The Tang Army refitted a destroyer and prepared to test the effects of a new weapon, so they allowed the two destroyers to proceed so blatantly along the coastline of the Mirage Island.
In order to cooperate with this operation, the Tang Empire arranged more than 30 fighter jets to escort the two destroyers: they all hid behind the clouds, and some simply flew over the new island.
In fact, these aircraft were mainly prepared to prevent attacks by mirage suicide aircraft, because the targets on the sea... were the subjects of this experiment.
That's right, because the Tang Army was sunk a destroyer in the Battle of New Island, they came up with a method to deal with suicide speedboats. This method is the Otto Melara 76mm caliber fully automatic naval gun!
Compared with the 17mm naval guns equipped on the destroyers of the Tang Empire Navy, the Otto 76mm caliber fully automatic naval gun has a rate of fire of up to a terrifying 10 rounds per minute. This system is completely mechanically automated and does not require manual loading.
The brand-new naval gun has a high rate of fire and can be used with radar fire control, so it can hit moving targets at night and when visibility is low.
Frankly speaking, this medium-sized naval gun system was originally designed to hit fast and small targets such as aircraft, so it is naturally more capable when used to hit speedboats.
On the one hand, radar fire control gives it a more precise attack capability, on the other hand, the fully automatic high rate of fire gives it the ability to detect and correct deficiencies.
In order to install this new type of artillery, the two 17 mm caliber naval guns at the front and rear were even removed from the experimental destroyer, leaving the best firing range for the two 76 mm caliber naval guns.
At this moment, the soldiers in the observation posts deployed by the Mirage Kingdom on the coastline have not yet recognized the special features of the Tang Kingdom destroyer.
They did not see the special round turrets at the front and rear of the destroyer behind them, and of course they did not notice the special fire control radars under the front and rear masts of the destroyer.
The speedboat captains of the Mirage Kingdom did not know that their opponents had been upgraded. At this time, they had already spread out on the sea and rushed towards the Tang Army's battleship formation.
Because of their extremely fast speed, the heads of these speedboats were raised high, and the white waves were cut by the sharp bows of the boats and floated towards both sides of the speedboats.
On some speedboats, soldiers responsible for controlling machine guns were already in place. These goblins were prepared to die. They wanted to use their lives to teach the Tang people who came from afar.
"Target found ahead!" In the radar room of the Tang Army destroyer directly ahead, the radar soldier had already seen the light spot on the screen and loudly reported the situation to his captain.
The captain standing on the bridge looked at the helmsman and ordered: "Slow down! Get Beiyuan 18 in position!"
The older destroyer Beiyuan No. 18 is not equipped with anti-ship missiles and anti-aircraft missiles, so it has relatively ample internal space, making it the first choice for this experimental modification.
Another reason is that the day after the Battle of New Island broke out, Beiyuan 18 happened to be patrolling near Long Island. It was in a good location and could be directly modified...
On the Beiyuan 18 ship island, the captain was giving orders to overtake. He wanted to rush to the front of the fleet and use new artillery to attack the enemy.
If the new artillery works well, then this battle will be the end of the Mirage Kingdom's suicide speedboats. If the new artillery doesn't work well...then they will have to wait for Beiyuan 40 to catch them.
"Report the radar status!" The captain looked at the first mate beside him with some uneasiness. After the first mate and the weapons officer confirmed it, he loudly reported back: "Everything is normal with the fire control radar!"
"The target is kilometers away! Approaching at high speed!" The radar soldier loudly confirmed the distance between the two sides, and the atmosphere in the bridge suddenly became tense.
"Right rudder! Adjust the course, due east...7 degrees!" The captain raised the telescope and gave the steering order at the same time: "Speed 3!"
"Right rudder! Seven degrees due east! Maintain speed!" The helmsman turned the steering wheel, and the flexible destroyer's course quickly curved, leaving a curved white line on the sea.
As the waves beat, the destroyer's bow was constantly rising and falling. Its speed was already fast enough, and it soon aimed its broadside at the approaching enemy.
Another 76mm fully-automatic naval gun at the stern also gained a range of fire. It was powered on and pointed its dark muzzle in the direction of the enemy.
"Aiming completed!" The weapons officer clasped his hands behind his back and reported to the captain that they were ready.
On the deck, sailors wearing life jackets and steel helmets were already in place. They controlled the Bofors anti-aircraft gun, leveled the muzzle, and also aimed it at the enemy on the coastline.
Everyone was in full position, waiting for the moment the enemy speedboat appeared. But just as the sailors held their breath, the two automatic cannons at the bow and stern of the ship suddenly opened fire.
"Boom! Boom!" The slender barrel sprayed out smoke and flames. Under normal circumstances, Tang's destroyers would not fire at those nimble speedboats at this distance.
However...the rate of fire of these two automatic cannons is so fast that it is shocking! Water columns rise up on the sea in the distance, like a wall.
In the water column, a huge explosion suddenly appeared, and the shocking water column shocked everyone.
"Hit the target!" the lookout on the mast shouted excitedly. He had just clearly seen a mirage speedboat through the telescope, which exploded after being hit by a cannonball.
The 76mm caliber naval gun is obviously more lethal to targets than the 40mm caliber Bofors anti-aircraft gun.
When the cannon shot up, the shell directly penetrated the opponent's protective steel plate and hit the ammunition carried in the speedboat.
The speedboat troops of the Mirage Army obviously did not realize the seriousness of the problem. They continued to approach, trying to rush forward to complete their "attack".
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Unfortunately, a few seconds later, another speedboat was hit at a farther distance. The huge explosion set off a column of water that shot into the sky, causing mirages around it.
The national speedboat couldn't avoid it.
"Boom! Boom!" Almost non-stop, the two 76mm main guns on the Tang destroyer roared with tongues of fire.
Below the deck, the round rotary loading mechanism filled with cannonballs was constantly rotating. The mechanical arm pushed the cannonballs into the gun barrel one after another. The entire action was completed extremely smoothly.
This kind of naval gun is worthy of being a mature naval gun equipped with more than 0 countries. Its design is very classic and its effect is naturally outstanding. Otherwise, it would not be possible for so many countries to choose to equip it.
Italy, which designed and manufactured this kind of naval gun, even equipped many warships with two of this kind of naval gun, which shows its love for it.
Amidst the cheers of the Tang Navy sailors, another Mirage speedboat was hit and exploded. At this time, none of the Mirage speedboats could even give the Tang Army's Bofors 40mm caliber anti-aircraft gun a chance to fire.
There was no way, because the distance was too long, and the crew members of the Bofors anti-aircraft gun were unwilling to waste their ammunition.
Carrying the magazine of the Bofors anti-aircraft gun is also a tiring job. Before it is time to fire, it is obviously a more correct choice to let the loader save energy.
Leave it all to the two roaring cannons on the bow and stern of the ship. Their terrifying rate of fire is even comparable to that of the 40mm Bofors.
It is a pity that Bofors can only fire at a distance of about kilometers, and the ultimate distance is only 7 kilometers. As long as there are enough suicide speedboats at this distance, the Mirage Army's suicide speedboats can still cause some trouble for the Tang Army's destroyers.
But the Otto 76 mm caliber naval gun is different. It can easily fire at a distance of 10 kilometers, forming a firepower network with the 40 mm caliber Bofors.
As for the 17mm caliber naval gun... its rate of fire is relatively slow, and it is obviously not as good at attacking a large number of small speedboats as the 76mm caliber naval gun.
"This thing is too scary!" On the bridge of Beiyuan 40, which was following Beiyuan 18, the captain said with lingering fear as he looked at the two fully automatic naval guns that kept firing.
To be honest, his battleships are all equipped with 17mm caliber naval guns, so he is not sure of victory in a gun battle with the Beiyuan 18, which is equipped with a 76mm caliber fully automatic cannon.
The opponent's rate of fire was too scary, and the ammunition dumping ability was no less than that of his 17-mm cannon. What he didn't know was that Datang Group not only developed a 76-mm-caliber fully-automatic artillery, but also developed a brand-new 17-mm cannon.
mm caliber naval gun!
It's just that the brand-new naval guns have to be put into service with the brand-new guided-missile destroyers. Beiyuan-class destroyers like them are not lucky enough to be equipped with large-scale equipment.
"Boom! Boom!" When the captain of the Beiyuan 40 destroyer sighed, the two Otto naval guns on the Beiyuan 18 were still firing continuously.
One shell after another swept across the sea, and then collided with the struggling suicide speedboats of the Mirage, and then burst into brilliant sparks.
Explosions followed one after another, and water jets followed one after another. Mirage's speedboat troops finally couldn't hold on anymore. The people driving these speedboats were not fanatics who wanted to die. Their initial courage was destroyed one by one by the friendly speedboats around them.
It exploded into the sky and disappeared.
"Turn around! Turn around quickly!" On a speedboat, the commanding captain shouted at the top of his lungs. He could not see the hope of dying together with the enemy. In his opinion, everything he was doing now was no different from dying.
Dying with the enemy and dying in vain are two different things. The terrifying artillery has been attacking them all the time, and the shells are extremely accurate. He really can't see any hope of getting close to the enemy ship!
"Boom!" Just as he shouted, a shell directly hit the side of his speedboat. The explosives loaded in the speedboat exploded, and the speedboat he was on disappeared into the sea in an instant.
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There are two updates today, and the additional update will be tomorrow.