Years later, Gorshkov still recalled: "There was an opportunity to sink the Tirpitz in front of me, but it was ruined by the carrier-based aviation. As soon as I ordered the fleet into combat and was ready to start shelling, the whizzing dive bombers and torpedo planes pounced on the Tirpitz like wolves......"

Of course, at that time, Gorshkov no longer insisted that battleships were the core of the navy, and after witnessing the great power of naval aviation in World War II, he immediately changed his ways and threw himself into the arms of the aircraft carrier faction, and then succeeded Kuznetsov as commander-in-chief of the navy, and vigorously promoted the nuclear aircraft carrier project, and in the eighties, a new aircraft carrier of 100,000 tons was named after him.

Returning to the battle itself, Gorshkov was about 37 kilometers from Tirpitz at that time, and with the performance of the modified 380-mm guns of the October Revolution and the Paris Commune, it was possible to conduct artillery battles at this distance.

The reason why Gorshkov did not do this was very simple, the first was that it was completely dark at that time, and the Tirpitz 37 kilometers away was only an orange red dot in the eyepiece of the rangefinder, which was quite difficult for the optical rangefinders of the October Revolution and the Paris Commune, which were not very good.

At that time, Gorshkov had to use only the second option - artillery sighting radar. However, the artillery sighting radars of the October Revolution and the Paris Commune belong to the first generation, and their performance is not particularly reliable, and the ranging error at 40 kilometers is a bit large, and they cannot reliably guide the main guns for firing. This kind of radar can only be accepted with an accuracy of less than 30 kilometers, and now, it is clearly not an egg.

Of course, the Soviet Union did not run out of better gun-sighting radars at that time, such as the second-generation gun-sighting radars equipped on heavy cruisers and light cruisers. For example, the artillery radar on the Moscow Komsomol accurately identified the Tirpitz at a distance of 40 kilometers and instructed it to the October Revolution. But the problem is that the 203-mm guns of the Moscow Komsomol did not have such a long range and could not be hit even if they saw it.

Therefore, at this time, Gorshkov was really in pain, and he couldn't see what he could hit. I can see it clearly, but I can't hit it, isn't this a joke for him? At that time, Gorshkov was afraid that he drew a circle in his heart and cursed the group of "scum" in the general equipment.

However, the General Armament Department cannot be blamed for this, because according to the original plan, the October Revolution and the Paris Commune were supposed to be docked in 1941 for a second round of refits, and the focus of the renovation was to update the fire control and command facilities, such as replacing the new air-to-sea search radar and artillery sighting radar.

But it is well known that in 1941 the war broke out in response to the threat of German giants such as the Bismarck, Tirpitz and Scharnhorst. The refit of the October Revolution and the Paris Commune had to be terminated, and the two ships had to shoulder the heavy responsibility of maintaining the safety of the Arctic Ocean routes. It can only be said that the October Revolution and the Paris Commune were too unlucky to catch up with the good times.

The distance of more than seven kilometers was simply eye-piercing for Gorshkov, who was holding a telescope and observing the battle situation more than 30 kilometers away.

After the reaction of the Air Force pilots, Sukhoi learned that the effect of dive bombing was not particularly ideal. Most of the bombs failed to penetrate the Tirpitz's main armor, in order to defeat the Tirpitz. On the one hand, he ordered the Ro-3 fleet to be equipped with FAB-1500 bombs, and on the other hand, he also asked the pilots of the torpedo attack wave to be more powerful.

"Aren't you ashamed that you wasted dozens of torpedoes and only hit the Tirpitz once or twice?"

Actually, you can't really blame the pilots, because most of them are novices. Before, I practiced throwing bombs more on land, and it was really the first time to throw torpedoes. And as we all know, torpedoes are much more expensive than bombs, and even if they are mines, they can't be thrown every day. So the vast majority of them actually lack experience in throwing torpedoes. This is the first time I played, and it is normal that the performance is not very good. But the boys were suffocated by Sukhoi's words, and they wanted to prove that they could do it!

The fifth wave was still a dive bombardment, and 24 Ro-2/3s carrying FAB-1500s climbed above the Tirpitz again, which was much easier than the previous dive bombings, after all, the Tirpitz's anti-aircraft fire had been largely paralyzed, and the speed had been greatly reduced.

Twenty-four FAB-1500 bombs whizzed out of the pylons and rushed towards the Tirpitz like meteors, hitting a total of five, only one of which was the deadliest. The bomb hit the foredeck about fifteen meters behind the Tirpitz's bow, and its sheer volume and kinetic energy allowed it to penetrate several decks in the bow, exploding in the water after piercing the hull below the starboard waterline.

The Tirpitz was badly damaged by the unusually violent shock, with more than 1,500 tons of water ingress and causing the hull to roll forward. Its power plant and fire control system were also badly damaged, and according to the ship's co-captain, who later survived, "Admiral Siriacos and Captain Meyer agreed that the damage had 'destroyed' the Tirpitz, that we had lost most of our combat effectiveness, and that it was impossible to return to Trondheim......"

Crucially, the bomb brought the Tirpitz to a halt completely, and its speed quickly dropped below 10 knots. This is equivalent to killing a target for the Ro-2/3 group that launched a torpedo attack behind.

In fact, according to the torpedo pilot's recollections: "In the night sky, the Tirpitz was a bonfire, and the previous dive bombardment had completely set the battleship on fire." Its anti-aircraft fire has been basically paralyzed, and only a few gun positions are still attacking sporadically, which is simply a drizzle for us. We effortlessly approached within 500 meters of the Tirpitz. I could see sailors jumping into the sea on the deck of the ship, quite some of them with flames. At that time, the Tirpitz could no longer see the majesty she once had, and she looked so helpless in the flames at this time......"

"But we're not going to be polite, in fact we're all looking forward to doing a great job, and we all want to be the ones who get this honor. One after the other the torpedoes were dropped, and then one after the other hit the starboard side of the Tirpitz, exploding ten times? Or twelve? Anyway. The vast majority of us hit the target! ”

Although the power of aviation torpedoes is less than that of ship torpedoes (small caliber and less charge), more than a dozen aviation torpedoes can bite an elephant. Not to mention that the blow to the Tirpitz was not much more than an aviation torpedo. Fifteen minutes later, the last wave of attackers arrived on the battlefield, and interestingly, this wave consisted of two parts. One was a fleet of Pe-8 long-range bombers belonging to the Air Force that took off from Murmansk, a total of 18 aircraft, all carrying FAB-3000 bombs. The other was the last group of Ro-2/3 that took off from aircraft carriers such as Leningrad, a total of 12 of them, carrying FAB-1000 bombs.

These thirty fighters arrived on the battlefield almost at the same time, and they attacked almost simultaneously, the only difference was that the attack altitude was very different. Most of the Pe-8 group dropped bombs at an altitude of 5,000 meters, while the Ro-2/3 continued to dive bombing.

But let's be honest, this wave of attacks is completely unnecessary. Because the Tirpitz at that time could be said to be finished, she was just a dead fish floating on the sea. The only thing that contributed to the bombing was that the Air Force also wanted a piece of the pie.

In Gorshkov's words: "The last round of bombing has no more meaning than to kill more Germans who abandoned ship and escaped." As an old navy, I can't stand such a massacre. ”

Of course, Gorshkov is hypocritical. In fact, he was very depressed that he could not devote himself to this "slaughter" feast, at this time. His fleet is still unable to attack the Tirpitz, do you think he is in a hurry?

The Pe-8 flying from Murmansk was the first to attack, and eighteen bombers opened the hatch one after another from a height of 5,000 meters, and the thick and long FAB-3000 bombs fell with a great sound. At this time, there was no nasty German fighter interference in the sky, and there was no annoying anti-aircraft fire. The red-hot Tirpitz underneath was a bright target.

At 0:47, the eighteen FAB-3000 bombs dropped as usual in the usual exercise found the dying Tirpitz, directly hitting two and nearly missing one. The first bomb hit pierced the deck between turrets A and B, but before the fuse detonated. The bomb penetrated the Tirpitz's hull and exploded thirty meters below the bottom of the ship.

The blast wave of the explosion stirred up a terrifying jet of water that not only lifted the bow of the Tirpitz off the surface of the sea, but also swept away many of the escape boats. As for the crew of the Tirpitz who were soaked in the sea, they were shocked to death under the action of the shock wave, and for a time this sea area was "full of floating corpses".

And the second FAB-3000 bomb that hit the Tirpitz hit the middle of the hull, directly hitting the rear bridge, and under the action of the huge impact, the entire rear bridge collapsed with a bang. The bomb continued to advance deeper, and then rushed into the engine room, and the violent explosion tore terrible holes in the side and bottom of the ship, completely destroying the surrounding hull structure. As for the near-miss, it exploded near the port side of the C turret, further widening the large hole in the stern that had been torpedoed.

If before the Tirpitz was still moribund and could be repaired, now, it really only has its last breath left, and even this breath will not last long, because the Ro-2/3 of the dive bombing has also arrived.

In this round of dive bombing, a total of 12 bombs were dropped, and 8 hits were achieved. The reason is not only that the Tirpitz has been unable to move and can only be passively beaten, but more importantly, after the first few rounds of actual combat attacks, the experience bar of the Red Navy pilots has grown rapidly, and it is normal to achieve good results.

This round of eight FAB-1000 bombs hit the middle area of the Tirpitz's hull very intensively, thanks to the help of the previous FAB-3000 bombs, this area is really unsightly, and after more bombs fell, the keel of the Tirpitz was quickly cut off. At one moment, with a loud bang, the giant ship was broken in two.

Interestingly, it was at this time that Gorshkov's two battleships finally completed the first salvo, and 16 380-mm shells were flying in the air at this time! When they fell, the crew of the Tirpitz overboard or escaped in a lifeboat became the most unfortunate victims, with most of the shells falling right around them. There was a lifeboat that was even smashed to pieces directly by a shell!

Then, the tumultuous sea finally began to slowly calm down, and the bombers and attack planes flapped their wings contentedly and flew away, leaving the messy sea to Gorshkov's fleet. And this also made the future admiral extremely dissatisfied.

"My fleet came with all the hard work, but it turned out to be the existence of collecting the corpses of the Germans, what is this?!"

Enraged, Gorshkov wanted to continue south in pursuit of the Scharnhorst, which had already fled. But his request was quickly rejected by Kuznetsov and Sukhoi. They were already satisfied with being able to destroy capital ships such as the Tirpitz, and felt that there was no need to risk entering the Luftwaffe's strike range to pursue the Scharnhorst.

Gorshkov could only retreat north with two battleships and two heavy cruisers, leaving the rest of the rescue of the German crew to the destroyers. After returning to Tromsø, the admiral locked himself in the captain's quarters and sulked for two days, which shows how depressed he was.

Gorshkov was depressed, but the Red Navy was excited, this time the results of the operation were too fruitful. Sinking German capital ships, including the Tirpitz, destroyed almost the entire elite of the German Navy in World War I. When did the Russian Navy achieve such results? I'm afraid it dates back to Ushakov in the Napoleonic era, right?

And the Russian Navy also needs such a victory to prove its worth, after all, whether it is the Russo-Japanese War or the First World War or the domestic revolutionary war, their role is awkward.

And now this victory is too much of a boost for the Navy, especially to note that in this naval battle, the losses of the Red Navy are not worth mentioning, only the destroyer Shenmi suffered serious damage and the loss of some aircraft. Such a tiny battle damage shocked the Navy itself. Especially the old stubborns who supported the battleships, that stunned expression was quite wonderful.

The Red Naval Aviation completed the proof of its own worth. As a matter of course, he put the results of the sinking of the Tirpitz into his own pocket. However, this made the Air Force very unconvinced, and the Air Force believed that they were the aces who gave the Tirpitz the final blow, and it was the Pe-8 attack that sank the Tirpitz, and the Air Force believed that this credit should belong to them.

This sparked a great quarrel between the services over who had sunk the Tirpitz and became an eternal cannon between the Red Navy and the Red Air Force. Of course. According to the official history of the war, 90% of the credit for the sinking of the Tirpitz belonged to the Red Navy, especially the Red Navy's carrier-based aviation, which was the main force that ended the Tirpitz. And the Air Force played the role of "assist" at the last moment.

This statement has always made the Air Force angry, and it has complained about itself on more than one occasion. It is believed that the navy has taken away their honor from them under the favor of some immortal. What does an immortal think about this?

"If you're serious, you'll lose, just treat this kind of thing as if it didn't exist and didn't hear it!"

Why is the attitude of a certain immortal so strange? According to his fucking pee, he should be giving some people in the Air Force a little color to see, why is this reversed?

The reason is very simple, because Li Xiaofeng obviously saw through that some people wanted to sow discord between him and the Air Force, and that they wanted to deliberately create contradictions in order to profit from it. He can't see through this little political trick, and he really doesn't deserve to be a great elder.

This matter was caused by Youngolda, who picked up a small group of unsatisfactory generals in the air force and deliberately made remarks on various private occasions in order to muddy the waters. Once Li Xiaofeng is fooled, Yakoda will help Sverdlov expand his influence in the Air Force.

"Pediatric tricks!" Li Xiaofeng scoffed at this, and his response to Yagoda's "provocation" or temptation was very simple, that is, not to respond. As a member of the Politburo, if you even have to take a few small shrimp barking dogs seriously, it is wonderful.

Of course, it is impossible to just forget it, and Li Xiaofeng only did one thing, that is, to characterize this operation in the official war history, and thoroughly affirmed the merits of the navy, especially the carrier-based aviation.

Don't underestimate this act, the official recognition is tantamount to a final word, which is a full affirmation of the Red Navy's status as the main body of honor. If the Air Force is smart enough, it should understand what Li Xiaofeng means, and then if it continues to connive at some unruly guys to mess around, it will really outweigh the losses.

In fact, the Air Force reacted quickly, on the one hand, through official channels, affirming the Military Commission or a certain immortal's recognition of the nature of the war merits, and on the other hand, explicitly or implicitly, warning those marginal figures who were mixed with Yakoda to shut up quickly, otherwise they would not be polite.

To put it bluntly, the Air Force is actually trying to test Li Xiaofeng's attitude, after all, there is a dispute over the distribution of interests between the three major branches of the military, and such a great merit as sinking the Tirpitz, even if you don't participate, you have to get on the pole and pull it into your arms, not to mention that the Air Force is also involved, so it must be fought for one or two.

Therefore, the Air Force had secretly connived at Yagoda before, using this to test the true attitude of a certain immortal, and if someone did not clearly express dissatisfaction, then the Air Force would definitely strengthen its efforts to compete for merit.

It's just that Li Xiaofeng's reaction made Arxnis completely unexpected, and let them return home without much effort...... (To be continued......)

PS: Bow and thank you for killing potatoes in seconds, drinking thousands of cups without getting drunk, drunk without maple and Comrade Juventus!