With the Victory taking the lead in firing in the T-shaped formation, the Battle of Tasman began.
Although both sides used pre-dreadnoughts in this great naval battle, in fact, this was the first large-scale naval battle between the Imperial Navy and the British and American navies.
After two calibrated firings, the six battleships and armored cruisers of the South Pacific Squadron formed the first salvo, targeting the Royal Navy flagship "Bafleur" of the Combined Fleet. At this time, the "Bafleur" was located in the fleet.
The lead ship naturally became the key target of attack.
"The Imperial Navy's gunnery is truly accurate and ferocious."
Colonel Phyllis Brooke, who was standing in the command tower of the Centurion, looked at the water column surrounding the "Bafleur" and the flames that continued to explode from its sides, and couldn't help but praise in his heart.
"Indeed, sir, we are now at a disadvantage of a combat distance of 2 nautical miles."
At just this moment, a grenade landed on the front deck of the "Captain Centurion" bridge and exploded. The flames of the explosion rose into the sky. When the steel fragments flew everywhere, they even flew into the command tower through the observation window. In an instant, several officers were there.
The sailor was hit by shrapnel.
But even so, Colonel Brooke still stared straight ahead. Even if a junior officer next to him was hit by shrapnel, he still stood there with an unchanging expression.
"In the first salvo, at least three shells over 10 inches hit the "Bafleur"..."
Putting down the telescope, Brooke couldn't help but admire the Imperial Navy gunners 16 kilometers away. Their cannon fire was really... so accurate!
"It seems that this battle is really not easy."
"The Imperial Navy is more powerful than we thought!"
Standing in the command tower of the Iowa, Admiral Schroeder frowned. Originally, they had obtained the Imperial Navy's South Pacific Squadron and sailed into the Tasman Sea, so they launched an interception.
But what’s the reason for taking the initiative?
Isn’t it still based on strength advantage?
But now as soon as the battle started, he realized that his opponents were more powerful than he thought. Maybe they were less powerful, but their artillery skills were very good, and they were good at long-distance artillery battles.
Facing such an opponent, one should always be as cautious as possible.
Staring at the water columns forming near-missiles, Schroeder could see that as the bombardment continued, the water columns were getting closer and closer to the "Bafleur". The water columns were an important reference for observing and adjusting the shooting. Those
The water column stays in the air for a few seconds, and the Imperial Navy uses it to adjust the parameters. Slowly, the cannonballs will be like nails falling in the air, constantly approaching the target, and then...
At this moment, a huge cloud of smoke suddenly rose from the amidships of the "Bafleur". Just judging from the smoke column, it was certain that it should be a 12-inch artillery shell.
However, even after being hit by several 12-inch shells one after another, the "Bafleur" still stood tenaciously in the fire. The Royal Navy sailors on the "Bafleur" fully demonstrated their quality. They always
They would take advantage of the intervals between bombardments to rush to the deck and use high-pressure water hoses to disperse the flames. These damage control sailors moved very quickly. In just ten seconds, they extinguished the flames burning on the deck.
"Chirp..." The sharp whistle of artillery shells came from the air. The sailors of the deck damage control team immediately looked for cover. When the shells flew, in the violent explosion, some damage control sailors were directly blown up.
The sky was full, but the violent explosions did not stop their steps. They would always take advantage of the gaps in the shelling to rush onto the burning deck and rescue the warships dutifully.
When the Imperial ship launched its third salvo, the British and American fleets were still turning, and the lead ship "Bafleur" was still passively withstanding the bombardment.
At this time, the explosions around the "Bafleur" were earth-shattering. The port side of the ship faced the imperial fleet's gun muzzle, as if it was being continuously hammered by a giant hammer. The ship's hull was continuously hit.
The gun and the side battery were damaged even before a single shot was fired.
After the armor-piercing bullet penetrated the hull, the shredded steel fragments and fragments from the explosion of the shell splashed everywhere in the cabin. Swarms of sailors were cut to the ground like wheat in a wheat field. On the deck and in the cabin, instantly
Time is like a river of blood.
For the "Bafleur", it was like an abandoned child at this time, silently enduring everything. Only after the fleet turned and the distance between the two sides narrowed, they would fight back.
In the following time, the "Bafleur" endured an unprecedented group fight. It completed the turn 16 kilometers ahead of schedule, seizing the opportunity to seize the opportunity of the T-shaped Imperial Navy.
, using violent long-distance bombardment to seize the temporary advantage.
"Bang..."
Accompanied by a loud bell-like sound, almost everyone on the sea heard the loud sound. This was definitely an armored belt hit by an armor-piercing projectile of more than ten inches.
A 13-inch soft steel capped armor-piercing projectile accurately hit the armor belt on the port side of the "Bafleur". Like a giant punch, the armor-piercing projectile penetrated the armor belt and at the same time, the kinetic energy impact generated directly broke it.
The soft steel rivets that fixed the armor belt to the ship's plate were used. The broken rivets flew like bullets in the cabin, knocking down all the sailors in the cabin.
The most fatal blow was the armor-piercing projectile. After penetrating the armored steel, it penetrated the ship plate without losing strength, and then hit a boiler. At the moment the boiler was penetrated, the shell exploded near the furnace of the boiler.
, a mere dozen kilograms of explosives may not cause fatal damage to the cabin, but the explosion of the shell near the furnace not only shattered the furnace, but also shattered and penetrated the boiler water pipe. In an instant, the high-temperature and high-pressure boiling water and steam were like
It enveloped the entire boiler room, and the sailors who were shoveling coal in front of the boiler did not even react. They were enveloped in flames, high-temperature boiling water, and steam in the explosion.
Those sailors who were lucky to be alive should envy those who died. At least they did not have to endure the pain of boiling water showering their heads. When the splashing boiling water and steam rushed towards them, the skin on their bodies was peeled off in the blink of an eye.
As they screamed in agony, the high-temperature gas and steam generated by water pouring into the furnace took away their lives...
When the flames enveloped the boiler room and seawater poured into the boiler room along the broken bulwark, the captain of the "Bafleur" decisively issued an order to close the watertight compartment. Many sailors had not yet had time to escape.
, was directly blocked in the cabin, and then swallowed by the sea water.
Naval battles have always been like this, ruthlessness is not only towards the enemy, but also towards oneself!
It was at this time that the British and American combined fleets completed their turn and finally opened fire on the South Pacific Squadron...