Chapter 616: Sinking

"Your Excellency, Captain, the hole is too big to be blocked at all. However, if the watertight compartment is closed, too much water will enter, causing the battleship to tilt." The officer in charge of damage control asked Gene? The captain of the battleship HMS Walter reported.

"Then what should we do?" The captain was also at a loss.

"Your Excellency, Captain, we can inject water to the port side. In this way, we can barely maintain the balance of the battleship. However, if it is attacked again, the battleship may only sink." The officer reported.

"Then why are you still standing there? Feel free to close the watertight compartment and fill the port side with water!" the captain shouted loudly.

A large amount of sea water poured into the battleship 'Gene Bart', causing the hull to tilt. In order to maintain the balance of the battleship, they had to flood the starboard side. However, this caused more and more water to enter the battleship, even exceeding the reserve buoyancy of the battleship.

The officers on the battleship 'Gene Barter' realized this when they discovered that the battleship was sinking.

"Bastard! We can't fill in any more water, the battleship is going to sink. Immediately use the motor to pump out the sea water." An officer shouted loudly.

But at this moment, the command on the battleship 'Gene Barter' was already in chaos. When they saw that the battleship was about to sink, everyone wanted to escape, but no one carried out the order at all. Especially when even the captain took the lead in escaping from the battleship, it meant that the battleship was completely finished.

Soon, the deck of the battleship 'Gene Bart' was submerged under the water. A few minutes later, the warship with a displacement of more than 20,000 tons sank into the sea. This also became the first battleship lost by the United Fleet in this naval battle.

Except for a very few of the more than 1,100 French naval officers and soldiers on the battleship, the rest sank into the sea together with the battleship and failed to escape.

"General, the 'Gene Bart' has sunk!" the adjutant reported to Admiral Lame.

"Damn it!" Admiral Lame couldn't help cursing. Before the real battle started, they had already lost a battleship. Then, the next battle will definitely be even more unfavorable to them.

The attack by the German carrier-based aircraft continued. Not only the battleships of the French Navy were attacked, but also the battleships of the Italian Navy.

The battleship 'Dante' is a battleship with a displacement of less than 22,000 tons. However, the firepower of this battleship is very powerful, equipped with four triple-mounted 305mm main guns.

But it is a pity that the battleship "Dante" has no chance to show its powerful combat effectiveness in fierce naval battles. Now he is under the siege of the German Navy's carrier-based aircraft.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The bomb fell to the surface of the sea, splashing a column of water soaring into the sky. Other bombs fell directly on the battleship. The weak deck armor could not resist the bombs falling from the sky at all, and was directly penetrated.

The flames spread on the battleship, and the damage control personnel, wearing gas masks, dragged the faucet and rushed towards the fire.

The performance of the Italian Army is very bad. However, the performance of their navy is not bad. It's a pity that the strength gap between the two sides is too great. Before the battleship duel between the two sides has begun, they will be sunk.

"Torpedo, found a torpedo! Quickly evade!"

The battleship 'Dante', with a maximum speed of 22 knots, began an emergency turn. However, it was still impossible to avoid the torpedo. Two torpedoes hit the battleship Dante. A torpedo hit the stern of the ship and directly blew up the propeller at the tail, making it impossible for the battleship to move forward. The other torpedo tore a big hole below the waterline of the warship's bow. Sea water is frantically pouring into the battleship.

Suffering such heavy damage, the battleship "Dante" floated on the sea like a dead fish, and became the target of the German carrier-based aircraft attack.

Four torpedo attack planes once again attacked the battleship 'Dante'. When the battleship 'Dante' was getting slower and slower, and finally almost stationary on the sea, four torpedo attack planes immediately launched an attack. All four torpedoes hit the battleship Dante. The waterline armor with a thickness of only 254 mm was torn apart in front of the 450 mm medium-sized torpedo like paper paste.

Such a heavy blow is undoubtedly fatal to a battleship with a displacement of only more than 20,000 tons.

In less than five minutes, the battleship 'Dante' sank into the sea.

This is already the second battleship sunk by the German Navy's carrier-based aircraft.

What's more, the battle is still going on. The German Navy's carrier-based aircraft continued to attack French and Italian warships. These fighters completely regarded the fleets of the two countries as soft persimmons, and they manipulated them at will.

"God! Why did we participate in this war? Why did we betray the Allies?" Admiral Paul expressed remorse.

At the beginning, the Kingdom of Italy was a member of the Allied Powers, but their king and prime minister were obsessed with ghosts and chose to betray the Allied Powers and join the Allied Powers to fight. As a result, not only did this not bring them victory, but it also made them about to face a heavy blow.

It's a pity that it is useless to say these now. It is already impossible for them who have boarded the thief ship of the Allied Powers to get off the ship. Neither Germany nor Austria-Hungary will spare the Kingdom of Italy. Therefore, they will definitely defeat the Kingdom of Italy, and then take the opportunity to slaughter the Kingdom of Italy.

As a soldier of the Kingdom of Italy, the only thing Admiral Paul could do was to lead his own fleet and fight desperately. In that case, it may be possible to exchange for a glimmer of life for the Kingdom of Italy. But now it seems that the possibility of this is too small. The carrier-based aircraft of the German Navy are too powerful. Before the capital ships of the two sides began to confront each other, they began to pay heavy losses.

The French Navy and the Italian Navy, under the siege of the German Navy's carrier-based aircraft, are in danger. Warships are constantly being hit by torpedoes or bombs. Although so far, only two battleships have been sunk. However, no one knows how many battleships will be sunk in the next battle.

"Damn it, the Germans are attacking the French and Italians recklessly. Now they have sunk two battleships. Compared with the German navy, we will not only have no advantage, but will be at a disadvantage!" John Jay Admiral Licoe was worried.