The two Japanese heavy cruisers were firing at full fire, and the threat to the battleship Pacific increased rapidly. IN GENERAL, BATTLESHIPS WERE NOT VERY AFRAID OF THE 203MM MAIN GUNS OF HEAVY CRUISERS, BUT NOW THEY ARE DIFFERENT. At close range, the heavy artillery fire of the two Japanese heavy cruisers turned out to be powerless to fight back the Pacific.

In this battle, Li Guang drew an experience that cruisers should never be underestimated. YOU MUST KNOW THAT THE JAPANESE HEAVY CRUISERS COULD FIRE THIRTY 203MM SHELLS IN A MINUTE, ABOUT THREE TONS OF AMMUNITION DROPPED. Two ships are six tons of ammunition. And the battleship Pacific can only fire one round every two minutes, which is only seven or eight tons of ammunition. Heavy cruisers are also quite threatening to deal with battleships in some favorable situation, such as at the moment.

Under the fierce blows of the Japanese heavy cruisers, the bridge of the battleship Pacific was repeatedly shot, and the commanding officers of Li Guang and Zheng Xuechang were forced to abandon the bridge and all of them were transferred to the central command cabin on the lower deck. All the anti-aircraft guns and secondary guns in the upper part of the battleship were no longer able to exert their firepower, and the guns were destroyed everywhere, and they were forced to move to the lower cabins.

The Pacific now has no firepower to use other than its four main turrets barely able to return fire. The deterioration of the war situation is irreversible, and it is impossible to say that the Pacific will be destroyed in the next minute or the next quarter of an hour.

Just when Li Guang was anxious, four fighters of the air and sea resistance army arrived on the battlefield. Since the beginning of the war, Li Guang's painstakingly built up advantages have finally yielded initial results.

This is Tu Yuanchao's squad, the only four fighters, and there are eight on the return flight, but the damage to the four is not light, and it is difficult to take off again.

Li Guangxi immediately ordered four fighters to bomb the Japanese heavy cruiser.

On the battlefield at night, it is not easy to attack a battleship, not because the bombing is too difficult, but because it is difficult to find an opponent, and it is not easy to distinguish between friend and foe.

This was not difficult for Zheng Xuechang, and with an order, the battleship Pacific took the initiative to turn on the searchlight. In the rain of bullets, the fighters took turns to fight, controlling the searchlights, and the casualties were made up for one by one, and the naval resistance fighters on the Pacific showed an extremely brave spirit, and the strong lights shone on a heavy cruiser of the Japanese army, without a moment of interruption in the battle.

To say that in the past few tens of minutes, the little devil's heavy cruiser can be regarded as a smooth fight, the two battleships together only have a displacement of more than 20,000 tons, and the Pacific with a displacement of 32,000 tons is almost powerless to fight back. The Pacific often had a situation where it took three or four minutes to return fire, and the rhythm of the return fire was difficult to maintain.

When the searchlight of the Pacific came on, the devil was still a little puzzled, was he being beaten stupid? Don't know the dangers of lighting up the night sky like fireflies?

In the rumbling cannons, the devil did not notice the approach of the fighters. The devil is very arrogant, and at this time the distance is close, not only the main and secondary guns, but even the anti-aircraft fire is pouring towards the Pacific.

By the time they found out that there was the roar of fighters, it was completely late. The heavy cruiser Suzuya did not even realize that it was a fighter bombing when the first bomb fell, and it was not until it was hit that it was bombed by fighters.

Tu Yuanchao's squad still had too few fighters, and the four fighters could only drop four bombs, with a hit rate of 25 percent, and only one hit. But this one was enough for the heavy cruiser Suzuya, and more than 200 kilograms of armor-piercing shells pierced through three decks from the foredeck, exploded in the bottom compartment, and then a puff of black smoke embraced a cloud of fire and went straight to Xiaohan.

Don't think about it, the damage is definitely not light, otherwise according to the madness of the devils, the heavy cruiser Suzuya will definitely not easily withdraw from the battlefield, especially when victory is in sight. You must know that the heavy cruiser Suzuya was hit only once.

The four warplanes only stayed in the sky over the battlefield for three to five minutes, but those three or five minutes had already extricated the Pacific from the embarrassment of annihilation.

Previously, the Pacific was suppressed and almost impossible to return fire, and the violent explosion of the shells made it difficult for the battleship to continue even the normal loading and aiming operation. With these three to five minutes, the Pacific finally had a brief respite.

Emerging from the whirlpool of bullets, Zheng Xuechang found that the danger was far from over, and the battleship Kirishima had already fired a salvo of its main guns and smashed into the slow-moving Pacific Ocean.

The Pacific had just left the tiger's den and entered the wolf's den, its massive hull clumsily dodging the Kirishima's gunfire.

It must not be entangled by the Kirishima again, otherwise when a heavy cruiser and a destroyer with the devil intact catch up, the Pacific will fall into a dead end again.

But if you think about it, it's extremely difficult to do it. At this time, the Pacific not only slowed down a few knots, but also lost one main gun and several secondary guns, and the total number of casualties exceeded 200. Hundreds of bullets were hit on the battleship, and the entire island was now bombed with messy armor. And even if the fighter planes reached the battlefield, the searchlights on the Pacific could not point to the target again, and in just a few minutes, the superstructure of the Pacific was ravaged by shells again, and all the searchlights were destroyed.

Li Guang has been constantly accumulating advantages, and the four fighters that have just arrived on the battlefield have created a few minutes of respite for the Pacific, and it will take at least forty minutes to carry the next wave of fighter reinforcements.

Zheng Xuechang also knows very well that under extremely unfavorable circumstances, he is still struggling to fight back. Kono was careful, he had seen the mastery of the Pacific Steam's gunnery and how he was willing to put himself in danger.

The Kirishima can reach speeds of up to 30 knots, which is twice as fast as the current Pacific and can easily grasp the initiative on the battlefield.

Kono is also a veteran of shipbuilding, and has steadily kept the distance between the two ships at around 24 kilometers. It was Osa's caution that provided the Pacific with time to survive.

Zheng Xuechang had already discovered this, and in a desperate situation, he did not hesitate to adjust the course, the turbines of the Pacific had reached their maximum power, and billowing black smoke came out from the chimney, like a wounded giant beast continuing to run towards the Gulf of Aden.

You must know that this course is actually a desperate approach to the Japanese battleship Kirishima, and the danger is self-evident.

Zheng Xuechang's adventure was a success, and Kono Manjo thought that this was a desperate move by the naval resistance army, and did not hit the crockpot with the porcelain, and withdrew the battleship Kirishima in time.

It was already half past nine in the evening, and the Pacific actually sailed into the Gulf of Aden.

I don't know if this pocket-shaped sea area can put psychological pressure on Kono's ten thousand castles. But for the Pacific, it has reached the most critical juncture.

In the past twenty minutes, the Pacific has been shot again. The damage sustained by the bullet was even more severe. A twin turret in the middle of the hull was shot, and it was the Kirishima whose main gun shell was hit.

A turret was blown to pieces, a loaded shell in the turret was also detonated, the smoke cleared, and the nearly 1,000-ton turret assembly disappeared. The violent shaking made Li Guang feel that this huge battleship was about to fall apart.

Not only that, but the sight and a dry measuring instrument on the cage mast were also destroyed.

However, the Kirishima was not able to get the advantage, and was also hit by the Pacific Ocean, although the damage was not serious, and it was definitely not light.

The main rangefinder has been scrapped, and although there are subrangefinders on each turret, they are at a limited height and are far less accurate than the main rangefinder on the cage mast. The current battleship USS Pacific is like a "myopic eye" without glasses.

In addition to myopia, he also severed his hands and feet. Only six of the ten main guns are now available.

There is also a more serious condition, myopia and disability, and lack of food in the pocket. After an afternoon of fighting, the existing six main guns were completely depleted of grenades, and the armor-piercing shells were less than five rounds per gun, especially the front main guns with the highest utilization rate had only two rounds.

In other words, the Pacific could only support less than five salvos of main guns.

A sense of powerlessness swelled in Li Guang's heart, he already had plans to abandon the ship, and sinking the battleship himself could not make this battleship fall into the hands of the Japanese army.

By this time, the Japanese heavy cruisers and destroyers had already surrounded them again. A wrecked Pacific ship, once again caught in a situation of being beaten by a group.

Half an hour, if it can hold out for half an hour, you can wait for the second wave of air support.

Seeing the cannonballs like hail falling around and landing on the Pacific Ocean, Li Guang understood and Zheng Xuechang also knew that half an hour would definitely not be able to resist.

As the Pacific shook again, the side was once again punched out of a large hole, and the water rushed in.

Li Guang has always had an inexplicable superstition about traveling, and the pig's feet in the novel are all immortal gods of war and heroes who win all battles. By this time, he was free of superstitions.

The Pacific withstood this cannon, not only the influx of seawater, but also the destruction of a boiler, and the high temperature of the steam caused great casualties to the naval resistance fighters, and the ship's speed dropped again.

Zheng Xuechang estimated that air support could arrive within half an hour, and the Pacific could not escape the fate of sinking. The battleship had by this time slowed down to below thirteen knots, and the hull began to tilt.

Staff officer Hu Bofeng said to Li Guang: "Commander, look at ......"

The position of the Pacific Ocean is clearly indicated on the chart.

The exit from the Gulf of Aden, along the southern side of the African coast, is actually a prominent triangle. And the Pacific is now at the top of that cape----- Cape Guadafoy. Further north is the main shipping lane of the Gulf of Aden.

But what is the use of driving into the main channel? The battleship was so badly damaged that it lasted for a while, but it couldn't last a lifetime. To put it mildly, the devil will not attack at this time in time, and the Pacific will not last for a few hours, and it will definitely sink. In fact, even if you can sail to Yemen, it is difficult to enter the port. The seaports on both sides of the Gulf of Aden have no deep-water ports at all due to the flooding of coral reefs. The Pacific has a draft of more than nine meters, and it is difficult to enter the port smoothly.

Hu Bofeng pulled out a more accurate chart and said to Li Guang: "There is a gentle beach heading west here, which is the most suitable for landing. ”

Li Guang knew about this, and as early as when the British wanted to invite the Naval Resistance Army to dispatch the army, Li Guang began to ask the staff officers to begin preparing the operational plan for the amphibious landing. One of the necessary tasks is to find a suitable beach for landing.

"What do you mean?"

'The Pacific beached, sat on the beach, and might be able to keep the battleship. ‘

When Britain first dealt with the French fleet, in the port of Oran in North Africa, the French warship also washed the beach in order to avoid being sunk, and the battleship ran aground on the beach, which was easier to save than to sink. If it can hit the beach, no matter how many torpedoes and shells are encountered, the battleship will not sink.

However, in this way, before the British army in Kenya launched an attack on the Italian army, the naval resistance army would have to fight alone with the Italians. And this location is a triangle, almost a strategic dead land, and there is no escape. Although the terrain is suitable for amphibious landing, it is geographically not suitable for landing operations.

Seeking medical treatment for illness is actually no choice for the Pacific, which has fallen into a dead end. Take one step at a time, no matter what the situation is, it will be a dead end for the current naval resistance army. Li Guang immediately said to Zheng Xuechang: "Rushing to the beach." ”

Zheng Xuechang was even more reluctant to sink this battleship than Li Guang, even if it was nine deaths, he would try. The Pacific suddenly turned around and headed straight for Cape Guadafoy Beach, more than ten kilometers away.

The Pacific's artillery commander was now extremely careful, carefully calculating every salvo of naval guns.

The three turrets opened fire in turn, forcing the Japanese battleships not to get too close in a short time.

The Pacific's previous record had frightened Kono Manjo, and it was difficult for him to know during the battle that the Pacifico had actually lost its main rangefinder and many of its measuring instruments. In fact, the current situation of the Pacific, the three main turrets can only fight on their own, and there is no accuracy in setting the shooting of Zhu Yuan only with the experience of the gunner.

Kono Ten Thousand Castles were a little anxious. If in the previous battles, the Japanese lost one aircraft carrier, two destroyers, a heavy cruiser was seriously damaged, and the Hiei was seriously injured, these were all caused by Kurita Keno's mistakes.

But then a heavy cruiser was seriously damaged, and a destroyer was sunk, which was caused by him taking over command.

In fact, even the Kirishima has now taken a hit. For the commanders of the Japanese army, the battleship was a heavy weapon given by the emperor, and it was absolutely impossible to afford to lose. Kono was not an inexperienced commander, and he could see that the Pacific was already at the end of its power, but this mentality of wanting to win but fearing losses made the Kirishima and another heavy cruiser dare to fire from a distance.

His combat guidance thinking is actually exactly the same as that of Kurita Keno, but the timing is different. At the beginning, Kurita Keno had the combat power of six warships, but now Kono Osa only has three, and his strength has been reduced by half.

As for the Naval Resistance Army, although the combat effectiveness of the Pacific has dropped to about one-third of its heyday, the combat effectiveness of the Naval Resistance Army has begun to improve--- and the advantages that Li Guang has been building can be truly brought into play after half an hour. It is less than 200 kilometers away from the Yemeni airport, and if the fighters of the Naval Resistance Army are divided into three waves, they can definitely form a continuous and uninterrupted attack.

The premise is that the Pacific will have to fight alone for half an hour.

The Pacific dragged its sick body and crawled slowly through the ocean. On the battlefield, there was only one battleship in Shanghai. Even Pickup No. 2 has been injured and withdrawn from the battlefield. The Pacific seemed so lonely, and could only let out a roar at intervals, telling of unyielding.

The 10-kilometer sea journey would only take 20 minutes if the Pacific was in good condition, but the speed of the Pacific at the moment could only maintain about 10 knots, and it would take 40 minutes.

In Li Guang's anxiety, he received good news that the Jairway had now arrived at the battlefield and asked to participate in the battle. This is the only savior that the Pacific can resist for more than forty minutes, and without hesitation, Li Guang pressed the last combat strength of the naval resistance army like a gambler.

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