(Rewrite) The Future of Tomorrow Brought Today

Chapter 7: Trip to San Diego Part 2

Date: August 15th, 1947

Location: North part of the Atlantic Ocean

Time: 12:00 pm

Dark clouds loom across the sky as a single battleship raises its large 406mm guns before unleashing a salvo with a thunderous roar. Eight shells hurl towards a mixed Siren fleet as they return fire at the surviving German battleship. Accurate shells and lasers fired from the Sirens pummel the large warship as it maneuvers around the stricken H-39 class Ulrich von Hutten. The Hutten lists heavily to its port side and most of its superstructure is set ablaze. Surviving escorts around the two battleships attempt to rescue sailors in the water and avoid incoming fire. What was supposed to be a decisive battle in the Atlantic against a Siren stronghold has turned into a slaughter.

At first the German ships were the ones dishing out the damage. But that changed as more Siren reinforcements arrived to replace the warships that have been destroyed. The German fleet sunk at least twenty enemy ships of various classes. Yet it mattered not. For this was a battle of attrition, a battle in which mankind can only hope to win against the Sirens.

Soon the second mighty H-39 class battleship Götz von Berlichingen's port side is set aflame as a secretary 150mm gun turret explodes. Despite the damage taken the large German warship continues to maneuver around sinking wrecks as it attempts to disengage from the fight. Meanwhile the captain of the Berlichingen gives the order for all surviving ships to retreat. It pains the captain to abandon the men still in the water. However if any ship is to survive then they must fall back now. Seconds later the ship violently rocks as the ammunition storage for the destroyed 150mm gun turret goes up in flames. The explosion buckles the hull while the force of blast tears several holes along the side of the hull below the water line. Water immediately begins to pour through the holes. Quickly water tight doors are closed in an effort to isolate the flooding. While not necessarily a fatal wound, the battleship is doomed to slow down, and eventually the list will limit the range of her guns.

Moments later large caliber shells strike the disabled Ulrich von Hutten. With a tremendous explosion the "A" turret is launched thirty or so meters into the air before crashing down on the rear deck of a nearby destroyer leader that is still trying to pickup survivors in the water. The massive 1,475 ton turret crushes the two rear turrets on the 5,700 ton large destroyer. The force of the impact causes the bow to almost completely rise out of the water. Men are thrown around inside the ship as Hutten's turret rolls off the rear of the destroyer leader and into the sea. Back on the Berlichingen an observation officer gives a dreadful call out.

"Enemy battleship! Bearing 20km off our port side!"

Quickly the captain begins issuing orders. "Order what remains of the rest of the fleet to withdraw at flank speed. Helm, change course to kite away from the Siren battleship. We need to buy the rest of the fleet as much time as possible!"

"Sir?!" Berlichingen's XO questions.

"For some of you this might be hard to take in, but this ship is not going to survive this encounter. Due to the flooding we will be too slow to outrun our enemies and we can't win a fight against all those Siren ships. However we can buy time for others to escape this nightmare. But since we are going down, let's take as many Sirens down with us!"

"You heard the captain, main guns prepare to fire!" The XO orders.

As the remaining german ships flee the battle Berlichingen opens fire once more. Most of her 406mm shells miss the Siren battleship but one extremely lucky early hit slams into the Siren warship's forward main turret barbet and detonates. The force of the explosion jams the turret in place as it was training its guns lead the Berlichingen. Seconds later the Siren battleship returns fire with it's starboard wing turret. While Siren battleships only have nine 380mm guns in three turrets, those guns have unparalleled accuracy and shell velocity compared to any battleship built by mankind. Two of the three high velocity 380mm HE shells slam into the Berlichingen. One shell hits to the side of the rear roof on Götz von Berlichingen's "Z" turret. The blast throws shrapnel and smoke throughout the turret effectively disabling it. The blast also sends burning shrapnel into the barbet of the "Y" turret. Fortunately the barbet blocks shrapnel but the blast warps the armor plates. The second hit detonates on the rear superstructure and breaks the rear rangefinder. The Götz von Berlichingen changes course slightly so it can bring its forward rangefinder to target the enemy battleship. Over the next few minutes the two battleships slug it out at medium range. Unfortunately for the Berlichingen three shells strike her for every shell she manages to put on target. And while the two combatants hurl salvos at each other Siren pawns close in for a torpedo attack...