"Boom!" An orange-red fireball struck the side of Fort C of the Fortress of Gibraltar.
The explosion caused rubble to fly everywhere. After a 343mm armor-piercing bomb exploded, a large crater more than one meter deep was left on the side of the fort! However, it did not pose much of a threat to the British troops inside the fort for the time being. The limestone stone
Although the hardness is not high, the several-meter-thick rock formation can still form a good protection for the British troops inside the fort!
The artillery battle between the Chinese Navy's Indian Ocean Fleet and the British Navy's Gibraltar Fortress was very fierce. Large-caliber naval gun shells and fortress gun shells were flying in the air. The sharp whistle produced by the shells piercing the air rang out on the sea near Gibraltar.
.
On the battleship Han Ming Emperor, Admiral Li Haitao held up his telescope and observed the bombardment. The 11 battleships did not form a battle line, but spread out and fired freely at the Gibraltar Fortress.
The fortress has strong protection. If you form a battle line, the probability of being hit will be much higher. Spread out, cruise continuously on the sea, and then launch artillery attacks on the fortress, which can minimize the chance of being hit.
!
"Commander, the British fortresses are relatively strong! According to the information we have obtained, the five British forts were built by directly hollowing out the two terraces in the south of Gibraltar. The limestone on the forts is several meters thick.
If you want to break through, I'm afraid there is
"There are some difficulties!" Fleet Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Wu Zhiyuan said! The trajectory of the battleship's main gun shells when launched and hitting the target is a parabola. It is very difficult to hit the top of the target! I want to prove that it can penetrate the British Navy.
Fortress, it would be even more difficult!
"It doesn't matter! We still have enough time. The aircraft carriers Jiuhuashan and Putuoshan will arrive tomorrow. At that time, dive bombers will be used to carry out precise strikes on these forts! The heavy aerial bombs carried by the dive bombers will be launched from
Dropping bombs from a height of several hundred meters is much more powerful than a 343mm naval gun! As long as two heavy aerial bombs hit the British forts, these forts will only be destroyed!" Li Haitao enters
The general said! Although the British fortresses are very strong, he doesn't care! Even if the fleet cannot destroy these fortresses, as long as the carrier-based aircraft are dispatched, they will always break open the turtle shells of these fortresses! And once the five forts outside Gibraltar are destroyed
If it is destroyed, the defense system of the British Navy's Gibraltar Fortress will be almost gone! At that time, under the cover of fierce naval guns, the Chinese Marine Corps can easily capture Gibraltar!
Lieutenant General Wu Zhiyuan nodded. He had also watched the performances of carrier-based aircraft, the Chinese Navy's aviation force's Fish Eagle, and dive bombers carrying special armor-piercing bombs. If they dive and drop bombs at an altitude of 500 meters, the hit rate is as high as 100%.
More than 80. Every armor-piercing bullet can penetrate
Two to three meters thick solid rock formation. There is no problem with these limestones. Up to two armor-piercing shells can penetrate the top defense of a fort and then destroy the entire fort! Wait until all five forts in Gibraltar are destroyed
The British can only be destroyed!
"Boom!" A 343mm main gun fired from the battleship Han Ming Emperor hit the front of Fort A of Gibraltar Fortress. However, when the smoke cleared, a hole about one meter in diameter appeared on the front of Fort A.
There were just too many craters. But Battery A still continued to fire, as if the shelling just now did not cause any damage to him!
On the rocky mountain north of Gibraltar, Commander Roslyn of the British Navy's Mediterranean Fleet.
Lieutenant General Wells was also paying attention to this artillery battle! He was very satisfied with the defensive power of the forts in the Fortress of Gibraltar. In just half an hour, he had seen the fort's forts being hit several times.
. However, these forts are still firing. Obviously, the strong protective performance of the forts has withstood the bombardment of the Chinese Navy's Mediterranean Fleet. However, so far, the forts of Gibraltar Fortress have not been able to hit the Chinese Navy's warships.
, this makes Roslin.
Lieutenant General Wells was a little dissatisfied. After all, no matter how good the defense of the fort is, as the number of hits increases, the protection will gradually decrease! After the rock formations around or on top of the fort are destroyed, the fort will no longer be able to hold on.
We can only inflict serious damage to the Chinese navy while the defense is still strong, so that we can continue to persevere. Of course, Roslin.
Lieutenant General Wells did not expect to defeat the Chinese Navy's Indian Ocean Fleet by relying on the Fortress of Gibraltar. He knew that there was absolutely no such possibility! However, if he could use this fortress to damage or even sink the Chinese Navy's warships as much as possible, he would
Satisfied!
"It seems that the Royal Navy of the British Empire has lost its best naval officers and soldiers over the years! Otherwise, the current results will definitely not be like this!" Roslin.
Vice Admiral Wells murmured! The British Navy's recent failures have caused the British Navy to lose a large number of warships, but also a large number of well-trained soldiers. Although there are many new soldiers, their quality is too poor.
, far unable to compare with the previous elite troops! In Roslin.
According to Lieutenant General Wells, this is also an important reason why the British Navy lost its maritime supremacy! Back in the Victorian era, the quality of British naval officers and soldiers was the best in the world!
"Boom!" A 280mm armor-piercing shell fired from Fort B of Gibraltar Fortress hit the bow of the Chinese Navy's battleship Iron Duke. After the shell exploded, a large hole was blown out of the bow of the ship, but otherwise
In addition, it only caused the casualties of more than a dozen naval soldiers. It did not cause greater casualties to the battleship 'Iron Duke', nor did it have any impact on the combat power of the battleship 'Iron Duke'!
The fierce artillery battle lasted from about 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. During this period, several battleships of the Chinese Navy were hit. But fortunately, the armor of these battleships was relatively thick, and the places hit were not critical.
, and did not cause excessive damage. The British Navy
The losses in the Fortress of Gibraltar will be much greater! Fort B, located in the southernmost part, suffered the most serious blow, with at least hundreds of 343mm armor-piercing bullets hitting it! Even though the defense of Fort B was very strong, it still could not
Withstand so many armor-piercing shells.
At 4 o'clock in the afternoon, this fort was destroyed. The British naval artillery inside suffered heavy losses. All the fortress guns and coastal defense guns were almost destroyed! The other four forts also suffered more or less heavy losses.
loss!
After a day of high-intensity combat, the soldiers of the Chinese Navy's Indian Ocean Fleet were also very tired.
In order to ensure the combat effectiveness of the fleet, Admiral Li Haitao ordered to break away from contact with the British Navy and withdraw from the battle. The Chinese Navy's Indian Ocean Fleet retreated to a place fifty kilometers away from Gibraltar to rest.
At the same time, a fleet consisting of two aircraft carriers and a dozen light cruisers and destroyers was sailing towards the Strait of Gibraltar. This fleet was sailing from North America to the Strait of Gibraltar, preparing to join the Indian Ocean Fleet in combat.
, aircraft carrier and 'Putuoshan, aircraft carrier!
At 11 o'clock in the evening on May 13, the aircraft carriers 'Jiuhuashan' and 'Putuoshan' merged with the Indian Ocean Fleet and were incorporated into the Indian Ocean Fleet for operations. The arrival of the two aircraft carriers greatly increased the confidence of Admiral Li Haitao.
Regardless of the fact that it was already late at night, Admiral Li Haitao took a transport boat to the aircraft carriers Jiuhuashan and Putuoshan, and met in person with Lieutenant General Chen Yuankun, the commander of the aircraft carrier group, to discuss tomorrow's operations!
For the aircraft carriers Jiuhuashan and Putuoshan, there is no problem at all in bombing the British Fortress of Gibraltar! These two aircraft carriers have a total of 160 carrier-based aircraft, including HBD's Fish Eagle and dive bombers.
The number is as high as 52. Only one bombing is enough to destroy the remaining 4 turrets of the Gibraltar Fortress!
After receiving Lieutenant General Chen Yuankun's assurance, General Li Haitao was completely relieved!
On the morning of May 14, the weather was clear, the sea breeze was not strong, and the wind and waves on the sea were very small, which was conducive to the take-off of carrier-based aircraft! When the sun just rose, the aircraft carrier 'Jiuhuashan' and 'Putuoshan' aircraft carrier
The deck was already busy. Ground crews were inspecting the fighter planes, then refueling them and loading them with bombs. The main fighter plane taking off this time was the H50
'Fish Eagle' and dive bombers will also take off, and some 'Puffins' will also take off. Fighters will escort these H50 'Fish Eagle' and dive bombers!
At 6:05 in the morning, the first HBD'Fish Eagle dive bomber took off from the aircraft carrier Jiuhuashan. Subsequently, a total of 48 HBD'Fish Eagle dive bombers from two groups took off in less than twenty minutes.
All take off, after completing the formation in the sky
, began to fly towards the Fortress of Gibraltar, 50 kilometers away. Because this time it carried special armor-piercing bombs, weighing nearly 600 kilograms, the speed of the HBD'Fish Eagle dive bomber dropped a lot. The 50-kilometer range required
Almost half an hour!
After the HBD'Fish Eagle and dive bomber groups took off, a squadron of 12 F58'Puffin fighter jets took off and quickly accelerated to catch up with the dive bomber group, serving as escort and reconnaissance! At this time, the main force of the Chinese Navy's Indian Ocean Fleet
The ship has already arrived off the coast of Gibraltar, but this time the battleship is not in a hurry to launch an attack! With the navy's dive bombers out, there is no need for them to continue wasting shells!