However, the U.S. rear admiral overlooked the fact that the two Virginia-class battlecruisers were actually approaching the Chinese auxiliary ships while they were approaching their own auxiliary ships. Lieutenant www.biquge.info Colonel Li Li, commander of the Third Destroyer Detachment of the Chinese Expeditionary Fleet, keenly discovered the enemy's mistake and immediately ordered eight destroyers under his command to fire torpedoes at the two American battle cruisers, and then, in less than two minutes, a total of as many as 40 torpedoes were fired......

At this time, the 3rd Destroyer Detachment was more than 15,000 meters away from the two American Virginia-class battle cruisers, which was supposed to exceed the maximum range of torpedoes, but because the two American battle cruisers were approaching this side, they could actually be reached completely.

However, the distance of 15,000 meters is still too far after all, even if the American warship takes the initiative to approach, the Chinese torpedo must be adjusted to slow mode and increase the range to more than 12 kilometers before it can be attacked, so that the speed of the torpedo is only 25 knots. Fortunately, the enemy ships were approaching this side, and the relative speed of the torpedoes was actually no less than 30 knots, and more importantly, the enemy did not expect at all that the Chinese Navy could actually launch a torpedo attack at such a long distance, and it was inevitable that there was some negligence, and by the time something was discovered that something was wrong, 40 torpedoes were already about to rush under their noses!

The two U.S. battle cruisers woke up from a dream and hurriedly made evasive moves, trying to avoid these seemingly inconspicuous deaths. Speaking of which, thanks to the fact that the torpedoes in slow mode were not fast enough, and the distance was too far, even with the help of gyroscopes, most of the torpedoes were still a little off, and even if the flagship of the US First Reconnaissance Squadron, the "Idaho" battle patrol, was found late, it still passed by the torpedo without danger and escaped by chance.

But her sister ship "Montana" was not so lucky, because it happened to be in the direction of a number of torpedoes, even if the ship's helmsman was highly skilled, it was impossible to avoid all of them, no matter how many calculations had to be taken by one or two, so anxious that he was sweating profusely. However, the faithful helmsman was soon relieved, and after two loud bangs, the once proud ship of the U.S. Navy sank to the bottom of the sea at a speed visible to the naked eye, killing as many as 574 people, including the helmsman......

"Did you really hit it?" , Li Li wiped his eyes and confirmed that the battlecruiser "Montana" really sank, and then everyone cheered. Speaking of which, Li Li himself didn't expect to be able to hit, no matter how much the torpedo is improved, because the interference of the water flow is far greater than the air current, the accuracy at long distances is always unsatisfactory, the torpedo attack he just ordered is not so much to kill the enemy ship, but to force it to urgently avoid chaos, so as to create a better opportunity for his own capital ship, I didn't expect to be able to directly sink one, this is really lucky!

The luck of the Chinese navy is naturally a great misfortune for their enemy, seeing the "Montana" battlecruiser submerged under water, the commander of the US No. 1 reconnaissance squadron could not help but feel mournful, now there is only one battle cruiser left, even if his idea of facing the enemy sideways is correct, I am afraid that it will be difficult to hold out until the main force of the fleet arrives, and the lightning strike just now also reminded the rear admiral that the enemy he needs to face is not only those eight battle cruisers.

However, just when the US rear admiral was almost desperate, the strong gale of the day suddenly subsided, and the commander of the detachment was overjoyed and immediately ordered his subordinates to immediately open the smoke canister and release the smoke screen, while the "Idaho" battlecruiser once again turned back to its original course and headed for the main fleet, which was getting closer and closer.

The method of releasing a smoke screen to cover escape has long been invented, but it is not always easy to use in actual combat, for example, in the previous naval battle, due to the strong wind, or sideways, the smoke screen released was easily blown aside, and it did not play much role in obstructing the enemy's line of sight. In a sense, the rear admiral ordered the two battle cruisers to turn, in fact, it was not without the idea of seizing the upper hand in order to release smoke, but he did not expect that it was not the terrifying shelling of the Chinese battle cruisers that sank his own battle cruisers again, but the sudden lightning strike of the flank auxiliary ships......

However, in any case, as long as they were mentally vigilant enough, there was nothing to fear from a torpedo attack at a distance of more than 10,000 meters, and now they could use smoke to cover it, which greatly reduced the threat of China's battle cruisers, and the commander of the US No. 1 reconnaissance squadron finally relaxed a little, and if nothing else, the "Idaho" battlecruiser was basically saved.

Even Yang Yonglin, the commander of the Chinese Eastern Expeditionary Fleet, realized this, and after seeing the figure of the enemy ship in the telescope covered in thick smoke and no longer able to see it really, he scolded angrily, but the battle patrol ran away, so many auxiliary ships were still fighting with their side, although the mosquito is small, it is also meat!

So, Yang Yonglin gave an order, and the four Legendary-class battle cruisers such as the "Xuanyuan" turned to the right in unison and rushed to support their little brother, why were there only four? Because the other four have already rushed over first, since due to the limitation of school shooting, at most four or five warships can attack one target at the same time, then the remaining four are better to go to the flank battlefield to help the little brother than to follow behind the flagship and occupy the pit. Therefore, as soon as the battlecruiser "Montana" sank by a mine, the four battle cruisers including the "Suisili" immediately parted ways with the flagship......

However, this separation is only temporary, because the US military is not stupid, and they all know that auxiliary ships are by no means opponents of capital ships, and if they have an absolute advantage in numbers, they may still have a chance to approach and fire torpedoes. But now the enemy's auxiliary ships alone were enough to make their heads bigger, and at this moment, eight Legendary-class battle cruisers suddenly arrived and terrified them when they landed. In addition, at this time, the "Idaho" battlecruiser could basically ensure safety, and it was no longer meaningful for the US auxiliary ships to stay as cannon fodder, so naturally no one was willing to stay and wait for death.

So, before the eight Legendary-class battle cruisers could join the battle, the dozen or so U.S. auxiliary ships turned around and fled...... (To be continued.) )