Nomura's face turned pale with shock. The shells from these artillery guns were fired from the starboard side. The starboard ship plank was like paper, and it shattered in an instant. A rib with a diameter of one foot was broken, and the shells and wooden spikes swept across the entire ship.
Gun bunker. The artillery inside the gun bunker was knocked over, making a huge noise.
Nomura heard clearly on the deck. The heavy artillery flew up and knocked down a large number of gunners. These people were hit by the flying artillery, their bones and tendons were broken, and they were smashed into meat patties. However, the kinetic energy of the artillery shells was not consumed.
After that, it actually broke through the ship's wall panel from the port side and flew out again.
It fell far into the sea, stirring up a plowed ditch of white waves.
How many pounds of cannonballs was this! This power simply frightened him. This kind of artillery was not designed for the ship under his feet. This ship was already the largest ship he had ever seen.
He heard from the older generation who had returned from a voyage to Europe that there were ships in Europe that were seven or eight times larger than this ship, with a displacement of three to four thousand tons.
The shock of this shell was not over yet. Then, bang bang bang! A dense sound of being shot came. Eighteen fifty-pound spherical solid bullets all hit the target.
Because the distance between the two ships is less than 200 meters, and although the cruiser does not have stabilizer fins, it does have a fixed bilge keel, which greatly reduces the amplitude of rolling. It is very conducive to the aiming and design of artillery.
Therefore, the cruiser's hit rate is extremely high. The heavy metal gun mount and complex spring recoil system also provide good shooting stability.
For warships with broadside gun windows, the biggest factor affecting the accuracy of the artillery is roll. The ship moves with six degrees of freedom on the sea. It is moving forward, backward, left, right, up and down, and is in motion all the time. Roll refers to the sideways and left-to-right swaying of the ship.
.
The feeling in the gun window on the side is that the muzzle is constantly moving up and down because the hull is swinging left and right. In this era, the cannons were lit with fuses and match ropes. Only when the gunpowder in the fire door is ignited can it be fired.
At this time, the muzzle is aimed at the enemy ship. But it takes time for the fuse to burn. When it is burned in, the angle of the ship's hull changes, causing the muzzle to be either higher or lower. When the gun is fired, it does not hit the sky.
Yes, it was thrown into the sea.
The solution is also simple. For example, for a long time in the West, a stove was placed next to the cannon with a red-hot iron skewer inserted into it. When firing, the red-hot iron skewer was directly inserted into the fire door. This can
Instant firing.
But this is risking one's life. The gun warehouse is filled with propellant packs and ammunition. If you set up an open flame here, if you are not careful, you can blow up the battleship. The enemy's shells come in, destroying the furnace, and charcoal fire is flying everywhere.
He had to die in an explosion.
Therefore, the Japanese Navy has not yet learned such advanced technology, and they are still using lead wires.
Eighteen rounds of fifty-pound shot put all hit the target. Even Yang Fan, who was watching the game on the cruise ship, excitedly patted the armrest of his chair.
As soon as the cannon was fired, Xiao Niangpi shouted excitedly: "There's a fight, there's a fight. Master, hurry up and move us away so we can watch them fight. I haven't seen a naval battle yet."
I just want to watch the fun and not be afraid of big trouble. All I need is a handful of melon seeds.
At this time, the Royal Clipper staggered forward, and they could watch the battle between the two sides clearly from the balcony. They watched as the cruiser's dense shells hit the Spanish galleon.
Because the cruiser was 85 meters long, while the Spanish galleon was only more than 40 meters long. The difference between the two sides was double. And the eighteen heavy guns spanned an entire deck, from beginning to end.
So some of the cannons fired straight at the opponent, and some shot diagonally at the opponent from the front and back. This caused a crossfire. They could clearly see that these heavy lead balls destroyed the poor man in just one round.
The Spanish galleon was illuminated from the front and back.
The lead ball not only shattered the wall of the gun warehouse, but also made a mess inside the gun warehouse. The hit artillery broke away from the gun carriage, the bronze cannon was bent, the iron cannon was shattered, and the fragments flew everywhere.
The artillery fire smashed into the gunner's body and left him bloody.
These fifty-pound lead balls, after making a mess all over the place, flew out from the other side. This Spanish galleon was like a rag with countless holes. It was bright everywhere. You could see the inside from the outside at a glance.
Case.
"One more round and the ship will sink. Don't fire solid bullets. Try using incendiary bombs instead." Yang Fan said. Xu Xiu behind him immediately walked out and asked the signal soldiers to signal Yang Fan's
instruct.
Soon, Dong Tianpeng received the order.
"Stop the bombardment. Battery No. 3, load an incendiary bomb and target the enemy ship." Dong Tianpeng ordered.
Nomura and others saw a salvo fired from the opposite ship, almost completely destroying the superstructure above the waterline of their own ship. Their legs were still weak. The front and rear bridges, forecastle, and gun compartments were all in diameter.
There was a big hole of more than one meter. The wall inside collapsed and the house collapsed, and the damage was beyond appearance.
Countless injured gunners and sailors were writhing in pools of blood and wailing.
This round of salvo completely destroyed the gun warehouse. No gun crew was seen getting up to continue shooting. Two of the ship's three masts were broken. These masts penetrated multiple decks.
Fixed on the keel.
When the cannonball passed through the gun bunker and forecastle, it directly broke the mast and foremast.
"Master Fengxing, what should we do now? Should we fight?" A leader stepped forward and asked.
Before Nomura could make a decision, the white ship on the opposite side opened fire again. Nomura screamed in horror. This salvo could completely smash the ship and sink it.
However, after one gun fired, there was no second salvo. This made them a little confused, and then they understood why only one gun was fired this time.
A cannonball roared and hit the bow of the Spanish galleon.
With a bang, a fireball exploded from the bow of the ship. All the remaining buildings on the bow were blown away. There was almost no hull structure above the waterline. It was like a large piece of the ship had suddenly been smashed off by a sledgehammer.
After the fireball rose, it exploded again, emitting a blazing white light. The high brightness for a moment almost blinded people's eyes for a short time. Everyone lowered their heads reflexively and closed their eyes tightly. However, their eyelids could not withstand the white light. It felt like their eyes were filled with darkness.
Snow white.
Then, they felt a heat wave hit their faces. They could even smell the smell of burnt hair. Then, a shock wave swept across the remaining people on the deck. They were knocked off the ship and fell into the cold water. Or they were blown away.
, fell to the ground.
Nomura hit the wall behind and fell to the ground. Then, the white light disappeared, and with a bang, the bow of the ship, which was tilted upward, burned violently because the forecastle was knocked off.
In the sea, a Spanish galleon was tilted up high, like an invisible hand holding a torch diagonally upward at 45 degrees in the water. It burned violently.