Another World: Naval Storm

Chapter 143: Battle Patrol

"I know that from a geopolitical point of view, we are at a greater disadvantage than Talen! The Royal Navy easily put a shackle on us and cut off our sea transportation line! But we are not without opportunities. As I just said, Talen is surrounded by the sea. How can Talen, which has scarce local resources, become the world's number one maritime power? Isn't it because of the continuous blood transfusion from overseas colonies? In order to ensure the safety of itself and its colonies, the Royal Navy can only maintain its strength as the world's number one navy. Regardless of whether it is outdated or not, various warships must be launched continuously."

"General, we have seen the power of your asymmetric warfare! Unrestricted submarine warfare has been going on for some time, and the results are indeed good, but it feels like we are still a long way from strangling the Talens!" A conservative officer stood up and questioned. This was just a lie. Up to now, Drake submarines have sunk more than 1500 ships of various types of Allied and neutral countries, with a total tonnage of more than 400 million tons, which has already stunned the Talens.

"So we increased our investment in submarines. This little thing has a very high cost-effectiveness! Unrestricted submarine warfare forced the Talen people to speed up the consumption of supplies. The transport ships that kept coming one after another in the ocean can show that Talen has a strong demand for supplies!" Leo continued, "Without the strict orders of the Talen government, the timid transport ships would not be so courageous! Our overseas attack fleets and submarines make it difficult for the Allied escort forces to continue."

"The victory in the Battle of Ship Burial Bay has given us the initiative in the southern North Sea. If we can capture and severely damage the battlecruiser unit that serves as the vanguard of the Grand Fleet in a naval battle at a relatively low cost, and sink two more ships than in the Battle of Ship Burial Bay, then there will be a major loophole in the Talen people's blockade and anti-interdiction system!" Leo said confidently.

At that time, our battle cruisers will be able to move freely, whether it is to rebuild our own transportation lines to obtain resources or to attack the transportation lines of the Talen people, it will be more efficient. "

"General Leo, well~ not to mention that His Majesty is still restricting the actions of the Ocean Fleet, how can you guarantee that the Taren battlecruiser fleet will be captured at the exact time and place you envisioned? They have been fooled once, and they won't be stupid enough to be fooled a second time!" Admiral Bollinger shook his head and questioned. Now the Drake Navy's commerce-breaking warfare and battlecruiser harassment warfare are already very good. If there is another decisive battle at sea, the emperor and his heart will not be able to bear it. Asymmetric warfare is undoubtedly the best choice for the Ocean Fleet at the moment.

"So the only thing we can bet on is the battlecruiser! Battlecruiser versus battlecruiser, I don't believe the Royal Navy doesn't have the courage to fight us again! The Royal Navy won't want to bear the shame forever! As long as they want to avenge themselves, we have a chance!"

The value of the battlecruiser was fully demonstrated in the Battle of Shipwreck Bay on December 12.

The high speed of the battlecruiser was brought to its full potential in this naval battle. On the vast surface of the North Sea, the main fleet and the fast fleet could be separated by at least two or three hours.

The Ocean Fleet set out to provide support. The three battlecruisers led by Marshal Queapev were able to arrive at the battlefield in time, but General Lyon's seven powerful battleships were unable to provide timely reinforcements due to speed issues.

The Royal Navy was no exception to this situation. During the Battle of Shipwreck Bay, in order to strengthen the strength of the Liam Battlecruiser Fleet, three Guardian-class battleships joined the Battlecruiser Squadron to intercept Leo's fleet.

During the naval battle, because the three dreadnoughts could not keep up with the speed of the battlecruiser fleet, Liam's main battlecruiser force had to separate from the battleships, which dispersed the overall strength of Liam's fleet.

When General Apevin's three battlecruisers arrived at the battlefield, the advantage of the battlecruisers' high speed was brought to the fore. If it were not for the rescue of Moltke and von der Bella, the five dreadnoughts of Rear Admiral Vincent of the Royal Navy would not have escaped the fate of sinking.

In addition, the Battle of Shipwreck Bay further confirmed the design concept of the Drake battlecruiser that emphasized defense while taking into account the caliber of the main guns. It should be noted that the initial design concept of the battlecruiser came from Leo. After the Talen battlecruiser was launched, the Drake Navy Department was also discussing whether to focus on armor or speed, and whether to build several high-speed battlecruisers to verify which design is more advantageous.

Otherwise, given the Navy's tight military budget, the Admiralty would really build a few high-speed battlecruisers for fun.

Although Moltke, von der Bella and Seydlitz were far behind the Tallen battlecruiser in speed, the main armor of the waterline belt above 250 mm, key protection and sealed cabin design made the three battlecruisers have strong defensive capabilities.

At the same time, the Invincible-class and Indefatigable-class battlecruisers equipped by Talen had main armor at the waterline of only about 152 mm. The main armor of the Lion and Tiger battlecruisers that sank in the Battle of Shipwreck Bay was only about 228 mm.

The strong defense allowed the Drake battleship to hold out longer under the gunfire of the Battle of Shipwreck Bay, and also allowed the two Drake battlecruisers to return to the port despite being severely damaged.

The naval battle proved the strength of the battlecruisers Bilo, Derfflinger and Lützow. Although the top speed and endurance of the Drake battlecruisers were not as good as those of the Talen battlecruisers, they could overturn the dreadnoughts by relying on their thick armor defense.

Although none of the three Guardian-class battleships sank, they suffered a lot of damage to their hulls.

The Drake battlecruiser equipped with 305mm main guns and 350mm main armor at the waterline is capable of competing with the Talen's Guardian-class dreadnought, which has only about 305mm main armor.

On the other hand, although the Talens are generally equipped with 343mm main guns and their maximum speed is generally more than one knot faster than the Drake battlecruiser's maximum speed of 26 or 27 knots, speed alone cannot sink the Drake battlecruiser.

The Royal Navy has always maintained the advantage of equipping its battleships with large-caliber main guns, so the Drakes had to find another way and work hard on ammunition.

The Talon Royal Navy battleships used a large number of capped armor-piercing shells in the main battle. The shells used a delayed base fuse, and the delay time was generally 0 to 006 seconds. The main charge of the Talon large-caliber shells was picric acid, which was too sensitive and easily exploded prematurely when hitting the enemy's ship armor, thus greatly reducing the destructive power against targets with heavy armor protection.

Unlike their arch-enemy, the armor-piercing shells manufactured by the Drake Empire have a fuse delay of 0 seconds, and their main charge uses insensitive TNT explosives. Although such a configuration has a chance of causing duds, the possibility of explosion upon impact is small, and they can often penetrate the target armor and explode inside.

It is precisely because of the different ammunition properties of the Taren and German sides that the destructive effect of German shells is significantly better than that of the Taren Kingdom. This is also the bargaining chip that enables Apeven's three battlecruisers to confidently face the Taren dreadnoughts.