Z25's skipper peers through his binoculars at the oncoming British line. The two destroyers are angling towards him as the merchantman breaks desperately to the south.
The captain isn't worried about his chances. The Kriegsmarine warships are faster and better armed. Within minutes, the Germans have drawn first blood as 5.9" shells from Z25 and Z27 smack into Acasta, igniting fires along her deck.
A chance to apply a quick coup de grace is lost to faulty munitions, however. Z25 closes to within 4,000 meters of the wounded escort to loose a salvo of three 21"" torpedoes. Indeed...one hits...but fails to detonate. Nothing quite as disheartening as the word "dud" flashing on your screen....
Shortly after that, Acasta lands a pair of hits, destroying Z25's D turret and incinerating a dozen crewmen in a massive explosion. Fire. Smoke...it's not quite the cake walk the Germans were hoping for.
|