Chapter 2573 The First Battle 1
"Damn it, I never thought that in this situation, we would be the first to be exposed!" When he saw the parachute-opened flare slowly falling from the sky, the dazzling light not only made him feel uncomfortable , and even felt a faint pain in my heart! The outstanding reconnaissance capabilities and systematic combat capabilities of the U.S. Navy surprised others in Yamawu. He really could not have imagined that the Japanese would encounter such a not-so-good start despite such careful planning!
"We have discovered the Japanese fleet! The distance is 10,000 yards!" Immediately after the flares fell, the American battleships that had shifted their positions discovered the approaching Japanese fleet. The original sneak attack instantly turned into an encounter, and it was even more inclined. An encounter with the US military!
With the help of the servo equipment, the artillery shell weighing more than 400 kilograms was fed into the chamber. In less than 25 seconds, the gunners of the U.S. Navy completed the first firing cycle. With the roar of the heavy artillery, More than a dozen shells roared towards the Japanese warship in the distance! Tens of seconds later, the rising water column fell in the path of the Japanese fleet.
"Is this a fight?" Togo Heihachiro looked at the impact point of the shells, which was 1,200 yards away from the Japanese fleet! There was no emotion in my heart, and I even wanted to laugh. This impact point can no longer be explained by the wear and tear of the artillery or other technical reasons. The reason is very simple. At this time, according to the data displayed by the rangefinder of the Japanese Navy, (based on the muzzle flames of the American battleship to determine the opponent's position .) At this time, the distance between the two sides should be around 8,500 yards. If someone looks at it from God's perspective, the Japanese's ranging is more accurate, while the Americans' ranging is not much to say...
The Americans' rate of fire was still very fast. In the first few minutes, the American fleet poured a deadly hail of bullets at the Japanese fleet in the distance at a rate of more than 2 rounds per minute. However, unfortunately, on both sides, When the distance gradually narrowed from 8,500 yards to 7,000 yards, the American fleet not only failed to score a hit, it did not even form a cross-fire! However, at this time, when the destroyers of the Japanese fleet fired flares, four American battleships were exposed to the Japanese cannons!
"Quickly release the smoke, turn 3 compass points to the right of the entire fleet, and keep your distance!" When his colleagues were illuminated in front of him, Colonel Lacey decisively issued an evasive order. At this time, 6 Japanese battleships appeared in his field of vision. , at this moment, Colonel Lacey had no intention of fighting! His job is to delay time!
One by one, the smoke cans were opened, and the thick black smoke began to spread rapidly under the sea breeze. The clouds of black mist formed a barrier between the fleets of both sides. The Japanese fleet was forced to fire two rounds of salvos. Forced to give up shooting temporarily.
"Order the destroyer squadron to move northeast and cut off the retreat route of the U.S. fleet. All battleships will follow the flagship maneuver. We will sail north and outflank the U.S. fleet!" Others in Yamawu quickly issued the order.
The orders of others in the mountain house fully explain what it means to be cured after a long illness! In this small-scale battle, outflanking attacks by Japanese battleships and destroyers cut off the American fleet's retreat.
They had no choice but to turn and evacuate northward again. More importantly, the Japanese forced the American fleet to windward! In this case, the U.S. fleet will soon escape the cover of smoke, and even if the smoke can is used again, the effect will not be good due to the wind direction!
When the smoke dissipated and the Japanese seaplane once again threw flares over the head of the American fleet, everything was doomed and the massacre officially began! The Japanese fleet composed of 6 quasi-dreadnoughts and 4 super-dreadnoughts launched its final attack like a pack of hunting wolves, and three American pre-dreadnoughts bore the brunt!
"Bearing 135, distance 7000 meters!" The battleship Hyuga first caught the pre-dreadnought USS New Jersey. The flares turned the sea area around the poor battleship into daylight. The deployed parachute can give the Fuso-class battleship up to 5 seconds. Minutes or so of lighting!
"Fire! Full salvo!" Following the fire control officer's order, 10 15-inch heavy artillery spit out long fire dragons at the target at the same time! With a loud noise like thunder and flames and smoke covering the entire battleship, the massacre began!
At such a distance, the British 15-inch L42 artillery was almost parallel to the sea level. More than 8 tons of shells roared towards the distant target. After a few seconds, huge water columns enveloped the poor ship. Pre-dreadnought! And when the second round of volleys was fired, disaster finally struck!
Two huge pillars of fire suddenly rose from the side of the hull of the fast-sailing USS New Jersey! Two shells hit the front of the hull almost simultaneously, and one of the shells hit the bottom of the front main turret of the New Jersey! The 11-inch-thick Harvey hardened armor was completely useless in the face of such a powerful attack. The warhead of the 15-inch armor-piercing bullet easily tore through the curved armor belt of the turret and plunged into the dressing room under the turret!
So, at this moment, everything seemed to be in slow motion. First, there was a dazzling yellow spot produced after the shell penetrated. Then in an instant, this yellow spot expanded rapidly, with more than a dozen shells and tons of propellant Detonated in less than 1 second! With the violent explosion, the twin 12-inch turrets weighing several hundred tons were blown away! Then the flames began to spread across the hull, and the shock wave carried fragments and tore apart everything it could touch around it!
The continuous explosions caused the battleship to tremble continuously, and the hull let out a moan, while another shell directly penetrated into the gun gallery, blowing a 175MM secondary gun into pieces together with the gunner next to it. . At the same time, the strong explosion and impact also wiped out the damage control personnel prepared on the main deck. After two shells, the front half of the poor pre-dreadnought battleship was completely out of control.
The situation of the other two battleships was also not very good. The Georgia was located closest to the Japanese fleet and was flanked by the three battleships Asagiri, Amagiri and Yamagiri. Although the three battleships used outdated 12-inch naval guns, Under close fire from as many as 18 large-caliber artillery pieces, this poor American Dreadnought still had no power to fight back! Huge fireballs rose up from time to time on this poor battleship. In almost a training environment, the Japanese Navy's gunnery skills were demonstrated vividly. At a distance of less than 6,000 meters, the Asagiri battleship even fired one round. The salvo hits the opponent with 3 shells at the same time!
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