Arnold had been at sea for four days now hunting for Allied supply convoys since he left port after the British attack. The German light cruiser Emden and German destroyer Z1 had joined the fleet to increase the chance of sinking British warships. The fleet was accompanied by twenty-one German Do 17 Z-7 heavy fighters to fend off any British aircraft. Arnold was asleep in his bunk-bed onboard the ship. He jolted awake as the battle alarm sounded. He rushed to his position on the ship.
A British supply convoy shipping supplies from Canada to Britain came into view. Only about 1,209 meters away, the German fleet quickly closed in. Do 17s open fired on a smaller ship out of the convoy, punching holes into it's hull. It slowly began taking in water and with each minute it slowly leaned to the left side more and more. The Z1 fired a shell towards a larger cargo ship. Flames and smoke erupted from the deck as German submarine U-31 stealthily sped towards it.
U-31 surfaced only to be faced with shells from surface turrets onboard the cargo vessels to protect themselves from German U-boats. U-31 submerged again. Under the water, depth charges exploded around U-31. The Admiral Scheer got a call from Z-6 saying that U-31 had been sunk by depth charges. The Emden closed in on two medium sized cargo vessels and hurled shells towards them. One of the ships, carrying gunpowder for British warships, exploded, causing small damage to the surrounding ships.
Another Do 17 pulled around and open fired on a cargo ship as the ship shot back with it's anti-aircraft guns. The Do 17 lost tail control, crashing just feet away from the cargo ship. A shell hurled towards the Emden, striking the left side of her hull. By now, British warships had arrived after a distress call from the cargo ships. British light cruiser HMS Ajax fired another shell at the Emden, this time missing. This fleet had British light cruiser HMS Manchester, French light cruiser Georges Leygues, French destroyer Mistral, British destroyer HMS Codrington, British submarines HMS Thistle and HMS Undine, Canadian destroyer HMCS Skeena, and British aircraft carrier HMS Argus.
HMS Argus had launched 27 Nimrod Mk. I naval fighters armed with torpedoes to shoot down the Do 17s and to sink the German ships. The Nimrods began shooting at the Do 17s as the German ships' AA armaments hurled bullets at the British planes. A squadron of four Nimrods closed in on Z5. After one Nimrod launched two torpedoes towards Z5's hull, they pulled away. Both torpedoes struck Z5, creating critical damage. She took in water fast and soon, sank to the bottom of the North Atlantic Ocean.
Another cargo vessel dropped more depth charges on top of U-45. After minutes of constant explosions, U-45 sank. The German effort to defeat the British was slipping and the Admiral Scheer needed to act quickly. The A. Scheer trained her guns on the HMS Ajax and fired three shells. Two shells hit the Ajax, one critically hitting it's propeller, demobilizing it and the other, hitting it's main dekc. Now, the HMS Ajax was a sitting duck and Z1 and Z6 quickly took advantage.
After two minutes of constant barrage of the German destroyers, HMS Ajax sunk. U-27 cruised underwater, awaiting the perfect moment to strike the British war vessels. U-27 surfaced and fired three torpedoes towards the Georges Leygues. Two torpedoes hit and the G. Leygues began taking in water much like the HMS Ajax. U-27 surfaced again and fired another torpedo and submerged once more. Off the deck of the German light cruiser Emden, her captain could see HMS Thistle and HMS Undine cruising towards the Emden.
He ordered for naval mines to be deployed. As instructed, the crew members of the Emden deployed naval mines. An explosion erupted from under the water's dark blue surface. The HMS Thistle had suffered damage to her bow and filled with water before sinking to the depths of the Atlantic. A. Scheer fired shells repeatedly towards the HMS Manchester as the Manchester fired back. Both ships suffered damage and the Admiral Scheer's third turret was inactive due to critical damage.
Do 17s closed in the HMS Argus and began opening fire. HMS Argus suffered heavy damage to her anti-aircraft weaponry and six Nimrod's onboard were destroyed and three were damaged. A squadron with two Do 17s flew hive above the HMS Argus before flying into a deep descent and dropping two 100 pound bombs, damaging the Argus' flight deck heavily. Due to the damage dealt by the Do 17s, the HMS Argus' landed aircraft were unable to take flight.
The Admiral Scheer fired three shells that landed right in the Manchester's first and second turret. A massive explosion erupted from the Manchester as it's bow tore away from the ship. The Manchester sunk within ten minutes. After the HMS Argus suffered critical damage, she began sailing back towards Britain. Z1 and Z6 continously fired on the Georges Leygues until they hit her magazine, causing an enormous explosion and sank. The HMS Undine launched four torpedoes at Z1, each torpedo hitting Z1.
Z1 quickly leaned to the left side as her hull was filled to the brim with cold Atlantic water. As a counterattack, Z1 deployed naval mines and much like HMS Thistle, HMS Undine sank. The British warships retreated back to Britain while also escorting the cargo vessels to safety. Z1 sank within minutes and the remaining crew members alive were picked up by the Emden and Z6. The last of the Nimrod's still flying either flew back to Britain or were shot down by the remaining Do 17s.
Like the British ships, the German vessels retreated back to Germany. Out of the total German fleet and aircraft sent on a patrol, 34% of it was lost. Out of the total British fleet and naval air arms sent as rescue for the cargo vessels, 35% of it was lost. The battle was won by the Germans but only by a hair.
I hope you guys enjoyed this. Next up, is the year 1940 which will introduce Soviet Russia and Italy. Anyways, see you next time. Thanks!