Chapter 1333： Fleet catches fire

The German fleet is nearby!

Although a seaplane ejected from the Red Caucasus did not fly back, it did not make the brave Soviet navy afraid. The seaplane ejected from a destroyer flew toward the sea again in the southeast direction. This time, it After flying only tens of nautical miles, almost just out of the fleet's field of vision, I found a fleet coming by wind and waves!

"Attention, the German main fleet is found, ready to fight!" On the Red Caucasus, upon receiving this news, Gorshkov immediately issued a battle order: "One-word column!"

If there are battleships and heavy cruisers, maybe Gorshkov will put up a horizontal line and directly press on to fight, just like the kind of exciting naval battles during the First World War.

However, he has nothing. His own 10,000-ton battleship is already the largest, while the opponent's fleet, with aircraft carriers and battleships, has a displacement of up to 70,000 tons.

Therefore, he can only put up the formation of this column to minimize the frontal projection area. He can only hope that the opponent's shells will be empty, so that his warship can rush to fight the bayonet.

In naval battles, this is not impossible. Although the power of naval guns is great, it is not easy to hit the target, especially for warships moving at high speed.

Thick black smoke came out of the chimneys of the warships, and the smoke from the warships in front happened to envelop the warships behind. At this time, they were sailing against the wind.

"Report the Red Caucasus, what we encountered was not a German warship."

Because the opponent did not have an air defense fighter, the Soviet seaplane could fly closer. When the pilot saw it clearly, he couldn't help but be surprised. The opponent was flying the flag of the Italian Navy!

On the Count Cavour, the Italian Rear Admiral Catano was standing on the bridge. At this time, he also received a report from his watchman.

The Black Sea Fleet is right in front of you. The opponent's largest warship is just a 10,000-ton heavy cruiser!

"Attention, the one-word line, let us pour out the greatest firepower and send the Black Sea Fleet to hell!" Catano gave an order.

If it is a French battleship, eight naval guns are in front, which can display the most violent firepower, but the Italian battleship is not. Although there are ten naval guns, there are only half of the front and the back.

It's just that, for everything they are afraid of, the biggest Soviet person on the opposite side is the cruiser. Even this battleship alone is enough to send the opponent into the sea, and only use the artillery in front to kill them!

Following his order, the Italian fleet quickly changed its position and placed a horizontal formation on the sea, continuing to approach the front.

The 320 mm naval gun was loaded with armor-piercing shells, and the gunners suppressed their excitement, waiting for the **** battle that was about to come.

On the sea, the opponent's mast appeared, followed by the bridge, and then the two fleets could finally see each other clearly.

On the Earl of Cavour, the gunner was staring at the sights intently at this time, and the mechanical ballistic calculator was running rumblingly, calculating the shooting elements.

"Fifteen nautical miles away, this is the first test shot." The gunner shouted: "Fire!"

"Boom!" The 320 mm naval gun, a huge fire came out of the muzzle, black smoke rose, and a 525 kg armor-piercing projectile flew out at a speed of 830 meters per second.

When the Duke of Cavour was initially built, it was only a 305mm naval gun. After a period of use, the naval gun was close to the shooting limit, so through the expansion operation, the 305mm naval gun was expanded into 320 mm naval gun, but the accuracy has not improved.

The gun smoke was filled, and the gunner suddenly realized that he was in a big trouble.

Wind direction problem!

Our own side is downwind. If it were the previous sailing age, this would be the best battle position, but now, every time his naval gun fires, it will produce huge black smoke. Under the wind, it just happens to be The field of vision is covered, and it is inconvenient to observe the impact point!

Sure enough, when the gun smoke cleared, the shell had already flown past, and there was nowhere to be seen!

"Take off the carrier plane!" Cataño shouted. Only then did he realize that he had made a mistake, thinking that his own fleet was enough, so he did not fly the carrier-based aircraft. Now it seems that the carrier-based aircraft is also very important.

You can only rely on carrier-based aircraft to calibrate ballistics!

The bi-wing RO44 seaplane was installed in the ejection position. Pilot Oakley felt the feeling of backlog from his back, and the aircraft quickly flew away from the battleship.

In the air, it is easy to observe the landing point of one's naval guns, and it is their task to provide calibration for the naval guns.

Just as the climb started, a bright spot in the sun's rays came over.

"Da da da..." Oakley heard the sound of machine gun bullets, and then he felt a pain in his body, blood splattering his cockpit.

He fell forward and pressed the lever, and the seaplane suddenly turned into a dive and fell into the water.

It was too careless. They didn't realize that the Soviet seaplane was nearby. When their seaplane was ejected, the pilot was hit before he came back!

The Soviet seaplane skimmed over the sea at ultra-low altitude and turned to fly away. The warship's anti-aircraft artillery here was not ready yet, and the opponent disappeared out of range, leaving all anti-aircraft gunners speechless for a while.

The school shooting plane is gone, and at this time, the distance between the two sides is still close, and it is already close to ten nautical miles!

The gunner’s face was green, and there was no school firing plane, so he had to continue shooting blindly? If this is the case, it can only fire all naval guns together, which can also improve some hit rates.

According to his experience, after binding all kinds of shots, the second salvo began.

"BoomBoom!" The 320mm naval gun roared, and the black smoke from the muzzle instantly formed a huge barrier in front of the Italian fleet, making people see nothing. clear.

The firing of naval guns is quite terrifying. Such spectacular scenes will make people shudder when they meet for the first time, but the soldiers of the Black Sea Fleet here are nothing terrible.

There was no evasive action by one's own side, and all the artillery shells there went flying, splashing and falling into the sea several hundred meters from one's side's side.

The projection area of ​​the one-character column is small and it is difficult to be hit. Gorshkov has not ordered a counterattack until now.

The Red Caucasus is already the most powerful warship, and the main gun has only four 180 mm naval guns. Although theoretically, this naval gun has a terrible range of more than 37 kilometers, but it does not have any aim.

In practice, shooting beyond ten nautical miles cannot guarantee a hit rate, and it is best to guarantee a hit only five nautical miles away.

Therefore, he is only ordering the fleet to speed up the voyage, and ignores the opponent at all.