Three Hundred and Ninety-Five Waves

Lookout Cove looked at the calm sea in a good mood, his face full of pride. As a member of the German Navy fleet, he feels very proud, because what his fathers failed to do, the Reich Navy he is in has now done.

Sinking seven battleships has always been the dream of the German High Seas Fleet. The era when you could boast of sinking a British battleship for several years is gone. Now almost everyone is thinking about sinking a British battleship. It seems that sinking a British battleship is a very simple matter.

The aircraft carrier he is on has not been officially named by the navy. The internal number is called the No. 5 battleship, and the No. 6 sailing on the sea not far away is the latest two aircraft carriers launched by the navy. Although there is no change in the hull, but This battleship is expected to be equipped with a more advanced radar and command system. The No. 6 ship, which was launched three days late, even installed an experimental system for taking off and landing fighters at night.

I heard that this system is a new gadget "invented" by the head of state. It uses the principle of blocking lights to allow pilots to safely take off and land the plane without seeing the flight deck. Although the problem of taking off and landing the aircraft seems to have been solved, the problem that naval aircraft cannot fight at night still exists. German engineers and researchers are trying their best to install the radar system into the aircraft, but the experiment is still in progress.

Due to rushing into the water, the two aircraft carriers did not install radars, and more than half of the internal water-proof compartments were not closed. The sailors' lounges were not even decorated. However, according to the German Navy's plan, the radar equipment of the 5th and 6th aircraft carriers is still there. Post-finishing work will be completed in Wilhelmshaven.

This is also a helpless move, because the reserve steel of the Kiel military port is almost used up, and because the segmented construction of the seventh and eighth aircraft carrier has already started in the Kiel port, there was a problem with the steel turnover for a while, and the Navy’s general staff headquartered. After discussion, we found that Wilhelmshaven still had some surplus, so we drew up a seaworthiness plan, and drove the unfinished No. 5 and 6 aircraft carriers to the Wilhelmshaven area to continue construction—anyway, the battleship will definitely sail to Wilhelmshaven, so this is not the case. Does it save the trouble of transporting steel?

The two aircraft carriers will depart from the Kiel Naval Port in the Baltic Sea, escorted by four destroyers, pass through Denmark, and head to the German Navy Wilhelm Naval Port, where they will join the waiting escort fleet to form the German Navy's 1st Squadron.

There are two cruisers seized from the United Kingdom, four German anti-aircraft cruisers, and four anti-aircraft destroyers-plus the four destroyers that escorted the past along the way, forming a standard dual-carrier fleet of the German Navy.

The German high level attaches great importance to this squadron. The battle plan drawn up by Raeder is to rely on this squadron to go north to cut off the transportation line near Iceland; Cici's submarine force concentrated its forces to strangle the western waters of Britain. In one fell swoop, a complete blockade of the British mainland was completed at sea.

Raeder's idea is that the High Seas Fleet with rich combat experience will look for an opportunity in Brest to annihilate the Royal Navy fleet rushing to the British mainland.

The submarine force and the newly commissioned aircraft carrier squadron cut off Britain's supply lines, and the two-pronged approach crushed Britain in one fell swoop.

The two aircraft carriers were sailing one after the other on the Baltic Sea. While touching the long tube telescope hanging on his chest, Cove was full of fantasies about the scene of his warship galloping in the North Atlantic and sinking the British warship.

Suddenly, I heard the alarm bell on the horn behind me. He was so frightened that he almost fell from the observation position of the mast where he was standing, and he grabbed the railing next to him to stabilize himself.

He looked at the destroyer not far away, only to see that the destroyer was turning to the distance, and it was making complicated signals with its lights. After studying the semaphore and light signals for half a year, Kefu naturally understood the meaning of those signals. He was frightened out of his wits, so he quickly untied the safety belt fastened on his body, and started to move quickly along the handrail of the mast. Climb down.

And just when he was crawling down frantically in fright, two overturned waves were rapidly approaching the side of No. 5 aircraft carrier, like two thin white lines on the calm surface of the Baltic Sea.

On the bridge, Colonel Graff, who was in charge of receiving the No. 5 battleship, stared palely at the approaching torpedo not far away, and urged the helmsman beside him over and over again: "Quick! Turn as fast as possible! Hurry up! faster!"

"Colonel, this is already the fastest turning speed... The internal structure of this ship has not been completed yet, the speed can only be increased to 20 knots, and the turning should not be too violent, otherwise the structure will break." The side is in charge of coordination The engineer frowned and explained: "Danger will happen."

"It's over now!" Colonel Graf yelled loudly like a cat whose tail was stepped on: "We are also over if we are hit by a torpedo? Isn't it also completely over? Speed ​​me up! Turn around!"

Just as he was roaring, suddenly there was a violent tremor under his feet. The moment Colonel Graff fell, the content reflected in his mind was "It's over, the No. 5 aircraft carrier is completely over this time!"

There was a loud explosion, and the entire aircraft carrier seemed to be lifted high out of the water, and then fell heavily into the sea by a huge force. The sound of steel twisting creaked, and the entire command bridge was in a mess due to violent shaking.

"Damage management! Find the damage management!" Colonel Graff was still lying on the ground without getting up, and his voice had already shouted: "Report the damage! Immediately control the water inflow area! Pump! Get ready for the pump..."

Before he could finish his words, there was another violent shaking, which bounced his whole body off the floor, and his arm hit the chart table which hadn't been installed yet, causing a huge wound.

"Colonel! Are you all right? Colonel Graf?" The engineer of the shipbuilding at the Kiel Naval Port was splattered with blood on his face, frightened out of his wits, and he stood there for a while before asking in a trembling voice.

"Damage control! Quickly arrange damage control! It doesn't matter if I die! This ship can't sink!" Colonel Graff struggled to sit up, and wailed loudly: "Quick! Hurry up and repair the battleship! Hurry up!"

"It's too late, Colonel! The internal compartment of this ship is not completely sealed. Once the water ingress starts to spread, it will not be stopped! We were hit twice, and it is even more irreparable." The engineer said. Crying: "This time it's really over. God!"

"What about the damage control? What about the damage control? Even if I use a dead body to plug it up, I still have to plug these two holes!" Colonel Graf yelled, gnashing his teeth.

"Most of the damage control personnel boarded the ship in Wilhelmshaven..." the adjutant sighed and reminded the officer who had been so frightened that he forgot about it: "There are only about 20 damage control personnel on board now, and it is estimated that there will be no emergency repairs. something like that."

Colonel Graf, who just came back to his senses, pushed away the adjutant who was about to help him up, regardless of the bleeding from his arm, and sat on the ground silently. Although it wasn't too long, it was obvious that the entire battleship was tilting, and some small things that were not fixed and were shaken to the ground began to roll, making a series of gurgling sounds.

"Battleship No. 6 is calling. It and three destroyers are changing course to avoid a possible second wave of torpedo attacks. The other destroyer is tracking the enemy submarine." A telegraph operator reported loudly.

"My ship is rolling, and the angle has reached 25 degrees." An officer in charge of damage control stood beside Graf with a pale face and leaned on the wall, and reported: "The flood is out of control, and the rescue has failed...sir, order Abandon ship."

"Lay down the lifeboat! Abandon ship!" After Graf gave the order, he sat there as if his strength had been drained from his whole body: "You all leave, I can take the responsibility alone."

"Sir!" Several officers were ready to step forward to persuade.

"Don't persuade me! This is the rule!" Graf stopped everyone from coming forward with his still intact arm, and then continued: "After you go back, you must sum up your experience and lessons, and don't make this mistake again! The battleship must be done well. Prepare to move again! Also, tell Marshal Raeder that Graff is sorry for his cultivation."

After saying this, Graf stretched out the good arm: "Give me a pistol, I don't want to watch my battleship sink."

When everyone walked out of the bridge command room, there was a clear gunshot from inside. Everyone froze for a moment on the sloping stairs, then stopped talking and walked towards Class A in a dull mood.

About half of them made it to the lifeboats, a quarter were missing or dead, and another quarter spent half an hour in the sea before being rescued aboard the destroyer. At 12:05 noon, the fifth aircraft carrier of the German Navy was sunk by a submarine of the Royal Navy in the Baltic Sea before it was named.

...

Germany, Berlin, Führer's residence.

Akado is discussing with Augustus how to deal with the British issue. The meeting between the two has just come to an end. Akado has just confirmed the three-pronged combat plan, and Syndra panicked with the telegram. Into the meeting room.

"My head of state, the news just came that the Navy's No. 5 aircraft carrier was sunk by a British submarine in the Baltic Sea." Syndra reported the main situation in a trembling tone as soon as she entered the door. When she heard the news that an aircraft carrier had been sunk, she was so frightened that she couldn't even speak. She calmed down at the door for a few minutes before she came in and said such a complete and coherent sentence.

"What?" Akado was also taken aback, and dropped the pen that had been spinning in his hand. Augustus also raised his eyelids, but he didn't speak, just sighed.