Chapter 222 Naval Battle (5)

The British fleet's anti-aircraft guns seemed to be showering the sky with bullets as if they were free. Well, indeed they were, as British sailors were eager to deplete these frustrating shells and replace them with new ones. However, with a stockpile of over a hundred million rounds, who knows how long it would take to exhaust them. Even if they fired a million rounds per day, it would still take more than three months to deplete the stock.

The diving Stukas began emitting eerie screams. The aiming reticle above the pilot's instrument panel aligned with the Warspite in the center of the British fleet, as well as a nearby anti-aircraft gun platform continuously firing near the bow.

A fist-sized tracer round whizzed past the Stuka's wings towards the sky, and the Stuka retaliated fiercely.

"Rat-tat! Rat-tat!" The 20mm caliber machine guns on the Stuka's wings fired intensely. Tracer rounds, accompanied by a glow, flew towards their targets. Near the anti-aircraft gun platform, a shower of sparks and smoke erupted as the platform was torn apart. The British sailors manning the anti-aircraft gun had no time to dodge and were knocked down by the flying bullets and debris.

The bomb release button was pressed, and the 500 kg aerial bomb detached from the belly of the plane. With momentum, it hurtled towards the Warspite, carrying an unstoppable force.

Unfortunately, luck wasn't on the bomb's side. It narrowly missed the Warspite's starboard railing, collided with a row of railings, and plunged into the sea.

The time-delay fuse detonated, sending a massive water column soaring into the sky.

On the bridge of the Warspite, Captain Pullman Cook stared in astonishment at the splashing water column. Though the pristine column of water looked quite beautiful, he had no mood to appreciate it and muttered, "Dear God! Since when can carrier planes carry such large bombs?!"

Being an experienced military man, he immediately recognized that the bomb likely had a TNT payload of about 100 kg. Assuming these bombs were armor-piercing, following the general rule that the explosive charge accounted for 20% of the bomb's weight, this aerial bomb should weigh at least 500 kg.

Would such a heavy bomb be able to penetrate a battleship's armor if it fell directly? He dared not take that risk; once it pierced through, the explosive force of 100 kg of TNT would be no joke.

"Quick, quick, quick! Full ship maneuvers! What is the anti-aircraft doing? Shoot down those planes!!"

At the same time, chaos erupted among the German air group.

"Heavens! That's Bazell!"

"Stuka No. 5! Stuka No. 5! Are you crazy?! Come back immediately!"

In a diving state, Bazell, who had entered the fray, was no longer concerned about the calls from the airborne command and his comrades. He felt that today must be his "unlucky day". Otherwise, how could the Crown Prince insist on riding in his plane and forcing him to go down and fight desperately against British warships? Normally, he would have rushed down without hesitation, but now, the Crown Prince was sitting in the back seat. He didn't dare to act recklessly.

However, he was just a small soldier, and Crown Prince Wilhelm, fueled by some sort of enthusiasm, insisted on having him go down to drop bombs. Unable to withstand the Crown Prince's coercion, Bazell could only grit his teeth, push the control stick, and make the plane dive.

As tracer rounds whizzed past the fuselage, Bazell had already forgotten who was in the back seat. All his attention was focused on the aiming reticle. The Warspite was not stationary; it was maneuvering at high speed. Bazell had to constantly adjust his dive direction to ensure the precision of the bombing.

Wilhelm felt his body being firmly pushed back into the seat, and his brain began to feel a dizzying sensation. This was because the plane was diving too quickly, causing the body to react to the lack of blood flow to the brain. Pilots who had undergone countless training sessions could adapt to this acceleration process within seconds. Still, Wilhelm, an ordinary person, felt the world spinning, and he was just short of seeing stars everywhere.

Several fire whips swirled in the air, but Bazell knew that it was challenging for small-caliber anti-aircraft firepower to hit the Stuka, which was diving nearly vertically at high speed. They were most afraid of anti-aircraft gunfire straight ahead; the faster the dive, the quicker the death. However, all anti-aircraft weapons had a firing range, and the current anti-aircraft weapons rarely had an elevation angle exceeding 80 degrees.

So, he paid no attention to these tracer rounds whizzing by, checked the altimeter, and noticed they had descended to 1000 meters. However, he didn't rush to release the bomb; gritting his teeth, he continued the dive for another two hundred meters. Only when the altitude warning buzzer buzzed continuously did he forcefully press the bomb release button.

Bazell felt the aircraft suddenly becoming lighter, and he yanked the control stick. The Stuka let out a sharp whine as it began to turn and climb. Behind him, Wilhelm felt his internal organs sticking to his back, nearly causing him to vomit.

Just after the climb, a deafening explosion echoed from the sea surface. The vibrations from the explosion made Bazell feel the tremors of his own aircraft. This was completely different from the explosion when the bomb fell into the water. Bazell knew that the bomb he dropped had hit its target.

"Ha-ha! I hit it! Your Highness! I hit it!" When he turned around and saw, he was almost scared out of his wits. He hysterically screamed, "Oh my God! Your Highness has been hit!"

The words "Your Highness has been hit!" instantly caused the entire airborne communication channel to explode.

Various expressions of disbelief, inquiries, and meaningless shouts instantly filled the entire communication channel. Wilhelm had to shout loudly a few times to make these guys calm down. "I'm okay! I'm okay! Don't forget your mission. Completely sink the warship below!" He really wanted to slap Bazell unconscious. Damn it, just shout if you must, why shout so loudly over the communication channel, as if afraid that others wouldn't know I got injured?

Wilhelm did indeed get injured. He didn't know which warship's anti-aircraft shell exploded nearby, and a shrapnel fragment penetrated through the hatch, creating a long wound from his ear to his neck.

This really scared him; if the carotid artery was damaged, he would have been dead. Fortunately, no spurt of blood appeared for a while, so he breathed a sigh of relief. Pressing on the wound and looking down, he saw a large hole blown open at the stern of the Warspite. Thick smoke, accompanied by flames, billowed out. The entire warship's speed noticeably slowed down, indicating that the propulsion system was affected.

This bomb directly pierced through the Warspite's seaplane deck, and then stumbled and fell into the area above the warship's boiler room, causing a violent explosion. The boiler room, already reinforced with 89mm (3.5 inches) horizontal armor, was torn open and shattered. Instantly, steam hissed as the boiler pipes ruptured, and the speed of this warship plummeted.

Wilhelm observed that although the Warspite's speed had significantly decreased, and the entire hull tilted visibly, it didn't seem to be sinking immediately. If they left now, they might still be able to hold on until they returned to port. Therefore, he had to seize the opportunity to completely sink this warship.

The airborne group in the sky would certainly not miss such a good opportunity. Like vultures smelling a rotting corpse, they dove towards the warship. A series of aerial bombs whistled down, and fighters dropped torpedoes one after another, besieging the Warspite.