Chapter 1261

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The battleship "King" of the German fleet and the battleship "Ki" of the island fleet became the key targets of the attacks of both sides, and all the shells were aimed at them. Under such circumstances, no matter how powerful the battleship is, it cannot resist it. At this time, the fight is luck, and the bet is character.

"Boom! Boom!"

Two consecutive 380mm shells hit the battleship 'Ki'. A shell hit the midship of the battleship 'Ki', destroying the No. 3 main turret, and reducing the firepower of the battleship 'Ki' by one-fifth again.

Another shell hit the side of the battleship 'Ki', with only 292 mm of side armor, it was completely vulnerable to a 380 mm shell and was easily penetrated. Moreover, the location where it was hit was just near the waterline, and a big hole was blown out. Sea water began to pour into the battleship.

"General, No. 3 main battery turret has been destroyed. In addition, a hole was blown out on the port side, and damage control is underway!" Colonel Fukushige reported.

Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo's expression suddenly became even uglier. In addition to the loss of the No. 5 main turret, they have already lost two main turrets, and the firepower of the battleship has dropped by a full 40%.

"Damn! Are we really going to lose this battle? Order the damage control and plug the loopholes. As long as you are not sunk, you must persevere!" Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo ordered.

Now they have only four battleships against the eight battleships of the German fleet, and they are already at an absolute disadvantage in terms of numbers. If the battleship "Ki" is sunk again, it will be three to eight. At that time, they will be even more unable to defeat the German fleet.

"Hey, general. However, the general should evacuate the 'Ki' first, retreat to the 'Suruga' or 'Omi' to command the battle. It is too dangerous to stay on the 'Ki'!" Fukuru Shigeru Da Zuo suggested.

The current battleship "Ki" has been greatly traumatized because of being hit one after another. If it continues to be hit in the next battle, it will most likely be sunk. It can even be asserted that if the battle continues, the battleship 'Ki' may be sunk in a short time. Therefore, it is better for Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo and others to evacuate as soon as possible.

Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo frowned. Of course he didn't want to die if he could. However, he did not want to lose this naval battle.

"It's too early to evacuate now! Keep fighting! If the 'Ki' is destined to sink, I will evacuate!" Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo said. Although sinking with the ship would be a high honor, he still had to continue to command the fleet to fight.

Fukushige nodded and said nothing more.

"Let the 'Tosa' come as soon as possible." Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo said. If the battleship 'Tosa' could arrive as soon as possible, they would add a powerful combat force, and perhaps they would not be defeated so quickly.

However, the speed of the "Tosa" battleship is three knots slower than that of the "Ki-class" battleship, and it will take a while to arrive.

"Boom! Boom!"

The luck of the German fleet seemed to have run out in the previous naval battle. During this round of salvo by the island nation's fleet, two shells actually hit the battleship 'King'.

A shell hit the side of the battleship 'King'. Although the waterline armor was as thick as 350 mm, perhaps because of the long service time, the defense power had dropped a bit. The shell that could not resist the island nation's fleet was actually pierced. What's more terrible is that the place where it was hit was located two meters below the waterline. After a big hole was blown here, the sea water suddenly poured into the battleship frantically.

Another shell hit the tail of the battleship 'King', not only blowing up the steering gear, blowing up a propeller, but also tearing a big hole. The sea water followed there, frantically pouring into the battleship.

"General, we have suffered heavy damage. The starboard side and stern of the ship have been heavily flooded. Although damage control is being carried out, it may be difficult to plug the loopholes." The captain of the battleship 'King' reported.

Lieutenant General Theodor Burchardy's face suddenly became very ugly. Are they finally going to pay their losses in this naval battle?

"General, evacuate the 'King'! The battle is still going on, and we still have an absolute advantage!" Major General Felix suggested.

Lieutenant General Theodor Burchardi nodded: "Okay, evacuate the 'King'. If it is really impossible to keep the 'King', I will allow you to abandon the ship and retreat!" Theodor Burchardi said the lieutenant general.

"Yes, General!" replied the captain of the battleship König.

Of course, they will try their best to rescue the battleship 'King', even if they lose all their combat power, as long as they can not sink, they may drive it back to a nearby port, and then tow it back to the mainland. With Germany's shipbuilding strength, it can be repaired soon.

Of course, if it is impossible, they will not insist. The German Navy attaches great importance to the lives of officers and soldiers. Losing equipment is not terrible, as long as the personnel can be kept, it is a victory.

Lieutenant General Theodor Burchardy and others evacuated the battleship 'King' and moved the command organization to the battleship 'Crown Prince'.

The rescue of the battleship 'King' lasted only ten minutes, and it was judged that the rescue was invalid. The captain gave the order to abandon the ship, and the others escaped in lifeboats in an orderly manner. The nearby destroyers also came to rescue them.

After the island fleet found that the 'King' was getting slower and slower and stopped firing, they all cheered. Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo yelled excitedly, as if they had won the naval battle.

However, less than five minutes after the battleship 'King' sank, the battleship 'Ki' was severely damaged. It was hit by two 380mm bombs one after another, and both of them tore big holes near the waterline.

A large amount of seawater poured into the battleship, and it was impossible to plug the loopholes. Even if the watertight compartment is closed, it still cannot prevent the battleship from tilting due to excessive water intake. Moreover, as the tilt becomes more and more severe, capsizing of the warship will be inevitable.

Perhaps this is the extreme joy begets sorrow!

With no alternative, Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo and others had no choice but to evacuate to the battleship 'Suruga' and continue fighting with this battleship as the flagship.