My Italy

Facing the fiercely attacking Spanish fleet, the American fleet immediately scattered and fled.

Colonel Lorante soon felt a trace of regret, because although the Iowa under his seat looked mighty, its top speed was only a terrible 16 knots. This speed was incomparable to the Turin class, which could still run 18 knots. It's just a bit unsatisfactory. Not to mention, the 20-knot Maria Teresa-class armored cruiser was harassing the ship, making it even harder for Iowa to run faster.

Two hours later, in the desperate eyes of the officers and soldiers on the Iowa, three Turin-class ships surrounded them.

"Boom, boom, boom!"

Greetings from three Turin-class 356mm main guns came roaring from a distance of 6,000 meters. The successive splashes of water made the officers and men of the Iowa heave a sigh of relief.

However, they knew that it was not time to relax yet. There were at least 3 hours before dark, and they had to survive these 3 hours.

Of course, the Iowa was not without counterattacks. Its four 305mm 35x main guns also fired at enemy ships on the sides and rear. But it also didn't hit.

However, the failure of both parties to hit is temporary, because the two parties are getting closer, making hits easier and easier.

"boom!"

A 356mm shell weighing more than 400 kilograms hit the stern of the Iowa ship. The violent explosion punched a large hole in the stern of the ship. It also caused the Iowa's speed to drop sharply. The expressions of the American officers and soldiers on the ship suddenly changed. It looked ugly, the power cabin was hit and the speed slowed down.

Seeing this opportunity, how could the three Turin-class battleships miss it? They already had the speed advantage and took the opportunity to surround them immediately.

"Let the three patrol ships leave to pursue the enemy ships. Leave this to us."

Colonel Leifer, who was in charge of commanding the battleship formation, first issued the order for the three Maria Theresa-class armored cruisers to leave. This is not because he is afraid of taking the credit, but it is really not suitable for patrols to intervene in the next battle between battleships, because from a visual point of view, battleships are heavy cavalry, and patrols are light cavalry. Anyone who wants to go head-to-head with heavy cavalry Confronting light cavalry would not end well.

The three patrol ships also understood what Colonel Leifer meant, left a message wishing them good luck, and flew away.

Okay, now it's a showdown between battleships, but it's three versus one. You can choose one to fight three of us, or three of us to fight one of you.

Well, without further ado, at a distance of 4,500 meters, the artillery fire from the three Turin-class ships was mercilessly attacking the Iowa. Of course, the Iowa did not give up its plan. Its four 305mm main guns and eight 203mm secondary guns also fought back. The two sides kept firing, hoping to give their opponents a fatal blow.

This was a real hand-to-hand fight, and the gunner kept repeating the order to fire. The shells were lifted up from the ammunition magazine at the bottom under the action of the bomb hoist and manpower, and then sent into the still hot barrel. Then he stuffed the medicine bag wrapped in silk into it, closed the breech block, took aim and fired!

The successive bombardments caused damage to both sides. For example, the Isabel II, formerly known as the USS Barry, was hit multiple times by the Iowa's 305mm shells and 203mm shells, causing two 152mm secondary guns to be damaged. and human losses.

However, the loss of the Isabel II was completely inadequate compared to the loss of the Iowa. The Iowa is now riddled with scars. The damage caused by the 356mm heavy artillery to the Iowa is considerable. Its bow and rear chimney were hit, which directly resulted in extremely poor aiming of the rear main gun. In addition, the four 203mm secondary guns in the middle of the ship were destroyed. In addition, several large holes on the ship's side also showed that its armor was not enough in front of the 14-inch cannon.

Of course, this is just the beginning of Iowa's suffering.

Boom, boom! Two loud bangs sounded from the rear of the Iowa hull! At a distance of less than 3,500 meters, the main gun of the Palermo, renamed Princess Cristina, fired two 356 mm armor-piercing projectiles into the stern of the Iowa at a nearly vertical angle.

The first shell hit the main armor belt, causing a huge impact on the Iowa's main armor belt. Although there was no breakdown, an entire main armor plate was torn away from the hull, directly causing a large hole of more than ten square meters near the stern wheelhouse of the Iowa!

Another shell directly penetrated the upper armor belt of the Iowa, and then passed through several cabins before exploding above the wheelhouse. The huge shell directly destroyed the wheelhouse, and the entire battleship was suddenly semi-out of control. state.

Next, the three Turin-class battleships continued to spray firepower on the Iowa, causing its losses to increase. The counterattack firepower from the Iowa is getting weaker and weaker.

"it's time."

At this time, Colonel Leifer ordered the two destroyers waiting outside to enter. It was a bit difficult to rely on artillery shells to deal with the opponent, so it was better to use torpedoes. Besides, there are still missions ahead, so it would be good to save some shells.

Under the order of Colonel Leifer, two destroyers, the Alvaro and Molina, galloped into the scene. These two destroyers are both new ships commissioned by Spain in 1896. They have a displacement of 800 tons, carry four 356 mm torpedo tube launchers, and have a maximum speed of 28 knots.

Two destroyers were seen rushing towards the Iowa. Facing the malicious little guy, the Iowa was still resisting desperately, and the only few secondary guns on the ship were still firing at it.

It's just that the two destroyers chose their positions very cleverly, and only three 57mm cannons could shoot them. The 57mm naval gun can only deal with small torpedo boats, but it is still not good at dealing with destroyers.

When they were within a few hundred meters, the two destroyers made a beautiful turn, and six torpedoes struck the Iowa.

"Bang Bang Bang~" Five consecutive loud noises opened a huge horizontal crack in the Iowa. A large amount of seawater poured in, causing the Iowa to tilt at a speed visible to the naked eye. This giant ship had already Go to the end of life.

At this time, the sun has already dropped to the sea level. If it were later, the night would come out.

Compared with the three battleships that spent a lot of effort to deal with their opponents, the two Garibaldi-class ships couldn't be too relaxed when dealing with the New York patrol.

As quasi-battle patrols, the two Garibaldi-class ships were declared dead the moment they caught up with the New York's armored patrol. The salvo power of the 16 10-inch main guns shocked the Spanish officers and soldiers who fired the guns. The first round achieved a hit at a distance of 5,000 meters, and every subsequent round of shooting achieved a hit.

The thickest 6-inch sloped dome armor on the New York was like paper in the face of the ferocious firepower of the two Garibaldo-class ships.

Within an hour, the New York, which was attacked by two ships, was sent into the sea.

Then the two ships relied on their own speed to continue chasing the enemy's escaping warships. Of course, they were not the only ones, two Venetian patrol ships were also pursuing them, and later three Maria Teresa class patrol ships were also added. The pursuit of seven armored cruisers prevented several protected cruisers from escaping from the poisonous hands. Because these battleships were basically built around 1890, their top speed was only 17-18 knots.

But no matter how much fighting happens, it should stop after dark.

Seeing the black shroud, the American warships that escaped pursuit rushed to New York and needed to inform them of the news of Spain's arrival.