While Task Force 3 was fleeing frantically, Task Force 6 was having a hard time. Although no British bombers arrived after the second round of attacks on the "Fuzhou", Gu Zhenyun was not at ease at all. Because of the drag of the "Fuzhou", the ground speed of the 6th Task Force has been reduced to 22 knots at this time!

Before the British bombers left, the "Fuzhou" was hit by five more bombs, three of which ricocheted directly hit the main armor belt on the side of the battleship. The ground hits of these three bombs are on the side of the battleship's C turret and the base of the No. 3 secondary gun on the starboard side. As well as the commander of the battleship on the side of the bridge on the ground vertical armor. Fortunately, the armor in all three parts is thick enough, with the side armor of the main gun turret being 250 meters thick, and the main armor belt of the battleship under the base of the secondary gun, which is more than 400 meters thick. The thickness of the vertical armor under the bridge of the commander reaches 440 meters. The three 1,000-pound aviation armor-piercing shells were not able to penetrate the armor, and all of them exploded outside the hull, so a large amount of gunpowder smoke was produced, which temporarily enveloped the "Fuzhou", resulting in the fact that the 4 bombers entering the vicinity could not aim at the "Fuzhou".

It was not until 9:06 a.m. that the last six "Mosquito" bombers launched their attack without dropping bombs. The six bombers originally wanted to follow suit and carry out a ricocheting attack, but the anti-aircraft fire from the cruiser near the "Fuzhou" forced them to change their attack tactics. It can only be accessed from an altitude of about 600 grounds. Attack by sliding and dropping bombs. Outcome. There were 2 bombers who were beaten down by the fighters who chased after them because they were a little slower when they changed their attack tactics. The other 4 bombers quickly broke free from the entanglement of the fighters and entered the attack channel, and dropped bombs while the cruiser's anti-aircraft guns had not had time to divert their fire, and most of the anti-aircraft guns on the starboard side of the "Fuzhou" had been destroyed.

At this time, the situation of the "Fuzhou" on the ground was already quite bad. Although the three bombs were not able to penetrate the battleship's landlord's armor, they caused dozens of casualties in the vicinity. Among them, the bomb that hit the starboard side of the battleship caused the most casualties. At that time, the damage management team was repairing the cracks in the engine room of the No. 4 ship on the ground of the battleship. In order to block the influx of seawater, the bomb injured dozens of officers and men of the two nearby damage management teams, and also damaged a cable, making it impossible to carry out the emergency repair work in the engine room. At nine o'clock, the captain was forced to order the closure of the engine room of the fourth ship and gave up the emergency repair work. Soon the sea water filled the engine room of the fourth ship, and the battleship leaned to the right, making its course more difficult to control. Moreover, the watertight door from the No. 4 engine room to the No. 3 engine room was also damaged and could not be completely sealed. In order to keep the ship balanced and able to turn properly, the captain then ordered the power output of the No. 3 steam turbine to be reduced by half. As a result, the speed of the "Fuzhou" was reduced to 22 knots when it was attacked for the last time, and it was not able to turn flexibly!

In this case." It was quite difficult for the "Fuzhou" to avoid the four bombs that fell. Although the captain gave the order to evade accurately, the battleship was no longer able to move flexibly. As a result, only two bombs were barely avoided, and still two bombs hit the battleship. One of the bombs landed on the right side of the turret at the junction of the base and turret ground. There was a bomb that exploded nearby before. The turret ground rotation mechanism has been damaged. The bomb blew through the junction between the turret and the base. Causes the inside of the turret to catch fire. At that time, there were no officers and soldiers in the turret, and the gunners of the main gun and ground went to participate in the damage management repair work. As a result, no one was killed, and the automatic fire extinguishing system in the interior of the turret was quickly activated to extinguish the fire. But for the sake of safety, two minutes after being shot. The captain ordered seawater to be injected into the ammunition compartment below the C turret to prevent the ammunition compartment from being detonated. Another bomb hit the second chimney of the battleship. The No. 2 chimney is used to ventilate the No. 3 boiler and the No. 4 boiler. At that time, the No. 4 boiler had been shut down, and the No. 3 boiler was only half of the ground power. Fortunately, if the bomb hit the No. 1 chimney, then the speed of the "Fuzhou" would have to be reduced by at least a few knots!

By this time, the "Fuzhou" had already suffered three torpedoes. Five bombs attacked, and they were hit hard. The ground speed of the battleship was reduced to 22 knots. At about 9:10 a.m., because the battleship tilted to the right and caused its course to deviate to the right, the captain had to order to inject seawater into several ballast water tanks on the left side of the battleship, that is, to fill the fuel tanks with all the fuel, and at the same time discharge the seawater in the ballast water tank on the right side to restore the battleship's ground balance. But even so, the "Fuzhou" could barely reach a speed of 22 knots, and it had to ventilate the No. 2 chimney as soon as possible, so as to be able to provide enough air for the No. 3 boiler, and at the same time exhaust the exhaust gases produced by the boiler, so as to avoid suffocating the officers and men due to the exhaust gases pouring into the battleship.

Because the captain of the ship issued the order for emergency repairs in a timely manner, and quickly dealt with several fatal problems, such as filling the ammunition tank with water, avoiding the explosion of the ammunition tank, and restoring the ship's ground balance by adjusting the ballast water tank, the "Fuzhou" was not in danger of life, and its damage was quickly controlled. When withdrawing from the battlefield, the officers and men of the battleship even managed to make up for the hole in the engine room of the No. 4 ship, but because the power room of the No. 4 engine room was completely filled with seawater, and there was only one connecting channel, it could not be discharged from the ground.

Arguably." The excellent survivability of the "new provincial capital" class has been fully reflected on the "Fuzhou". In the past, no matter what the battleship, after being hit by so many bombs and torpedoes. The end will be very tragic." The "Fuzhou" survived, and most of the credit should be given to the captain for his effective command, and the thick armor of the "New Provincial Capital" class also played a crucial role.

After the "Fuzhou" escaped, Gu Zhenyun did not relax at all. The wound on his face made him feel very uncomfortable, but it was the enemy bomber that worried him the most. Although the British bomber group had flown away, the fighter group that had previously provided cover for the Sixth Task Force also suffered heavy losses, and the two squadrons under Jiang Wenhan's command lost more than 40 fighters, and less than 27 fighters persevered. The pilots who were parachuted were all salvaged by the destroyers, but the problem was that in the end, the 27 fighters were also running out of fuel and had to return to Task Force 2. In other words, if the British bombers came again, there would be no fighter cover over Task Force 6!

Gu Zhenyun did not believe that the British would give up the attack at all, and maybe the next round of bombing would come soon. The 6th Task Force is still in the inner waters of the strait, and if it returns directly to the southwest, it will take three hours to leave the strait. Even if the fleet were to sail northwest at this time, it would take about two hours to enter the rainstorm area, and within two hours, the RAF could organize at least two bombardments.

What to do? At this time, Gu Zhenyun thought that he was just running for his life, but in which direction should he flee? In the end, he did not choose the same route as the Third Task Force, after all, Gu Zhenyun did not receive the telegram from the Third Task Force at that time, and he thought that the Third Task Force had also been attacked and suffered heavy losses. If Task Force 6 also sails northwest, it will definitely be hit by the new land. Under this judgment. Gu Zhenyun decided to turn southwest and leave the English Channel directly, instead of taking refuge in the rainstorm area. After making this decision, Gu Zhenyun also sent a telegram to the three aircraft carrier task forces. Hopefully, those three fleets will once again provide anti-aircraft cover for Task Force 6!

Less than five minutes after the telegram was sent, Gu Zhenyun received a reply telegram, and this telegram was not from the 1st Task Force, but from the 5th Task Force. Jiang Zhongmin, who had been silent before, finally appeared, and it appeared at the most critical time. It was about an hour before Gu Zhenyun sent out a request for support. Jiang Zhongmin had already sent two squadrons of ground fighters from the Fifth Task Force, and these fighters would arrive over the Sixth Task Force before half past nine. That is, in about twenty minutes, there will be two squadrons of fighters providing air defense cover for the 6th task force.

This was probably the best news Gu Zhenyun received at that time, what he didn't expect was that Jiang Zhongmin would provide him with support at this time. Before the start of the campaign, that is, when Tan Renhao determined the location of the battle plan, it was originally arranged for the Fifth Task Force and the Second Task Force to provide air defense cover for the two battleship task forces. Only Task Force 1 was to be used against the British Navy's ground aircraft carrier fleet alone. However, Jiang Zhongmin was not satisfied with this arrangement at that time, and insisted that the Fifth Task Force also participate in the combat operations against the British aircraft carrier fleet, and as a result, Tan Renhao had to revise the battle plan and only arrange for the Second Task Force to cover the retreating battleship task force. At that time, when Jiang Zhongmin made a request, Gu Zhenyun knew it in his heart. Jiang Zhongmin wanted to compete with Ren Hao, so he didn't have much hope for the Fifth Task Force. But now Jiang Zhongmin has sent air defense fighters. If Gu Zhenyun didn't feel strange, it would be a strange thing.

At 9:15, Gu Zhenyun contacted the commanders of the two fighter squadrons. This time Gu Zhenyun is much smarter. He placed both squadrons of fighters to the north of the fleet, one of which was northeast of the fleet and the other to the northwest. These are the two directions in which British bombers are most likely to come, and also if the enemy aircraft group is coming from due north. Then two squadrons of ground fighters can intercept at the same time. At the same time, Task Force 6 also completed the turn. At a speed of 22 knots, it will move southwestward, that is, in the direction of Cape d'Ague in the Normandy Peninsula of France. Walking is the shortest route out of the English Channel.

Gu Zhenyun didn't know that at this time, the rainstorm clouds in the northwest of the strait were moving to the southeast, and five squadrons of "mosquito" bombers were pursuing the retreating third task force. It is also because of the sudden turn of the storm clouds near the British coastline. and accelerated to the southeast, with the result that it took only about seven minutes for Task Force 3 to burrow below the storm clouds. At that time, the British bomber group had just arrived. Just as he was about to organize an attack, Task Force 3 plunged headlong into the rainstorm. It is difficult for bombers to attack warships on the surface of the sea in heavy rain. As a result, the five squadrons of ground bombers had to abandon the operation of attacking the 3rd task force. Only a few bombers dropped their bombs on the two destroyers left behind, while the others did not drop their bombs or torpedoes!

More than 80 bombers, all armed with bombs and torpedoes, were unsuccessful in the Task Force and learned that the attack on the 6th Task Force had not been completely successful. The bombers all changed their objectives and headed for Task Force 6. At that time, the commander of the British bomber group did not know that the course of the 6th Task Force had changed, so he headed for the course of the 6th Task Force. It was not until about 9:40 a.m. that the bombers of the scattered search site discovered the Sixth Task Force that was sailing in a southwesterly direction, and then the bombers from other places also received the news and quickly chased after them.

Task Force 6 is once again in danger, unlike when it was bombed. Also because of the heavy rain clouds began to move in a southeasterly direction. As a result, the clouds over the English Channel are intensifying, and the minimum height of the clouds is decreasing. What's more, the British bombers didn't know that two other squadrons of Peregrine Falcon fighters had already reached the skies over Task Force 6. Therefore, when pursuing Task Force 6, these bombers flew above the clouds, which not only quickly exposed them to the noses of the fighters, but also could not avoid the interception of the fighters.

Gu Zhenyun received a fighter report at 9:54 a.m. that the British bomber group was approaching. By this time, the fleet had sailed about 16 nautical miles to the southwest, but it was still a long way from getting out of the dangerous sea. In order to ensure the safety of the fleet, Gu Zhenyun had to abandon the "Fuzhou", which had dragged down the fleet, leaving four cruisers and four destroyers to cover the "Fuzhou" retreating alone, while the other three battleships and other cruisers, the destroyers accelerated to 31 knots and fled as fast as possible.

This decision was a bit cruel, and the officers and men of the "Fuzhou" and the battleships that stayed to cover the "Fuzhou" understood that they had to make sacrifices in order to keep more warships. But none of the officers and soldiers flinched, because they knew that someone had to make a sacrifice at this time, if everyone wanted to flee for their lives. Then you can't escape!