The battleship Ise was hit by three torpedoes in succession, and its speed slowed down within a few minutes. Thousands of tons of seawater poured into the right hull, causing the hull of the Ise to begin to tilt to the right. The damage control troops on the Ise
Immediately open the valve and pour water to the left side in an effort to balance the hull. Within ten minutes, the speed of the Yishi dropped rapidly from the original 17 knots to 8 knots.
But now in the fierce battleship duel, the Japanese fleet now faces a dangerous choice. Either the fleet maintains the current speed and continues to move forward, leaving the Ise behind, or the entire fleet slows down and maintains a speed of 8 knots.
.
If you get rid of the Ise, it will be equivalent to losing another main battleship. The Japanese army originally had 7 battleships. Now that the Yamashiro has sunk and the Ise has been injured and left the team, the Japanese fleet has only 5 battleships left, of which 3
The battleship is still a thinly armored King Kong class. So facing the Ming army's 4 heavily armored battleships, the advantage can be said to be gone. What's more, if you want to keep the Yishi, you definitely can't leave just one Yishi.
, a few destroyers must be left behind to escort it, and I'm afraid a cruiser must be left behind to provide towing for the Ise when necessary...
If the entire fleet slows down and continues to fight and sail with the Ise, it will be too dangerous in this sea area where Ming army submarines frequently appear. Although 8 knots has exceeded the highest underwater speed of modern submarines.
speed, but because the entire battlefield is moving slowly, the Ming army has the opportunity to mobilize more submarines from the surrounding waters to participate in the battle... Besides, many captains, officers, and even soldiers now have a terrifying thought swirling in their minds:
The Ming army seems to have a monster-like submarine that can sail underwater at a high speed of more than ten knots, and can chase for several hours, biting the Japanese fleet...
Takasu Shiro walked quickly in the command room of the Mutsu, with a stern expression on his face and rapid breathing. The staff officers around him were staring at him nervously, and they could all feel the tremendous pressure as the fleet commander at this moment.
At this time, the Mutsu under her feet had tilted slightly, the pencil on the chart table was pressed tightly against the edge of the table, and the water in the cup also tilted. At this moment, the Mutsu had already hit 16 Ming army battleships.
The main battery shells, as well as countless secondary battery shells, were also hit by two heavy torpedoes. As the best and most powerful "Nagato-class" battleship of this era, these injuries will certainly not kill it, and it cannot even be called
"Seriously injured". But even so, there is still more and more water in the hull. Besides, who knows when the next torpedo will hit?
In a rapidly changing battlefield, Takasu Shiro certainly couldn't hesitate for too long. But these few minutes seemed like days.
Five minutes later, Takasu Shiro made up his mind and ordered the heavy cruiser Ashigara and four destroyers to be left to accompany the Ise. The rest of the fleet maintained the original speed and left the sea area as soon as possible.
Until now, he still believed that it was a coincidence that he encountered three groups of submarines from the Ming Army three times in a row. He knew that the Ming Army's level of organization of the "wolf pack" was quite high, and it was still possible to lay several submarine nets outside the ambush circle.
As for some "monster submarine" that can drive more than ten knots underwater and chase for several hours, this is nonsense.
…
As the Japanese ship Isei fell behind, the strength of the Japanese fleet dropped sharply. At this time, the strongest Mutsu was moderately damaged, and the second Hyuga was the least damaged. Not only did it not suffer any torpedoes, but it was only hit by 10 torpedoes.
The main gun shells on the left and right. However, the situation of the three Kongang-class ships at the back is not good. The firepower is weak and the armor is thin. Although none of them have been torpedoed yet, the three ships are already blazing with fire, covered with bruises, and the hulls are tilted.
The Ming fleet on the opposite side is also full of scars at this moment. Changping was moderately damaged, Yanping was slightly injured, Yongle and Tokunaga were both seriously injured. Now there are fireworks and the hull is tilting.
The Tokunaga's specific opponent was the Hyuga. At this time, the Hinata clearly had the upper hand. It was lucky. Not only was there no serious damage to its armored belt, but even up to this day in the naval battle, all its turrets were still undamaged and were still firing fiercely.
Fire. The Hyuga and the Ise belong to the same class of battleships. Although the main gun caliber is only 14 inches, there are 12 of them, 4 more than the Tokunaga opposite, and the rate of fire is much faster. In these thousands
At a short distance of 1.5 meters, the 14-inch caliber is sufficient.
On the opposite side of the Tokunaga, the two front turrets have now lost their combat effectiveness. The No. 1 turret was almost blown away. Although the No. 2 turret was not greatly damaged, it was stuck by the wreckage of the No. 1 turret in front and could not rotate, which meant that it could not rotate.
It can no longer be used. Now, only the two turrets on the rear deck can fight. Although there are 16-inch cannons, there are only 4 left, and there is almost no power to parry in front of the 12 14-inch cannons of the Hyuga.
At three o'clock in the night, the Tokunaga finally couldn't hold on anymore. Thousands of tons of seawater had been poured into the belly of the ship, and most of its body was tilted and submerged in the water. The No. 4 turret on the rear deck was almost submerged by the seawater.
.The deck and the tower were full of large torn holes and bullet holes, and fire was spraying out from every crack. The Tokunaga's speed became slower and slower, and finally basically stopped.
The captain of the Tokunaga issued an order to abandon the ship, and a large number of sailors began to jump into the sea from the flames, and the lifeboats also began to be lowered. Several officers lowered the Ming Dynasty flag on the mast, carefully wrapped it, and then transferred it to the lifeboat
superior.
The Hyuga in the distance was still flashing fire, and dense shells were still falling around the Tokunaga. The water column raised almost obscured the dying giant ship.
The rear half of the Tokunaga completely sank into the sea. The bow of the ship was raised up suddenly, and the hull sank at a faster speed. There were burning oil slicks floating everywhere, the sea water around the hull was boiling, and there was a lot of black smoke.
And steam rose into the sky, covering the sky and blocking out the sun.
Seeing that the Tokunaga was really sunk, and the distance was getting farther and farther, the Hyuga stopped firing at this time, turned its guns and chose another Ming army battleship as its opponent. On the Hyuga, there was also a loud sound at this time
With thunderous cheers and "Long live" shouts.
…
The Ming army lost the battleship Tokunaga, and at this time the Japanese battle fleet regained the upper hand. The Ming army had to use three battleships, the Changhei, the Enpei, and the Yongle, to fight against the Japanese Mutsu, Hyuga, Kongo, and Haruna.
Kirishima 5 battleships.
But Takasu Shiro's good mood did not last long. Just when the Hyuga reported to him that it had sunk the Tokunaga, the Ashigara 12 nautical miles behind sent a telegram saying that the Ise had hit three more torpedoes.
It is sinking now. The Ashigara itself was hit by two torpedoes and was seriously injured. Four destroyers are now rescuing people and conducting anti-submarine warfare.
The communications officer behind him nervously finished reading the message. Takasu Shiro just held the telescope on his chest with both hands, staring at the flaming battlefield outside the window with gloomy eyes, and said nothing for a long time.
I don’t know how long it took before Takasu took a deep breath and whispered:
"Since the Yishi was left alone to face the siege of the Ming army's submarines... then, this result is also expected... However, the sacrifice of the Yishi was not in vain. It attracted the Ming army's submarines for our main fleet.
We have gained valuable time for the main force to escape from the dangerous sea area. Now, we can finally fight in an upright and decisive battle without being harassed by submarines."
…
Before he finished speaking, a huge shock almost overturned him. Takasu Shiro took several steps back and hit the chart table hard. He held on to the chart table tightly to prevent him from falling.
Before he could straighten up, there was another strong earthquake. This time, Takasu could no longer hold on and fell down.
The officers in the command room were shouting and trying to rush to their respective posts. Some went to grab the phone, and some rushed towards the microphone... As soon as Takasu stood up holding on to the table, there were two more violent tremors, accompanied by a deafening roar.
There were explosions and the sound of water like a tsunami.
Takasu and other officers struggled to get up from the ground, and saw that the flames had jumped several stories high and had reached the porthole of the chart room. The entire floor beneath them was tilting to the left at a very fast speed.
, it is no longer easy to stand firm.
Everyone knows what this means. The flagship Mutsu is rolling over and will sink soon. This giant ship was hit by two torpedoes before, but it was not serious and is still fighting... Now, one after another,
Four torpedoes were hit.
Even for a super-giant ship like the Nagato class, which has been hit by six heavy-duty torpedoes and nearly twenty rounds of 15- and 16-inch artillery shells, there is only one possibility: sinking. And sinking quickly.
Takasu Shiro's face was covered with blood, and his hands were still stabbed with glass shards. He leaned against the bulkhead, his lips turned blue, and ordered:
"Send the order...abandon the ship!"
Faced with the warship tilting 1 degree every two or three seconds, a staff officer next to him did not hesitate, immediately grabbed the microphone and shouted:
"Abandon ship——! Abandon ship——!!!"
Then he rushed over, supported Takasu Shiro, and shouted loudly amidst the loud noises:
"Commander!!! Please retreat!!!"
Takasu Shiro shook his head, pushed the staff officer away, and took out his pistol.
The staff officer was shocked when he saw this. He immediately grabbed Takasu's hand and called another staff officer. The two of them dragged the commander out by force, shouting:
"Commander! You are not the captain of the Mutsu, you are the fleet commander! The fleet still needs you to command it!"
After hearing these words, Takasu stopped struggling and let them help him walk. An officer held a fire extinguisher to clear the way in front, and several people rushed down the gangway in the smoky command tower.
…
Three minutes later, the Japanese flagship Mutsu completely rolled over. The huge bottom of the ship floated on the water like an island. Bubbles and heavy oil continued to surge up, and several lifeboats rowed hard amid the bodies and sea of flames.
Takasu Shiro's face was covered with blood and burn blisters. He sat in the lifeboat, looking gloomily at the two pipes moving quickly on the water in the distance, and murmured:
"...Tonight, we are actually...fighting against underwater demons..."