With clear skies and cool autumn breezes, Scapa Bay was in the midst of pleasant weather on 3 September, with the blue waters reflecting off the sparkling waves of the afternoon sun. However, the German fighters flying through the air used the bombs and torpedoes they carried to mercilessly shatter this picture-like beauty!

"Boom!" When a deafening and earth-shattering bang exploded in the air, a cloud of red fire tens of meters high instantly burst out on the deck of the USS Brave; A large number of shattered steel fragments flew into the sky like a rainstorm of pear blossoms, and the violent impact of the explosion made the fleet aircraft carrier with a standard displacement of 22,500 tons tremble violently. Toxic smoke billowed from the hangar below deck, waves of fire rushed in, and more than a dozen Sea Fighter planes were torn to pieces by the furious force, and the twisted and charred floor was littered with broken internal organs and limbs. In a matter of moments, the German bombers had already made the first hit of the trip; A 500kg bomb immediately damaged the aircraft carrier, which was converted from a large cruiser, and completely lost its combat effectiveness!

Smoke poured out, flames flew, and the battered Brave not only did not stop the German planes, but only stimulated their bloodthirsty beasts even more; Almost in the blink of an eye, seven more German bombers crossed in from high altitudes and from the sea. According to Fang Yan's battle plan, the British aircraft carrier is the number one target to be eliminated, and this kind of ship that can fly regular carrier-based aircraft must be sent to the bottom of the sea no matter what. At this time, the German pilots strictly followed this order and carried it out during the battle.

In just two minutes, the Brave, which was moored motionless and barely regained any anti-aircraft fire, was hit by three bombs and four torpedoes in succession. Accompanied by soaring flames and thunderous explosions, the British capital aircraft carrier, which can carry 48 carrier-based aircraft and has a speed of more than 30 knots, sank sharply at a speed that is visible to the naked eye before it could release a plane to Germany!

At the same time, the aircraft carrier Athletic, which was moored next to the Brave, was also destroyed. Although her standard displacement is just over 10,000 tons, its speed of 25 knots and the indicators of 16 carrier-based aircraft. It is also at the bottom of the aircraft carrier family; But her wide and flat flight deck had brought a great disaster to herself. Two bombers swooped down from a high altitude like meteors, and one of the planes dropped a dud bomb that went straight through the deck to the bottom of the ship. Before the British sailors could taste this pitiful joy, two 450-millimeter aerial torpedoes that were diving quickly hit the bow and amidships of the Athletic within half a minute.

In this plane, Germany succeeded in acquiring the full set of technology for the Japanese 93 oxygen torpedo in the autumn of 1936; However, the German Navy's top brass, who were completely shocked by this excellent weapon, did not feel complacent because of this. The Navy soon began its miniaturization process in order to allow the weapon to be mounted on submarines and aircraft. Two years later. A 450 mm light oxygen torpedo was developed by the Ordnance Bureau, and it immediately replaced the old conventional torpedo and became the standard armament of German naval aviation.

With the addition of pure oxygen as an incendiary gas, the performance of this torpedo has been greatly improved over its predecessors. With a total weight of 0.9 tons, it can travel 3.5 kilometers at a speed of 45 knots, and its charge reaches an astonishing 300 kilograms. You know, the charge of an ordinary torpedo of this class is only about 150 kg. If this 450 mm torpedo is hit, then the target ship is equivalent to eating a 533 mm caliber submarine-launched torpedo, and for any warship, it is extremely tricky to be attacked by such a powerful underwater explosion!

At this time. The miniature aircraft carrier Athletic God, a converted from an old light cruiser, became the first sacrifice to be buried under this torpedo. How can she, with her ordinary underwater defenses, withstand the bombardment of two heavy torpedoes with a body of 10,000 tons? Her hull soon poured thousands of tons of seawater and tilted sharply towards starboard. In just a few minutes. The Athletic God completely capsized and sank; Except for a few dozen of the ship's 664 crew members who escaped from the sky, the rest sank into the sandy seabed at a depth of more than 30 meters.

The bombing and sinking of 2 aircraft carriers did not allow the large number of German bombers to vent their grudges; Almost moments after the former was submerged into the sea, as many as 80 bombers of 5 squadrons. It was already roaring towards the six British cruisers in the harbor and the battle-cruiser Counterattack, which had obvious outward characteristics. In the combat regulations of the German pilots, the fast cruiser was listed as the second target to be solved after the aircraft carrier; Because of their high speed and long range, they can achieve rapid ocean deployment. Become the de facto ruler and defender of British "sea power".

In contrast, the position of slow battleships was not so important. After entering the aviation age, this kind of ship with empty firepower is just fish on the chopping board in front of carrier-based aircraft.

The fighters in the air roared and shuttled, the machine guns spewed out tongues of fire, and there were constantly loud noises that shook the sky, roaring in the harbor surrounded by this archipelago. The battlecruiser Counterattack, with a full load displacement of 38,300 tons, was hit by seven bombs one after another, and in an instant, the bridge collapsed, the chimney broke and flew, and the 242-meter-long hull was covered by surging flames. The pitch-black smoke rose hundreds of metres high, and even the entire Scottish Highlands could see her burning smoke. The smoke and smoke of the fire were so fierce that the few remaining German bombers could not accurately aim at her position during the dive.

Soon, however, torpedo-mounted comrades helped the frustrated pilots solve their problems. Six torpedoes jumped into the water one after the other, rushing towards the big ship like a mad dog on the loose. With the successive appearance of magnificent water curtains more than 30 meters high, the counterattack, which had served for 23 years, finally came to the end of her military career; No one could see her sinking into the sea, but when the smoke and flames slowly dissipated, the figure of the Counterattack completely disappeared from the sea.

"Rush out of port, we can't just stay still and be bombed by the Germans!" On the destroyer USS Escort, Ensign Buren was the first to react, shouting amidst the roar of artillery fire. It's just that his handsome and sunny face no longer has the calm confidence of 20 minutes ago, but has become star-splitting, making Green, who is familiar with him, a little unrecognizable to his friend.

Just now, Buren witnessed another tragedy that made him feel painful: the 9,400-ton light cruiser Manchester, after being hit by two torpedoes, there was a large explosion in the ammunition depot, and the entire warship broke off from the middle and front, and sank so much that even the mast could not be found in an instant. The debris scattered all over the sky made Bren feel a strong blackness and dizziness in front of him; In addition to the deep pain of the misfortune of his comrades, he also had a bitter grudge against the Germans who caused this state of affairs!

Guns were dense, bullets rained down, and after being hit by the German carrier-based planes with a thunderous blow, the British battleships finally began to try to break out of the harbor. Ignoring the damage to the boiler turbines caused by the sudden increase in power load, the ships were up and running in a matter of minutes. However, all the resistance of the British was taken into account by Fang Yan, who had drawn up an attack plan.

Seeing that the British battleships began to maneuver, the German bombers immediately turned their focus to these early birds. Although they were able to distract their firepower and not be able to make a final attack on some of the wounded ships that had already been damaged, there was a second wave of attack after them, and these half-crippled heads could be left for the teammates behind them!

Seeing a faint and quiet white line of water rushing towards him, Bren no longer had the heart to pay attention to why the torpedo's track was so small; All he could do was use the microphone to get the power department to speed up as hard as it could, while ordering the helmsman to hit the compass to the bottom left side. Grimm, on the other hand, turned pale, kept chanting the names of God and the gods of the heavens. Perhaps the German pilots who dropped the bombs underestimated the speed of the target's reaction, and the torpedo brushed against the escort's deflected bow. Seeing that the torpedo had rushed out from the other side, Green, who had escaped death, unexpectedly fell to the hard deck with weak legs and involuntarily; No one laughed at his gaffe, because everyone knew what would happen to the 1400-ton destroyer when it was torpedoed!

"Torpedo! A torpedo appeared 600 yards in front of the port side! Green was in a state of panic when a terrified cry came to his ears from the deck. His spirit tensed instantly, and he looked fixedly, only to see another imperceptible white line rapidly approaching him; In less than half a minute, it will be a complete encounter with the battleship! Seeing that the torpedo was no longer possible, Green grabbed Bren by the shoulders and dragged him off the bridge amid the latter's screams. Two seconds later, Green stepped onto the railing and jumped into the sea without hesitation.

The cold waters poured in from all directions, soaking his clothes to a heavy soak, but Green, who was in a life-or-death situation, burst out with unprecedented potential and swam as hard as he could towards the shore away from the warship. In a few ventilation rooms, an earth-shattering noise came from behind Green. With the roar in his brain, he bit his tongue suddenly, adhered to the line of clarity of consciousness, and swam more than 100 meters away in the next three minutes. Finally, the horrix of terror created by the sinking of the warship did not engulf him, and Green only felt a short-lived turbulent current.

"What kind of torpedo is this, and where did the planes of the Germans come from?" It was only at this point that a series of questions appeared in Green's mind one after another. However, to his great sorrow and pain, no matter how much he thought, he could not get any answer in his cognition! (To be continued.) )