1825 My New Daming

Chapter 456 The last 15 minutes of the empire on which the sun never sets! (ask for subscription, ask for monthly pass)
Central Pacific, Dec. 12, 25:6 p.m.

The 24 British battleships that were originally planning to rescue the "Emperor of India" have changed their course, abandoned the rescue, and instead went straight to the 2 "Da Zhou" class and 2 "Zhong Wang" class ships that had just entered the battlefield.

At this time, General William Baga, who commanded the British fleet to participate in the battle, already knew from the reports of the destroyers and airships scattered around the battlefield for scouting that besides the 2 "Da Zhou" and 2 "Loyal King", there were other ships on the Ming side. Another 12 old-fashioned "Hero" class and "Hanwu" class ships are coming.Although the performance of these two battleships is a bit outdated at the moment.But the number of 12 ships is there. If the British army can't handle the two 3-ton new battleships and the two 2-ton Zhongwang-class ships before they join the battlefield, then the British will be finished.

Li Kezhi and Yu Yang were also surprised by the huge array of 24 British battleships at this time, especially the two leading "William IV" class, which is also a 3-ton steel behemoth. The "Shi" class is equipped with ten 10-inch cannons, and the barrels have been raised high. As for the direction of the muzzle, it goes without saying that it must be the battleship "Da Zhou" where Li Kezhi and Yu Yang are located.

The seaplanes carried by the "Dazhou" and "Daqin" have already taken off at this time. This kind of small aircraft is a flammable and explosive burden in artillery battles. It is better to let them take to the sky early and let the pilots fly from high altitude. Overlook this magnificent battlefield.

Thirty or forty steel behemoths have already fought in two groups in this open sea area, and there are sixty or seventy small warships loyally guarding them, and fighting with all their strength.

The fighting between the two sides has been going on for some time. There are more and more ships that cannot maintain their speed due to damage. In addition, the cruisers and destroyers of the Ming army, which have steam gas torpedoes, have repeatedly launched torpedo attacks, which also disrupted the British ships. The battle line, and the British ships that lost the battle line had to launch desperate assaults again and again, trying to disrupt the formation of the Ming army and drag the battle into "chaos".

The British's goal of "chaotic warfare" has been partially achieved. The Ming army's beggar-style battleship lineup has long been unable to maintain.They have too few cannons and thin armor. They are not opponents at the monarchy level at all, and they are about to be completely defeated.However, the "Kongming", "Hero", "Hero" and "Guardian" classes of the 3rd Cruiser Squadron of the Pacific Fleet of the Ming Dynasty used the opportunity of the "Sovereign" class to strangle the "beggar's version of the battleship" to launch torpedo assaults one after another. Get results.This battlefield is full of battleships that have been beaten up and are about to capsize and sink. It has become a battleship cemetery!

At this time, the six "Shihuang" class ships of the Ming army still had the upper hand. Although their armor and firepower were not much stronger than the "Indian Emperor" class, their high speed of 6 knots and 27 knots allowed them to always occupy half a T. Position - Although not the entire T position, they can still concentrate all their firepower on an "Emperor of India" class.On the side of the "Emperor of India", although the firepower is not weak and the armor is not weak, they are always in a state of being beaten passively, and they are getting more and more passive. It seems that they can't last for too long.

However, the British Empire is not without opportunities, because there is a big gap in the speed of the battleships of Ming Dynasty. It can run 27 knots, while "Hero" and "Hanwu" only have a speed of about 28 knots.

Therefore, the battleships of the Ming army will be out of touch when their horsepower is fully activated. The first to arrive is the "Shihuang", then the "Dazhou" and "Loyal King", while the "Heroes" and "Hanwu" can only arrive slowly. Come slowly.

On the other hand, on the British side, their battleships can't run fast, but it is beneficial for them to concentrate their forces and gain an advantage of up to 15 minutes!
"Admiral, we have 15 minutes to defend our world empire!"

Rear Admiral Jervis had estimated the time the Royal Navy could spend defending the Empire on which the sun never sets.

"15 minutes" Hearing this number, William Baga just smiled wryly, "From the time when Elizabeth I joined forces with European allies to challenge the world empire of the Habsburg Dynasty, to when our country overwhelmed Spain, the Netherlands, and France, step by step It took more than 200 years to build the Anglo-Saxon world empire, and now we have only 15 minutes to defend it."

"Yes," Major General Jervis said, "this is 15 minutes to decide the fate of all mankind!"

"Okay then!" William Baga said, "Tell everyone that we have only two targets, and they are the two unknown 3-ton battleships of the Ming Dynasty." He suddenly raised his voice, "Concentrate firepower to sink them." They, victory belongs to the British Empire!"

"Yes, Admiral!"

"3-ton class. There are also two ships!"

"Sink them and win!"

At the same time, Li Kezhi and Yu Yang were also holding binoculars to look at the "William IV" and "Queen Elizabeth" less than 2 meters away. The 3-ton steel body looks particularly intimidating !

Li Kezhi put down the binoculars and took a deep breath, "The 3-ton ship that is at the top of the enemy line is the target of the fire! Start salvo at 18000 meters, and concentrate all the 360mm and 300mm cannons to sink it!"

"Yes!"

6点30分，就在12月25日的最后一抹夕阳即将消失之前，大明海军的“大周”号、“大秦”号、“武忠王”号、“成忠王”号上的32门360毫米和300毫米重炮同时发出怒吼！

Just a few seconds later, more than 24 heavy guns on 200 British battleships also fired their first salvo!
Nearly 300 heavy artillery pieces played the most magnificent symphony in the world at the same time, and the gunpowder smoke from the muzzles even covered the disappearing sunset.

The crucial 15 minutes to determine whether the sun sets on the Empire on which the sun never sets has begun!

Perhaps it is because the layout of the double-linked four-turrets is relatively stable, or it may be because Daming's optical measurement equipment is more accurate, and their "abacus soldiers" calculate the trajectory more accurately. Two "Da Zhou" class ships and two "Loyal King" ships In this crucial artillery battle, the main guns of the [-]st-class all played an extremely high level. In just the third round, the battleship Wilhelm IV burst into flames.

The first to hit the King William IV was the Zhou-class battleship Daqin. A 360mm armor-piercing projectile fired from its bow turret concentrated on the main armor belt of the rear bridge of the William IV, and pierced it in one hit!The main armor belt of the King William IV class is designed to defend against the 14-inch main gun, and the 360mm is larger than the 14-inch. Moreover, the latest armor-piercing shell of the Ming army has a stronger armor-piercing ability, which is not the British army at all. The 14-inch armor-piercing projectile can compare.But the 360mm shell that penetrated the main load of the William IV did not cause too much damage, because its delayed fuze reacted too fast this time, and it exploded just after penetrating the main load of the William IV. , and did not blow through the steel plates wrapping the power cabin of the William IV, but only shattered some pipes, causing some high-pressure steam to leak, but it was not a serious problem.

However, this shell provided an important coordinate. As its impact point was captured by the fire control and rangefinders, the four battleships of the Ming Navy completed the calibration of their naval guns, which meant the beginning of destruction!
6点33分，再次咆哮的32门重炮让威廉四世号领教到了300毫米和360毫米大炮真正的威力，2枚300毫米炮弹和3枚360毫米炮弹从它的钢板上撞击而过。

In an instant, this large battleship named after King William IV suffered the heaviest blow. A 300mm armor-piercing projectile was installed on the conning tower of King William IV, although the 16-inch thick steel armor Withstood the blow, but still knocked all the people in the command tower to the ground and stared at them!Another 300mm artillery shell hit the relatively thin armor belt near the bow of the ship, and made a breakthrough without any effort, and also opened a small hole in the bow of the Wilhelm IV. , causing hundreds of tons of seawater to pour in.

Compared with the less powerful 300mm armor-piercing projectile, the 700mm hood armor-piercing projectile weighing 360 kg is truly deadly!
One of the three 360mm armor-piercing shells tore through the thickest main belt in the midship of the King William IV class, and then continued to smash the steel plate outside the boiler room, and finally broke through the No. 1 boiler of the William IV. There was a big explosion in the room, which not only destroyed all the boilers, but also caused seawater to rush in. In the end, the damaged pipe had to seal the entire cabin to prevent the flooded seawater from submerging everything.

The remaining two 360 mm armor-piercing shells hit the stern of Wilhelm IV and the front of D turret respectively.The stern armor of the Wilhelm IV couldn't withstand armor-piercing shells of this caliber at all. A large hole was punched in one shot, and several cabins were ignited, causing a fire, which made the "William IV"'s buttocks billow with smoke.

However, the D turret of the William IV withstood it. The 16-inch thick armor could not be penetrated by 360mm shells!However, the huge shock generated by the direct hit and explosion of the 360mm artillery shell stunned the entire artillery squad and lost consciousness for a short time.

Only a few minutes into the battle, the British had already tasted the wrath of Ming Dynasty!

However, the empire on which the sun never sets is not a vegetarian, and the 24 British battleships on the sea quickly retaliated, and the battleship "Da Zhou" also ushered in a real test immediately!

At 6:34, a 14-inch artillery shell fired by the Queen Elizabeth slammed into the strongest main belt of the "Da Zhou", and immediately exploded an extremely dazzling fireball!

(End of this chapter)