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However, in this way, when the German aircraft changed their fighting style, they could easily bomb one British warship and immediately pounce on another very close to it, saving time in the battle, that is,
This means that the losses are reduced, and more importantly, the altitude of the German aircraft is very low (but they have not specifically practiced this tactic, and they can achieve this level, which is enough to prove the German Air Force's flying ability).
The average level of the crew is ranked first in the world (for now only.), and the British ships are very close, which makes their anti-aircraft guns, especially the large-caliber anti-aircraft guns, restrained when firing.
If you are careful, you may accidentally injure friendly ships. You must know that these warships are light warships with thin armor. Even anti-aircraft shells can cause considerable damage to the hull...
In this way, the result can be imagined. In the end, the Luftwaffe aviation group was shot down only 11 aircraft, and all the remaining 7 British light warships were sunk. It had long lost its ability to resist, and its speed had already reached
The Duke of York, which was as slow as a snail and unable to escape, tragically chose to sink itself.
, so far the British forward fleet was completely wiped out. The only good thing is that this time the heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper, which although it had almost completely lost its combat effectiveness, could barely sail, was left to save people. The deaths of British naval officers and soldiers
The rate is not as terrifying as in previous naval battles...
At this time, 10 aircraft that were seriously injured and had to be flown back to the airport for repairs were deducted (including those injured in previous battles. At that time, the British air defense firepower was still not weak. They did not dare to leave the team easily and could only hold on. Among them,
Five of them crashed midway [included in the downed data].
), this aviation group still has 54 aircraft available, 48 of which have the ability to attack ships. If this number uses traditional tactics, it will not pose a great threat to the British's stronger rearguard fleet, but using new tactics
Although it is not legal, it is enough to provide powerful air support to the Bismarck and the Shane sisters.
And it is worth mentioning that after confirming that the aviation regiment was undoubtedly victorious, Captain Jung, knowing that the hit rate of the ship's main guns had dropped significantly, resolutely ordered the battleship Tirpitz to sail to the main battlefield at full speed to support the Bismarck and Schaan
Sisters, even if the Tirpitz arrives
Not a single main gun shell hit. As long as it can attract the firepower of some enemy ships, it can increase the chances of the German navy to win this battle. Anyway, now the Tirpitz can only attack, but the defense is still very strong.
Strong, still qualified as a human shield...
Learning that the forward fleet had been completely wiped out by the indiscriminate bombing by German aircraft, the British fleet commander was naturally heartbroken, but he still stubbornly believed that his decision was not wrong. Now the battleship King George V has merged with the rearguard fleet.
, as long as the two battleships of our own side can sink the Bismarck without serious damage, this naval battle will not be lost. If the time comes, we can turn around and kill the already half-crippled Tirpitz.
, no matter how many light warships were lost, this battle was still a great victory. After all, the total number of British light warships was too many, and it was worthwhile to exchange 10 ships for 1 battleship. As for the victory or defeat of the battle, the British have always considered whether they reached the
Purpose is the main criterion. If only losses were compared in the Battle of Jutland during World War I, the British navy was obviously larger, but they considered themselves the victors, and the subsequent course of the war also proved this...
.
However, the destruction of the forward fleet still caused a lot of psychological pressure on the British Vice Admiral. In order to guard against German aircraft, he did not let the 11 light warships rush out of the queue and approach the enemy ships to launch torpedoes to disrupt the opponent's formation.
Rather, they are required to put all their thoughts into
All were placed on air defense. However, the traditional air defense formation did not seem to be very useful in the face of the low-altitude bombing tactics of the German aircraft fleet. The German aviation group only paid the price of four aircraft being shot down, and the two neighboring adjacent ones on the periphery were destroyed.
A destroyer was sent to the bottom of the sea...
Unlike in previous battles, which started with light cruisers with stronger air defense capabilities, this time the commander of the aviation regiment chose to start with the destroyer with the weakest single-ship air defense capabilities, because this time their purpose was not to rely solely on their own
The force destroyed the entire enemy fleet, but only tore a hole in the enemy's tight formation so that they could rush in and bombard the two battleships.
In the previous battle, both of our own warships had little combat power left, so the aviation regiment had to bear the heavy responsibility. Now, as long as the two British battleships are destroyed, with the strength of the battleship Bismarck and the Shane sisters, the remaining
The British warships simply cannot compete with them, and with them here, none of these British warships can even think of running away...
It seemed that the two battleships Rodney, each protected by a light cruiser, were obviously more difficult to deal with. Therefore, the commander of the aviation group immediately ordered a concentrated attack on the battleship King George V, which was only protected by two destroyers at this time. However,
The 48 small-caliber anti-aircraft guns on the battleship King George V cost the aviation group a lot of money, and the small-caliber anti-aircraft guns of the two nearby anti-aircraft destroyers also gave it strong support.
As a result, in just a short time, the aviation regiment lost 10 aircraft. Even the regiment leader's plane was damaged. Fortunately, it missed the critical point. This made him frown. It was obvious that the loss rate of low-altitude bombing was higher than that of high-altitude dive bombing.
It should be smaller, but it will still be painful to encounter such a large warship with an extremely large number of small-caliber anti-aircraft guns. However, this set of tactics is still very crude and has huge room for improvement. However, these will need to wait until the end of this battle.
Slow summary...
Although the losses were considerable, the sacrifices of these German pilots were not in vain. Even though it was almost impossible for high-explosive bombs to directly sink the highly defensive King George V-class battleship, after the German aircraft fleet wreaked havoc, the King George V
The battleship's superstructure had been blown beyond recognition. Almost all of the small-caliber anti-aircraft guns that posed the greatest threat to German aircraft had been blown up. Most of the ship's secondary guns and large-caliber anti-aircraft guns had also lost their function.
After greatly weakening the air defense capabilities of the King George V, the last six torpedo planes in the fleet immediately flew towards the battleship King George V in an attempt to launch aviation torpedoes. Although the two nearby destroyers concentrated all their missiles regardless of their own safety.
The small-caliber anti-aircraft guns all fired fiercely at the six torpedo planes, but after all, the distance was slightly farther, so two of them still successfully dropped torpedoes. Due to the oxygen torpedo flight,
The traces were almost illegible, and no matter how skilled the British navy officers and soldiers were, they could not avoid it in time. As a result, one of the torpedoes hit the compartment where the turbine main engine of the battleship King George V is connected to the propeller shaft. The explosion and shock wave caused by the torpedo shook the hull of the battleship.
A large amount of water was taken in, and the rudder was completely destroyed, so that its excellent maneuverability, which was not much inferior to the Bismarck-class battleship, was lost... (To be continued...)