Open an aircraft carrier to fight against Japan

The news that the Humen fortress group was destroyed spread quickly, and the Beijing ship also got the news.

The Beijing warship immediately dispatched drones to monitor Lingdingyang, and soon discovered the traces of the British fleet. To Lin Yuan's surprise, the British fleet did not attack Guangzhou City as Zhang Hua analyzed, but went all the way north. The next day, December 12, attacked Amoy.

Upon receiving the news of the outbreak of the war, the Beijing ship immediately set sail, and together with the fleet composed of captured Japanese warships, that is, the Ryukyu First Fleet, headed for the waters near the Taiwan Strait. In the meeting room of the Beijing ship, Lin Yuan was convening a meeting of combat staff .

Lin Yuan first said: "Comrades, let me introduce the situation first. On December 12, the British fleet attacked the Humen Fortress Group. We have not analyzed the loss of the Humen Fortress Group, but according to the reconnaissance of our drones, , the ships of the British fleet were not damaged."

Chief of Staff Shi Yunkai said: "Judging from the composition of the British fleet, 27 ships are all combat ships, and a few more are transport ships. We don't know what is loaded in the transport ships."

Lin Yuan said, "Is there no way to be sure?"

The chief of staff said: "From the time our reconnaissance plane captured the target ship yesterday to now, due to the heavy fog on the sea, we cannot determine what is loaded inside the transport ship."

Lin Yuan said: "If the transport ship is loaded with personnel, then the British army may have to conduct landing operations. The first Opium War is an example. If they want to land operations, where will they land?"

Political commissar Han Mingguang said: "Judging from yesterday's battle situation, the British do not want to land in Guangzhou. Could it be that they want to land in Shanghai or Tianjin?"

Lin Yuan said: "If they landed in Shanghai, they would advance to Nanjing, an important city in the southeast. If they landed in Tianjin, the target would be clearer. The heart of the Qing government is Beijing. However, what is the purpose of the British landing operations?"

Shi Yunkai said: "I think it is impossible for the British to occupy Beijing, overthrow the Qing government, and turn China into their colony. Their real purpose is to intimidate the Qing government and gain greater benefits at the negotiating table!"

Lin Yuan said: "This analysis makes sense, but why didn't the British land directly in Beijing, but went to the Humen Fortress in Guangzhou to fight for a while?"

Everyone was thinking silently, when Lin Yuan suddenly thought of something, he suddenly said: "The real purpose of the British: Is it the Beiyang Fleet?"

As expected, Lin Yuan guessed correctly, the purpose of the British fleet was the Beiyang Fleet!

The news of the devastating attack on the Humen Fortress reached Beijing. The Qing court was angry and did not go to war rashly, but wanted to negotiate peace with the British. The British insisted that the Humen Fortress fired on the British fleet first, and the British fleet was forced to do nothing. Only then fired back.

On December 12, the British attacked Xiamen again. The Qing court was furious. Weng Tonghe wrote: "The British and barbarians have repeatedly provoked. If I ignore it, how can we strengthen the majesty of our dynasty? The Beiyang fleet has been in the army for a long time. When this country is in danger, How can you sit on the defensive and not fight?"

On December 12, the Qing court declared war on Britain, and Emperor Guangxu ordered the Beiyang Fleet to dispatch to meet the invading British ships.

After two naval battles with Germany, the Beiyang Fleet has not regained its vitality. At this time, it had to reluctantly leave Weihaiwei and go to the East China Sea to face the battle.

On December 12, Hill, the young artillery chief on the Havok ship, was wiping the deck with his subordinates. At this time, his warship received an order. Four Havok-class torpedo destroyers and two brutal-class armored cruisers went to the southeast Sea area, to search the Beiyang Fleet.

There was no radar in that era, and the search for targets could only rely on optical reconnaissance equipment, but the distance of the telescope was limited after all, so the cruiser with a high speed and a lot of coal was kept a certain distance away from the main fleet, and searched for the enemy fleet in front of the entire fleet. When the time comes, the cruiser will notify the main fleet, and the main fleet will be ready for a decisive battle with the opponent's fleet.This is also the origin of the name of the cruiser. (In English, the corresponding name of the cruiser is "cruiser", which means patroller).

It is really a blessing to be able to spot the opponent's fleet in the vast sea, so Hill silently prayed that they would be able to spot the Beiyang Fleet.

But the weather was not good, and fog rose from the sea that day, and it was difficult to see the sea 1000 meters away from the telescope, so Hill couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

At this moment, the Arrogant-class armored cruiser Arrogant issued a battle signal!Discover the Beiyang Fleet!

A huge fleet revealed its hideous figure in the mist, and Hill couldn't help feeling a little panic in his heart. After all, the distance between the two sides was too close. The distance of less than 1000 meters was enough for the Dingyuan and Zhenyuan ships of the Beiyang Fleet. Sink your warship calmly.

At this time, the captain of the Havok ship ordered to seize a favorable position at full speed and launch torpedoes at the Dingyuan ship!

At the captain's order, the whole ship cheered. In the boiler under the forced ventilation, the coals shining with metallic luster were burning violently. With the propellers, the whole battleship started to run at high speed, approaching the side of the Dingyuan ship.

The distance to the target is 800 meters. The torpedo fighters opened the safety device on the torpedo, opened the enemy ship manual, rummaged through it to find the draft of the Dingyuan ship, and then set the depth for the torpedo. The observers used the fastest speed to calculate the depth of the Dingyuan ship. speed, to determine the timing and location of the launch.

The distance from the target was 700 meters, and there was a deafening sound of cannons on the sea. From the sound of the cannons, Hill heard that it was the 234mm main gun of the Arrogant, and then, the Dingyuan ship also fired. Fortunately, the Dingyuan ship did not aim at itself.

The distance to the target was 500 meters. The Dingyuan ship observed the British destroyer attacking at full speed. The large-caliber rapid-fire guns on it began to bombard the Havok. Hill felt very strange: "Why didn't the captain order his own artillery to return fire?"

The target distance was 300 meters, a 450mm torpedo fell into the water with a "plop" from the torpedo tube at the bow, and a white line rushed towards the Dingyuan ship with a breath of death.

The Dingyuan ship also saw the torpedo in the water, such a short distance, the Dingyuan ship could not dodge at all!

The torpedo has been doomed to be a warship killer since the day it appeared. The cabin below the waterline of a warship is usually the engine room. This cabin is the source of power for the entire warship. A warship that loses power The huge power of the torpedo, which means that it is bound to be sunk, can often shatter the outer wall of the engine room, and countless seawater will pour into the engine room, and the warship will lose power.

The hull below the waterline is the source of buoyancy of the warship. If the hull at this position is flooded, the warship will inevitably sink.

Facing the catastrophe, Liu Buchan, the leader of the Dingyuan ship, gave an order that all the crew could not understand. The Dingyuan ship turned with all its strength and aimed the bow at the torpedo!