In the hazy twilight, the Lightning-14, painted with the Iron Cross logo and the SS-830 number on the side of the gunwale, leaps on the crest of the wave with its characteristic lightness. www.biquge.infoSS, which stands for "SuperSchnellboot" in German, is an acronym for Super-Torpedo Boat. In accordance with the German Navy's practice of assigning tactical serial numbers to high-speed torpedo boat units, boats with the last number zero were usually the detachment command boats.

In the SS-830's enclosed cockpit with good visibility, 26-year-old German Navy Second Lieutenant Hank Ralph controls the steering wheel with his left hand and his right hand on the right side of the seat, rhythmically pressing the button on the short lever, and the aft rear signal light flashes synchronously. This simple and effective method of communication can be used to initiate longer signal content with the help of Morse code, and during tight battles, with "short code" representing the corresponding tactic. For example, two short flashes means "keep up with me", one short flash plus one long flash means "keep the distance", and three short flashes means "ready to attack".

Three times in a row the tactical command "Keep up with me" was given to the five wingmen following him, and Second Lieutenant Ralph returned to the steering wheel with his right hand. After steering, the British warcruiser, guarded by three light ships, returned to his line of sight. Ralph and his companions were sure to rush to a distance of 400 meters to launch torpedoes, forcing the British ships to make a sharp turn and disrupt their defensive formations, so as to create a better opportunity for the "Thunder" formations to attack. At the moment when the torpedo was about to be fired, the British flares and searchlights suddenly disrupted the rhythm of their attack, and Ralph had to turn, and in this case it was impossible to contact the wingman boat with a light signal. Fortunately, after years of training, he and his subordinates developed a good understanding, and although the reaction speed of the five wingmen was long and short, they finally evacuated smoothly, and none of them were disoriented by the bright light of the British ships, so that they advanced too aggressively and were crushed by enemy fire.

In order to prevent the bright light of the British ships again in the next attack, Ralph took out sunglasses from the storage compartment on the left side of the cockpit and put them on his forehead. In this era, although ordinary ink-colored lenses are not effective in reducing the damage of ultraviolet rays to the eyes, it is still possible to reduce the interference of direct sunlight. If the crew were heading east in the early morning or west at dusk, they would need to wear sunglasses to cope with the harsh sunlight, and Ralph and the rest of the crew would not have worn sunglasses that would have been counterproductive in night sailing conditions, since the light on the sea had already dimmed when the order was given to attack.

At almost double the speed of the British ships, the Lightning-14 was able to quickly catch up with its previously missed prey after maneuvering in the S-shape. Ralph glanced down at the fuel gauge, the fuel consumption was nearly three-fifths, if it was from a fixed base, the remaining fuel was only enough for it to return slowly, and the fleet's offensive operation meant a significant reduction in the return distance, and even after the fuel was exhausted, they could wait for the help of the mothership. Therefore, Ralph decided to assault at full speed, retreat at full speed, and complete the attack with lightning-fast and skillful moves.

The smooth roar of Daimler's four-cylinder engines at full capacity was well masked by the continuous artillery fire of the German dreadnought groups. Ralph and his wingman galloped in a direction parallel to the British ships, approaching a distance of about 2,000 meters without being intercepted by artillery fire. At this moment, the shadow of the largest British ship suddenly became longer, and Ralph suddenly realized that it was turning, and the shadows of the other three British ships had changed in the same way.

Don't miss the opportunity!

Ralph immediately signaled the wingman a "ready to attack" light signal. Due to the combat tonnage limit, German high-speed torpedo boats of all types did not carry spare torpedoes, and their ready-to-launch torpedoes were usually encapsulated in special torpedo tubes, with the only safety set being controlled directly by the crew. The launch button for firing the torpedo can only be pressed when the safety is activated, and the signal "ready to attack" is both for the boats to find a suitable position for the attack and for the pilot to wait for an opportunity to turn on the torpedo safety device.

Before the signal was sent three times, a British battleship on the left seemed to notice these abominable German torpedo boats, the guns in the bow direction suddenly flashed, several shells came in the air, and the nearest one fell in front of the SS-830, Second Lieutenant Ralph was shocked, and the steering wheel was firmly controlled with both hands and turned slightly to the right and then returned to its position, and the "Lightning-14" in a high-speed navigation state easily avoided the water column stirred up by the shells, and the hull of the boat was only tossed by the waves that waved, and continued to rush forward at the highest speed......

The sound of cannons from a short distance disturbed Davy Betty's uneasy rest, and he stood on the bridge and looked to the right, and there were indeed several looming shadows on the blurred sea, they were so small that they felt like a group of dolphins jumping out of the sea from time to time.

Dolphins are kind and friendly, but these guys in front of them are comparable to the most ferocious sharks!

Seeing the comeback of the German torpedo boats, Betty frowned, and his face, which was known for his handsome and handsome face, did not see a valuable calmness. After two turns, the "Royal Princess" returned to the main path with the bow facing north, and as long as it was no longer disturbed, it could smoothly rendezvous with the British Grand Fleet with a speed superior to that of the German dreadnought group, even if the German fleet had the upper hand in the previous battle, if the main fleets of both sides had fought head-on, the British fleet would have been stronger and the probability of victory should have been greater. So Betty frowned, and before he could give the order of the fleet, the escort ships had opened fire, and the starboard secondary guns of the "Royal Princess" soon joined the bombardment, and the two huge front main turrets turned slowly, the thick 13. The 5-inch gun was pointed to the starboard side of the sea.

"Shoot! Shoot with all your might! Betty roared, "The No. 1 and No. 8 secondary guns continue to fire Type 4 flares, and the searchlight shines on the sea!" ”

In the two auxiliary gun positions on the starboard bow and stern of the "Royal Princess", the gunners filled the breeches with white painted warheads. Previous battles have proven their surprise effect, only there are no special orders, and the various shells of the battleships when they sail are loaded in the usual proportions. The 4-inch caliber flares are only equipped with more than 200 rounds on the ship, and the Type 4, which has the shortest time-delay fuse, has a total of 60 rounds, which has been consumed nearly half before. The prescient gun commander ordered the crew to bring in ammunition from the port side ammunition depot, and had the fuses of Type 2 and Type 3 flares manually adjusted to suit close-range illumination, which allowed Betty to "repeat the old trick".

The yellow flares fired by the British ships lit up the sea again, and the altitude they were at not only had a strong visual stimulus on the pilots of the German torpedo boats, but also had a very direct effect on the sighting effect of the British gunners, and only a few people were able to use sunglasses to reduce the visual interference of this strong light, and they soon found that this time the German torpedo boats did not turn around and dodge, and they continued to jump on the crest of the waves, speeding at an alarming speed. 1000 meters, 800 meters, 600 meters, 400 meters...... When they turned sharply, many of the British crew were startled, although there were no immediate torpedo trails on the surface, and the rapid turning sirens sounded again on the "Royal Princess......

"Hell! Damn it! Damn it! ”

Betty, who had always behaved in accordance with gentlemanly standards, finally burst into a foul mouth, and of course, the officers next to him did not hear his whispered scolding, but saw him slam the railing several times with his clenched fists. The torpedoes that came at close range were certainly dangerous, and the "Royal Princess", which was sailing fast and had a normal steering system, did not have a chance to avoid it, and his fierce reaction made others wonder a little - the situation did not allow people to think too much, and in an instant, a deafening explosion came from outside the ship, and the amidships of the reconnaissance cruiser "Amphion", which was close to the starboard side of the "Royal Princess", were in flames, and the bridge and deck were obviously tilted, and this brave and loyal guard actually blocked the German torpedo with his body -- a few seconds later, There was an equally violent explosion at the stern of the ship, and the entire battleship trembled violently under the light of the flames.

Betty and his subordinates watched in amazement at what was happening on the starboard side, the ship's secondary guns still trying to intercept the German torpedoes, and almost everyone waited in fear for the next piercing explosion, which lasted for more than ten seconds, but nothing happened. Suddenly, the "Amphion", whose amidships and tail fire seemed to have weakened, exploded like never before, and the flames rose into the air, rolling black smoke and rushing into the air at an altitude of 100 meters......

The explosion of the whole ship can be called the most tragic and tragic situation in the naval battle, and the "Amphion" that still exists in the first half of the hull is not yet the "most", but the scene on the ship still shocks onlookers. The surviving crews jumped from the upturned decks and sloping bridges, and the remaining hull soon became the bow facing up, black and lead gray no longer the dividing line between the underwater and above parts of the hull, they were exposed to the view at the same height, and this unique moment was fleeting, and the chimney, the bridge, the foredeck and finally the bow flagpole - disappeared from the sea forever.

Betty's doom was not over, and just when the ribbon of smoke produced by the fleet's high-speed sailing was faintly visible in the northern sea, the sirens of "torpedo detection" sounded throughout the ships, and the "Thunder" battle group, which was not as fast as the "Lightning" but was more powerful, finally caught up. These heavy SS boats, which protected their cockpits with light armor, were not afraid of all kinds of interception methods of British ships, and they were not only able to win by numbers, and they could launch torpedoes from a distance of 600 or even 800 meters to form a fan attack that was difficult for surface ships to avoid, and they could also use a sea trail to launch torpedo attacks close to the enemy's artillery coverage area.

12 "Thunders", 96 torpedoes, seeing the dense torpedo trails on the sea, the British had a headache, panic, and trembling to one can imagine.

(End of chapter)