Winds, rains, waves. On the morning of July 3, 1932, the Pacific Ocean south of Okinawa was really not a suitable battlefield for naval warfare. Tens of thousands of tons of battleships and battlecruisers were tossed up and down like a light boat in the midst of such monstrous waves, and even the officers and men of the navy who had undergone strict training could hardly gain a foothold on these huge ships that looked like cities without firmly grasping the railings. The torrential rain poured down like a curtain, completely limiting the use of all means of sighting, and at a slightly greater distance, it was difficult for even the best observation posts to find traces of the enemy fleet through the layers of rain curtains.

However, all the officers and men of the Japanese Navy, including Kantaro Suzuki, commander of the Japanese Red Navy, Eisuke Yamamoto, commander of the Japanese Combined Fleet, and Isoroku Yamamoto, chief of staff, were unwilling to leave the battlefield and return home. Because they all know that the fate of Soviet Japan is already in the hands of these people, and the victory or defeat of this naval battle will have a direct bearing on the success or failure of Japan.

Just two hours earlier, carrier-based aircraft from four Japanese aircraft carriers, seizing the last opportunity before the storm, had launched an undeclared surprise attack on the British Far East Fleet, severely damaging a number of capital ships, including the USS Hood, the USS Nelson, and the USS Rodney. But it didn't sink any of them! This also means that soon, these British ** ships flying the rice flag will appear on the battlefield again, and perhaps more British and Chinese capital ships will be with them! When the time comes, there will be no second chance for a second sneak attack by the Japanese Combined Fleet!

Therefore, the Japanese Combined Fleet must not return to the sea. The British fleet must be found in this vast rain curtain!

Fortunately, today seems to be a lucky day for the Japanese Combined Fleet, and the British Far East Fleet seems to have been confused by the successive blows, and it has not found a single Japanese submarine of the Kaida 3 type that is now quietly following them! There is such an eyeliner to inform the news at any time. The Japanese Combined Fleet was able to at least engage in the general orientation of the British Far East Fleet. However, the exact wèizhì of China's main fleet remains a mystery, and this time the Japanese only know that about three hours ago, an unidentified seaplane had visited their skies, and that most of them belonged to the Chinese navy.

"Did the submarine spot the Chinese fleet?"

"It has not been found yet, and the visibility is too poor now, and it is difficult for the submarine to find the target, but the radio station has heard a series of unknown electronic signals."

"Can you confirm where the radio waves are coming from?"

"It is impossible to determine the exact location. But it is certain that it will come from the sea to the south of us......"

Without waiting for the staff officer to finish speaking, Eisuke Yamamoto interrupted him with a wave of his hand, and then said to Yamamoto Fifty-six: "The Chinese fleet must be nearby." They will not leave the British fleet alone, after all, the current Chinese navy was taught by the British, and the British went north to cheer them on. ”

Yamamoto Fifty-six said: "Commander, I can't take care of so much now." And the 6 battlecruisers of the Chinese will not pose much wēixié to us. ”

When I was talking. Suddenly, a loud rumbling sound was heard, followed by a huge column of water rising above the sea about 600 meters from the "Akagi".

"Discovered!" Eisuke Yamamoto and Fifty-six Yamamoto glanced at each other, they didn't expect that they were discovered by the British first!

……

The piercing battle sirens sounded in every cabin of the battleship "Akagi", and 12 heavy oil boilers and 3 steam turbines roared out the maximum horsepower, making the battleship with a full load of nearly 50,000 tons instantly speed up to 30 knots, leading two Furutaka-class heavy cruisers, two Aoba-class heavy cruisers, four Myo-class heavy cruisers and four light cruisers to form the first guerrilla group (due to the slow speed of the seven old battleships of the Japanese Combined Fleet, Therefore, the Japanese navy sacrificed this tactic of dividing forces and attacking together), and pounced on the British fleet hidden behind the rain curtain. Just three minutes later. The British fleet was spotted bombarding, and the eight 410mm cannons on the Akagi immediately began to roar.

"Boom ......"

"At 2 o'clock. Three destroyers! ”

In the midst of the mournful shouting, Eisuke Yamamoto, the commander of the Japanese Combined Fleet, raised his binoculars and looked at his right front, three old W-class destroyers were approaching at high speed, as if they were preparing to launch torpedoes!

"Stop them with the starboard secondary gun!"

In the shouting, the ten 140mm secondary guns and sixteen 80mm Gaoping dual-purpose guns on the starboard side of the Akagi began to spit out tongues of fire at the same time, and the starboard secondary guns of the eight Japanese heavy cruisers that followed behind the Akagi also burst out with the greatest power at the same time, and the dense shells smashed into the front of the British destroyer like raindrops, which immediately stirred up countless water columns, and seeing that the assault route was blocked, the three old W-class destroyers had to stop advancing, and after firing more than a dozen torpedoes indiscriminately at a distance of nearly 7,000 meters, they turned the rudder and fled.

However, this scene still shocked Eisuke Yamamoto in a cold sweat, it seems that the residual power of the British Imperial Navy is still there! Just as he was about to give the order to the First Guerrilla Team to quickly circle behind the opponent's rear, a sudden fireball rose from the corner of his eye and made his heart sink.

"It's the Kotaka, it's been shot, Amaterasu, the Kotaka is sinking!" When Yamamoto 56 shouted and reported, the Furutaka heavy cruiser had broken into two pieces from the middle and was rapidly sinking to the bottom of the sea, it turned out that it was a 13.5-inch shell fired by the battleship Iron Duke, and the hull of the Furutaka heavy cruiser, which was less than 10,000 tons, could not resist this caliber of shells at all, and it was completely reimbursed with only one shot!

It seems that the level of shooting of the British was above that of the Japanese Navy!

Such a thought came to the minds of all the Japanese Red Navy officers in the bridge of the Akagi. Compared with the Japanese Navy before the Sino-Japanese War, the current Japanese Red Navy has significantly regressed in terms of training level! Otherwise, how could he lose the first place in the artillery battle that was originally the best one?

And at this moment, seeing the burning and broken Eagles sinking into the water, there were not many cheers on the Hood, the flagship of the British Far East Fleet.

Because judging from the comparison of strength, the Far Eastern Fleet is still at an absolute disadvantage. Six capital ships of Great Britain against ten capital ships of Japan. Moreover, the six British capital ships were more or less damaged, and their speed and firepower could not be compared with the ten Japanese capital ships that were roughly intact.

However, the division tactics of the Japanese fleet clearly gave the British a chance to turn the situation around!

Seeing the Akagi lead several heavy cruisers to his right side in the rain, Admiral Barkes realized that this was his only chance. Immediately ordered the Nelson, whose rudder was damaged, and the Emperor of India, who had almost lost power, to lead several heavy cruisers to entangle the main force of the Japanese fleet. The remaining four battleships/battlecruisers concentrated their firepower on the weak "First Guerrilla Force", while also sending destroyers to risk death to get close to the enemy ship formation and release torpedoes.

"Baga! The British destroyers rushed up again, leaving the Gagu to fend off them! ”

On one side was a dense rain of bullets from four British battleships/battlecruisers, and on the other side were British destroyers that were constantly rushing to release torpedoes. Eisuke Yamamoto was also confused for a while, and hurriedly ordered the heavy cruiser Kagu to break away from the formation to resist the British destroyers.

At the same time, the ten 410mm caliber guns of the "Akagi" also let out bursts of roars, and the shells covered the battlecruiser Hood, which showed its huge body in the rain curtain.

The Hood and Amagi are the two capital ships with the largest tonnage at the moment. The unladen displacement is more than 40,000 tons, and the full load displacement is close to 50,000 tons. However, the design ideas of the two ships are not quite the same. The British Hood pursued a basic balance of defense and firepower, and therefore had armor that was not inferior to that of any battleship. Its waterline main armor belt was up to 12 inches thick, far more than the Amagi's 10 inches. However, the caliber and number of the main guns were inferior to those of the Amagi. The Amagi pursued powerful firepower, and its 10 410 mm 45 diameter guns made the Amagi one of the three most powerful capital ships in the world (the other two being the Kaga and Tosa).

However, in today's stormy and windy conditions, visibility at sea is extremely poor. The Amagi's powerful 410mm guns did not necessarily have any advantage over the Hood's 381mm guns. Since both sides found out when they were relatively close to each other, the long range of the opponent's M main gun could not be effective. The USS Hood's 381mm guns had a higher rate of fire and accuracy, making it easier to play to the advantage in close-quarters firefights. Moreover, the Amagi's armor is relatively thin, and it simply cannot withstand the blow of 381mm caliber armor-piercing shells. Of course, the Hood's armor could not withstand the Amagi's 410mm guns. So now it's up to who hits the other side first!

While the Hood and the Amagi were playing heartbeat up close, on another battlefield in the distance, seven Japanese battleships were beating two British battleships. Among them, the British Nelson had already been hit by a 305mm shell on the main armor of the side side. Fortunately, the Nelson was a thick-skinned battleship with a main armor belt 13 to 14 inches thick. A 305mm shell doesn't make up anything at all.

"Commodore General, the Nelson is all right. Just wiped off a little paint, but the Emperor of India had a turret removed. It also started a fire, and I'm afraid it won't last long......"

The communications officer kept shouting loudly to report bad news after bad news to Commodore Phillips, the captain of the USS Nelson. Phillips turned his telescope to the smoke-emitting Emperor of India, where the Japanese "Kaga" and "Tosa" were besieging the "Emperor of India". It is clear that the wishful thinking of the Japanese was to tie up the Nelson with seven old battleships with weak firepower, take out the Indian Emperor with two powerful new battleships, and return to the head to clean up the Nelson.

Phillips was very happy, now is the critical moment, as long as his four battleships/battlecruisers can sink the Japanese battlecruiser Akagi. Then there is still room for redemption in this naval battle, before that, he must hold back the main force of the Japanese fleet, and even if the battle sinks, he cannot withdraw from the battle!

"Concentrate your fire on the Settsu! Sink it first! ”

Phillips glanced at the "Emperor of India", which was struggling to hold on, and gritted his teeth and unleashed all his roar on the head of the Settsu, which was closest to Nelson. The nine 16-inch guns were all aimed at the Settsu, and the oversized shells rained down like drops, instantly stirring up dozens of columns of water around the old Japanese battleship.

After just four volleys, a huge fireball suddenly rose from the foredeck of this old battleship, which had been completed and commissioned in 1912!

"Hit! We've hit it! ”

There was jubilation in the bridge of the Nelson. Brigadier General Phillips shouted an order: "Leave the Settsu alone, attack the Gangut now!" ”

What are the consequences of a dreadnought in its early 20,000s from a 16-inch armor-piercing shell, and you can figure it out with your heels! Even if it's a fluke. It must also be completely scrapped! So Phillips immediately decided not to pay attention to the Setjin-class, but ordered all the main guns to shoot at a Gangut-class battleship behind the Setzu. The warship now has the name of course, not Gangut, but the Japanese Soviet.

At this time, Eisuke Yamamoto, who was still commanding the formation to fight hard against the British ships on the Akagi, and all his staff also noticed the skyrocketing fire on the Settsu. According to Eisuke Yamamoto's later description in his memoirs: "...... There, flames shot into the sky, as if Mt. Fuji was erupting. One of the turrets of the Setzu may have been hit, and the 203mm 356mm turret armor was no different from a papier-mâché shell in the face of a 16-inch armor-piercing projectile! The shell was supposed to have burst through the turret armor and exploded inside, piercing the blast door in the ammunition compartment. Caused an ammunition detonation! In short, the battleship Settsu, which had once been the glory of the Imperial Japanese Navy, was completely finished, although its sturdy hull finally withstood the test. But the completely burned battleship had no repair value, and in the end had to abandon ......"

All the officers and men of the British Far East Fleet also saw this scene, and they did not expect that when the strength was inferior to the opponent, it was actually their own side that was the first to destroy the battleship. It seems that Lady Luck is on the side of the British Empire this time!

But the good fortune of the British Far East Fleet ended there. Just three minutes after the Setzu was hit by the Nelson, the battleship Kaga's 410mm cannon hit the Indian Emperor again.

"This time we hit the vital point of the reactionary emperor, a 410mm shell landed exactly between the two chimneys of the Emperor of India, and the explosion broke out, and the fire and smoke were mixed with a large amount of white smoke, which was supposed to be the last intact boiler compartment of the Emperor of India was destroyed! The battleship was completely out of power, it was dead! Keitaro Hara, the captain of the Kaga, said at a later celebration and commendation ceremony.

He said yes, the Emperor of India was dead. The battleship, which had lost all power and was still burning, was of course dead. Because there is no motivation. The ship's pumping machines and high-pressure faucets stopped working, and the damage management could not control the fire, so it could only spread and consume the entire battleship. The captain of the Emperor of India immediately gave the order to abandon the ship, and countless horizontal frenzy jumped from the burning battleship into the sea, a British destroyer tried to salvage the crew of the drowning, but another Japanese light cruiser stepped forward to open fire to obstruct it, and finally less than 100 of the 1,267 crew members on the Emperor of India were rescued.

However, the Japanese naval officers and sailors on the battlecruiser Akagi were in no mood to cheer for the Kaga's achievements at this time, because their world's most powerful battlecruiser had just been hit by a 380mm armor-piercing shell from the Hood! The massive explosion knocked everyone inside the Akagi bridge to the ground.

"The fourth turret in the stern of the Akagi was shot and caught fire!"

Eisuke Yamamoto's horror was unsettled, and the exclamation of the communications officer rang out.

"Fill the water! Immediately fill the fourth ammunition compartment with water...... "The captain of the Akagi immediately gave the order.

At this time, Eisuke Yamamoto turned his head and looked at the stern, and there was a large hole in the top of the No. 4 turret, and a fire was gushing out of it! It appears that the British shell exploded while turret No. 4 was being reloaded, and two 410mm shells and their propellant parts were killed at the same time.

"Your Excellency Commander, hurry up and call the Kaga and Tosa to come for reinforcements!" Chief of Staff Isoroku Yamamoto knew that the Akagi after destroying one turret was no match for the Hood, and after the fourth ammunition compartment was filled with water, the speed of the Akagi would also drop below 25 knots, so that the battleship Rodney and the two Iron Duke-class battleships that had been thrown off could catch up, forming a situation in which four British capital ships besieged the Akagi.

"Let the Kaga come over, and the Tosa will stay to deal with the Nelson!" Eisuke Yamamoto didn't dare to call both the Kaga and Tosa. Otherwise, the Nelson might have blown all six old Japanese battleships to smithereens with its nine 16-inch guns!

"Sir, look, the Nelson seems to be on the run!" I don't know who shouted like this, and everyone hurriedly held up their binoculars to look over. Sure enough, the Nelson had broken through the obstruction of 6 old Japanese battleships and fled at full speed in a southwesterly direction.

Is this an escape?

How did these Japanese naval officers know that the rudder of the Nelson had been damaged in an air raid this morning and could only sail in a southeasterly direction. Moreover, the Nelson's three main gun turrets were all on the front, and the stern had no firepower, so if it was found that it could not turn, it would only be beaten. Therefore, after seeing the Indian Emperor destroyed by the Japanese ships, Vice Admiral Phillips decisively ordered to flee at full speed, in order to attract two Kaga-class battleships to chase after him, so as to relieve the pressure on the main force of the Far East Fleet. However, his wish was quickly frustrated, and Eisuke Yamamoto probably felt that he might not be able to deal with four British capital ships with the two ships Akagi and Kaga, so he ordered the two ships Kaga and Tosa and six old battleships to quickly move closer to his side in order to form an absolute numerical superiority.