Halifax Fleet Battle (4)
June 3, 1931. 1:30 p.m.
Above Task Force Z.
The sea buried under clouds like a white carpet, invisible even to the point of civilization.
Coming out of the clouds under the sun, Major Lawrence of the Royal Naval Air Corps watched the skies dance on the blue water. The strong smell of gunpowder was waving at him.
“Bobby 1, descend!”
“Barbie 3, 3 o’clock, please support!”
at least 12. No, is it the 13th?
A squadron-sized force twisted, twisted, and spun before his eyes, dancing furiously. Whether they were familiar on the deck or in the crosshairs, they all got along without discrimination.
Of course, the major was not confused about where to place the aiming line.
“Shoot down the enemy plane! Ellie! Did you check?”
“sorry! I guess I didn’t see it!”
“Damn it! Look straight ahead!”
“I’m sorry, but my nose is stone!”
Seeing Yogi trying to get as far away from the bullet that had gone under his wing as possible, the major clicked his tongue with a pathetic face.
Then pull the control stick. light roll. The height of the background changes several times, and after a while, the biplane wing settles in the center of the line of sight.
“Ellie! Look here!”
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Put your hand on the trigger and fire. Bright red flames shoot out in front of the yellow tracer.
The fighter jet, torn apart by the barrage, crashed leaving behind a cold spark. The parachute was not visible.
“You didn’t miss it this time, did you?”
“Yes, I feel sorry for you.”
“I wish you good luck. next!”
The major turned the nose without looking back. It was the 3rd time in his memory, excluding the chief, more than 1 enemy was guaranteed to be shot down. However, the contrails showed no sign of going away and added to the line.
“Seven o’clock! A lot of enemy planes down there!”
“A raid! Wilson! Ellie! follow me!”
“Find a flare at 9 o’clock! Enemy dive bombers! Number 6! Keep approaching the mother ship!”
“Leave that to Morrison! We catch the torpedo bombers!”
Violent contrails added lines to the sky as if carving all sorts of geometric patterns.
The major suddenly looked down at the sky.
Clouds that have formed like continents split apart, and beneath the cracks where the sunlight peeked out, the vast ocean glowed with the grace of the sun, revealing a giant star on the surface of the water. The citadel, which had been moving in brilliant colors, flashed for a moment.
The major looked at them eagerly. and said
“The Mighty Hood.”
The roar of eight 15-inch guns belatedly knocked on the major’s ears.
The two smaller giants sailing in front of her also acknowledged their presence with similar cries.
A total of 20 15-inch guns.
At a speed that even the major’s fighter could not catch up with, the shell began its flight from no return.
towards the black dot over there.
“Can I catch up with that shell someday?”
Even though he himself thought it was nonsense, the major said, recalling a few dots that had disappeared from his field of vision in the blink of an eye. Then he bit his lip and looked away, as if regretting that he had done a useless thing.
It may be his answer, but a white column of water rose mercilessly from the side of Hood’s hull.
Over the horizon, the enemy ship was still breathing fire.
* * *
Mobile Fleet Z, flagship ‘Repulse’.
The surface howls wildly. Pomun, who met an old nemesis, constantly spewed red flames and glared at the enemy ship.
A water column splashing raindrops on the ship. The distance is close.
“Red bullets hit! 300 to port!”
tilted-
The floor shakes and Repulse moves to starboard. Following the movement of the flagship, Hood and Rinaun also turn their bows in the same way.
The shelling that followed set up a column of water on the empty surface.
“An enemy bullet! Port 250!”
“Still close. Distance measurement is not working well.”
Beyond the binoculars, the mast looming over the horizon is obscured by the stretching flames. The distance to the enemy ship is about 20 km. In a cloudy sky, the distance is close to the limit of the field of view.
“There are still no cross-barrels. Damn, I don’t know if you have the heart to fight properly.”
“So are we, Chief of Staff. I don’t know if there is even an observation plane, but the sky seems to be still busy.”
In the sky dominated by the sound of propellers, even the cracks between the split clouds were colored with contrails.
First of all, there is no need to worry about getting hit by a 16-inch bullet. No matter how good the range finder of a battleship is, the error range is large at a long distance of 20 km. There’s no way it’s good fire control.
“Enemy ships are not approaching, Admiral.”
The Chief of Staff lowers his binoculars and says.
“Do you want to come first from this side?”
“There is no need to get involved in their intentions.”
I shook my head and answered.
“Keep the status quo like this. Do we still have our hit bullets?”
“Except for Hood’s bullets, it’s still melee. There is no report from Hood either.”
Hood’s shot set up eight columns of pure white water. But let alone an explosion, not a single bullet was seen. Rinaun, who has not received main gun improvements, is close to the maximum range, so it is even more difficult to get hit bullets.
At least, the situation is the same for Repulse, who has a lot of practical experience.
It’s been 10 minutes since the artillery battle, but not a single hit has yet come out from both sides. On the other hand, the knights of the air steadily raised their records.
“Enemy raid, retreat.”
“The Air Corps had a hard time.”
A contrail streaks across the horizon and disappears. The sound of planes getting quieter.
Only huge gunfire remained over the quiet sea, howling.
But even that doesn’t seem to last long.
“Enemy fleet, change course.”
A cage-type mast that gradually lowers. Soon, the ship, which had been pouring out a long smoke, disappeared as if it sank below the horizon.
“Is the enemy ship identified?”
“It’s not possible. A distance of about 30,000.”
“Stop the bombardment. I will go back.”
After Hood’s final roar, the roar said goodbye.
Fleet turning direction while protecting Danjongjin.
The chief of staff, who was looking at the horizon, bit his lip and said.
“Admiral, can we go on like this?”
“It won’t do us any good to go back there.”
The smell of gunpowder that flowed into the bridge tickled the tip of my nose.
“As others say, we have no reason to overdo it. It is not too late to deal with the enemy task forces after the main fleet arrives.”
The chief of staff nodded and turned away to hide his still dissatisfied face. All members of the bridge had similar views.
Not being able to make a mark in the biggest showdown of all time must be quite a blow to one’s pride. Especially for Repulse’s crew who have gone through a fierce battle.
But if all those achievements are at stake in this one fight, everyone will reconsider. At least I should.
“Admiral, we are entering the battle on the flagship Rodney.”
A communications staff member who came with a telegram.
With his eyes focused, he continued.
“As of present time, Task Force X merged into Task Force K. Task Force Z will perform alert duties outside the fleet.”
A shallow sigh lingered around the bridge.
Ttsk, they hurriedly calm down as they click their tongues and turn their heads. But complaints are piling up.
As if representing them, the chief of staff frowned and asked.
“To not be able to participate in the decisive battle of the main fleet… Are we bridesmaids?”
“No, he’s the main character.”
I answered firmly.
“The only thing the enemy can turn against is the ability of the mobile unit.”
The bridge crew blinking their eyes and concentrating their attention. Slowly return to your position.
Over the past year, we have demonstrated firsthand the potential of high-speed maneuver forces.
No one here knows the danger.
“You shouldn’t be blinded by a showdown that only looks fancy. Everyone knows. Victory or defeat is decided before fighting.”
A mobile unit that can occupy an advantageous position and attack the enemy’s weak areas is the main force of the navy.
And the force suitable for the mission is the Z Task Force, which is made up of elite personnel.
“You’d better prepare well. Next time, they’ll be ready to die.”
There is no need to talk further.
The fleet went north.
* * *
same time,
The bridge of the 17th Task Force’s flagship ‘Lexington’.
“I didn’t get caught again!”
Admiral Marshall’s lion’s roar, holding onto the bridge railing, rang the Lexington’s bridge. As if he didn’t care about the gazes around him, he shouted without stopping with his stern lips.
“Damn it, you only have to come in once!”
“Admiral, calm down. The battle is not over yet.”
“We’ve already lost 20% of our raid! Even with the supply of supplementary aircraft, the enemy’s task force has already joined the main force!”
Marshall wanted to regret hitting the ground.
Even if it wasn’t just on the boat here.
Where did I go wrong?
It is obviously difficult to strike a fleet located at the edge of the operational range of a carrier aircraft.
So the admiral didn’t expect much from that.
However, the fact that the battlecruiser squadron, which had approached the enemy fleet with surprising maneuvers, launched an attack at surprising timing and safely sent the enemy fleet away with amazing cooperation, was a great disappointment.
“Where is Admiral Ian now!”
“It’s still 120 nautical miles north.”
“Damn it, I should have died there!”
Ignoring his astonished subordinates, Marshall gnashed his teeth. It seemed that even if I threw Admiral Ian out of the window right in front of my eyes, I wouldn’t be able to relieve my anger.
Of course, he would wear a life jacket without blinking an eye.
“Damn it, it’s all wrong now. If we can’t catch them, the main fleet has no chance of winning!”
“Admiral, it’s not over yet. Hasn’t the operation just begun?”
“All battles are won or lost before they begin. It is the task of our task force to decide that.”
Faced with a sharp gaze, the chief of staff kept his mouth shut.
“I don’t think I have any bad luck… I hope we find a place to die in the name of Neptune.”
Marshall thought. What should I do now?
He tried to engage so many times that he couldn’t count on his fingers, but the enemy commanders escaped the encirclement every time.
If you send an attack party, somewhere, a destroyer will find the route and be intercepted.
Even if a squadron of battlecruisers provoked a long-range firefight, the enemy would just throw shells that didn’t hit the same.
A submarine cannot keep up with a fleet maneuvering at an average speed of more than 20 knots.
Of course, there were also lucky ones.
If the skies were clear during artillery battles, or if the right clouds shielded him during air strikes, at least one of his countless attempts might have been successful.
But Marshall could only think that he understood his intentions.
‘Are you even predicting the future? Damn you son of a b*tch!’
At least, if the mobile units try to engage away from each other, there will be no more delicious prey like this.
But like an iron man, the enemy admiral turned his head away from the temptation. Marshall felt even a slight sense of despair.
“Fleet, return to normal. After resupply, we will try to engage again.”
At least that was all I could do now. Watching the background change direction, Marshall grabbed the railing and said.
“Next time, I hope we all don’t disappoint each other.”
On the bridge as night approached, no answer was heard.
＜Attachment Map＞
This is an approximate situation to help readers understand. It may differ from the actual starting route.