A maritime encounter suddenly broke out when neither side was prepared. However, the commander of the Nanyang Squadron, Zhang Zongqiang, was extremely confident in defeating the Japanese Taiwan Strait Fleet. As soon as the opposing Japanese warship appeared in the artillery field, he immediately gave the order with a wave of his hand.
Said: "The battle begins! All artillery positions, fire quickly!"
As the flagship's order was issued, the warships of the Nanyang Squadron immediately turned their guns. A moment later, the rumbling shells roared in and exploded in the area of the Japanese warships, causing water splashes like jets of water.
The battleship Haruna is the flagship of the Japanese Taiwan Strait Fleet. The ship was officially converted into a battleship in 1931. In the eighth year of the Showa Period [i.e. 1933], after the first refit and the completion of the second major refit project, the Haruna had a standard displacement of
32,156 tons, with a length of 222.5 meters, a width of 31.02 meters, a draft of 9.72 meters, a main engine power of 136,000 horsepower, a maximum speed of 30.5 knots, and shipboard weapons and equipment including 8 356 mm caliber main guns, 14 152 mm caliber artillery pieces, 1'
12 mm caliber artillery pieces and 34 25 mm caliber artillery pieces.
The power of the 356 mm caliber main gun is very terrifying, so it became the focus of attention during the first attack by the Hainan Army's fighter planes. It has been "taken care of" from the beginning of the war, especially the Hainan Army's ship-borne torpedoes.
The aircraft posed a great threat to him, so the Japanese fleet commander Rear Admiral Umeda immediately ordered the battleship Haruna to retreat and fight under the cover of other battleships in the fleet.
Seeing the Japanese fleet in such a posture, how could Zhang Zongqiang not know their intentions? Want to run away? It's not that easy!
He immediately ordered again: "Send the order, increase the speed of the fleet to thirty-five knots, catch up, and shoot accurately!"
The Hainan battleship relies on diesel to generate power, so it is faster than the relatively clumsy Japanese battleship Haruna in terms of speed and horsepower. Therefore, the sudden acceleration of the Nanyang Squadron is always in a "T" shape as it chops through the waves.
The battleship Haruna was unable to use the secondary guns on both sides to fight, thus indirectly affecting its firepower.
Moreover, once the battleship Haruna, which accidentally protruded from the battle line, was returned to the Japanese fleet, because of its strength and armor, it would be really troublesome if it really fought under the cover of other Japanese ships! Therefore, he
How could the battleship Haruna be allowed to escape?
Precise shooting, with the help of artillery sighting tools such as rangefinders, the Hainan Army's bomb impact point became very precise. The main gun on the ship's bow roared in turn, and the power of the special armor-piercing explosive shells made the Japanese soldiers suffer. Every time
The artillery salvo and the exploding water column were very close to the Japanese ships. As the sea water rose, the Japanese soldiers were also frightened.
Amidst the loud noises of cannons being ejected from the barrel, as the flames continued to shine on the Haruna battleship, thick smoke soon filled the sea.
"Damn it! Are the Chinese gunners all elite? Why are their shelling so accurate?" Looking at the precise shelling through the telescope, Umeda's mind was filled with questions.
Even the veteran gunners in the Japanese navy may not be able to achieve such a shooting level. How could the Chinese now have gunners who are even more powerful than the imperial army? Could it be that those Chinese gunners were born after their mothers were born and started playing with cannons?
Due to his extreme trust in the ship's protective capabilities, the Japanese fleet commander Rear Admiral Umeda immediately ordered: "Our navy of the Empire of Japan is invincible! Fire and counterattack!"
I saw clouds of fire shooting out from the Japanese warship, and the screaming shells flew towards the Hainan warship, exploding streams of water two to three hundred meters away from the stern of the ship. Although it was powerful, the accuracy was really poor.
It's too far and has no effect at all.
After more than ten minutes of shelling by both sides, a huge fireball rose on the sea. A Japanese frigate was hit first. The shell directly penetrated the deck and penetrated into the boiler room. The violent explosion and high-pressure steam tore it apart in an instant.
The Japanese soldiers inside the ship were killed, and as a black-red mushroom cloud rose, the battleship's deck was torn apart, and the ship's hull was slowly sinking.
"Boom!" A Japanese artillery shell may have been lucky enough to land near the Songshan aircraft carrier of the Hainan Army. However, although this artillery shell was accurate enough, it was just bad luck, because the fragments of the explosion only penetrated
With the external armor on one side, the wounds can be ignored.
Looking at the water column caused by the explosion beside the battleship, Zhang Zongqiang was still frightened after being shocked. Thanks to the blessings of the gods, the Japanese main gun did not hit the Songshan aircraft carrier after all. The bullet mark was only a slight damage. After closing the water-proof compartment, it was
There are no other big problems anymore.
After regaining consciousness, Zhang Zongqiang's mind, aroused by his military exploits, had sobered up. He immediately discovered a command error, that is, the aircraft carrier was too close to the center of the battlefield. If he was not careful, he might be succeeded by the Japanese army.
What! If by chance the newly launched Songshan aircraft carrier is sunk by the Japanese in the first battle due to the commander's mistake, then he will really be responsible for it. If not, he may even end up in the military.
court.
Fortunately, it was not too late to make up for it. Zhang Zongqiang immediately ordered the Songshan aircraft carrier to leave the central battlefield and launch aircraft from a distance to carry out attack missions. In fact, this mistake was entirely due to Zhang Zongqiang, who had seen all the big guns and ships, and his head was turned upside down for a while.
China has not yet been able to turn a corner and accept the long-range offensive tactical mode of aircraft carriers.
"Damn it! Start launching torpedoes and give the little devils a taste!" After being frightened, Zhang Zongqiang became very angry inside. He almost got killed, how could he not be angry? So, there was nowhere to vent his anger.
The captain vented his anger on the little devil and ordered a torpedo attack.
As the order was conveyed, the warships of the Hainan Army immediately launched a torpedo attack, and white scratches were clearly visible on the sea. Of course, seeing it does not mean that you can avoid it, after all, the warship has such a huge body.
Boom! An explosion mixed with waves suddenly exploded from the side of a Japanese cruiser. The warship paused slightly, and even gave the impression that it moved two meters laterally.
However, before the Japanese troops on the battleship could react from the giant earthquake, the explosion of another torpedo plunged him into complete despair.
Boom! This torpedo hit the bow of the warship, and the violent explosion that occurred instantly penetrated the hull and tore a huge hole.
As the seawater poured in, the center of gravity of the ship shifted, causing the Japanese cruiser to deflect completely. It disappeared on the sea with burning flames, leaving only the wreckage floating on the sea, proving the cruelty of the war.
So far, two warships have been sunk by the Hainan Army. Feeling humiliated, the commander of the Japanese Taiwan Fleet, Rear Admiral Umeda, immediately became furious and roared angrily like a male dog with explosive hair.
However, even if the Japanese naval artillery tried its best, it still could not strike the Hainan Army. The battleship's top speed was more than thirty knots, and it was impossible to hit it accurately at full speed.
Half an hour into the artillery battle, the Japanese battleship Haruna was still resisting tenaciously, and the remaining two cruisers, destroyers and other battleships were locked in a bitter battle. The battleship Haruna was hit multiple times by Hainan warship guns, but the damage was not serious.
On the contrary, many Japanese officers and soldiers above died.
"Order the fleet to withdraw from the battle!" Rear Admiral Umeda is not a fool. He is very clear about the current battlefield situation. Although it is emotionally unacceptable, it cannot save their fate of failure.
And if we don't withdraw from the battle now, even the battleship Haruna will become a turtle in the urn after it is besieged by the Hainan Navy warships, unable to escape.
However, how could Zhang Zongqiang give him this opportunity? After seeing signs that the Japanese fleet was escaping again, he immediately ordered: "Hit the firepower and sink the Haruna for me."
Soon, artillery shells as dense as raindrops covered the Japanese battleship Haruna. Dozens or hundreds of artillery shells fell in turn. Even if the hit rate was one-tenth, the power generated was still considerable.
Although Rear Admiral Umeda was confident of escaping, the battle situation did not develop as he expected. The Haruna battleship was only at that speed. Although the speed of thirty knots was good, it was still pulled into the distance in front of the Hainan warships.
The Hainan Army warships have become a "V"-shaped formation. The angled hull can ensure the maximum output of firepower. All the main guns and secondary guns are firing, and there is only one secondary gun left at the stern that can fire, and the other
One had already been disabled by Hainan warship cannon.
The firepower lasted for two minutes. Four main gun shells hit the battleship Haruna respectively. With a violent explosion, one of them directly broke the chimney, damaging the steam unit and causing a sudden drop in power.
However, the bad situation is not just that. At the moment when the battleship Haruna was hit and the ship's speed slowed down, the torpedoes launched by the Hainan Army did not escape after all. Several armor-piercing bombs were fired in succession, and the fire spread on the hull, licking the raging tongues of flames.
Hull.
The power of the battleship dropped, and it was hit by several artillery shells. The battleship Haruna was no longer strong, and it was really the end of the river. The burning flames were uncontrollable, and the fire forced the Japanese sailors to jump into the sea. When the fire fighters were gone,
, the flames spread faster.
"Boom!" There was a loud noise, which was the flames igniting the ammunition compartment inside the hull, and the fate of the Haruna came to an end.
————【End of Chapter】————
ps: Today is really not a good day, it is simply terrible. For the first time, I believe that if a person is unlucky enough to drink cold water, his teeth will be choked! The line at home will be changed today, and the telecom line will be changed to mobile. However, exactly today
In the evening, my phone had some glitches. After restarting, the original text that was originally intended as a revision of question 216 and most of the content I wrote this morning were gone. I have been busy writing until now, and I can finish today's chapter as scheduled. I'm tired.