Chapter 1340 Forge Ahead

The waves crashed against the warship, and it was already dusk, the setting sun shone on the Black Sea, and the sea was full of sparkling waves.

Gorshkov stood on the bridge of the Red Caucasus, and he still remembered the battle just now.

In fact, it didn't count them as a victory. When they rushed forward with indomitable energy, there was a violent exchange of fire with the Italian warship. After that, the Italian warship gave way after being hit by the shells.

As a result, their warships, with their high attitudes, passed through the queue of Italian warships, and when the two sides crossed, the artillery bombardment almost stopped.

On the side of the Soviet warships, the main reason is that their guns fire too slowly. After a round of salvos, it takes a long time to complete the reloading. At this time, the Italian Navy has already run away.

After the two sides staggered, the warships of the Black Sea Fleet did not intend to go back and continue to fight them. The target of the Black Sea Fleet was the German fleet, not these Italian warships.

Therefore, they continued to sail at high speed, and the battleships reached a high speed of nearly 30 knots, and the Italian battleships were also chasing them, but the further they were chasing, the Italian battleships were designed in the Mediterranean Sea. Those who sailed inside did not consider long-distance voyages at all. The area of ​​the Mediterranean Sea was not very large, and they did not need high speed. Therefore, the maximum speed of the Italian battleships was only more than 20 knots, and they could not catch up with them at all.

In this way, with the Italian Navy behind, the battleships of the Black Sea Fleet continued to sail forward without any fear, and the seaplanes that were released in advance even observed the fleet position of the German Navy.

"There are still a hundred nautical miles before we can meet the German fleet." Tikhonov said: "When we see the German fleet, the sky will definitely get dark, which will be beneficial to us."

At the beginning, with a burst of anger, they were not afraid of the disparity in the balance of power between the two sides, and they chased them directly, but along the way, Gorshkov had a plan in his mind.

They can't beat the German fleet. The German naval guns are accurate and ruthless. They can kill the British navy in naval battles, and their strength is quite strong.

Then, if you want to get results, you can only fight bayonets at sea!

Relying on the spirit of not being afraid of sacrifice, they have to drive all the way to the front of the other side, one or two kilometers, or even a few hundred meters away, bombard with naval artillery, or even hit with their own bows, so as to sink the other side!

During the day, they have no chance. Now, when they encounter the German fleet, it happens to be dark. In this way, it will be difficult for both sides to aim, and they will have a chance to get close!

His idea was good, but unfortunately, the news that followed broke his dream.

"The German fleet has taken off a large number of carrier-based aircraft, about 30, and they are approaching our fleet, pay attention to air defense!" Just after these calls came from the radio, the pilot's tone became hurried. It is conceivable that, At this time, the pilot was doing a large overload maneuver and wanted to avoid being hit by the opponent.

Unfortunately, it was of no use. A few seconds later, the roar of the cannon came from the radio, and then there was no contact.

At such a distance, the two sides will soon be able to see it visually. Now, the German carrier-based aircraft have attacked them in large numbers!

"Order our antiaircraft gunners to protect our warships!" Gorshkov shouted, and just after he gave the order, the voice of the lookout came: "Attention, German bombers!"

For an aircraft that can fly to four or five hundred knots, this distance of one hundred nautical miles is simply too close. After takeoff, it was almost a few minutes after climbing to a high altitude for cruising, and it was time to descend.

Lieutenant Steinkamp flew at the forefront, and when he saw the Soviet fleet from above the clouds, he immediately found his target: the largest warship, the Red Caucasus!

That is his goal. This time, he will destroy the largest cruiser of the Soviets!

Pushing its own lever, HS129 began to dive down from the clouds.

Aboard the Red Caucasus, anti-aircraft gunners stand by.

The Soviet Union is good at learning. When the Germans used air superiority to kill the British warships in Scapa Flow, the shock of the Soviet Navy was unparalleled.

They looked around and found that their warships could not stop such bombing at all, so they were also making rapid improvements.

Therefore, the Red Caucasus has been equipped with a variety of anti-aircraft weapons from its service to the present.

It was originally fitted with a 1914/1915 76mm anti-aircraft gun, later it was replaced with an Italian 100mm "Minizzini" anti-aircraft gun, and a 1935-style 34-K 76mm anti-aircraft gun.

At this time, in the middle of the hull, the Italian 100mm "Minizzini" anti-aircraft guns had already started firing into the sky.

This type of artillery is the main force of high-altitude air defense, and it is an Italian-produced type of K10 and K11 artillery imported from the Skoda Arsenal in Austria-Hungary.

The maximum range is 19,570 meters, and the maximum shooting height is 10,000 meters. It can kill or expel the opponent's aircraft from a long distance.

"Boom, boom!" The twin-mounted gun barrels alternately emitted two black smoke, and two high-explosive shells flew out of the gun barrels and flew towards the target in the sky.

With the firing, the gun sits back, looking quite imposing.

At the same time, it continued to fire intermittently without interruption.

"Boom, boom!"

The angle of the turret was fine-tuned, and the second round of shooting began before the first shot of the artillery shell reached the target. Performance is used to the extreme.

It can fire 12 shells in one minute, every five seconds, and each time it is fired, the double barrel fires two shells. And such anti-aircraft artillery, on the red Caucasus, arranged four!

If viewed from the air, the red Caucasus at this time is like a hedgehog, with thorns all over its body, and the continuous firing of shells seems to kill any enemy plane that dares to dive down.

However, in the eyes of Lieutenant Steinkamp, ​​this is simply bluff.

For an excellent attack aircraft pilot, they are not afraid of large-caliber anti-aircraft guns. Although they shoot high, the rate of fire of such anti-aircraft guns is slow, and the distance is long, the advance must be large, and the aircraft can maneuver to avoid. , is easily avoided.

Unless there is a killing weapon such as a proximity fuze, its hit rate is quite low. In contrast, the small-caliber rapid-fire gun is a greater threat. For example, the current pilots are not willing to face Bofors. The artillery dived, and they had to tactically cooperate to take it out.

Keep diving!

In the web of firepower intertwined with the anti-aircraft guns of the Red Caucasus and other warships, the HS129 was unstoppable.