I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France

Chapter 1033 1033: Precise Lead Time

Vice Admiral Freddie finally understood why the German fleet insisted on storming through despite knowing they were at a positional disadvantage without changing course.

He also understood why the two German "Bavaria" class battleships kept chasing the "Barham" despite being at the edge of their firing range, nearly impossible to hit, yet refusing to give up.

They were not aiming to hit but to create conditions for the airborne "torpedo planes" to launch their torpedoes.

But by the time he realized this, it was too late, and Vice Admiral Freddie had no option but to brace for it.

"Anti-aircraft fire," Vice Admiral Freddie ordered, "Take them down."

Actually, he didn't need to give the order; the gunners and machine gunners on the ships were already prepared.

The German "UWD" seaplane-converted "torpedo planes" were much slower than the French ones, flying steadily at around 90 kilometers per hour, especially in attack mode. The anti-aircraft guns had a great chance to shoot them down.

But the reality proved they thought too much.

Suddenly, a whistling sound filled the air as reconnaissance seaplanes dived down, casting shadows and firing machine guns erratically at the anti-aircraft weapons along the sides.

"Dang dang dang," the bullets pelted against the shields and the deck, making a crisp sound that almost drowned out the cries of gunners and machine gunners.

The British sailors dared not slack off and quickly replaced a batch of machine gunners, but before they could prepare to fire, another reconnaissance seaplane swooped down with a whistling sound, spewing bullets.

This was part of Admiral Scheer's drill: once the seaplanes had air superiority, they had to fully cooperate with the "torpedo planes" for the attack.

"Let's make one thing clear," Admiral Scheer said seriously at the pre-battle briefing to the pilots:

"Your machine guns cannot destroy battleships, but 'torpedo planes' can."

"Therefore, you must ensure the safety of the 'torpedo planes' at all costs, even if it means crashing into the enemy's anti-aircraft machine guns and cannons."

"Doing so is worth it; you will become heroes of Germany, and your families will be well taken care of!"

As he spoke, Admiral Scheer picked up a roster that recorded every pilot's family.

He added, "I assure you in my own name, they will be protected by the nation!"

...

"Boom," a seaplane crashed into the ship's Boom Boom cannons, and then another, with explosions echoing endlessly, sounding like shells hitting the "Barham."

Soon, the few anti-aircraft weapons on the "Barham" were all surrounded by flames, with machine guns and cannons knocked askew, some munitions even detonating.

Clearly, even if the fire was extinguished, these machine guns and anti-aircraft cannons would be useless.

"This is madness," Vice Admiral Freddie shouted, "They're like a bunch of lunatics."

With a glance, he saw the "torpedo planes" approaching their drop range.

The first batch that came close consisted of four planes, and Vice Admiral Freddie noticed they were split into two groups of two planes each: one group directly attacking and the other targeting the front at an angle to the ship.

This was the German "torpedo planes" accounting for lead time, and Vice Admiral Freddie realized their intent: once the "Barham" made a sharp turn to evade, the two front "torpedo planes" could perfectly close in.

"Right full rudder!" Vice Admiral Freddie ordered.

This command took everyone by surprise, as ships usually evaded torpedoes by turning away from the enemy planes to increase maneuvering time.

But Vice Admiral Freddie did the opposite; "right full rudder" meant turning towards the enemy planes.

The executive officer hesitated for just a moment but did not dare pause, quickly passing down Vice Admiral Freddie's order:

"Right full rudder!"

"Right full rudder!"

...

Just as the ship turned, the German "torpedo planes" dropped their torpedoes into the water, two white trails cut across the surface like shark fins, aimed directly at the ship's side.

One torpedo skimmed past the ship's stern, pulled off course by the wash of the propellers.

Another hit the hull, but because the ship had turned sharply in time, the torpedo failed to explode.

The crew on the ship heard a muffled "thud," and several seconds later, when there was no explosion, they finally relaxed their tense nerves.

The remaining two "torpedo planes" missed their opportunity due to misjudging the "Barham's" turn and had to climb back into the sky.

"Return to the lineup," Vice Admiral Freddie ordered.

Although this carried the risk of concentrated fire from the two "Bavaria" class super dreadnoughts, it was clearly far better than facing over twenty "torpedo planes" alone.

Thus, the "Barham" turned around and headed towards their own formation several kilometers away.

Traveling towards each other, they would "regroup" within just a few minutes, greatly reducing the danger.

But the "torpedo planes" clearly wouldn't let them escape easily, with another four planes slowing down and approaching its side at low altitude.

...

Major Condra felt he had encountered a tricky opponent.

The "Barham" seemed to have extensive experience evading torpedoes, and he knew that by meeting torpedoes at a wide angle, even if hit, they were unlikely to explode.

This was actually risky because no one could guarantee it wouldn't explode on impact, and people usually chose a more secure approach.

Now it was becoming troublesome.

No one could predict whether the "Barham" would dodge left or right, and even with four "torpedo planes" attacking at once, they might not hit.

More importantly, the "Barham," when overpowered, could reach a speed of 26 knots, even surpassing some destroyers.

Glancing at the nearby British fleet arranged in a line, Major Condra immediately gestured to pass command to the deputy, then pulled away from the group with a tug on the control stick.

He calculated the fleet's speed from the sky, watching a space left for the "Barham" within the fleet, even flying along the fleet's path once to estimate timing.

Then, silently calculating in his mind and using the British ships' intervals as his "ruler," even with machine guns and Boom Boom cannons roaring below, his "exploring" and attempts could not be disturbed.

Afterwards, Major Condra seized the timing, lowered his altitude, maintained stable flight for a while, and then released the torpedo from under the belly before pulling up sharply.

...

Just as the "Barham" once again shook off the joint attack of four "torpedo planes," all the crew let out a cheer.

They could almost "regroup" now.

Once back in the fleet, the anti-aircraft firepower would be much stronger than now, with other ships covering from both sides. The "torpedo planes" would have difficulty finding gaps for precise attacks.

It meant they were safe.

However, just as the "Barham" was about to rejoin the fleet, a sailor suddenly shouted, "Torpedo, port side torpedo..."

"What's going on?" Vice Admiral Freddie's face changed; there were clearly no planes on the port side, so why was there a torpedo?

Before he could understand what happened, a muffled "boom" came from the port side, a wave surged up, and the "Barham" shook violently.