It's better to conquer them than to command the steel torrent

Chapter 251 | Russian-Style Beating (Return from Hospital)

The poor visibility made targeting difficult for both sides, but strictly speaking, it was advantageous for US aircraft.

With so many ships below, just drop mines in the general direction. It should be a good idea. Maybe we'll get lucky and hit something?
The American-made Mk13 aerial torpedo is short and stout, resembling a radish. Early versions of the Mk13 had water entry reliability issues; malfunctions could occur if the speed or altitude of the torpedo was too high when it landed in the sea.

The TBD Devastating torpedo bombers on aircraft carriers could easily malfunction when launching Mk13 torpedoes, but the PBY Catalina's slower flight speed indirectly masked this flaw.

【Picture】

The sounds of gunfire never ceased, and explosions came intermittently; the chaos in this sea area could only be described as utter pandemonium!

The American pilots had no idea what was going on, let alone who got the kill; they just kept dropping torpedoes.

Over an hour, more than forty Catalina aircraft arrived one after another and launched more than eighty torpedoes, with the results unknown.

The Royal Navy officers and sailors who had just been celebrating their 'tactical victory' in the naval battle could no longer smile.

Cunningham, who had been sitting calmly on the sidelines, suddenly felt immense pressure.

His flagship, HMS Hood, was hit in the bow by a torpedo, which severely damaged the bow's shape, causing the Hood's top speed to drop to a level lower than that of the Elizabeth-class ships.

The light cruiser HMS Edinburgh was blasted in the middle of its hull by a torpedo, and the floodwaters caused it to list severely, reducing its speed to a point where it could no longer keep up with the fleet.

However, before the death knell had even sounded, American planes arrived again.

The second wave of night-flying planes arrived to join the battle. Under the bright moonlight, those dark shadows were like crows bringing bad luck!

"Enemy aircraft attack! Combat position!"

"We must never allow the Hood to be in a dangerous situation!"

Just as everyone was trembling with fear, the captain of the heavy cruiser Exeter made a decision that seemed to go against the will of their ancestors, yet was not against their will.

The Exeter fired several flares toward the Ivanros fleet, which was about five or six nautical miles away.

The flares flew past the Ivanros fleet, disintegrating two or three nautical miles to its side, and parachutes carrying the flares descended slowly.

In this way, the light from the flares could illuminate Ivanros's fleet without revealing their own.

On the bridge of the Catherine, Vice Admiral Rebniz was still feeling frustrated. He had come all this way to give the Americans a good beating, but the arrogant and conceited Britons had actually fled in a hurry.

Just then, a burst of light shone through the glass into the bridge. Lieutenant General Rybnikov raised his hand to shield his eyes, thinking it was an aerial flare dropped by an American aircraft.

"Damn it! The British deliberately exposed us!"

"what?"

"Sir, visual confirmation is that the British are firing flares at us!"

"These despicable and shameless Britons!" It was only at this moment that Lieutenant General Rybnikov realized what was happening and cursed Sukabrey.

Without a doubt, the most conspicuous thing in the darkness is the lonely campfire.

For American pilots, the Ekaterina was a godsend.

More than twenty Catalina seaplanes launched torpedo attacks on the Yekaterina in succession, reportedly hitting six or seven torpedoes, but in reality only two torpedoes detonated.

Throughout the night, the American Naval Air Force's night-flight aircraft sortied more than 100 times, losing more than a dozen aircraft.

As dawn broke, the Army Air Force took over the mission and pursued the enemy to the ends of the earth!
Due to the damage, the Catherine's speed had decreased significantly, putting it far ahead of the Royal Navy fleet. Furthermore, although numerous Hurricane and Spitfire fighters scrambled from Halifax land-based airfields, they prioritized providing cover over the fleet.

As for the Ivanos fleet, let's just leave it at that; the Hood is the most important.

At 5:45 a.m., a squadron of B-17 heavy bombers dropped dozens of 1000-pound heavy aerial bombs on the target.

The Yedekalina sustained minor damage, but the destroyer Agile was caught in the blast and sank, which was a pleasant surprise.

Unwilling to give up, the Army Air Force sent bombers to attack again, but still could not seriously damage the battleship.

With the prize within reach about to be snatched away, Hainan Airlines seized the opportunity to regroup and launched a fierce attack, disregarding casualties and exhaustion.

Without the cover of night, the large and slow-moving Katerina became an easy target, suffering heavy losses under the superb gunnery of the Imperial Russian sailors.

A female warrant officer even inadvertently set a new record—successfully intercepting an incoming torpedo by firing an anti-aircraft gun at the sea!

However, such bravery was merely a facade of a death struggle. As the Catherine shot down the eighth American aircraft, it was also hit by its eighth torpedo.

Writhing black oil slicks appeared on the shimmering sea surface; they were heavy oil leaked from the Catherine, resembling the blood flowing from a wounded steel beast.

At 10:03 a.m. that day, the Ekaterina sank forever into the depths of the Atlantic Ocean, less than 40 kilometers from Halifax.

The American military conducted a brief verification and preliminarily determined that during the naval battle south of Halifax, they sank the battleships HMS Barham and HMS Catherine.

In addition, many other capital ships, including HMS Lion, HMS Reckless, HMS Rodney, and HMS Hood, were also damaged to varying degrees.

The president was quite encouraged and stated bluntly that these were extraordinary times, and it was necessary to boost the people's morale and not be too strict.

Both Capitol Hill and the General Staff tacitly agreed with the president's viewpoint.

Therefore, the official report of victory became "severely damaged the Royal Navy" and "sunk four battleships," etc.

Capitol Hill report!
The next day.

In the calm waters off Ryukyu, a fleet of ships is slowly sailing eastward...

"No way? Really? That was a good fight."

Shank had never imagined that the American army's counterattack would be so successful.

Sinking four battleships in World War I? That's absurd.

Early aerial torpedoes from various countries were generally of poor quality, with only the Japanese Type 91 aerial torpedo standing out in history. Shank was skeptical of the battle reports released by Washington.

A lieutenant colonel who accompanied him also exclaimed in amazement, "It's really quite astonishing. Our embassy staff are still in contact to verify the authenticity of the results."

"If four ships are indeed sunk, it means that the power of shore-based air force is stronger than expected. The North Atlantic route will be cut off immediately. Is there any need for us to go and provide support?" The thought of the tedious and boring journey just beginning made Shank feel uncomfortable all over.

The lieutenant colonel said, half-laughing and half-crying, "There are photos of the Catherine sinking in the newspapers, that should be beyond doubt. The Russians came all this way to join in the fun, and look what happened..."

Shang Ke snapped his fingers, extended his index finger, and said solemnly, "Sending a giant ship from a thousand miles away is a gift of great importance, as is the sentiment behind it."

Everyone present couldn't help but burst into laughter.

(End of this chapter)