Chapter 376: Artillery Battle

Although there was no direct contact between the people on each ship, everyone had been in school for at least three years, so they naturally knew what to do when and when. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info

Now, for example, the ships are invariably aiming at a light patrol led by the enemy.

It was a tsukuma-class protective cruiser with only four single-mounted 152mm guns, and it appeared to be the model it was when it was first launched in 1911.

The Chikuma-class protective cruiser was Japan's 1907 fleet expansion budget, and together with the Kongo-class battlecruisers at that time, based on the lessons learned from the Russo-Japanese War, a large number of advanced technologies were used at that time, and it was a concentrated embodiment of the shipbuilding capacity of the 11th District at that time.

All three Tsukuma-class protective cruisers participated in World War I, and all retired soldiers disbanded before World War II.

The Chikuma-class protective cruiser has a displacement of 5,000 tons, a length of 144 meters, a width of 14.2 meters, and a draft of 5.1 meters. The power system consists of two direct-drive steam engines and 16 ship-based coal-fired boilers with a total of 22,500 horsepower and a maximum speed of 26 knots.

Although it was a protective cruiser, the firepower of this Tsukuma was noticeably weaker, and it was only equipped with four 152mm guns, two of which were side-by-side, and only three guns on one side could fire at the same time.

Later, the Chikumo was also remodeled, and it was replaced with 8 152mm single-mount guns, but now this one has obviously not been modified.

As in land battles, the same vehicle will be equipped with different weapon weights in naval battles, so not all captains will choose the version with the strongest weapon.

Of the opposing fleets, the 5,000-ton protective cruiser had the best survivability, so it was a natural candidate to take the lead in carrying the shells.

However, even a 5,000-ton protective cruiser is now a little overwhelmed by the firepower of the ghost animals on Otowa's side.

Although the caliber of the guns of these old cruisers is not large, the victory lies in the large number of tubes, and the crackling cannot be stopped at all, and the shells are simply as many as raindrops.

As the distance approached, a number of shells soon landed on the Tsukuma, which was the first to be launched.

These shells were fired from six ships, so there were quite a few differences in caliber, the smallest was only 76mm, and the large went directly to 152mm.

Under the indiscriminate bombardment of seven ships, the deck of the Tsukuma soon resounded with the sound of explosions one after another.

The first thing to suffer was the main turret, and several shells hit the gun's shield at the same time.

The Tsukumo's artillery shield is similar to that of the Tenryu, and it covers a large area, but it is only 13mm thick, which can only withstand bullets and shrapnel.

After being hit directly by a high-explosive shell, the cannon shield was blown out of a large hole on the spot, and the gunners in the rear were also hit by fragments.

Although the artillery was not damaged, it was clear that no one wanted to go up to the top shift in such a hail of bullets.

Not long after the turret at the front was hit, the conning tower in the rear also received a shell.

In stark contrast to the Chikuma's massive size, the bridge of its gadgets is very small, which is a common feature of cruisers of this era.

The 140mm high-explosive bomb crashed through the glass of the bridge and then drilled into the bridge.

The fuse on the shell quickly worked, and then a violent explosion was triggered.

Not to mention a 140mm shell, even if a grenade is thrown into this narrow bridge, it can be wiped out, and the girl in the bridge is cleaned up in an instant.

Even after the loss of the bridge and turret No. 1 shortly after the start of the battle, the Tsukuma's engines were still running at full speed, and the ship maintained a high speed of 26 knots.

"Switch targets. ”

After witnessing all this in the glasses, Shizuku spoke slowly.

"The cruiser at the head has been heavily damaged, and all the gun crews have switched targets. ”

It didn't take long for Arisa to be very cooperative with Shizuku's order.

After the bridge exploded, the Tsukuma couldn't change course anymore, and probably rushed all the way to the end of the race. Moreover, the guns on this ship have also been scrapped a lot in the concentrated fire just now, and the threat is already negligible.

"Understood. ”

After Otowa finished speaking, he quickly spun the cannon.

Behind this Tsukuma-class protective cruiser was a Caledon-class light cruiser. Construction of the vessel began on 17 March 1916, and it was launched on 25 November of the same year, with its final completion in March 1917.

Caledon was one of the six sub-classes of the British C-class cruisers. It was also the oldest first-class cruiser ever used by the Royal Navy in World War II. With the exception of the lead ship, Caledon, which was converted into an air defense cruiser and participated in escort missions, several others were engaged in auxiliary missions.

Of course, it will certainly not be the air defense cruiser that appeared here after the transformation in 1942.

The Caledon-class cruisers are armed with five 152mm single-mount guns, four twin 533mm torpedo launchers, and can reach speeds of up to 29 knots, second only to the Tenryu-class in this class.

Caledon's 5 152mm guns were definitely stronger than Draco's 4 140mm guns, but in the bow of the ship charging at the enemy, only one gun in front of this thing could attack.

While Otowa was aiming, Arisa also asked the signalman to signal to his teammates, telling them that the ship they were shooting had been shot and telling them to switch targets.

The Tenryu where Otowa is located has singled out four ships on the opposite side before, and has shot down dozens of planes (Otowa is also counted as ships), and the score is also ranked first on the contribution list, and the words spoken are still very prestigious.

The six remaining ships in the fleet also adjusted their guns, aiming their guns at the Caledon, which was in second place.

Just when the opposite side wondered why the enemy suddenly stopped attacking, the guns of the seven ships opened fire almost simultaneously.

Dozens of shells broke away from the muzzle of the guns, and then arced through the air, flying towards the bewildered-looking Caledon.

Perhaps there were too many shells fired, and several of the first rounds hit the light cruiser.

The first to bear the brunt was the ship's main turret, where a 76mm high-explosive shell hit, exploding on the gun's shield.

It was also hit directly by high-explosive shells, but the shield of this gun did not crack, and the gunners in the rear did not do anything at all.

The calidden-class artillery shield is also very large, the area is not weaker than that of Tenryu and Chikuma, and most importantly, the armor of this thing is really thick, a full 76mm.

The 76mm armor is still very thick, not to mention the 76mm caliber high-explosive shell, and even the 152mm high-explosive shell may not be able to smash it.

"That thing's armor seems to be a little thick. ”

Otowa has very good eyesight, so he witnessed this scene as well.

"The whole team, get on the armor-piercing bullet!"

It's no problem if the high-explosive bullet can't be hit, and there are armor-piercing bullets on the Otowa side.