The tension was increasing exponentially. Mond on the "Snapshot" had already locked the firing director firmly on the leading European-style ship, and was waiting for the order to fire from the bridge.
The distance narrowed to 2,500 meters. Mond heard a low roar in front. He looked up and saw that the first shot had been fired in Lichun, and the enemy flag on the starboard side was raised. He shouted "Grenade shot!"
The cannonballs that had been ready to go out fired like thunder, and the warships behind opened fire one after another. Black smoke and colorful water columns suddenly rose from Zheng Lian's fleet, and the battle began.
The Zheng family's warships immediately fired back, and the Hongyi cannons on each ship fired regardless of the range. The red cannonballs rolled in the air, dragging black smoke trails, and flew towards the first battle team. Most of them fell into the sea without getting close.
, only a few flew near the fleet, but they were too far away from the battleships, and the splashes did not even wet the deck of the first team's battleship.
"Not enough work." Le Lin stood on the bridge of the wind-riding ship, holding the binoculars of the U.S. Navy on her chest, wearing a high-imitation version of the U.S. Navy's white summer dress, looking at the enemy shells that landed far away,
He shook his head, feeling satisfied and satisfied. He recalled the scene of patrolling on a fishing boat, and couldn't help but feel filled with emotion.
Ruan Xiaowu, the gunner on the Lichun, was nervously leaning on the sight on the bow angle plate, aiming at the water column splashed when the first shell fell, holding the Zhong stopwatch hanging on his chest as big as an alarm clock with one hand.
, measure the distance - after three months of study, he has just been promoted to this position. Although he is no longer the captain, being the department head of such a big black ship is comparable to the captain of a spy boat
Much better. Everyone in the navy knows that the officers and sergeants who can now be selected to work on steam black ships, even ordinary sailors, will have a bright future in the future.
Since the optical rangefinder is quite high-tech, there will be no usable products for a while. Therefore, the artillery rangefinder is a steering wheel system installed on the battleship: an angle plate with a sight is installed on each bow and stern of the ship.
The sight is aimed at the target, and then the distance between the battleship and the target is calculated based on the difference between the different angles displayed at the bow and stern.
The gunnery officer adds a certain distance to this reading, fires the first round, then fires the second round based on the reading, and finally fires the third round based on the reading minus a certain distance. The range intervals of the three rounds are the same and the time is similar, and they can be fired quickly according to the impact point.
Corrected trajectory.
Although this ranging method is backward and has large data errors, it is already Zenith Star technology compared to the general level of space-time ranging based on estimation.
"2350 meters!" he shouted. Then the firing command post began to calculate the firing elements and adjust the elevation angle of the artillery. At the same time, the firing parameters were communicated to each ship through light signals.
The four gunboats followed the Lichun and opened fire one after another. Almost all the shells flew towards the European-style ship at the head of Zheng Lian's fleet. This three-masted ship with a displacement of 700 tons was almost immediately submerged by the water column. Suddenly, there was a flash of fire in the water, and a
The grenade hit the hull, tearing apart the hard ship's planks like a piece of paper. Hull fragments flew in all directions, cutting off the heads and arms of seven or eight sailors on the deck, and the fire immediately broke out.
stand up.
Next, the first team's artillery fire became more and more accurate. In just 4 minutes after the first shell hit, the ship was hit twice by shells. The mast and sail cables were all destroyed, and the whole ship was caught in fire. It collapsed on the sea.
It turned into a huge torch.
Zheng Lian knew in an instant that he would never be able to defeat his opponent in the artillery battle. He roared and ordered the fire attack ship to fire and charge. However, at this time, the next fatal blow came. A grenade hit the thick outer wall of the flagship.
The several-inch oak shell exploded. A huge hole was torn open immediately, and a huge shell plate was lifted into the air. Then it hit the deck heavily, killing several sailors on the spot. The gun deck was open
The gunpowder in the gunpowder can was ignited and exploded. The 80 sailors who were loading and firing on the gun deck were killed almost instantly. Fire sprayed out from the grating on the deck.
"Quickly, turn the helm!" Zheng Lian shouted from the poop. This shell had completely woken him up: What's the point of winning or losing now? Escape with your life is the most important thing!
However, it was not easy to escape under the fire of the first team. Although the shells fired slowly and the number of hits was limited, the 75mm shells hit the hull and deck one after another, causing fragments to fly across the board and blazing fire. The helmsman turned the rudder desperately,
The battleship suddenly turned 180 degrees to port. The wind blew more air into the sideways deck of the ship, and incandescent flames spread everywhere. The open gunpowder cans on the deck began to explode one after another.
Seeing that death was inevitable, Zheng Lian ignored the towering poop tower and jumped from the poop tower into the sea. The moment he jumped, flames rushed into the ammunition depot, and bright red flames rose on the deck.
There was a low explosion, and charred fragments were flying in the air. Then a violent explosion occurred throughout the ship. The deck was torn upwards, the mast twisted inward and fell, the canvas was instantly swallowed by the fire snake, and the soaring fireworks destroyed the thousand-year-old ship.
The large tonnage ship was enveloped, and the black smoke lingered for a long time.
The flagship caught fire and exploded, causing all other warships to lose their will to fight. The three-masted gunboats and other Fuchuan Guangzhou ships turned around in an attempt to escape, but they came with the wind and the current. It was very difficult to change direction at this moment. Compared with completely
For the first battle group that relied on steam engines, it was like dancing naked in front of the enemy. Each ship seized the opportunity to shorten the distance while firing fiercely.
The engines were spinning wildly, the boilers were making terrible roars, the white waves stirred up by the bow of the ship were cut and crushed by the hull, the blue and white morning star flag was shaking straight on the mast, and the artillery on each battleship was firing at the highest speed.
Fire quickly, using this short advantageous position to pour the most ammunition into the enemy. The shells trailed red trails and fell towards Zheng Lian's fleet, setting off a black-red flame from time to time, and scorching fragments flying in the air.
The 75mm grenade exerted terrible power on the wooden ship. It could withstand the solid cannon. The hardwood hull, which was several inches thick, became vulnerable to the attack of the grenade. It was torn and burned like a piece of paper. Although due to the fuse,
The problem is that many shells hit without exploding, but the larger muzzle velocity of the conical shells fired by rifled guns also allows the shells to easily penetrate the bow and hull of the ship, causing certain damage.
Dense smoke after the artillery launch occasionally enveloped the deck, and the sea breeze blew away the smoke one after another. The lookout post continuously reported the hit status to the bridge.
The battle has actually turned into a one-sided shooting show. The Zheng family fleet has lost its combat effectiveness after five main battleships were severely damaged and sunk. The remaining ships are just trying to escape. But they ignore the naval battle tactics and the enemy front
Turns, etc. made themselves the best targets. The gunners tried their best to show their gunnery skills. One after another, ships were hit, caught fire, and sank.
It was observed that more than 14 ships had been hit, 10 of which were on fire, and 5 others had disappeared from the sea: they may have sunk or withdrawn from the battle.
More than 20 fire attack ships that had entered the battlefield lit up together in the chaos and began to attack. The fire attack ships went smoothly, which was very advantageous. However, their position was the farthest from the first team. When they launched the attack in a hurry, they were still almost 3,000 meters away.
, even though they were advancing at a speed of 6 knots, they were still easily avoided by the first team.
"Fuck xx!" A leader saw the Kun thief's boat running so fast against the wind. He couldn't believe his eyes. What kind of fight was there? Let alone chasing his own boat, it was hard to even turn now. How could there be any discussion?
You have to hit it.
Once it is avoided, chasing the steam battleships of the first team sailing against the wind and current is simply an impossible task for the fire attack ships that rely on the wind to gain sprinting power.
Under the strong sea breeze, not only did the sailors have difficulty controlling the steering of the ship, but it also blew the already ignited fire bigger and bigger. The scorching air made it difficult for the sailors to survive, so they had to abandon the ship one after another. One ship after another lost control and burned blazingly.
The fire ship drifted aimlessly under the force of the wind.
At 10:40, Mingqiu ordered the first team to cease fire and begin to turn. Some of the ships of the Zheng family's fleet had collapsed and burned on the water, and some had sunk to the bottom of the water. Except for a few Fuzhou and Guangzhou ships that were lagging behind, they saw the opportunity.
Except for turning the rudder quickly and escaping in time, Zheng Lian's fleet was already gone.
The subsequent fire attack ships did not know the battle situation ahead. When they entered the battlefield one after another, they only saw black smoke rising into the sky. The sea was full of flaming wreckage. The dense smoke after the artillery fire made the sea even darker. The sailors of the fire attack ships
They were at a loss - they had received orders in advance to launch according to the flag signal of the flagship, but now the flagship could not be found, and the enemy could not be seen clearly.
While they were hesitating, a gust of sea wind blew away part of the gunpowder smoke covering the sea. The sailors on the fire attack ship suddenly saw a terrifying scene. Several of the largest warships were burning on the sea. Zheng
The Lianlian flagship has burned to the waterline. In the distance, five black ships puffing out black smoke are making a huge turn, and the waves are rolling, like giant sea beasts that are gaining momentum, ready to rush over and kill them.
There was no need for much hesitation. The moment a cannonball whizzed over and fell into the water, all the ships turned around and fled in all directions: the sailors went to the fire attack ships to fight as sailors in order to eat food, pay, and get high rewards.