The 150 rocket weighs 31 kg and has a range of 8 km, "BF109" only needs to dive into the British warship to 5 or 6 kilometers away to launch, and it is difficult for the air defense weapons on the warship to threaten the "BF109" at such a distance, and the power of the German 150 rocket is equivalent to a 203 mm caliber shell, the British warship has no way to blow out the hole except for the side armor of the battleship, and the warship below the cruiser cannot bear this power, but the rocket is not like a shell that can explode after penetrating the armor, It can only explode on contact, so it can only pose a lethal threat to the deck or superstructure of the British warship, and the artillery shell can penetrate the warship and explode inside, thereby detonating the ammunition depot of the warship, and the rocket will not have this ability, but the advantage of the rocket launched by the aircraft is also very obvious.

In the middle of the night on September 13, 1940, the 1st Italian Cruiser Detachment, accompanied by the 9th Destroyer Detachment, quietly left the port of Taranto to carry out the order to disrupt the British sea lines of communication. Limer sent three groups of reconnaissance planes, each with two JU89s of strategic bombers that did not carry bombs, and four JU89s cruised at high altitude around the Italian fleet throughout the whole process.

The 1st cruiser detachment consisted of 3 heavy cruisers of the Zara-class class, namely "Zara", "Fum" and "Bora". The 9th Destroyer Detachment consisted of four Oriani-class destroyers, namely the Oriani, the Gioberti, the Alfieri and the Calducci, all under the command of Rear Admiral Cataño, commander of the 1st Cruiser Detachment, which was the only remaining naval force of the Italian Navy.

The plan for this battle was the result of a compromise between the Italian military and the German military. Italy demanded that the Italian fleet should be cut off from the sea route for British reinforcements to Greece and annihilated a British fleet with the air support of an air force provided by the Luftwaffe. The report of the heavy damage of two British battleships by the German aviation division on Crete on January 14 made the Italian Navy, which had always been under-confident, think that it was possible to change the passive situation.

As a result, the new Chief of Staff of the Italian Navy, Admiral Ricca, drew up a battle plan, which was arranged as follows: the Italian Navy would organize four fleets to set off from each of the four ports. After the rendezvous, Admiral Aquino took unified command and swept the eastern Mediterranean, which was all the Italian navy had. Mussolini also began to gamble on his entire navy, just for the sake of face. Stupid.

On the morning of September 17, the sea fog was in the western part of the Strait of Messina, and at about 11 o'clock, four fleets appeared on time in the predetermined assembly area. According to the plan, a large number of German aircraft should arrive at this time to conduct an escort exercise in order to facilitate mutual identification and cooperation in future coordinated operations.

But the Italians did not wait for the German planes. German planes had long been cruising at their high altitudes, but they did not show up, and the German Air Force was waiting for the appearance of British warships. The Italian Navy waited for a British Sunderland reconnaissance plane at 12:20 p.m. Admiral Aquino believed that the fleet's whereabouts had been revealed and requested that the plan be cancelled, but was denied by Admiral Ricard in Rome, and Admiral Aquino had no choice but to continue with the plan, although his deep sense of unease grew stronger.

On the 18th, the Italian fleet advanced in three directions along a 130-degree course southwest of the island of Galdos. The Cataño squadron and Vice Admiral Legnani's squadron were combined into one and were in the northernmost part of the formation. 6:43 a.m. The Italian RO43 reconnaissance aircraft spotted the British cruiser, and the Italians immediately accelerated to 30 knots and headed towards the British. At 8 o'clock, the Sanseniti detachment in the middle spotted the enemy ship by sight. Fire was fired after 12 minutes. The Sanseniti detachment began to retreat, luring the British cruisers in pursuit. At this time, Cataño's detachment had been facing north, ready to cut off the retreat of the British fleet at the right opportunity without taking part in the battle. As a result of the British Air Force attack at 10:58, the Italian fleet had to retreat again along a 300-degree course.

At 15:30 p.m., the hapless Italians began to run their bad luck when the flagship "Veneto" (the only battleship in the fleet) was hit by a mine in an air raid. Aquino believed that only the destroyer fleet of the British could pursue him at night, and that the other threat was an air raid the next day, so he decided to have the entire fleet join up to protect "Veneto". The Cataño and Lygnani detachments separated. Closely arranged on the starboard side of the "Veneto".

At dusk, the Italians spotted 8 British planes circling in the rear of the fleet. The planes took off from the aircraft carrier "Dreadnought". However, the British pilots did not attack immediately, and they circled and waited for the light to be darker before attacking. So that it will be difficult for the Italians to see the plane clearly. The last rays of light were also swallowed up by the night, and Aquino ordered the fleet to make a sudden turn in order to confuse the British pilots.

10 minutes later, the British group of 8 torpedo planes flew over the fleet, and the fleet immediately counterattacked with dense anti-aircraft fire, a red-hot net of 100-mm, 90-mm and 37-mm anti-aircraft guns, forcing the British aircraft to abandon their intention to attack in a group at a distance of 3000 yards. They first withdrew from the battle, and then spread out outside the fire network and attacked independently by single aircraft to disperse the anti-aircraft fire of the fleet.

However, the destroyer detachments began to cast thick smoke screens and turned on searchlights, covering the British planes with intense and dazzling beams. All this made the British pilots dizzy, so the first 7 aircraft got nothing. The last to enter the attack route was Lieutenant C. Williams, as most of the British aircraft had begun to evacuate and the fleet's anti-aircraft fire was relatively sparse. He broke through the defenses at a height close to the surface of the sea and approached the right flotilla. He chose the nearest big ship, which was none other than the "Bola". At 19:45, the torpedo was thrown and rushed towards the "Bora".

The darkness of the night really affected the effect of the Italians' visual vision, and the captain of the "Bora" M. M. De? Colonel Pisa found out that it was too late when the British planes dropped bombs. Although Admiral Aquino, hailed as an outstanding commander, urgently ordered the rudder to be turned, the torpedo plane that flew so low was too close to drop the mine, and the huge body of the "Bora" did not turn easily, and one minute later everyone watched as the torpedo hit the area between the starboard engine room and the boiler room.

It was a fatal blow, the huge explosion caused flesh and blood to fly in the main engine room and boiler room, the main engine stopped running, and the power equipment of the whole ship was paralyzed. Soon, raging sea water rushed into the three fireproof chambers, filling them up. The main engine stalled and the "Bora" lost power, the huge hull slowly stopped, unable to move like a dead fish, and the failure of the electrical equipment made the warship lose its ability to save itself. At this point, the stubborn m?de? Colonel Pisa had to give the order to abandon the ship. Nearly 800 officers and men scrambled to jump into the sea to survive, and only 257 people, including the deputy captain, remained on the "Bora" and waited for rescue from both their own men and the British.

…… (To be continued)

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