Back in 1978, I was admitted to Northwestern Polytechnical University.

Chapter 309 The Sunset of the British Empire's Navy
"Quickly, stop the penetrating anti-ship missiles!" Woodward shouted.

The nearby warships had no time to react, and the sea harriers in the sky were also chasing other missiles, so they simply didn't have time to react.

Just then, a huge ship started moving up from behind the warship.

Atlantic Transporter!

The 15,000-ton container ship Atlantic Conveyor was one of the first vessels to be requisitioned. All its containers were unloaded, leaving the entire foredeck empty. Containers were then stacked on both sides of the ship to serve as protective walls, while the spacious middle section was used to store aircraft. By maximizing its potential, the ship carried 14 Harrier fighter jets, 6 Wessex helicopters, and 4 Chinook helicopters!
This loading capacity is in no way inferior to the Invincible class.

However, it only has a takeoff platform at the front, and its operational convenience is far inferior to that of the Invincible-class aircraft carrier. It can temporarily serve as an aircraft carrier, but its main role is still as a transport and supply ship. When the aircraft carrier needs carrier-based aircraft, it will send its own aircraft to it.

Now that the situation is getting complicated, they can't care about anything else.

"Full speed ahead, block the right side of the Invincible!" Ian North shouted.

The helmsman panicked instantly: "No, no, Captain, we'll be sunk! We'll die!"

"It's better for us to die than for the Invincible-class to die. If the Invincible-class is sunk, this war will be lost!"

Ian North looked at the panicked helmsman, then raised his big foot and slammed it down!
He kicked him aside and took the helm himself. The bulky Atlantic Transporter, with an air of fearlessness, charged toward the Invincible-class's starboard side!

At this moment, on the Invincible, Woodward was panicking as he watched the C801 missile flying towards him, but he knew very well that he absolutely could not panic. He was the fleet commander, and if he panicked, the entire fleet would be finished.

But how could one not panic when seeing the missile flying towards them?

Just then, a huge silhouette blocked its side.

boom!
The next moment, the Atlantic Conveyor was hit. Such civilian ships were no match for anti-ship missiles. Although the missiles hit from the side, the deck was immediately blown off after the explosion, and containers on both sides fell into the sea. Some of the planes on the deck were blown away, while others began to burn fiercely.

"Captain, jump ship!" the helmsman shouted.

"Let's go!"

"What about you?"

"I'll come soon."

"it is good."

Without further hesitation, the sailors jumped into the sea. Watching them leave, Ian North wore a faint smile.

Thirty years ago, when this container ship was first built, he became a sailor on it. He gradually rose through the ranks, and within ten years, he became the captain. After that, he commanded the ship as it sailed the seas...

Ian North has never married, has no wife or children, and has kept a big beard since his youth. The most important time of his life has been spent with this ship, and now that he is burying it with his own hands, how can he leave his old partner who has been with him for half his life!
He wanted to sink to the bottom of the sea with this ship, even if it meant death, he wanted to be with this ship!
On the Invincible, Woodward was heartbroken.

Fleet supplies!

Although the fleet had many supply ships, the Atlantic Conveyor was of extraordinary significance! The dozens of aircraft it carried were the fleet's most important source of supplies. If this ship sank, the fleet would have almost no additional supplies, and even if domestic factories operated at full capacity, they would not be able to keep up with the war effort.

damn it!
At this moment, he felt no gratitude for the Atlantic Conveyor shielding him from the missile; only complaints and grumbles. And when he looked up, there were even more plumes of smoke rising from the sea!
In this short period of time, their fleet was suffering heavy blows. Destroyers, frigates, merchant ships... these ships were being hit, burning, and slowly sinking on the sea. This scene was like the sunset of the empire.

Has the British Empire truly weakened to this extent?
No, no, we still have strength. As long as the aircraft carrier doesn't collapse, we can still fight!

On the sea, anti-ship missiles are still flying in continuously!
The Sea King helicopter, with its indomitable spirit, flew toward the missile.

Helicopters are maneuverable and flexible. They can fly to the target and then use the large anti-radiation spheres they carry to attract the enemy's missiles, causing them to deviate from their course!

Be brave! This is what Prince Andrew, the pilot, told himself.

Just now, he had actually seen the anti-ship missile flying towards the Invincible, but... he chickened out. He was afraid of being blown up, so... he slowed down.

In that moment of hesitation, just as the anti-ship missile was about to destroy the Invincible, his heart clenched again. But then the Atlantic Conveyor suddenly appeared and blocked the missile. This courage and spirit of sacrifice inspired him.

As a member of the royal family, I must fight and even sacrifice my life for the British Navy!

With this in mind, he bravely flew towards the anti-ship missile, hoping that the large ball he was hanging from would attract its attention.

No response? Get closer and lower the altitude a bit!
Still no reaction? Keep getting closer! At this point, he was playing with fire!
The missile swayed on the sea surface for a moment, then changed course and flew towards him!

awesome!
At that moment, Prince Andrew felt a thrill that was far more exciting than speeding in the middle of the night!
Come on, come on! The brave prince is not afraid of you!
At this moment, in his world, the Invincible Ship transformed into a vulnerable princess, awaiting his rescue.

Whoosh!
The missile flew in and smashed into the large ball. Andrew quickly pulled up the collective pitch stick, trying to increase the altitude, but it was too slow. The next moment, he felt as if his helicopter was in a gale, out of control!

"Cut the cable immediately!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than the azure sea rushed towards him, and his helicopter was being dragged along by the missile! Pulled by the rope, his helicopter was swerved and flew directly into the sea!

boom!
Water splashed as the Sea King helicopter plunged into the sea at a 60-degree angle. The impact shattered the glass, and Andrew coughed up blood. Then... he knew nothing more. His battle was over.

The battle for the Invincible continues!
The thirty-six C801 missiles that were flying in were being consumed at an alarming rate, being intercepted by carrier-based aircraft, drawn out by helicopters, fired at with Sea Cat missiles, and intercepted by the ship's hull...

Soon, more than half of them had been used up, leaving only eighteen anti-ship missiles, which continued to rush towards their targets!

Eight of them flew towards the Invincible.

"Quickly, intercept! Intercept!" Woodward could only shout; he had no other skills left.

Apart from the Russian aircraft carriers, Western aircraft carriers have very few weapon systems. After all, in their minds, aircraft carriers are only used to carry carrier-based aircraft and to facilitate the operation of carrier-based aircraft as much as possible. As for air defense, anti-submarine warfare, etc., these can be left to escort warships.

The mission of an aircraft carrier is to operate its carrier-based aircraft!
As for the Russians... they don't even call them aircraft carriers; their proper term is heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser.

The Invincible's air defense weaponry mainly consisted of a twin-mounted Sea Dart anti-aircraft missile system, but the recent facts have proven that the Sea Dart is ineffective against sea-skimming targets.

That leaves four 7.62mm machine guns and two 20mm rapid-fire cannons.

Later upgrades replaced it with the goalkeeper's 7-barrel 30mm rapid-fire cannon. If it were this weapon, there would still be a chance to intercept subsonic anti-ship missiles, but now...

Machine guns roared desperately, and rapid-fire cannons fired incessantly, but to no avail. On the sea, the anti-ship missiles had already begun their final serpentine maneuvers, and the British equipment simply couldn't keep up with their trajectory.

Boom!
The first anti-ship missile accurately struck the midsection of the Invincible, about two meters above the waterline!
The aircraft carrier's hull plates are thicker than those of a regular destroyer, so the missile only managed to break through the outer deck and couldn't penetrate it.

boom!
The area that was hit was torn open with a large gash!

The explosion sent chills down everyone's spines. This was the flagship! The flagship! If this warship were sunk, the Royal Navy would lose all its dignity!

"Quickly, damage control operation!"

No sooner had Woodward finished speaking than the second missile made close contact with it!
boom!
The bow section of the ship was blown open with a large hole!

Boom, boom, boom!
The other three missiles arrived almost simultaneously, and the sounds of their explosions were almost simultaneous!
The C801 anti-ship missile is designed to target warships of three to four thousand tons. A single hit can render the enemy incapable of fighting, and two hits will sink them. To achieve a decisive victory, a heavy missile from the Russians is required.

However... if two are not enough, then four; if four are not enough, then eight. Quantitative change can lead to qualitative change!
Now, five missiles are flying in, and the Invincible can no longer maintain its original state. Its hull is slowly listing to starboard...

"Quickly, pump water and right our warship!" the captain shouted in panic. "Hard to port!"

It was only then that he remembered that he could simply turn the warship sideways to reduce the area hit by the bullets. Although doing so in a formation would risk a collision, he couldn't worry about that now!

Boom! Just then, the sixth missile flew in, and the next moment, Boom! An even more violent explosion rang out.

"The engine room! The engine room has been bombed! The boilers have exploded! Power outage! Power outage!"

It's over, it's over!

Damage control requires spraying water to extinguish fires and pumping out seawater that has entered the ship's hold, all of which require power! Now, the loss of power is a disaster for them!

"Quick, start the auxiliary machine!" Boom!
Another explosion sounded.

"The auxiliary machine has been destroyed!"

The Invincible listed at an increasingly steep angle: five degrees, ten degrees, fifteen degrees, twenty degrees... The warship was still stubbornly undergoing damage control, and the sailors even began scooping out the seawater that had flooded in using basins... Unfortunately, it was no use!
Their efforts only delayed the sinking of the Invincible; they could not stop it!

Beside it, the HMS Hermes. This aircraft carrier, which had been adrift at sea for over twenty years, was now also feeling the panic.

The Invincible is finished; now it's their turn!
When the fleet was sailing in formation, HMS Invincible was on the right. It could be said that HMS Invincible was blocking HMS Hermes with its own hull. Now, HMS Invincible is finished. What about them?

Stop, stop within the protection of the Invincible's hull?

That's right, just like that!

"Attention, reverse both vehicles, slow down! We need to help the Invincible put out the fire, we need to salvage our comrades!" Captain Robert Morrison shouted.

They have every reason!

When a warship is hit by a fire, other warships have an obligation to help put out the fire. At the very least, they can rescue those unfortunate souls who jumped into the sea. As long as the people are alive, there's always hope. Warships may sink, but as long as the people are alive, they can still restore the navy's former glory.

Moreover, the Invincible is the flagship, and Woodward is on board. If he were to die... the blow to morale would be enormous.

Slow down, slow down quickly!
The propeller at the stern was reversing, but unfortunately, due to inertia, the warship was still moving forward.

"Left full rudder!"

Now, the only way to slow down is by ruddering at full throttle!

As the rudder turned, a huge arc-shaped wave appeared at the stern, and the ship tilted as if it had been hit.

boom!
A missile actually came flying in and hit the area below its bow!
“Oh, damn it!” Morrison cursed.

Fortunately, the warship's speed decreased rapidly, thus avoiding a second missile hit. For it, even one hit wouldn't prevent it from fighting, especially in recovering the launched carrier-based aircraft!
The remaining missiles targeted other targets, some of which missed their targets and chose to self-destruct at the end of their flight path.

This round of blows is finally over!
Looking at the situation on the scene, Morrison felt... it couldn't be worse than this!
The Type 82 destroyer has been hit by three missiles and is sinking!

Of the Type 42 destroyers, only one is still undergoing salvage operations; the remaining two are slowly sinking!
Of the Type 21 corvettes, only four remain, but they've run out of missiles and are in dire need of resupply...

The supply ship has also been sunk. The next supplies will need to be transported from Asunción Island!

As for airplanes...

Less than half were able to return!
A Sea Harrier landed shakily on the deck of the Hermes. The pilot climbed out of the cabin, but lost his footing on the ladder and tumbled down!

"Hey!"

"what happened?"

"My legs are a little weak, help me to the infirmary..."

Now, only the beautiful medics on the warship can comfort his weary soul.

As helicopters landed one after another, Morrison's mind became increasingly conflicted.

"Where's Andrew? Has Andrew returned yet?"

"He... won't be coming back."

"why?"

"Someone witnessed his helicopter being deflected by a missile and then crashing into the sea!"

Morrison's face turned deathly pale instantly.

How are we going to explain this when we get back?

"Report! Report! General Woodward has been rescued and will be on our warship soon."

Woodward is still alive? Morrison breathed a sigh of relief. As long as he's still around, someone else can take the blame for the defeat! If he's dead, it'll be portrayed as a glorious sacrifice! Then he'll have to take the fall himself.

Well, great!

A dozen minutes later, Woodward, soaking wet, went up to the bridge.

"Order the fleet to return to port at full speed!"

“Oh, how can that be! General, there are many of our sailors at sea, and those poor children are struggling against the wind and waves!” Morrison said. “We must rescue them!”

"There's no time! Once the Crying Nation's Super-7 returns, refuels, and reloads, we're finished! The salvage and rescue mission is out to the merchant ships!"

"That will take at least a dozen hours. We must rescue them before dark, as much as we can. We can't abandon them. Merchant ships alone won't be enough!"

Morrison persisted.

Having lost his authority due to defeat, Woodward reached for his waist; he had lost his pistol when he jumped into the sea, and now…

He looked outside, wondering if things could get any worse.
"Ok."

Just then, a terrifying voice came through the radio.

"Type 21 frigate 'Enthusiast' reports: A second group of targets has been spotted on the sea! Eighteen in number! Thirty meters away!"

At that moment, Woodward felt all his strength vanish instantly, and he sat down with a thud.

It's over, it's over!

Clearly, this is the second wave of fighter jets arriving. How many Super-7s has the crying country actually purchased?
Wait a minute, something's not right. If it's a Super-7, then it can launch anti-ship missiles at a distance of 40 kilometers and then just walk away! Our radar wouldn't be able to detect it at all, especially since it's only detected at a distance of 30 kilometers.

It wasn't Super 7 who came!

The second wave of attacks will be led by Qiang Wu!
Those who fly Super 7 are the elite among pilots, while the pilots of Strong 5 are somewhat weaker, but they also want to prove their strength through this battle!
Under the wings, the inner side carries the common 760-liter auxiliary fuel tank, and the outer side carries two Sidewinder missiles. In the four-meter-long internal weapons bay of the fuselage, there are two 500-kilogram aerial bombs. Now they are like tigers descending the mountain and dragons emerging from the sea!

Since it took off from the Falkland Islands, it had enough fuel for the round trip and did not need additional aerial refueling. In fact, the aircraft did not have aerial refueling capability at all.

However, due to the lack of modern avionics, these aircraft could not carry C801 missiles. But at this point, the British naval fleet was like lambs to the slaughter, and these aircraft could easily sink the remaining warships to the bottom of the sea!

Their arrival tolled the death knell for the task force's complete annihilation. At this moment, on the aircraft carrier, Woodward rose again, his face grim: "Launch the Sea Harriers immediately and intercept them!"

If it were still the combination of Super-7 and C801 that came, then he would have completely given up, surrendered, and resigned himself to fate. But now, it is ordinary aircraft that have the ability to fight back!

The Harrier still has a chance of winning against those outdated attack aircraft!

"The sea harriers will be out in another scramble, at least two hours away..."

The thought of the pilot falling down the gangway told Morrison that another sortie wouldn't be so simple.

"They must move out immediately!"

　PS: Type 21 corvette and USS Atlantic Transporter.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)