In the middle of the night, the moonlight was bright, the clear blue sky was filled with gray gunsmoke, the blinding light of the flares pierced the haze of the night, the boiling sea reverberated from time to time with the sound of cannons, explosions and the sharp whistling of cannonballs flying through the air, and large and small water columns rose and fell on the sea surface. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info On this almost boiling sea, all kinds of ships are moving in completely different trajectories, some of them are sailing at full speed, the chimneys are belching black smoke, some are burning and smoking, and the speed is constantly slowing, and some of the hulls have long been tilted, and the decks are gradually disappearing from the water......

"Sir, the torpedoes are all loaded! We are now 5,500 yards from the enemy! ”

On the bridge of the British destroyer "Comet", a young officer with blond hair and blue eyes reported the latest ranging readings to the captain of the ship, Major Hawke. In front of them, in the northwest corner of the battlefield, two black shadows were constantly flashing with cannon flames, and there was no direct evidence to determine their exact identities at this time, but looking at their size, combined with the information of all parties in the course of the war, the British realized with great pain that it was most likely the most powerful two-ship formation of the German Navy, the "De Fllinger" and "Seydlitz" that had recently attacked the British and French fleets in the waters south of Ireland.

The situation on the battlefield, which had been very favorable to the British fleet, suddenly changed drastically.

Prior to this, the key to the fact that Calthorpe's six former dreadnoughts were able to overwhelm the German fleet, which consisted mainly of three dreadnoughts and one battlecruiser, was the two-round torpedo attack of the British high-speed torpedo boat group and the mine-strike ship group. The German battleship in the middle of the mine was like a samurai with wounded legs and feet, although the sword and shield in his hand were still there, but the combat effectiveness was greatly reduced, and the mentality of the officers and sailors was temporarily unbalanced, so that they were in chaos. Although the overall combat strength of the two main battle cruisers, "De Fllinger" and "Seydlitz," was inferior to that of the four friendly ships, they had the objective advantage of concentrated firepower and flexible maneuverability, and their sudden appearance also caught the British by surprise mentally and psychologically.

Unlike high-speed torpedo boats, destroyers and most small mine-strike ships carry spare torpedoes that can be reloaded and re-attacked on the battlefield. Previously, the "Comet" carried out a torpedo attack on the German fleet with friendly and neighboring ships, and although it failed to expand the results of the battle, it succeeded in attracting the firepower of two German capital ships, at the cost of which many destroyers and small mine-striking ships were seriously damaged, and basically lost the ability to continue fighting. Now, on the orders of the flagship, the Comet was on the orders of the flagship, together with two other destroyers and two small mine-striking ships, and if it could make a gain, the British fleet would have a chance to regain control, but the experienced officers knew how difficult the road ahead was.

With the help of the faint cabin light, Major Hawke looked at his watch and muttered in a low voice: "22 minutes, it took us too long to load the torpedo, after this attack, the enemy will never give us such a long time, God bless us with one hit!" ”

The blonde officer seemed to hear only the last words of Major Hawke's own words, and he made a bared expression: "I have a strong premonition, sir, that the hardest times will end tonight, and that every day after that will be full of hope. Britain will win! ”

Major Hawke had just opened his mouth when the heavy shells fired by the German war patrol whizzed over their heads, and the sharp sound brought an invisible sense of oppression. As a result, the officers and men on the ship were glad that they were not smashed at them, and on the other hand, they had to worry about their own battleships -- the armor thickness of these British former dreadnoughts was already much thinner than that of dreadnoughts, and some of them were still Harvey nickel steel before the surface carburizing and hardening process.

The whistling of the shells gradually faded away, and Major Hawke let out a sigh of relief: "Let's wait until we are destined to see the outcome of this naval battle!" ”

The blonde officer nodded, and after a few moments, he reported a new distance reading: "4500 yards!" ”

The "Comet" was designed to have a top speed of 27 knots, served for several years, and the hull was well maintained and basically able to reach the state when it was built, while the two German battle cruisers in front were both sprinting at a speed of more than 26 knots.

Major Hawke stood motionless, silently thinking.

"Ahh Damn, one of our battleships was hit! There was a violent explosion, and I don't know which unlucky guy it was. May God bless you......"

Someone on the bridge said this, and Major Hawke walked quickly to the starboard side, and from a distance, there were many shadows of ships on the flickering sea, and some of the ships of the two fleets that exchanged fire at close range overlapped visually, and it was indeed difficult to identify the identities of the warships. The battleship that exploded was located at the front of the British ship group, and from the position, it was possible that Calthorpe's flagship "Africa" or "New Zealand" was immediately behind.

"3500 yards!"

In the blink of an eye, the blonde-haired young officer reported the distance reading again, the white-headed torpedo used by the British Navy at this time has a theoretical maximum range of 10,000 meters, but with the combat mode of the direct-sailing torpedo, unless it is to attack a stationary ship under extremely small wind and wave conditions, it is difficult to get a hit beyond 2,000 meters.

"Turn right a compass point!" The major gave the order abruptly.

The first officer at the helm did not hesitate to turn the steering wheel.

"Torpedo Group No. 1 is ready to launch!" The Major's tone was as cold as his expression, and his demeanor was like that of a guillotine. The Comet was designed with only two underwater torpedo tubes, one on the left and one on the right and one on the port. During these months of fighting, the British Navy officers and men felt more and more the backwardness of the underwater torpedo tubes and the lack of torpedo weapons, and at their strong demand, more than half of the destroyers in active service were refitted, the underwater torpedo tubes were removed, and the ships were equipped with twin surface torpedo tubes. The two sets of twin torpedoes of the "Comet" were located behind the chimneys of No. 1 and No. 2, and they were placed on the centerline of the hull, and could theoretically fire torpedoes in either direction on the left and right sides.

Before the torpedo was fired, suddenly, a loud bang resounded throughout the ship, and almost all the officers on the bridge fell in a violent tremor. Many of them have already experienced the cruelty of battle, and they know very well under what circumstances a battleship will tremble like this - at a distance of three or four thousand meters, the ship's guns are almost in a state of direct fire, which means that the probability of the shell hitting the target is greatly increased, and judging by the impact of the explosion just now, it was at least one 150-mm shell that hit the "Comet"!

The sudden concussion almost knocked the officers unconscious, and through the shattered portholes, one could see that the foredeck had been surrounded by blinding flames. Choking smoke was pouring in through every breach in the tower. The two German battle cruisers had apparently spotted the British mine-striking ships that were trying to get their way up in the dark, and since the distance between the two sides was relatively close, they didn't even need flares, and they were able to fire directly at the moonlight.

Major Hawke staggered to the microphone and shouted, "Torpedo Group 1...... Aim for ships in front of the enemy...... Launch! Launch! ”

Thankfully, the communication lines on the ship were still running, and a clear voice soon came from the microphone: "Yes, sir, Torpedo Group 1 is aimed at the enemy ship, and the torpedo is fired!" It has been launched! ”

At this moment, few people noticed that two torpedoes rushed into the water one after the other. The raging fire above deck attracted the attention of almost everyone, and some brave sailors, led by officers, tried to extinguish the fire, while others gave emergency treatment to the wounded on deck.

The major ignored the bleeding forehead, turned to the first mate and shouted, "Turn left two compass points!" ”

Immediately afterward, he ordered through the microphone: "Torpedo Group No. 2 is ready to launch!" ”

But there was no response from the microphone.

"I'll take care of it." The blonde officer was arrogant and asked Major Hawke for help.

The major nodded and advised: "The enemy ship may turn at any time, and the two torpedoes should not be set at exactly the same angle, and the interval should be appropriate." ”

The bloodied first mate stood stubbornly in front of the rudder, the wounded battleship soon began to turn, and the fire on the deck quickly rushed to the bridge with the help of the wind, and the tongues of fire had even begun to pounce on the portholes.

Major Hawke's red eyes were fixed on the sea ahead, and he noticed that the two cross-sections of the Germans' shadows had suddenly widened, which meant that the target was turning rapidly. If the two torpedo tubes of torpedo group 1 had been set at exactly the same angle, then it was highly likely that the two torpedoes fired earlier would have missed.

As soon as the "Comet" turned, several shells hit its original track. The Major frowned, the Germans were indeed more powerful than they expected, and knowing that, the British Navy should have taken a more cautious approach at the beginning of the war, rather than going out of port again and again to meet them.

Suddenly, a familiar voice came out of the microphone: "Sir, all the members of the No. 2 torpedo group have been killed, and I have led some members of the No. 1 torpedo group to take over." The torpedo was already in place and ready for the firing command. ”

Major Hawke clenched his fists and resolutely ordered: "Aim at the ship in front of the enemy...... Launch! ”

The two torpedoes quietly left the ship, and after a few seconds, only a loud bang was heard, and the 800-ton destroyer trembled violently again. Against the backdrop of the fire, many unprepared sailors were shaken out of the ship's side, and an even more dazzling fireball still rose from the front deck of the battleship, and the remaining pieces of tempered glass from the portholes oozed bright red blood.

At this moment, on the German battlecruiser "De Fllinger", the gunners were busy. The powerful 12-inch main gun raised its muzzle and smashed more than 400 kilograms of armor-piercing shells at the British battleship more than 6,000 meters away; The secondary guns of various types on the starboard side lowered their muzzles and opened fire at the British mine-striking ships at a distance of two or three thousand meters at an extremely fast rate of fire.

Inside the command tower, the thin Franz von Hipper's eyes brightly instructed the adjutant beside him: "Send a telegram to Funk and let them continue firing flares at the enemy ships, and if we hold out for ten minutes, we will be able to extinguish the last hope of the British navy." ”

(End of chapter)