The night is getting deeper, the sky is slightly cool, and people are tired. On the Irish heavy cruiser "Nuada", which was cruising in the southern waters of the Coen Peninsula, as the artillery fire subsided, the air heated by the ****** quickly cooled, and the smoke gradually dissipated, but the smell of gunpowder left on the ship was still strong.www.biquge.info Under strict lighting restrictions, smoking in the open air was absolutely forbidden, and the crew either looked out at the sea or whispered. After more than half an hour of shelling, three half-salvos were fired and 25 salvos were fired, and the intensity of artillery fire output was at least equal to that of a military heavy artillery regiment, and judging from the changes in the British offensive, such artillery was remarkable.

The fact that the "Nuada" was able to display accurate long-range shooting skills in shore support is the result of Ireland's long-term policy of leaning troops, and it is also a manifestation of the continuous improvement of naval equipment and technology. The fire control center of the "Nuada" is based on a mechanical calculator and a unified command system for the whole ship, the former is the essence of industrial civilization and the important technical support for the implementation of rapid and accurate firepower strikes before the advent of electronic computers, and the data processing efficiency is ten times that of pure labor, which is three times higher than the early models used by the British Royal Navy during the last war; The latter is the technological crystallization of the German shipbuilding industry, is the magic weapon of the German Navy, and has gradually become the standard equipment of large warships in various countries for more than ten years after the war, while the "Nuada" adopts the second-generation system of electric and mechanical dual drive, which has higher accuracy and has a certain anti-sabotage ability.

The "Nuada" held off the British offensive of the Allied line north of Abersoch with heavy artillery fire, and the German battleship formation, which had retreated in the afternoon to avoid the advance of the British Air Force, was also re-engaged in the battle under the cover of a group of light ships. Among them were the majestic Bavarian-class super-dreadnoughts "Bavaria", "Baden", and "Württemberg", the old and sturdy King-class dreadnoughts "King", "Elector", "Crown Prince Wilhelm", and the Caesar-class dreadnought "Caesar", which formed two columns and sailed through the daytime battlefield under the strict escort of more than 30 light cruisers and destroyers, and nearly 20,000 naval officers and men silently mourned the "Border Governor" who was damaged in the daytime and the hundreds of robes who unfortunately died in battle. The loss suffered on the first day of the war poured cold water on the heads of the officers and men of the coalition forces who were full of confidence and high morale, and many people began to question the operational strategy of the "lightning landing" -- landing in North Wales without destroying the naval and air forces of the British army, whether it was the landing troops or the support forces, they would inevitably be frantically counterattacked by the British army, which not only restricted the strategic deployment of the British army, but also limited their own strategic choices, and even created a terrible battlefield meat grinder.

Sailing through the waters south of Abersoch, the coalition fleet adjusted its array, and the super-dreadnought formation reduced its speed under the cover of half of the light ships, and the dreadnought formation and the remaining light ships turned to the northeast, sailing for about a quarter of an hour before slowing down, and the two formations were separated by 10,000 meters, looking at each other at a distance, and then launched shelling of the coastal cities of Krikius and Persian Madog in the southeast of the Coen Peninsula, respectively.

If the attack of the Irish heavy cruiser is likened to a boning knife in the hands of a butcher, then the artillery fire of the German battleship group is like a horse chopping knife used by a sergeant, one sharp and the other indestructible. "Bavaria" and "Baden" poured more than 200 main shells and more than 800 secondary shells on Persian Madog. The 380-mm guns of the two super-dreadnoughts fired 800-kilogram grenades or armor-piercing shells, which, given the astonishing kinetic energy of the shells, were as devastating as a bomb dropped by a medium bomber. The smaller Crikius was ravaged by the King, the Elector and the Crown Prince Wilhelm, and the three German dreadnoughts fired more than 400 rounds of 305-mm shells, smashing the beautiful seaside town to the ground.

At least 15 light torpedo boats and 33 high-speed torpedo boats formed a considerable group of mine-striking boats, and this was still more than half of the remnants of the day's battle, which shows that the deployment of British naval forces on the Cohen Peninsula should not be underestimated.

During the last major war, the high-speed torpedo boats, which had high hopes, not only failed to engulf the enemy fleet like a pack of wolves, but instead exposed the weakness of the defense under the blows of large-caliber howitzers and small-caliber rapid-fire guns, and were recognized as one of the most exaggerated weapons and equipment. However, tactical mediocrity did not mean strategic uselessness, and in the middle and late stages of the war, the British Navy's high-speed torpedo boat unit shouldered the heavy responsibility of coastal defense, sinking and damaging many German light ships that came to lay mines, greatly limiting the activities of Allied ships in the English Channel. From the outbreak of the war to the entry into force of the London Armistice Treaty, the results of the high-speed torpedo boat forces of the British and German navies reached 590,000 tons and 470,000 tons respectively, which was much inferior to the dazzling results of the submarine forces of the two countries of 1.58 million tons and 2.23 million tons, but compared with the results of the destroyers of the two countries of 280,000 tons and 350,000 tons.

The London Naval Treaty signed by the eight powers did not impose strict restrictions on the tonnage and number of light ships, but despite this, the British Navy was equipped with only a few new torpedo boats after the war, and the number of equipment was relatively large, one was the home-made "Shepherd" class and the other was the "Black Shark" class from the United States. The former has a standard displacement of 26 tons, inherits the characteristics of high speed and short range of the old high-speed torpedo boat, and is equipped with four 533 mm torpedo tubes; The latter has a standard displacement of 80 tons, integrates the characteristics of gunboats and torpedo boats, and has a variety of purposes such as offshore patrol, alert escort, torpedo attack, etc., and even has a certain submarine displacement capability.

At night, the group of British torpedo boats that had left Persian Madogh assembled in formation and launched an orderly charge, trying to break through the defenses of the Allied light ships and intimidate the large Allied warships that were shelling the opposite shore. The coalition light ships escorting super-dreadnoughts and dreadnoughts were naturally not decorations, and a fierce battle began on the sea reflected in the white moonlight.

The first to discover the attack of the British torpedo boat group was the German destroyer, three red flares were launched into the air, and 33 light ships belonging to six detachments were in positions and ready to resist the enemy attack. Among these light ships, the Irish Navy contributed 1 light cruiser and 3 destroyers, and the W-4 with a striking white paint on the bow is the latest and most powerful light ship of the Irish Navy, the 1,520-ton wind-class destroyer "Sligo".

On the destroyer's mast lookout, two veteran sailors and a naval cadet stood shoulder to shoulder, and the bright moonlight made it possible to observe from a distance at night. In this open sea, if the target is an ordinary ship, the plume of smoke produced by their voyage can be observed from twenty or thirty kilometers away, but if the target is a ship powered by an internal combustion engine, especially those with small torpedo boats, the situation is very different.

"Friendly warships opened fire, but I saw no trace of enemy ships." Navy cadets wondered.

The old sailor beside him taught: "Observe carefully, carefully identify, there are different things at the tip of the waves, those are British ships!" ”

Another veteran sailor said: "It looks like it's all torpedo boats, and it's fast." Remember the phrase, night battles are not afraid of artillery, but are afraid of torpedoes, that is an unsolvable problem. ”

"Didn't you say that sonar can detect the direction of a torpedo?" Navy cadets asked.

"If there is no interference from artillery fire, it is indeed possible for sonar crews to determine the direction of the torpedo in advance." The old sailor replied.

The naval cadet nodded suddenly, and was about to say something when an officer's roar came from the bridge below: "Target azimuth 022, distance 12000, quantity 30, pay attention to vigilance!" ”

The naval cadets couldn't help but exclaim: "So accurate? ”

The old sailor said proudly: "What's this, even if it is a dark sea, we can accurately understand the position of the enemy ships and direct artillery fire for accurate fire...... The power of technology is so magical! ”

Another veteran interjected: "After all, it's a million-dollar piece of equipment!" ”

"Because of their high cost, the Germans have only equipped them on new ships that have entered service in recent years, and the British may not have really figured out this - and that's good news!"

"What about the Americans?" Navy cadets asked, "Do their ships have this type of equipment?" I guess they'll be going to war soon! ”

The reaction of the two veteran sailors was surprisingly unanimous: "Who knows? ”

As he spoke, the fire was blazing in the distance, the flickering cannon flames were dazzling, the cannonballs streaked without a trace, and the sea was full of columns of water stirred up by the cannonballs.

"And the fight began." The old sailor muttered.

In a compartment beneath the bridge, a non-commissioned officer sat in front of a dark green cathode ray tube phosphor screen, followed by four officers and two naval cadets. The most valuable equipment on this destroyer is the MC-II short-wave pulse radar jointly developed by the technical department of the German-Irish navy, which has a theoretical warning distance of 100 kilometers for air and 40 kilometers for sea. In addition to the high price, the biggest problem with this set of equipment at present is that the detection effect is easily interfered with, and false alarms often occur, and the accuracy of detection can only reach a satisfactory degree within the range of 20 kilometers in the air and 15 kilometers in the sea.

"New target discovered, azimuth 051, distance 8000, quantity 20." The non-commissioned officer operating the radar stared intently at the screen, and a group of light spots appeared in the south-east position without warning, and passed through the area that should have been detected like a ghost, and the distance of 8,000 meters is not short, and for a ship with a speed of more than 30 knots, it only takes five or six minutes at most to enter the torpedo range.

The highest-ranking officer in the radar room, an Irish Navy captain, hurriedly said: "Quick, give the order, all enter the battle position, give an alert to the friendly ship, the enemy wants to open a breakthrough from our side." ”

After the order was given, there was very little footsteps on the deck, but the commanders of the guns commanded the gunners to adjust the firing range and prepare for battle. On the basis of the standard strength of 176, the "Sligo" carried 18 naval cadets and 4 mechanical engineers, bringing the number to 198. A slight overcrowding may have a slight impact on the living conditions on the ship, but it will never slow down the speed of the battleship or reduce the combat efficiency.

(End of chapter)