Who was electrocuted by 'generator' in Western Europe Campaign (six)?
Zhou Tianlei raised the periscope after it rose, brushed his white military cap with one hand, and put his eyes on the periscope to observe the battlefield. The other two submarines also raised their own periscopes to the sea surface.
Zhou Tianlei saw that the mainmast of the 'Hood' with the flagship flag had been beaten, and the shells it fired at the German fleet might be due to the destruction of precision observation instruments, which could no longer pose a threat to the German fleet. The No. 1 turret of the 'Bismarck' had been knocked out, but its other main guns continued to fire, and thick smoke was also rising from the 'Hipper Admiral' of the German Ocean Fleet, knowing that this warship was more troublesome. British destroyers were searching for loopholes in the German fleet on the periphery. Zhou Tianlei knew that his submarine squadron had to take action, only then could they shock these British people and make them surrender honestly. But which one should he board?
Zhou Tianlei calculated in his heart and felt that his submarine squadron must take action. However, the target could not be selected as 'Counterattack' because if it could be captured, the maintenance cost would be much lower than 'Hood'. Therefore, through communication sonar, he ordered Lu Ke's command submarine to solve this problem. He and another submarine remained on the periphery of the battlefield, observing the situation and deciding whether to join in according to the situation.
Lüke was very excited after receiving Zhou Tianlei's order, this is his own maiden voyage as a submarine commander, unlike the previous training, that was just shooting at targets, the target would not escape, would not dodge, and would not fight back. This is a living target, and it's the pride of the British Navy - the 'Hood' battlecruiser!
"He ordered: 'All hands on deck, dive to 150 meters, heading northwest 250, maintain one-quarter speed. We're going to kick the British in the butt.'"
Lucas dove to 150 meters in the submarine, listening to his deputy reporting navigation: "Five, four, three, two, one." "Turn northwest 250. Maintain speed at two-fifths."
The submarine commanded by Lüke was like a ferocious great white shark, and had already bared its terrifying fangs at the flagship of the British reinforcement fleet, 'Hood', ready to swallow its prey in one gulp.
Lütjens asked the sonar operator, "Where is the target now?" The sonar operator replied, "In our northwest direction, about 1200 to 1800 meters away." (Hehe, don't laugh, these Germans still haven't completely changed their old combat habits. They're not used to using sonar to capture targets. They still like to use periscopes to locate targets.)
Lüke hesitated for a moment, then decided to take the risk of being damaged by near-miss shells. He ordered: "Shut down the electric motor and let the submarine rise to periscope depth. Raise the periscope and observe." Then he jumped down from the conning tower and also used his hand to push back the white naval officer's cap on his head. His eyes were glued to the eyepiece of the periscope, observing his target - the British reinforcement fleet's flagship 'Hood'.
As he drew closer, he saw that the British reinforcement fleet's flagship, the battlecruiser "Hood", had been pounded into a thousand holes, its mainmast destroyed and its navigating bridge reduced to an unrecognizable mass of twisted wreckage.
While the combat bridge below the navigation bridge was protected by armor, and since the Germans didn't initially intend to destroy it, most of the shells fired were high-explosive, so it remained in good condition. However, on the outside, a 381mm shell had embedded itself in the rear, which appeared not to have exploded, or else those inside would have suffered (although unexploded, it still took many British sailors' lives).
But the rest of the structure was no better, the balconies outside the bridge had been blown to pieces by the blast wave, each one twisted and distorted like the navigation bridge above, with some areas even exposing internal structural components. On deck, only a few sailors could be seen futilely performing damage control under German naval gunfire, but no one could last more than 30 seconds on deck under the hail of German shrapnel. As one batch of sailors fell, another batch fearlessly came up to the deck to continue the work their comrades had been unable to complete.
But even so, it still hasn't lost its fighting power, the main and secondary guns on top are still firing continuously at the German High Seas Fleet, with flashes of flame in the smoke from the gunpowder. Although many of the shells it fired couldn't hit any of the German warships. Many shells fell into the sea without hitting a German ship after exhausting their kinetic energy, creating high water columns. However, this also forced the German surface ships not to dare to get too close, and could only counterattack from a distance with artillery fire (the 'Munich' battleship, the 'Gneisenau' battleship, and the 'Scharnhorst' battleship were still executing the orders of the German High Seas Fleet: as long as there was a possibility, they were not allowed to sink British warships, so that they could be captured, repaired, modified, and added to the German Navy's combat sequence. Therefore, these ships did not use armor-piercing shells against the flagship of the British reinforcement fleet 'Hood', otherwise it would have lost its fighting power long ago, let alone hold on until Lütjens arrived).
Luke was still thinking of continuing to observe when a shell suddenly fell into the sea less than 400 meters away from the periscope, scaring Luke to quickly retract the periscope. He ordered: "Emergency dive, emergency dive, crew prepare for collision." The submarine's main ballast tank roared as it frantically took in water, driving the submarine down rapidly. After 20 seconds, Luke did not hear the sound of the shell exploding. Only then did he put his heart back in his throat, and he finally understood why Zhou Tianlei had repeatedly emphasized to them during training that when commanding new submarines and main surface warships to cooperate in combat, they must fight quickly and decisively, and not stay at the attacking height for too long. It was to minimize the possibility of being hit and sunk by surface warship shells.
The entire submarine and the sailors inside narrowly escaped death, everyone felt like they had been to the gates of hell and back, enjoying the warmth of the sun once again.
"Luoke, now not dare to slack off, and ordered the submarine to float up to periscope depth. He asked the navigator again: "Now what is the target's position, speed, and course?" "Report to the officer, the target is in our northwest 230 degrees, heading southwest 30 degrees, speed 15 knots. About 6500 meters away from us."
"Torpedo launch bay 2. 4 torpedo tubes ready, wire-guided torpedoes loaded." "Report, torpedo loading complete." "Fire!" Luke gave the order with a fierce tone.
At this time, only the torpedo launch tube on the bow of the submarine emitted a large cluster of bubbles, and then two torpedoes that looked no different from the seawater suddenly emerged from the torpedo tube. After their engines started, the two torpedoes shot forward like rabbits with their tails on fire. However, there were still two very thin lines trailing behind them, as if they were newborn babies whose umbilical cords had not been cut yet.
In the submarine, the sonar soldier held the remote control of the wire-guided torpedo, trying to match the sounds he heard with the direction of the torpedo's advance. He only felt that time was passing so slowly, every minute and second seemed as long as a year or a month. When the torpedo was less than 500 meters away from the target, he suddenly took off his headphones and covered his ears with his fingers.
On the surface, the sailors and officers on board 'Munich', 'Gneisenau' and 'Scharnhorst' witnessed a scene they had seen before during the Norwegian campaign. The stern of the British reinforcement fleet's flagship, HMS Hood, suddenly sank, followed by an explosion that sent water columns tens of meters high into the air. The stern of HMS Hood was lifted high by the water column, then pulled back down to the surface by gravity, crashing heavily onto the water. Sailors on board who were trying to control damage and put out fires were caught off guard, thrown high into the air, some British sailors crashed onto the deck, while many more were mercilessly thrown into the sea.
What was even more astonishing was that when the British reinforcement fleet's flagship, the battlecruiser "Hood", was tossed up by the explosion of a torpedo, a stray shell that would not have hit the "Hood" otherwise, and was destined to be a dud, splashing high into the air, but the "Hood" happened to tilt a few degrees towards the shell as it was tossed up. The shell happily hit the deck of the "Hood", and a moment later, the sailors and officers on the German battleships "Munich", "Gneisenau", and "Scharnhorst" were astonished to see a huge flame erupting from the middle of the "Hood", followed by a deafening roar. Then, the middle part of the "Hood" was suddenly tossed high into the air again. In the process of being tossed up, the "Hood" seemed to have turned into a pair of scissors, with its bow and stern folding inwards towards the middle. After falling back onto the surface of the water, the sailors and officers on the German battleships saw that the "Hood" had been split into two parts, and not a single British sailor or officer was seen escaping from it. In less than one minute, the British reinforcement fleet's flagship "Hood", together with its commander Tom and his staff, as well as several hundred sailors on board, sank into the Atlantic Ocean.
The historical "Hood" battlecruiser was with the British King George V-class battleship "Prince of Wales" in 1941, in the North Atlantic, surrounding and attacking the German battleship "Bismarck" and the heavy cruiser "Prinz Eugen". When the German warship took the windward side, the commander of the "Hood" ordered a 20-degree turn to port to disrupt the German ships' aim and bring the aft guns to bear. At this time, the German battleship "Bismarck" fired an armor-piercing shell that hit the "Hood"'s magazine, causing a massive explosion that sank the ship.
The "Big Thumb Tom" mentioned here actually refers to the British King George V-class battleship "Prince of Wales", which was damaged during the pursuit of the German battleships "Bismarck" and "Prinz Eugen". After repairs, it joined the British battlecruiser "Repulse" in the Asian fleet and was sunk by Japanese torpedo bombers during the Battle of Singapore in 1942. Originally, this fleet was supposed to be accompanied by an aircraft carrier, but the assigned carrier ran aground off South Africa and could not join.
During the battle, "Big Thumb Tom" relied too heavily on radio silence, which meant that a squadron of "Buffalo"-style fighter planes prepared for him at the Singapore base did not know his position and were unable to provide air support. The planes and pilots waited in vain at the airport until the British battlecruiser "Repulse" broke radio silence due to the unfavorable situation on the battlefield, allowing the squadron to arrive. However, after flying for nearly an hour, they arrived at the battlefield only to find that the battle was already over, and all the pilots could do was circle around the wreckage of the "Prince of Wales" in mourning.
This battle not only thwarted British plans to defend Southeast Asian colonies from Japanese invasion but also demonstrated the simple truth that a fleet without air superiority cannot control the seas. The battle also marked the end of the golden age of battleships, and an era when a sea power could maintain maritime supremacy through battleships alone was gone forever. A major naval battle like the Battle of Jutland has not occurred since then, despite the fact that a large-scale naval battle between American and Japanese battleships almost broke out during the US recapture of the Philippines.
The sinking of the "Prince of Wales" and "Repulse" marked the end of an era in which the battleship was considered the dominant capital ship. The loss of these two ships, combined with the earlier sinking of the "Hood", led to a significant shift in naval strategy and tactics, as aircraft carriers became the new centerpieces of naval power.
While the British reinforcement fleet flagship, battlecruiser HMS Hood was under attack by a submarine commanded by Lt. Lukas, the 16th Destroyer Flotilla finally found a weak point in the German High Seas Fleet's gunfire and two British destroyers took advantage of it to penetrate, while others were blocked from following by German destroyers on outer patrol. A destroyer-to-destroyer naval battle broke out.
