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Sims's arrangement is quite unique. He deployed the USS Nevada, which has the weakest combat effectiveness, in the third battle position. In this way, it can get fire support from the USS Idaho when necessary, while the USS Pennsylvania is at the rear of the team.

, although its combat effectiveness is somewhat worse than that of the New Mexico class, the Americans believe that it is okay to support it for a period of time. As long as the Nevada is fine, the battle line will not collapse.

In fact, Hipper was indeed a little overconfident. Compared with the three Bismarck-class battleships, the combat effectiveness of the four American Iron Turtles can indeed be said to be about the same. However, in terms of auxiliary battleships, Hipper's fleet is much worse.

.The battle just started ten minutes ago

Bell, the battleship Bismarck, which was hit by concentrated fire, was hit many times by dense 14-inch shells. Although it could not penetrate the core cabin due to the distance problem, the continuous hits of the main gun shells still made this king of the German navy feel pressure.

Quite big.

The slender Atlantic bow was hit by at least three artillery shells. One shell destroyed the anchor room, another shell opened a hole in the bow armor belt, and the third shell hit the sailor's cabin on the forecastle, causing a violent explosion.

caused a big

The fire directly ignited various cotton fabrics in the cabin, and billowing smoke and flames began to spread in the cabin. More shells hit the amidships of the Bismarck. In less than fifteen minutes, No. 3 of the Bismarck

The turret was actually directly

Three hits! The first shot hit the turret. The thick armor plate made the shell useless. The second shot hit the upper horizontal part of the turret and left a deep bullet mark on the turret. However, the violent vibration and explosion still caused

The optical instruments attached to the turret were destroyed, and the third shell completely ended the turret. The shell fired from the connection between the turret and the turret completely destroyed the rotating mechanism, and the vibration caused by the explosion further damaged the ammunition of the real turret.

There is a problem with the conveyor channel.

After losing one-fifth of their firepower, the two New Mexico-class battleships became more and more courageous as they fought. Although the Bismarck's thick armor ensured the safety of the core compartment, the fire on the ship's surface had lost control under the opponent's continuous attacks. A large number of

The damage control team members were knocked down by flying shrapnel, and even a 14-inch artillery shell knocked out nearly 20 officers and soldiers of the entire team.

What happened in one go! At that time, these team members tried to extinguish the fire of a secondary battery emplacement, but then the shell accurately hit a nearby emplacement. While reducing the 150mm naval gun into parts, countless shrapnel tore it into pieces.

The compartment between the secondary guns was blown up and the German officers and soldiers who were putting out the fire next door were reduced to a pile of minced meat. The casualty rate of the entire battleship continued to rise.

Bismarck's self-sacrifice gave Bavaria and Baden an opportunity. These two battleships had every advantage in the fight, especially the battleship Bavaria, which exchanged fire with Nevada. Its 10 15-inch guns easily suppressed it.

Hit the opponent's 10 15-inch guns. In the previous battle, the Bavaria hit the opponent at least 7 times! In addition to the two shells that were bounced off the heavy main armor belt, another shell hit the two sides of the No. 3 turret.

The main gun barrel was destroyed,

The fourth shell landed between the two gun galleries, destroying the two secondary guns. The remaining three shells punched four holes in the first place. One of the shells tore open an area of ​​nearly 7

A big hole of square meters! In a few minutes

In a short time, nearly 800 tons of seawater poured into the rear compartment! If nothing else happened, the Germans believed that the first trophy they gained in this battle might be this 10-door 14-inch ship.

American battleship with artillery!

But history often does not go as people set it. Just when Bavaria was easily attacking Nevada, a water bomb put Pennsylvania in trouble! This water bomb fired from the Baden was

It entered the water 20 meters away from the enemy ship, and successfully penetrated the underwater protection system of the stern, and finally collided with the high-speed rotating transmission shaft! This shell weighing more than 800 kilograms directly hit

The transmission shaft, which rotates hundreds of times per minute, was broken into two pieces. Under the action of inertia, this section of the transmission shaft was thrown hard against the next door. And it was successfully smashed! Then it continued unabated.

It destroyed several cabins, and countless debris and flames rushed towards the cabin where another drive shaft was placed. The violent vibrations caused by the explosion also caused some damage to the wheelhouse. The maneuverability and speed of the Pennsylvania were greatly reduced.

!

Although the Pennsylvania's firepower is still intact, it is a pity that this blow almost made it lose its combat effectiveness. The battleship that cannot follow the formation has no use unless the remaining American battleships are willing to reduce their speed and wait for the damaged battleship. West

Seeing the crooked Pennsylvania that had gone away, Muse's face turned gloomy. After losing this battleship, he would not be able to survive a three-on-three battle.

What a complete disadvantage! At the same time, when the Germans on the opposite side saw the out-of-control Pennsylvania, they couldn't help but be shocked. Hipper immediately redistributed firepower and entered a state of capture and fighting. In desperation, the West

Muth could only order six destroyers to cover the stricken giant ship's evacuation toward France. At the same time, an armored cruiser was dispatched to tow the warship, which had almost lost power.

The battle just now caused the Bismarck to be seriously injured. In less than an hour of battle, the German naval flagship had lost 40% of its firepower, but its opponent also paid the price. A triple-mounted main body of the New Mexico

The gun turret was jammed. The Idaho behind it also had two guns destroyed. After losing a battleship, the US fleet's battleships were at a disadvantage.

, but Sims obviously cannot retreat at this time. If he leaves, Magiffin will face the double attack of Hipper and Tycho. At this time, the U.S. fleet is fully firing. Under the cover of the battleship, all light cruisers and torpedo ships

He rushed out and launched the most violent charge towards the German fleet in the distance. Facing the menacing American warships, Hipper rationally chose to avoid them.

"The U.S. fleet is like a pack of angry wolves. They rush towards us desperately. The threat posed by these opponents that release smoke and approach at high speed is even greater than the American 14-inch guns. We only have 4 light cruisers.

, and facing the opponent's armored cruise, only one is enough to tear apart our defense line." Hipper later commented on the situation at that time. Sims only had two armored cruisers in total, one of which was used for towing.

The Pennsylvania left the battlefield, while the other ship served as the spearhead of the lightning strike fleet.

Facing the German fleet, facing this ship with a displacement of up to 15,000 tons and equipped with a 10-inch main gun and a large number of 6-inch main guns, the German light cruiser was obviously no match. The intensive firepower easily destroyed a ship.

The German light cruiser, which was unable to dodge, was shattered into pieces.

One of the two 10-inch shells hit the power compartment and stopped it, while the other 10-inch shell hit the magazine below the main gun on the bow, and the explosive ammunition directly destroyed the light cruiser with a displacement of more than 4,000 tons.

Break it into two pieces. After 1 minute, it disappears on the sea.

The Bismarck, which had been beaten violently at first, immediately became the focus of the opponent's torpedo boats. Four of the main guns protected by heavy armor were lost. It is conceivable how many secondary guns without sufficient protection could be saved. The side string is currently

With only three 150mm secondary guns and a number of 88mm anti-mine guns left, the Bismarck struggled to withstand the lightning strike. "Abandon the attack on the New Mexico, let's play with these little things first."

I want to clean it up!" In desperation, Hipper could only use the main gun to fight flies. Huge water columns rose up on the sea. Fist-sized shrapnel spread out around the explosion point, facing no protection.

The destroyer swept away, and many American officers and soldiers were directly beaten into a pile of pulp by this deadly rain of bullets. These shrapnel penetrated the fragile shell of the destroyer without any hindrance and then collided wantonly inside the hull.

Bavaria, which was in second place, also sent part of its firepower to support the flagship. Under the suppression of crossfire, the first wave of the U.S. Navy's charge was disintegrated by a dense rain of bullets, and four destroyers were blown into pieces. The other two destroyers were attacked

A near-missile attack, the fragments produced by the 15-inch high-explosive bombs that exploded less than 10 meters shredded the power cabins of the two destroyers. Now they can only float and drift slowly on the water.

The first wave of attacks by the American torpedo ships was in vain. However, just as Hipper dispersed the firepower, the Americans also successfully fired a water bomb. This shell entered the hull from the bow of the Bismarck, tearing apart three layers along the way.

Highly elastic steel and finally

Behind the 45mm layer of armor, he successfully penetrated into the boiler room and blew the two boilers into pieces. The holes opened allowed at least 1,000 tons of water to enter the battleship! Hipper only felt a slight shake in the hull.

, and then tilted slightly to one side.

The American lightning strike formation, which discovered the Bismarck's abnormality, gave full play to the combat policy of taking advantage of your illness and killing you. The second wave of destroyers attacked quickly. The eight destroyers divided into two lightning strike formations on the sea and rushed forward. Their firepower was greatly reduced.

Under the cover of Bayern, the Bismarck tried its best to dodge the opponent's lightning strikes. As a result, something unexpected happened. The Bismarck avoided at least 6 torpedo attacks, but

The Bavaria, which was at the back, was unfortunately hit by one. The torpedo exploded less than 5 meters away from the Bavaria. The energy generated by hundreds of kilograms of explosives packed a large amount of seawater and squeezed the Bavaria's fragile hull.

With the impact of seawater and shrapnel, a large hole of at least 6 square meters was opened in the front of the Bavaria's hull, and 900 tons of seawater poured in in just a few minutes!

Although the second lightning strike was eventually dispersed, the Americans lost five more destroyers, but two German battleships were also damaged. The situation of the Bismarck was particularly bad, with the superstructure severely damaged and nearly half of its firepower lost.

The power cabin was also damaged, and the warship tilted to a certain extent due to flooding.
Chapter completed!