The war was like a fog, and only by peeling back the cocoon and savoring it can we find that in the decisive naval battle later known as the 'Battle of Kerama', the Chinese Navy faced a combined fleet whose morale was gradually recovering as a result of the 'Wake Island Victory'. Therefore, if you put it one-on-one, you may not be able to achieve a complete victory. For this reason, Bingwen and the navy tried their best to use the capture of Kume Island and Ie Island to set up a situation and force Yamamoto to enter the East China Sea for a decisive battle. Yamamoto's choice is not too wrong, because if he does not send Nagumo to lure away the '21 aircraft carrier battle group', then after entering the East China Sea, he will inevitably be flanked by 10 aircraft carriers and the Chinese Air Force.

Bingwen and the navy knew that Yamamoto did not dare to enter the East China Sea to fight during the day, because the East China Sea was narrow and his own air force could cover it all. So deliberately took advantage of this and let Yamamoto fight at night. We took this opportunity to take the initiative to switch the tasks of the '21 Aircraft Carrier Battle' and the '12 Aircraft Carrier Battle Group' and continue to maintain the posture of sticking a knife in Yamamoto's back. And after the communication code was deciphered, Yamamoto's every move was also monitored. When Yamamoto decided to attack, using the tactics of 'short, flat and fast' to enter the East China Sea, and use the night to attack the 'drive patrol formation' and the main force of the Chinese Navy cruising here, there was a legendary scene, and two Keirama ambushes were set up.

In the history of mankind, there has never been a case of two ambushes in the same sea area. Therefore, when Yamamoto sank 1 cruiser, severely damaged 3, sank 7 destroyers, and damaged 5 ships, all the way from the north of Ryukyu Island to the south of the island, and saw that he was about to surround the remaining 4 Chinese cruisers and achieve the biggest sea victory since the war between the two sides, the dense shells that suddenly appeared in the T-shaped position made him stunned.

Outside the visual distance at night, the spanning of the Nagato was completed in just three rounds, and the gunners of the Shandong were so hot that their hands were hot!

But it was not good for the Japanese Navy, three rounds of passionate shelling. The bright and flickering cannon sparkles made the Japanese captains understand who they had encountered.

The battleship Shandong, a super battleship that only the Yamato can suppress!

"Retreat! Fall back! Scatter the breakout! "In the Battle of Wake Island, the chaotic retreat and breakout scene of the American fleet meeting the Yamato reappeared, but this time it was replaced by Japan. At 4:36, east of Oshima, while the carrier-based aircraft of both sides roared into the air, Yamamoto asked Kondo Nobutake to lead the King Kong and Hiei to make a quick turn. Leaving the Shandong's cross-firing zone. Because this is a '16-inch contest', this kind of contest is not something that these two fast battleships that have been in service for nearly 30 years and have an old foundation can fight against.

"Continue to shell Nagato, let Shanghai and Chongqing deal with King Kong." In the face of Yamamoto's breakthrough, Zhang Xiaoyu was very calm and very confident in choosing to single-handedly take on the two Nagato. But a new staff officer was greatly surprised and even worried.

As one of the BIG7, the initial protection of the Nagato-class battleship ranked last among the seven super battleships. However, after the recent overhaul, the thickness of the shield at the front of the turret has reached 356 mm, and the actual protection is close to 500 mm due to the inclination. The thickness of the main belt of the siding line is 305 mm. The already weak dome armor was also strengthened, with armor steel between 127 and 280 mm thick added at different locations such as ammunition depots, and the defense at the thickest point was close to 580 mm. And it is equipped with a 410-mm main gun, after the adoption of Type 91 armor-piercing shells and a new projectile. The range, power and reloading speed have improved considerably, and it is claimed that the vertical penetration depth can reach 450 mm at 20 km. Moreover, the Nagato-class has been in service with the Japanese Navy for a long time. It has always been used as an ace, and its gunnery is far superior to that of other warships. It is reported that it once set the 'ultimate record' of 28,000 meters and only 126 meters in the walking world.

But Zhang Xiaoyu didn't believe it. Because according to intelligence data, the new Type 91 armor-piercing projectile equipped with the Nagato-class has a bullet weight of 1020 kg and an initial velocity of about 780 m / s, even if the projectile body is optimized, it will not exceed 400 mm after 20 kilometers. On the contrary, the Shandong used a 1,225 kg extra-heavy armor-piercing projectile with a muzzle velocity of 762 m/s. Despite the fact that the muzzle velocity is slightly lower, due to the weight and body optimization, the vertical penetration depth can be more than 450 mm at 20 kilometers. As for the accuracy of shelling, it is even less credible, water ripples, climate, speed, etc., and even psychology can directly affect the accuracy. Moreover, static to static shooting, and dynamic to dynamic shooting, are also completely two different concepts. In particular, in dynamic shooting, the ballistic elements had to be recalculated for each round of firing, which happened to be Japan's weak point.

Because Japan lacked good fire control, during the engagement, after discovering the target, the data was reported to the fire control group by the three teams of rangefinder, illumination and deck observation, and the fire control needed to manually enter the calculator, and then draw the possible location of the enemy ship on the drawing. When these are all settled, they are sent to the turret, which takes the data and starts to adjust the gun, and then eats by luck. This work had to be repeated for each round of shelling, and during the attack, the two Nagato ships had to sail in a straight line at a steady speed, otherwise.

On the contrary, whether it is the Beijing level after the overhaul or the cutting-edge Shandong level, the latest RPC system is adopted. To put it simply, it is gyroscope and computer automatic control, a bit like the artillery stabilized fire control system of later tanks. After installing this system, the muzzle of the gun can be pointed at the enemy quickly and consistently, regardless of the sailing attitude or the size of the wind and waves. Taking the Shandong as an example, thanks to the electronic technology of direct imitation drawings and advantages, the radar as the core servo and the fire control computer have realized the full automation of artillery pitching and rotation, the RPC has provided continuous and accurate target tracking functions, the ballistic calculation has been computerized, and there is very little manual participation in all attacks. Therefore, its 12 406mm main guns have the fastest response speed under the current technology, which can not only achieve a continuous speed of 2 guns per minute, but also allow the captain to continue to maneuver during the attack and reduce the probability of being bombed.

So when the radar found Yamamoto 45 kilometers away, Zhang Xiaoyu planned to use his technical advantages to break Japan's accuracy. Seeing that the staff officer was worried, he smiled deliberately: "The left rudder is 5 degrees, raised to 25 knots, and after 3 minutes, it will return to its original position and continue to shell." Rest assured, there are only 2 Nagato. ”

"2 Nagato, that's all." To this raunchy captain and formation commander, the new staff officer was a little speechless. But his worries were quickly cried out and weighed back into his stomach.

"4:40, fifth round, goal, Nagato, port side score! Score! Score! The Houkanjima observer said excitedly. Reverberated inside the bridge. The 1,225-kilogram armor-piercing projectile, at a distance of 18 kilometers, passed through the upper part of the Nagato island, which was as tall as the Demon Tower. The armor in this area is very thin, so the armor-piercing shell did not explode after passing through the island tower. However, the shaking and internal electrical fire were still detected by observers.

At this time, the two Nagato had just completed the rudder turn, firing the first volley.

As Zhang Xiaoyu expected, the distance at night was 18 kilometers, the radar and RPC were not good, and they opened fire in a hurry. The 16 shells that flew down from the sky flew directly to the 'country of Java'. On the contrary, the Shandong, which has completed the straddle shooting score, can not only maneuver itself slightly, increasing the difficulty of the opponent's aiming, but also completely locked the target!

"Fire! Fire! Under the order of the gunner, the gunners rolled up their sleeves and repeated simple regulations one by one sweating, bringing the four triple 406mm guns to the extreme.

At 4:42, Shandong scored again.

This time, two armor-piercing shells hit the Nagato at the same time. The first one. It directly destroyed the No. 2 turret of the Nagato. Although it failed to penetrate the face, the shock and explosion broke both barrels and damaged the turret bearings, making it impossible for the turret to rotate. The second hit the main armor belt on the port side. However, being kept out of the dome by continuous armor compartments, although it was not fatal, it also caused the Nagato to show signs of water stalling.

The fierce Shandong made Yamamoto very angry, in just a few minutes. Just lost one turret, the port side was flooded, and the two ships on their side combined did not hit once! This achievement. Or a well-trained ace? Angry, he grabbed the microphone directly, and asked the watchtower: "Far bomb?" Close to the bullet? Didn't it appear once?! "This is not a good phenomenon, as a fleet commander, even if you want to direct an artillery battle, you should ask the gunner who directly controls the firepower of the whole ship. This shows that after many setbacks, the commander of the combined fleet is close to collapse. "General, Tsukahara-kun and Oshima Army Aviation have both released fighters." Ugaki walked up to his side and reminded him that the First Air Force and the Ryukyu Island Army Air Force were taking off, and as long as they held out until dawn, they could split up some of their forces to rescue them.

Ugaki's words calmed Yamamoto down, but before he could give the next order, a fireball rose into the air in the distance on the left. The King Kong was hit!

If the two Nagato can at least confront the Shandong, then the Beijing-class fast battleships are completely level suppression against the King Kong-class! After the overhaul, the 32-section Beijing class vs. the 30 knots of the King Kong, the L55 type 380 mm gun against the 356 mm / L45 type, the waterline main equipment 305 mm against 203 mm, the turret main equipment 380 mm against 280 mm, plus the same RPC as the Shandong class.

No advantage.

At the beginning of the battle, Yamamoto thought that Zhang Xiaoyu would not dare to divide his troops, so he asked Kondo Nobutake to turn right and sail towards Naha Port, and he led his troops to intercept 3 Chinese battleships. But he didn't expect that Zhang Xiaoyu would ignore the threat of the 2 Nagato ships and decisively divide his troops! With 1 Shandong, he singled out 2 Nagato, leaving Shanghai and Chongqing free to pursue Kondo Nobutake's Kongo and Hiei.

Faced with two Peking-class fast battleships, any effort by Kondo turned out to be in vain.

When the distance of engagement was rapidly reduced to 13 kilometers, disaster erupted.

At 4:45, the Shanghai gave the King Kong a fatal blow. 9 main guns, tearing through the main armor belt of the King Kong at close range, two of which exploded deep inside. Three minutes later, the Hiei was also hit by the Chongqing. The armor-piercing shell easily shredded the main armor and then pierced through multiple layers of armor along the way, exploding in the boiler compartment. After the shell exploded, the entire boiler compartment was crushed by the swirling shrapnel, and thick smoke, steam and flames escaped, forming a black-red fire line of more than 100 meters in the amidships, and the speed was also from 30 knots to 22 knots.

At 4:49, one of the Mutsu's shells finally hit the main armor of the Shandong waterline. As Zhang Xiaoyu scoffed, the Type 91 armor-piercing projectile was boasted by Japan, and on 18 kilometers, it did not penetrate the Shandong's 410-mm main armor belt. However, the second shell hit the observation platform on Houjian Island, killing seven soldiers and injuring many others.

But this was also its final result, and at 4:57, the Shandong completed a classic 'deck washing' bombardment. Of the 12 main guns, 5 shells hit the Nagato superstructure at the same time. In an instant, the Nagato was on fire, and a series of explosions broke out on the deck, violently blasting and shaking and affecting the conning tower, which was protected by thick armor. "Get the Snow Wind over here!" The impact of this shelling could not even be imagined by the initiators, and for the safety of Yamamoto and the staff, Ugaki gave a loud order to prepare for Yamamoto to withdraw to Naha first.

He chose the escort Yukikaze. Because the Yukikaze was a very lucky destroyer, it participated in many battles unscathed. In the Battle of Wake Island more than two months ago, he was hit by two torpedoes, both of which did not explode because the fuses were damaged, which shows how much luck has gone against the sky. The Japanese Navy is very superstitious inside, even if the chief of staff like Ugaki is chattering, so such a ship of good luck is, of course, the first choice for carrying Yamamoto and the staff to retreat.

But the Yukikaze didn't hold on to its good fortune and left twenty minutes later. Just seven nautical miles outside the port of Naha, he was ambushed by a submarine and was hit by three torpedoes in succession, sinking to the bottom of the sea without even giving a signal. More than 20 senior officers and staff officers, including Yamamoto Isoroku, Ugaki Tsuchi, and Kuroshima Kameto, all died.

Of course, at this time, the officers and soldiers on both sides did not know that Yamamoto had secretly evacuated.

Just as the Yukikaze accelerated away from the battle circle, the stalled Hibiei exploded in a series of explosions. Under the stormy close-range shelling of the Chongqing, the warship, which had once become the Emperor's Imperial Summoning Ship, finally completed its 27-year service and sank 37 nautical miles southwest of Naha Port in a sea of fire and smoke.

The explosion of the Hiei. Nakajima Tsukihiko, who took the command of Yamamoto, realized that it was impossible to break through the interception again, so he ordered the destroyers to attack and tried to return to Naha Port with 3 battleships first. But his luck was not good, the destroyer had not yet been able to get close. The Nagato was hit again. In the 19th round of salvo fire, one of the Shandong's near-miss shells broke through the defenses from underwater, and after entering the water, the armor-piercing projectile with a strange trajectory penetrated deep into the hull from under the main armor belt and exploded deep inside. Ultimately. The explosion tore a large hole six meters wide underwater, causing the Nagato's speed to drop to 15 knots and the deck to tilt.

The deck is slanted. Nakajima understands that the Nagato is finished! Because the hull and tonnage of the ship continued to increase after refitting, the redundancy of the Nagato was very small, and once the water entered the ship, it could not be controlled at all, so the ship had to be abandoned. A large number of Japanese sailors poured onto the deck, but the deck was tilted at an increasing angle, causing them to slide into the sea. Fortunately, by this time, the Shandong had already twisted its guns towards the Mutsu, so 1,100 Japanese sailors eventually escaped.

At the same time, the King Kong was tragically attacked by the Beijing and Shanghai, and under the frantic fire of 18 380-mm guns, the already wounded King Kong only lasted five minutes before being sunk by two Chinese Navy torpedo boats using artillery fire as cover with four torpedoes.

In just 50 minutes, 4 Japanese battleships were 2 killed and 2 wounded, of which Nagato had already begun to sink. This result made the morale of the fleet climb to a boiling point, but just when Zhang Xiaoyu decided to continue the pursuit of the Mutsu, the radar sent an alarm. "Enemy planes!" More than a dozen 99 ships exploded and appeared in the sky over Naha Port. This plane is not enough to break through the battleship's air defense circle, but the position of the fleet at this time is too close to Naha, and God knows how many planes will come later. Zhang Xiaoyu was very aware of the threat of aircraft, not to mention that the battleship needed to provide fire support for the troops during the landing in the back, and easy loss would cause passivity, so after thinking twice, he decided to retreat first. This order, which was later recognized as very correct.

At the same time, on the other side of Keirama, there was no suspense about the encirclement and suppression of the Mikawa fleet, and under the blows of the three driving patrol formations and the sudden appearance of the battleships Beijing and Nanjing, all the remaining five cruisers of Mikawa were sunk, and only the "Chokai" and "Atago", which were injured and withdrawn early, survived. At the same time, Zhang Zhaoyang also sent back a telegram that under the pursuit of four battleships, the heavy cruiser Myoko of the Nagumo fleet was sunk at 23:15 last night, but the Haguro and Ashigara, led by Nagumo, took advantage of the wind and waves to escape.

"Can't you contact Admiral Yamamoto yet?"

At 5:30, the flagship aircraft carrier Xianghe released the last fighter. But Tsukahara 243 and the 1st Air Force lost contact with Yamamoto. How can you lose contact? Even if it was ambushed, it was impossible for the Nagato to be sunk instantly, and Yamamoto and the staff had enough chance to escape.

Tsukahara wondered if he needed to contact Yamamoto urgently now, as he had to choose whether to support the battleships or attack the Chinese carriers. But just as he asked the correspondent to continue contacting Yamamoto, the staff officer brought a telegram from the reconnaissance plane: "Report. 45 nautical miles south of Okaido Island, 180 nautical miles away from us, three China aircraft carriers were found. Xinyuan-kun said that the deck was empty! ”…… (To be continued......)