Can we be sure that it was an enemy ship

On the bridge of the battleship Shinano, Hikosuke Kato couldn't help but ask with some worry when he saw that the front main turrets of the battleships Shinano and Mino had started firing in unison

Of course, there was no way to be sure whether Inoue Narumi shook her head in annoyance, and whether the gunner was crazy or not

On the orders of Inoue Narumi, the battleship Shinano stopped firing

As the third and fourth ships of the Yamato-class super battleships, the Shinano and Mino were undoubtedly the battleships of the Japanese Combined Fleet that were fighting hard with the Chinese fleet, and they were eagerly awaited to arrive

It may be that the gunners of the Shinano and Mino began to bombard before they could wait for the order to shoot

In fact, the Japanese were quite lucky, the target of their shelling just now was precisely the super battleship of the Chinese Navy, but due to the bad sea conditions, the hull shook badly, and the aiming was greatly affected, and these shells were not able to hit the target

At this time, the vast sea was churning from time to time, and this vast sea, even if the people were condescending, and the vision was extended to a radius of forty miles, but it was still impossible to see the edge, and this flowing plain stirred up a raging wave under the merciless whipping of the storm, as if ten thousand horses were galloping

Under the blow of the huge waves, the Shinano unexpectedly rose up and fell down again, and in the middle of this fall, the people on the bridge seemed to fly into the air and fall into the abyss

The people who experienced the dance on the cusp of this wave were all lost for a while

Despite the growing wind and waves, the speed of the battleship Shinano did not slow down

After receiving the news of the decisive battle between the main forces of the combined fleet and the Chinese fleet in the Dragon Triangle, the Shinano formation accelerated its advance, and the main ships of this fleet led by Inoue Narumi were the battleship Shinano and the battleship Mino, as well as four large aircraft carriers of the Yunlong class, and their course was at a certain angle to the Japanese battlefleet that was fighting the Chinese naval combat fleet, and soon after arriving in the Dragon Triangle, at the suggestion of Kato Yansuke, Inoue Narumi ordered the two super battleships and the four aircraft carriers to play the role of the Terminator to be separated, so that the aircraft carriers could bypass the storm zone under the protection of heavy cruisers

After storming into the Dragon Triangle, they quickly spotted the battleships of the warring sides 20 nautical miles to their right

Originally, in order to conceal the enemy, Inoue Narumi had strictly ordered the two super battleships not to fire rashly, and at the same time, he could not turn on the navigation lights, he allowed the super battleships of the Chinese Navy combat fleet to ravage the battleships of the Japanese Combined Fleet frantically, and he naturally could not see the skyrocketing flames that exploded when the Japanese battleships were violently attacked, but he could clearly see the fires of the salvo of battleships of the two fleets of the two fleets, so when the Japanese Combined Fleet stubbornly resisted the crazy attack of the two super battleships and eight battleships of the Chinese Navy, the staff officers of the Shinano formation, together with the observers of the battleships Shinano and Mino, were carefully calculating the position of the battleships of the Chinese NavyNaturally, they relied on the ferocious fire of the Japanese Super Battleship salvo

But the eagerness of the Japanese gunners ruined a great opportunity

After the battleships Shinano and Mino opened fire, the commander of the Chinese fleet, no matter how stupid, could be sure that it was the enemy

What's even worse is the coming of the storm at this time

It was dark and the water was dark, making it a black sea

Yansuke Kato even felt that even the wind was dark

As we approached the battlefield, the thunder sounded like thousands of chariots rolling from the sky, and the storm began hysterically, and the storm began to storm and storm the waves, as if the world had come to an end

The heavy rain fell from the sky frantically, the dark and heavy sky seemed to collapse immediately, the wind chased the rain, the rain chased the wind, the wind and the rain united to chase the dark clouds in the sky, the whole heaven and earth were in the rain, the wind swept the torrential rain like countless whips to the warship, the heavy rain swept over the sky like a huge waterfall, the dark clouds were connected, like a huge black cloth covering the sky, the rain poured down, the rain kept coming, the rain at the feet of Kato Yanyu gathered into a stream...,

The night's darkness was suffocating

At this moment, Kato Yanyu suddenly felt that people were so small in front of the great power of nature

The big wave did us a favor this time

Chu Yangwei, the commander of the Chinese fleet, who stood in front of the chart table like a statue, only nodded quietly when he heard the words of Chief of Staff Zhang Enming

He's waiting, he's gambling

Before entering the Dragon Triangle, he had received information about the location of the Japanese reinforcement fleet, and he also knew that the commander of the Japanese fleet was not a general, in the first round of exchanges between the two sides, the Chinese fleet had the upper hand, and in this second round of exchanges, the new Japanese fleet would undoubtedly make the Chinese navy pay an additional price for victory

If the commander of this fleet dares to go straight to the Dragon Triangle, he will definitely seek to annihilate the Chinese fleet in a more frantic and unexpected way, and although the wind and waves are fierce at this time, the Japanese fleet will never be in a hurry to return home

For Chu Yangwei, his aim was to break the Japanese attempt to annihilate the Chinese fleet

Thinking of this, Chu Yangwei understood that it was necessary for him to continue gambling with the Japanese, and he had no way out now

The strong sea breeze howled, blowing over the huge warships weighing tens of thousands of tons, some clumsily ran on the sea, and smashed open one wave after another with a tough bow, churning out rolling waves, and marching bravely, leaving a wide wave trail to the sea, the huge waves were like a sharp knife blowing on the battleship, blowing out bursts of whining sounds, like the low horn sound on the battlefield of the ancient six places, and the roar of the battleships breaking the waves and advancing was like the roar of hoplites marching together, indicating that the tragic battle was coming again

Spotting more than 4 enemy ships, the lookout post shouted again

Chu Yangwei turned around and came to the observation window, raised his binoculars, and sure enough, he saw the shadow of a Dao ship appearing in the huge waves in the other direction

There are really a lot of warships of the Japanese, Chu Yangwei put down his binoculars and sneered

This time it was not a battleship, it was a heavy cruiser, Zhang Enming held a telescope and stared at the position where the Japanese ship appeared, and looked carefully for a while and said

Come on, come on, grandpa will play with you to the end today, Chu Yangwei waved his fist and roared

As Zhang Enming said, this time it was the Japanese Navy's heavy cruiser formation that appeared

At the head of the Japanese heavy cruiser formation was the second ship of the Japanese Navy's Kaohsiung-class heavy cruisers, the Atago

As a heavy cruiser with high hopes, the Kaohsiung-class heavy cruiser was designed for war at the beginning, so its design requirements were very simple, that is, the firepower could match the heavy cruisers of the Chinese and American navies, and the speed should be fast, and the endurance could meet the requirements of Pacific operations

The Kaohsiung-class heavy cruiser can be said to be an improved version of the Japanese Myo-class heavy cruiser, in addition to thickening the armor, the armor in the gunpowder magazine in the side armor has been increased from the original one inch to five inches, but also uses British-made steel, the design of the Myo-class is Vice-Admiral Hiraga Rang Navy Shipbuilding, after he finished designing the Myo-class, he visited the United Kingdom and collected a lot of the latest technology in the British shipbuilding industry. As a result, the Kaohsiung-class heavy cruisers were born

The biggest feature of the Kaohsiung-class heavy cruiser is its huge bridge, which has been criticized by both the Japanese government and the public, and for this reason, the Kaohsiung and Atago have been modified at the Maizuru Factory, lowering the forward bridge and moving the rear mast backwards, so that the carrier-based water reconnaissance aircraft can have more space to operate

Since the Kaohsiung-class heavy cruiser is based on the basic specifications of the Myo-class heavy cruiser, The most significant difference between the Kaohsiung class and the Miao advanced is that the Kaohsiung class adopts a larger castle-like bridge structure, and the bridge structure is three times larger than the Miao high, because it has to accommodate more complex command facilities and fleet flagship facilities, and has stronger fleet command capabilities, the Kaohsiung class installs a new 10 twin-mounted 203 mm caliber main gun, using 91-type armor-piercing shells, compared with the 203 mm caliber main gun equipped with Miao advanced equipment, the power is enhanced, and the maximum elevation angle of the main gun is 70 degrees (the actual maximum elevation angle is 55 degrees) And can shoot at the air, the turret layout is the same as that of the Miao class, the third turret cannot fire in front because it is pointed in the direction of the bridge, the Kaohsiung class is equipped with 8 twin 610 mm caliber torpedo tubes, which are different from the Miao class, and the torpedo tubes are moved from the middle deck fixed inside the hull to the upper deck, changed to 4 twin-mounted rotary launch tubes, because the torpedo tubes occupy the upper deck, a layer of shelter is added for the arrangement of anti-aircraft guns, and the Kaohsiung class is equipped with two aircraft catapults on both sides, while the Miao class has only one Kaohsiung class, which is relatively Miao advanced, and also strengthens the defensive armor, strengthens the protection of the ammunition depot, and can resist 8-inch caliber shells…,

In fact, although the Kaohsiung class was designed on the basis of the Miao Advanced, it was inferior in terms of cruising range and stability, and the overweight situation was more serious than the Miao Advanced, and after the Friends Crane Incident and the Fourth Fleet Incident, the Kaohsiung Class took measures to lower the center of gravity of the ballast and carried out the modification of the hull structure strengthening

In 1938, the heavy cruisers Kaohsiung and Atago were modernized at the Maizuru factory, and the hulls were added to the underwater compartments to enhance stability and torpedo protection; The large-scale bridge reduction project lowered the center of gravity of the ship, replaced the twin with quadruple torpedo tubes, removed the mast between the rear chimney and the 4th turret, moved back to the front upper deck of the 4th turret, and added a sheltered deck as an aviation deck for water supply and aircraft parking; Modified anti-aircraft guns to improve air defense capabilities, improved command facilities, and the other two ships, the Tokai and Maya, were not modernized due to the war situation, and only minor improvements were made

After the outbreak of the Pacific War, the Kaohsiung-class ships were retrofitted with anti-aircraft guns and radars, such as the Maya, which underwent a major modification during the repair process, dismantling the No. 3 main turret located in front of the bridge, strengthening anti-aircraft fire, adding anti-torpedo compartments to the hull, and installing radar and other electronic equipment

Even so, for the Japanese Navy, the Kaohsiung-class heavy cruiser was still a first-class battleship, and its inherent flaws in this unprecedented naval battle would have fatal consequences

At this time, Vice Admiral Nobutake Kondo, who was standing on the bridge of the Atago, was anxiously looking at the flashing red light ahead

The howling sea breeze blows on his body, and even in a thick cotton coat and raincoat, and a cotton hat, Nobutake Kondo still feels like shivering with cold, which is as cold as eating a cold drink in winter

Nobutake Kondo, now honored as a vice admiral, also became a lookout on the heavy cruiser Atago

The reason why there is still a lookout like him on the battleship now is thanks to the Dragon Triangle

No matter how advanced the radar and radio equipment are, once they enter this demonic sea, the radar and radio stations all stop working, and the battleship can only rely on the sharp eyes of the lookout and the high-powered telescope hanging around the neck to detect the enemy situation in time or observe the hidden dangers of navigation

Although Chief Yamamoto's order was to protect the aircraft carrier in a heavy cruiser formation, under the fierce opposition of his subordinates, Nobutake Kondo, who wanted to fight the Chinese, listened to the advice of his subordinates this time, and went back and forth, and entered the Dragon Triangle without receiving an order

In the face of such a main decisive battle, Lieutenant Admiral Kondo could not bear to be absent

Nobutake Kondo, who had been pacing slowly to ward off the cold, calmed down, picked up the telescope hanging from his neck, and continued to endure the cold while observing the battleship for anything unusual in all directions

Just entering the Dragon Triangle, there was nothing on the dark sea, and the lead ship of the Japanese fleet stretched out a huge pillar of light, which was the navigation lights of the heavy cruiser Atago, shining on the front of the battleship, and the two navigation lights on both sides of the battleship's butt provided the direction for the follow-up battleships, of course, the follow-up battleships had to be marked by navigation lights to avoid the distance between the battleships was too short or too large

Looking at his rear, Vice Admiral Kondo suddenly felt that there was such a little light in the vast dark night, it was really indescribably pleasant, at least it made him think that he was not the only one in the entire fleet at this time, he opened his eyes and felt a little comfort, he raised his telescope again, adjusted the magnification to the maximum multiple, and then he looked at the south, between the sea and the sky, he seemed to see a little hazy light, just like the navigation lights of the battleship, affected by the curvature and distance of the earth, and the light was so hazy from a distance...,

Lieutenant General Kondo knew that it was supposed to be the battlefield

Kondo gave the order to speed up, and at this time the waves swelled, and the Japanese heavy cruisers were thrown to the crest of the waves from time to time, and the appearance of huge waves hindered the movement of the Japanese heavy cruisers, but the Japanese still tried to drive them to the battlefield

And at this moment, the figure of a huge ship appeared in front of the Japanese like a ghost

When the giant ship was like a sharp sword, it suddenly slashed through the monstrous waves and showed its majestic posture, Vice Admiral Kondo gasped in shock

He recognized this as the Spring and Autumn battleship of the Chinese Navy

The Chunqiu-class battleship belongs to the relatively new first class battleship of the Chinese Navy, with a full load displacement of more than 50,000 tons and three triple 406 mm main guns, at this time, this battleship with the anger of the Chinese Navy and the dignity and glory of the Chinese for hundreds of years used the data that had been measured long ago to send a rough roar to the heavy cruisers of the Japanese Navy with its own nine 406 mm main guns

For this advanced battleship of the Chinese Navy, the shelling at a distance of less than 15,000 meters was said to have failed under the influence of the Dragon Triangle, although the advanced fire control radar and electronic computer on the ship had failed under the influence of the Dragon Triangle, the officers and men of the Chinese Navy were after all well-trained, and they used optical sighting instruments to carry out repeated aiming corrections, and the firing data were calculated quite accurately

The sudden appearance of the Spring and Autumn battleship and the nine 406-mm shells she fired immediately blew up the Japanese heavy cruiser formation, and Kondo Shinbi, who had just been immersed in using a nine-three acid torpedo to kill the enemy battleship, suddenly realized that he was facing what a terrible opponent, and the heroic feeling of seeking battle suddenly disappeared without a trace, because none of the six heavy cruisers of the Japanese fleet lined up in a close artillery battle was the opponent of this Chinese battleship

Therefore, in this terrible shelling, the heavy cruisers Atago and Torikai of the Japanese fleet were the first to become the targets of the battleships of the Chinese Navy

In fact, after receiving the order to break away from the formation to meet the new enemy ships, the battleship Spring and Autumn was still some distance from the Japanese heavy cruiser formation, and the battleship Spring and Autumn came so quickly, it was completely the huge waves of the Dragon Triangle that helped (to be continued), if you like this work, you are welcome to come (.) Vote for recommendation, monthly pass, your support is my biggest motivation)