Opening game, American Tycoon

Chapter 1562 Tasman Sea Battle (Second Update, please subscribe)

December 9, 13:4.

As the success opened fire first in the T-shaped formation, the Tasman sea battle began.

In this sea battle, although both sides invested in pre-dreadnought ships, in fact, this was the first large-scale naval battle between the imperial navy and the British and American navies.

After two calibration shots, the six warships and armored cruisers of the South Pacific Squadron formed the first salvo, targeting the Royal Navy flagship "Barfleur" of the United Fleet, and at this time the "Barfleur" was in the fleet. The first ship naturally became the target of the key attack.

"Imperial Navy gunnery is truly as accurate as it is brutal."

Colonel Phyllis Brook standing in the conning tower of the "Century".Looking at the water column surrounding the "Barfleur" and the flames continuously exploding from its side, he couldn't help but praise from the bottom of his heart.

"Indeed, sir, we are now at a two-nautical-mile engagement disadvantage."

Just at this moment, a grenade landed on the front deck of the "Century" bridge and exploded. The flames of the explosion rose into the air, and when the steel fragments flew around, they even flew into the command tower through the observation window. In an instant, several officers, Sailors were hit by shrapnel.

But even so, Colonel Brooke still stared at the front without moving. Even if a junior officer next to him was hit by shrapnel, he still stood there without changing his face.

"In the first salvo, at least three shells over 3 inches hit the "Baffler"..."

Putting down the binoculars, Brook couldn't help admiring the gunners of the Imperial Navy 16 kilometers away. Their cannons were really... so accurate!

"It seems that this battle is really not easy."

"The Imperial Navy is stronger than we thought!"

Standing in the command tower of the "Iowa", Admiral Schroeder frowned. Originally, they got the Imperial Navy's South Pacific Squadron to sail into the Tasman Sea, so they attacked and intercepted.

But what is the reason for being proactive?
Isn't it still based on strength advantages?

But now, as soon as the battle started, he realized that his opponent was stronger than he imagined. Maybe they were weaker, but their artillery skills were very good, and they were good at long-distance artillery battles.

In the face of such an opponent, it is still necessary to be as cautious as possible.

Staring at the water column that formed near-missing bullets, Schroeder could see that as the shelling continued, the water column was getting closer and closer to the Barfleur. The water column was an important reference for observing and adjusting the shooting. The water column stays in the air for a few seconds, and the Imperial Navy uses it to adjust the parameters. Slowly, the shells will be like nails falling in the air, constantly approaching the target, and then...

At this moment, a huge cloud of exploding smoke suddenly rose from the midship of the "Baffler". Just judging from the smoke column, it was certain that it should be a 12-inch shell.

However, even after being hit by several 12-inch shells one after another, the "Barfleur" still stood tenaciously under the artillery fire. The Royal Navy sailors on the "Barfleur" fully demonstrated their qualities. They would use the interval between shelling to rush to the deck and use high-pressure water dragons to disperse the flames. These damage control sailors moved very quickly, and it took them only a dozen seconds to extinguish the flames burning on the deck.

"Chirp..." The sharp whistle of shells came from the air, and the sailors of the deck damage control team immediately searched for cover. When the shells flew, in the violent explosion, some damage control sailors were directly blown up. The sky was over, but the violent explosion did not stop their footsteps. They would always use the intervals of shelling to rush to the burning deck, dutifully rescuing the warship.

When the imperial ship fired the third round of salvo, the Anglo-American combined fleet was still turning, and the lead ship "Baffler" was still passively under shelling.

At this time, the explosions around the "Baffler" were earth-shattering. The port side of the hull faced the port side of the Imperial Fleet's gun muzzle, as if it was constantly being hammered by a sledgehammer. The hull was constantly being hit. The cannon and the secondary gun on the side were destroyed even before a cannon was fired.

After the armor-piercing projectile penetrated the hull, the shredded steel fragments and the fragments after the explosion of the shell splashed around the cabin, and pieces of sailors were cut to the ground like wheat in a wheat field. Time is blood.

For the "Barfleur", it was like an abandoned child at this time, silently bearing everything, and only after the fleet turned around, as the distance between the two sides narrowed, they would fight back.

In the following time, what the "Baffler" endured was an unprecedented gang fight. It completed the turn 16 kilometers ahead of schedule, and seized the Imperial Navy with the T prefix, and seized the opportunity as soon as it came up. , using violent long-distance shelling to seize a temporary advantage.

"Boom..."

Accompanied by a bang like a bell, almost everyone on the sea heard the bang, which was definitely the armor belt hit by an armor-piercing projectile over ten inches in length.

A 13-inch mild steel capped armor-piercing projectile accurately hit the armor belt on the port side of the "Barfleur". The armor-piercing projectile pierced the armor belt like a giant's fist, and the kinetic energy generated by the projectile directly shattered the armor belt. The soft steel rivets fixed the armor belt and the ship plate, and the broken rivets flew like bullets in the cabin, knocking down all the sailors in the cabin.

The most deadly blow was the armor-piercing projectile. After penetrating the armor steel, it pierced the ship's plank and then hit a boiler. At the moment the boiler was penetrated, the shell exploded near the boiler furnace. A mere dozen or so kilograms of explosives may not cause fatal damage to the cabin, but the explosion of shells near the furnace not only shattered the furnace, but also shattered the boiler water pipes. Covering the entire boiler room, the sailors who were constantly shoveling coal in front of the boiler didn't even react, and were enveloped by flames, high-temperature boiling water, and steam in the explosion.

Those sailors who are lucky enough to survive should envy those who died. At least they don’t need to bear the pain of boiling water. While screaming in pain, the high-temperature gas and steam generated by the water pouring into the furnace took their lives...

When the flames shrouded the boiler room and sea water poured into the boiler room along the broken bulwark, the captain of the "Barfleur" decisively issued an order to close the watertight cabin. , was directly blocked in the cabin, and then was swallowed by sea water.

Naval battles have always been like this, ruthlessness is not only for the enemy, but also for yourself!
It was at this time that the combined Anglo-American fleet finished turning around and finally opened fire on the South Pacific Squadron...

(End of this chapter)