My Italian: Chapter 639 Great Battle of Sirte Lightning Strike

The lightning formation was getting closer and closer, and the mood of the officers and soldiers of the British battleship formation immediately fell from heaven to hell.

"The secondary battery fires at full force, do not allow it to approach."

Admiral Cardon was also in a bad mood. In fact, he felt bad when the Italian battleship aimed its fire at the interception formation before. Sure enough, under the enemy's full attack, the interception formation was ineffective. 60% of the enemy ships rushed past the interception formation and attacked him. Sinners of the Empire.

"Order all the battleship secondary guns to intercept the enemy's lightning strike formation with all their strength, and the interception formation also strikes from behind. They must not let the opponent approach the battleship."

At this moment, he is already at the bottom of his boat, and even if all the interception formations are sacrificed, he must stop these lightning strike warships.

In fact, there was no need for his order. When the lightning strike formation rushed over the intercepting formation, its commander, Major General Edward, had already issued an order to the formation to break through and intercept the enemy lightning strike formation.

In this order, Major General Edward rarely used instructions to issue orders directly, but sent telegrams in a negotiating tone. The full text of the telegram is as follows: Gentlemen of the British Empire, the enemy lightning strike formation has broken through our interception and is heading towards the battleship formation. I don't intend to blame anyone here, we did our best. But as a gentleman of the British navy, how can we just watch the precious battleships of the navy suffer such a disaster, which violates the tradition of our navy and our conscience, even if we survive, we will blame ourselves for it, so Here I hope gentlemen to redeem this mistake, for which I will sacrifice my life. Edward Warwick, 7 January 1914 at 17:21.

Edward's telegram inspired the morale of the officers of the interception formation, and revived the already shaken military spirit. Then, under the leadership of Edward, the entire interception formation turned around, leaving the back to the main force of the United Fleet, desperate to To leave behind the battleships of the lightning strike formation.

As a result, a rather strange scene appeared on the battlefield. With the battleship formation led by Admiral Cardon as the center, four waves of warships rushed towards it. They seem to be robbing Tang Monk's meat, scrambling to be the first.

Of course, among them, the officers and soldiers of the first wave of lightning strike formation, which also detonated the battle situation, were the most urgent. They were eager to show a big treasure to the steel behemoths of the British army.

"Charge, maximum speed, let's take a look at the trembling British guy in front of us."

On the destroyer Dolphin, Lieutenant Colonel Daniele, the acting commander of the torpedo formation, roared, asking his crew to drive the battleship faster.

He was so anxious because the British were impatient, and their interception formation didn't care about the cruiser formation and battleship formation behind them, and only cared about dealing with their lightning-struck battleships. Of course, right in front, the battleships are also constantly firing at them, and their undestroyed secondary guns are also constantly creating obstacles in their way forward. From time to time, warships are destroyed by its hits. This kind of adrenaline-inducing scene really needs to boost the morale of the crew.

But fortunately, those of them who drive lightning strike ships are all stupid and bold. They may not be as good as other warships in terms of training or elite, but in terms of fighting for their lives, they must be the strongest. Because of the danger of lightning strikes, the first choice for officers and soldiers is to be bold, otherwise how can they hit the target calmly and calmly in the environment of flying gunfire all over the sky.

That is to say, but as the commander of the torpedo unit, Lieutenant Colonel Daniele can't just watch like this. Although he accidentally became the commander of the formation, Lieutenant Colonel Daniele, who was previously the commander of the third lightning strike unit, also wanted to fully demonstrate his ability in this sea battle related to the direction of the war. Therefore, using language to motivate subordinates has become the most useful of his many methods.

Against the enemy's artillery fire, the Thunderbolt formation quickly approached the British battleship formation.

five kilometers.

Four kilometers.

three kilometers.

Seeing the lightning strike formation getting closer, the British battleship not only fired at it with secondary guns, but also turned its main gun to fire at it. Under the desperate firepower interception of the British, the Thunderbolt formation suffered a lot of losses. Many torpedo boats and destroyers were hit and exploded on the spot. After all, the torpedoes they were equipped with were fatal to all warships, whether they were launched or before they were launched.

Lieutenant Colonel Daniele didn't take a second look at the surrounding tragedies, because lightning strikes are a narrow escape mission. How to hit the target better and cause more damage is what he cares most about now.

"Order the ships to attack the enemy ships with torpedoes as close as 1,500 meters away. Set the depth to 7 meters and the speed to be 38 knots."

Seeing that the enemy ship was getting closer and closer, Lieutenant Colonel Daniele finally gave the final launch order. The distance of 1,500 meters is just right for lightning strike tactics. If it is too far away, it is easy for the enemy to hide. Although it is easier to hit if it is too close, the hit rate of being hit by artillery fire will also soar, which will not be worth the candle.

As for why Lieutenant Colonel Daniele even has to control the depth and speed of the torpedo launch, in a word, this is the charm brought by the salvo. The torpedo troops also caught up with this trend, and the results of the experiment were very good, so they adopted it directly.

Following the order of Lieutenant Colonel Daniele, the torpedo formation quickly started the final preparations before the lightning strike. I saw the warships that were still scattered at first, slowly getting closer. If you pay attention, you will find that more than 20 lightning strike warships gradually form seven formations of four to five ships.

This is a real skill. Being able to complete this kind of formation under the situation where the sky is full of artillery fire and warships are constantly being hit, fully demonstrates the super high level of the Italian Thunderbolt formation.

Then the ships began to launch torpedoes, and thermal power torpedoes were continuously fired from the battleships. The torpedo lines with obvious trajectories appeared densely in front of the British battleship formation one by one, making the sharp-eyed lookout post keep shouting thunder strike, thunder strike, thunder strike!

The biggest disadvantage of the thermal power torpedo is that the trajectory is obvious, so the officers and soldiers on the British warship saw it through the telescope without the reminder from the lookout post.

But how should I put it, since the Italian torpedo formation dared to use this tactic, there are naturally reasons for it. Because the nearly 200 torpedoes launched by it rushed towards it with a fan, whether it was turning or accelerating, they were all within the attack range of the torpedoes. And setting it to a depth of seven meters is also very particular, which basically eliminates the way of other warships to block knives.

In fact, this is also because the traces of thermal power torpedoes are too obvious, and it is difficult to hit without a salvo fan.

But now, facing the dense white lines on the sea rushing towards his battleship, anyone who saw it would feel his scalp tingle.

"Turn around, bow to the enemy."

At this moment, Admiral Carden saw the dense torpedoes on the sea, and quickly ordered to turn. At this moment, it is impossible to avoid it, and we can only use the least threatening bow to meet the incoming torpedo attack. This is the best way to deal with it, you can't use the hull or the more dangerous stern.

No matter how difficult it is to turn around, because this just shortens the distance between the battleship and the torpedo, and no matter how slow the turn is, it can't be completely turned in more than a minute, and the fastest turn is only a half.

So the battleship Colossus, which was turning rapidly, saw the torpedo approaching. The officers and soldiers on the battleship saw the torpedo that was close at hand, and they could only hopelessly grab the railing and shouted, "Ready for impact!"

Then only three explosions were heard, and then the battleship shook violently. There was a harsh sound of metal twisting on the battleship, and the Colossus was hit by three torpedoes.

A series of explosions sounded one after another, and the battleships of the Mediterranean Fleet were hit one after another, of course there were many of them. The luckiest was the Conqueror, which was hit by only one torpedo, and the torpedo had not yet exploded. It can be regarded as God's pro. Of course, there are good and bad things. The Collingwood was hit by five torpedoes and all exploded, and the sea water poured into the Collingwood's cabin like a bank burst. Then, in just two minutes, the Collingwood tilted to the right by 7°C. This was no longer what the management could deal with. The captain, Lieutenant Colonel Douglas, had no choice but to order the abandonment of the ship.

Then the crew of the Collingwood jumped into the water like dumplings, and tried their best to stay away from the sinking warship.

The Collingwood can be regarded as the ship with the worst lightning damage, and apart from the Collingwood, other British battleships were also attacked by torpedoes (except the luckiest Conqueror).

For example, the ship Orion, which was Admiral Cardon, was hit by two torpedoes. Fortunately, only one torpedo exploded. Fortunately, the hit position was the bow on the right side, and the tube damage was excellent. The Weng only took in more than 500 tons of water. Apart from affecting the speed of the ship, the impact on it was not too great.

Like the Orion, which is considered very good, the Centurion is even worse. Although only two torpedoes were hit, one hit the stern and the other hit the middle of the ship. These two torpedoes directly flooded the power compartment of the Centurion into the seawater that filled the sky. The turbulent seawater completely submerged the Centurion boiler and steam turbine, which directly caused it to lose power on the sea surface without moving, and also made the Centurion The bow of the ship is raised, and the outcome can be imagined.

Other battleships such as the Colossus, Hercules, and Vanguard were hit by torpedoes and suffered heavy losses.

In terms of hit rate, the lightning hit rate reached over 13%, which is a remarkable achievement. And it changed the situation of this naval battle in one fell swoop.

Lefer saw the outstanding achievements of the Thunderbolt formation on the flagship Cavour, even his extremely stable character was excited and smiling.

Not to mention other people, the commander tower of the Cavour was filled with joy and laughter. As long as anyone can see that the opponent has been severely injured, it is time to reap the fruits of victory.

"Everyone, the lightning strike formation has created enough advantages for us with huge sacrifices. Next, we need to expand our advantages. Now I order to bombard the enemy's battleships, giving priority to the severely damaged enemy's battleships."

At this moment, Laifer let go of the big stone in his heart and gave an order loudly.

"As you order, Your Excellency Commander."

The communication staff officer who received the order immediately replied loudly. At this time, in his heart, his own commander is the most outstanding naval commander.

Following Laifer's order, the main force of the Combined Fleet bared its fangs at Admiral Cardon's battleship formation. The battleship formation, which had been bombarding the enemy's interception formation, now aimed its guns at its supposed opponent, and the roar of artillery fire made the British feel what they had felt before.

At this moment, for the British battleship formation that was struck by lightning, it was completely like hell. At this time, because of the closer distance, the joint fleet's artillery fire became more intense. And the semi-disabled Mediterranean Fleet can be said to be desolate because of the storm.

Cannonballs continued to explode on the British battleships, making the Mediterranean Fleet, which was already injured, unable to bear it.

The first to suffer was the Centurion, which had lost its power. In just ten minutes, it was bombarded more than 20 times. The frequent attacks left the Centurion completely riddled with holes, and a raging fire broke out. Finally, a few minutes later, a huge explosion broke the Centurion into two sections and quickly sank into the sea.

Except for the Centurion, other British battleships were also severely damaged.

Looking at everything in front of him, Admiral Kaden's eyes were red on board the Orion. "Telegram again to Lieutenant General Studdy, asking where his reinforcement formation is."

At this moment, Carden is extremely looking forward to seeing the lieutenant general, even exceeding his expectations for his wife and children. The lieutenant general reported an hour and a half ago that he encountered an Italian lightning strike formation 25 nautical miles away, and then there was no news.

While Admiral Cardon was anxiously waiting for news of the reinforcement formation, a communications staff officer ran in, which immediately caught the attention of everyone in the command tower.

Under everyone's expectant eyes, the communications staff officer immediately spoke. "Admiral, this is a telegram from Admiral Sinken. He said that he is coming with the Indefatigable. He is now ten nautical miles southwest of us."

This distance was already visible to the naked eye, and sure enough, an officer came to report later. "Report, a battleship was found to the southwest of us, and it was initially judged to be a battle cruiser."

Although it is not the reinforcement formation that I want, but at this critical moment, there are vegetables in the basket, and strengthening the strength of my formation is the most important thing.

"Immediately order Major General Sinken to come over with the Indefatigable, we need his reinforcements."

"Follow the Admiral."

Before the communications staff officer left, another communications staff officer ran in, and he said loudly with joy. "Admiral, Lieutenant General Sturdey telegraphed that he defeated the enemy interception formation and is coming, only 24 nautical miles away from us."

These words reactivated Kadeng's sinking heart~www.mtlnovel.com~. There was even a burst of cheers in the command tower. It was not known whether they were cheering for the arrival of the waiting reinforcements, or their own escape, or perhaps both.

The news that Lieutenant General Studi was coming was not only received by Carden, but also by Lefer. Looking at the telegram in front of him, the command tower was quiet.

Leifer looked up unwillingly, and saw the dilapidated Mediterranean fleet in the distance. As long as he was given another hour, he was confident to clean up the battleship in Carden's hands. Too bad he didn't.

"Order the formation except the battleship formation to search and rescue those who fell into the water. We will retreat in ten minutes."

Speaking of this, Lefer ordered again unwillingly. "Order the battleship formation, and the ships will concentrate on attacking the enemy Hercules and Vanguard."

It was obvious that Lefer wanted to achieve the sinking result before taking it away, and following his order, the United Fleet broke out with a more violent roar, and the two targeted warships trembled under the bombardment.

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