Chapter 644 Air-launched Torpedoes
Major General Caves quickly raised his binoculars to follow the bomber circling in the air, but it had disappeared into the fog like a nimble seagull.
With a bad premonition, Major General Cavis ordered: "Pay attention to the bombers in the sky and shoot them down with machine guns!"
"Yes, General!"
Although the staff officer responded and passed on the order, he was still confused.
Reconnaissance planes are used to find the location of enemy fleets. After the enemy fleet is discovered, the reconnaissance planes are no longer effective. Is it wise to divert attention to deal with those reconnaissance planes at this time?
"Boom!" A loud noise.
Major General Cavis noticed that a cruiser on the flank burst out a column of water, and the next second its hull lost balance and circled in place, then fell weakly behind.
"General," the staff officer reported, "It's the Stettin, it's been hit by a torpedo!"
"Torpedoes?" Rear Admiral Caves raised his telescope and looked at the French fleet in the distance. "The enemy is at least 3 kilometers away from us. How can they launch torpedoes at this distance?"
At this time, the range of most torpedoes is within 2 kilometers, and even torpedoes with a range of 3 kilometers can hardly hit the target at this distance.
(Note: At this time, the speed of the torpedo is mostly within 40 knots. If the speed is not fast, it will form a waterline on the sea surface, and the ship often has time to dodge)
But soon, the signalman's response confirmed the matter.
"General." The signalman reported: "The Stettin reported that the torpedo was fired from an enemy ship. The Stettin made an emergency evasive move, but the enemy torpedo changed direction at the last moment and hit the ship."
"What?" Major General Cavis's face changed drastically: "The torpedo changed direction?"
The staff officer analyzed: "General, this may be a coincidence. The waves changed the direction of the torpedo and hit the Stettin."
Major General Cavis nodded slightly. This was the only explanation.
Otherwise, is it still a wire-guided torpedo?
That would be terrible if that were the case!
But soon another destroyer was hit by a torpedo.
Even more bizarre is that the destroyer's report was exactly the same as Stettin's: "Two torpedoes attacked at the same time. We evaded and dodged one, and the other changed direction and hit the hull."
Major General Caves looked ashen.
If this happened to just one warship, it could be considered a coincidence, but if this happened to two warships, one of which was a G101-type destroyer with a maximum speed of 33.5 knots.
(The picture above shows the German G101 destroyer)
The speed of this type of destroyer is even comparable to that of a torpedo, but it cannot avoid the attack of a torpedo?
No, this is not a coincidence.
This is most likely Charles' invention, a torpedo that can change direction in time to track enemy warships, a wire-guided torpedo!
Only then did Major General Caves understand why the French fleet dared to use cruisers and destroyers to confront the German fleet of three battlecruisers.
It's not them who should run away, but us!
However, what shocked Major General Cavis even more was what happened next.
The two bombers circled with their backs to the sun, lowered their altitude, and then made a nearly perfect arc to cut into the port side of the "Sedliffi" behind them at a vertical angle.
Major General Cavis raised his telescope and took a look. He was stunned for a long time without reacting.
The two bombers were carrying torpedoes under their bellies!
It was indeed a torpedo, he was not mistaken!
"Order the 'Sedliffi' to make an emergency evasive maneuver!" Major General Cavis almost shouted the order.
But it was too late.
The two bombers descended one after the other to a low altitude of about 20 meters, and then continued to approach the "Sedliffi".
The "Sedliffi" seemed to sense the danger and changed its course.
But the bomber did not drop its torpedo until it was about one kilometer close, then quickly rose high, with its belly almost touching the battlecruiser's mast. Major General Caves even saw that the flag on the mast was blown in the opposite direction by the strong wind from the plane.
Then, Major General Caves immediately turned his attention to the sea, where there were two white water lines rapidly approaching the "Sedliffi" like two sharks rushing towards their prey.
"It's a torpedo!" The sailors realized the danger and exclaimed: "God, am I seeing things? They actually dropped torpedoes from airplanes?"
The "Sedliffi" turned the rudder to the right to make an emergency evasive move, and a sailor who reacted quickly fired at the torpedo with a rifle.
But the time they had to react was too short. A minute later, two "booms" were heard, and the "Sedliffi" was paralyzed in place by two columns of water.
Soon, its hull began to tilt and even capsize.
The sailors didn't even have time to lower the lifeboat and could only jump into the water to escape amid screams and shouts.
The sailors on other warships were stunned by this scene. They finally realized the reality: the enemy could sink their battleships with planes, and their battleships did not even have decent anti-aircraft weapons.
"General!" The staff officer looked at Major General Cavis with fear in his eyes.
Major General Cavis understood what this meant. They should retreat now, otherwise the entire fleet would be destroyed.
Rear Admiral Cavis said nothing. He looked at the sky expressionlessly, then walked to the other side and observed for a while. He said in a deep voice, "They still have four bombers left. I noticed that each of their bombers can only carry one torpedo."
This means that the French only have 4 torpedoes left, so we still have a chance to win.
But the staff officer reminded: "General, this may just be one of their flying squadrons."
This meant that another squadron might be on its way or out of the ship's sight.
Major General Cavis gritted his teeth and said, "Order all units to avoid the torpedoes dropped by enemy bombers!"
"Yes, General." The staff officer reluctantly conveyed Major General Cavis' order.
Major General Caves was not unaware of the danger, he knew they should retreat now.
He ordered to continue fighting because he considered another problem:
If French bombers can carry torpedoes to attack warships, does that mean that British Caproni bombers can also do so?
In addition, there are torpedoes with a range of 3 kilometers and the ability to turn. Does the Royal Navy have them too?
If the answer is yes, then where could the German High Seas Fleet escape to?
To rot in the harbor forever?
No, never!
I would rather die here than wait until the last moment in the port!
Just as he was thinking about it, two more bombers descended to low altitude, and this time, their target was obviously the "Lützow".
"Full left rudder!" Major General Cavis ordered.
But the plane was too fast. In the blink of an eye, it dropped two torpedoes one after another, two terrifying water lines. They even grasped the lead time and approached the "Lützow" accurately...
(End of this chapter)
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