The Rise of the Third Reich

2 minutes and 20 seconds.

Whether it is the World War II that has been going on for five years or the long life of US Navy Admiral Halsey, it is so short that it can be ignored.

But the short period of time between 4:46 pm and 4:48:20 pm on September 6, 1944, for Halsey and the American naval officers and soldiers who participated in the Battle of Bermuda with Halsey , but it will be unforgettable for a lifetime...if their lives did not end in this sea battle.

"Smoke, let the destroyer cast smoke!"

At 4:47:10 in the afternoon, when the first fatal Reaper 2 missile had been flying in the air for 1 minute and 10 seconds, only one of the stunned staff around Halsey reacted.

"Quick, quick, quick, smoke!" Halsey yelled urgently.

In fact, without his order, the nine Fletcher-class destroyers guarding the nine battleships had already started letting off smoke. But smoking also has a process. How much smoke can be smoked in just over a minute?

"Evade! Avoid! Avoid quickly!"

"All anti-aircraft guns fire! Fire quickly!"

"Jammer... turn on the jammer!"

Various measures to deal with missiles were automatically taken based on the orders that had been issued long ago. The nine battleships on the sea suddenly accelerated and began to take an S-shaped evasive route. All the anti-aircraft artillery on the ships fired rumbles. It doesn't matter where the missile is, it's good to shoot first and then be brave.

Then there are so-called electronic jammers—radio devices that emit jamming signals. But it is definitely useless, because the Americans have no idea what frequency the "Reaper" 2 missile uses, and the "Reaper" 2 missile system also has frequency hopping communication technology. However, the U.S. Navy still purchased many such useless jamming devices and installed them on every warship.

And just as the U.S. Navy officers and soldiers were hurriedly adopting various basically futile means to fight against the death missiles, just 2 minutes and 20 seconds had ended!

The first Reaper 2 missile launched from the Gneisenau had swooped down from an altitude of more than 1,000 meters, broke through the dense fire network of anti-aircraft fire, and slammed into the top of the A turret of the battleship Missouri.

Huge, solid, and majestic, with three destructive 406mm cannons and a turret with 184mm (top) armor. Under the impact of this 2-ton missile, it was as fragile as an egg shell. The missile instantly collapsed. It broke through the shell and then exploded inside the turret, turning the entire turret into a dazzling fireball. The entire battleship was stepped on by a giant, and the bow of the ship sank violently, but before it could bounce out of the water, a second fatal blow followed.

What was hit this time was the bow deck of the battleship Missouri, which had little armor protection. It penetrated through several 40mm anti-aircraft gun turrets installed at the bow of the ship, passed through several decks in a row, and broke through until it was close to There was a big explosion at the bottom of the ship, which almost blew the entire interior of the Missouri's bow to pieces. It also ignited many miscellaneous things, and the fire began to burn blazingly.

Immediately afterwards, the third missile hit the stern of the USS Missouri. The missile still penetrated from an altitude of more than 1,000 meters. The armored deck on the stern of the USS Missouri also could not withstand the impact of the missile. This was a big guy weighing more than 2 tons! How could it be blocked with a steel plate of more than 100 millimeters?

The missile equipped with an armor-piercing warhead directly drilled into a power section of the battleship and exploded there. The huge explosion power directly destroyed the boiler room and engine room of the entire power section, and also caused a fire, causing the battleship to completely lose four parts. One part is about power - the layout of the Iowa-class power cabin is very reasonable. It is divided into four independent cabins. The two boilers and one turbine in each cabin also have their own cabins, even if one cabin is The engines and boilers were blown up, and the battleship only lost a quarter of its power.

But the Missouri's misfortune was not over yet. At 4:50 in the afternoon, the fourth Reaper 2 missile hit the Missouri. This time it was the huge B turret that was hit. The tragedy of turret A was immediately repeated in turret B. The turret was blown up instantly like paper. A huge fireball rose and the fire burned fiercely, turning the bow of the Missouri into a sea of ​​flames.

In just over a minute, the huge battleship with a standard displacement of nearly 45,000 tons was hit by four death missiles in succession! The two main gun turrets on the bow of the ship were completely blown away, the bow of the ship was almost blown to pieces, and a power section on the stern of the ship was completely destroyed. The fire spread in the power sections on the bow and stern of the ship, and it seemed that it was out of control.

Moreover, four consecutive huge explosions and vibrations caused damage and fractures to the pipes and lines on the battleship. Failures also appeared everywhere, either steam leaks or short circuits and fires, which caused huge difficulties in the damage control work. !

In just over a minute, it was not just the USS Missouri that suffered. Its sister ship, the USS Wisconsin, was also hit by four Reaper missiles weighing more than 2 tons, and they also caused serious damage!

The main gun turret on the stern of the USS Wisconsin was blown to an unknown location, and the bridge was also blown to pieces, with twisted and charred metal everywhere. There was also a mess between the two chimneys, and a raging fire broke out. The B turret on the bow of the ship was also blown away, and the fire also spread to the bow of the ship.

Obviously, these two "Iowa" class battleships have suffered heavy damage and lost most of their combat effectiveness!

"Oh my God! Oh my God..." Admiral Halsey on the Iowa was trembling all over, with veins bulging on his forehead and bloodshot eyes.

Halsey, who was full of pride a few minutes ago and was ready to annihilate the German fleet and become a hero of America and the free world, suddenly found that the fleet he led was weak and pitiful in front of the Germans.

Those battleships with huge cannons and thick steel armor, when facing the missile attacks that the Germans gradually matured, turned out to be like wooden sailing battleships encountering ironclad ships for the first time, vulnerable!

The king of an era, when facing the deadly weapons of the new era, is as weak as an unarmed child.

The U.S. Navy is now an unarmed child! It can no longer bear the important mission of protecting the United States!

"Admiral!" I don't know who shouted in a trembling, screaming voice, "They are coming again!"

"They?" Halsey, whose mind was blank, didn't understand what was going on.

"Missiles! American missiles are coming again!"

Halsey and the people in the Iowa's command tower all looked in the direction of the German fleet, and then they desperately discovered that about 20 "demons" with flames and thick smoke appeared in the sky, whistling towards them!

Really coming again? And they are coming in groups, are they going to let people live?

Boom...

Just as everyone was in despair and shock, the stern deck of the "Iowa" battleship was suddenly hit by a "Reaper" 2 missile! The huge hull shook violently, and everyone in the command tower could not stand. Halsey also fell to the ground, and his head didn't know where he hit it, and he saw stars.

But before he struggled to get up, the Iowa was hit for the second time. This time the shaking was even more severe, and it was as if there was an 8-magnitude earthquake in the command tower. Then as usual, there was the third, fourth... and fifth "earthquake".

Halsey and most of the people in the command tower lay on the floor, holding their heads with their hands to spend more than a minute of the most difficult time in their lives. They didn't look like naval officers who were gentlemanly, but like a group of army cannon fodder squatting in the trenches.

When the disaster was over temporarily and everyone barely stood up, bad news came from the telephone in the command tower.

"Admiral, the stern was hit by two bullets, a power compartment was completely destroyed, and a fire broke out. Another missile blew through the bottom of the ship, and the stern is taking in water quickly!"

"The bow A turret was blown up, and the fire spread, which was difficult to control!"

"The seaplane deck in the middle of the ship was hit, causing a fire..."

"The starboard side of the ship was hit, destroying a 127mm anti-aircraft gun turret, and the ammunition exploded, causing a fire!"

After a series of bad news, the captain, Colonel John McCrae, called from the navigation bridge.

"Commander, the battleship Iowa has been severely damaged. Please change the flagship!"

"Change the flagship..." Halsey certainly knew what this meant!

The Iowa was finished!

After the Missouri and Wisconsin were severely damaged and basically lost their combat effectiveness, the Iowa also became a victim of the powerful German missiles.

"Which battleship can serve as the flagship now?" Halsey asked in a trembling voice.

"New Jersey... Oh, God, the New Jersey is sinking!" Rear Admiral Callahan's painful voice came over.

Halsey turned his head and saw that the bow of the battleship New Jersey had disappeared, the hull plunged into the sea, the stern was raised high, and the propeller and rudder were exposed above the water!

The ammunition depot must have exploded and the bow was blown off! Halsey thought: I should have chosen the New Jersey as the flagship...

"Admiral, let's choose the Washington," Callahan suggested, "Let the Washington come over."

Halsey shook his head, "No, let the Washington retreat! Disband the formation now... Retreat, retreat immediately!

We have already lost 4 of our best battleships, and we must not lose another 5, otherwise the Caribbean will fall into the hands of Germany, and we, the United States, will be defeated!"