Narvik is an unfamiliar place name to most people, and for the average military fan, they only know that there was a fierce naval battle here, but they may not understand why the Royal Navy fought the German Navy in Narvik, let alone why the Germans wanted to occupy the small place of Narvik.

This qiē has to start with Sweden, yes, comrades, you read that right, you have to start with Sweden. It is said that Norway's neighbor Sweden found an iron ore in the mountains and mountains in the north, this iron ore called Kiruna is not an ordinary iron ore, this iron ore is not only rich in ore reserves, but also has an amazing iron content of 70%, it can be said that Kiruna is the best iron ore production area of Blue Star, and it is also a necessary raw material for the manufacture of high-quality steel.

It stands to reason that Kiruna is a great treasure house, and as the owner of the treasure house, it is really difficult for the Swedes not to get rich! But it's not that simple, so let's go back to our introduction to the Kiruna Iron Ore Mine – the mountains of the north. That is, the Nagada bird does not poop, and the traffic is quite problematic.

So the Swedes were in trouble, how to develop this treasure trove? At that time, the mainstream opinion was that if we want to get rich and build roads first, we should build an iron ore line, and we can transport the stones out and sell them for money. The Swedes did what they said, and soon a railway from Kiruna to the port of Luleå in the Gulf of Bothnia was built, and it seemed that all the Swedes needed to do was to work as miners and porters.

Well, soon the Swedes discovered that things were not so simple, the port of Luleå in the Gulf of Bothnia was shallow and narrow, and it was impossible to dock large ships at all, and even worse it was that it could only do business for 7 months out of 12 months a year. The remaining five months are TM frozen!

This Nima! I'm afraid that the Swedes wanted to jump to scold their mothers at that time. Why is it so hard to get rich?

Of course. The living can't let the urine suffocate to death, the Swedes are also a hard-working, kind and good nation that is good at mobilizing the wisdom of the working people, looked at the map, patted their heads, they have an idea, the Baltic direction is not easy to transport, then let's just face the Atlantic Ocean, anyway, Norway has not yet become independent from Sweden. Build a railway to Narvik, and not all the problems will be solved!

Narvik is only 30 kilometers away from the border of Norway and Sweden, and it is a natural harbor in itself, with deep water and wide harbors, and more importantly, it is affected by the warm current of the North Atlantic Ocean and does not freeze all year round! In those days, Narvik was exporting 25 million tons of iron ore a year!

As the old saying goes, Norway's military strength is too weak, and Narvik's strategic position is too important. This summoned the covetousness of the two scoundrels, and almost brought Norway to its demise.

May 13, 1940. Just after the end of the First Battle of Narvik, it was also when the Royal Navy was preparing for a second strike on German ships in the harbor. An uninvited guest arrived in the West Orlen Islands, northeast of Narvik.

This was the Red Navy's First Task Force (T1) consisting of three aircraft carriers and four battleships, four heavy cruisers, and eight destroyers. The second task force (T2), consisting of four battlecruisers and four light cruisers and eight destroyers, had rounded Severugen in the Lofogen Islands to reach the entrance to Westfjord.

According to the orders of the Military Commission, the task force of the two task forces was to monitor the movements of the Royal Navy and the German Navy, and if necessary, to consider the capture of Narvik. Of course, the latter order can only be carried out with the authorization of the Military Commissariat. Trotsky was supportive of this, and he was very keen to thwart the German attempt to occupy Narvik.

On the morning of May 13, when the sky was dark but the clouds were relatively high, the sea was breezy and the visibility was much better than before, Vice Admiral Whitworth, on orders of the Admiralty, moved to the battleship USS Warweariness in a rowing dinghy, and soon raised the lieutenant general's flag. Under his orders, a fleet of battleships Weary of War, as well as Cossacks, Kimberley, Forrester, Eskimos, Bedouins, Punjabis, Icarus, Foxhounds, destroyers HMS Hero, and aircraft carrier Fury prepared to break into Narvik and send all German ships to sea in one fell swoop.

At 12 noon, Whitworth ordered the War-Weary to eject a Swordfish seaplane for armed reconnaissance of Orford Sound, the aircraft numbered L9767 carrying four anti-submarine bombs and four high-explosive bombs at the risk of overloading. Under the command of Major Brown flew east along the fjord. The German outpost Kinne, heading west, was spotted first, followed by the Köllner, which was still staggering, and the Lüdmann, anchored at the entrance to the port of Narvik.

In order to search for more enemy traces, L9767 continued to fly northeastward, and at this time, the Red Army RO-2 bomber that took off from the T1 formation also happened to approach Narvik for reconnaissance. Major Brown had never seen a RO-2 and was in a panic when he misidentified the RO-2 for a German bomber. Major Brown reported to the Fury that he had discovered an enemy bomber, and on the other hand, he bravely met him and rewarded the RO-2 with a burst of machine-gun bullets.

Captain Roshchenko, the pilot of the RO-2, was also a little surprised by the sudden appearance of the L9767, which was also the first time that a Soviet pilot had made a direct contact with the Royal Air Force, and he was curiously looking at the old biplane when he did not expect the British to suddenly attack.

Fortunately, the firepower of the L9767 was not strong (a 7.7 mm machine gun), and all the bullets fired missed the target, but Captain Roshchenko was taken aback. After all, Britain and the Soviet Union did not declare war at this time, and the British were unreasonable and came to a bukkake, which is inexplicable no matter how you look at it.

So Captain Roshchenko hurriedly contacted the mothership: "Our plane was attacked by the British Air Force, please instruct." Repeat, our plane was attacked by the British Air Force, please instruct! ”

On the Leningrad, Sukhoi, who was in charge of directing the operation, was also at a loss, what happened to the British? Killed red eyes or ate gunpowder? Shouldn't it?!

So he immediately questioned Captain Roshchenko: "Can you confirm that it was indeed attacked by the British Air Force?" ”

Roshchenko wanted to scold his mother, because Major Brown was fighting harder and harder. Piloting a swordfish that looks clumsy because of overload, constantly attacks him. This moment of effort. There were already several bullet holes in his wing.

At that time, Roshchenko replied angrily: "Of course, the British have already greeted me several times with machine guns!" I beg to fight back! ”

When Sukhoi heard this, he informed Moscow of the unexpected situation, and on the other hand, instructed Roshchenko to retreat temporarily, because the military commission only gave him the power to counterattack when attacked by the Germans, but did not allow him to attack the British.

There is enough money on Roshchenko's side, when can a mere swordfish bully him, as long as the above agrees. In a minute, he shot down the dead fish. But who will let the top? In desperation, he glared at L9767 viciously, slammed the accelerator and accelerated away from the battlefield.

On the other side, Major Brown saw that the enemy was about to flee, and he really tried his best to chase after him, but he soon found out that this was a humiliation, and the swordfish couldn't catch up with the speed of chasing hair. In desperation, he could only "watch" as the enemy ran away.

Filled with unfulfilled passion, Major Brown quickly found his next target and rushed towards the U-64 submarine moored at the end of the fjord, first dropping the anti-submarine bomb. This was followed by constant machine-gun fire. The German submarine, which had just arrived in Narvik, was quickly hit directly by a bomb, leaving a number of machine gun holes in its hull. Soon sank to the bottom of the sea.

Major Brown was overjoyed by this result, and soon swept away the depression of his previous encounter with the RO-2, in fact, the major who was carried away by the excitement had forgotten about the RO-2 at all. In a reconnaissance telegram to Whitworth, he emphasized that he had sunk a submarine and did not mention the enemy bombers.

And Major Brown's carelessness soon got into trouble, and the Prestige and Counterattack, which were on blockade duty at the mouth of Westfjord, and the light cruiser Penelope were patrolling along the predetermined course, and after a few circles, suddenly several plumes of smoke were spotted on the water antenna to the northwest.

This immediately attracted the attention of the temporary commander of the formation, Admiral Spooner, after all, the Prestige had encountered a German battlecruiser in the sea a few days earlier, and it was only after a fierce battle that it had repelled its opponents. Could it be that the ships that suddenly appeared slipped back to the rescue of the German fleet in Narvik again?

Colonel Spooner immediately ordered the formation to raise its vigilance and turn the rudder, and a few minutes later there were more and more columns of smoke near sea level, which made Colonel Spooner's nerves suddenly tense. At this moment, I don't know if the weather was not beautiful or how, a large dark cloud drifted above the mouth of Westbay Estuary, making the visibility that had once improved worse again.

After a few more minutes, the lookout post of the Counterattack reported: "Four enemy light cruisers and three destroyers have been spotted, suspected to be German Navy." ”

At this time, the distance was about 35 kilometers, and Spooner weighed his strength, and with two battle cruisers, one light cruiser, and four destroyers, he should have the strength to fight. Therefore, full of initiative, he immediately ordered all ships to be ready for battle and wait for his orders at any time.

So was it the German Navy heading towards Spooner? Definitely not, didn't you say it before? The Red Navy's T2 task force, consisting of four battle cruisers and four light cruisers, and eight destroyers, was heading for the fjord. The four light cruisers that Spooner saw were none other than the four Type 36 light cruisers of the Red Navy. Of course, the four battlecruisers that followed behind this batch of lead ships were ignored by the Spooner lookout.

After another 20 minutes or so, visibility on the sea became even worse, and even though the distance between the two sides was reduced to less than 30 kilometers, the Spooner lookout post still did not correctly identify the opponent.

When the distance between the two sides was reduced to 26 kilometers, Spooner could not hold back and ordered the Prestige and Counterattack to bombard the opponent at once. In an instant, 12 380-mm cannons let out a roar of landslides.

Arseny, who commanded the T2 formation on the other side. Grigoryevich. Vice Admiral Golovko was inexplicable, and his side was constantly shouting to the opposite fleet on the international public channel to inform him of his identity, fearing that the opponent would miscalculate.

But what made Golovko depressed was that the other party did not mean to reply at all, but pressed towards him violently, and seeing that the situation was not right, he ordered to use the flag and light signal to identify himself again. But at this moment, as a flash of light erupted from the opposite fleet, he knew that it was a bad dish.

Long-range shelling over 26 km, and it was the first test firing. Naturally, the hit rate will not be good. The shells all deviated far from the target and fell into the sea. Still, it made Golovko nervous. He first ordered the fleet to prepare for battle. Then quickly informed Sukhoi of the T1 formation to ask for instructions, and finally again shouted to the British in three ways.

Soon there was a reply from Sukhoi's side: "If the British fleet takes the initiative to attack, you can counterattack as you see fit." ”

However, Golovko did not want to start the battle in such a vague way, he ordered the fleet to exercise restraint and constantly call the British. To Golovko's dismay, however, the British responded to his call with shells, and soon the second round of shelling of the Prestige and Counterattack came again.

"Comrade Golovko, we can't put up with it. Fight back! ”

"That's right, the British did it on purpose!"

However, Golovko still chose to remain calm and continued to call the British fleet, but he did not know that at this time, the British translators and telegraphers did not pay attention to his call at all, and Spooner was frantically calling to attack Whitworth in Narvik, claiming that he had encountered the main force of the German navy, and asked Whitworth to come for reinforcements immediately.

Yes, Spooner finally saw four battle cruisers in the formation of the "enemy", and he was taken aback at that time. It was the offensive spirit advocated by the Royal Navy that made him stay and continue to fight.

By the time the distance between the two sides had narrowed to 25 km, Golovko had already been subjected to at least five rounds of shelling. Even if he restrained and could endure it, he couldn't help it at this time. Britain has been indifferent for such a long time, and it has opened fire with one mind, which is deliberate no matter how you look at it. Suddenly Golovko couldn't help it.

With Golovko's order, the 32 305-mm guns on the four battle cruisers roared in unison, and this rain of bullets instantly drowned out the Prestige and Counterattack. Soon four Type 36 light cruisers also joined the shelling, and 48 152-mm guns made another wave.

Vaughans, then second mate of the Penelope, recalled: "Countless columns of water rose around our ship, and after a series of violent explosions, I could hear the hull clanging from the flying shrapnel...... Compared to the enemy's ferocious firepower, our ship's return fire was simply weak (the Penelope belonged to the Sarmas-class light cruiser with a displacement of 5220 tons and only 6 152-mm guns) ......"

Compared to the Penelope, the situation of the Prestige and Counterattack was even worse, after all, the 152-mm shells were less powerful and had a limited threat at a distance of 25 km. And the 305-mm shells were different, even after modernization, the defense of the prestige-class battlecruisers was slightly weak, and the 305-mm guns of the Red Navy could hit them hard even if they didn't lose a second.

Fortunately, the firepower of both sides was fierce, but the hit rate was really unsatisfactory, from a distance of 25 kilometers to a distance of 20 kilometers, and neither side opened a beard.

At this time, Whitworth, who had already led the team to prepare to kill Narvik and destroy all the Germans in one go, wondered why his luck was so bad, and he was just about to start working, when someone came to disrupt the situation. At this point, should we continue to operate according to the original plan, or should we turn the ship around and reinforce Spooner?

Seconds later, Whitworth made the decision: "Turn the rudder, reinforce Spooner!" ”

This multiple-choice question is actually not difficult, compared to the capital ships of the German Navy, the half-crippled destroyers in the harbor are really nothing. Whitworth thought he could have sent the German capital ships away first, and then turned around to deal with the garbage in the harbor, and they couldn't get away anyway.

When Whitworth turned the rudder, he would never have imagined that he would be pitted by Spooner, the idiot who had simply recognized the wrong person, and almost provoked a war between Britain and the Soviet Union. To be honest, when Hitler learned about this, he was quite sorry, and he couldn't help but wonder if Spooner had worked a little harder.

Continuing back on the battlefield, after entering 20 kilometers, the hit rate of both sides began to skyrocket, and the ships of both the Red Navy and the Royal Navy were equipped with advanced fire control equipment, including radar, which gave them the ability to fight a vigorous sea battle in poor visibility conditions.

The first to be achieved were four Type 36 light cruisers, and the Brest hit the Penelope in the tenth salvo, digging a large hole in the aft deck of the ship. Two minutes later, the Odessa hit the central part of Penelope again, creating a small fire.

Good luck is contagious, and soon the Red Kharkov hit near the Y turret behind the main mast of the Prestige, almost the same part that the German ship Gneisenau had hit a few days earlier, but the difference was that the last time the German-made shell did not explode, this time the Soviet-made one exploded.

Thanks to the Prestige's reinforced armor during the modernization, the explosion failed to penetrate the Y turret, only causing the turret bezel to deform and get stuck, forcing the Prestige to rely on two turrets to fight the opponent in the ensuing battle.

The fierce battle continued, and when the distance between the two sides was shortened to less than 17 kilometers, both sides had the ability to kill their opponents in seconds, and the artillery battle entered a white heat. The earth-shattering roar did not stop for almost a moment, and all the crew members involved in the battle felt their ears buzzing, and everyone was eager to shoot all the shells in one go.

It was at this moment that Spooner received a rather embarrassing and shocking news that almost made him faint out of anger.

"Colonel, we are exchanging fire with the Soviet Navy!" The lookout post said. (To be continued......)

PS: Bow and thank Orphein, All-you-can-drink a thousand cups and people are not drunk, cjsky, Kamen Angel 555, Taiping Heavenly Kingdom 2, Juventus and all the comrades who rewarded and voted for the monthly ticket yesterday!