The work on the Red Caucasus and Kirov, the two "rescued" red heavy cruisers, was not over. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info While their decks were filled with wet British comrades who seemed to have little confidence in the prospects of the world war against the Nazis, the fierce fighting in the Atlantic continued!

Now the superiority on the sea was entirely on the side of the European Combined Fleet, and after sinking the Anson, Lütjans had three major victories in his hands. In the "race" for sinking battleships / battlecruisers, the lead was 3: 1.

At the same time, his mine-striking ship unit also sank 4 10,000-ton heavy cruisers and 1 10,000-ton light cruiser, and the Admiral Hipper also sank 1 light cruiser with a standard displacement of 7,400 tons.

However, Lütjans did not have the slightest idea of taking it when he saw it, because he now had a great advantage.

On the battleship/battlecruiser class, he was able to draw 2 Hindenburg-class, 4 Veneto-class and 1 Bismarck-class, as well as 1 Barbarossa-class No. 2 ship Schlieffen, and the battleship Gneisenau, which were basically intact. In addition, he has 3 terrible P-class missile cruisers and 2 Dunkirk-class battlecruisers in his hands!

His opponent, Admiral Ingersoll, had only four Soviet-class ships/cruisers at his disposal, two wounded South Dakota-class, and two Kronstadt ships that didn't know where to go—because Kuznetsov knew that these two battlecruisers were thin-skinned, so he quietly ordered them to hide and not let Admiral Ingersoll know where they were......

"Comrade Military Commissar, Comrade Military Commissar ......"

Bulganin was watching the battle with his neck held high when he suddenly heard someone whispering "Military Commissar" in Russian. He turned his head to see that it was Kuznetsov standing at the staircase of the bridge and waving at him.

It was clear that this comrade commander of the Atlantic Fleet of the Red Navy wanted to talk to Bulganin about something inconvenient for the British and American bourgeois military strategists.

Bulganin stole another glance at Ingersoll and Fraser, and the American admiral was watching intently as the USS Massachusetts and the USS Alabama shelled something 30,000 kilometers away. The British vice admiral, on the other hand, looked like he was about to collapse, and apparently had completely lost confidence in the anti-glossary cause of the British Empire.

Seeing that no one was paying attention to him, Bulganin turned and left, and Kuznetsov hid in the corridor for an "emergency meeting of the party."

"Comrade Military Commissar, the situation is very critical, the Americans and the British have already suffered heavy losses, and the naval battle is likely to be lost!"

Kuznetsov's voice was hurried and fast, and as soon as he came up, he told the military commissar Bulganin about the current grave situation.

"Aren't there still 4 Soviet-class and 2 South Dakota-class?" Bulganin frowned and said, "The 2 Kronstadt class should still be there, right?" We won't necessarily lose if we continue to fight......"

Kuznetsov shook his head, "The Kronstadt class is not used to fight a decisive battle of the fleet, their main armor belt is only 230mm, and it is not fought at all. ”

The commander of the Red Navy was an insider, and although he could not command the decisive battle of the fleet, he knew in his heart what the Kronstadt rank was for, and whether the Soviet class could fight these problems.

Of course, the fact that the Soviet Union was able to build these two capital ships was a huge progress, and it is not an exaggeration to say that it has developed by leaps and bounds. But to think that the Soviet-class can really fight against such a German super-battleship as the Hindenburg-class is not realistic. According to Kuznetsov, if all the substandard armor steel of the Soviet class is not replaced with first-class American goods, this class of battleships can at most compete against the Bismarck-class......

"And the Soviet-class armor steel technology is relatively backward, which is at the level of Germany in 1895, although it is very thick, but it cannot withstand the main gun bombardment of the Hindenburg class, and it is even difficult to withstand the main gun bombardment of 4 Italian battleships."

Kuznetsov didn't dare to tell Bulganin that most of the armor steel used in the Soviet class was inferior to the KC armor steel invented by Krupp in 1895, but was simply case-hardened steel, which concerns many people's heads. It is also about whether Kuznetsov, the commander, can continue to do it -- in fact, it is not that Kuznetsov is irresponsible, but that the Soviet Union needs the Soviet-level trump card that looks very similar from top to bottom!

Stalin needed the Soviet-class to bargain with the US imperialists, and when the British and American navies were defeated one after another, what a bargaining chip was for 4 super battleships comparable to the Hindenburg-class battleships. As for the armor steel, it is not very qualified...... Roosevelt wouldn't have known.

And the heads of the Soviet shipbuilding industry also needed Soviet-class battleships to keep their heads and wealth, and in order to build the Soviet-class and Kronstadt-class, several shipyards and design bureaus in the USSR have not had anti-g-orders for many years.

If it can't be built in the end, the 25 years of labor reform will be light, and maybe the loving father will be shot if he gets angry!

For the Red Navy, the Soviet-class and Kronstadt-class were much better than the ships they originally had. Even if the defense of the Soviet class is injected with water, the power can be ranked among the top few battleships in the world, what is there to dislike?

So on the issue of armor steel, people from top to bottom are fooling things, and whoever dares to expose it will not be able to get along with everyone...... Including Stalin himself.

And how can Kuznetsov not understand this truth when he was able to become the commander of the Red Navy at a young age?

4 Soviet-class and 2 Kronstadt-class were the chips, the chips of the USSR, and at the same time Kuznetsov's own chips. If it were lost in the North Atlantic, it would be a big problem.

Seeing that Bulganin was still a little hesitant, Kuznetsov simply made his words clear, "Comrade Military Commissar, now that the war is unfavorable, we can't use the precious Soviet battleships to save the fate of British imperialism from its inevitable defeat!" Without four powerful Soviet-class ships, the Soviet Union would not have been able to play a major role in the naval war against Nazis, fascists and Japanese militarism. ”

Listening to Kuznetsov say this, Bulganin has completely understood. The reason why the United States is now co-opting the Soviet Union at such a big price is that 4 Soviet-class battleships and 2 Kronstadt-class battlecruisers are also an important reason!

Even if the Allied Combined Fleet loses in the Atlantic, the British mainland will fall in the near future. The Soviet-class and Kronstadt class can also go to the Pacific Ocean...... Even if it did not fight against Japan, it could be used to protect the Soviet lifeline in the North Pacific. Moreover, as long as 4 Soviet-class and 2 Kronstadt-class ships go to Vladivostok, Japan will have to place at least 1 Yamato-class and several old battleships on its own territory.

This is a kind of support for the US operation in the Pacific!

As far as the Soviet Union is concerned, if there are no 4 Soviet-class and 2 Kronstadt-class, when it comes to asking the United States for Lend-Lease supplies, the waist pole will not be so hard.

"But now that we're at war, we can't go first, can we?" Bulganin completely figured it out, 4 Soviet-class can't be lost!

"Comrade Military Commissar, I have a way." "The enemy on the battlefield today clearly sees the British and American battleships as the main targets, and the fire on the two South Dakota-class ships has not yet been extinguished, which makes them a target for attracting shells at night," Kuznetsov said. Later, if these two battleships of the Americans were heavily damaged, we offered to cover their retreat. ”

Bulganin was stunned, "Cover the retreat of the Americans' battleships with the Soviet-class?" ”

Kuznetsov nodded, "Yes, but the enemy will still pursue the two heavily damaged South Dakota-class, as long as we don't fight to block ......"

"Ulla!"

The "party meeting" of the two was interrupted by a sudden cheer, and Bulganin and Kuznetsov hurried back to the command tower.

"Comrade Commander, Comrade Political Commissar, our Soviet Belorussia hit a Nazi Hindenburg-class ship and set it on fire!"

Gorshkov, the captain of the USS Soviet, saw the two men returning and immediately reported the situation to them.

"Where's the hit?"

"It was supposed to be the deck of a seaplane, which could have lit the powder magazine of the catapult and caused a fire."

It's not a big deal. Kuznetsov nodded, raised his binoculars and began to watch the battle.

At this time, the distance between the two formations was close to less than 25,000 meters, and the two formations of the European Combined Fleet seemed to be combined, and with the help of the light of the fire and flares, Kuznetsov faintly saw 10-11 battleships. Sure enough, these battleships aimed their guns at the two American South Dakota-class, and they fired straddle shots one after another!

The current situation on the battlefield is about 54 406mm guns bombarding one Hindenburg-class, and more than 70 406mm and 380mm (381mm) cannons are bombarding two South Dakota.

Moreover, the formation of the European Combined Fleet was significantly faster than that of the US-Soviet formation! It was at least 7-8 knots faster (because the Massachusetts had been hit by the Bismarck before, the steam pipes were badly damaged, and now they have not been fully repaired and can only maintain a speed of 20 knots), which was very detrimental to the American and Soviet formations.

On December 10, at 00:15, the German battleship Ludendorff was again hit by a shell fired by the Soviets, this time the shell penetrated the Ludendorff's port waterline armor, but it did not explode due to a faulty fuse.

Ten seconds later, a 406mm shell from the Ludendorff hit the bow of the USS Alabama, exploding in the sailor's cabin and causing a fire. Subsequently, the Hindenburg's 406mm cannon also hit the aft deck of the Massachusetts, smashing a large hole, and the shell exploded under the aft deck, causing a fire.

The fact that the two American battleships were shot one after another means that the correction of the opponent's shells has been completed, and it is now up to us whether the Ludendorff fell first, or whether the two South Dakota ships were heavily damaged first. (To be continued.) )