章 143: Chapter 221 Naval Battle (4)
Before and even after World War II, the battleship-centric ideology dominated naval thinking in almost all countries. Aircraft carriers and carrier-based aircraft were considered auxiliary tools for fleet decisive battles, rather than the main force.
As a result, the emphasis on anti-aircraft capabilities in naval vessels, including the United States, was limited. Until the Pearl Harbor attack, the primary anti-aircraft firepower on U.S. capital ships consisted of old-fashioned single-barrel 5-inch manually loaded guns, the urgently firing 28mm Chicago pianos, and 12.7mm machine guns, with a very limited quantity.
Despite undergoing two modernization refits, Warspite's anti-aircraft firepower had not changed significantly. The main anti-aircraft armament remained four octuple 40mm automatic pom-pom guns. The gun mounts operated in electric mode, controlled by a director, allowing synchronized movement to achieve maximum firepower concentration. Each gun had a massive ammunition box capable of holding 140 rounds, providing an incredible initial firepower. With continuous firing, it could last for 73 seconds.
At first glance, this setup seemed impressive, with eight barrels creating an impenetrable wall of firepower, right?
However, in reality, it was not quite so.
"Pom-pom" was just its colloquial name. The 40mm 39-caliber anti-aircraft gun, also known as the QF 2-pound MkVIII in military nomenclature, was what the pom-pom referred to.
40mm 39-caliber meant the length of the gun barrel was just over one and a half meters. In comparison, the renowned 40mm Bofors anti-aircraft gun had a 60-caliber barrel, almost twice as long as the pom-pom.
It's crucial to note that, regardless of the type of cannon, without considering the ammunition, only two factors determined its range and power: caliber and caliber length. The longer the gun barrel, the more favorable it was for the high-pressure gas inside the barrel to act on the projectile, resulting in a higher initial velocity and longer range.
With a barrel length of just over one and a half meters, the pom-pom naturally had a very deceiving initial velocity and an exceptionally erratic trajectory. The projectile had a large dispersion area, making it impossible to continuously and accurately track a target. Thus, the originally designed scheme of eight gun barrels firing alternately to maintain sustained firepower was canceled. To ensure hitting the target, they had to increase the firepower density delivered in a single firing. Quantity compensated for the lack of precision. The eight-barrel pom-pom turned into eight gun barrels simultaneously launching projectiles. Each gun barrel fired two rounds per second, creating only scattered volleys, unable to produce the intended barrage as initially envisioned in the design.
Moreover, after firing 140 rounds, it would be out of action and needed to be reloaded. Replenishing the ammunition box was not a task that could be accomplished in a matter of minutes. Therefore, the eight-barrel version required more than a dozen gunners, responsible for carrying ammunition, firing, communication, and reloading ammunition.
As for why the British used such a tricky anti-aircraft gun, firstly, there was limited emphasis on anti-aircraft capabilities, and secondly, during World War I, a large number of these types of ammunition were produced, totaling over a hundred million rounds. There simply wasn't enough money to replace them all.
However, Pullman Cook wasn't overly concerned. As a naval veteran who had experienced the previous World War, he didn't think these German naval aviators could bring any substantive harm to his fleet.
The ship beneath his feet was a battleship, with armor plates over ten centimeters thick below the deck. These armors were designed to ensure the safety of the warship during large-caliber artillery battles! Below that were numerous watertight compartments and steel bulkheads, protecting ammunition depots with reinforced armor. This warship could be described as a floating fortress on the sea—how could it be sunk by small carrier-based aircraft?
"Full speed ahead!" Now, all he wanted was to locate the German fleet and annihilate it completely! "Send a telegram to the mainland, dispatch reconnaissance planes to search for the German fleet's location."
In the sky, Wilhelm watched the British fleet change course, muttering in confusion, "Do they want to find our fleet?" This fleet commander must be deeply cunning! Their fleet is 200 kilometers away. Even if these British ships race at 30 knots, it would take them over three hours to catch up. Moreover, these guys don't have reconnaissance planes. How could they possibly find a fleet in the vast sea?
Just then, he noticed that many white smokes suddenly rose from the British warships below. Wondering what was happening, distant skies suddenly exploded with clusters of black clouds.
"!!" It turned out that the British fleet's anti-aircraft guns had started firing.
However, Wilhelm wasn't particularly afraid.
If it were battleship against battleship, he might genuinely be afraid. But now, it was a squadron against battleships. He knew how inefficient anti-aircraft guns were at the time. According to later statistics, during World War II, an 88mm gun, on average, shot down one aircraft every 8500 rounds. A 105mm gun needed 6000 rounds, and a 128mm gun required 4200 rounds to shoot down one aircraft. Because larger-caliber guns fired bigger projectiles, their explosions in the air had more significant power, providing better lethality against passing bombers.
Most importantly, there were no radio proximity fuzes for anti-aircraft large-caliber guns now. If he were unlucky enough to be hit by anti-aircraft fire, he probably wouldn't have survived until now.
"Attack initiated, target: Warspite!" The airborne commander issued the attack order. "Stuka Group A, Sea Otter Group A! Commence the attack!"
"Understood!"
"Received!"
With the roar of engines, four Stukas and five Fw 190Ts dived down, heading towards the largest ship below, the Warspite.
"Huh?" Why were there only four Stukas? Wilhelm patted Bazell's shoulder. "Bazell, which group are we in?" He had just heard that Bazell was Stuka No. 5, so that should be Group A, right? "Are we also in Group A? Why aren't you going down?"
Bazell was taken aback. "Your Highness, are you asking me to go down and attack? It's dangerous enough here; I can't afford to take further risks!"
"I'm ordering you now to dive immediately and drop bombs on that damn battleship! Otherwise, I'll judge you for cowardice on the spot!"
In everyday life, many people often hear or say the phrase "since you're here!" It seems like this sentence has become an inescapable curse.
Watching a boring and uninteresting movie halfway through, with the movie ticket still in hand and already feeling drowsy, one thinks, "Since you're here!" Even if the movie is terrible, you have to watch it to the end to justify the money spent on the ticket.
While traveling, standing in a long queue at a tourist attraction with crowds as far as the eye can see, one thinks, "Since you're here!" Even if the place is overcrowded, you still have to go in to justify the cost of the round-trip fare and accommodation.
Having invested irretrievable time and money, unwilling to accept that these efforts will go unrewarded, people make the same choice of forcing themselves to continue doing things they don't want to do.
And Wilhelm is currently caught in such a frenzy. Although he is unaware, this is still a battlefield. As an ordinary person on the battlefield for the first time, his adrenaline has already skyrocketed to the limit, causing him to completely forget what fear is. He can't wait to pilot the aircraft himself and dive down.
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