afterglow

Chapter 414 Chapter [-] The Firefly is on the collision course; fight to the end!

Almost at the same time as the Hood opened fire, the Bruno fired a salvo and a half at her.

The completed Mackensen-class battlecruiser has not changed much except for major changes to the power system. The main gun is still a four-seat twin 350mm main gun.

Its armor-piercing projectiles can penetrate 20mm thick armor at a distance of 354km, which is enough to pose a fatal threat to the Hood at a distance of only a dozen kilometers.

The shelling from both sides failed to hit, and the towering water column produced by the shell falling into the water poured the deck into the cold and biting sea water.

Lieutenant General William Whitworth knew that the Hood and Sussex alone could not compete with the three German battle cruisers. Calmly and rationally, he issued a new order——

Hood and Sussex turned to the southwest and increased their speed to 26 knots; all destroyers operated independently, maintaining a safe distance and delaying the navigation of the German fleet.

The goal of the German enemy fleet was to rush southwestward into the Atlantic Ocean at high speed, so that the Hood could stand in front of them.

Beginning at about 18:15, as William's battle order was issued, six British destroyers spread out in twos and divided into three groups to attack the German fleet from different directions.

"The enemy destroyers are approaching each other. Captain, do you want to call in the main guns?!"

"No, keep shooting the Hood."

The Franz correctly identified the British destroyer approaching at high speed from ten kilometers away, but it did not use its main gun and only used its twin 150mm secondary guns to fire at it.

Six British destroyers approached while firing and preparing to launch torpedoes.

However, the bombardment accuracy of the German warships was only slightly worse than during training. A few minutes later, the D-class destroyer Elegance no longer lived up to its name - two 150mm base-fuzed grenades, one of which destroyed a turret and one on the port side. Falling into the sea and exploding.

The front deck of the Grace was in a mess, filled with flames and thick smoke. Metal fragments and broken limbs were scattered everywhere, and several steel helmets were dangling on the ground.

The other five destroyers were not much better. The tribal-class destroyer Eskimo was even bombarded by Bruno's main gun. The 350mm tip fuze grenade caused considerable damage to her just by a near-miss. Water ingress everywhere.

Facing the British destroyers that were charging towards their own side and firing fiercely, the Germans took it for granted that they were almost ready to launch torpedoes. After dropping the torpedoes, they would release a smoke screen and turn around to leave.

So there is nothing to fear at all. The secondary battery can keep firing to suppress it, and after observing that the torpedo hits the water, just turn to avoid it.

Thinking is one thing, but the actual situation is another.

From a distance of more than ten kilometers to less than five kilometers, several destroyers launched their own torpedoes one after another. Each 533mm torpedo speeded through the waves on the sea, leaving conspicuous white tracks.

The four German warships, including the Franz and Bruno, immediately maneuvered flexibly to dodge these incoming torpedoes, and easily accepted this move.

However, unexpectedly, the six British destroyers still maintained their course and kept firing, charging towards them without fear!
"Oh my God! Are they crazy? What are they doing?!" A lieutenant colonel in the Hood's command tower couldn't help but exclaimed.

"Of course they are not crazy, they know what they are doing, God bless them." William Whitworth said calmly.

The other major next to him hesitated for a moment and then reported: "Sir, we have observed that the Styx and Firefly are on the collision course."

At this moment, from the German perspective, these six British destroyers seemed to be launching a desperate charge.

The destroyer USS Eskimo was hit on the bow by a 350mm grenade, and the entire bow was almost blown away. Smoking pipes and cables were exposed, and the speed suddenly dropped to 22 knots.

Realizing that the incoming destroyer was trying to disrupt his own position by engaging in hand-to-hand combat, Rear Admiral Hubert was surprised but did not panic at all.

"Adjust the course to 115 and use the main gun to attack the enemy destroyer." He said calmly: "They want to entangle us. The British are very brave."

The brave destroyers did disrupt the enemy fleet's position, forcing them to use their main guns to bombard them.

The Hood also grabbed the T-head in the distance, readjusted its course, and once again used its port side to engage the enemy and launch a salvo.

About 3 minutes after the melee began, a 380 mm armor-piercing round from the Hood's C turret hit the Bruno's superstructure.

The entire battleship seemed to be stagnant, and wisps of black smoke emerged from it, forming a larger smoke column that shot straight into the sky.

In the other corner of the battlefield, the battlecruiser Theodor was firing all its secondary battery fire at the Firefly, which was charging diagonally towards her.

Not to be outdone, the Firefly used its 120mm naval gun to blast the German warships more than 3000 meters away. At the same time, it turned on the smoke generator and turned to the left full rudder.

During this process, the destroyer with a displacement of only over 1000 tons was seriously damaged. The superstructure was blown to pieces by 150mm grenades and 105mm grenades. The radio room, chart room, and captain's room were all destroyed, and even the mast was damaged. Overwhelmed, it broke and fell into the sea.

The Firefly traced an arc on the sea, and then disappeared into the smoke screen she had just released.

The captain, Major Gerald, whose face was covered with blood, finally had a brief moment to think about what to do next, but in fact, he had no better choice now. The best solution was to fight to the end.

"Depth charge preparation, set depth 350 feet!"

"Sir?"

"Do as I say, now!"

The Firefly made a circle in the smoke screen, and finally headed towards the Teodor again.

When the scarred Firefly emerged from the smoke screen, the German sailors were shocked. The two warships, one large and one small, were already very close to each other, with less than 800 meters left!

"Thump, thump, thump—"

The Teodor's four-mounted 20mm anti-aircraft gun on the starboard side opened fire at the Firefly at one o'clock, and countless shells were poured onto her hull.

However, the latter also fired with four Vickers 12.7mm anti-aircraft machine guns, and the tracer bullets fired by both sides were almost intertwined.

When the distance between the two sides was only more than 500 meters, the Firefly began to release depth charges. Two ejectors and a slide dropped five depth charges in more than ten seconds.

Major Gerrard immediately ordered a full left rudder turn, but by chance, the Teodor turned to starboard because he was worried about Firefly launching a torpedo, and the two sides were on the collision course.

At this time there is no chance of recovery and collision is inevitable.

The officers and soldiers on both sides stared wide-eyed and grasped everything around them.

Ten seconds later, the Firefly, with the entire ship on fire, hit the battlecruiser Theodor at a nearly vertical angle!
"Boom!!!"

The huge movement was followed by the sound of metal twisting and crackling.

The bow of the Firefly was immediately broken, and a large hole was opened in the right side of the Teodor's hull, with the Firefly's hull stuck inside.

But everyone has not recovered yet. The previously dropped depth charges have sunk to the predetermined depth - 350 feet, which takes exactly 30 seconds. "Boom! Boom! Boom!"

White water columns suddenly appeared on the blue-gray sea, and they were not far away.

The violent shaking caused the sailors to stagger, and when they recovered, they began to fight fiercely in the ancient battle mode.

"Get the rifle!"

"Lieutenant, the hatch is stuck!"

Biting seawater surged into the hulls of the two battleships, but the British sailors used fire axes to smash open the deformed weapons warehouse doors and took out Enfield rifles and Mills grenades.

However, the close-range small arms exchange between the two sides did not last long, nor did it turn into a retro gang-hopping war.

With the influx of seawater and the resistance to navigation, the Firefly, which was stuck in the huge hole, became loose and floated away after half a minute.

She sank rapidly due to a large amount of water, and the boiler also exploded. The overflowing high-temperature steam quickly condensed into white frost.

The Firefly, which suffered structural damage, plunged into the water with its head down and its tail raised. Many sailors sank with the destroyer into the deep, dark sea south of Iceland before they had time to escape.

The Teodor was not feeling well either. The huge hole in the right side of the hull caused a large amount of water to enter. The damage control team poured knee-deep cold water to seal the damaged area, but with little success.

Therefore, they could only evacuate temporarily, use water pumps to drain water continuously, and be ready to close the watertight doors at any time to prevent the situation from getting serious.

The depth charges dropped by the Firefly before the impact also had a certain impact on the Teodor. The boiler room reported that boilers No. [-] and No. [-] were not working properly. To be on the safe side, they had lowered the output steam pressure.

Across the entire sea area, fierce naval battles continued.

Although the Eskimo was bombarded by the Bruno's main gun at the beginning, the damage was not minor, but it did not affect the speed much.

She was still circling at a distance of more than 31 meters at a speed of 1000 knots, firing 120mm high-explosive shells towards the Bruno's bridge.

Compared to her, the Han people, who are also at the tribal level, are not so lucky.

After the collision between the Firefly and the Teodor, Major Bongard, the captain of the Hanren, immediately discovered the fighter plane and immediately ordered the entire ship to turn sharply.

The Hanman rushed into the smoke screen previously released by the Grace that had not dissipated, using it as a cover to close the distance.

During the original torpedo attack, the Hanren's quadruple torpedo launcher malfunctioned and only two torpedoes were successfully launched. Now the malfunction has finally been eliminated and sufficient compressed air has been accumulated.

But she was immediately attacked by the Teodor's secondary battery. At such a close range, the hit rate of 105mm grenades and 150mm grenades was getting higher and higher.

The Hanren launched the remaining two torpedoes at a distance of less than 500 meters, and then turned with all its strength.

The Teodor's right rudder was full to evade, and only one of the two MkX 533㎜ torpedoes hit the middle of the left hull. The 300㎏ TNT explosion caused a huge water column even as high as the mast!

But not long after, a salvo from the heavy cruiser Peake destroyed the Hanren, turning her into a floating coffin with the entire ship cut off power and no power.

The fierce naval battle continued until around 19:00 in the afternoon, and five of the six British destroyers lost combat effectiveness or were sunk.

However, before the Germans had time to breathe a sigh of relief, the Hood, ten kilometers away, announced her presence with another salvo.

Eight rounds of 380mm armor-piercing bullets from "Old Auntie" once again hit the Franz across the board. Major General Hubert frowned slightly and briefly struggled with what to do.

Now that the Hood is occupying the T-head, should we switch to the same course as her and engage in a same-ship battle to kill her with superior firepower?
If they don't repel her, the British will definitely not give up and may continue to struggle.

When it is interrupted, it will suffer from chaos.

Hubert finally ordered his own ship, Bruno, and Theodor to line up in sequence, turn left and adjust the course to 195, engage the enemy on the starboard side, and use all firepower to attack the Hood.

The three German battlecruisers used 24 350mm main guns against the Hood, which had eight 380mm main guns. It was a one-sided situation no matter how you look at it.

The two sides then switched to a same-ship battle and launched a European War-style artillery battle.

At 19:18 in the evening when it was still dark, the Hood formed a straddle fire after two and a half salvos. Three German warships also straddled the Hood one after another.

Two minutes later, a 2㎜ armor-piercing round from the Franz hit. The Hood's stern flashed, and then a plume of gray-black smoke poured out.

Hubert observed the battle situation calmly, but he was anxious in his heart.

Hurry up, hurry up and get rid of this stubborn old aunt, you can't be contained here!

Just then, a communications officer came quickly and brought bad news.

"Urgent report from the submarine, Comrade Commander, U-71 discovered the British fleet approaching us 45 nautical miles west of the Faroe Islands. The ones that can be confirmed are Rodney, Nelson, and Furious."

"I understand."

The situation is getting more serious now. Due to collisions and torpedoes, the Teodor's maximum speed has dropped to 26 knots. Although it is still faster than any low-speed battleship, it can...

"boom!!!"

While Hubert was thinking, two 380mm armor-piercing shells from the Hood's A turret hit the middle of the Franz's right hull.

The shell penetrated the side armor about six meters above the waterline and destroyed a flue, causing the three boilers to stop working.

In the next ten minutes of fighting, three German battle cruisers and one heavy cruiser scored multiple hits on the Hood - at least 7 rounds of 350mm armor-piercing bullets and 3 rounds of 203mm armor-piercing bullets.

The Hood's speed was reduced due to injuries, and its main rangefinder was destroyed. Each turret used its own backup rangefinder to continue fighting. It always maintained a focus on the Franz and successfully destroyed her. B turret.

At 19:44 in the evening, the dark red sun came to the western sky, and the setting sun reflected the Hood, which was on fire in many places on the ship and filled with thick smoke.

As the number of samples increases, low-probability events finally occur.

After the Theodor completed a new salvo, the German sailors observed a large ball of flames rising from the Hood, and about two seconds later a dazzling flash of light and billowing smoke mixed with sparks erupted.

The Teodor's gun almanac records that after the two sides switched to the same voyage, her 12th salvo once again scored an effective hit on the Hood and seemed to detonate its ammunition depot?
The Hood capsized rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye, and sank faster than imagined.

Everyone was stunned until a report came from the radar room, "An aircraft was spotted at direction 135, distance 62 kilometers."

(End of this chapter)