On the USS Beers, Captain Jack frowned and looked at the Japanese fleet in the distance, there was intelligence that the Japanese main fleet had returned, but he still did not see any hope of victory.

The Japanese fleet had a garrison at Midway, but the size of the Japanese warships left there to support Kauai and Midway was large enough.

The intelligence did not tell them that the Japanese had left two cruisers and more than ten destroyers here.

At this moment, the U.S. fleet can only bite the bullet and use the most primitive naval combat methods to fight a battle that they are not very good at.

"Get all the gun emplacements ready! The battle is about to begin! He loudly ordered his men to prepare for a dignified naval battle.

This may have been the case in naval battles 100 years ago, with both sides lining up and then using artillery to decide who was the winner.

Following his order, the gunners of the U.S. Navy pulled their bolts, loaded their shells, and prepared for battle.

This American destroyer is actually the newest destroyer of this era, because it has only been launched for 20 days.

The Fletcher-class destroyer is a new type of destroyer designed by the United States in 1940, and if the historical process is concerned, it will not be mass-produced until around 1942.

However, the great success of the German Navy in the Atlantic Ocean forced the United States to seriously consider whether its anti-submarine and air defense capabilities were sufficient.

As a result, they began to build Fletcher-class destroyers on a large scale to replace the old destroyers in their navy.

Those eliminated destroyers were given to the British counter-attack German Navy for a fee, and the US Navy commissioned 20 Fletcher-class destroyers in one go.

With the attack on Pearl Harbor and the outbreak of the Pacific Naval War, the United States immediately accelerated the production of Fletcher-class destroyers, and now at least 20 brand new warships have been produced!

And these newly born warships have become the new pillars of the US Navy destroyer family.

The most important armament of the Fletcher-class destroyers is their main guns, which consist of five 127 mm high-level dual-purpose naval guns and their firing control devices.

The configuration of 5 guns was almost the mainstream configuration among destroyers at that time, and it can be said that the firepower was not weak.

It's a pity that this kind of artillery is effective against air strikes and enemy destroyers, but when it comes to enemy cruisers, it is relatively weak.

After all, this kind of artillery has to take on the dual task of striking surface ships and long-distance air targets, so it is necessary to emphasize the rate of fire, and the caliber cannot be too large.

The U.S. Navy divides naval guns into two categories: flat-firing naval guns and high-level dual-purpose naval guns, the former referring to naval guns with a maximum elevation angle of no more than 35 degrees and mainly attacking surface targets.

The latter refers to naval guns with a maximum elevation angle of 85 degrees or more, which can take on both sea strike and air defense tasks, and the Mk12 127 mm 38 times diameter naval gun equipped on the Fletcher-class destroyers belongs to the latter.

In terms of turret layout, the Fletcher-class destroyers maintain the style commonly adopted by the third and fourth generation destroyers, and all the main guns are arranged along the centerline of the hull to ensure that the single port can exert maximum firepower.

The gun emplacements are called No. 51, 52, 53, 54 and 55 gun emplacements from front to back, of which the No. 51 and 52 gun emplacements are located on the top of the bow deck and the foredeck room respectively, and are in a knapsack structure, the No. 53 and 54 gun emplacements are in front and rear of the top of the aft deck, in a back-to-back layout, and the No. 55 gun emplacements are on the stern deck and are in a knapsack structure with the No. 54 gun emplacements.

Except for the No. 53 gun position in the middle of the hull, which has a firing range of 140 degrees on the left and right, the firing range of the other gun emplacements is 330 degrees.

Each turret of the Fletcher class is equipped with an Mk2-type ammunition elevator that transports ammunition through two closed pipes, is electrically driven, semi-automatic, and can supply ammunition to the turret at a rate of 24 to 30 rounds per minute.

In addition, the unit is equipped with an automatic fuse setting device, which can be fixed before the shell is fed into the turret.

Each main gun has 350 rounds of ammunition in reserve, and the whole ship has 1,750 rounds of ammunition, which has a strong sustained combat capability.

At the same time as the captain gave the order, the Erlikon guns and Bofors anti-aircraft guns for air defense on the ship were also put into combat condition, and the torpedo tubes were also loaded.

The combat sirens on the ship were buzzing, and everyone was nervous to the extreme. Everyone stared at the black smoke that could already be seen on the surface of the sea and swallowed the saliva in their mouths.

Because in the direction of the black smoke, the destroyers and cruisers of the Japanese naval fleet are approaching, and a naval battle that is still exciting despite the small tonnage of the participating ships is about to begin.

"Can you fire? The rangefinder shows that the enemy is within firing range! The officer in charge of the artillery asked, looking at the captain with his hands behind his back.

Although not as sophisticated as the huge gun rangefinders on battleships, the fire control systems on destroyers were also very sophisticated and effective for this era.

Since the sophisticated instruments showed that the enemy was already within range, there was no reason to endure any longer.

The captain nodded, and commanded, "Fire!" Then adjust the angle of your shot and try to hit the enemy target! ”

"Fire!" Grabbing the phone in his hand, the officer in charge of the artillery gave his orders loudly.

"Fire!" The commander of the gun, who received the order, also shouted the order, the switch was pressed, and the 127 mm caliber gun spewed out scorching flames.

"Boom!" With a loud bang, the American destroyer opened fire at almost the farthest range, and the shells flew over a long distance and landed directly in front of the Japanese destroyer, stirring up a high column of water.

"Boom!" The destroyer's guns had a fast rate of fire, and there was no need to fire a second shot after a long preparation, as in the case of battleships.

So, immediately after the first shell was fired, the other gun emplacements on the American destroyer followed suit with the second shell.

From the Japanese Navy's side, the first shell had just fallen, and the second shell had already flown in front of it.

The shell still fell into the sea directly in front of the Japanese Navy ship, stirring up a second column of water that soared into the sky.

The naval battle broke out, and the Americans kept firing, while the Japanese Navy was quiet, and the destroyers were still speeding forward, but the artillery positions did not make any noise.

"Are they panicking when they fire so hastily? Or are you emboldening yourself? Naïve US Navy ...... We, the Imperial Japanese Navy, disdained to fight like this. Pressing his command knife, the captain of the Japanese Navy destroyer sneered.

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There are two more to be served later, so you can watch them again tomorrow morning.