Chapter 2107 Counterattack
"This guy is finished!" A smile appeared on Commodore Nelpi's face. Obviously, the attack just now hit the power compartment in the middle of the hull. Once the power compartment of a 5,000-ton light cruiser is hit by a torpedo, it will almost It's dead, because the ship is small, so the reserve buoyancy is insufficient, and after losing power, the water drainage of the battleship is a problem!
"If we're lucky, we should be able to kill one more!" Brigadier General Nelpi tried to find other suitable targets through the night and the smoke on the battlefield. Orange spots! Subconsciously looking into the distance, Brigadier General Nelpi's heart tightened!
Just after the British light cruiser detachment focused its attention on the light armored cruiser Pillau, Earl Spey, who discovered that it had been stolen behind, immediately ordered the two armored cruisers to aim their guns at the British light cruiser that was attacking. Because of anger, and more importantly, the three British armored cruisers in the distance have been severely damaged, and they can't make any waves. They can catch up and fight again later. And these four light cruisers are obviously more dangerous, and the distance between the two sides is not far away. If they release smoke and fight for another lightning strike, it will be more troublesome!
The German fleet immediately adjusted its formation, and the destroyer originally in charge of the non-combat side re-arranged between the two cruiser fleets to block the possible lightning strikes of the British. Aboard two British light cruisers! The Centaur and Caledon at the tail of the team bear the brunt! Even the Crecy-class armored cruiser couldn't withstand the attack of the Mainz, let alone these light cruisers with a displacement of only about 5,000 tons.
While the British were adjusting their formation and preparing for the destroyer to release smoke to cover the retreat of the light cruiser, the deadly shells had already hit the last light cruiser Centaur! A shell fell on the stern of the battleship, and after easily penetrating through the 3 decks, it had an intimate contact with the fast-rotating drive shaft in the bottom cabin!
boom! The rotating shaft was directly blown into two sections by the shell, one of which destroyed several cabins next to it under the action of huge inertia, and with the collision and explosion, the fire quickly spread from the shot, and the flames and smoke spread from the damaged area. Gushing out, making this crippled warship stand out! After losing half of its power, the Centaur can only sail at less than 17 knots. Under the reflection of searchlights and flares, it completely became a target!
The light cruiser Caledon next to it was even worse! He can almost be called the fastest warship sunk in the naval battle tonight! An armor-piercing projectile fired from the Prince Albert accurately hit the ammunition compartment below the main gun at the tail! The waterline armor belt with a thickness of only 3 inches is almost useless in front of the armor-piercing projectile weighing 240KG. The shell easily penetrated all the defenses outside the ammunition compartment and detonated more than ten tons of shells and propellant in the ammunition store!
So, in an instant, a dazzling glare suddenly appeared on the sea! The light was so bright that it even completely obscured the nearby flares with a brightness of hundreds of thousands of candles! The shock wave generated by the violent explosion then spread! The strong airflow engulfed the fragments of the battleship and carried out an indiscriminate coverage attack on everything nearby. A British torpedo boat that was close was hit by shock waves and shrapnel before it could react! Subsequently, the waves generated by the explosion violently pulled the ship into the sea, and the poor torpedo boat never floated again!
As soon as a huge column of smoke rose, it rushed straight into the air more than 100 meters, and then gradually condensed into a mushroom cloud as the temperature dropped. When the smoke gradually dissipated, the light cruiser HMS Caledon could no longer be seen on the sea. In just a few seconds, this battleship took more than 300 British Royal Navy officers and soldiers completely from the sea. Disappeared in this world,
Only fragments scattered on the sea tell people that there once existed a battleship here!
"Release the smoke immediately, the destroyer goes up to cover, we retreat!" The light cruiser Caledon was instantly killed and shocked the entire British fleet. At this time, Commodore Nelpi no longer dared to think about whether to fight again. The only thing I want is to run away!
With plenty of power. The speed of the remaining two light cruisers increased from 25 knots to around 28 knots, and the remaining British destroyers also rushed towards the German destroyer squad while drawing smoke. The two British light cruisers quickly disappeared into the vast night again. , After the two K8 bombers searched with searchlights, they did not find each other's traces, which made the Germans a little depressed.
"It's ready to end." Looking at the escaped British light cruiser squadron, Earl Spey couldn't help sighing. Today's battle was actually very good, but there was a mistake at the last moment, and a precious light cruiser was lost. However, if you look at it purely from the exchange ratio, the German navy is still profitable, and the Centaur will definitely not be able to escape. After the armored cruiser Mainz destroyed its firepower, two German torpedo boats fired at the light cruiser. 4 torpedoes were fired, and after two loud noises, the light cruiser broke into three pieces and sank to the bottom of the sea.
And when the German fleet drove away the British light cruiser, there were still two German armored cruisers shining like torches on the sea in the distance. Commodore Nerpi's attack is still very meaningful. In the case of sinking a British light cruiser, it also allowed the last armored cruiser with a less severely damaged power system to withdraw from the battlefield. The Hogg had abandoned its companions and sailed quickly to the north of the English Channel. By comparing the charts, Earl Spey found that the other party had entered the British offshore area, where mines must have been deployed, so in order to avoid unnecessary losses, the Earl decided to send After these two armored cruisers are sunk, forget it!
It is not difficult to sink two British armored cruisers. The accompanying British destroyers have also withdrawn. The decks of the two armored cruisers have also become a sea of flames. They have no ability to fight back. British naval officers later torpedoed the lives of both warships. When the two British armored cruisers disappeared from the sea, the entire Strait of Dover returned to calm again.
The surviving British light cruisers and destroyers began to withdraw from the battlefield. The Germans dispatched warships far beyond their ability to deal with them. Staying here would be tantamount to death. Fortunately, tonight is the first day of evacuation. The scale is not large, and Lieutenant General Martin Marshal Haig has been reminded to suspend the withdrawal plan if necessary.
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