"What a damn thing, it's the twin-engine Ju188 torpedo bomber! Where did they come from?" With the help of the searchlight, Rear Admiral Mullinicks finally saw clearly what the enemy aircraft invaded in the air looked like.

They are not carrier-based aircraft that take off from aircraft carriers, but the famous shore-based night torpedo aircraft Ju188E-2 torpedo bomber! However, this type of aircraft has a range of only 3,000 kilometers and a combat radius of up to 1,000 kilometers. How could it fly here?

There is no German base at 1,000 kilometers nearby! Are they all taken off from aircraft carriers?

"Fire! Open fire!" Rear Admiral Mullinicks looked at the Ju188E-2 torpedo bombers flying closer and closer, and no longer thought about where they came from. He repeatedly issued the order to open fire.

"Boom boom boom..."

Almost as the Major General Mullinicks shouted, the 127mm high-level dual-purpose cannon installed on the port side of the Soviet Union began to shoot wildly, and the orange-red fireball kept flashing in the night sky, but the density was not too high.

The Soviet-class anti-aircraft gun system has been upgraded in the United States. The anti-aircraft gun configuration standards are exactly the same as those of the Iahua-class battleship. It has only 20 127mm high-level dual-purpose guns, 10 of which are installed on the port side of the battleship. Because there is no radar shooting control, the shooting accuracy is not high at night, so you can only rely on radio near-fighting fuses to try your luck. Unless the aircraft is "catched" by a searchlight, it is unlikely to be hit.

"Don't worry about the 127mm gun." Colonel Peltz, who led 24 Ju188E-2 torpedo bombers to attack, was experienced and naturally would not take the firepower of 10 127mm guns too seriously.

"Keep the altitude and speed." He issued an order through the throat communicator, "drop the torpedo at 2500 meters and then immediately lift it out of the battlefield."

10 127mm cannons are not scary, but the threat of up to dozens of 40mm anti-aircraft cannons and 20mm machine cannons cannot be ignored, so Peltz dare not get too close.

The launch of torpedoes at a distance of 2500 meters is a little farther than the attack method of ordinary torpedo aircraft. Although the range of airborne torpedoes is sufficient, it is difficult to hit if they are too far away. However, when using the gold comb tactic for high-density cross-fire shooting, 2500 meters is already a distance that can pose a huge threat to surface ships.

The 24 Ju188E-2s are now divided into two teams, each with 12 aircraft, forming a six-plane formation in the air with two triangles in front and back - this is a very high-density formation, which can be used during night torpedo attacks. If it were broken up by enemy fighters and 127mm anti-aircraft guns during the day.

Colonel Peltz personally led a team of 12 Ju188E-2s to attack from the port side of the USS Russia battleship, and the other 12 Ju188E-2s attacked from the front of the USS Russia battleship formation. Each Ju188E-2 carries 2 F-5 airborne torpedoes, with a total of 48 torpedoes like two combs, and at the same time rushing towards prey from under the sea!

“5000 meters!”

“4800 meters!”

“4600 meters!”

“4400 meters!”

“4200 meters!”

“…”

Amid the sound of the navigator Sergeant Schmidt, Colonel Peltz was already flying the plane into the fire range of the 127mm anti-aircraft gun. At this time, the 40mm anti-aircraft gun on the Soviet Union also began to fire, and the fire density suddenly increased. Countless 40mm tracer bombs were like lightning flashes, cutting through the night sky and weaving a dense fire net in the air.

“3000 meters!”

When Sergeant Schmidt shouted out this number, the plane that Colonel Peltz flicked suddenly, and he knew that his plane had been hit by a 40mm shell!

However, this shell obviously did not cause fatal damage to the solid Ju188 of the fuselage, and this plane is quite sturdy!

The Ju188E-2 plane trembled violently and continued to fly forward, and soon reached the prescribed location for the torpedo.

"Col. The engine on the right caught fire..."

Peltz heard someone report the plane's losses to him, but he didn't care at all, just asked loudly: "Distance?"

"2700 meters!" Sergeant Schmidt shouted.

"All attention!" Colonel Peltz issued an order through the throat communicator, "Prepare for bombing!"

“2500 meters…”

"Let it go!" Amid Colonel Peltz's shout, all the bombers pressed the button to drop the torpedo. 22 torpedoes fell into the water one after another (one Ju188 was shot down during the attack). A few dozen seconds later, the Ju188E-2, which was attacking the Soviet Union, also dropped 20 torpedoes (two of the 12 Ju188s attacking from the front were shot down). Just as the 42 torpedoes formed two "golden combs" in the water, slashed the sea water, dragged the trail composed of bubbles, and rushed towards the huge Soviet Union battleship, the bomber driven by Colonel Peltz shook violently, and then the cold wind with the salty smell of sea water poured into the cabin.

"Col. We're hit again!"

I don’t know who shouted, but Colonel Peltz ignored it and just pulled up the control plate with all his strength. The nose of the plane was raised with difficulty and climbed up with the only remaining engine. At this time, several beams of light suddenly shot at Colonel Peltz’s plane, and then a fierce artillery fire came. A 127mm radio near-blast shell exploded in the air less than 10 meters away from the plane. Flying shrapnel swept on the left wing of the plane, not only making more than a dozen large and small holes on the wing, but also setting the engine on the left fire!

The Ju188E-2 plane could no longer continue to fly, so Colonel Peltz could only try to control the plane to make an emergency landing on the sea. Just as the belly of the plane hit the surface of the Shanghai area, a huge fireball suddenly swept the corner of the eye of Colonel Peltz, and it rose up on the port side of the battleship on the sea!

Colonel Peltz and his crew members then successfully escaped from the sinking plane, but they were too far away from the three cruisers responsible for rescue, including the Vienna. They were finally caught by the American light cruiser Denver and locked up in the prisoner-of-war camp located in the United States, where they spent the last years of the war, and met some friends from Japan...

...

Boom boom boom boom...

The Soviet battleship was hit by a torpedo! More than one, but as many as eight 450mm-caliber F-5 torpedoes slammed into the underwater part of the port side and bow of the Soviet battleship. Four of them hit the Pleese double cylindrical torpedo system between the keel of the Soviet 64-153, which did not cause serious consequences. It was just that the explosion energy teared open the arc lightning-proof armor, causing more than 3,000 tons of water inlet.

However, the Soviet Union's Presay lightning protection system was only 123 meters long, which was not enough to protect the entire underwater part. As a result, the remaining four torpedoes were outside the protection range of the Presay lightning protection system near the bow and stern.

One of them hit the vicinity of the sub-rudder servo chamber at the rear of the port side, tearing a huge break open. Within minutes, the water inlet spread to all chambers in the area, the stern of the ship sinks and causes the warship to tilt left.

Another torpedo hit the storage room on the front of the port side, causing an 11-meter × 9-meter hole on the surface of the hull, which also caused a large amount of sea water to pour in, which quickly flooded the diesel generator at the bow, causing the power system to malfunction. The four pumps stopped operating, and the influx of sea water reached thousands of tons and could not be discharged.

Another torpedo hit the front oil storage tank less than 20 meters away from the front storage room on the port side. It also penetrated with one blow and opened an 8×5-meter hole, which not only caused a large amount of fuel leakage, but also caused more than 2,000 tons of sea water to influx.

The last torpedo hit the most vulnerable position of the Soviet Union - the outward ridge of the unprotected area of ​​the stern, causing extremely severe water inflow, with as many as 4,000 tons of sea water pouring into the hull.

Although the aviation torpedo that hit the Soviet Union had limited destructive power and did not hit the key points, it could not hold up too many. As many as 8 holes were made on the port side and bow of the Soviet Union. More than 20,000 tons of seawater poured in within just over a dozen minutes. As a result, the hull was seriously tilted to the left, and due to a pump failure, the seawater could not be discharged for the time being.

When more than 20,000 tons of sea water surged in, the Soviet battleship had a big problem with the damage to the pipe! Not only did the "New American Sailor" on the ship had poor damage to the pipe skills, but he was in a hurry when he encountered a large amount of water inlet.

Moreover, many leak-proof and pipe-damaging equipment on the ship had problems with the quality of many of the equipment - these equipment were produced by the Soviet Union themselves, because of the lack of relevant experience and shoddy manufacturing, which made them unable to play a role at critical moments. The "old American officer" on the ship was not prepared for the quality problems made by the Soviet Union and was at a loss after encountering a lot of equipment failures. As a result, the precious time was delayed like this.

At 4:10 am on September 7, 1944, Rear Admiral Mullinicks, the captain of the Soviet battleship, discovered in pain that his battleship could no longer be saved.

At 4:15, Rear Admiral Mullinicks issued an order to abandon the Soviet Union. At this time, the Soviet Union battleship had already been seriously tilted left, and the bottom of the starboard ship was even exposed to the water.
Chapter completed!