It was indeed the "Light Cavalry" that fired first. Because of its "high speed" characteristics, this high-speed reconnaissance ship was equipped with all the cannons except for a small number of close-in defense light cannons to protect against pirates.
long heavy cannon.
Jinghua's ship-borne light artillery is just the naval version of the army's artillery. It is very difficult to modify and the cost is easy to control. Therefore, it mainly spends its time on the long and heavy artillery that is highly pragmatic.
This makes Jinghua's long and heavy artillery unique in this era - after all, Europe's military equipment is far from entering the era of "rapid changes" at this time, let alone people like Gao Pragmatic to make long-term plans.
, everyone is crossing the river by feeling the stones.
In fact, European artillery in the sixteenth century was even more complex than ships. Whether it was a heavy main battle gun loaded with front loading and aimed at destroying ships, or a small artillery loaded with breech loading and aimed at killing people.
Divided into three main types.
The first type is the Porter gun, which has an extremely stubby shape and is similar to the Perley gun. It can be regarded as the predecessor of the mortar. The latter was originally just the name of some of the gun types.
The second type is the cannon, which is a family of thick, medium-range artillery pieces. The primary type is the demi-cannon, which is a crouching monster with a 9-foot-long barrel and a 6-inch-wide bore that can shoot straight.
A 32-pound solid bullet with a range of about 500 yards, it was the ancestor of the mortar in the 18th century.
Finally, there is the long-range artillery family, which are the ancestors of long-range artillery in the 18th century.
Theoretically, a long heavy gun can fire an 18-pound shell - the weight of a semi-long heavy gun is halved - effectively to a distance of 700 yards. If fired at will, the maximum range is as high as about 2 miles.
Therefore, the ships were separated by "long gun range", which meant that the two ships were separated by approximately less than 2 miles, and by "half gun range", which meant that the two ships were separated by about 350 yards.
One mile is approximately equal to 1.6 kilometers, and slightly less than two miles can be regarded as approximately 3 kilometers. This is the best theoretical range of Europe's excellent long heavy artillery at this time.
However, just as there is sometimes a big difference between the "maximum theoretical speed" of a ship and the actual best speed it can run, there is also a big gap between the theoretical range of this long heavy gun and its actual range.
In fact, even though these artillery are collectively called long heavy artillery and semi-long heavy artillery, because it is difficult for European man-made artillery in this era to achieve any standardization, each gun is very different in terms of bore, muzzle caliber, weight and performance.
.
And because the variety of weights and measures in various regions of Europe in the sixteenth century reached an incredible level, and most interested later researchers were indifferent to these surprises, the final data had to be corrected again and again.
Therefore, there will be some embarrassment when reading the data in later generations. For example, a ballistics expert may mention that a long and heavy gun with such specifications fired a 9-pound shell 2,500 steps away.
However, he did not actually have a precise understanding of the 1 step and 1 pound here, which country implemented them in which era, the distance and weight they represented, and how much they equaled in later generations.
Regarding the statements of foreigners he copied (most experts relied on each other for copying), he did not know whether the values used by the other party were consistent with his own or completely different.
Therefore, in the later military history circles, the information that the public has about European artillery in the Armada era can almost be said to be: all of them are only relatively accurate.
Jinghua has already obtained many parameters of Portuguese and Spanish artillery through various means, and even obtained some physical objects for use as research and benchmark. What is particularly interesting is that whether it is the Portuguese or Spanish
People, they are equipped with all kinds of artillery, not only from different artillery factories, but even from different countries.
When Gao Pragmatic sent back the first report of the Jinghua Artillery Factory for redoing, he said this: "Your factory gave me more than 70 kinds of artillery parameters. How much time do I have to compare and analyze them one by one? Your factory should be in
Pick two or three artillery pieces of each type that you think are the best, benchmark them and strive to surpass them, and then submit your report again."
After the re-submission, Jinghua Artillery Factory also attached a statement, believing that the difference between land guns and naval guns in the future is likely to become larger and larger. It is recommended that Gao Pragmatic approve their re-planning and completely separate the design and design of land guns and naval guns.
Manufacturing, of course, also requires re-numbering, etc.
This plan has been approved by Gao Pragmatic, but it may take some time before it is actually implemented. Currently, the "Left Cavalry" is still equipped with No. 2 guns, but because these two high-speed reconnaissance ships were newly launched, they are using No. 2 guns.
The latest model of the ship-borne version of the gun.
The main features of this model are long range, high accuracy, and better reliability. However, due to the technological level of the era, the prerequisite for achieving these advantages is to reduce the weight of the projectile - in other words, the power is reduced.
At this time, the largest European heavy artillery shells were usually 32 pounds (about 14.5 kilograms, 29 kilograms. As mentioned above, the mass weights and measures in this book have been converted according to the current customary market kilograms). However, because the opponents that the Ming Dynasty had faced before could not even use cannons.
No, the requirements for giant cannons are relatively small, so Jinghua’s largest standard No. 1 artillery shell only weighs 28 kilograms.
The weight of the No. 2 cannon shells is divided into two types: land and sea. The No. 2 cannon shells of the land gun weigh 20 kilograms, and the No. 2 cannon shells of the naval gun weigh 24 kilograms. The naval guns of the two high-speed reconnaissance ships of the "Ranger" class are made of
Technical adjustment, so the 24-pound ship-borne No. 2 gun shells cannot be used, and the 20-pound land gun No. 2 gun shells can be used.
Originally, the most suitable bomb weight was about 22 kilograms, but considering that there are only two ships of this class, and they are still in the experimental stage, it is uncertain whether they will continue to be built in the future, so I "accommodated" and used land guns.
The shells were just fine.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Of course, this refers to solid projectiles. In actual naval combat, it is sometimes necessary to launch special projectiles such as chain projectiles (chain projectiles are used to destroy the sails and cables of the opponent's ship)
wait).
This special cannonball uses a chain to connect two small cannonballs smaller than the caliber of the cannon bore. After it is fired, one cannonball will drag the other cannonball and fly out in a centrifugal swing, so it will pull on the sail.
Make a big hole, or tear the rigging, or if you are lucky, you can even break the mast and paralyze the enemy ship.
This kind of shell is mainly used to limit the mobility of enemy ships. Similar principles include stick shells. In addition, chain shells also have an important function, which is cutting.
The rapidly rotating chain bomb can easily cut open the enemy (mainly sailors on the ship). It is a very terrifying weapon. However, its effect is more reflected in the damage to the mast and canvas, and the hit rate is not as good as that of the grapevine.
bomb, so few people mention it.
As for grape bullets, this special kind of shells uses net bags to bundle loose ammunition into a bunch. It looks like a bunch of grapes in shape, hence its name. However, the range of grape bullets is not as good as that of solid bullets. Its main advantage lies in close range.
A single shot from a distance can knock down dozens of enemy soldiers in an instant, which is equivalent to disintegrating an infantry squadron (European standard).
As for naval battles, it is obvious that these artillery shells, which can knock down large numbers of enemy officers and sailors but do not have enough range, are basically used for close combat, such as firing a few shots to clear the area before taking the initiative to join the fight, or to prevent the opponent from doing so.
During the battle, use AOE group damage to protect yourself.
The shells currently fired by the "Left Wing Hussars" are not special shells, but ordinary 20-pound heavy land artillery solid shells.
20 kilograms is not light, but the solid iron means that it is actually not big - not as big as a person's head. A projectile of this size hit a 1,200-ton sailing ship, and it was remarkable that it made a small hole.
The destructive power is actually limited. (Note: By the way, a 1,200-ton wooden sail warship is much larger in size than a modern 1,200-ton iron ship.)
At this time, the "Light Cavalry" was still about three and a half miles away from the Spanish treasure ship fleet. It had only reached the theoretical maximum range of its long heavy guns, so the shells it fired could only be said to be used for calibration.
The result of the calibration was not very good. Even the shell closest to the enemy's flagship "San Antonio" landed nearly a mile away. However, this result made many people on the "San Antonio"
I broke out in a cold sweat.
Echevarry, deputy commander of the fleet and captain of the flagship, was shocked and exclaimed: "These are at least a dozen long heavy guns, and judging from the sound of the guns, these long heavy guns are all of the same caliber - this means that the opponent is a professional navy
warship!"
Commander Silva was also surprised. He rolled his eyes and frowned: "But they are not flying the Ming Dynasty's 'Fire of the Sun and Moon' flag, but the Jinghua Company's Shujian flag."
Regarding the "Fire of the Sun and Moon" flag of the Ming Dynasty mentioned by Silva, this needs some explanation.
In the first year of Longqing, that is, 1567 AD, Emperor Mu Zonglongqing announced the lifting of the sea ban on the suggestion of Gao Gong. This was the official opening of the sea after many years of sea ban by the Ming Dynasty. Immediately afterwards, the Ming merchant ships legally went to sea, and they saw foreigners
All merchant ships in the Ming Dynasty had a national flag hung on their bows. Since the Ming Dynasty did not design a formal national flag, maritime merchants designed a "national flag" of their own.
"Ming" is composed of the sun and the moon, so the national flag they designed is also the same, with a sun shape on the left and a moon shape on the right. The sun and moon are closely connected to form the word "ming". And because the Ming Dynasty favored fire virtue (probably because the emperor
The surname is Zhu (Zhu is as red as fire, so the Ming Dynasty claimed to have the virtue of fire), and most of the clothes are mainly red, so besides the sun and moon, a circle of red flames rising in all directions is designed.
The background color of the flag is blue, which represents the sky. The entire flag means "the sun and the moon are immortal, and the light will shine forever."
Originally, this flag was only used by private maritime merchants in the original history, but in this life, because of Gao Pragmatism, after knowing this situation, he did not rashly ask the emperor to designate a "national flag" for the Ming Dynasty (the more symbolic it is, the more symbolic it is.
In this era, it is easier to cause controversy, and things like setting a national flag require a suitable opportunity.) However, Shangshu talked about it and asked the emperor to approve its use by the maritime merchants. The reason was that the maritime merchants did this.
It is an expression of "sincere respect for the imperial court" and deserves recognition.
It is indeed obvious at a glance that this flag means "the sun and the moon are immortal and will illuminate the Ming Dynasty forever." Of course, the emperor would not think there was any problem, so the imperial pen and Zhu Pi agreed. In this way, the maritime merchants of the Ming Dynasty had
A unified, officially licensed flag can be flown. Although this flag is not a national flag in theory, it is undoubtedly a national flag in the eyes of foreigners.
However, most other maritime merchants have no other flags to fly, so the "Fire of the Sun and Moon" flag is very conspicuous. This flag is hung almost everywhere on the ship. However, when they enter the private port of Jinghua or follow Jinghua
When the fleet travels, it is necessary to hang sword flags of different sizes on the foremast, bow, stern, and the top of the signal pole in the cab according to Jinghua's requirements.
Because Jinghua is pragmatic and has "brand awareness" for a long time, it has been flying the Shujian flag for many years. Therefore, after this "Fire of the Sun and Moon" flag was designated as the "quasi-national flag" that Ming Dynasty Maritime Business can "fly",
Jinghua just added an internal rule, "Hang two 'Sun and Moon Fire' flags on the left and right sides of the cab to show your identity."
Naturally, this location is not particularly eye-catching for the entire ship, so when other ships look from a distance, they usually only see Jinghua's distinctive sword flag.
Of course, Echevary also saw the most obvious sword flags. He pondered for a moment and asked with a worried look: "Is it possible that the Ming Dynasty also started to issue privateering licenses?"
This question was obviously due to the English Pirate Anxiety Syndrome, but Commander Silva showed his calmness at this time and shook his head decisively: "This is impossible. As far as I know, although Jinghua Company is not the royal family of the Ming Dynasty Emperor,
trading company, but it is actually in a similar monopoly position.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Since it has such a monopoly position, it must exist as a maintainer of the system just like our Castile, and it will never be England.
Such challengers and saboteurs. In my opinion, I can understand anyone who wants to be a privateer in the Far East, especially in the South China Sea, but Jinghua Company cannot be a pirate."
Echevarry slapped the window edge with some annoyance and said: "I understand this too, but how do you explain the current situation? Jinghua Company's warship - I'm sure it's not an armed merchant ship - came to attack us, attack Castile
Kingdom Navy!
Commander, you know that this is an act of war. Who authorized Jinghua Company to wage war against us? Is it the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty? But why did the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty launch a war against us? Our two countries are thousands of miles apart.
Although the Ming Dynasty had a large number of vassal states, they were all around itself. So what conflicts of interest did they have with us that would require war to resolve them? I have never heard of them having overseas colonies.
The desire..."
Echevar was still angrily analyzing and questioning, but Silva suddenly changed his face and blurted out one word: "Damn!"
"What's the matter, Commander?" Echevary comes from a small noble family. Since he was ordered to become Silva's deputy, he has rarely seen the commander who comes from a large noble family get angry, so this moment is a little bit...
Astonished.
Silva stared sinisterly at the turning "Light Cavalry" and gritted his teeth and said: "I'm afraid the Philippine colony is in danger."
Echevary gasped and said in shock: "Is the Ming Dynasty also going to seize the colonies?"
"I don't know." Silva didn't have time to analyze the overall situation of the country. He just analyzed it according to the thinking of a naval soldier: "Look at that battleship, its speed is faster than the ships of the same class that I know about.
We have to be faster. I suspect that this battleship is just an advance reconnaissance ship of the Ming Dynasty Navy, and it only has one ship, so it will definitely not be our opponent.
The reason why it dared to fire at us must be relying on something...I mean, not far behind it, there is probably a large fleet of the Ming Navy and it is heading towards us."
Echevary subconsciously swallowed a mouthful of saliva and asked: "Then what should we do? Should we ignore it for now and quickly go to Manila to inform His Excellency Governor Santiago de Vera to prepare for the war?"
Silva did not answer immediately, but stared at the "Left Wing Ranger" and observed it again, and then said: "This ship uses hard sails and is a typical Chinese ship, but the bow of the ship looks a bit strange.
,I don’t know how it was built…”
"Your Excellency Commander, our focus now..."
"Don't interrupt me, sir." Silva said seriously: "I am explaining the situation to you, my deputy and flagship captain. What I want to say is that, for whatever reason, it can be seen now that
The ship's speed is higher than ours."
"Well, that's what Ning wishes, Commander, but that just means we can't catch it. May I take it that you agree that we should abandon it immediately and rush to Manila?"
Silva narrowed his eyes slightly and said: "We will turn around immediately and make a posture of rushing to Manila, but we should take a diagonal course... As long as the enemy ship falls into the trap and turns around to chase, we will immediately turn around at a suitable distance
, attack and destroy it before it has time to turn around and escape!"
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