Chapter 2237 Thomas’ Counterattack 4
It has to be said that the time and position of Moltke's rush out were very good. Two British fast battleships were opening fire on the armored cruiser Mainz in front, and Moltke's position was far behind. At the first moment, the British's Neither the rangefinder nor the artillery were pointed at the battlecruiser! And even if the British realize it, the only ones that can immediately suppress it are the three cannons on the stern of the Duke of York! That's right, there are 3 artillery pieces. The hydraulic equipment of one of the artillery pieces had some problems during the battle just now...
Before the British's rangefinder turned around and took the rangefinder, Moltke had already achieved results! At a distance of 11 kilometers, the German 350MM heavy artillery would still be bloody even if it faced the Queen! At this moment, the German naval fleet's superb gunnery skills were undoubtedly revealed. After two and a half salvos, Moltke successfully caught the target! Then he got a direct hit in the fourth round! The time from the first shell to the time it hit was less than 2 minutes!
The first shell directly hit the side armor of the Duke of York's No. 3 turret! Even though the angle was very unfavorable, the powerful hard-cap armor-piercing projectile still successfully tore through the 250MM thick steel plate on the side and penetrated the turret diagonally! A violent explosion detonated the propellant pack located in the ammunition rack at the rear of the turret! So, in an instant, the No. 3 turret of the Duke of York seemed to light an oversized firecracker!
The violent explosion even shook the turret weighing hundreds of tons out of its base! Blocks of armored steel were blown into the sky, and a sky-high flame and black smoke enveloped the entire rear deck of the battleship. If the fire door in the British ammunition depot hadn't quickly slid down, I'm afraid the Duke of York would have followed Hull's example. The sage of the Royal Navy in the Battle of Golan...
The second shell left a deep gash in the waterline armored belt at the rear of the Duke of York! The main armor belt on the side strings can't withstand the attack, and the waterline armor on the tail, which is only about 150mm, is naturally useless! This shell left a three-meter scar on the rear of the hull! The violent vibration after penetrating the hull directly damaged one of the Duke of York's drive shafts! The Duke's speed and maneuverability were greatly reduced.
The Duke of York, which was stabbed in the back, immediately stopped attacking the armored cruiser Mainz and tried to turn around and fight back the attacker. However, the thick smoke at the rear of the hull obscured the rangefinder on the top of the mast. Coupled with the opponent's painting, the In the huge long-baseline rangefinder, the Moltke not far away is always a blurry figure. While turning, the poor Duke of York was hit twice more! One shell opened a large hole in the bow of the ship, while another shell penetrated the 330MM thick main armor belt. Although the dome armor behind blocked the fatal shot, the violent vibration still damaged the rear dome armor. several important steam pipelines.
"Send a message to the Prince of Wales, help me! We can't deal with this situation!" During the strikes, the captain of the Duke of York really panicked. Every hit of the shell made him feel like he was being knifed. Dancing on top! With just one lucky shell, this fast battleship costing 3.2 million pounds may be sunk! The British were even so careful that they had already filled the ammunition magazine of No. 3 turret that was hit with water! I would rather not have the shells inside than take the slightest risk of being killed!
"Work harder! We can send this Queen to the bottom of the sea!" While avoiding the bombardment from the Duke of York and the Prince of Wales, the Moltke continued to throw shells at the British warship. At this time, York Nearly one-third of the Duke's hull has been covered in flames and gunpowder smoke, and it looks unusually embarrassed. It seems that the Germans have already gained an advantage on this battlefield?
How can it be that easy? ! Don't forget, on this battlefield, the British have a huge advantage! They have a high enough fault tolerance rate! Just as the Moltke tried its best to attack the Duke of York,
Warspite and Valiant, which had eliminated an armored cruiser, aimed their guns at Moltke! A moment later, Moltke was covered by shells fired from the other direction!
"The Moltke can't hold on much longer." Looking at the Moltke struggling in the distance with fire and explosions, Hipper couldn't help but shook his head and said bitterly. According to the current rhythm, after the three Queens beat Moltke half to death, a group of destroyers went up and threw a bunch of torpedoes to finish it off. Once Moltke was sunk, Hipper's fleet would only have two battlecruisers, Seydlitz and Goeben. Just now, under Hipper's command, 2 battlecruisers and 1 armored ship were left. The cruiser barely resisted the four battlecruisers of Hood's fleet and the battlecruiser Tiger. Now, with the sinking of the last Mainz-class armored cruiser, Hipper knew that if he continued to resist, the entire fleet would be destroyed. It’s over!
"Send a telegram to Crown Prince Ruprecht and say that Hipper's fleet is no longer able to fulfill its previous responsibilities. If His Highness agrees, then I will lead the remaining fleet to temporarily evade it. If not, then we will fight to the end. ." Hipper ordered. When he sent this telegram, he did not hesitate at all, nor did he leave his fighting position in advance! Still with two battlecruisers, they stubbornly resisted the opponent's attack.
However, what Hipper did not expect was that before Ruprecht called back, the Thomas fleet, which had already freed up its hands, did not continue to pursue the two battlecruisers, but left the Furious and Duke of York behind. , leading other fleets to quickly sail in an easterly direction. Their target was clearly the main force of the German High Seas Fleet, which was fighting with the Grand Fleet.
A few minutes later, Hipper also received a telegram from Ruprecht. The latter's telegram was very clear: "You can evacuate, do it cheaply!"
However, when the Thomas Fleet abandoned the Hipper Fleet to support the main force of the Grand Fleet, it happened to be when the main force of the German High Seas Fleet had just begun to besiege the Emperor of India!
"Your Excellency, Commander, with the cooperation of the auxiliary battleships and the air force, we can kill the last two German battlecruisers!" An officer said with some reluctance as he watched the Hipper fleet gradually withdrawing under the cover of smoke.
"If we had been a quarter of an hour earlier, I would never have let that guy go, but now, if we were late, the fleet would be wiped out!" Thomas was also unwilling to give in, but looked at the people who had been killed in the distance. With the main force of the fleet in disarray, and the telegram that Jericho had just received to transfer the flagship, Thomas knew that even if he had restored some of the decline, the British fleet was still at a disadvantage!
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