Australian Storm 1876

  Chapter 899 As long as the fire is still there, there is hope.

   "Boom boom boom..."

The "Samarinda" ship formation fired in unison. The first round of shelling was a verification shot. Each double-mounted 44-times caliber 305mm turret fired a shell. The entire formation fired a total of three battleships and two heavy cruisers. 30 shells, covering a distance of 17.5 kilometers, landed densely around the battleship "Connecticut", which was ranked first in the United States, and sputtered a high water column. The closest distance was only 120 yards.

   "Oh Shiga Di... Nearly missing?"

   "Every shot must be hit... How is this possible?"

   "It's incredible!"

The British battlecruiser "Lion", who was watching the battle, let out a low exclamation. After the first round of shelling, Major General Sherman looked serious, picked up the binoculars and carefully observed the battle, not letting anyone go. detail.

   It is not surprising that the Royal Navy of the Ocean Empire has a unique skill. The 44-caliber 305mm double-mounted main naval gun developed by the Azure Weapons Company is only equipped with the Ocean Empire Navy, and its range has always been highly confidential. The British are also mentally prepared for this.

   Fools all know that 44 times the caliber can shoot farther than the 305mm naval gun with 40 times the caliber.

   The question is how far?

Whether    can hit so far is the key.

  In the age of big ships and big guns

A near miss means that the measurement data is accurate, not hitting is just luck, the following only needs to be slightly corrected according to this measurement data, and then slammed hard, the pursuit is the ammunition coverage density and the amount of ammunition projected per unit time .

   The first round of shelling hit a near miss, and it was at a very long distance, which meant that Major General Sherman could not be more clear.

  The answer has been revealed;

  The new 305mm naval guns of the Ocean Empire Navy have a range of more than 17.5 kilometers, and no more is much. The scary thing is that their ranging is very accurate. Maybe there is something hidden?

  Otherwise, the optical rangefinder alone cannot achieve such high accuracy, such a hit rate is terrible, and it is "every shot"!

   In this way, the Great White Fleet of the U.S. Navy is in danger.

   Sure enough, after a short pause, the "Samarinda" fleet opened fire.

In the second round of shelling, 60 rounds of 305mm armor-piercing projectiles were dropped, only to hear "Boom...Boom...Boom..." Three violent explosions sounded, and the battleship "Connecticut" rushed like a bison. In the middle of the three yuan, a huge orange fire group rose from the bow of the ship, and the two main turrets in front were blown to the side, and they were already abolished.

   This ferocious blow slammed the Great White Fleet into a daze.

  However, the third round of precise artillery bombardment roared without waiting for the fish that slipped through the net from the Great White Fleet.

   This round of bad luck, 60 rounds of 305mm shells only hit one, blowing up the commander tower of the flagship "Connecticut" battleship, and a terrifying large fragment of the wall appeared, like a garbage dump after the fire.

   But the third round of shelling hit 6 near misses, and the huge water pressure pushed the battleship "Connecticut" sideways and slid more than 170 meters out of the sea.

   There is no merit, this can only be attributed to a little bad luck, but the thought of 6 rounds of near misses makes people cold on the back, it is really terrible.

The fierceness of the    Ocean Empire fleet evoked fearful memories in the hearts of the US Navy fleet. The battleship "North Carolina", which was ranked third, suddenly turned sharply, and even intended to leave the battle formation without an order.

   This kind of behavior is standard escaping!

  The flagship "Connecticut" battleship was hit across the sea, and the entire conning tower has been destroyed. It is estimated that the commander, Lieutenant General Doug, and other generals and colonels were caught in a pot, and there is no possibility of survival.

Thus

The "Georgia" battleship, which was ranked second in the battle line, completely leaked out, and would bear the brunt of the fierce artillery shelling of the Royal Navy. In extreme fear, the "Georgia" battleship was almost at the same time as the opponent's fourth round of shelling. Fire, fire back.

The battleship "Georgia" can only have two double-mounted 305mm main guns in the bow, and shoot 4 shells at one time. The other guns have no shooting angle. Shocked everyone's teeth.

   First, the distance between the two sides is 15.6 kilometers, and the range of the main guns of the US ship is 14.6 kilometers, which is still 1 km away. Second, there is no hurried firing of guns at all. Is it strange that they can hit accurately at high speed?

On the other hand, the "Samarinda" formation achieved another victory in the fourth round of shelling. A 305mm shell hit the starboard side of the battleship "Georgia" and exploded a 7.2m by 1.77m in the unarmored bow. The big hole, steel rain and iron pieces were scattered, setting off a **** storm.

   I'm really afraid of what's coming... The other two 305mm shells hit the battleship "North Carolina", which was ranked third, and it exploded.

The battleship "North Carolina" suddenly turned to reveal the huge side of the hull, which greatly increased the bullet surface and increased the chance of being hit. A 305mm shell hit the main armor belt on the waterline, tearing it apart. Open a 2.7-meter by 0.32-meter large crack, and the sea water is continuously poured in during the ups and downs of the battleship.

   Fortunately, the laceration was nearly a meter above the sea, and there was no major damage.

After another shell hit, the chimney exploded, breaking the entire rear chimney. The violent explosion shattered the nearby high-pressure steam pipe, and a large stream of thick white smoke mixed with black smoke came out. The unpleasant smell of barbecue, and I don't know how many sailors suffered.

   In just 4 rounds of shelling, one battleship was seriously injured and two battleships were lightly injured.

Losing their command, the Great White Fleet's stray fish, which had been aggressively rushing towards them, exploded in an instant, and they fled each other regardless of the battle line. Although the distance was already within 14 kilometers at this time, these battleships of the Great White Fleet were completely unwilling to fight and focused on fighting. Just want to escape.

  The main guns and secondary guns of the battleship also fired violently, regardless of whether the range was sufficient or not. However, the impact point was scattered, and it could be seen that the officers and soldiers on the ship were all panicked from top to bottom.

   Such a change was beyond the expectations of the "Samarinda" fleet, and instead received an unexpectedly good evasion effect.

   on the sea

The 5 warships of the Great White Fleet were running around in 5 directions like headless flies, and they kept changing directions. This drastically changing track was extremely unfavorable to the shelling, and the two sides were separated by more than 13 kilometers. It's hard to hit.

After the 7th round of artillery was shot down, the "Samarinda" fleet finally came back, and all the muzzles were mobilized to aim at the heavily damaged battleship "Connecticut" on the sea, and the 8th round was fired one after another. and the 9th round of shelling.

   These two rounds of shelling hit the "Connecticut" battleship 7 times, and it was hit with flames and smoke billowing, as if it was an illegal building on the sea.

   At this time, more than ten minutes have passed since the battle

   The U.S. Atlantic Fleet, which was chasing closely from the rear, appeared at the end of the line of sight. The huge array of ships could not be seen at a glance. The distance between the two sides was no more than 23 kilometers, which posed a serious threat to the "Samarinda" formation.

   For accurate shelling, the speed of the "Samarinda" formation has been reduced to 6 knots, and it is moving laterally relative to the US Atlantic Fleet, which means that the distance between the two sides is shortened by 1 km every two minutes.

   It took at least 15 to 20 minutes to accelerate from a speed of 6 knots to 15 knots, so the "Samarinda" formation gave up the continued shelling, immediately accelerated and turned, and fled towards the distance.

   As for the fish that slipped through the net with serious or minor injuries, he didn't have time to take care of them, and it would be too late if they didn't run.

   Once surrounded by the Atlantic Fleet and hundreds of guns fired, the fun would be great.

  Rear Admiral Sherman, with his rich experience, calculated the trajectory and relative distance of the two sides within 10 seconds, and came to a rough judgment in his heart; the fleet of Yanguo was very slippery, and the Atlantic Fleet could not catch it.

   The far end of the line of sight

The huge battleship group of the    Atlantic Fleet was divided into three, spreading like a cloud cover, almost obscuring the southern sea area.

  Unfortunately, the fish that slipped through the net of the Great White Fleet were so frightened that they only fled for their lives.

   All ships are firing guns indiscriminately, and the sea is boiling like a pot, but such unorganized and random shelling is a waste of shells, what effect can it play?

   It really takes a lot of courage to face death!

  The shells on the sea were flying around, and some of them even hit the left and right positions of the battle cruiser "Lion", and Major General Sherman's face was black with anger;

   This is obviously the fault of the U.S. warship, and no matter how it is, it can't come up from the position of the observation ship?

Now is not the time for reasoning. The French and German observation ships in the rear have already sailed into the distance, and the battlecruiser "Lion" can only leave with annoyed noses. The view is even worse.

   Twenty minutes later

   The formation of "Samarinda" accelerated to 13 knots, and the distance between the two sides was shortened to about 12 kilometers.

   At this time, the twilight is heavy, and the sight outside is poor

The two sides of the battle fired flares from time to time to light up the sky. The accurate shelling of the "Samarinda" formation injured several enemy ships, and was also shot several times. The chimney in front of the battleship "Melbourne" was interrupted. Thick smoke billowed and fled all the way to the northwest.

The "Nebraska" armored cruiser of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet saw that it was cheap, and rushed to the front, but unexpectedly, a large battleship "Songjiang" approached from the left and approached it under the cover of night. At a distance of about 7-8 kilometers, the broadside naval guns fired a salvo.

   "Boom boom boom..."

Two 305mm shells were hit in just one round, turning the 14,500-ton "Nebraska" armored cruiser into a torch on the sea, 4 hits in the 2nd round and 1 in the 3rd round. Hair, the fourth round...

  There is no 4th round. After being exposed in the night, the "Songjiang" fired three rounds of artillery fire in a short time, then fled desperately, and quickly disappeared into the night in the depths of the Pacific Ocean.

The poor armored cruiser "Nebraska" is a representative of thin skin and big stuffing. It doesn't have the heavy armor of battleships. The young lady's body and maid's life were hit by seven 305mm shells, causing the ammunition depot to explode, and it exploded into two pieces. cut and sank into the deep ocean floor of the Pacific Ocean.

  The short and fierce "Battle of the Strait of Magellan" has come to an end, which also represents the end of the second phase of the Pacific pursuit, thus opening the prelude to the third round of the Buenos Aires naval battle.

   in this battle

  The tragic "Nebraska" armored cruiser took the lead and rushed to die, becoming the only battleship that sank on the battlefield.

  The U.S. side also suffered heavy damage to the battleship USS Connecticut, the flagship of the Great White Fleet, the battleships USS Georgia and USS North Carolina were slightly injured, and four cruisers were slightly injured.

   In the Royal Ocean Empire fleet, the battleships "Samarinda" and "Melbourne" suffered minor injuries, and the "White Tiger" suffered heavy cruise and minor injuries.

The three battleships of the "Samarinda" formation were slightly injured, all of which were hit by the swarming Atlantic Fleet's cannonballs. What a dire situation.

   The U.S. Navy’s attempt to encircle and annihilate the “Samarinda” formation failed, but instead was bitten hard, which was really heart-wrenching.

This cannot be said that the US's combat intentions are wrong. It can only be blamed that the Royal Navy of the Ocean Empire is too powerful, and it has resorted to the magic weapon of ultra-long-range strike. With a fat beating, the US Navy's face was beaten like a pig's head. Same.

  Young people don't talk about martial arts, what the **** is the "Mangu Evil" tactic?

For the U.S. Navy's Atlantic Fleet, the night of December 23, 1908 was extremely long and painful. Eleven 305mm artillery shells were shot in the "Connecticut" on the sea surface. , blazing brightly.

   In order to save the battleship, the Atlantic Fleet did everything possible, and finally put out the fire at 5:00 in the morning.

  Then gathered more than 200 damage control and rescue team members, ventured aboard the battleship "Connecticut", which had been burnt to tatters, and used more than a dozen large water pumps to do everything in their power to save them.

The    rescue operation lasted for two days. The huge hull of the "Connecticut" was finally adjusted, and then slowly left under the tow of the two cruisers, heading for the turbulent Magellan Strait.

  Why go to great lengths to save a pile of junk?

This has to say the face of the Citi government and the U.S. Navy. No matter how seriously injured the ship is, it can’t be considered a sinking. The four battleships and one cruiser of the Great White Fleet have gone through untold hardships and finally got rid of the enemy’s pursuit of thousands of miles and set foot on the back. home road.

What a touching and inspiring story    is!

   can save some face and arouse the resistance of the people who share the same hatred and hatred. After all, the war is still going on, and now we must not admit it.

  President Roosevelt was looking forward to the stars and the moon in the White House, and his eyes were almost blind. He sent almost all the active ships of the Atlantic Fleet to take the Great White Fleet home.

  The battleship "Connecticut", as the flagship of the Great White Fleet, has great symbolic significance.

In the Battle of the Strait of Magellan, among its 876 officers and soldiers, 711 were killed, 103 were wounded, 53 were missing, and only 9 were intact. Lieutenant General Dawn also died in this battle, writing his loyalty to America with his life.

   Even if the officers and soldiers on the ship were almost dead from top to bottom, as long as the "Connecticut" battleship could be dragged back, it would not be a total loss of face.

   That what..., as long as the fire is still there, there is hope.

   (end of this chapter)