Long live Joachim

Chapter 139: The Roar of Steel (Next) In the decisive battle of the main fleet in the Second Battle of Flanders, the British dreadnought HMS Conqueror was the latest among the five British main battleships to be wounded by enemy gunfire. However, from the moment it was hit, the previous good luck came to an end. The German made armor piercing shell fired from a 50 caliber 12 inch naval gun pierced through its midship armor and then fired through a compartment filled with heavy oil, causing an explosion that immediately ignited a fire inside the ship. At the beginning of this fire, it was not fatal. If the crew could have extinguished it in time, external personnel would not even have realized that it had caught fire. However, due to communication and scheduling factors, the actions of the damage control personnel were unexpectedly slowed down, and the heavy oil that flowed out immediately exploded in a crew living room. This terrifying fire revealed the characteristics of high combustion temperature and heat generation of the heavy oil. The flames spread rapidly along the ship's cabin passage, and the bridge quickly turned into an iron pot on the stove. By the time the British sailors opened the fire hydrant, multiple upper compartments, including the communication center, had been engulfed by flames. Four starboard secondary guns were also affected, losing their combat effectiveness and causing some ammunition stored in their positions to explode badly. In just a few minutes, the "Conqueror" transformed from a main battleship with a complete appearance and formidable strength into a disaster scene with thick smoke and raging flames, and the deterioration of the situation even exceeded the opponent's expectations! I'll take your life while you're sick. The German officers and soldiers on board the "Grand Elector" may not have heard of this Eastern proverb, but what they are doing now precisely reflects the true meaning of this phrase. Taking advantage of the fire engulfing the British warship on the opposite side, they fired at an explosive rate, with all main guns firing in unison 8 times in 5 minutes, 5 of which formed a cross fire, and 4 shells hitting directly. The ship's 5. 9-inch secondary guns were also desperately bombarding the deck buildings of the British warship. Although the distance between the two warships was still 12000 meters, the fierce artillery fire of the German ships was like beating up their opponents at close range - in such a blink of an eye, the worst performing newcomer made a stunning comeback, which made people marvel at the ever-changing situation on the battlefield. The newly commissioned 'Elector' came to the forefront, but the old-fashioned dreadnought 'Oldenburg' encountered trouble at this time. After the second turn, its triple main guns hit the second St. Vincent class dreadnought ship of the British fleet 13 times, but the penetration power of the 11 inch guns was still much inferior to the 12 inch guns of the same caliber. The reason why it was able to dominate the first St. Vincent class ship before was because it hit the weak position of the enemy ship from the beginning. When luck no longer favored the "Oldenburg", only two or three of these 13 direct hits formed effective penetration. As a result, although the British ship was riddled with bullet marks, it still maintained strong combat power. Over time, the counterattack of this St. Vincent class ship began to take effect: one armor piercing bullet pierced through the side of the "Oldenburg". Armor, cutting off multiple steam pipes, almost made this old-fashioned dreadnought unable to keep up with the fleet's combat pace,Another armor piercing shell hit its second main turret, and the problem of the British shell fuse being too sensitive saved one of the German gunners inside the turret. Although the 11 inch thick front armor of the turret was not penetrated, the violent explosion still damaged the triple main gun, causing the Oldenburg to lose a quarter of its main gun firepower. The competition between the two fleets has entered a white hot stage, and either side has the possibility of winning. Inside the command tower of the "King" bridge, the officers silently observed the development of the battle situation, and a tense atmosphere quietly filled the air. Bang dong If it weren't for the deafening loud explosion, the trembling sensation coming from the hull would have been like riding a bumper car for Xia Shu. With top-notch high-quality armor, top-notch protective design, and top-notch combat damage management, Xia Shu is confident in the ability of the King class battleships to withstand enemy long-range shelling. However, there is no perfection in the world, and even the best warships cannot achieve "unsinkability". Xia Shu's inner anxiety is not less than that of any officer present, because he knows that this is a war that Germany cannot afford to lose. If the German fleet loses to the opponent in this naval battle, it is feared that more than half of the ships will be permanently lost, and all the efforts made before may be in vain. However, at this stage of the war, neither he nor this High Seas Fleet had a way back. The starboard armor was pierced, and shells exploded in Officer Zone 2. No fire has been detected yet... Uh, wait, officers. The chimney of the second chimney has been damaged, and hot smoke has entered the ship's hold. Personnel need to be evacuated from Officer Zone 2... The starboard secondary gun positions 4, 5, and 6 have been invaded by hot smoke, and the compartment deck is damaged Brigadier General Bainke's staff officer continuously reported the information from the damage control room to the officers inside the command tower. The battle command of the "King" is naturally fully under the responsibility of Captain Bainke, but it is also the command center of the entire fleet, and the fleet command team has the right and necessity to be informed of its damage situation at the first time. After listening to the report, Brigadier General Bainke immediately ordered, "Close the safety doors leading from the smoke spreading area to other compartments. The second damage control team and reserve personnel should enter the damaged area with anti-virus equipment and quickly control the damage situation. If there is a loss of power, it must be reported immediately Regarding Brigadier General Bainke's battlefield decision, Scheer and others did not make any statements, but a considerable part of their attention has shifted from the British fleet on the opposite side to their own ships. At this moment, looking out from the observation window on the right side of the command tower, there was no significant amount of smoke on the starboard side of the "King", and the damage to the internal compartments was often more potentially dangerous than the external hull. Don't forget, bitter acid explosives not only have strong properties, but also carry deadly toxicity on their own! The old wounds had not yet healed, and the 'King' quickly suffered another heavy blow from its opponent. A violent explosion also occurred in the starboard midship section, and after being hit one after another, the optical rangefinder on the upper part of the bridge was completely destroyed. The shooting commander had to rely on the calibration data provided by reconnaissance aircraft or the observation of the turret rangefinder to adjust the shooting parameters. Worse still, the shooting command room could not contact the two main turrets at the rear through wired telephone and loudspeaker, and the manually transmitted communication method would greatly delay the shooting speed. Faced with these difficulties, General Bainke's face once again showed the anxious expression of the most intense moment of the Battle of Jutland, and his speaking pace involuntarily increased a lot. He instructed the gunners of the two main turrets in the rear to conduct free fire on the target before the command communication on board was restored. Less than two minutes after being hit twice, the starboard deck of the "King" suddenly turned into a fiery and smoky inferno, with red tongues constantly emerging from the rolling black smoke. A twin mounted turret using 5. 9-inch naval guns was surrounded by thick red smoke, and its fall was only a matter of time. The gunners opened the escape hatch and risked their lives to remove the shells and firing packages and throw them into the sea. Nearby, several outdoor 88mm secondary and machine gun positions were also occupied by gunners, while the rest of the crew used the ship's fire hose to extinguish the fire and called for large torpedo boats to come and help. Two large torpedo boats approached one after another, disregarding the artillery fire from the British fleet. The fire hoses quickly sprayed long white water columns to suppress the constantly surging flames. At the same time, in some upper cabins on the starboard side of the "King", a tense, intense, complex and difficult life and death struggle is also underway. Dozens of damage control personnel groped forward in the ship's cabin passage filled with high-temperature smoke. They used the fire extinguishers they carried with them to extinguish the open flames in the officer's cabin. Every time they cleaned a section of the ship's cabin, they would promptly close the safety door and isolate the cleared compartment from the damaged area. They continued to move towards the compartment with unclear situation. When they finally arrived near the chimney flue, the faces behind the gas masks were as red and transparent as cooked lobsters. Here, they saw the scene of the explosion, which was the source of damage to the warship and the most severely damaged area. The twisted steel plates were enough to make people imagine how violent the explosion had been, and scorching smoke was pouring out from the black hole. The leading damage control personnel made a cross on their forehead and chest, reciting 'God bless'. It is obvious that this damage needs to be returned to port for complete repair, which means it will leave a legacy for the battleship's future battles. However, it is not a fatal injury. If the British armor piercing rounds used the same structure as the German armor piercing rounds and had the power of a 13. 5 inch caliber naval gun, this strike would have caused even more terrifying damage. After praying, the bearded damage control officer shouted to his companions, "The young men operating the secondary guns are right above our heads. In order to cool their butts and prevent accidents with the secondary gun ammunition, we need to lower the temperature here. Open the fire valve and be careful not to let too much water directly enter the flue with the ammunition In the distance on the sea, seeing the flagship of the German fleet on fire, Jericho's bloodshot eyes once again shone with a glimmer of hope. Excluding the influence of carrier based aircraft, high-speed torpedo boats, and submarines, the two main fleets engaged in a relatively fair confrontation, which was exactly the excuse used by the British to cover up after the Battle of Jutland and the First Battle of Flanders. However, even with one more main ship, the performance of the British fleet was still disappointing: two Saint Vincent class dreadnoughts were beaten to nowhere by a German Helgoland class dreadnought, and the situation of the "Conqueror" looked very bad. His own "Bold" was also beaten up by the Caesar class dreadnoughts on the opposite side, and the "Thunderbolt" was also at a disadvantage in the early stages. Could it be that the rise of the German fleet and the decline of the British navy have already occurred? Is it an inevitable trend in history? Despite having a hundred unwilling opponents, Jericho had to admit that the enemy's expensive and time-consuming main battleships were indeed superior, and at the time of the war, he, like the vast majority of British naval officials, underestimated this opponent, resulting in repeated defeats and passivity. However, it is clearly too early to give up now. If this battle continues head-on, the German fleet will undoubtedly have a greater chance of winning, and as long as the British fast fleet can achieve the expected combat goals, there will be an important turning point on the battlefield. At present, the British fast fleet commanded by Betty and Parkenham has twice defeated the incoming German high-speed torpedo boat fleet, resisting the successive air raids of German planes. It seems that only two old battleships and a few armored cruisers can stop them from attacking the German support fleet. As for Hipper's German battle cruiser formation, they are still desperately rushing back from the mouth of the Dover Strait, and it seems difficult to catch up with this crucial battle.