no ammunition exploded later, the German battle patrol with the highest performance was only available for the No. 4 main turret on the stern of the ship, and the double-equipped secondary turret on the port side was also completely damaged, and the combat firepower was not even as good as that of an old battleship.

Seeing that the "Deflinger" had only two main guns available, and more shells could not cause a fatal blow to it for a while, Betty finally ordered the "Ireland" to turn the muzzle to the next German battle patrol, and the "Gobon" that was ridiculous with four triple-mounted turrets. At this time, another German fleet was still approaching, but their main guns would still have to be at least ten minutes for the Ireland to truly threaten the "Ireland".

Within ten minutes, if the "Ireland" can severely damage "Gobon", it will become possible to achieve a reversal.

Including Betty, the officers and soldiers also had another expectation, that is, Jelico's main fleet could defeat the German main fleet, Hippel's reconnaissance fleet, which appeared here, which means that Jelico had to deal with only those German dreadnoughts.

The "Ireland" just fired a round of artillery fire on the "Goben", and the shells flying from the opposite side hit the main turret of the ship's stern. Although this German armor-piercing shell was dropped by the armored shell on the front of the turret, it caused the turret's steering machinery to malfunction. The huge turret could not rotate, which was equivalent to losing combat effectiveness. The No. 1 main gun on the bow of the "Ireland" had been destroyed in previous battles, and now only half of the main guns are available.

The more thrilling the critical moment of the battle, the performance of both sides became increasingly unpredictable. After a moment, the "Ireland" with only four main guns actually hit the "Gobon" with one gun, destroying one of its front main turrets. At this point, only the rear main guns remained available in the "Gobon".

The British officers and soldiers had no time to cheer. The weakest battle patrol of the German reconnaissance fleet, the USS Blüchel, fired a round of sharpshooting fire with a calm attitude, and 4 of the eight shells actually fired the USS Ireland. After a violent explosion, a raging fire broke out on the unit and rear deck of the British super-dreadnought, and the entire warship suddenly became quiet.

Half a minute later, the Blücher fired another round of scattered volleys, with 8 shells hitting 3 shots and 2 shots missing. This result is simply comparable to the 100-meter shooting of the previous-level rifleman!

"Blüchel" suddenly showed his power, and the "De Flinger" did not lose his style as a famous ship. Although it only had a pair of main guns to continue fighting, the shooting commanders' observation and calculations were not vague at all. Two 12-inch-caliber armor-piercing bombs hit "Ireland", one of which penetrated the 228mm thick side armor, the fuel compartment and the 76mm armor on the side top of the boiler compartment. The explosion immediately destroyed the four coal-fired boilers in the boiler compartment No. 1, and at the same time caused the left turbine to stop, causing the "Ireland" to turn left on its own.
Chapter completed!