Chapter 480 Rodney's Steering Gear

Anti-aircraft artillery is also divided into performance. For example, Germany's previous 37mm hand-pulled machine, this kind of anti-aircraft artillery is the same as it is, and the 40mm Bofors anti-aircraft artillery, then the absolute firepower is crazy.

The current Rodney is still an early British anti-aircraft artillery, and its firepower is far from enough, and the German planes are cunningly flying from the other side of the ship's side, in the dark direction.

This made them extremely nervous. As soon as the gunners found the target, the other party had already swooped down!

"Fire!" the gunner shouted loudly. The 40mm artillery shell was thrown into the sky, but unfortunately it was useless. The opponent had already pulled up a 70-degree dive angle, and a bomb flew along the opponent's glide line. Come up!

"Left full rudder!" Captain James shouted loudly, these Germans, so cunning, they actually discovered the weakness of their warships.

If compared with other battleships in history, the Rodney with a displacement of 35,000 tons has one of the most obvious features, that is, the three triple-mounted main guns are all on the bow.

It can't be called the bow of the ship completely. The three main guns in triple installations have been arranged, and they have all reached the middle of the hull.

Since there are main guns in the front section, the other secondary guns can only be deployed to the back. The anti-air firepower in the front is very weak.

Rodney also has another disadvantage, that is, the main engine power is not enough, and the maximum speed is only 23 knots. You must know that even the battleships of the First World War can often reach a high speed of 30 knots.

At low speeds, the steering isn't fast enough, and with less horsepower, it doesn't quickly return to its original speed.

The bow of the ship turned, and the bomb that fell, almost passed by, and the bomb was less than one meter away from the side of the ship!

This made everyone feel terrified.

A huge left full rudder slowed down the speed of the battleship, and it was not so easy to dodge the second time. At this time, one could see one after another of Stukas in the sky, with With a whistling, it dived down towards the Rodney!

"Boom!" The second Stuka, while diving, was suddenly hit. This was not the attack of the Rodney, but the anti-aircraft artillery on a nearby warship to support them.

Before there was time to cheer, the third Stuka bomber dropped 500 kilograms of bombs.

This time, the Rodney did not dodge, and they also discovered the Germans' black belly. The second one was specially designed to attract their attention, so that the third one could achieve victory!

The bomb swayed down, and in everyone's attention, the bomb almost wiped the No. 2 turret, and a violent explosion occurred on the deck on the left side below the No. 2 turret!

"boom!"

Like all battleships of this era, the broadside armor, turret armor, is thick enough, but his deck is not thick enough, only 152 mm!

This 500kg bomb exploded the deck of the Rodney in an instant! In the huge explosion, the deck was lifted, and the structure below the deck was in danger!

What's underneath? Of course, ammunition and loading equipment for the huge naval guns, if there is a martyrdom there, the entire Rodney will be destroyed!

"Quick, carry out damage control immediately!" Captain James shouted loudly. In the air raid on Scapa Flow, the British Navy lost a large number of warships and could not afford any more losses. The battleships were also lost, and the British navy was really about to decline.

Several fire-fighting water hoses began to water over there, the British Navy is well trained and fully displayed at this time!

If they only suffered this one, then they can still bear it, but the other bombers are still desperately diving down!

The fourth, the fifth... In pursuit of the accuracy of the bombing, the German pilots didn't care about the anti-aircraft fire below, and they swooped down to a height of a few hundred meters before dropping the bomb!

USS Rodney, shot again! The huge bomb hit the back of the No. 3 turret and exploded in front of the bridge. This explosion killed more than 50 British sailors in an instant.

Moreover, the explosion also destroyed the fire-fighting unit!

The entire battleship was shot in several places and was blazing. At this time, the people on the warship were all uneasy in their hearts.

This warship may not be able to escape.

"Report, the steering gear is faulty." The house leak happened to rain overnight, and at this moment, this depressing news reached James' ears.

The Nelson-class rudder has always had problems. When there is a little wind and waves on the sea surface, it is often necessary to sail with full rudder to resist yaw. In later generations, the steering gear of its No. 2 ship has been strengthened, but the Rodney has no time to modify it.

After the steering gear fails, the engine cannot continue to run, otherwise, the water flow of the propeller will completely damage the steering gear, which is extremely complicated to repair, and even cuts off the stern.

But now, they have no chance to do anything.

When the steering gear is damaged, it loses its maneuverability!

"Boom!" The Rodney, which was sailing at a low speed in a straight line, was simply a target ship, and another Stuka bomber dived down with a sharp whistle. This bomb dropped the bomb of the first bomb. In the hole!

"Boom!" A huge explosion sounded, and two seconds after the explosion sounded, an even louder explosion suddenly appeared.

The ground shook, and the entire sea turned discolored. The Rodney's soaring flames were brighter than the burning Athletics, and its ammunition depot exploded!

In this era, battleship confrontation and cannon bombardment are still the most common combat methods. However, several attacks have also taught everyone a lesson. The dive bombing of carrier-based aircraft does more damage to battleships!

If you don't pay attention to the air protection of warships, you will definitely suffer a big loss!

In the Atlantic Ocean, the wind is getting stronger and stronger, and the waves are several meters high. In the waves, the deck of the aircraft carrier Adolf Hitler is also swaying left and right.

"No, our deck conditions make it impossible to continue landing!" The voice on the bridge was urgent.

"Then also land, erect the blocking net!" Captain Tiller looked at the shaking deck and clenched his fists: "Even if the plane breaks down, we must keep our pilots safe, the pilot is more important than the plane. "

At this time, in the strong wind, the Stuka bomber was like a swaying leaf. Under such weather conditions, it was no longer possible to land.

Asim was the last to land, and after completing the attack mission, he lost two Stukas, but it was worth it in exchange for the victory of three British warships.

During the return flight, the weather conditions deteriorated. Asim led the team and accurately found his own aircraft carrier. Then, Asim let the other fighter planes land first. When it was his turn, the storm became more violent.