The Siamese Navy is led by four 8,000-ton cruisers converted from merchant ships, including the "Khao Yai", "Kau Bo Lung", "Ayutthaya", and "Thong Yai", supplemented by eight old destroyers and six frigates.
, four coastal defense ships and four torpedo boats, plus several gunboats and supply ships, passed Qiang Island (today's Kochang Island) menacingly and rushed towards the Nanhua waters.
The task given to the Siamese fleet was to search for and destroy all Nam Hwa warships from Kampong Som Bay to the mouth of the Mekong River, and to use naval guns to bombard the Nam Hwa naval base near the coast, as well as army stations and positions.
In the sky at a height of 15,000 meters, the high-altitude radar airship, which almost merges with the blue sky and white clouds, silently monitors every move of the Siamese Navy.
In the waters of Kogu Island in the south, a huge fleet is heading north.
This fleet includes the three battleships "Victory" (formerly the dreadnought "Corbell"), "South Sea" (formerly the dreadnought "Ocean") and "North Sea" (formerly the dreadnought "Paris").
Eight cruisers including the "Huo Qubing" and 16 destroyers including the Honghe (formerly the "Mogador" class "Volta") super destroyer. This was the first attack of the South China Navy in order to destroy the Siamese Navy in one fell swoop.
In order to improve the combat effectiveness, the Supreme Command adopted the Goshawk Fighting Rabbit's best-effort strategy, with Navy Commander Li Guang personally commanding the battle.
In the southern sky, six bomber squadrons, under the cover of six fighter squadrons, flew over the Cardamom Mountains and flew towards the sea area where the Siamese Navy was located.
At three past two o'clock in the afternoon, a water reconnaissance aircraft ejected from the Siamese coastal defense ship "Ayutthaya" discovered Nan Hua's huge battleship formation.
Looking at the Gulf of Siam, which stretches for more than 20 nautical miles, there are many large-tonnage ships cutting through the waves. There are at least five warships with a displacement of more than 20,000 tons, and the main gun caliber is as high as more than 300 millimeters.
The displacement of more than ten warships ranged from 8,000 tons to 5,000 tons, and the main gun caliber was more than 200 millimeters. This gave the pilots the idea that Britain, the United States or Japan had sent a fleet to the Gulf of Siam?
But soon, the high-flying red flag made the pilots understand that this was clearly the fleet of the South China Navy that needed to be dealt with this time when the navy went south. The opponent did not evade it, but actually came for it.
After calming down a little, the pilot couldn't help but shudder! Let a fleet that is at least half the tonnage behind its opponent attack the main fleet with five battleships and a large number of cruisers?
Crazy, really crazy!
The pilot responsible for the reconnaissance could hardly imagine the disastrous consequences if the Siamese navy collided head-on with this huge fleet.
Due to technical limitations, Siam's reconnaissance aircraft was not equipped with a radio system. After figuring out the situation, the pilots could only fly north desperately. In order to save time, the pilots on the reconnaissance aircraft did not even dare to fly back to the fleet. The frigates were slow to fly back to the fleet.
Tun Tun's crane hoisted the plane from the sea, and then reported it to the superiors. Instead, he chose to fly directly to the Siamese Navy's military port on Qiang Island.
After the base officer on duty heard the pilot's personal report, his face changed drastically, he repeatedly asked to verify the information, and immediately reported this astonishing information to the Navy Department via radio waves.
The South China Navy has five battleships and several cruisers? How is this possible? The Minister of Navy, Marshal Tanlong Navasawa, was doubtful and ordered the naval fleet heading south to immediately deploy in the waters south of Qiang Island to seize the top of the T-shaped island.
Ask the Air Force for help.
After several years of development, the Siam Air Force now has 48 Mitsubishi 97 bombers, 96 Nakajima 97 fighter jets, 12 Falcon fighter jets, and 68 Martin B-10 bombers.
One hundred and eight "Curtiss" Hawker III fighter jets and one hundred and forty old "Chance Vought" V-93 fighter jets.
Precisely because of the huge number of fighter planes, the Siamese government felt that it would not lose too much to Nanhua in air supremacy, so it dared to launch a war brazenly.
Siamese air force bases built in Qiang Island, Rayong, Sattahip, and Bangkok heard shrill alarms. Siamese aircraft groups took off one after another and flew towards the sea south of Qiang Island.
At a quarter past two, the appearance of an S3 reconnaissance plane with the Flying Fox logo on its wing brought great panic to the sailors of the Siamese fleet who were deploying. The air raid siren sounded for the first time in this fleet. For Siam
For people, what is flying overhead is the legendary Anjia military aircraft that devoured the French main fleet deployed in Annan. How can this not make people frightened?
When flying over the Siamese fleet, the Anjiajun pilots seemed very satisfied with the chaotic scenes on the battleship decks and whistled happily. In addition to being equipped with a 7.62mm caliber aircraft, the S3 high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft also
Without aerial bombs, the threat to battleships is almost zero, but Siam
The navy obviously did not have much experience in air combat. When the reconnaissance planes circled over the Siamese ships, the secondary guns, machine guns and anti-aircraft machine guns on many battleships began to fire at the air in a chaotic manner, and many secondary guns
What is fired is not grenades to deal with air targets, but ordinary artillery shells to deal with surface ships.
The pilots of the Anjia Army kept raising the plane, circling in circles high above the Siamese fleet, and had a panoramic view of the entire Siamese fleet.
After about five or six minutes, the officers on the Siamese battleship woke up from a dream and stopped this blind shooting in the air. But soon, even greater panic came. In the southeast sky, there were overwhelming fighter planes.
The group suddenly flew over the Siamese fleet, and the shrill air raid sirens rang across the sea.
"The fleet performs a snake maneuver! The secondary guns of all ships are replaced with shrapnel grenades. Once Nanhua's aircraft lower their altitude, they will spare no effort to shoot at them! The machine guns and machine guns attack the air together to suppress the enemy aircraft as much as possible, forcing them to fly at high altitudes.
Drop bombs everywhere!”
Standing on the bridge of the flagship "Thonburi" coastal defense ship, the Commander-in-Chief of the Siamese Navy Fleet, Lieutenant General Nai Prayun, looked pale and gave orders loudly. The naval staff trained by the British and Japanese quickly reported Nai Bayun through the radio.
Bayun's order was transmitted to all ships. The Siamese warships quickly built up air defense forces and fired desperately into the sky.
The mission was carried out by the Anjia Army Air Force Regiment. When the fleet arrived in the waters south of Qiang Island, the bomber squadrons did not launch an attack immediately, but circled in the air, looking for targets. Among the dozens of Siamese ships,
The four huge 8,000-ton cruisers naturally attracted the most attention.
These four cruisers converted from merchant ships look scary, with towering turrets, numerous anti-aircraft weapons, and amazing displacement. But they are actually just shelf goods with a shiny appearance. They have the usual characteristics of slow speed, weak armor, and survivability that converted ships usually have.
Weaknesses of inferiority, even the coastal defense is much smaller than its tonnage
They are inferior to warships, frigates and old destroyers, and they can only sail in coastal waters. In early 1936, after these four ships were transformed in the Indian shipyard, they just sailed along the coasts of the Bay of Bengal, the Andaman Sea, the Strait of Malacca, and the Gulf of Siam.
It took a full month to sail back to Sattahip Naval Base.
In the dense rain of bullets, the fighter jets dispersed and acted as aerial vigilance. Five bomber squadrons quickly assigned targets in the air. The B2 bombers that served as the main force of the bombing roared and dived from high altitudes. The Siamese Navy's anti-aircraft firepower
It was considered ferocious enough. Three B2 bombers were unable to dodge and were hit by the rain of anti-aircraft bullets. They exploded with brilliant sparks in the air, including the pilots.
It turned into ashes, but the bomber group was too dense. As nearly a hundred fighters continued to lower their altitude, the target entered the effective range. The bombardier sitting in the back seat pressed the bomb release button hard, the magazine popped open, and the bomb fell.
The fuselages of these bombers were pushed upwards by an invisible force. The pilots immediately pulled back the control stick, and the roaring fighter planes almost touched the top of the battleship and lifted up.
Most of the 250kg and 500kg armor-piercing and anti-personnel bombs became near-misses due to the ship's quick evasion, causing splashes of more than ten meters, and a small number directly hit the ship. Amidst the rumbling explosions,
The hit battleship was almost covered from bow to stern by shrapnel, flames and the "mist" formed by the splash of near-missed bombs.
To the surprise of all Anjiajun pilots, but within reason, the first ones to be unable to withstand the aerial bomb attack turned out to be four cruisers.
Because the target is large, it is extremely unfavorable for air defense. At the same time, the armor of the deck is too thin, and the armor-piercing bomb penetrates straight into the interior of the ship. The moment the bomb explodes, these four paper-like ships, the bow or the ship
The stern vibrates violently, that's fine
As if a huge spring was installed under the water, half of the body was almost lifted out of the water. At the same time, a huge wave of fire rushed out from the center of the ship, jumping hundreds of meters high, and then made a huge sound.
The body began to sink slowly.
The two old-fashioned destroyers were unable to evade and were hit by anti-personnel bombs dropped from the bombers. The anti-aircraft guns and machine guns suddenly misfired, and thick smoke billowed out of the ships. The remaining ships were terrified and kept twisting their hulls, trying desperately
Avoiding.
At this time, eighteen Mitsubishi Type 97 bombers, eight Martin B-10 bombers, twenty-six "Curtis" Hawker III destroyers and sixteen old-fashioned "Chance" took off from Qiangdao.
"Vought" V-93 fighter aircraft arrived in the combat airspace.
The Siamese Air Force uses the "V" formation taught by Japanese instructors - the original intention of the Japanese to teach this dense tactical formation was that Siamese pilots had no experience in air combat. This formation can achieve the largest observation angle
, while using the wingman to cover the rear of the lead aircraft.
However, in actual combat, wingman pilots who adopt this formation must be very careful. Their main focus is on keeping the formation distance from the lead aircraft, but they have no time to pay attention to the rear. The lead aircraft thinks that the wingman is protecting the rear, so you can rest assured.
However, it is often only when the opponent's fighter jet bites and fires that the tail behind is discovered, and the result is naturally tragic.
When performing maneuvers such as sharp turns, the lead aircraft must be even more careful. The pilot must spend a few seconds, enough to determine the outcome of the air battle, to remind the wingman to prepare, because at such a close distance, the pilot can be killed without paying attention.
Plane collisions will occur. When a large fleet of aircraft maneuvers under the leadership of the leader aircraft, although it looks spectacular, it is just a showpiece and vulnerable.
The Anjiajun Air Force was the first to adopt a "V" formation, but in previous battles with the Japanese army, it developed another more advanced and practical formation - a two-plane formation with a distance of 200 meters between the two aircraft.
This air battle that took place in the Gulf of Siam largely determined the fate of Siam and the South China Fleet. Therefore, the pilots of both sides mustered all their energy and responded with all their strength.
The first showdown started between the A26 and A27 fighter jets responsible for high-altitude interception and the old-fashioned biplane fighters of the Siam Air Force.
Needless to say, the Anjiajun Air Force's fighter aircraft had an absolute advantage in performance, their pilots were far better than their opponents, and their tactics were more advanced than their opponents. Soon the No. 1 Squadron, which was in front, shot down nine of the Siamese aircraft in the group.
The "Chance Vaught" V-93 fighter jet was defeated without any loss of its own.
Immediately afterwards, the 2nd Squadron and the 3rd Squadron followed suit, and one after another "Curtiss" Hawker III fighter jets and "Chance Vought" V-93 fighter jets crashed into the sea.
The fighters of the 4th and 5th Squadrons bit the Siamese Air Force bombers, taking advantage of their speed to turn them into exploding fireballs.
The "Curtis" Hawker III destroyer can be called a model of biplane. It was heavily equipped by the Chinese Air Force in the early days of the Anti-Japanese War. Although the performance of this fighter lags far behind that of the A26 and A27, it still cannot be underestimated in air combat. Siamese pilots
obviously got a small
Japan's true flight skills are still good. At this time, they no longer care about maintaining the formation, and start fighting alone. By constantly diving, circling, and close combat, they fight against An Jiajun's fighter planes and focus on hitting targets.
It's the bulky B2 bomber.
As a result, a cat-and-mouse drama unfolded.
Over the Gulf of Siam, rolling and diving can be seen almost everywhere, and the long or short screams are mixed with the sound of machine guns and cannon firings. Fighters no longer care about their formations, and the most primitive fight has become
The most effective way to solve problems
In this way, every few dozen seconds a fighter plane would fall into the sea dragging thick smoke. Most of them were Siamese fighters, but occasionally there were also A26, A27 fighters and B2 bombers. The battle was extremely fierce.
Just as the air battle reached its climax, Nanhua's main fleet appeared on the southeastern horizon.
"Report to the commander, a Siamese ship was discovered in the northwest waters, and the enemy and our fighter planes are fighting together. The situation is unknown!"
When the navigation officer reported this situation to the naval commander, Admiral Li Guang, Li Guang was standing on the bridge of the battlecruiser "Honor" as the flagship of the fleet, observing the situation on the sea through the telescope. He immediately looked to the northwest,
He vaguely saw the shadow of black smoke and immediately issued an order:
"Every ship will immediately enter combat mode! This is the first battle of our South China Navy. We hope that the officers and soldiers of all fleets will go all out to fight this successful battle!"
As the battle alarms sounded in each warship, officers and sailors, who were sleeping in their cabins with their clothes on, all jumped out of their beds as quickly as possible, opened the cabin doors, and rushed to their respective combat positions. On the warships
The maze-like numerous and winding passages were immediately filled with the sound of hurried footsteps. After only a few minutes, they were empty again, leaving only the radio that was still repeating the battle warning.
On the deck, the huge main gun turret moved slowly, with the muzzles pointed to the northwest in unison, and continued to change as the ship's position changed.
This action has been done more than a hundred times in practice, but when faced with the actual combat test, it still makes people's blood boil and the palms of their hands sweat. In the deep ammunition compartment below the deck, the sailors waiting here give orders at any time to send armor-piercing bullets or
High-explosive bombs are loaded into the bomb hoist. At the other end of the bomb hoist, the gunners are always ready to complete the last leg of this relay race.
After the three major fleets gathered from the sea outside Kampong Som Bay, they sailed in a standard battle formation. Without adjustment, they were able to directly enter the battle. One giant ship after another, they sailed straight towards the Siamese fleet near the south of Qiang Island.
A quarter of an hour later, after entering the battleship's firing range, Lu Guang gave the order to open fire.
Amidst the majestic thunder, long flames erupted from the muzzles of the guns, and the sound was so loud that even the pilots flying fighter planes thousands of meters above the ground could clearly hear it. The first heavy artillery fire of each capital ship,
There is a slight gap in the middle, and the only thing left on the sea is the special sound produced by the heavy shells passing through the air.
More than ten seconds later, there was a stronger thunder on the sea in the distance, which was the sound of artillery shells falling into the sea and exploding. The young naval officer of Anjiajun could even imagine the explosions on the small warships owned by the Siamese.
How will sailors react when faced with these large-caliber artillery shells?
The Siamese navy was obviously not willing to sit still and wait for death, and soon responded with cannon fire. However, under the constant harassment of Anjiajun bombers, the Siamese cannonballs lacked accuracy.
With the increase of experience, Lu Guang and most of the officers in the fleet were able to judge from the momentum of the shell explosion. It was obvious that the opponent's equipment was 120mm cannon, 100mm cannon and 80mm cannon, which were far inferior to the naval guns equipped by the Nanhua battleship.
At this time, the distance between the two sides had shortened to 8,000 meters. Li Guang was somewhat surprised to observe the situation of the Siamese fleet with a telescope. The legendary four 8,000-ton cruisers had disappeared. Now the main force of the battle was the Siamese Navy.
Coastal defense ships, destroyers and frigates with a displacement of about 2,000 tons. Artillery shells of this caliber cannot pose a threat to capital ships with an armor thickness of more than 300mm.
"boom--"
After the second salvo of main guns, each squadron concentrated the main guns of the battleships, cruisers, and destroyers to attack the opponent's destroyers and coastal defense ships, and used the secondary guns to deal with the small gunboats, torpedo boats, and frigates.
Five minutes after the two sides exchanged fire, a Siamese destroyer sank first.
This unlucky destroyer suffered heavy damage during the bombing by fighter planes. This time it was hit by two main guns with a diameter of more than 300mm at the same time. The huge armor-piercing projectiles directly penetrated the turret, penetrated deep into the ammunition depot below, and exploded violently.
, the hull was torn from the middle and sank in the huge waves.
After successfully eliminating the first target, the officers and crew of the fleet did not feel too happy. After all, the disparity in strength between the two sides was too great. Although the Siamese Navy had gathered more than 40 warships, there was no capital ship that could threaten the safety of the fleet.
, although those cruisers, destroyers and small torpedo boats tried hard to fire out torpedoes one after another, under the blockade of machine guns and anti-aircraft machine gun barrages, they all detonated before they got close, posing no threat.
There was another violent explosion. A torpedo boat was hit by the triple 203mm main gun on the cruiser "Li Guang" approaching at high speed. It was riddled with holes and a huge flame erupted.
"It's a hit, okay, that's it!"
Lieutenant General Yan Kaitai, commander of the First Fleet, couldn't wait to praise the firing commander of the "Li Guang" through the radio.
"Oh yes!"
At this time, in the triple-mounted 203mm main gun turret of the "Li Guang", the gunners who were sweating and loading the shells also received the news of hitting the enemy ship from the gunner who was responsible for commanding and observing through the turret rangefinder.
Yelled loudly with joy.
However, the celebration was a celebration, and the movement of the hand was not slow at all. Another artillery shell was sent into the turret by the hoist. After a while, the artillery shell, which was almost as tall as a man, was filled into the barrel.
The propellant pack was also filled, and the gunner quickly closed the gun door.
Amid the deafening roar, another round of shelling began.
After the shell was fired, the gunners opened the gun door as usual. As the residual gas from the propellant in the gun barrel poured in, the temperature in the narrow turret rose rapidly. The exhaust fan in the turret rotated constantly to discharge the exhaust gas reserved in the gun chamber, and then
Fresh air from the outside is poured in, but even so, the environment in which the gunners work is still one of the most difficult fighting positions on the entire battleship.
At this moment, the hull of the "Li Guang" shook violently, and the gunners in the turret almost lost their balance and fell to the floor. In less than two seconds, a stronger vibration came, and the gunners looked at each other with expressions on their faces.
There was a look of worry. The experienced French gunner waved his hands indifferently and said in broken Chinese: "Yes, guys, we were hit, but don't worry, the caliber of Siamese shells is too small.
There is no threat to us!"
Calmness quickly returned to the faces of the gunners. When another shell was lifted up from the bottom ammunition compartment through the hoist, the gunners devoted themselves wholeheartedly to their work.
At this moment, the turret of the "Li Guang" was completely dark. An 80mm shell just hit the turret, but was bounced off by the thick armor of the turret. The shell then fell into the sea and exploded, causing a white explosion.
The water column is more than ten meters high.
"Li Guang" is designed and manufactured by Huaqing Society at Amway Shipyard on the west coast of the United States. It has a standard displacement of 8,000 tons and a full load displacement of 10,500 tons. It is 180 meters long and 19.5 meters wide. It is driven by a 75,000 shaft horsepower turbine steam engine and has a main armor belt of 124mm.
, the deck armor is 51mm, and the Siamese's 80mm caliber artillery shells pose no actual threat to the "Li Guang".
On the contrary, every round of shelling by the Anjiajun navy made the Siamese navy, which was fleeing in embarrassment, feel very uncomfortable. From time to time, thick smoke billowed out from warships.
While conducting air defense, the Siamese fleet fired high-explosive artillery shells and armor-piercing shells at the pursuing South China Navy, and accelerated to flee north. The gunners in a mess hurriedly pulled the gun ropes without taking more aim. As for the ship's range measurement
By the time the soldier's data was conveyed to the gunners, the positions of both sides had already moved hundreds or even thousands of yards.
"Buddha..."
On the flagship "Thonburi" coastal defense ship, a group of sailors in the starboard fighting position screamed, and many even covered their mouths with their hands. On their starboard side, the ship ordered from Japan's Mitsui & Co., Ltd.
The equipment has four doors 120mm
Cannon, a coastal defense ship "Yakong" with twin 20mm cannons, had just launched a relatively orderly salvo at the Nanhua Fleet in a menacing manner. In an instant, it was enveloped in a huge explosion of flames, and the dazzling
The light of purpose makes it difficult to look at it.
Because the power of the explosion was so huge, the shock wave quickly shook the coastal defense ships "Thonburi" and "Ayutthaya" not far away. The sailors felt as if their warships were being hit by a hurricane.
When the shaking gradually weakened, the middle and front part of the light coastal defense ship with a displacement of 1,400 tons had disappeared. Anjiajun Navy's armor-piercing bomb exploded inside the battleship after penetrating the front armor of the battleship, instantly detonating the front part of it.
The ammunition depot under the main battery turret, when this naval vessel
The broken hull of the anti-warship seemed to be traveling towards the bottom of the sea. When the bow of the ship sank rapidly downwards, small sprays of water were everywhere on the water near the battleship. These sprays were not caused by the struggling sailors falling into the water, but by the struggling sailors who fell into the water.
It is produced when various objects thrown into the sky by violent explosions fall.
In this sudden violent explosion, only 5 of the 208 sailors on the "Yakong" survived. They are swimming helplessly on the sea. As for whether they can be rescued, it depends on the mood of the Anjiajun navy officers.
How's it going?
Viewed from the air to the sea, the explosion of the "Yakorn" coastal defense ship was like a fireworks show on the sea. An Jiajun's bomber group flew quickly over Siam while avoiding the pursuit of Siamese fighter jets.
Above the Luo fleet, they swooped down from time to time, dropping aerial bombs one after another, and two more destroyers capsized amidst violent explosions.
"boom--"
Lieutenant General Nai Bayun, commander of the Siamese Navy Fleet, was hurriedly commanding the fleet to avoid air attacks. Suddenly, an explosion in the distance attracted his attention. Without even using a telescope, Nai Bayun could clearly see more than a hundred people.
A huge fireball rose from a battleship meters away. Under the joint attack of the large-caliber naval guns of the South China Fleet, the coastal defense ship "Ayutthaya", the sister ship of the "Thonburi", finally suffered a fatal blow.
Naibayun felt sad in his heart. He knew that such a violent explosion could only be caused by the combined action of armor-piercing bombs and the ammunition of the warship itself. It was inevitable that the "Ayutthaya" would be blown to pieces. The crew on the ship would survive.
The odds are slim.
Although the Siamese's artillery skills were so clumsy that they were almost unsightly, the warships in the Nanhua Fleet were still hit by artillery shells one after another. However, compared to the Siamese, the Nanhua warships did not have to worry about the opponent's armor-piercing projectiles hitting them.
No matter how much damage the battleship caused, under the intensive and accurate firepower of the Nanhua Fleet, the Siamese destroyers and torpedo boats had no way to get close enough to launch torpedoes.
However, in the melee, the destroyer "Jinsha" rushed too far forward, and a Siamese 120mm armor-piercing projectile hit directly. The turret at the rear of the battleship was blown away by a single shot. More than a dozen gunners inside were killed on the spot, and the thick smoke first
After rising from the South China Fleet for the first time, the "Jinsha" immediately turned its attention to fire fighting and emergency repairs.
At this time, a new wave of Siamese Air Force fighters arrived over the battle waters, and the fierce battle continued.