When the Northeast Naval Fleet and the United States and Italy Combined Naval Fleet were moving in the direction of the "eight" shape, and the distance was close to 7,000 meters, the two sides had already fired five rounds of shells from each other's main guns, and when the sixth round of naval guns fired, the secondary guns of the warships of both sides also joined the battle and began to fire at each other.;.23+wx.

The only one who is more aggrieved is the US Navy, the naval guns on their warships have not even fired the main guns because of the range problem, Commander George? Dewey could only hope to get within 5,000 meters quickly.

George? Dewey had no other way to deal with this situation of being beaten and unable to fight back, so he could not abandon the battle line and escape, so that the 14 ironclad battleships on the opposite side would be able to cross and occupy the T-shaped head on the lower side of the Italian fleet.

At 7:30 a.m., 33 warships of the three fleets of the Northeast Navy released a sixth salvo at the warships of the Italian Navy and the warships of the US Navy.

The Second Fleet's Skytiger and Aquila each had a shell with one main gun hit the large armored cruiser USS New York, and the 305-mm shell of the USS Skytiger pierced the 200-mm waterline armor of the USS New York, exploding inside the ship and detonating several of the New York's boilers, and to add insult to injury, the 305-mm shells of the Skytiger also penetrated the 200-mm waterline armor of the USS New York, and the explosion detonated several hundred rounds of 133-mm secondary artillery shells in a ammunition compartment of the USS New York.

In a continuous burst of explosions, the large armored cruiser of the US Navy New York was almost blown into several pieces, and disappeared into the sea in less than 3 minutes. It became the second warship sunk by the U.S. Navy.

The more than 500 officers and men of the US Navy aboard the large armored cruiser USS New York had no time to escape in the continuous explosions. Moreover, the New York sank very quickly, that is, several American soldiers jumped into the sea to escape, and were also sucked into the sea by the whirlpool generated when the New York sank, and in the end, more than 500 people on the New York did not survive, so that other American ** ships did not even have a chance to salvage the survivors.

Most of the secondary guns on the warships of the Northeast Navy were 155mm rapid-fire guns of 40 times the caliber, and after a salvo of fire with the main guns, these 155mm rapid-fire guns had a faster rate of fire. Without stopping, they continued to shoot at the warships of the Italian Navy and the warships of the US Navy, without the need to fire along with the main guns.

Such a rapid shelling caused many warships of the Italian Navy and the United States Navy to suffer 155-mm shells. The 40 times caliber 152 mm three-level rapid-fire naval guns on the all-steel battleships of the Italian Navy, and the 40 times caliber 152 mm secondary guns on the six Dotenaro-class large fast armored cruisers, also returned the color to the Northeast Navy, allowing the warships of the Northeast Navy to taste the power of shell rain. A number of warships of the Northeast Navy were hit by 152-mm shells.

In the sixth round of salvo fire from the main guns of the warships of the Italian Navy. The shells of the main guns of the all-steel battleship Alfonso on the second battle line hit the large fast armored cruiser Xinglong of the Third Fleet.

The 7,473-ton large fast armored cruiser Xinglong was originally an old armored cruiser Mikuma purchased from Britain by the Japanese Combined Fleet, which was later captured by the Navy Academy Navy in the Battle of Jinzhou Bay and renamed Xinglong. Last year, the Dalian shipyard was renovated and replaced with new naval guns, dismantling four old 254-mm naval guns and eight old 228-mm naval guns, and replacing them with two double-mounted 40-caliber 210-mm main guns and 10 single-mounted 40-caliber 155-mm secondary guns.

The old boiler and old steam engine on the Xinglong were also replaced with the new boiler and new steam engine produced by the Shenyang Machinery Factory, so that the top speed of the Xinglong increased from 14 knots to nearly 20 knots. It can keep up with the rhythm of the Northeast Navy and not be eliminated.

But the old armor on the Xinglong and the wooden planks lining the inside of the armor. The main gun shell of the Italian Navy's all-steel battleship Alfonso pierced through the 228 mm waterline armor of the Xinglong and exploded inside the Xinglong, which not only caused a fire, but also destroyed nearly half of the boiler system, so that the Xinglong, which could reach a speed of 20 knots, was instantly reduced to 12 knots, and many officers and men of the Northeast Navy in the power compartment were burned alive by the fire caused, and the scene was tragic and abnormal.

Jiang Hui, commander of the Third Fleet, who was on the Xinghai, saw that the Xinglong was hit by a 305-mm shell, and his heart tightened, and he immediately ordered the Xinglong to withdraw from the battle line of the Third Fleet and go to the back to extinguish the fire.

After being hit by more than a dozen 152-mm shells in a row, the Xinglong suffered another fatal blow, and a 203-mm shell from the secondary gun of the all-steel battleship Dante on the second battle line of the Italian Navy fell into the sea at a distance of 2 meters from the Xinglong, forming a near-miss, and the shock wave of the shell explosion caused the sea water to expand rapidly, tearing the underwater armor of the Xinglong, forming a large hole 5 or 6 meters wide, and the sea water rushed into the Xinglong ship like a tide.

The captain of the Xinglong saw that the situation of the warship was no longer able to isolate the leaky cabin, and decisively ordered the ship to be abandoned, and 15 minutes later, under the continued shelling of the Italian warship, the Xinglong sank into the sea with a rollover due to the influx of a large amount of seawater, becoming the first warship of the Northeast Navy to sink in the Battle of Manila Bay.

Because the captain of the Xinglong decisively issued the retreat order, 450 of the original 560 officers and sailors of the Northeast Navy on the Xinglong successfully escaped from the Xinglong, sat on the lifeboat, and waited for the end of the naval battle.

However, these officers and men of the Northeast Navy who were sitting in lifeboats were very confident that after the naval battle was over, they would be rescued by their colleagues and would not become prisoners of the enemy.

After the war, Lin Daxin said that the victory in the naval battle mainly depended on the hard training of the officers and men of the navy in peacetime, and our hit rate was several times that of the US-Italian joint naval fleet, especially the seventh round of main gun salvo that our fleet was lucky. As a result of the heavy losses of the US-Italian combined naval fleet, our Northeast Navy achieved a great victory in the Battle of Manila Bay.

In the seventh round of the main gun salvo of the warships of the Northeast Navy, the all-steel battleship of the US Navy is the USS Chishaji. It was hit by two 305-mm main gun shells of the Flying Tiger ironclad battleship on the opposite side and one 305-mm main gun shell of the Flying Eagle almost at the same time, and after three huge explosions in a row, the all-steel battleship of the US Navy with a displacement of 11,540 tons burst into flames, and the smoke reached a height of several tens of meters. Unable to control it anymore, the captain of the Chishaji had no choice but to order the ship to be abandoned.

Many U.S. Navy officers and sailors with fire on the Chishaji jumped into the water. Soon after, the fire reached an ammunition bin on the Chishaji, detonating dozens of 330mm main gun shells in the ammunition compartment.

There was another louder explosion, and the Chishaji was blown in two by the force of dozens of 330-mm shells from its own guns. quickly sank into the sea. It became the first all-steel battleship sunk by the United States and the third warship sunk by the U.S. Navy in the Battle of Manila Bay.

The all-steel battleship Kentucky, which is of the same class as the Chishaji and belongs to the Chishacht, was as unlucky as its sister ships, and the Flying Fox of the Third Fleet of the Northeast Navy on the opposite side penetrated the thickest 420 mm waterline armor, although this waterline armor was 420 mm, but the armor of the American Kentucky was still the old armor, and it was easily penetrated by the new 305 mm shells.

The shell penetrated all the way to the front of the Kentucky's hull. It exploded in an ammunition compartment behind the 420 mm waterline armor, which was also loaded with main gun shells. These 330-millimeter shells were detonated instantly, and the front part of the Kentucky all-steel battleship was blown to pieces, causing the front part of the Kentucky hull to quickly sink into the sea, and the rear hull was warped out of the sea, and the entire Kentucky disappeared from the sea soon after. It became the second all-steel battleship sunk by the United States and the fourth warship sunk by the U.S. Navy in the Battle of the Gulf of Manila.

The U.S. Navy has lost a double 35-caliber 330-mm all-steel battleship of the USS Massachusetts, which suffered heavy damage in the seventh round of the Northeast Navy warship's main gun salvo, and a Flying Wolf 305-mm main gun shell hit the other remaining main gun turret of the Massachusetts, also penetrating the 381-mm turret armor, and blowing up the last double-mounted 35-caliber 330-mm gun of the Massachusetts.

The Massachusetts, which had not yet fired a single shell, could only rely on the remaining three twin secondary guns of 35 times caliber 203 mm to fight against the 14 ironclad battleships of the Second Fleet of the Northeast Navy.

The U.S. Navy lost not only these in the seventh round of main gun salvos of the Second Fleet of the Northeast Navy on the opposite side, but also the USS Oregon, the USS Illinois, the USS Labamawe, and the USS Sconne, four US Navy all-steel battleships were each hit with one 305-mm shell, and the USS Oregon lost one double-mounted 35-caliber 203-mm secondary gun and two 76-mm rapid-fire guns. The Illinois was hit above the waterline armor and only lost one boiler, which had little overall impact.

Both the Rabamawi and the Sconstar were hit and burst into flames, each losing two 76mm rapid-fire guns. However, the fire was quickly brought down and did not affect the combat effectiveness.

The Northeast Second Fleet was not polite at all in the face of the US Navy, which could not fight back, and only this round of salvo of main guns sank two US all-steel battleships and damaged many US ** ships, so that the US Navy officers and men who participated in this large-scale naval battle for the first time suffered a great mental blow and were on the verge of collapse.

Commander of the US Navy's Asian Detachment, George? At this time, Dewey shouted in horror to Henrytt, the captain of the Indiana beside him, "God! What's going on? Are we facing ironclad battleships? Why is their speed, the power of their main guns, and the range more powerful than our all-steel battleships of the US Navy, where are we fighting with 14 ironclad battleships! We are fighting with 14 all-steel battleships with a displacement of more than 10,000 tons! Henritel, hurry up and send a flag to the Italians and let them support us, or our Asian detachment will be finished! ”

Henry Tel smiled bitterly and said, "Commander, look at it! The Italians are also in trouble, and probably won't help us much! ”

George? Dewey looked in the direction of the Italian fleet from the observation window in the bridge, and on the first battle line composed of 10 all-steel battleships of the Italian Navy, three battleships were on fire and smoked more than ten meters.

George? Dewey regretted that he chose to intervene in the Philippines and fight against Lin Daxin's fleet, knowing that this was the current situation, and at that time he had to argue with the United States for what he said, and gave up meddling in the Philippines, but unfortunately it was too late to say anything now.

George? Dewey said in frustration: "It's so bad, if we continue like this, we will have a few warships left!" ”

Henry Tel said: "Commander, order us to open fire on the US ** ship!" At least it can improve morale, otherwise you can only be beaten and can't fight back, and our guys in the US Navy will not be able to stand it! ”

George? Dewey knew that at this distance, the main guns with the longest range on the US ** ship were unlikely to hit the enemy's warship, but as Henry Tel said, if this continues, the American officers and soldiers who have experienced this kind of large-scale naval battle for the first time will not be able to support it mentally, so George? Dewey nodded and ordered: "Okay, order all the American ** ships to fire at the enemy ships on the opposite side!" ”

Paused for a moment George? Dewey continued: "Send flags to the Italians, let them support us, tell them that we can't support it anymore, and without support, our U.S. Navy can't continue to fight!" ”

Henrytel nodded, and went to deliver the commander's order.

Soon after, the gunboats on the remaining warships of the US Navy finally fired shells aimed at the 14 ironclad battleships of the Second Fleet of the Northeast Navy.

However, the distance between the two sides is now about 7,000 meters, and the nearest shells fired from the US Navy warships are more than 500 meters away from the ironclad battleships, and the threat to the 14 ironclad battleships is pitiful. (To be continued......)