Chapter 2771 Vanguard War 1
Betty was not unprepared for herself. Even though the number of Japanese destroyers was already very scarce, the opponent still sent 12 destroyers to intercept her. You can despise the destroyer's artillery and defense, but you must respect the destroyer's torpedoes! The Japanese fleet did not waver because of his own interference. Therefore, at this time, there was only one thing Redl could do, which was to defeat the opponent's destroyer force in the shortest possible time, and then use his own destroyers to threaten the main force of the Japanese fleet. , forcing them to slow down, adjust their maneuvers, and finally get stuck by the slow Sims fleet, and then engage in a battle line battle. Yes, you read that right, Redel was busy for a long time just to hold back the Japanese fleet. Let their speed advantage not be used, thus destroying the T-shaped horizontal formation of the Japanese fleet and conducting a fleet battle line battle!
"Prepare to release smoke! The destroyers accelerate the assault!" With the issuance of Redel's order, as many as 18 American destroyers began the final sprint! They passed Redel's battleship and rushed towards the Japanese fleet at a high speed of more than 32 knots like ancient light cavalry. Balls of smoke poured out from the smoke cans, and then connected to each other to form a rolling ball. Black clouds pressed toward the Japanese fleet!
The Japanese destroyers on the opposite side were also unambiguous and rushed forward bravely, even though the number on the opposite side was probably 50% more than them! But the Japanese destroyer squadron supported by the fleet's secondary artillery showed no fear! As a result, before the battle between the main ships of both sides, as many as 30 destroyers fought together!
Smoke has a very good interference effect on long-distance bombardment. Therefore, what really causes serious damage to the destroyer force at this time is close-range artillery battles and lightning strikes. In this case, the number of leaders with 4 destroyers is greater than that of the opponent. 50% of the US destroyer fleet naturally has a huge advantage!
"Save torpedoes and use more naval guns!" The leader of the destroyer No. DD575 informed the accompanying teammates with a signal while charging. The battle line composed of four destroyer leaders was like a sharp knife piercing the Japanese destroyer column. The relative sailing speeds of the two sides As high as 60 knots, the distance can be shortened by nearly 2 kilometers per minute on average! Almost in the blink of an eye, the destroyers on both sides were within gunnery range!
boom! boom! The 5-inch and 6-inch guns on more than a dozen U.S. destroyers continued to spit out deadly fire snakes. At a distance of meters, barrages of fire nets swept everything along with the movement of the fleet. The U.S. destroyer squadron used weapons far beyond The opponent's naval gun fire easily cut through the Japanese destroyer column. Two of the destroyers that could not evade were almost instantly overwhelmed by shells fired from all directions. The first destroyer was the Chunyu destroyer, which dropped tons of high-explosive bombs. On this poor destroyer, violent explosions continued to sound on the hull and bridge, blowing a large number of cabins into pieces and then glassing out of the hull. The flammability of the picric acid charge added fuel to the flames. In just a few minutes, Within seconds, the destroyer was engulfed in raging flames and turned into a floating torch on the sea.
Another destroyer was hit by a shell that ignited its torpedo tube 2 minutes later. This shot directly detonated three 533MM torpedoes. With the continuous explosion of more than 1 ton of explosives, the hull fragments were thrown into the sky by hundreds of people. meters in the air, and the shock wave generated also dispersed some of the surrounding smoke.
"Release torpedoes! All destroyers release torpedoes!" As the flagship issued the order, the remaining 10 Japanese destroyers began to turn, and then aimed their side chord launch tubes at the incoming U.S. destroyer squadron. In haste, many destroyers even The torpedoes were fired without even binding the firing data. Naturally, it was difficult for these torpedoes sailing in random directions on the sea to hit the target. However, due to the shock effect of the torpedoes, the US destroyer squadron still deviated a little.
"Collect the fleet and move upwind. Regroup and then intercept." Mikawa Junichi, who was the leader of the team, ordered. His idea is actually quite reasonable. In the smoke, his destroyer squadron cannot get the support of the main fleet's secondary artillery fire. If it is a close combat, the US military with more ships and more guns must be more powerful. They directly kill 2 Ship, this is the result of his fast running!
In Mikawa Junichi's view, the main goal of the US destroyer should be to release a lightning strike. Therefore, his idea was to temporarily retreat to a smoke-free upwind position to reorganize the fleet, and then stab him in the back when the US destroyer launched a lightning strike. , cooperate with the battleship's secondary battery to attack this US destroyer squadron!
This idea is really good, and it is also the correct way to handle the current Japanese fleet. However, if the Japanese can think of this, Redel can also think of it! The smoke released by the destroyer force not only covered itself, but also provided cover for the Redel fleet behind it!
Redel is hedging his bets this time. If the Japanese are strong, then fine, the destroyers of both sides will engage in a melee. As long as God doesn't help the Japanese, then after this close battle, the U.S. Navy will definitely have the upper hand! The gap in strength between the two sides is too big. This cannot be restored by operation. And it is unrealistic for the Japanese to deploy such a wave of destroyers!
And if this Japanese commander is smart enough, then he will definitely avoid the edge for the time being, avoid frontal conflicts, and then attack from the side and behind after regrouping! The upwind is the only option, because if you go to the downwind, you will be shrouded in smoke and the regrouping will definitely be very slow. And according to the current speed of the American destroyers, the Japanese destroyer squadron will not be able to make it in time. Well, Redel's approach is to hide in the smoke like a lion preparing to hunt. Once the Japanese destroyer squadron is ready to regroup upwind, then he will kill it directly! Anyway, the Japanese destroyers have already released a wave of torpedoes, and the threat to the capital ships will be greatly reduced. If a battleship and two cruisers of more than 20,000 tons rush up, wouldn't it be massacre?
Although the so-called European fable of losing a kingdom to a horseshoe is exaggerated, the efforts of Redel Fleet last night did pay off today! The Japanese fleet is missing 1 light cruiser and 4 destroyers! This made the Japanese plan to use destroyers to block the lightning strikes of US destroyers during today's war come to nothing! This is also an important reason why Redel can succeed in betting on both ends! Otherwise, if the battleships lost last night were added in, the 18 American destroyers would really not be able to penetrate the opponent's defense line!
Two updates today~~~! Please subscribe and reward~~~! ! !
Reading URL: m.
Recommended new book by urban master Lao Shi: