What the hell is a private enterprise?

Chapter 262 Sinking! (2400 monthly votes in April)

Whether it's projectile output, offense, or defense, Dalton has always believed that the Iowa formation has a comprehensive advantage.

Even after discovering that the Second Fleet was not present in the Caribbean, the idea of ​​recalling the George squadron was not conceived.

This was a huge mistake.

Confidence built on falsehoods is as easily punctured as paper; in fact, so far the Second Fleet has only demonstrated two qualities:
High mobility, and amazing smoke.

The latter, in particular, is not necessarily true if the radar is exceptionally powerful; it can still penetrate the radar, but the positioning will be inaccurate, which is equivalent to enlarging the area of ​​the warship and reducing the hit rate.

When the missile from the USS New Jersey struck the USS Glensonau, the immense heat generated by its explosion made it clear that it had indeed hit the target.

Aside from the disadvantage in secondary guns, the main guns of the three Iowa-class ships remain very powerful, and with the support of radar, their accuracy can be effectively improved, second only to modern naval guns.

He believed that the battleships shrouded in smoke were also in a very bad situation, perhaps even worse, but the problem lay in people's hearts.

The crew could not see anything through the smoke, but they knew that every round of shells fired by the enemy every minute would hit their target, that their own warship was being damaged, and that their allies were in dire straits.

They only knew that their side had suffered heavy losses, but they couldn't see the results of their battle.

Tang Wen understood this feeling perfectly. It was like playing a Souls-like game where you couldn't see your health bar; that was true despair.

All four quadruple missile launchers between the two funnels aft of the bridge on the USS Wisconsin detonated, causing a massive explosion in the superstructure. Although the bridge was not damaged, the people inside experienced what was tantamount to an 8-magnitude earthquake, and it was quite normal for them to be knocked unconscious.

The explosion also triggered a fire, which started burning around the front chimney.

Due to the damage to radar equipment and the loss of communication with the command center, the three turrets had to cease firing.

The USS Iowa slowed down and cut inside to cover the USS Wisconsin's escape from the battlefield, and together with the USS New Jersey, opened fire into the smoke.

Meanwhile, the Scharnhorst, which was originally tasked with harassment, was busy repairing itself and turning, while the Bismarck and Gleisenau pursued forward. For a time, apart from the secondary guns still being sharp, the frequency of the main guns firing decreased significantly.

Taking advantage of a brief respite, the USS New Jersey restored a set of backup satellite antennas and radar, and finally made contact with the mainland.

The think tank had been remotely involved in the negotiations between the two fleets. After the Carr exploded, they heard that fire had been fired, and then contact was cut off.

The anxious think tank waited for five minutes before directly calling the Air Force.

The First Fleet didn't feel much involvement in the operation because the Second Fleet was too far away, only bombers could reach it, and more importantly, they didn't think the Atlantic Fleet would give up the prize.

The think tank knew that the two fleets were too close together and a sudden battle was not out of the question, so four B-1Bs were prepared to take off at 15 p.m.

It's 14:40 PM now, and strictly speaking, their efficiency is already very high.

It takes two hours to fly from Florida using a supersonic B1B.

"Two hours? It might not even take 20 minutes!"

The close-quarters artillery battle was brutal and violent. Dalton sent out two messages about the sinking of the Perry-class destroyers before he had to cut off communications and continue fighting.

"Focus fire on the furthest target!"

Dalton locked onto the Scharnhorst, which was the furthest away and most advantageous for missiles, and had just been hit by 24 Harpoons; he couldn't believe it hadn't been damaged.

In order to prevent secondary explosions, the USS New Jersey fired all of its remaining 24 missiles at the USS Scharnhorst.

Meanwhile, the USS New Jersey also withstood Gleisenau's shells and fired at Scharnhorst.

When the first harpoon flash appeared, the ship girl understood.

Through Tang Wen's explanation and personal experience, she understood that the minimum range of a missile is usually 10 kilometers. The pursuing Bismarck and Gleisenau were on the opposite side of the missile, and their close proximity and high speed made them easy to evade. Therefore, the target was Scharnhorst.

The latter still has remaining damage control, but it needs time to cool down after being used, and it definitely can't withstand another round of damage.

She issued orders directly to the Scharnhorst:

"Take off, seaplane!"

Two Ar 196s took off immediately, and then one was ejected every 15 seconds after being reloaded, while maneuvering and constantly throwing the aircraft into the air.

The first seaplane took off and immediately turned, firing fiercely at the incoming harpoons and heading straight for them.

However, the harpoon, traveling at Mach 0.85, had an extremely high speed and a very small oncoming projection, so it failed to intercept it.

The first harpoon hit turret number 3 again, but the Scharnhorst suffered almost no damage.

Twenty-four harpoons were launched continuously from three launch tubes, flying in three trajectories. By the time the last harpoon was launched, Scharnhorst had already ejected 10 seaplanes.

The remaining two warships were too close to intercept them in time, so they could only try to intercept them with small-caliber machine guns, but it was almost ineffective.

Ultimately, only two seaplanes achieved their objectives: one collided with an oncoming harpoon, and the other was detonated by shrapnel and crashed into the sea.

This time, the Scharnhorst was prepared in advance, and only three of the 22 harpoons hit, but the last one struck the stern and damaged the propulsion system.

Even with damage control repairs in place, the Scharnhorst now only has one damage control piece left, and its maximum health is fixed at:
[16550/56500]

Theoretically, there's still a third left, but in reality, another round of concentrated fire could sink it.

The Scharnhorst would be the first battleship sunk by the Second Fleet. Her main guns were too weak, so to maximize their effectiveness, Tang Wen transferred the Bismarck-Lütjens to the Scharnhorst.

With the legendary captain's bonus, the Scharnhorst's speed increased to 43 knots. It quickly completed the turn, turning while braving the shells, and with the cover of the Bismarck, it began to advance at high speed amidst billowing smoke.

"Change direction and create distance!"

Dalton immediately called over the radio, and then sent flag and light signals.

He finally felt a sense of panic. 48 missiles in a row failed to sink the target. Could it be that the hit rate was less than one in ten?
He also witnessed the seaplanes risking their lives to intercept missiles, proving the Second Fleet's unwavering resolve.

The USS Iowa responded on the radio and prepared to provide cover; a moment later, the USS Wisconsin finally responded as well.
"This is the USS Wisconsin. I am First Officer Andrew, now in acting command of the 'Whiskey'."

We have suffered heavy casualties; our observation and firing systems are half-paralyzed; and the boilers can no longer maintain high speed. We request permission to stay behind and provide cover.

The USS Wisconsin is the worst maintained of the three battleships. First, it traveled at speeds of over 28 knots for extended periods to save time, and then it recklessly pushed its power to the limit during the recent battle. Now, the engine room reports that continuing to travel at high speeds poses a risk of pipe explosions, and it must reduce its speed to at least 22 knots.

Unless it's for a war, it would be best to stop at 10 knots and slowly make its way to the shipyard for major repairs.

The USS Wisconsin, which had just suffered a devastating explosion, had more than half of its 40 commanders killed or wounded. Captain Cyprus was seriously injured and was undergoing emergency treatment. Andrew had just led his team to successfully restore the radio communication.

"Then we'll hold them off. The Wisconsin is withdrawing from the battle immediately."

Dalton did not hesitate at all, but Andrew said:

“Our opponent is a coward, hiding behind a smokescreen. Now, I want to see what he looks like under that mask.”

This statement was made in a public chat.

The USS Wisconsin raised its Z flag, hard port, and moved forward, preparing to block the USS Gleisenau.

This was no thrilling adventure; the USS Wisconsin had lost its radar and missiles, rendering all its weapons ineffective.

The warships of the Second Fleet were incredibly fast, making it impossible to create distance using speed alone.

Despite the lack of guidance, the USS Wisconsin used its optical sights to fire at the Bismarck's position in the smoke, while simultaneously blocking the USS Gleisenau, attempting to hold off both ships at the same time.

At the same time, he also received concentrated fire as he had hoped. The Bismarck seized the opportunity when the Wisconsin turned sideways and fired eight shells at the height of the ammunition compartment.

Three out of eight shells hit the target. At this point, the two ships were only about 6000 meters apart. A 380mm shell penetrated the main armor belt and successfully hit the ammunition tray under the No. 1 turret, directly detonating three high-explosive shells.

In the postwar period, in order to support the mainland, Iowa hardly ever used armor-piercing rounds, but had a large stockpile of high-explosive ammunition.

Andrew felt a tremendous force surge up towards him, and he almost lifted off the ground.

Then came a second earth-shattering explosion. The heavy No. 1 turret detached from its base, and the flash of the secondary explosion pierced through the gap in the exposed base before the turret slammed back in.

This was the Wisconsin's last bit of luck. It didn't have much ammunition to begin with, and it fired most of it at top speed, which greatly reduced the power of the secondary explosion.

However, this still caused the two forward turrets to lose their function, and a large hole appeared in the bow, but fortunately, it was slightly above sea level and no water entered.

Knowing that time was running out, Andrew gave the order to the engine room:

"Forced ventilation, full speed ahead!"

Based on its current course, if it can hold out for five or six minutes, the Wisconsin will be able to rush into the smoke cloud of the Gresenau, and even a collision would be enough to completely destroy a battleship.

Witnessing the horrific state of the Wisconsin, the Iowa knew its sinking was inevitable and immediately opened fire on the Bismarck with all its might, while the remaining two turrets of the New Jersey provided cover.

Before having to divert attention to deal with them, the Bismarck's final salvo hit the Wisconsin's side, miraculously hitting five targets and striking two 127mm secondary gun magazines, but due to limited ammunition, it did not have much effect.

The current survival rate of the USS Wisconsin is [31250/81100], which is still considerable.

Dalton could no longer bear to look at the Wisconsin, and gritted his teeth, ordered it to be given cover, but then he suddenly realized a problem:

I don't know when it started, but now there are only two plumes of smoke at sea.

What about the battleship that was previously the furthest away from being targeted?

The radar still detected the target, which was merely trailing behind Iowa in the smoke of pursuit and had not fired again for some time.

The radar refreshed again, showing that the distance between this battleship and the battleship in front of it had clearly closed.

The measured speed is greater than 42 knots.

The refitted USS Iowa reached a speed of nearly 35 knots, making it difficult to catch up. However, with its stern facing the enemy, a single near miss could damage the propeller.

He was just about to remind the Iowa that a column of water tens of meters high rose from the starboard side of the Wisconsin, followed by a second and a third.

【-twenty four】

[0/81100]

[Greisenau used a torpedo to sink the USS Wisconsin]

【The enemy battleship is sinking! 】

(End of this chapter)