.The heat of summer is undoubtedly a torture for the gunners struggling in the main turret of the battleship. Although they are shirtless and exhaust fans are on, they can sweat a lot by moving more than half a ton of shells and more than one hundred kilograms of launching medicine, let alone the high temperature remaining in the barrel after the shell is fired.

As the distance between the two battleships narrowed to the range of the artillery, the 406mm, 380mm and 356mm cannons on both sides began to roar. In front of them, the 305mm naval guns that were popular in the previous war seemed a bit outdated in terms of range and power. So although there were as many as 16 German battleships, the King and Kai were still 50 times the diameter of 305mm guns. The Americans used 14 British troops from the New York class based on the principle of having to be big.

The 356mm gun is the 356mm gun. The New Mexico class, Tennessee class, Colorado class and South Dakota class are equipped with the more powerful 406mm gun. As the only battlecruiser of the US Navy, the Lexington class is also equipped with this 45-caliber 406mm gun. The German fleet can compete with it in caliber 480mm guns, 3 Markensen-class battle cruisers, and 5 Graf-class equipped with 406mm guns.

If the gap in the caliber of the main guns of the two battleships can be balanced by quantity, then to deal with the thick armor of the American battleship, the German sailors have to use the precise art of artillery techniques! American ship designers seem to be born to like to make some more extreme actions. Their battleships have high speed, strong firepower, and defenses, but they can be too bad. Their battleships can move slowly, but their firepower and defense are very impressive. Since the Nevada level, all levels of the United States have been

The maximum thickness of the waterline armor of the battleships reaches 13.5 inches, or 343 mm, and the front armor of the turret reaches an astonishing 18 inches, or 458 mm, and even the commander tower has 16 inches! In contrast, even the best Graf-class in Germany. The armor in these three important parts is only 14.5 inches, 15 inches and 15 inches. Putting aside the slight difference in armor quality between the two sides, just from these data, the enemy of the German fleet this time is unprecedentedly powerful.

In the minds of the Americans, the Germans' advantage in the air is incomparable to themselves. The cannons of the fleets of both sides have not yet achieved any record. After a hard battle, German land-based fighters from Cuba took off and seized air superiority on the battlefield as scheduled. The German dive bomber that flew in afterwards, and torpedoes began to attack American battleships and battlecruisers without any worries. The battle situation seemed to have returned to the time of the Battle of Laura in South America again.

When the overestimating American bombers and torpedo planes were shot down one by one by Henkel's DD carrier-based fighter jets waiting over the fleet, Schell and his fleet lived up to expectations to perform artillery. As the school shooting data was transmitted back, the German fleet's shells began to hit the target, while the Americans' heavy shells were still bombarding the wide and empty sea surface in luxury.

"A single shot hit an enemy Delaware-class battleship, and the opponent's front deck was shot and caught fire!"

"A single shot hit an enemy Delaware-class battleship again, and the opponent's speed is decreasing!"

The two consecutive good news made the nervous officers breathe a little relieved, only General Schell frowned. The Delaware-class is the oldest battleship in the U.S. Atlantic Fleet, and the construction dates back to 1910. If it weren't for the speed of 21 knots that allowed them to keep up with the main fleet, the U.S. commander might have chosen to leave this antique battleship with a displacement of 22,000 tons and a 305mm naval gun in the port.

What Scher was worried about was whether his armor-piercing bombs could successfully penetrate the thick armor of the latest American battleships.

"A single shot hit an enemy Tennessee-class battleship, and an explosion occurred in the middle of the opponent. The damage situation is currently unknown and the speed has not decreased!"

"Two shots hit an enemy Colorado-class battleship, and the opponent's front deck was bombed and exploded, and there was no fire!"

"A single shot hit an enemy's South Dakota-class battleship. An explosion occurred in the middle of the opponent, the hull caught fire, and the speed did not decrease!"

As the reports of hits came, the bad premonition in Schell's heart became a reality. While he was thinking about countermeasures, the pilot in charge of the shooting ground suddenly shouted in an excited voice:

"A enemy Tennessee-class battleship exploded violently. The hull was tilting!"

I was secretly happy in the command room, but I heard the pilot add: "The ship was hit by a torpedo launched by its torpedo plane!"

Many officers, including Scher, felt a chill in their hearts. Could it be that the era of battleships had passed?

"One shot hit the enemy..."

Scher was no longer willing to listen more. He walked to a corner of the command room and looked silently at the sea outside the porthole. The Americans' large-caliber shells were constantly arousing water columns dozens of meters high, and the apex even exceeded the masts of some warships. The sea surface became surging. The waves formed by the falling water column continued to pounce on nearby warships, and were instantly smashed by solid steel.

"The entire fleet is 10 degrees left. The speed has increased to 20 knots!"

Schell gave the order indifferently.

At this time, many officers and staff in the command room looked at the marshal with puzzled eyes. At the current distance, the German fleet's shells had a good hit rate. Turning left means getting closer to the other side. Once both sides are within the effective distance of each other's visual range-finding instruments, the hit rate of German warships will increase, but the Americans' lack of a shooting aircraft will no longer be their fatal injury.

"The Marshal, Colonel Von Hartman, commander of the Cuban Air Force, sent a telegram, and subsequent torpedo planes and dive bombers have taken off!" Chief of Staff Reidel reminded.

"I understand, execute the order!" Sher closed his eyes gently.

"yes!"

Seeing Scher's decisive expression, Radell did not dare to hesitate. He thought that the marshal's intention might be to increase the power of the armor-piercing bomb by pulling closer, but that would also mean that the risks he faced were greatly increased. After conveying the order, Radell turned around and Scher was still standing there motionless.

Sher's true intentions may only be one person in this fleet. When Sher's flagship sent a turn signal, on the battle cruiser "Markensen", an opponent's officer who was about to beat his opponent, who was ready to fight, said:

Young men, it’s time for us to show off our skills right away and let the lower body prepare to move forward at full speed!”

"As for orders, General Hippel!"

In the Battle of Jutland in another world, Hippel and Scher were a pair of partners. At that time, Hippel led the Battle Patrol team to carry out a "death attack" to save the entire fleet. Only then did the German high seas fleet have the opportunity to get rid of the blockade of the British fleet. Hippel's outstanding features are not only bravery. He had fought with Betty twice in the initial stage of the Battle of Dogsharks and the Battle of Jutland. The battle process shows his wit and command ability.

In this world, before Chen Tian influenced the German Navy. Scher and Hiper had worked together for many years. Without the glory and helplessness of the Battle of Jutland, they were still the undisputed fleet commanders of the German Navy. After leading the reinforcement fleet to meet with Scher's Atlantic Fleet, Hiper began his career. Since he served as the position of warship captain, he has always had an indissoluble bond with armored cruisers/battlecruisers. By 1912, he had become the commander of the German High Seas Fleet reconnaissance squadron, where the battle patrol was the main force. Before serving as the German Mediterranean Fleet, he had been fighting side by side with Scher as the deputy.

Just two minutes after the fleet completed its turn, Scher's flagship "Graf" indeed sent a signal: the Battle Patrol team attacked the right wing of the US fleet at full speed!

According to the air reconnaissance report, the far right wing of the US fleet is two combat patrols, while the three main aircraft carriers are more than 20 nautical miles behind the right wing.

"Brave light cavalrymen. Take a shot!"

Hippel always likes to call his own battle cruiser this way. Compared with American combat patrols, the defense of German combat patrols at all levels is much higher, so many American generals are accustomed to listing German combat patrols in the first class of battleships - like the 350mm main armor belt of the Markensen class is even thicker than the Queen-class battleships in the UK. Some people joked that the battlecruiser is just the Germans who are fashionable and call the ground, and the main armor belt is 203mm thick, the Japanese King Kong class and the 177mm American Lexington class, in the case of firepower and speed comparable to that of the Markensen class, the results of one-on-one gun battlefield are obvious, not to mention that the Germans have an unparalleled advantage in armor and shooting accuracy!

As fast light cavalry of the German fleet, the "Markensen", "Earl of Spee," "Prince Fitre," "Deferringer", "Luzzo" and "Hindenburg" quickly accelerated to 26.5 knots under the command of Hippel. The Markensen class, with a maximum speed of 28 knots, must take care of the 26.5 knots of Deferringer class. In the opposite U.S. fleet, only two Lexington-class 32 knots can exceed these German battle patrols, but their 406mm naval guns and the 380 mm terrestrial ground are not at all cheap. The 50-caliber 305 mm guns of the Deferringer class can easily penetrate Lexington's weak armor.

After the six battlecruisers left, Schell slightly adjusted his battleship formation. The 16 German battleships sailing at a speed of 20 knots were arranged from north to south according to firepower, and the angle of 30 degrees allowed both fleets to volley their port side targets.

“21,000 yards!”

"20,000 yards!"

“16,000 yards!”

“17,000 yards!”

As the numbers reported by the rangefinders decreased one by one, the atmosphere in the command indoors of the "Graf" became solemn. As the figure of the American fleet gradually became clear in the telescope, the shells falling near the German fleet were becoming increasingly threatening.

At 11:07, with a loud bang, the German battleship "August" became the first German battleship to be hit by American battleship artillery fire. A 406mm armor-piercing projectile hit the new warship that had only been in service for one year at a horizontal angle of nearly 10 degrees. Such shells were huge in speed, mass and power. The tail of the ship "August" sank and a secondary gun turret flew into the sky.

Immediately afterwards, another shell hit the "Saxony". Although the front armor of the warship No. 2 turret was not directly penetrated by the 406mm armor-piercing projectile flying from 15,000 yards away, the violent explosion made the two 380mm cannons silence.

Seeing that the losses of his own fleet were gradually increasing, Marshal Schell on the "Graf" was still looking at the US fleet in the distance. The enemy's ship gun had the advantage in the caliber of the gun, but the King-class and Kai-2 classes on his side were not weak and used higher fire speeds and accuracy to fight back with a 305mm naval gun. The fire balls and black smoke rising from time to time mean that the opponent was also under the same pressure.

"A single shot hit an enemy Colorado-class battleship, and the opponent's No. 2 turret was shot and exploded. Oh, the turret flew into the sky!"

When the officers heard this school shooting report, the officers were relieved at least. The commander's decision was correct. As long as the distance was close enough, the American warships were not really so impeccable.

"Our bomber group joins the battle!"

Hearing this report, Schell's vision did not move over the US fleet, but turned his telescope to the tail of the US fleet. The fires of the two Lexington-class main guns were flashing, and from time to time a row of shells fell near them. This scene did not seem to be abnormal.

Scher did not give up and continued to stare in that direction and observe. Suddenly, a loud bang came from a very close place, and the entire warship was trembling. The officers immediately understood that their warship was hit!

Redell grabbed the phone and said, "Damage the tube, report the damage!"

Schell almost fell down just now. He turned around calmly and looked out the porthole. The explosion of smoke came from the middle and rear of the battleship. Although the large-caliber armor-piercing bomb was very powerful, as long as it did not hit the ammunition depot, just one shot was nothing for a heavy battleship like the "Graf" with a displacement of nearly 40,000 tons. If it really hit the ammunition depot, it would be no good to think it would be unlucky.

In fact, a 406mm armor-piercing bomb penetrated through the non-main armor belt area between the Graf deputy command tower and the chimney No. 2. During the violent explosion, the flue, pantry, officer's bedroom, toilet, sailor's cabin, bathroom, and equipment warehouse in this position were all devastatingly hit. A large hole was also blown out of the upper part of the boiler cabin of No. 4. The entire warship had no worries, but blood was everywhere on the gill millimeter open-air anti-aircraft cannon and the double-equipped 20mm machine cannon.

The report on the loss tube finally let people feel hung up. The loss tube system of the German battleship is as advanced as their structure, which is also one of the most precious treasures of the German Navy.

Schell was still looking at the tail of the US fleet. Finally, a bunch of brilliant sparks bloomed on the two Lexington-class ships. On the sea not far away, Hippel's battle patrol team was in place. At this time, Schell's expression finally relaxed. Although the cooperation between the two outstanding generals seemed seamless, they still had to thank the aviation forces. It was the pilots' heroic attack that interfered with the attention of the US commander.

"Blow me hard!" Hippel clenched his fists excitedly. The two Lexington-class ships were shrouded under dense artillery fire. As long as the Americans were crippled, they were rushing towards the US aircraft carrier with battle patrols, there was no suspense in naval battles.
Chapter completed!