Chapter 2682 Easily Defeated 1
The Japanese are indeed very cunning. In fact, on the day of the agreed supply, Kitahara Kazuo arrived at the outskirts of the supply area early and released a seaplane to conduct reconnaissance of the surrounding sea areas. After spending roughly 4 hours making sure there were no unknown ships, he finally felt relieved! However, what he didn't expect was that there were indeed no unknown surface ships in this area, but underwater, at least four American submarines had used this time to come from various places! Naturally, it is impossible for them to catch up with a cruiser, but this does not prevent them from searching the sea area through the smoke plume!
For the sake of safety, the Japanese chose an area of sea where almost no merchant ships would pass by. This is beneficial to avoid being discovered, but at the same time, it is also problematic. The reason is very simple. Americans also know that there are few commercial ships in this area. The merchant ship passed by, so good, now the question comes, if there is a smoke column, then there is no doubt that this will be a Japanese warship! And to be honest, even with aerial reconnaissance, it is very difficult to find a submarine with only the hull control tower exposed on the vast sea! But it was very easy for the submarine to detect the smoke plume of the battleship. After all, the Kasuga cruiser was burned with kerosene... There is a lot of smoke when burning coal!
Kasuga also carried at least 4 seaplanes, but after a long period of use, one of them was lost in an artillery battle. This aircraft was destroyed by Kasuga while attacking a difficult armed merchant ship. , and the other one was also damaged. After using two seaplanes to conduct reconnaissance for 4 hours today, the pilot and the aircraft simultaneously expressed that they couldn't stand it anymore. So, the Kasuga began to wait patiently for the arrival of the supply ship, and every half as agreed. Every hour, send out a radio signal so that the other party can easily find it! However, this time, what came following the signal was not a transport ship bringing supplies to the Kasuga, but a death-seeking god!
"We found the Japanese signal!" An American officer threw away his earphones, went to the chart and began to write and draw on it. A few minutes later, a dazzling red dot was marked on the chart. At this time, the armored cruiser USS Louisiana is southwest of the target, about 15 nautical miles away!
"Very good. It almost coincides with the intelligence sent by the submarine force before. If nothing else happens, it should be a Japanese armored cruiser." Little Fletcher said.
"Aren't we waiting for Captain Hawke's fleet to arrive?" an officer asked. According to previous estimates, two Japanese armored cruisers might be encountered here, so after the naval headquarters agreed to allocate a detachment of destroyers, it also said They were willing to provide a large battleship, but unfortunately, the number of large American battleships was scarce and the mobilization speed might be slow, so it was rejected by Fletcher. The U.S. Navy also gave him the right to act at his own discretion, allowing him to first bite one ship and then use a destroyer to follow the other one.
"No need, order the battleship to accelerate to the maximum speed immediately, and we will rush up and kill them!" Little Fletcher answered very simply!
So, the St. Louis Anna rushed forward at a speed of more than 30 knots. Before setting off, they also released two seaplanes, one of which was responsible for reconnaissance, and the other was responsible for guiding the artillery attack!
"The fleet has entered the first level of combat readiness! We may be engaged in battle in 20 minutes!" Little Fletcher's words rang out in the command tower again. The effective engagement distance of the American's new 10-inch L45 naval gun is 16,000 Meters or more, which is actually not bad compared to the engagement distance of the main guns of current battleships, and the heavy ammunition used is still weighing 270KG, and the power is also very good. The 8-inch first-generation hardened armor equipped by the Germans for Kasuga cannot guarantee this ship Battleship safety! Even if it was one-on-two, Fletcher believed that with the help of 10 destroyers (6 of which were reinforcements and the other 4 were following the Louisiana).
) The U.S. Navy still has hope of victory!
"Damn, there's only one! The British deceived us! There's only one! Where are the two promised?" When the US pilot saw the Kasuga armored cruiser sailing alone on the sea, the pilot said Even full of frustration. To be honest, the Americans really want to kill two ships at the same time this time!
However, when Kazuo Kitahara saw the seaplane in the sky, he was also startled. Soon, when plumes of smoke appeared where the water and the sky met in the distance, Kazuo Kitahara finally realized that the last moment had come. , for an engagement-breaking battleship, once it comes into contact with the opponent's fleet, it will definitely be a narrow escape!
"Use all communication bands and send a telegram at maximum power to say that we were ambushed by the American fleet. The Americans may have mastered our passwords and contact information." Kazuo Kitahara took a deep breath and continued: "After sending the telegram After that, destroy all documents, we cannot let the Americans get any information from us! Our destiny is to perish in battle!"
People need to be self-aware. Even though the Kasuga armored cruiser has created its own brilliance during its long service period, by now, it is too old. Facing new opponents, it has no chance of winning! In fact, due to the long-term breaking of diplomatic relations, it is now running out of ammunition.
"The Japanese fleet is evading, but the speed is very slow, probably not even 20 knots." An officer said jokingly, putting down the telescope in his hand.
"Yes, this battleship is too old. When I was studying at the Naval Academy, we regarded it and its brothers as the most powerful enemies of the U.S. Navy, but now? Haha, we use the second-class The capital ships can easily take care of them! Okay, stop talking nonsense and send them to the bottom of the sea quickly! Then, the rest of the day is to celebrate our victory!" said little Fletcher.
Half an hour later, the Kasuga armored cruiser entered the range of the Louisiana's main gun! As the bomb hoist fed heavy shells and propellant packs into the gun chamber, four huge turrets were aimed at the Japanese armored cruiser in the distance. The combined-image rangefinder located at the top of the mast firmly locked the target in the middle. After magnifying 26 times, the fire control personnel could clearly see the Japanese armored cruiser!
"Fire!" As the firing order was issued, eight thick and long artillery pieces protruded into balls of orange fireballs, and the roar of artillery fire resounded throughout the battlefield. The first half hit, and more than a ton of shells roared towards the target. Twenty seconds later, water columns rose up around the battleship!
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