The biggest flaw of the British now is that their fleet is too dispersed due to patrols. This results in each other being unable to rescue each other in case of danger.

The two escorting destroyers were sunk one after another, and the Glory at this time had become a turtle in the urn.

"Boom, boom, boom..." Nine minutes later, the Glory, which was waiting for death, finally took its last breath. It exploded amidst the roar of German battleship gunfire and slowly sank to the bottom of the sea.

The battle was finally over! All the Germans breathed a sigh of relief. They did not expect that just three British warships would cause such heavy losses to themselves.

A torpedo launched by the Zeal hit the III-IV cabin connection just below the C turret of the "Scharnhorst". The 360-kilogram high-explosive gun ripped open a 14-meter-long and 6-meter-wide hole on the hull.

Big mouth.

The thin anti-torpedo compartment was useless, the inner watertight longitudinal partition was blown down, and a large amount of seawater poured into the ammunition depot of C turret, the ammunition depot of No. IV secondary turret and the No. 1 and No. 3 engine rooms.

The German engine soldiers picked up the listening stick and pressed it closely to the engine casing, hoping that the engine would survive the explosion. But unfortunately, what they heard was increasingly louder mechanical noise coming from inside the casing.

In order to prevent the two turbines from being completely scrapped, Chief Engineer Lieberhardt had to order the malfunctioning starboard and center turbines to be shut down. Since it was impossible to drain the oil and water in the water-filled compartments, the Germans gave up repairs during the voyage.

The idea of ​​a turbine.

Scharnhorst could only rely on the port propeller for propulsion, and its speed finally dropped to 20 knots. The 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 starboard cabins took in a total of about 2,500 tons of water, and the draft at the stern increased by 3 meters compared with the bow. The damage was

The management personnel pumped fuel to the starboard side into the port side oil tank, reducing the list to 1 degree to starboard.

The unlucky Scharnhorst was even hit by a 120 mm shell from the Zealot on the right side of the gun barrel of the B turret. This was considered Germany's biggest loss.

During the entire battle, the German battleship consumed more than 300 rounds of artillery shells. At the same time, the aircraft carrier dropped fifteen "Mace" heavy rocket-propelled bombs.

These are three British battleships! Admiral Guntherütjens, commander of the First Air Fleet of the German Navy, pinched his lambskin gloves and was pounding in his heart. Can we win this battle...

After the three British warships sank, about 900 people climbed into the lifeboats. But the Germans had no time to pay attention to them now, because a British heavy cruiser had already arrived sixty nautical miles away.

Their current mission is to sink this heavy cruiser, and then continue to swallow up the approaching British fleets one by one. Once these British fleets gather together, Lütjens has no confidence in dealing with them.

The British have eight aircraft carriers, as well as more than ten battleships, and a large number of light and heavy cruisers. Against such a fleet, the German Navy, which only has two aircraft carriers and less than eight battleships, has basically no chance of winning.

"Full speed forward! Fast!!" Colonel Cassent, the captain of the Devonshire, roared with blood-red eyes. He knew what would happen if the Glory, escorted by only two cruisers, encountered the main fleet of the German Navy.

.

Three to five battleships, more than ten cruisers and at least one aircraft carrier. With this kind of strength comparison, Colonel Cassente could not see the Glory and the others' chances of winning.

Hold on! As long as we can hold on until we reach the battlefield, we will be able to hold the Germans back. When our main battleships arrive, the only fate waiting for the Germans is total annihilation!

"Captain! Ark Royal sent a telegram, and they asked us to rush over immediately. They are still a hundred nautical miles away from the sea area where the battle will begin. As long as we hold on, they will rush over as soon as possible..."

"Got it! Let them speed up!" Before the adjutant could say anything, he was rudely interrupted by Colonel Carson. In Colonel Carson's view, Ark Royal was talking nonsense.

Aren't they rushing to the battlefield?! But their speed must be accelerated. Otherwise, they will definitely be buried in that sea area together with the Glory.

"Report! We found several aircraft flying towards our ship! Repeat, we found several aircraft flying towards our ship!!" Ensign Rodney was excited on the foremast lookout platform on the Devonshire.

Yelling into the phone.

"Everyone enter the combat position! Telegraph the news to Ark Royal that there is a plane here!" The news was quickly passed to Colonel Carson. After receiving the news, Colonel Carson ordered but his face was uncertain.

Is this a German reconnaissance aircraft, or have they sunk the attack aircraft sent by the Glorious? We still don’t know the situation. If it is the former, it’s okay. If the Glorious has been sunk, then our German ship

If you go to the county number, you are looking for death.

The siren sounded shrilly, and the sailors on the Devonshire hurried to their combat posts. Since the Prince of Wales was sunk by the Japanese in the Pacific, the United Kingdom has strengthened its naval air defense.

training.

At the same time, a large number of anti-aircraft guns and anti-aircraft machine guns were also mounted on the warships. They hoped that this would strengthen the air defense capabilities of the warships. Of course, they also knew that the best air defense capability was to have fighter jets.

Therefore, the construction and leasing of aircraft carriers has been put on the agenda. Now the United Kingdom is working hard to obtain the lease rights of two to three aircraft carriers from the United States, so that the United Kingdom can form an overwhelming advantage over the German Navy.

Although the British Navy is already very strong, in the opinion of the British cabinet it should be further strengthened. Only in this way can Germany stop its coveting of the British Isles.

"Buzz buzz..." After the German planes continued to approach, the British finally saw the full picture of these planes. And seeing these planes, Colonel Carson's pupils shrank sharply!

"Damn! It's a bomber!!" Colonel Carson punched the dashboard and roared. The appearance of a bomber meant that the Glorious and other battleships had probably been sunk.

Or in other words, the Devonshire will most likely face an all-out attack by the entire German navy. Thinking that it is likely to face an attack by more than a dozen light and heavy cruisers, several battleships and at least one aircraft carrier, Colonel Cassent

I feel like my legs are weak.

"Boom boom..." Finally, after the German planes gradually approached, the anti-aircraft firepower on the Devonshire began to fire in full force. The anti-aircraft guns and anti-aircraft machine guns began to roar continuously, trying to stop these German bombers.

But obviously, the pilots of these JU-88s are also veterans. They skillfully avoid the barrages and lead the anti-aircraft firepower to follow their tails.

After circling for a while, suddenly a JU-88 suddenly pulled up! Then the Devonshire dived down with a roar. At this time, the anti-aircraft firepower on the Devonshire was chasing the other German fighter planes. It was basically

He didn't notice the German bomber that suddenly pulled up.

By the time they reacted, it was already too late.

"Boom~Boom!!" A "Mace" type heavy rocket-propelled bomb suddenly hit the Devonshire from a thousand meters away, but it seemed that the bomb was a little off. The "Mace" type hit hard on the Devonshire.

The sea next to the Devonshire set off huge waves amidst the loud explosion.

The Devonshire was even shaken by the huge shock wave caused by the explosion. While shaking, Colonel Cassent grabbed a handle and shouted: "Steady! Steady!! Watch out for other bombers!!"

Obviously, his order was a little late. After the attack on the Glorious just now, these elite German pilots accurately grasped the rhythm of the battle against the battleship.

After the first bomber dive-bombed, the remaining bombers also began to pull up. While the crew of the Devonshire below were still trying to stabilize themselves amid the impact of waves and explosions, the second bomber had already hit

Come down.

"Chirp...boom!!" This one still missed a bit and hit the sea surface on the right side of the Devonshire. But the huge shock wave once again shook the crew who had gradually stabilized their bodies.

"Boom, boom, boom..." The fire from the anti-aircraft guns continued, but no one knew whether it had any effect. The battleship was constantly shaking, and the violent shaking made it impossible to grasp the aim.

"Chirp...boom!!" Finally, the third bomb shot down and directly hit the Devonshire. The German pilots who had already dropped the bombs suddenly burst into cheers!

"Boom!!" The Devonshire was hit on its front deck. The weapon with huge impact and impact directly penetrated the Devonshire's deck and blasted into the Devonshire's ship.

"Boom~~" A series of explosions sounded, and extremely high flames immediately rose below the main mast! Then a violent explosion occurred in the main ammunition depot at the stern of the ship, destroying the superstructure from the middle of the warship to the No. 4 turret...

"Creak!" A sharp sound of twisted steel was heard, and then the hull of the Devonshire broke apart, visible to the naked eye. The entire battleship began to tilt up and then slowly rowed into the sea.

The explosion just now resulted in the death of all senior commanders, including Colonel Carson and others. The raging shrapnel and flying fragments scattered the flesh and blood of the crew members in the battleship.

The Devonshire is finished! This was the common thought of all the survivors after the explosion. Looking at the flames rising into the sky and the continuous explosions, everyone knew that the Devonshire was finished.

At this time, sharp-eyed people have noticed the green smoke rising from the sea. There is no doubt that this is a German warship approaching. A feeling of despair suddenly surged into everyone's heart, and the crew rushed to board the ship.

Lifeboats tried to evacuate the sinking warship...

"Okay, since we have sunk it, we will turn now." Lütjens smiled and ordered: "According to the plan, bring the British to our scheduled battlefield!" (To be continued. If you like this work,

You are welcome to come to Qidian.com to vote for recommendations and monthly votes. Your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile phone users please go and read.)
Chapter completed!