Chapter Seventy-Nine: The Lucky Torpedo Boat
After the battle line of the combined fleet of the three navies and the battle line of the independent fleet was reduced to 10,000 meters, the most tragic battleship duel of this naval battle began, and almost every two or three minutes a battleship was sunk.
And when the battleships of the two sides faced off, other types of warships on both sides also joined the battle.
"Boom-" A torpedo boat of the Separate Fleet, approaching the battle line of the Kisk Navy, was directly hit by a shell with a caliber of at least 150 mm or more, and was instantly blown to pieces.
Xu Zhenjie, who was in the cockpit of the No. 18 torpedo boat, saw that the No. 13 torpedo boat, the flagship of the second torpedo boat formation, had no bones left after being directly blown up by a large-caliber shell, and he couldn't help but feel a chill from the bottom of his heart.
In order to interfere with the battleships of the Independent Fleet, many small and medium-sized warships of the three navies once again launched a charge on the battleline of the Independent Fleet, and after trying to get closer, they launched a torpedo attack on the battleships of the Independent Fleet.
Wang Chengliang, commander of the Independent Fleet, sent a large number of armored cruisers, light cruisers, and destroyers to protect his own battle line, and at the same time sent all 60 torpedo boats of the Independent Fleet out to take the initiative to attack the battle line of the Sharad navy.
Originally, Wang Chengliang was not prepared to let sixty torpedo boats take the initiative to attack in such a fierce duel, but when Wang Chengliang observed that in order to interfere with the battleships of the Independent Fleet, the Salad Navy actually sent almost all the small and medium-sized warships to charge the battle line of the Independent Fleet, so that there were only a few large armored cruisers and a few medium armored cruisers left near the many battleships of the Shalad Navy.
Therefore, Wang Chengliang immediately made a decision and immediately ordered the formation of five torpedo boats of the Independent Fleet to launch a torpedo attack on the battleships of the Sharad Navy at all costs, close to the battle line of the Sharad Navy.
The commander of the Second Expeditionary Fleet of the Sharad Navy, Denis, did not know that leaving only eight large armored cruisers and four medium armored cruisers around many battleships was likely to leave a huge hidden danger, but at this time, Denis was already a little careless.
From 11:30 p.m., just half an hour later, another super dreadnought, two dreadnoughts, a former dreadnought, and four ironclad battleships were sunk in the Sharad navy, and several more battleships were seriously damaged, and as the battle lines of the two sides were further closed, the losses of the Sharad navy were also increasing.
The Gisk Navy and the Orenza Navy suffered very heavy losses in this half an hour, and many battleships were sunk and damaged, on the other hand, the Baron fleet under Su Yi only had one battle cruiser, one dreadnought battleship and one former dreadnought battleship, which were sunk in this half an hour.
Dennis had to admit that the baron fleet under Su Yi was also far ahead of the Salad navy, which was known as the world's second, in terms of shooting technology for naval guns.
If we don't think of some way to continue to bombard each other like this, it will definitely be the combined fleet of the three navies that will be defeated.
Unable to think of a good way, Genesys had no choice but to let the small and medium-sized warships of the navies of the three countries launch a death charge again, trying to sink some battleships of the independent fleet as much as possible.
The sortie of sixty torpedo boats of the Separate Fleet was soon discovered by the Sharad Navy, and then eight large armored cruisers and four medium armored cruisers of the Sharad Navy circled around the front of the Sharad naval battle line, ready to intercept the numerous torpedo boats of the Independent Fleet.
However, some battleships of the independent fleet suddenly concentrated their fire on the eight large armored cruisers and four medium armored cruisers of the Sharad navy, and one medium armored cruiser was sunk in an instant.
Xu Zhenjie, the captain of the No. 18 torpedo boat, originally chose a large armored cruiser of the Sharad Navy as the target of the No. 18 torpedo boat, but when the No. 18 torpedo boat finally rushed to about 1,200 meters away from the large armored cruiser, it reached the effective range of the 533 mm steam gas torpedo equipped with the No. 18 torpedo boat.
Just when Xu Zhenjie was about to give the order to launch a torpedo, the large armored cruiser of the Sharad Navy suddenly exploded in a series of explosions, and soon this large armored cruiser with a displacement of at least tens of thousands of tons was blown into at least three pieces and quickly sank to the surface of the sea.
First mate Chen Zeng hurriedly asked: "Captain, the target we want to attack has been sunk, which enemy ship should we choose as the target next?" ”
At this time, Xu Zhenjie's eyes suddenly lit up, and after the large armored cruiser of the Sharad Navy sank, a more massive Sharad Navy battleship was revealed behind.
"Keep going! Let's go fight that big guy! Xu Zhenjie pointed to the front and shouted with a firm face, but Xu Zhenjie's hands trembled a little.
After all, this is Xu Zhenjie's first time participating in actual combat, and the torpedo boat he is in is in a very dangerous situation, and the ship may be destroyed and killed at any time.
Torpedo Boat No. 18 then took a "Z" line and rushed forward quickly, but fortunately, although a number of shells landed around Torpedo Boat No. 18, not a single shell hit Torpedo Boat No. 18.
When the No. 18 torpedo boat approached the target about 1,200 meters, Xu Zhenjie, who was already sweating profusely, immediately roared loudly: "No. 1 and No. 2 torpedoes are fired!" ”
After the two 533-mm steam gas torpedoes were sent out from the launch tube, they rushed towards the target at a high speed of 50 knots, and the gas discharged from the tail of the steam gas torpedo formed two white waves on the sea surface.
Xu Zhenjie then shouted: "Quick! Turn! Torpedo tubes No. 1 and No. 2 also hurry up and load the torpedoes! ”
The No. 18 torpedo boat has a total of three torpedo tubes, two in the front and one in the back, Xu Zhenjie is ready to turn the torpedo boat around, use the torpedo tube in the back, and fire another torpedo at the target.
Although the Conflict spotted the two torpedoes fired by the No. 18 torpedo boat and dodged them, the two 533-mm torpedoes still hit the Conflict, blowing up two gaps on the side of the Conflict.
Soon the third 533-mm torpedo of torpedo boat No. 18 also hit the Conflict, and this torpedo drilled directly through a large hole that had been blown up earlier, detonating several of the Conflict's boilers, and almost blowing the bottom of the Conflict's hull to pieces.
Just as the two torpedo tubes in front of the No. 18 torpedo boat were loaded with new torpedoes, the Conflict, with a full load displacement of 22,500 tons, rolled over and smashed into the sea and quickly sank.
"Oh my God! We took out a battleship! Xu Zhenjie was a little excited.
"Captain, we still have three torpedoes, are we looking for another target?" First mate Chen Zeng's face was also full of excitement.
The high-spirited Xu Zhenjie pointed with his hand: "Advance towards that big guy, and the remaining three torpedoes will be given to it!" ”
After firing three torpedoes at the dreadnought battleship Conflict, the No. 18 torpedo boat had already retreated about two thousand meters, and with Xu Zhenjie's order, the No. 18 torpedo boat began to take a "Z" shaped route again, rushing towards a Sharad naval battleship that was even larger than the Conflict.
Under the cover of the smoke on the battlefield, the No. 18 torpedo boat was fortunate enough to get close to the Sharad naval battleship at a distance of about 1,200 meters, and then the No. 18 torpedo boat fired three torpedoes in a very short time.
One of the two 533-mm torpedoes fired from the two torpedo tubes in the front hit the target, and then the third 533-mm torpedo also hit the target, and the battleship that was seriously damaged by the two torpedoes was the flagship of the Second Expeditionary Fleet of the Sharad Navy - the Super Dreadnought Battleship.