Before discerning the outline of the enemy ships, the commanders of the British Rapid Fleet could already see from the attitude of their opponents speeding over the sea: this was the German reconnaissance fleet commanded by Hipper!

As a result of three German torpedoes, the "Indomitable" withdrew from the battle as soon as possible before it could complete its journey, and the British Rapid Fleet had only two battle cruisers, "Indomitable" and "Indomitable", as well as the super-dreadnought "Ireland", and the Duke of Edinburgh-class armored cruiser "Black Prince" was barely half a capital ship. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 With a displacement of 13,600 tons and six 234 mm guns, it was built at the same time as the old German battleships of the Braunschweig class, and its firepower is comparable to that of the old German battleships, and it is more powerful by reducing the armor. In a one-on-one situation, the "Black Prince" can overwhelm the German Navy's armored cruisers, or try to challenge the old German battleships, but it is by no means qualified to participate in the dialogue between the battle cruisers.

Over time, the British gradually saw the battle lineup of their opponents. De Fllinger, Goeben, and Blucher are three well-known ship names for the people of the world who pay close attention to the focus of the battlefield, and for the British, they mean a memory that cannot be remembered. On the evening of August 7, 1914, in just two hours, the unprecedentedly powerful British main battle cruiser fleet suffered heavy losses, and the only two remaining battle cruisers returned to the sea were scrap metal, and Fisher's proud work was only "Indomitable", "Indomitable", and "Indomitable", the three battle cruisers deployed in the Mediterranean Sea at the beginning of the war.

In today's World War, the battlecruisers may be temporarily withdrawn from the British Royal Navy's operational sequence, and the German Navy faces the same potential risk.

The German reconnaissance fleet rushed all the way without hesitation, and the British fast fleet had no choice but to give it a go.

At this moment, Hipper's Vice Admiral and the Commander of the Squadron were flying high on the mast of the "De Fllinger", and if it had not been for the fact that the "Moltke" was unable to sail at full speed due to a thunderstorm, he would have attacked the opponent's two cruisers and one super-dreadnought with four battle cruisers, and basically had a solid chance of victory.

Admirers of Betty's style likened him to a "brave lion", while Hippert was the "lion" of the German navy. He led the "De Fllinger" in the lead, and three battle cruisers and fourteen light ships went on a rampage at a speed of 26 knots. On the other hand, the British fleet, with the "Ireland" as the core of the battle, slowed down to 21 knots.

The British battlecruisers, with firepower and speed as the two key weapons for victory, lost a move before the battle began.

The battle began when the two sides were 18,000 kilometers apart, and the "Ireland", which had entered the firing position, was the first to strike. No one knows what kind of emotions David Betty has in the face of his old rival, who is in charge of this super dreadnought, but it is certain that he will not refuse the temptation to step on the corpse of his enemy to complete his own redemption.

In this battle, he was hungry for victory to a degree that the successful Hippert could not match.

Parkenham's operational signal from the Indomitable was to engage in an array with "Indomitable" and "Indomitable" in front and "Ireland" behind. At present, the strong enemy does not allow Betty to adjust as she wishes, but Parkenham's two battle cruisers and the armored cruiser "Black Prince" slowed down to 21 knots, and he ordered the "Ireland" power system to be overloaded, so that the actual speed of this super dreadnought was close to 22 knots

Despite the "speeding voyage", the hull of the "Ireland" did not show abnormal turbulence, and the 2.50,000-ton hull combined with good design made it an ideal sea firing platform, and the sea conditions of the day were also very favorable to the gunnery of the ships of both sides.

While Hipper's reconnaissance fleet rushed at the British Rapid Fleet with an unstoppable majesty, the old German battleships "Braunschweig" and "Pomerania" and the wounded armored cruisers "Prince Adalbert" and "York" also turned back and killed. In this twenty-nautical-mile radius, the total number of German combat ships reached 41, compared to the British's 28, and since the outbreak of the war, the German navy has finally become the dominant side in tonnage and numbers in fleet-sized battles.

The "Ireland" fired three rounds of alternate fire, and the nearest point of impact was less than 30 meters from the "De Fleeter", at this time, under the leadership of the "Der Fleet", the German fleet quickly turned to the right, and changed its bow to the port side of the British fleet to face the enemy, and two minutes later, the "Der Fleet", whose main gun range was not inferior to that of the opponent, opened fire, and after two rounds of rapid alternate firing, it fired the first salvo from a position of 16,000 kilometers.

After a day of scorching under the scorching sun, and as dusk approaches, changes in the temperature of the air inevitably affect the propagation of light, and even a slight refraction can cause technical interference with long-distance observation. Neither the German stereoscopic rangefinder nor the British Navy's split-image composite rangefinder could rule out such interference, and with the assistance of the water reconnaissance planes, the "De Fllinger" was obviously more efficient in correcting its firepower than its opponents. After the battle began, it did not aim at the "Ireland", the most powerful of the British fast fleet, but stared at the leading "Indomitable", after two volleys, the impact point was very close to the target, and in the third salvo, the "De Fllinger" fired a precise straddle that boosted the morale of its officers and men, and the "Goeben" and "Blucher" with 11-inch naval guns also opened fire, and Hipper's fleet seemed to have suppressed the opponent in the aura.

On the side of the British fleet, the two battle cruisers belonged to the first invincible class, and they were equipped with 12-inch naval guns with a diameter of 45 times, and their firing range and armor-piercing ability were comparable to the German Navy's 50 times diameter and 11-inch naval guns. Moreover, the "Indomitable" had previously been hit by a light torpedo projected by a German carrier-based aircraft, and the main rangefinder was out of order, so it worked closely with the "Indomitable" and used the observation and sighting parameters provided by the friendly ship to shoot.

In this case, all three British capital ships aimed their guns at the "De Fllinger".

In the face of the heavy artillery fire from the British fleet, Hipper, who was sitting in the "De Fllinger", was fearless. This latest German battle cruiser is the most expensive warship in the history of the German Navy, and is also regarded as the most beautiful large surface ship, its hull is about one-sixth longer than the King-class, so there is plenty of space for the main turret and deck building, its design structure is more reasonable than the German battle cruiser built earlier, although its overall protection level is not as good as that of the King-class, but the distribution of armor is more balanced, and the bridge command tower and main gun turret can withstand the bombardment of British 13.5-inch naval guns at medium and long distances, This has been proven in the waters of Jutland.

The three British capital ships wanted to take out the "De Fllinger" in one go, and the three battle cruisers under the command of Hipper also concentrated their fire on the head of the "Indomitable". The commanders of the two sides seemed to have a good idea, but in fact, it was because the absolute angle between the course of the two fleets was too small, and it was not easy to target and attack the enemy's rear ships, which caused such an overlapping tactical deployment.

Concentrated fire can be confusing in the observation of the point of impact, but the advantages are just as obvious. Within minutes, the artillery fire of both fleets was a direct hit on their respective targets. The bow side of the "De Fllinger" was hit by the main guns of the "Ireland", the side armor was blasted open, the windlidle was destroyed, the left auxiliary anchor was lost, and the German crew once again felt the amazing power of the 13.5-inch gun. In the Battle of Jutland, the German reconnaissance fleet commanded by Hipper simultaneously faced three British war cruisers equipped with super-dreadnought firepower - "Lion", "Royal Princess", and "Queen Margaret". However, the defensive capability of these British battle cruisers with terrifying firepower is not satisfactory, and in the case of an artillery battle in person, they are easier to deal with than the "Ireland", and the "Ireland", formerly known as "Ryssadih", is an export ship specially designed and built by the British for the Ottoman Turkish Navy, and it basically adopts the Orion-class design, and its firepower, power, and protection capabilities are not compromised at all -- judging from the fact that the British government did everything possible to prevent the Ottoman Turks from receiving the warship and finally confiscated it on the grounds of war. There is reason to believe that Britain did not intend from the beginning to hand over this super-dreadnought with first-class performance to the Turks, who were politically closer to Germany.

De Vellinger was able to withstand her opponent's attacks with her strong defenses, and the Indomitable was in a much worse position. After all, there are not only the first-class equipped "De Fllinger" in the opponent's array, but also the "Goeben" with many main guns, and the "Blucher" with superb artillery skills, and the German naval officers and men participating in the battle are well-trained and full of confidence. Straddles, close misses, and hits, the fierce artillery fire of the German fleet ravaged the "Indomitable" at the same time in both mental and physical aspects, and the British battle cruiser soon had two main turrets dumb fire, and then the bridge was also hit, the shooting commander was killed, the main rangefinder was damaged, the normal combat observation was unsustainable, and the joint artillery bombardment with the "Indomitable" was also forced to be suspended, and the ship's main guns had to fight separately with the turrets as units.

The stormy "Indomitable" did not intend to give in to the Germans, but fate did not give it the opportunity to fight to the end. Suddenly, a loud, sky-piercing explosion came, and the entire bow of the "Indomitable" was tightly wrapped in flames and smoke, and countless fragments were blown into the sky. It is like a horse running with its left hoof suddenly stepping into a pit, its hull tilting to the left at an irretrievable speed, except that the bridge, chimney, and turret are still fixed to the deck, and many objects slide from starboard to port, and the sailors on the ship fall into the sea like dumplings. In the blink of an eye, the stern of the "Indomitable" was raised high, the propeller was exposed to the sea, and it was idling in vain, and the battleship of more than 20,000 tons created a terrifying whirlpool in the process of rapid sinking, sucking the sailors floating on the surface of the sea into the depths of the sea without distinction between life and death......

From the explosion to the complete sinking, the last time of the "Indomitable" was less than three minutes, and looking at this scene, the officers and men of the British ships who had not experienced the Battle of Jutland were all stunned, while those who had witnessed the sinking of the "Invincible" and other ships reluctantly repeated the sadness and despair of the past.

(End of chapter)