Chapter 419: The Ship Was Penetrated Below the Waterline and Is Rapidly Taking on Water

"Boom!"

The violent explosion shook the heaven and earth, and the entire armored command tower was instantly shrouded in thick black smoke.

The open-air combat area of ​​the battle bridge originally had no decent heavy armor protection, and Hero Yano and a group of officers who were commanding on it were basically in a "naked" state.

When the smoke cleared, the entire observation platform was blown into ruins, and a large gap was chiseled out of the navigation signal light on the left.

The situation inside the bridge was even more exciting. Hero Yano, who was firmly protected by his subordinates, had not yet died.

At this time, the old Japanese was desperately reaching his stomach with the only half of his remaining arm. He tried to stuff the intestines that were blown out back into his stomach, as if he could save his life in this way.

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Although he did not see the tragic scene with his own eyes, the violent vibrations and the broken bricks and tiles that fell from time to time all indicated that Hero Yano had encountered an accident.

Fleet commander Takasu Shiro pushed aside the adjutants who were protecting him, took two quick steps to the window, and observed the situation on the battlefield with a distorted face.

Due to the good design and armor protection of the Nagato battleship, it can withstand most of the incoming air-launched rockets and small-caliber bombs.

Despite this, its superstructure was still severely damaged, and the burning secondary guns and anti-aircraft gun positions were the best evidence.

"Baga! Damn little people in the sky!"

He clenched his fist and smashed it hard on the windowsill.

"Why are there so many enemy attack planes in the sky? Are we fighting with the aircraft carrier fleet of the British Royal Navy?"

"Immediately contact the 10th and 13th Air Fleets and ask them to allocate some of their forces to support the First Fleet! By the way! There are also air forces in the Kanto region. All available forces must be mobilized."

At this point, Takasu Shiro has completely understood one thing.

That is, the surface fleet without aircraft carriers and escort fighters, relying only on its own anti-aircraft firepower, will sooner or later become a piece of fat meat in the enemy's mouth.

Now the other side has only sent out fighter planes. When the subsequent bombers and torpedo planes enter the field, the battleship Nagato will definitely be severely damaged, and there is even a high probability that it will be directly sunk.

Just as the old devil was thinking about it, a signalman brought good news that he had not seen for a long time.

"Your Excellency, Commander Yamamoto just sent a telegram. The nearest air force to us will arrive in the Seto Inland Sea in 45 minutes."

"Hold firmly! There is a way!"

As soon as these words came out, the stone in Takasu Shiro's heart finally fell to the ground, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

Judging from the paper strength of the Nagato class, Ise class and Fuso class, it is indeed impossible for him to break through with the fleet. After all, the speed of the iron turtle is really worrying.

But!

It is still possible to hold on for an hour.

Battleships are the thickest armor and the most poisonous.

As long as they are not continuously hit by torpedoes or directly hit by the enemy's super-heavy armor-piercing bombs, he is confident that he can spend a whole day at sea with the First Fleet.

But at this moment, the old Japanese suddenly heard a burst of panic in his ears.

"Torpedoes approaching the bow!"

"Torpedoes approaching the stern!"

"Torpedoes approaching the left stern!"

"Torpedoes found on the right stern!"

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Time goes back to one minute ago, the torpedo formation of the First Air Division.

When the anti-aircraft firepower of the Japanese First Fleet was weakened as a whole, twenty-four Mosquito fighters carrying Mark17 aerial torpedoes came out in a row in the sun.

"Everyone, don't slow down, follow me to the heart of the enemy!"

"Received!"

After speaking, these Mosquito fighters, in groups of six, continued to advance from four directions towards the position of the battleship Nagato.

In theory, when a torpedo group attacks a large surface ship, it should concentrate its firepower to repeatedly attack the same side, eventually causing the enemy ship to take on water and tilt, thus losing its combat effectiveness.

The above tactics were the results that Daiying and Ah Chou spent several years to verify.

The squadrons in this operation did not concentrate their firepower because they were not the main force of the attack.

The biggest role of those torpedoes is to force the Lancaster to move and create opportunities for bombing in the high sky.

When they were about to reach the location scheduled before the war, the comrades estimated the speed of the Nagato based on the length of the wake, and pressed the launch button with reference to the torpedo sight.

"Release!"

One by one, long torpedoes fell into the sea from the belly of the aircraft, and then the propeller at the tail began to rotate rapidly, shooting forward in a straight trajectory.

The tracks between these big killers are basically parallel, and the spacing is less than the length of the Nagato.

This is to ensure that when the torpedo and the target track intersect, at least one torpedo can hit the target.

It is worth mentioning that there are three small accessories on the Mark17 used by the comrades, namely the cylindrical drag ring, the box-type stabilizing wing and the annular shield.

The former is installed on the head and can play a shock-absorbing role when the torpedo enters the water.

The second accessory can improve stability, and the last one is to improve the fluid performance of the torpedo in the water, so that it can sail smoothly.

In this way, the comrades of the 1st Air Division can abandon the low-altitude and low-speed mine-dropping tactics.

The unfamiliar attack method disrupted the original plan. The anti-aircraft gun groups waiting for the Mosquito fighters to slow down completely lost their short shooting window.

When 24 torpedoes rushed towards the battleship Nagato at a speed of 43 knots, all the sailors on the deck exclaimed.

So many torpedoes, and so densely packed, it was impossible to dodge them all.

With the idea of ​​cutting inward to catch one, cutting outward to catch all.

The navigator of the Nagato decisively issued an order to cut inward with full right rudder, causing the huge body of the battleship to deviate to the north with all its strength.

"Boom!"

The first Mark 17 torpedo hit the middle of the left side of the Nagato fiercely, and the 22-year-old iron bastard immediately groaned in pain.

After the explosion, the surging sea water rushed into the hull in an instant, and the speed that had just reached 20 knots was even more trembling.

"Your Excellency, Vice Admiral! The hull is broken and our ship is taking on a lot of water!"

I didn't expect that, did I?