The Ming fleet was unprepared for the accuracy of the Japanese ships' shooting at night. They never expected that in the middle of the night, with just a few stars, a pair of eyes could estimate the shooting of Zhu Yuan so accurately.
Just after approaching a distance of about 6,000 meters, the Zhengde seemed to have been hit hard by a sledgehammer. With the deafening explosion, everyone was shaken and couldn't help but hold on to something at hand to stand still.
The phone rang immediately, and the first mate immediately grabbed the receiver:
"Bridge, speak."
After a while, he hung up the phone, raised his head and said to the captain:
"Captain, damage control report, the enemy ship's main gun hit the front of our No. 2 turret, the damage is moderate, you can continue to use it!"
The captain nodded:
"very good."
A 14-inch main gun shell of the Fuso hit the No. 2 turret at the front, hitting the thickest part of the ship's armor. The thick smoke dissipated, leaving only a blackened shallow depression on the front top of the No. 2 turret.
The pit seems to be no big deal.
"Send the order," the captain said over his shoulder while holding the telescope, "let the destroyer fleet launch torpedoes in the direction of the Japanese ship. All turn to the new course of 160."
The bridge communications officer loudly repeated the order into the microphone:
"Command the destroyer fleet to launch torpedoes in the direction of the Japanese ships! Command everyone to turn to the new course of 160!"
…
The Zhengde squadron began to collectively turn the rudder, from the original straight direction to the east to diagonally to the southeast. This can slow down the speed of the two sides approaching, maintain a distance, and avoid prematurely falling into a close-range melee. In this way, there will be fewer warships.
There are few artillery pieces, so they can only be beaten by groups. In addition, this also allows every ship in the fleet to move across and let all the main guns fire at the Japanese army.
The Ming fleet was already at a disadvantage in terms of the number of artillery. Now at least all the main guns must be used, and half of the main guns must not be aimed behind them.
"Bathed" by the intensive artillery fire from the Japanese ships, the Ming fleet completed its turn and immediately launched a salvo, sending the largest batch of artillery shells over.
While the main guns of both sides are firing at each other, the secondary guns are also firing flares. Now there are more and more flares over the fleets of both sides, and mutual visibility is already very good. Between the warships, snow-white water columns are rising one after another, densely packed. Each time the main guns fire,
When the bomb was fired, a large ball of flame was spit out. The flames rolled in the black smoke, drifted and dissipated under the bright magnesium light.
Now, the flagships of both sides have become the targets of concentrated bombardment by each other's fleets. Not only because they are flagships and command ships, but also because the flagships of both sides are the only battleships in the squadron, representing the main combat effectiveness of the fleet. Once the other side's battleships are
If it is sunk, then this naval battle is equal to victory. And this
This principle is now more important to the Ming fleet, because the Ming army is at a numerical disadvantage and urgently needs to "capture the thief first, the king" to turn the situation around. Although there are many Japanese ships, as long as the King Kong can be destroyed,
So it is not a problem for the Ming army to deal with three Japanese cruisers with one battleship and one cruiser.
The main ships of both sides are concentrating their firepower on bombarding the other side's battleships, leaving a bunch of destroyers to ignore. In addition to firing torpedoes and lighting flares at each other, the destroyers of both sides are also "assisting", using numerous 5-inch guns to fire at each other.
The battleships greeted each other. Masanori and Fuso would take hits from time to time. But the battleships were so "rough-skinned and thick-skinned" that hitting them with the destroyer's 5-inch main gun was like scratching an itch.
At this time, two giant water columns rose up in front of the Fuso in the distance, and then the third shell fell directly on the Fuso. This was a 15-inch main gun shell. Suddenly, the deck of the Fuso was filled with smoke and thick smoke.
The smoke almost engulfed the back half.
A burst of cheers erupted on the bridge of the Zhengde. The gunnery officer was also beaming with joy. Seeing that the eight light bulbs on the fire control panel turned green again, he shouted into the microphone without missing a second:
"put!!!"
The Zhengde trembled violently again, and eight giant shells rushed out of the gun barrel with flames and black smoke, and flew towards the Japanese ship.
The Fuso was surrounded by water columns again. This time it missed. Although it was hit by a 15-inch main gun shell, the Fuso still sailed at high speed dragging thick smoke and did not even change its course. You can see it with a telescope.
On the rear deck of the ship, Japanese sailors were dragging water pipes and extinguishing the fire in a well-trained manner.
Soon, there were no open flames at the rear of the Fuso, and the black smoke gradually faded. The fireworks dissipated, and Ming army observers found that the Fuso seemed to be fine.
…
Another round of shells from the Japanese ship flew over. This time the target was the cruiser Li Guang. After more than ten seconds, the Li Guang was surrounded by water columns. At the same time, a large fireball exploded in the middle of the water column. - Fuso
The 14-inch main gun shell hit the Li Guang.
Water jets fell one after another, revealing the figure of the Li Guang. The cruiser had been fatally injured. One of its front main gun turrets was torn off, leaving only a large pit with thick smoke pouring out. And there was a direct hole under the turret.
The ammunition depot. The second front main gun turret next to it also looks completely damaged, and the barrel is no longer usable.
The commander of the Ming fleet held a telescope and stared at the tragic situation of the Li Guang in the distance, and ordered loudly:
"Send a signal to Li Guanghao and have him withdraw from the battle quickly!"
Then, he stared intently at Li Guanghao's smoke-filled turret crater and murmured to himself:
"Hurry up and flood the ammunition depot...hurry up and flood the ammunition depot...don't let there be a big explosion..."
Fortunately, probably because the captain of the Li Guang dealt with it in time, the thick smoke from the large hole on the deck gradually decreased, and there was no explosion.
Sudden--
The officers on the bridge of the Zhengde all heard the air above their heads hissing, and they all looked up at the cabin roof, with extreme fear rising in their hearts. This kind of sound means...
A 14-inch shell hit the Zhengde's conning tower and exploded below the bridge command room. A large hole was blown out of the relatively weak conning tower armor, and thick smoke and flames came out of it.
The bridge command room on the upper floor was also completely silent. The glass was all broken, various pipelines were drooping and swaying, the steel plates of the bulkheads and floors were twisted and deformed, and all the instruments and chart tables were in a mess.
The document was still fluttering in the air and on fire.
The officers in the command room were covered in blood and lying on the ground.
After a while, the first mate climbed up with difficulty. After seeing what was going on around him, he held the bulkhead to the porthole, slowly wiped the blood from his face, and took a general look at the fighting situation around him.
He staggered to the microphone, put his mouth on it, and shouted hoarsely:
"Right rudder 20 degrees! Course 200! Keep distance! ... Order all ships to concentrate their firepower and bombard the Fuso! We must let the Fuso die in front of us!!!"
A few seconds later, the Zhengde's hull tilted forward and began to turn right.
Now, the Ming fleet's course is south-southwest, which means it has to gradually distance itself from the Japanese ships. The distance between the main ships of both sides is now about 5,000 meters. The frequency of the Japanese ships' artillery fire is at least twice that of the Ming fleet.
At this distance, the accuracy of the Japanese ship's gunfire was more than 1.5 times that of the Ming fleet. It can be said that the Japanese ship was the most suitable.
The distance at which night artillery can be used. If the distance is further, the accuracy of both sides will be greatly reduced, and the two sides will be even. If the distance is closer, the accuracy of the Ming army's artillery will be greatly increased, and the two sides will be even.
The Japanese ships had much more artillery, and the Ming army was obviously at a disadvantage if they got close to the battle. So now the first mate ordered to turn the helm and start to increase the distance.
Just after the order was given, several military doctors on the ship also carried stretchers and climbed onto the bridge. They hurriedly carried the officers lying on the ground onto the stretchers and carried them to the ship's hospital below.
After this attack, the Zhengde's command system suffered serious losses. Even if a few of the bridge officers were knocked unconscious, within such a short period of time, the Zhengde - and even the entire Ming fleet would be leaderless.
…
Just as the two sides were fighting each other 5,000 meters apart, 8 nautical miles away to the south, a Ming submarine was rushing northward at full speed, dragging white waves with it.
In addition to a dolphin painted on the bridge, there is also a sword mark with two Chinese characters on it: Moye.
This is one of the trump cards of the Ming Dynasty's ocean-going submarine force: the Moye.
On the bridge of the ace submarine, the ace captain was wearing a raincoat, facing the waves coming towards him. His head and face were covered with seawater, but he was still squeezed among the four observers. He excitedly raised his telescope and looked forward.
Looking over.
"The battlefield is just ahead!" She shouted to the subordinates next to her, "Finally we can catch up! It's not easy! Wow haha!"
After saying that, she squatted down, put her face to the hatch, and shouted:
"The other party's course and speed? Hasn't it changed?"
Next a girl shouted:
"No change! They are still coming towards us! The speed of both sides is about 20 knots!"
"Okay!" The captain nodded with satisfaction, "In ten more minutes, we will be able to enter the battlefield! Ah... It is really rare for our submarine to have the opportunity to enter the battlefield of a warship to participate in the battle!"
The captain is legitimately excited. This opportunity is really great. The speed of submarines is too slow. The maximum speed on the surface is only a dozen knots and only a few knots underwater, while surface ships move at more than ten knots or more than 20 knots.
It is more difficult for a submarine to bite a surface ship than to reach the sky. In other words, it can only deal with cargo ships and oil tankers with the same slow speed. Hitting a warship is just a coincidence.
And this time, the warships on both sides were fighting in a melee, which gave the submarine an opportunity to sneak into the battlefield relatively safely and launch a torpedo attack. The enemy destroyers were busy dealing with surface battles and had no chance to find the submarine step by step.
Release the depth charge as if no one is around. Once that happens, it will immediately become a target for nearby enemy ships. In a chaotic battlefield with constant loud noises and explosions, neither sonar nor sound wave detectors will be of much use.
The captain was like a pirate leader, with one foot on the railing, holding binoculars in both hands, facing the crashing waves, and laughing:
"Forward! Forward!... They are not good at men, let me kill the Fuso! Wahahahaha..."