Munitions Empire

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"Woo... Woo..." The red alarm above our heads spun and flashed a frightening glow. In the narrow corridor, the Navy soldiers in white shirts scrambled toward their battle stations with rapid steps.

On the bridge, the duty officer stood with his hands behind his back and chin raised, overlooking the deck at the bow. The sailors there were quickly gathering the clothes drying on the ship's railings.

Drying clothes and sheets on warships is actually a naval tradition among various countries—whether during the age of sailing warships or the era of ironclad battleships.

It was only after warships were equipped with specialized drying facilities that this practice of airing out laundry gradually declined.

Moreover, to accommodate this airing of laundry, naval warships would sometimes utilize the masts to hoist ropes, much like setting sails, to sun-dry a large number of sheets and bedding at the same time.

Such large-scale drying of clothes is, of course, allowed and institutionalized. On days with particularly good weather, the captain would announce a "Laundry Day," allowing all officers and sailors to wash and dry their clothes, ensuring they were fresh and dry.

Long-term combat at sea requires maintenance of dry, comfortable clothing to prevent bacterial growth, which is also a guarantee of combat readiness.

As for whether clothes and sheets could be hung on the cannons... in fact, the cannon barrels are quite thick, and using words like spread out or flattened would be more appropriate.

In reality, during non-combat time, it's not unusual for soldiers to lie on the deck, sunbathing on top of the cannons or turrets, which does not directly reflect the Navy's combat effectiveness.

Thus, the yarns about some navy soldiers drying bedding and clothes on warship cannons, thereby revealing a breakdown in discipline that is exploited by the enemy, leading to defeat in the war, are just to get a laugh and shouldn't be taken seriously.

"How much longer do we need?" Bernard strode into the bridge, followed by his aide-de-camp. The two came to the side of the duty officer, and the Great Tang Navy Commander asked urgently.

"The boilers need another four hours to prepare... The Air Force attack squadrons have already taken off," the officer on duty replied embarrassingly to his superior's question.

All Navy officers knew how anxious Bernard was. They had been waiting too long in these waters, so long that it was difficult to keep their heads held high.

The Army was bleeding in a hard-fought battle under the walls of Beiyuan City, the Air Force had already changed the war's momentum, but the Navy, having spent a fortune, hadn't even fired a shot since the war began!

This was truly humiliating!

Keep in mind the cost of a single dreadnought is a staggering million Gold Coins! Thick steel, huge cannons, precision optical sights... If all of that were converted into Tanks, it could probably equip several divisions!

Moreover, every time a naval warship set sail, it consumed vast amounts of fuel and needed provisions and supplies, making it a veritable gold-devouring monster.

Yet such a powerful naval fleet often found itself aimlessly patrolling at sea, on standby because they could not locate the enemy fleet or determine the situation.

"There's nothing we can do; it can't be rushed," Bernard said in return, comforting his subordinate. He moved to his own position, and his expression seemed much more relaxed than the day before.

Seeing the curiosity of his subordinates, Bernard explained, "Now that we've found the enemy, everything is starting to look up. As long as we wipe out this enemy fleet, we can head north!"

What he had his heart set on was protecting the northern sea routes and annihilating the Gobur Kingdom's fleet. As for the fleet attacking Dragon Island, he didn't take them seriously at all.

Tang Country's intelligence department had already confirmed that the large warships manufactured by Shireck were all concentrated in Gobur's hands, and it was merely some Cruisers and Destroyers threatening Dragon Island.

Bernard didn't believe for a second that his three Battleships were meant to fight the enemy's Cruisers and Destroyers. These three warships were meant to go head-to-head with the main Gobur Navy fleet!

It would be a clash of titans! The idea of fighting these minor threats did not excite him in the slightest.

"No worries, if the Air Force can't handle it, we'll clean up the mess!" Having said that, Bernard once again looked out over the forward deck, watching as the sailors hastily returned the sheets to the cabins.

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"They've been following us for a good while now," the officer of Shireck on the bridge said irritably as he starred at the two Flying Fortress Bombers in the distance.

"We've changed course twice already, and they're still on our tail..." The Gobur Kingdom's Navy Commander was likewise annoyed.

Waiting like this was truly unbearable, the opponent refusing to strike, leaving one's own side in constant anticipation of death...

"It seems that these planes can fly for a very long time..." The officer of Shireck walked to the porthole and watched as the two planes that had once again crossed the entire fleet flew back to the front of the fleet.

What they didn't know was that a B-17 Flying Fortress, not carrying bombs, could indeed stay in the air for a very long time.

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Moreover, once their fleet was found, the Great Tang Air Force could launch more aircraft to maintain continuous tracking and surveillance.

As long as it was not dark and the weather did not change, the tracking could continue indefinitely, until the end of time.

While the officers and soldiers aboard the warships preparing to attack Dragon Island were annoyed and frustrated, looking at the two planes in the sky, two more Flying Fortress Bombers arrived from the distance.

Soon there were four aircraft in the sky, circling the fleet back and forth like flies over a corpse.

After tormenting Shireck's fleet for over an hour, a cluster of black dots suddenly appeared on the distant horizon.

These dots, dense and numerous, sped towards Shireck's raiding fleet and, as they drew near, the dots turned into a group of "cross" shaped planes, forming an overcast formation.

"They're here!" The naval commander of Shireck, feeling he had made all his battle preparations, uttered just that one word as he froze in place when he saw the swarm of Great Tang Air Force planes approaching.

He had only heard of airplanes, and when he had first heard of them, he did not think this weapon was so terrifying.

But when he saw the squadron right before his eyes, he realized how truly despairing these things called planes could be.

"Get all the standby soldiers to grab their weapons and get on deck! Find your own positions!" The commander of the Gobur Kingdom Navy had already paled at this moment.

While giving the order, he looked at the Shireck commander beside him, "Did your councilors ever consider this situation?"

Even the older Ironclad Warships had Maxim heavy machine guns equipped for small targets on their decks. These machine guns were not designed for anti-air use, but they could serve some purpose against aircraft.

However, it was quite clear that relying on those Maxims, which lacked anti-air sights and tracer bullets to adjust fire, was not a good idea.

Sadly, these were the only weapons Shireck's raiding fleet had at their disposal, so they had no choice but to find a way to increase their anti-air firepower.

So, soldiers within the warship's cabin who had no other duties took the individual weapons stored in the armory and hurriedly rushed to the deck.

Shireck Type 1 rifles! These were all they could find. In order to survive, they had to stand on the deck, aiming at the dive bombers that were already climbing, preparing to fight for their lives with rifles.

"Damn! Turn the ship! Tell the fleet to turn! We can't just wait here to die!" The Shireck commander, finally snapping out of it, began to scream hysterically.

He certainly hadn't thought that sneaking up on Dragon Island this time was a suicide mission. He believed his fleet would be difficult for the enemy to find and thought he could approach Dragon Island under the cover of night and then bombard Tang Country's vital oil and gas facilities.

Then, amidst the chaos, using high speed, he would quickly escape, complete the mission and become Shireck's savior...

Although he wavered when the airship troops were wiped out, the follow-up order was for him to continue the mission, and with no other choice, he was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

At this moment, he finally realized that this operation was likely just a suicide run, a reckless probe with no effect whatsoever!

"Turn the ship!" The commander of the Gobur Kingdom Navy also felt that continuing forward was akin to a death sentence and thus also ordered, "All warships, turn around! Cover each other until we break free from the battlefield!"

In the sky above, through the windshield, the Tang Army pilots looked down at the fleet on the sea below. The hurried turning of the warships caused the white waves on their sides to become asymmetrical, and all the warships in the fleet began to trace a beautiful arc across the sea.

"Begin the attack! Cut in from the rear! Dive! Dive!" The commander's voice came loudly over the communication channel of the first batch of attacking Stuka Dive Bombers.

These Stukas, already stripped of their sirens, fell one after another from the clouds, angling their noses towards the giant targets on the sea.

In their sights, the targets, once the size of sesame seeds, gradually enlarged to the size of willow leaves.

Then, these willow-leaf-sized targets grew even larger, to the point where the pale yellow color of the deck wood became distinguishable.

The warship's gun turrets, bridge, and chimneys began to stand out, and the flight paths of the tracer bullets fired by the leading Stukas could be clearly seen.

"Rat-tat-tat-tat!" As the distance closed, the pilot of Stuka Dive Bomber also pulled the trigger, with the autocannons on the wings roaring to life.

The sailors on the opposing deck were thrown into chaos, while the soldiers holding rifles ducked and scattered, no longer caring about incoming aircraft.

"Clack!" At a very close altitude to the warship, the pilot released the 500-kilogram bomb mounted under the belly of his plane. The huge bomb, propped up by the release rod, detached from the plane, avoided the propeller in front, and headed towards the warship on the sea below. Experience new stories on My Virtual Library Empire