"This is the end of the age on which the sun never sets!" The Anglo-German war not only attracted the attention of many high-level countries, but also attracted the attention of many news media. Compared with the euphemistic tone of the British reporter, an American reporter was obviously not so subtle, and directly stabbed the results into his newspaper, and even accompanied three photos of the sunken ship to prove the decline of the powerful navy of the empire on which the sun never sets.

A number of media outlets with a keen sense of smell rushed to the Skagerrak Strait, where the two sides were fighting, at dusk on March 31, to record the earliest news reports of the fighting.

As the evening of the 31st approached, the first battle at sea between the two sides did not end, but became more and more intense.

March 31 is February 15 of the lunar calendar, and the moon is in the sky above the sea frontier, which is very suitable for night battles.

It's just that because the smoke of the war and the black smoke dragged out of the battleship's chimney have long obscured the clouds and the moon, many targets are difficult to reach with the naked eye.

However, this time is no longer the past, and the main fleets of both sides are basically newly equipped with radars.

Of course, performance varies. In general, the newly installed 281 anti-aircraft radar and other radar equipment on the main warships of the British are the crystallization of British science and technology, and have the level of mid-World War II. But the German H-class battleships they faced were equipped with British and American products of late World War II level provided by the base, and even the Tirpitz was modified with the Type 279 air search sea fire control radar and the Type 272 sea search radar.

It is one level higher than that of the British entry, which also makes the German warships more sharp.

In particular, the two British-infused Yamato-class battleships against the two German-class battleships were struggling to fight, and as night fell, they were already covered in bruises. But with the small strong body of the Yamato, he still carried it hard.

The British had already seen that something was wrong, and at this time, except for one Yamato-class battleship that was dragged behind and withstood the bombardment of two Bismarck-class battleships, the other main battleships had already begun to move westward to help break through. Even the fighters on the aircraft carrier took advantage of the hazy moonlight to take off, looking for the possibility of attacking the enemy.

By the time the two Bismarck-class battleships turned back, the mortally wounded battleship King George V could no longer keep up with the breakthrough. The ship's crew received the order to evacuate, and waited in tears as the two suicide torpedoes fired from the Hoggins Heavy Cruiser pierced George V's faltering body and sent him to the bottom of the sea.

The fate of history began to turn here after the sinking of the Hood.

Although the Bismarck had already received three bombs and two shellings, and even a 460-mm explosion from Yamato near the sea tore through the armor on the port side, it still bounced after the butt of the Yamato-class battleship on the 1st.

It can be seen from this that super battleships are all small and strong physiques.

The broken Yamato, which was also hit by four shells, straddled in front of the two Bismarck-class ships on the 1st, and held out in the night with the help of other warships.

However, the battleships equipped with radar were not blindly fired at each other during World War I, and it may not have been successful for a night. In the intermittent battle on and off on the night of the 31st, the two Bismarck-class still harvested a battleship Ramilis, and the fellow Hawkins-class heavy cruiser Frobis was also killed by a heavy cannon hit by the Bismarck, at least more heroically than being sunk by the Noodle Army's motorboat.

In addition, after paying the price of one Z-class destroyer, two more British destroyers were gained.

Compared with Bismarck's results, the H-class results that came out of nowhere were even more brilliant.

The battleship South Africa, which sank at 2:13 a.m. on April 1, was undoubtedly a blockbuster.

The proud British were also reluctant to approve of the purchase of foreign warships, and did not name the Yamato-class they purchased after kings and marshals, but after the names of the colonies.

Against the two H41-class battleships were South Africa and the Middle East, and the broken back was India.

However, after receiving three 52-diameter 420 mm main gun shells from the H-class battleship, the South Africa slowly sank into the icy sea water amid the sound of the ammunition depot under the No. 2 turret.

Just as the Boer War in South Africa began to decline the foundations of the British Empire, the sinking of the South Africa also shook the image of the British Empire's navy. An hour later, another of the lagging Revenge-class battleships, the Resolve, also sank to the bottom of the sea with two main gun shells from the H-class battleships.

However, in the midst of the chaotic battle, the British Swordfish made another meritorious service, taking advantage of the darkness of the night to take off from the Swordfish planes from the Brilliance to the sea and send torpedoes into a German Bavaria-class battleship that rushed to support.

This old battleship of World War I, which made Meng Xiang to make a fortune, was re-named Württemberg after being modernized, but it only damaged a London-class heavy cruiser Sussex, and before it could add to the icing on the cake, it was successfully attacked. In the case of a complete loss of power, facing two large holes that could not be blocked underwater, he could only abandon the ship.

The torpedoes fired by the British incoming ships also sank two German destroyers in the darkness of the night. In order to avoid hand damage to the main battleship, sometimes it is necessary to need frigates to block the eye.

Of course, in the night, the torpedoes dragged the waterline, and in the face of the warships of the two sides that were sometimes mixed together, there were often accidental injuries.

The Newcastle, which entered the Southampton-class light cruiser, was unfortunately accidentally hit by a torpedo fired by the Kenya of the Fiji-class light cruiser, resulting in its sinking.

However, the Fiji-class Fiji did not escape the doom of sinking, and was sent directly to the bottom of the sea by a 500-kilogram bomb from the J7C that took off from the aircraft carrier USS Zeppelin, an H-class battleship.

Overnight, the odds of victory were tilted.

When dawn came, the British received the latest information that a German ship allegedly shelling Leningrad had reached the vicinity of Gothenburg in Sweden and was approaching the Skagerrak Strait. On the other hand, another German Yamato-class ship, which was said to have been damaged and repaired in France, also led a formation into the Ingurette Strait, but the goal was not to support Bismarck at a distance, but probably directly to the British mainland.

At the same time, the two Scharnhorst-class battle cruisers blocking the sea transport line also moved closer to Northern Ireland. At this time, the resistance groups in Northern Ireland became more and more intense, and the British ** team stationed there was difficult to protect.

A series of developments forced the British top brass to decide to end the failed hunt as soon as possible, withdraw the main force, and defend the homeland.

"Full speed out!" When Admiral Tovey gave the order, his mouth was filled with bitter taste.

At night, he also planned to use the advanced radar technology of Britain and the advantage of many ships to fight a night battle against defeat and victory.

It's a pity that Germany's performance gave him a blow to the head, even if the damage of the destroyer was basically equal on both sides, and even Germany suffered a loss, losing one more point to 4 to 3. The cruiser was 3 to 4, Germany had the advantage, and Britain could barely accept it, and it didn't care much. But the 5-1 victory of the main battleship was really a big loss for Britain.

The Hood sank, King George V sank, Ramillis and Resolve also sank, and more importantly, the powerful Yamato-class sank for the first time, and the sinking of the South Africa made Chugur settle down and directly gave the order to evacuate.

But the evacuation was not so easy, and if it was evacuated at night, the British would have a better chance of entering, but with the dawn and the perseverance of the German battleships, the losses would have been greater.

More media rushed to the vicinity of Skagerrak on April 1 to record the tragic defeat of the British Empire warships.

The aircraft carrier Indomitable, which was the first to withdraw into the Skagerrak Strait, was blocked by the fleet sent by the German mainland because it was withdrawn to the east.

At this time, Goering also remembered to take advantage of the fire, and at the airfield near the Danish and Norwegian Straits, the Luftwaffe dispatched more than 200 warplanes, and the Indomitable bore the brunt, and after six hours of continuous bombing, it groaned and sank.

The India, which continued to serve as a post-mortem mission, had no good luck this time, and when it passed through the artillery blockade line of the H-class battleship, it was hit by the main gun of the H-class battleship, and in the sound of martyrdom, the power was lost, and in the torpedo siege of a group of German destroyers, it held out until the evening of April 1, and finally turned into the bottom of the sea at an angle.

The second Yamato-class supership sank.

But its counterattack was sharp, and the Tirpitz bow was instantly paralyzed by a 460-mm heavy artillery bombardment. Prince Eugen's deck was also bombarded by two Yamato-class 155 triple secondary guns, and he was in disarray.

It should be said that the Yamato-class attack was strong on the 1st.

It was when the German Pocket Battleship intercepted the Middle East in this battle that it was hit by a direct hit by 460 mm naval guns, and after being martyred, it only lasted an hour before sinking.

This is also the second bringeable result that Britain has entered this campaign. But they lost even more, and finally paid the price of two old battleships again in the retreat, and finally swallowed the bitter fruit of the loss of the main battleship 8 to 2.