The two fleets approached quickly, perhaps the god of war needed sacrifices, and the two fleets, which had a small probability of meeting, finally met together, of course, the so-called encounter did not mean that the two sides had entered the visual distance, but that the two sides had electromagnetic contact. The British, relying on better radar, spotted the German fleet sailing in almost the same direction at a distance of 18 nautical miles, and although the Germans did not respond to the radar, the radio receiver received the radar signal of the other side. Although it is not possible to determine the specific orientation and angle. But the Germans were also clearly aware of the fact that a flotilla was coming in the distance. is constantly hammering itself with radar!

Both sides are sailing at high speeds, and in this case, based on the relative distance changes between the sides, an experienced commander can determine the approximate speed and course of both sides. You know, at this time, Kutch's fleet speed is as high as 28 knots, and the relative displacement between the other party and himself has not changed much, which shows that the other party's speed is also very high, except for warships and super cruise ships, it is difficult for Kuqi to imagine which civilian ship can have such a high speed, and it is a bunch of civilian ships walking together! It can't be the French Navy, then the only possibility can only be the adversary! In this case, it can be determined without identifying friend or foe.

And for the same reason, the Germans also determined the identity of the other party, and there will be no outsiders here. Then it can only be the enemy! Looking at the time, it is now about 6 o'clock in the afternoon, under the heavy rain and heavy clouds, the visibility is very low, not to mention that the other side is 18 nautical miles away, even if the two sides are 15 kilometers apart, they still cannot detect the opponent through optical equipment.

However, thanks to advanced radar, the British could clearly know where the opponent was, while the Germans had to get within 15 nautical miles of their opponent if they wanted to spot their opponent. And even more tragic is that the Germans' radars are more prone to jamming, and their stability is somewhat worse than that of the British. With the help of Xu Jie, a traverser plug-in, the British developed the magnetron early. And it has been put into practical use. So it is quite normal for the radar performance to be a cut above the Germans. And now, Kutch, who has mastered the perceived advantage, is thinking about how to turn it into a tactical advantage!

Long before he made contact with the Germans, Kutch and Major Zhang Yunchu, commander of the Huaxia destroyer fleet, had already communicated about a possible night battle. Both sides agreed that the probability of the other side sending battleships was as high as 60% or more. If it ran into a battleship, even in the best of engagement, the cruiser's 10-inch guns could hardly pose a lethal threat to an old battleship. What's more, the other side definitely has more large warships than ours. Even if you start to have an early move, you will quickly be overwhelmed by the opponent's numerical superiority. To put it simply, you can't win this war by relying on artillery alone.

And Zhang Yunchu also understood this situation, and the fundamental reason why he continued to insist on fighting was his trust in the oxygen torpedo. "Just give us a chance to get close to a distance of about 7 kilometres. We have a chance to wreak havoc on our opponents. Zhang Yunchu's sworn assurances made Kuqi also loosen up a little. It's an opportunity, an opportunity to be able to wreak havoc on the opponent. Although the British Royal Navy was repeatedly defeated in the 1 World War. But the setbacks that followed the defeat did not dampen the fighting spirit of the officers and men of the Royal Navy. The Royal Navy, which has risen since the Drake era, has not experienced failure, and the younger generations of the Royal Navy will only become more and more courageous, and will never let go of any opportunity to take the initiative, since even the Huaxia Navy wants to give it a try. Then the British, naturally, have no reason to refuse.

"The Germans also have radars, and once the distance is close to about 15 kilometers, your two large cruisers will definitely not be able to hide. But our destroyers can try, and the other side is just as incapable of radar-guided artillery fire as we are, so even if they detect us, they will only use flares to assist in attacking the nearest and most threatening target. Zhang Yunchu pointed his finger at Kuqi and said. Our destroyers have a speed of up to more than 35 knots. It can sail 1 kilometer per minute, and the speed of the artillery battle between the two sides will not be very high, even if we are close to 1 kilometer in 3 minutes, then it will take about 15 minutes to approach from 12 kilometers away to the lightning strike distance. Can you provide it? ”

"Isn't it? Using the capital ship as bait? Colonel Couch's eyelids jumped. This plan did not feel very reliable to him. Because in the Royal Navy, destroyers have always only given capital ships a chance to drag on time. But for the sake of the face of the 9-meter-long extra-large torpedo on the opposing destroyer. Kuchi still wanted to give it a try. So in the end, Kutch nodded.

"Also, if you can, I hope you can suppress the other party's destroyers by the way. These extremely fast guys are also a threat to us. It would be nice if you could entice them to strike at you. Zhang Yunchu added.

"So let's do it, let's keep a certain distance directly, about 3 kilometers, and once the war starts, you can choose to act autonomously, and we will only hold out for 20 minutes. After this period of time, we will withdraw from the battlefield regardless of the outcome of the battle. The large-caliber guns of the battleships were no joke. Kutch said.

"Can't you still be sure of the other party's location?" Major General Paro asked anxiously, while the radar operator next to him shook his head helplessly. The Germans knew they were being targeted. But where the other party is and what the composition of the fleet is, he has no way of knowing. Radar warning devices do not provide lateral and ranging capabilities. This annoyed him. If the opponent uses a small fleet to target themselves and let the capital ship attack the convoy. That's bad. But what he didn't expect was that the British actually hit him with the idea!

At this time, the fleets of both sides were sailing almost parallel to the northwest, with the German fleet moving a little slower, about 27 knots, and the British fleet being faster, about 30 knots. When night finally fell and the entire sea was pitch black, Kutch knew it was time to make a move, and if he could get rid of his opponent as soon as possible, then maybe there would be a chance to block the German Navy's transport fleet.

Soon, two heavy cruisers turned 1 compass point to the right in an attempt to cut the German fleet crosswise. If it weren't for the fact that the speed of the destroyer could not reach the maximum speed due to the somewhat strong wind and waves, the Kuch could have increased the speed to 32 knots. As the course changed, the distance between the two sides began to close rapidly. The bow of the ship, like a long knife, slashed through the icy sea, crushing the waves. The atmosphere of slaughter before the great war enveloped the entire fleet.

"The other side is northwest of our fleet, and they are trying to cut us sideways." Major General Paro's wait finally came to fruition, and from the radar's display, they could spot a faint point of light in the distance. At this time, the distance between the two sides was about 10 nautical miles, and if it was during the day, the two sides would have already started shelling. Maybe you can get results. But now, Paro can only sense the position of his opponent, but cannot attack.

"We've been discovered." Almost at the same time, Couch also knew that he was being spotted by the other party's radar. However, he was not in a hurry, as long as he did not get close enough to release the flares, then he and his fleet were safe. He's luring his opponent closer to him!

At this time, the German fleet, having discovered the target, rushed to the target like a group of sharks smelling blood, and the speed of the entire fleet increased to 30 knots. The Kings took the lead, followed by two cruisers, and 4 destroyers broke away from the fleet, ready to fire flares and prepare for lightning strikes. The direct distance between the two sides quickly narrowed, and a great battle was imminent, and to Paro's surprise, there was a group of deadly vipers hiding in the waves not far from the British fleet.

"The battleships behind should pay attention to control the speed, we have to act like a little!" Kutch wiped a cold sweat and said, going around in circles with the battleship at such a close distance can be described as dancing on the tip of a knife. The distance between the two sides was already close to about 12 kilometers, and the German destroyers were closer. They can already fire flares from naval guns. At Kutch's orders, the two heavy cruisers began to turn, making a gesture of trying to break away at high speed, and if they turned in the wind and waves, the speed of the ship would inevitably decrease, and this gave the Germans a chance. An opportunity to get closer.

The power of the German destroyer is still quite good, and it is enough to drive at a high speed of more than 37 knots when the sea conditions are not very good. Taking advantage of the turn of the Kutch fleet, the four German destroyers quickly approached the target to about 6 kilometers, and then began to fire flares from the ship's guns.

Dazzling balls of light rise in the air and then slowly fall to the surface of the sea under the action of parachutes, in the light of tens of thousands of candles (a unit of optics. Under the light. Two huge figures emerged from the night, and the two British cruisers, seeing that the situation was not good, immediately opened fire with their naval guns on the German destroyers patrolling around them. However, due to poor visibility and steering, the two cruisers did not hit in the first round of fire, and shells from the thick barrels fell around the destroyers. Columns of water dozens of meters high were splashed.

Paro seized this rare opportunity, and the battleship King and the two heavy cruisers began to fire, and the huge vibration of the cannon as it was fired spread through the hull to the entire hull, and the powerful energy generated by the new propellant propellant pushed the shells out of the barrel at a very high speed, and the huge muzzle storm swept across the sea. Palau is not a veteran of World War 1. Experiencing a naval battle for the first time made him extremely excited. The entire fleet began to correct the trajectory with a half-salvo, hoping to catch the target as soon as possible. Clusters of orange flames appeared on the pitch-black sea. Even these battleships have not turned on their searchlights. But by this time their location had been completely exposed.

"Damn, the loud vibrations are causing problems with the radar!" At this moment, the rather disheartening news came that the radar antenna at the top of the mast had failed due to the vibration of the artillery fire and the muzzle storm. And as a flagship, after losing its radar, Paro can only rely on the radar of friendly ships. However, at this time, it is relatively close to the opponent, and with the help of the destroyer, Paro's three battleships can already bite the opponent! At this time, Paro's attention was completely attracted by the heavy cruiser in the distance, perhaps he had forgotten that the other party might still have destroyers, and at this time, the four destroyers commanded by Zhang Yunchu began to accelerate and sail towards the German fleet at high speed.

"Release the smoke immediately!" The Germans' gunnery was as superb as ever, and in less than three minutes, relying on the high rate of fire and the guidance of the destroyers, the heavy cruiser Frankfurt had completed the collapse of the fire, and a near-miss shot entered the water less than 5 meters from the sidechord of the cruiser Tabrisman. Debris and high-temperature and high-pressure bubbles from the explosion squeezed the heavy cruiser's hull and caused local flooding.

The two heavy cruisers used secondary guns and machine guns to drive away the surrounding destroyers while releasing smoke, and the nine 10-inch main guns also tried to suppress the German fleet in the distance, but it was obviously difficult to rely solely on optical instruments to capture the flashes of the opponent's guns to confirm the opponent's position. Nine guns fired constantly, but went without forming a break. If you look at the current situation, the situation of the battle can be described as completely one-sided, and the probability of leaving two heavy cruisers behind is still very high.

"Mr. Lieutenant Colonel, a high-speed object is approaching at 10 o'clock!" Just when Paro's mind was hot and chasing after the opponent, the radar crew of the cruiser Frankfurt at the tail of the fleet finally spotted the Huaxia lightning strike formation approaching at high speed. At this time, the distance between the two sides was about 10 kilometers, and the searchlight could not shine that far, so the captain of the ship, Langsdorf, immediately decided to fire flares at the target area. At the same time, he sent a telegram to Paro to tell him to pay attention to the destroyer of the other side.

Maybe it's because of concern, a short telegram can't tell the other party's situation clearly, and the battleship King without radar can't find a 10-kilometer Huaxia destroyer at all! When a person is in the dark, what he needs most is a beam of light. Plus in the pre-war plans, there would be the King to provide searchlights. So almost immediately after receiving the telegram from Langsdorf, Paro ordered the King to turn on the searchlight to search for the incoming destroyer.

Brushing brushes, the pillars of light emitted by several high-powered searchlights constantly swept back and forth on the sea surface. But alas, no target was found. At this time, Zhang Yunchu, who was launching a lightning strike with a destroyer, had already discovered the King through the other party's searchlight, although Zhang Yunchu's destroyer also had radar, but it was impossible to distinguish the type of the other party's three warships. Judging by the dimensions, the length of all three battleships was in the early 200 meters. It's not the same as the superstructure. So the radar reflection area is almost the same. So it was impossible to distinguish which one was a battleship and which one was a cruiser, and Zhang Yunchu was still nervous about attacking that battleship, but he waited until the King's searchlight was turned on. More conspicuous than the dawn star, who will you hit if you don't hit at this time?

Thanks to the book friend zhouyu1976 for the tip~~~, and the book friend zsuzm for the monthly pass support ~~~. (To be continued.) )