I Became a Captain of the British Empire

air raid warning

“Prepare for anti-air combat!”

The deck shuddered with an evil command. The officers’ urgent footsteps rang the bridge. An operator clung to the anti-aircraft gun emplacement, and an anti-aircraft lookout standing atop the forward mast hurriedly looked at the biplane formation with a portable rangefinder.

“Bearing 090! Distance 8000! 20 enemy planes are constantly approaching!”

It felt like being hit in the back of the head with a hammer, Talbert gritted his teeth and looked up at the sky. How can you not notice while coming this close! But there was no time to regret now. He hurriedly ran to the front of the Jeonseonggwan and said.

“The gunnery field! Start shooting as soon as you’re ready!”

“yes!”

On the table, he must be frantically calculating the speed of a biplane and the trajectory of an anti-aircraft gun. But it was too late. In three minutes, the enemy plane will already be on a bombing course.

Should I fire the anti-aircraft guns first? However, it is meaningless to shoot an unaided gun into the air. It’s just evidence that this side is flustered.

Just as he was thinking about it, the voice of the communications officer caught his attention.

“Light signal from repulse!”

Talbert tilted his head.

If it’s Repulse, it’s definitely the ship of troublemaker Lewis. What the hell is that idiot trying to say?

As I waited anxiously for the interpretation, completely unexpected words came out.

“This ship will support anti-aircraft fire without evasive maneuvers. I want the flagship to do the same.”

“What kind of crazy is that?”

Talbert first suspected that the communications officer had interpreted the signal correctly. But he was looking at the captain with confident eyes.

“You’re saying you’re shooting anti-aircraft guns against an air raiding enemy?”

It was absurd. Not being afraid of planes didn’t mean not being afraid of torpedoes and bombs attached to them. It was an expression of confidence that he was good at crafting enough to avoid it.

Of course, there is no way the opponent can’t catch the boat sitting still. If a ship doesn’t move, it’s just a target ship.

“Send a light signal right now! Engage the entire fleet to evade!”

“yep!”

Even that wasn’t enough, so Talbert went out to the lookout deck and watched Repulse follow from aft. The battlecruisers, fluttering fighter jets, advanced confidently without any sign of dodging. Talbert, who had been scanning the aft with anxious eyes, soon returned to the bridge and spoke in full confidence.

“Tell them to fire the anti-aircraft guns first.”

“But the calculations are still… !”

“Let’s shoot and see!”

“Yes, yep!”

Talbert, with a voice mixed with annoyance, quietly gazed up above. Soon after, the first 4-inch anti-aircraft gun that had been prepared lifted the gun barrel.

“firing!”

Anti-aircraft guns, one each under the bridge and next to the central deck, spewed fire as soon as they finished loading. Explosions tore through the air. Shrapnel clawed everywhere, and black bullet marks stained the air like stains.

After confirming the impact, the battery commander corrected his aim. The process of turning the fuse again and adjusting the gun angle was repeated. Another shell exploded in the air leaving black soot, but no aircraft were shot down.

“It doesn’t fit very well.”

Anti-aircraft gunfire rang incessantly, but Talbert did not expect much. Even on his bridge, which was thousands of meters in the sky, the appearance of the enemy plane remained the same. It was all that the planes, startled by occasional explosions, scattered the formation.

“bandit! Distance 7000!”

Talbert looked up at the bridge ceiling. He remembered the battleship Valiant of the Mediterranean Fleet. If the battleship had anti-aircraft fire control systems such as HACS, it would have been able to shoot down one or two of the enemy planes.

However, the reality was not like that, and he erased the short thoughts from his head.

If you don’t have equipment, you can avoid it with a rough ship. The Royal Navy does not rely solely on equipment.

More than that concern, he felt a sort of awe at the sight of the group of biplanes ignoring the bullet marks in the air and running bravely.

“It’s like David attacking Goliath.”

“But we need to pay more attention to torpedoes. Surprise in a place like this… .”

“There must be an aircraft carrier nearby.”

Answering the chief warden’s words, Talbert tasted another unpleasant sensation.

How dare an enemy aircraft carrier enter British waters? It is an act of incomparable arrogance.

After the raid, he thought, he would definitely capture the carrier.

Captain Crifford, who leads the squadron of T4M torpedo bombers, hid his excitement and signaled outside the cockpit. In the first real battle, all pilots except him suffered from similar tension. Fortunately, his limbs, which had been brainwashed through training, moved without problems.

“Awesome goal, Captain! If you catch that one, isn’t it really a big deal?”

Dennis in the back seat, unable to control his excitement, shouted. The captain frowned and said.

“Stop talking nonsense, Ensign. Pull the torpedo trigger or straight up.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

The captain tried to keep his cool. Emotional battles never end well. Especially on such an important mission.

They were on their way to hunt game. An immortal great fish called a battle cruiser.

“Descent! Get ready!”

“yep!”

Then the captain flicked his finger outside the cockpit. It was an attack signal. Four biplanes lowered their noses, and on the far right another squadron lowered their noses. A total of eight squadrons flew close to sea level from Rinaun’s starboard side.

“Distance 5000!”

“It’s far! Approaching 1000!”

Anti-aircraft fire bursting in the air emitted a sharp crushing sound. But he didn’t feel anything. Shells always exploded in strange places. Thanks to that, the captain’s squadron descended safely.

“You fools, where are you shooting at?”

“It looks pretty urgent.”

He clicked his tongue and looked around. Resistance was lower than expected. A few more destroyers were visible, but each only maneuvered evasively from a distance or fired anti-aircraft fire. Of course it couldn’t have been right.

“Looks like things are going easy.”

But something was strange. I felt bad for some reason. Turning his head, he finally found the cause of his instinctive fear.

“Anti-aircraft fire! be careful!”

The impact shook the aircraft. The shrapnel that tore through the air let out a terrifying scream. The smoke covered my eyes and a tingling sensation rose from my toes.

“Report the situation!”

“Nothing wrong!”

Fortunately, the engine was unharmed. Quickly turning the machine around, the captain looked around. One squadron, hit by shrapnel, was lagging behind, spewing smoke.

Where the hell did this precision bombardment come from?

Intrigued, he turned his head and immediately knew why.

It was because I could see a battlecruiser sticking out the broadside and firing anti-aircraft guns from Rinaun’s rear.

“Damn it!”

Smoke billowed out around him as he turned the aircraft around.

“Looking at you! It’s blowing red flag smoke! It does damage, but doesn’t fall.”

The report of the Grand Duke’s observation rang in the Jeonseong Hall. Cheers came from all directions. He clenched his fists and shouted.

“good! You’re doing great!”

Outside the window, the enemy squadron was running amok here and there, disorganized by anti-aircraft fire. All the while, not a single enemy plane turned this way. It was also good not to do evasive maneuvers. Their target is Renown.

“A light signal from Renown! This ship will follow the command of the squadron commander and perform evasive maneuvers!”

“Ignore it. Keep it balanced.”

He spoke sternly to the report of the communications officer.

Leave the data you’ve become accustomed to and do evasive maneuvers? No way! Now, without computers for aiming, the only way to increase the accuracy of anti-aircraft guns is to go straight at low speed and reduce rolling and pitching.

In accordance with such circumstances, Repulse only fired anti-aircraft guns without complex evasion maneuvers, and thanks to this, the 4-inch anti-aircraft batteries were gradually increasing their accuracy. Of course, it was because the bandit was filthy slow.

Anyway, the goal is Rinaun. My job is to block enemy planes as much as possible with anti-aircraft guns. It’s not too late to move when they turn the nose.

“Anti-aircraft hit! Shoot down one enemy plane!”

Again cheers rang out. The enemy plane, slowed by shrapnel, ended up being hit by a second bullet. Prior to the first shot down. Of course, it was a lucky shot, but my heart skipped a beat. Thinking of his subordinates, he spoke calmly.

“It’s too early to cheer! There are still many red flags!”

I just caught one. There are still more than 10 enemy aircraft that have entered the torpedo course. An air raid of that scale in this era is an unexpected situation. I really didn’t expect an air strike this soon…

“bandit! Enter the torpedo course!”

At the watchman’s report, I took out my binoculars and looked at Lee-woon. Gunfire rang out continuously, and the enemy aircraft, which had turned into a ball of fire, crashed into the sea.

3,000m from Rinaun. Captain Creefort screamed.

“Stay in shape! Damn it, don’t be scared!”

Renown in front of me maneuvered vigorously and fired anti-aircraft guns, but not a single shot landed near the formation. The problem wasn’t the ship. Repulse, which showed the broadside from the left side of the formation, poured in increasingly precise anti-aircraft fire. There were no hit bullets, but the problem was that the frightened aircraft broke the formation.

“Don’t dodge! It’s luck to be right anyway! Damn, I need to see the hand signal to make it work… !”

In times like these, you need to quickly approach the enemy ship, fire a torpedo, and run away. that’s the best

While the captain gritted his teeth and gave a hand signal, another squadron was seen on the far right turning to the other side of the enemy ship.

pincers from the left and right. Crossfire is essential to hit even a single torpedo. Once you succeed, you’ll be hit no matter which way you dodge. However, since there is no radio, only the sense of training has to match the sum.

But the captain was confident. Swallowing dry spit, he turned the steering wheel straight again.

“Street 2000!”

“Go to 1000 more and blow it up!”

Renown, who was moving in a zigzag, suddenly turned the player to the side of the torpedo bomber. It was intended to avoid torpedoes better by showing a narrow bow. We need to change the stroke course, but it’s already too late. Dodging will increase the time you are exposed to saturation.

“sh*t! Slow down!”

Of course, it was an evaluation of his aircraft.

Before long, red tracer bullets came pouring out from the bridge of Rinaun. A sharp gunshot pierced my ears. The captain secretly swallowed dry saliva. However, he maintained a steady altitude.

Before long, the watchmen standing on Rinaun’s triangular bridge began to be seen. He quickly gave a hand signal and shouted.

“Drop it!”

“throwing down!”

A thump was heard from the surface. Eventually, the light aircraft rose like a feather. The captain turned the nose without hesitation. It didn’t matter where the torpedoes flew.

The important thing is to get out of this limb.

“Drop torpedoes against enemy planes!”

I looked at Rina through binoculars while listening to Gyeonsi’s voice full of astonishment. The formation quickly turned its nose and ran as if it were running away.

“One more drop!”

The aircraft, which had become a ball of fire, plummeted headlong as if it had been hit by an autocannon. Take down 2 planes with this. However, the enemy aircraft had already dropped torpedoes. It doesn’t seem too difficult to avoid anyway.

As expected, not a single torpedo plume was visible.

The enemy squadron, which was trying to attack from the other side, is now entering the torpedo course. In order to hit it, it should have rushed in immediately, but it was because it delayed more than necessary for anti-aircraft fire. The timing of dropping the torpedoes was also different, and they did not match in many ways.

As expected, Rinaun turned her bow again and leisurely slipped through the torpedoes.

“I was just worried.”

Anti-aircraft fire didn’t hit me, and I was nervous inside, but the enemy wasn’t very good either.

Well, at this age level, is this the limit? If you think about it, this was the era before metal monoplanes became the main force. Biplanes that can only be seen in World War I fly in the sky, and canvas is the mainstream. Of course, the pressure through numbers cannot be ignored, but in many ways, a powerful shot is lacking.

Maybe I was more wary of air strikes than necessary. It was the moment when I was about to take my eyes off the binoculars, relieved.

“Light signal from Renown!”

An urgent voice echoed through the bridge.

“What?”

“Enemy submarine spotted on port side!”

“what?!”

pop.

A huge column of water rose on Rinaun’s side.

Talbert managed to keep her balance on the bridge, which shook with shock. He corrected his slanted hair and shouted in a nervous voice.

“Report the situation!”

“A torpedo hit on the port side! Flooding is happening!”

“sh*t… Maintenance chief! Close the bulkhead! At low speed!”

“yes! Slow speed!”

After shouting urgently, Talbert changed his mind.

There are submarines around. Avoid.

“Turn the key! Jeonta! 25 degrees right!”

“Uro 25!”

Lee-woon, who leaned heavily to port, eventually turned the huge hull around. The wounded monster’s head crossed the rough water. Soon after, two wakes approached from the rear. cried Talbert in contemplation.

“Turn the key! Fifteen to the left!”

“15 to the left!”

But it was too late.

The white wake that cut through the water like a gale came close to the stern of Lee-woon.

Anticipating the end, Talbert eventually grabbed a handrail and shouted.

“All members! Prepare for shock!”

Tightly, I closed my eyes.

However, the expected shock did not follow.

“… Report the situation!”

Talbert didn’t know what had happened to him now. Feeling strange, he said with all his might. Soon after, reports came from each department.

“Nothing more than the engine room!”

“septum! no problem!”

“Turret 3 no problem!”

Only then did I understand the situation.

“Is it a misfire?”

“It seems so.”

The captain answered while wiping away a cold sweat. Talbert let go of his contemplative expression and sighed. My heart was still pounding in my tense chest.

At the same time, the captain of the submarine Bass, Brian, felt the opposite.

“Such a f*cking disease!”

Tapping the periscope tower, he gritted his teeth. I’ve obviously seen the torpedo’s trail cut properly, but nothing happened, let alone an explosion. He knew the meaning of this unpleasantly well.

“The damn eel misfired again! Damn it, fire the torpedo tubes number 3 and 4!”

“Enemy destroyer approaching! Defense 030!”

The captain looked at the sonar with stunned eyes and put his face into the periscope. The nimble destroyer was coming straight ahead like a raging wave. Now it was the submarine’s turn to panic.

“Emergency submersion!”

A loud bell rang and they began a bloody battle of life and death.

Rinaun was lucky. Three compartments on the port side were flooded, but because of the bulges and bulkheads, that was all that was lost. If even one more torpedo hit, it was in danger of going to the goal without moving, but Goddess Luck raised her hand.

Talmut let out a sigh and wiped away the cold sweat as he held on to his crown.

“Maintenance chief! Can the inundation be controlled?”

For a moment, I heard the noise of something wrestling, and then a voice of exhaustion came up.

“How can I stop it… A little risky.”

“Okay. I’ll slow you down in safe water, so hold on a little longer.”

Soon, the captain spoke to a different perspective.

“Captain, maintain speed at 20! Leave the battlefield like this.”

“yes! All right!”

Eventually, the slanted floor shook slightly. it speeded up Talbert stuck his face out of the bridge anxiously, watching the destroyer passing by. Compared to the destroyer, which moved lightly, Lee-woon was slow and barely broke through the waves.

He started judging quickly.

Even if the inundation was suppressed, the battle was impossible.

It leaned too hard and slowed down. At this rate, it was a yard to worry about arriving at the homeport avoiding the submarine.

If that’s the case, someone should take over the squadron’s flagship. Of course, there is only one candidate.

“Correspondent! Tell them that the flagship of the squadron is being transferred to Repulse!”

He commanded in a voice without hesitation.