Another World: Naval Storm

Chapter 150: Strong Pre-Dreadnoughts

The Werther was hit the least, with only four. Even though the Royal Navy's shells were not very powerful, the large caliber of the 381mm shells meant they were very powerful.

The sturdy and durable Wörth's pre-dreadnought was hit in the midship and stern successively. The telegraph room and chart room in the midship were destroyed, and a piece of the stern was directly cut off. As for the two lucky Friedrich III-class pre-dreadnoughts, they were not hurt at all.

"Brandenburg, hold on a little longer! Hold on a little longer!" Outside the command tower of the Brandenburg, smoke was everywhere and shrapnel was flying. Malawi muttered to himself, praying that his flagship could hold on a little longer.

The six pre-dreadnoughts were also fighting back while moving, but only four Brandenburg-class pre-dreadnoughts could effectively damage the main battleships of the Grand Fleet. Only the Iron Duke, Centurion and one were hit in the Grand Fleet, while the Second Battleship Squadron had already been hit by more than twenty large-caliber armor-piercing shells from the Talens.

The Brandenburg-class pre-dreadnoughts were equipped with three twin 3mm main guns, one at the bow and one at the stern, and one in the middle of the ship. The second battleship squadron Brandenburg-class pre-dreadnoughts were fully fired, and their hit rate was steadily improved with the assistance of the fire control system.

In the dreadnought era, the sinking of a capital ship was inseparable from two situations: either the ammunition depot exploded, or too much water took over the hull.

The fact that the former dreadnoughts under Malawi have been able to survive for so long under the 381mm and 343mm main guns equipped on the Talen super-dreadnought and the 305mm main guns equipped on the dreadnought is already a blessing from the previous kings of the Drake Empire.

"Send a farewell telegram! We've done a good job!" Malawi's smoke-stained face was full of determination. The six pre-dreadnoughts had a pitiful 6 knots of speed because they were hit by multiple shells. Without speed, they were just coffins waiting to die. When the large fleet won, these pre-dreadnoughts would be disposed of by the Talens.

"Hurry up! Hurry up!" Admiral Leon stamped his feet and beat his chest on the bridge. The Second Battleship Squadron could be declared eliminated in advance. The First Reconnaissance Fleet had no time to take care of it. The Ocean Fleet was still working hard to arrange its troops and it would take some time to complete the formation.

It would be better if the Second Battleship Squadron had a few dreadnoughts instead of the pre-dreadnought fleet. In fact, the fact that the Second Battleship Squadron was still floating on the sea was already a slap in the face for Jericho. He had originally expected that he could completely wipe out the Second Battleship Squadron in fifteen minutes.

Grand Fleet Commander Jellicoe grabbed the receiver and shouted angrily at the Iron Duke officers and men, "Have you forgotten how to fire? When did the Royal Navy become so corrupt? How could such a powerful warship as the Iron Duke be unable to sink a few shabby dreadnoughts in the hands of the heroic Royal Navy?"

Jericho was a very realistic person. He diverted some firepower and abandoned the ultra-long-distance ocean fleet to destroy the six dreadnoughts first.

In fact, no matter how the Grand Fleet delays time, it is only a matter of time before the Oceanic Fleet deploys a battle line. The only thing worth discussing is what kind of results the Grand Fleet can achieve in the ultra-long-range concentrated artillery bombardment.

If the Grand Fleet uses part of its strength to annihilate or severely damage the Second Battleship Squadron in a short period of time, then the Grand Fleet will be guaranteed a victory.

Jellicoe's plan was in line with everyone's understanding, including the Drakes, who had not expected their pre-dreadnoughts to have such strong survivability. Jellicoe overestimated the difficulty of fire control when they were outnumbered four to six, and overestimated the quality of the Talen gun shells. After fifteen minutes of concentrated fire, the Talens' advantage was fully demonstrated, but the Second Battleship Squadron was still sailing slowly in the North Sea.

As time passed, the accuracy of the fleet's several rounds of concentrated fire became increasingly poor due to wind, waves, and smoke.

Although the large fleet occupying the head of the T-shape could open fire on the sides of the warships, the thick smoke produced by the long-term high-speed operation of the coal-fired boilers and the gunpowder produced by the burning of muzzle propellant were enough to obscure the vision of all people and instruments.

In this environment, how to accurately hit the warships gave the gunners and rangefinders on both sides a headache.

Such a poor hit rate made Marshal Jericho, who was a former artillery officer, explode again, "Did you not eat? Or were you squeezed dry by the street whores? I don't want to hear excuses, can you still see now? Sink them!"

The fire amidships of the Brandenburg was put out by the fearless damage control soldiers. The crane and lifeboat equipped amidships had long been blown away and disappeared. The chart room disappeared directly, and the crew inside were nowhere to be seen. Only blood was smeared on the walls.

No one was idle. The gunners were working hard to clear out the ammunition depot, while the damage control soldiers and signalmen were urgently repairing the wireless antenna under the threat of Talen artillery shells.

In the cabin of the Brandenburg, the damage control captain lay on the steel floor, gasping for breath. He had just led a damage control team to put out a fire, but unfortunately, three watertight compartments were lost.

At 7:41, the Brandenburg was hit again by a 381mm armor-piercing shell that penetrated the deck. With full power, it penetrated deep into the hull and exploded near the bottom of the ship.

The air waves and debris generated by the explosion tore a large hole in the bottom of the ship, and seawater began to pour in frantically.

"General, the watertight compartment probably won't hold out for much longer! What should we do?" The damage control captain came to the command tower and reported the bad news to Malawi.

Malawi looked at the bloodied damage control captain and smiled bitterly. "Abandon ship. Let the Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm take over!"

Everyone began to evacuate urgently. The officers and soldiers in the two 280mm turrets were still firing and they would be the last to evacuate.

Malawi came to the deck. The medical soldiers were doing the simplest treatment for the sailors who were wailing in pain on the deck. The sailors and gunners who needed rescue were carried on stretchers and loaded into the lifeboat, while the officers and soldiers who did not need rescue were given morphine. The medical soldiers did not want them to endure pain in the last moments of their lives.

The fallen sailors were wrapped in black or white shrouds and carried into the cabin. They would be buried in the sea with the Brandenburg. The Brandenburg was the best coffin for the sailors.

"Record the coordinates, we will come to visit them again!" Malawi followed the last gunners onto the lifeboat and said to Brandenburg blankly.

Not long after Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm took over command, misfortune befell it.

Several shells hit Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm's hull close and early, and although the penetrating damage was slight, the fire from the picric acid was difficult to extinguish.

The damage control soldiers had to endure the intense heat and toxic gases of the flames and put out the fire step by step with fire hoses.

At this time, a 381mm armor-piercing shell exploded near the Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm, stirring up the sea water more than ten meters high. Tons of sea water began to fall due to gravity, and most of the sea water fell on the deck, and by coincidence, it directly helped the damage control team put out the fire.