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In a duel with the capital ship, it is very dangerous for the main gun to be hit. Because there may be shells and shè medicine in the barrel that have not yet been discharged. If it causes the shells and poison in the barrel of the cannon to explode, then the losses will be heavy, at least the main gun will be destroyed, and if it is stricter, it will also cause heavy damage to the battleship! In addition, the ammunition depot is connected to the turret. If the shells in the ammunition depot were to explode, even the gods would not be able to save the battleship. Dozens or hundreds of shells in the ammunition depot exploded, enough to tear a huge battleship to shreds. The battlecruiser 'Washington' of the US Navy was destroyed for this reason1

"God forbid, you must take out the Chinese warships!" Admiral Henry held a telescope to observe the Chinese Navy's battleship 'Wei Qing' that had been hit, and prayed to God. This shell can be used to make a big impact, and finally it can directly penetrate the ammunition depot, and then send the battleship 'Weiqing' to the bottom of the sea. In that case, maybe they still have a chance to escape!

On the battleship "Hanshin", the captain of the "Hanshin" and the commander of this formation of six "Hanshin-class" fast battleships, Brigadier General Gechūn Lin also suddenly raised his throat after learning that the battleship "Weiqing" had been shot. Although in naval battles, it is inevitable that warships will be sunk. But he didn't want his capital ship to be sunk. You must know that the 'Han Xin-class' fast battleships are second only to the 'Tang-class' battleships among the main ships in service in the Chinese Navy, even in the era when aircraft carriers are about to replace battleships. These 'Hanshin-class' fast battleships also have a very high status in the Chinese Navy!

"Send a telegram to the 'Wei Qing'. Seek their case! Brigadier General Gechūn Lin immediately ordered.

"Yes. Captain! The communications officer replied immediately. Began to contact the battleship 'Wei Qing'.

On the battleship 'Wei Qing', the smoke from the main turret on the foredeck had already dissipated, although it was directly hit by a 305-mm armor-piercing shell. But from the outside, it doesn't seem to have done much damage to the main turret. The turret armor of the 'Hanshin-class' fast battleship is 356 mm thick, not to mention a 305 mm armor-piercing projectile, even a 343 mm armor-piercing projectile, as long as the luck is not too bad, it can also withstand it! Therefore. Although the front main turret of the battleship 'Wei Qing' was hit, it did not cause fatal damage. Of course, the huge impact of the explosion of the shell had already killed all the gunners in the turret. At the same time, the violent shaking caused by the hit also caused some of the sailors on the battleship to be injured. Other than that, nothing else was caused!

After the battleship 'Wei Qing' took this shot, there was almost no damage. Those gunners who died in battle only need to be replaced with a group of reserve gunners, and the main gun can continue firing! The captain of the battleship 'Wei Qing' hurriedly sent a telegram to Commodore Ge Chūn Lin, and at the same time arranged for the bodies of the dead gunners in the turret to be carried out, and the reserve gunners to enter the turret. Get ready to keep fighting!

"Captain, the 'Wei Qing' was not damaged. Only a few gunners died! "The communications officer of the battleship 'Hanshin' reported to Commodore Katsu Chūn Lim!' The battleship Wei Qing was hit, but it did not cause major damage, and did not even lose any combat power, which is a great thing for the officers and men of the Chinese Navy!

"Whew! That's it! After hearing the news, Brigadier General Ge Chūn Lin let out a long breath and put his mind at ease!

Two or three minutes later, the front main guns of the battleship 'Wei Qing' were restored to combat effectiveness, and this result directly made the officers and men of the 2nd Battle Cruiser Detachment of the US Navy almost their eyes glare!

"Hell! How is this possible? We've already hit them, so how can we be nothing? Major General Henry roared even more. The armor of a battlecruiser is not comparable to that of a battleship, and it stands to reason that if a battlecruiser is hit, even if it is hit by an armor-piercing shell from a 305-mm gun, it will also cause huge damage. But the battle cruisers of the Chinese Navy in front of him had nothing to do, which made Rear Admiral Henry very strange, or rather unbelievable.

"Boom!" At 12:51, the battleship "Li Guang" hit the battlecruiser "North Carolina". In this case, a 343 mm armor-piercing shell hit the amidships of the battlecruiser North Carolina, and the shell pierced the armor of the deck, causing great damage to the engine room of the battleship and greatly affecting the speed of the battlecruiser North Carolina.

Two minutes later, the battlecruiser "North Carolina" was hit again, this time, a 343 mm armor-piercing shell hit the "North Carolina" near the starboard waterline, and the violent explosion directly tore through the waterline armor of the "North Carolina", and tore a huge hole more than three meters long about two meters below the waterline. Turbulent waters poured into the hull of the USS North Carolina, and despite the very good efforts of the USS North Carolina's damage crews, they were unable to plug the loopholes. Soon, the hull of the 'North Carolina' tilted, and finally capsized directly to the sea, sinking to the bottom of the sea at 1:04 p.m.!

The battlecruiser "North Carolina" became the second capital ship sunk by the United States, and the "North Carolina" was followed by the battlecruiser "Maine" which was besieged by the battleship "Li Ling" and the battleship "Banchao". After the sinking of the USS Washington, the USS Maine was besieged by two battleships and was in a very difficult situation. Even if you avoid Dorenzi, there is always a time when good luck runs out!

At 12:58, the battleship "Li Ling" hit the battlecruiser "Maine", and a 343-mm shell directly destroyed the No. 4 main gun, located on the aft deck. Three minutes later, the battleship "Banchao" hit the battlecruiser "Maine", and a 343-millimeter destroyed the boiler room of the "Maine", and the high-temperature steam leaking from the boiler instantly killed dozens of American officers and men in the boiler room. At the same time, the speed of the 'Maine' began to drop sharply. At 1:06 p.m., the battleship "Li Ling" dealt a fatal blow to the battlecruiser "Maine", a 343 mm armor-piercing projectile hit the stern of the "Maine", not only blowing off the tail rudder of the "Maine", but also tearing a huge hole in the stern. After the water poured in, the stern of the 'Maine' sank to the bottom of the sea, and the bow of the ship was lifted out of the water. Finally, the ship sank into the sea with the stern facing down and the bow facing up. Of the more than 800 US Navy officers and sailors on the battleship, only a very small number survived, and the rest died in battle!

Only half an hour into the start of the battle, the 2nd Battlecruiser Detachment of the US Navy lost half of its battleships. The remaining 3 battle cruisers are under siege by the six 'Hanshin-class' fast battleships of the Chinese Navy, and they may be destroyed at any time!

"Damn, why haven't reinforcements come yet? If we don't come, we'll all die! "Rear Admiral Henry yelled from inside the bridge of the battlecruiser 'South Dakota'!

"General, here! Our reinforcements are coming! The 4 battlecruisers of the 1st Battlecruiser Detachment are still fifteen kilometers away from us, and we can go and join them at once! The communications officer reported to Major General Henry with a happy face!

"Whew! Paulson, that guy is finally here! Major General Henry also breathed a sigh of relief. Although the 1st Battle Cruiser Detachment had only 4 battle cruisers, those four battlecruisers were all advanced 'Colorado-class' battlecruisers, which were much stronger than the 'South Dakota-class' and 'North Carolina-class' battlecruisers of the 2nd Battlecruiser Detachment, not only with a much larger displacement, but also with 343 mm main guns!

"Captain, the reinforcements of the Americans are coming, and 4 capital ships have appeared in the north, and they are the Americans' 'Colorado-class' battle cruisers!" A staff officer reported to Brigadier General Ge Chūn Lin.

"Is the 'Colorado Class' coming too? It seems that the main forces of the Americans are not far from us! Send a telegram to the flagship, we judge that the main fleet of the Americans is not far from our north, and ask them to send planes to reconnoitre! Brigadier General Ge Chūn Lin ordered. Although until now, the Chinese Navy still has the upper hand, but this is in the absence of the main fleet of the combined fleet of the United States and the United Kingdom. Once more than 30 capital ships of the combined fleet of the United States and Britain arrive, it will be very difficult for the Chinese Navy's expeditionary fleet to win by relying on the main fleet alone!

"Yes, Captain!" The communications officer nodded, as long as there is a trace of the main fleet of the British and American navies, then the carrier-based aircraft of the aircraft carrier formation will attack. When the time comes, they will be waiting to beat the water dogs!

"Ships ready for battle! Speed up the pursuit, don't let the Americans run! All the battleships, aim at the last 'Montana' of the Americans, and send him to the bottom of the sea! Brigadier General Ge Chūn Lin ordered.

Six Chinese Navy's 'Hanshin-class' fast battleships turned their guns one after another, aimed at the US Navy's 'Montana' battlecruiser and opened fire. For a time, a dense number of shells fell around the battlecruiser 'Montana', splashing columns of water into the sky!

The American officers and men aboard the battlecruiser "Montana" kept praying to God that the shells would not fall on their heads. But God did not manifest himself. A few minutes later, the battlecruiser 'Montana' was sunk because it had been hit several times! (To be continued......)