Cunningham stared at the trajectory of the two torpedoes, quickly calculated in his mind where the Weary might be hit, and secretly prayed in his heart that God would bless the battleship Weary again. 『『，

The battleship Warweary once participated in the world-famous Battle of Jutland, during which it was besieged by the German High Seas Fleet due to the failure of the steering mechanism, and the hull was hit by 15 large-caliber shells and did not sink.

The War Weary underwent its first modernization between November 1924 and April 1926. The main modification projects included the addition of anti-torpedo bulging compartments on both sides of the hull, and now it is a critical moment for the anti-torpedo compartment on the starboard side to be put to the test.

Cunningham stood in the bridge and clearly saw the Warweary turn to starboard.

Choose wisely! Cunning applauded the decision of Captain Krachley of the battle-weary, which allowed the most important power compartment to avoid damage and allowed the more defensive starboard torpedo bulkhead to withstand the blow.

Cunningham glanced at the trajectory of the two torpedoes, one of which was supposed to pass behind the stern, as for the other

At 1,000 or 800 meters, Cunningham held a section of steel pipe in the bridge with both hands, and fixed his body and prepared for a collision.

I hope that after being shot, I don't stall too much, otherwise once I fall behind, I will definitely be surrounded and annihilated by the proud navy and air force, and end up with the same fate as the Sovereign.

The sailors on the starboard deck outside the bridge were panicked, and they also discovered the dangerous situation of the Warweary, and some sailors scattered to avoid the torpedoes.

Some brave anti-aircraft gunners lowered their muzzles and fired frantically at the torpedo in the water, trying to destroy the torpedo before it hit the warweary. But to no avail.

There was silence on the bridge. Cunning silently drew a cross on his chest with his right hand.

Hey? What is that?

Just when that torpedo approached about five hundred meters from the battleship Weary of War. A dark figure rushed up from the right rear of the Warweary.

It's a destroyer.

The destroyer used its emaciated body to stand in front of the war-weary's majestic hull, allowing the deadly torpedo to crash into itself.

The fire erupted with a loud rumble, and the ferocious torpedo blew the destroyer's slender hull in two.

In the first half of the ship, the hull slid out of the sea surface for more than 200 meters under the action of inertia, and then the bow of the ship was raised high and rushed down to the bottom of the sea.

The second half of the ship rushed into the billowing smoke and fire, and then disappeared without a trace.

More than 100 crew members sank in the turbulent waters along with the two hulls.

It all happened so quickly and so suddenly that Cunningham didn't have time to identify the destroyer, and the battleship Warweary sped past the scene of the feat.

Although there is no trace of that destroyer anymore. Cunningham was still staring at the window, then silently raised his right hand and saluted the window.

"It's the Hero." A deep voice rang out from behind Cunningham.

Cunningham looked back at the lieutenant who had spoken.

"Are you sure it's the destroyer USS Hero?" Cunningham asked.

Met Cunningham's icy gaze, the major choked up and said, "I'm sure it's the Hero, I once served on it." ”

"Its feat lives up to its name. We don't have the power to save his crew, but we have the ability to make his feat forever celebrated in the annals of history. Of course, the most important thing is that we have to avenge it. Cunningham's face flushed strangely, and tears welled up in the corners of his eyes

The destroyer HMS Hero was the last ship of the Mediterranean Fleet to sink in this naval battle.

After the sinking of the Hero, the Luftwaffe launched two more rounds of air strikes against the fleeing Mediterranean Fleet, but to no avail, and did not reluctantly withdraw from the battle until nightfall.

The battle of September 11, 1940 is destined to go down in history.

More than six hours of fighting. The Luftwaffe 2nd Air Force, the 1st Air Division of the German Naval Air Corps and the Italian Navy joined forces to fight at a slight cost of 21 aircraft shot down, the battleship Count Cavour seriously damaged, and a light cruiser and two destroyers sunk. Achieved a great victory in the sinking of the HMS Eagle aircraft carrier, the battleships Sovereign and Malaya, two light cruisers and six destroyers of the Royal Navy's Mediterranean Fleet.

In the early morning of 12 September, the Italian Navy's military port of Taranto was bustling with activity, with a neat military band playing triumphal music, and a surging crowd waving Italian and naval flags vigorously to welcome the triumphant return of Italian warriors.

Mussolini stood at the front of the crowd on the podium, proudly waving to the warships and warships slowly approaching the harbor.

After receiving the good news, Mussolini flew to the port of Taranto overnight to participate in the triumphal ceremony.

Mussolini couldn't help but be filled with excitement at the sight of the mighty Italian naval officers and sailors of the British Royal Navy who were escorted off the ship in despair.

After taking out almost half of the Mediterranean Fleet, the dream of turning the Mediterranean Sea into an inland lake of Italy and rebuilding the glory of the Roman Empire has been half accomplished.

Facing the naval officers lined up in front of the podium, Mussolini immediately adjusted his mood, raised his chin, and began his passionate speech

At the same time, in a makeshift dormitory outside Lucca Airport on the island of Malta, Chen Dao walked out of the bedroom sleepily and saw Garland absentmindedly walking past a group of pilots who were doing morning exercises with a broom and a mop.

The pilots waited for Garland to pass by before them, and then began to whisper.

In one night, Colonel Garland's name for "taking too long to go to the toilet" had spread to every corner of the 1st Aviation Division.

Colonel Garland had just returned from a toilet session on the USS Eagle when he was called to his office by an enraged commander.

That night, in full view of everyone, Garland relinquished his command and concentrated on taking over a toilet in the southeast corner of the airport dormitory, and calmly started the task of cleaning the toilet for a week.

Chen Dao walked into the toilet, stood in front of Garand, stared at the hard-working Garand and said, "How does it taste to clean the toilet?" ”

"The smell here is very unpleasant to me, and I strongly request the distribution of gas masks." Garland said.

"What is your reason for working in this unpleasant place? It's because you're making me very unpleasant. Work hard, and if you can't do the job, I assure you that there are even more unpleasant things that lie ahead. ”

"I don't think it's going to be more unpleasant than cleaning a toilet." Garland retorted.

"Originally, I had reached an agreement with the Air Force that the First Air Division would be stationed in the Mediterranean theater, but I couldn't let a division commander who had to spend two hours on the toilet last time lead them, and I'm actively considering a new candidate, why don't you recommend one to me?" Chen Dao said.

"We're not leaving?" Garland excitedly rushed in front of Chen Dao.

"Carrier-based pilots are withdrawn, ground-based pilots remain." Chen Dao said.

"How long?" Garland asked.

"For a long time. We will gradually take over the Mediterranean theater from the Second Air Force until the end of the war. ”

Hearing this, Garland saluted Chen Dao and said, "Your Excellency, commander, don't worry, I will definitely be a qualified toilet cleaner." ”

"Well, for the sake of your decent attitude, the time is reduced to five days." Chen Dao said.

Two days later, the results of the naval battle spread all over the world and set off countless waves in all political circles in the world.

At Chen Dao's strong request, the German world recorded this naval battle in military history under the name of "911 Naval Battle".

After this battle, German naval aviation officially stepped onto the stage of the Second World War. (To be continued......) u