The French 380 mm cap-piercing projectile, referred to as APC, weighs 844 kilograms, and under the propulsion of four packs of 74 kilograms each, the ejection speed reaches 830 meters per second, and the maximum range is 41,700 meters. A 1,600-pound iron stone is flying at you at a speed close to 3,000 yards per hour, and it makes people shudder to think about it.

And the British don't have to imagine it now, they are about to feel the horror in real time. Somerville stood on the tall bridge of the Ark Royal, looking at the French cruiser that was speeding towards the front of the fleet route, and his heart was cold, the Ark Royal would probably not be able to run away this time.

The Royal Navy's H-Fleet should not have fallen into such a Jedi situation, and everything was due to the nature of the mission. It can be said that in the end, the responsibility was pit by Whitehall and the fat man in London.

In order to guarantee the raid...... London will not admit to the sneak attack, they have 10,000 reasons to justify their actions, and the only ones who are wrong are the French and the world. In order to ensure the success of the raid and to prevent the French from being prepared, the air raid had to be carried out simultaneously with the British seizure of the French fleet in port, so the operation was scheduled for the night. Since it was a night voyage, the fleet had to be shortened and the ships should be close enough to see each other and communicate using lights to prevent them from being cut off or left behind.

And because no matter how the British disguised it, the essence of this mission was a sneak attack, and the fleet command level unanimously had the mentality of being a thief, that is, if I can't see others, others will definitely not see me, and they deliberately narrowed down the search range. Somerville gathered the fleet together, and did not even send the ships that were supposed to go out to reconnoitre, because he was worried that the reconnaissance ships might be hit by a passing merchant ship or patrol boat, revealing the whereabouts of the fleet. affects the completion of this mission.

Another objective reason is that the fleet is simply too small. In Churchill's plan, the operation was so sure that there would be no resistance from the French at all, just run there, air strikes, and then retreat, like a parade. There was no naval force in this area except for the French, who remained in the harbor all the time, so there was no need for too many escort ships in the fleet. Only a minimum of defense is sufficient. Churchill was trying to concentrate naval ships on his homeland, so how could he be willing to send them out.

Therefore, this fleet, which claims to be a detachment, actually only adds up to four warships. An aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal, a Kent class heavy cruiser HMS Cornwall, and two A-class destroyers, not even logistics supply ships. This kind of lineup, even if Somerville has the intention to go out to investigate, he can't do it, not to mention that he doesn't have that kind of plan at all.

Eventually, by the time the British discovered the traces of the French fleet. The French have come close enough to be visually recognizable.

When the French fleet discovered that there was an aircraft carrier in the fleet in front of it, the identity of the other party was already revealed. These are the vile, shameless, treacherous, British dogs who stick daggers in the backs of their allies! From that time of the Battle of Trafalgar. Oh no, since the time of the Hundred Years' War, new and old hatreds have come to their hearts at the same time, and there is nothing to stop the French from venting their anger.

Three French Gepard-class destroyers advanced at high speed. Rushed directly at the two British A-class destroyers. The French Cheetah-class destroyers are modifications of the famous Puma-class large destroyers, all three of which are new ships that have just entered service, with a displacement of 2,400 tons. Equipped with five single-mounted guns of 40 times diameter 138 mm, two-shaft propulsion, and a speed of 35 knots, it can be classified as a light cruiser in other countries.

The British A-class destroyer is very shabby, with only a small body of 1,300 tons, equipped with four 120mmmkix single-barreled guns, and a maximum speed of 35 knots, however, these two destroyers are old ships that have been in service for 10 years, and the latest Enthusiast was also commissioned in April 30, the hull is old, and the main engine is also seriously damaged, and it has long been unable to run the maximum speed.

In the moonlight, in the face of the menacing formation of French destroyers, the two British destroyers did not know how to react at all, and they were blinded by the salvo of the French battleships. Although the impact point was far from theirs, the overwhelming power really frightened the British sailors. Both destroyers had been participating in escort activities in the North Atlantic, and so far that day, they had dropped a dozen depth charges, not even a single shot, let alone shelling. Seeing a forest of towering columns of water suddenly erected a kilometer away, some recruits almost peed their crotch in fright, and this terrifying power could turn their small boats into scrap metal with a single shot.

The captain of the Antelope finally reacted, and he found that the flagship had not issued any command signals since the French opened fire, and as the commander of the destroyer formation, he had to act according to the standard response plan learned in the naval academy.

He had already seen that the destroyers had lost the conditions for launching torpedo attacks on the French battleships, and the large destroyers of the other side had already set their sights on them, two against three, and there was almost no chance of winning, and the only thing that could be done at present was to try their best to protect themselves, divert the opposing destroyer formation, and relieve some pressure on the aircraft carriers.

The Antelope made what he thought was the right choice, signaling to follow the lead ship to the Zealous that was trailing behind the flank, and then made a sharp turn, firing a few sporadic shots at the French destroyer formation, and the two destroyers fled at high speed to the northeast. The French destroyer received the order to annihilate the British destroyer, and seeing that the other side wanted to run, of course, it could not let it go, and the three large destroyers immediately turned diagonally and chased after the British destroyer's course.

Seeing that the two destroyers escorting the escort did not say hello, but suddenly turned to flee, which really surprised the heavy patrol of the Cornwall, which was speeding from the rear.

What is the situation, when did the Royal Navy begin to abandon the main ship and flee without a fight. Even if the opponent is a battleship, it is the tradition of the British Royal Navy to charge bravely at the opponent. The Cornwall cursed the two cowards as it sent a light signal to the flagship, reporting the emergency. But when I looked back, the flagship was no longer on its original course, and the Ark Royal had turned its bow and evacuated at high speed in the opposite direction. The lights were turned off and the darkness was over, with no intention of replying to the Cornwall.

At that moment, the heart of the captain of the Cornwall was broken, and he found himself abandoned, one could even say betrayed. Although in the British Royal Navy, there is no shortage of such cases of sacrificing a warship to protect friendly ships and the evacuation of large forces. When they were studying at the military academy, the officers of the Royal Navy generally expressed their understanding and support for this sacrifice, and some even pursued the successful ones as tacticians.

But. When I really became the victim of the escape of the friendly ship in exchange, that feeling was not like that at all, but a kind of frustration and chill. If Somerville had ordered the Convair to stop the French warship and buy time for the flagship to retreat, the Cornwall would have happily stepped forward to fight to the death to protect the honor of the Royal Navy of the British Empire. But what is it now, the Cornwall was ordered to go to the aid of the destroyers. Then he didn't even say hello, he just turned around and ran away, which was clearly using the Cornwall as bait.

However, the captain of the Cornwall had no time to vent his frustrations. The three French light cruisers, which intercepted in a roundabout way to the right, found that the British aircraft carrier had turned around, and hurriedly adjusted its course accordingly, and the Cornwall was just on their course. The Galissonee-class light cruisers lined up in a column. Changing course, trying to grab the T-shaped head of the Cornwall. In that case, it is a fight to the death. HMS Cornwall straightened the bow and rushed towards the French light cruiser.

Compared with the Royal Navy's Cornwall, which was full of tragedy and determination to fight to the death, the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal has stood at the gates of hell.

Somerville knew that once the Ark Royal fell into a close battle with a large enemy ship, it would definitely be a dead end, and the Glory was the most vivid example, being beaten alive by two German war patrols, and the Ark Royal might also be a member of this stupid war, Somerville's heart was full of unwillingness.

Somerville was not prepared to sit still, he felt that the French fleet might be attracted by the escort ships, and if the Ark Royal retreated with all its might, with the speed of 32 knots of this aircraft carrier, and with the cover of night, it should be able to escape from this dangerous sea area before the French completely surround him. As long as you survive the current hurdle and escape the sight of the French, then you can only rely on luck to find a lone warship again in the middle of the night.

Once it escapes from this area, the Ark Royal will be able to turn to the Mediterranean Fleet for protection and help, and when that time comes, turn to the French to settle the score.

However, before Somerville's calculation could be started, the cruel reality was already in front of his eyes. The battleships of the French fleet did not turn to attack the destroyers and heavy cruisers, only one large heavy cruiser broke away from the formation and turned in the direction of the Cornwall, but the Richelieu still maintained its high speed and pursued the Ark Royal.

The French battleships, which had not fired a single salvo from the front, seemed to have found the long-range shelling at night ineffective, and severely obscured the view, and were not prepared to continue wasting ammunition on it.

The Richelieu remained unfazed and flanked behind the Ark Royal, and the distance between the two sides was slowly closing noticeably. The Ark Royal no longer dared to change course, that would only shorten the distance between the two sides, and the only thing the huge fleet carrier could do now was to rush forward with full horsepower.

The deck of the aircraft carrier was in chaos, and the sailors were trying to throw all the flammable materials they could find into the sea, and the fire hoses were all connected, and the damage management team was ready to go. The two twin 114-mm high-level dual-purpose naval guns on the starboard rear slowly turned to the side rear, and the barrels were raised to aim at the approaching French battleship.

The battleship Richelieu slowly approached, and the distance between the two sides was close to five thousand meters, and the British could already faintly make out the turrets and bridges of the French battleships. The British sailors stared with bated breath as they looked at the enemy ships behind them with fear.

The French did not have the slightest intention of firing, still silently like a black boulder slowly pressed towards the Ark Royal, under the tremendous pressure, Somerville finally couldn't help it, the performance of the French in his eyes, completely like a lion playing with a poor lamb, complete naked humiliation, the French are unscrupulously showing off their strength.

Somerville finally gave up hope of escape, and the Ark Royal had been in service for five years. It has not been overhauled in the dock, the machine has been worn out, the bottom of the ship has not been cleaned for a long time, it must have been full of barnacles, the ship has not been able to run at a top speed of 32 knots, and now the bilge boiler has been pressurized to a dangerous power, but the speed of the ship is still around 29 knots, and the speed of the other party is more than 30 knots, and his plan has been completely frustrated.

In that case, there is only resistance. The Royal Navy will never bow to the French, and let the French know that the Royal Ark is by no means a lamb without resistance, and it is by no means a prey to be played with at will. The distance was close to four thousand meters, and the oblate turrets of the two twin 114 mm high-level dual-purpose guns on the starboard side of the Ark Royal were the first to let out a roar of resistance, and four 41-kilogram semi-armor-piercing shells smashed into the Richelieu. This distance in naval warfare is no longer a question of whether you can hit it or not, but whether you can hit it accurately.

The four shells that had been ranged and aimed for a long time all hit, and the two shells that hit the side of the ship were immediately blown away by the heavy armor. Not even a single spark was hit, and the other two hit the deck and the bow. The British watched the bow and bottom of the bridge of the French battleship burst into two bright fireballs, and under the illumination of the fireballs, they could clearly see the blue-gray livery of the bridge of the French battleship and the debris flying from the explosion of the bow. The British sailors on deck and on the bridge could not help but cheer and cheer loudly for the gunners.

But the French battleship still did not react, and the two shells did not seem to cause any damage to her at all, and she still approached slowly and silently. The terrible feeling of oppression slowly enveloped the entire deck of the aircraft carrier, and the cheers of the British sailors gradually faded away, and soon became silent.

The British shells actually hurt the French. A dignified battleship was shot in the face by the British with four water cannons, which was innocuous but hurt self-esteem. Admiral Lapard burst into the bridge and sprayed Captain Mazen in the face.

"Why hasn't the fault been eliminated yet! This is a remiss of duty! It's a crime! The engineer should be dragged out and shot immediately! Shot! I knew that the autoloader was a trendy thing to be trusted! If it had been before, we would have smashed that British barge to pieces. Order the commander of the aturret, if within three minutes the shells can no longer be stuffed into the chamber, I will stuff them into the chamber and shoot them out. Labold waved his arms so hard that Mazen quickly shrunk his neck.

"We can attack with the B turret first!" Mazen proposed.

"What I want to see is a salvo, a salvo of all main guns! Otherwise why would we have waited until now, I would have watched with my own eyes that British barge being torn apart in front of me! The commander of the French High Seas Fleet roared.

"Sir! A turret reported that the fault had been eliminated and that it was possible to fire immediately. The deputy captain stood by the phone in the ship and reported with a receiver.

"So what are you waiting for! Turn on the searchlights! Fire! Fire! Salvo of main guns! Kill the British! Commanding loudly, Lapard picked up his binoculars and excitedly ran to the lookout hole on the battle bridge to look at the British aircraft carrier.

The Richelieu was already approaching 1,500 meters, and the two quadruple main guns were pointing flatly at the hull of the Ark Royal. Suddenly, a large searchlight on the bridge of the Richelieu emitted a dazzling pillar of light, illuminating the Ark Royal, which was close at hand. There was an exclamation on the deck of the British aircraft carrier, and the British sailors were dazzled by the sudden bright light, and many of them subconsciously turned their backs or hid in the shadows.

In the next moment, the eight giant cannons of the French battleship fired a salvo at the Ark Royal. Eight heavy bombs hit the aircraft carrier's hull almost at a horizontal angle of fire, directly blowing up the rear half of the aircraft carrier.

Two shells pierced directly into the semi-arc stern, one of which smashed diagonally through the auxiliary engine room, smashed the right axle gear set and bounced into the steering room, and then exploded at the bottom of the steering room, directly destroying the steering mechanism and the propeller slurry shaft above, and also made an eight-meter-wide opening in the bottom of the ship.

The other passed through the rear cloister and fence and drove directly through the deck into the right-wheel engine room, and then created a death storm there with a violent explosion and shrapnel, and the dense steaming pipes burst open in an instant, filling the entire cabin with boiling water and steam, and killing all the people in the cabin on the spot.

These two shells gave the last knot to the noose of the Ark Royal, and the ship was already in danger.

The remaining six shells swept across the entire ground hangar, one of which burst the main flue gas duct hidden in the hull, causing the temperature in the bilge boiler room to rise rapidly, and the other two swept through the hangar, shredding the stored spare aircraft and the ground crew on duty.

The deadliest shot hit an aviation gasoline depot, and the huge warhead easily smashed through two layers of twenty millimeters thick armor plates, and then exploded in the oil tank, and in an instant the flames swept through the entire lower deck like a storm, and the shock wave blew open every closed waterproof hatch, and tongues of fire erupted from every hole in the hull, and at the same time erupted with the debris blown out by the air explosion and the crew members who were on fire.

The Ark Royal descended at a rapid pace, illuminated by the light of fire from the hatches and windows in the lower hull, and the ship looked like a large lantern that glowed strangely orange in the night.

The Richelieu slowed down and began to run parallel to the Ark Royal, and the aft secondary gun group could finally come in handy, and the French sailors enthusiastically manipulated the secondary guns one by one to knock out the twin turrets on the side of the British aircraft carrier.

Accompanied by a series of violent explosions inside the hull, the massive hull of the Ark Royal let out a dull wail. With the naked eye, the boat was leaning towards the rear, and the aft window was already close to the water.

The British sailors had given up their resistance, and they gathered on the scorching deck of the aircraft carrier and stood blankly, staring in horror at the French battleship close at hand. Smoke had begun to rise from the upper hangar, and the pungent smoke had enveloped the bow deck of the aircraft carrier, and everyone began to duck towards the stern.

Due to the fierce flames on the deck of the lower lifeboat, these people have been unable to use the lifeboat or lifeline to escape, a few people directly hold the lifebuoy or wear a life jacket to jump off the deck more than ten meters high, under the light of the fire, only see the human body is slowly lifted out of the water by the life-saving supplies, but do not see who swims again.

"The main guns continue to be loaded, the secondary guns and machine gunners are on alert, let the damage control personnel and marines go to the deck, captain, try to get over." Looking at the tragic situation of the Ark Royal, Admiral Lapard nodded slightly, and then gave the order to Mazen.

"But, Commander, that ship could explode at any moment." Mazen reminded.

"How many water hoses do we have, try our best to water that boat, throw the cable over, drop the lifeboat, Mr. Captain, the battle is over, we are the glorious French navy, not pirates." Labold waved his hand, then stood in front of the porthole with his hands behind his back, and Colonel Mazen faintly heard the Admiral humming a song softly. (To be continued, please search, the novel is better and updated faster!)