This is an Arleigh Burke I guided missile destroyer, which is equipped with two pits and four batteries of eight "Whaling Fork" anti-ship missiles. In addition, there are vertically launched rocket-boosted torpedoes, which can meet the needs of multi-level, multi-wave, and multi-means anti-ship attack operations at a distance of 10 km to 130 km.

Generally speaking, most of the US missile destroyers exist as an accompaniment and guard force for aircraft carrier formations, and especially after the Burke II, even the "Whaling Fork" anti-ship missiles have been canceled, focusing on air defense and anti-submarine, and the task of striking surface ships has been handed over to fighters carrying missiles.

However, there are always exceptions to everything, and in the relatively safe Atlantic Ocean, as well as in the more sensitive Gulf of Aden, there are also separate missile destroyer activities, which undertake routine patrols and special tasks of searching, encirclement, and suppression.

This time, they ordered to encircle and intercept two "unarmed" old battleships, and naturally they didn't need the big killer weapons like aircraft carriers to hang around, and the cost was lower than that of Tai Te. Nowadays, the US military budget is tight, and it cannot be so extravagant and wasteful.

As a result, a single Burke I destroyer, carrying anti-ship missiles, became the leading role.

The first to track down and capture the two battleships was one that belonged to the former Second Atlantic Fleet. Captain Anson. Stanley comes from a family of admirals who have served in the Navy all his life, and he has produced several generals in his family, and he is expected to become a seed player for the Admiral.

Captain Stanley was ambitious and determined to make a difference. During his time at the Second Fleet, he was involved in nearly every overseas operation, including multiple rescues and sea support in the event of a strike against Libya. Experienced. Tough, decisive and capable, that's what he said.

Such a highly motivated captain. He was very much loved and trusted by the officers and men of the ship, and he was able to catch the enemy ship first this time, thanks to his wise judgment.

Now, the enemy ship is in sight, and in terms of the firepower and speed of the ship, it can be called a hand-held pinch, and there is absolutely no possibility of letting the other side escape. Captain Stanley remained calm, though. When the TAO (Tactical Operations Officer) was preparing to launch the helicopter into the air to strike, he intervened: "Beware of enemy ships that may be carrying anti-aircraft missiles. ”

TAO Edward was slightly puzzled: "Sir, intelligence shows that they are not armed. At best, it may be equipped with some individual anti-aircraft missiles, which will not be enough to pose any threat to our carrier-based helicopters. ”

Stanley shook his head calmly and resolutely: "Never easily believe those unknown information, we have to rely on our own reconnaissance and judgment to make decisions." Let's not forget that our opponents are the Chinese. They never want to reveal all their hole cards. Those intelligence officers lurking inside may not have access to core secrets. In short, be careful! ”

TAO nodded solemnly: "I understand, I will let the helicopter be responsible for monitoring and auxiliary work outside the range of the missile, and not let them take risks at will." ”

The rest of the words, with the tacit understanding of the two, there is no need to say more.

Their operational intentions were very clear, and they sank the two battleships mercilessly, without the slightest mercy or hesitation. Surrender is not accepted. Don't let go of a single live mouth.

Yang Hao's 10,000-mile transfer of refugees slapped the US Navy hard. Break the undefeated golden body they have built up over the years, and disgrace the entire navy. If this bad breath does not come out, all of them will become the laughing stock of the Air Force and the Army - although the other side will not necessarily have much honor.

According to Captain Stanley, he had to torture the enemy on the battleship to death.

The destroyer pressed forward proudly, gradually closing the distance. The radar constantly fed back changes in the enemy situation: "The speed of the two enemy ships was reduced to 20 knots. ”

"The enemy ships are approaching each other, overlapping each other."

"There's something unusual on the deck of Target Two, and it looks like all of their people have escaped. Sir, they abandoned ship! ”

An exclamation made Captain Stanley, who was holding his arms in a deep shape, raise his eyebrows, and repeatedly confirmed from the helicopter footage that he found that on the deck of the second battleship "Human Origin", hundreds of crew members poured out, constantly unloading the lifeboats while stabilizing the course, and when the speed of the battleship was getting lower and lower and about to stop, he abandoned the battleship and moved towards another "Kenya".

Stanley seemed to see through the other party's conspiracy, and snorted disdainfully: "They plan to make a desperate bet, gather everyone on a battleship, and then run away at full speed?" Leave this one as bait to buy them time to escape? What a naivety! ”

"Maybe it's because they're understaffed. The operation of the old battleships required a huge number of men, and the amateurs could not and could not find more than two thousand experienced sailors to fill every job. It seems that they are just barely able to get the main system up and running, and with just such a small number of people, even if they are fighting, they may not be able to get together the operators of the gun position. They don't have as advanced a CIC as we do! ”

A light-hearted laugh rang out throughout the Operational Intelligence Center.

No one in the world is more confident than them, the CIC of the American warship is the most advanced and scientific, after many actual combat tests, bringing together the essence of a hundred years of naval warfare, how can it be compared with a group of improvised rabble? What if the opposing warship is modernized? It's just a bunch of clumsy lumps.

This time, Stanley did not need to intervene, and Edward naturally made the wisest choice. Don't interfere with the other party's ship change, let them complete the homework in a panic, and then destroy all the hopes they have accumulated step by step.

More than a dozen lifeboats transferred more than 100 crew members at one time, and after leaving a few hundred meters, the "Human Origin" slowly accelerated again and rushed straight out towards the west coast of Africa.

The ships then approached the slowed Kenya, climbed the tall, sturdy side with the help of rope nets, went up to the deck, and then quickly sank into the cabin, all in a process that took less than ten minutes.

At this time, the missile destroyer had already narrowed the distance to about 20 kilometers, and the huge figure of the other party could be clearly observed from the bridge.

The re-accelerated Kenya chose a straight southward course. Obviously, the idea of dividing the soldiers into two ways makes it difficult for the other party to choose.

Missile destroyers of the "Burke I" type, carrying a limited number of anti-ship weapons. In the face of thick-skinned and armored battleships, the eight "Whaling Fork" anti-ship missiles were not completely sure that they could be sunk. And their rocket-boosted torpedoes, shipborne torpedoes, are all 324mm caliber, the number of warhead charges is small, and the explosive power is not enough to collapse the mine-resistant armor of the battleship in one fell swoop. Compared with the 533mm standard mass killer, the power is a little weaker.

A more powerful anti-ship Tomahawk cruise missile. With a 454kg warhead, it is more powerful, but the terminal speed is only 0.72m. The use of the "Little Bulldog B" semi-armor-piercing warhead can effectively kill and damage modern destroyers and other ships.

But it is obviously impossible to deal with a battleship built according to the standards of World War II and later periods.

But it doesn't matter. An unarmed battleship. It's just a tin can waiting to die.

Edward didn't care about the "Human Origin" running empty, and with the speed of the other party, it was actually difficult to escape the pursuit of this ship. And it may not take much time to take out the battleship in front of you, which has gathered all the enemies, right?

Seeing that the radar locked on the target signal again and confirmed it repeatedly, Edward coldly ordered: "One test shot of the naval gun, fire!" ”

The gun controller repeated the command, holding the remote control handle and gently pulling the trigger.

On the bow deck, the tall 54x5-inch (127mm) naval guns shuddered slightly. A puff of white smoke erupted, and a cannonball whistled out of the chamber. The volley spanned 20 kilometers, grazing the stern of the "Kenya" and falling, and a bright column of water exploded with a bang!

The accuracy and range of modern naval guns are quite amazing! At a range of 20 kilometers, it is not uncommon to have a hit rate of more than 80%, especially against a behemoth like a battleship, it is as easy as shooting a target.

This shell missed, which can also be seen as deliberate.

To send the enemy to hell at once is called mercy; Let them die slowly in the torment of fear, that is called punishment!

The Burke I naval guns are loaded with more than 600 rounds, which has enough time to grind the opponent to death!

Edward's face flashed with cruelty, and he gritted his teeth and said, "Don't worry, just fight slowly, one shot at a time, until all their decks are emptied, I want to see them begging for mercy frantically!" ”

The whole crew of the ship can be said to have the same hatred and hatred, and the scene in the American drama where people stand up and doubt the captain's and TAO's orders will not happen here at all. Edward's orders were strictly enforced, and for the rest of the day, the gun controller fired at a relatively steady cadence, firing a shot almost every ten seconds. But then, he didn't release the water at all, and the shells began to hit the deck superstructure of the Kenya with precision.

"Boom! Rumble! Boom! ”

The sound of explosions continued one after another, as if the giant spirit god was constantly beating with a sledgehammer in his hand, and some weak points on the bridge and deck of the "Kenya" were torn apart by shells, and shards of steel flew around. Hiding in the last armored command center (quasi-CIC at the level of the eighties) under the bridge, his head was still buzzing with the roar.

Captain Nelson's expression was serious, his eyes deep, and he stared coldly at the radar signal that was still working, and said not much other than to ask about the condition of the turrets from time to time.

On the battleship, everyone evacuated from the weakly protected positions, such as the position of the optical rangefinder above the bridge, the command room of the front and rear bridges with a certain probability of being hit and damaged by missiles, and even the secondary guns and anti-aircraft guns with poor armor, plus the rear torpedo tubes and the catapult part of the carrier-based aircraft.

With the exception of three triple turrets, no one will be exposed to the position of weak armor. They took refuge under the bridge or in the power compartment, ammunition depot, etc., and stood still despite the fierce beating outside.

Before the battle began, sacrificing a battleship as a bait was a shame for Nelson, and the Royal Navy of the British Empire did not have the tradition of retreating without a fight.

Desperately, so desperate that the enemy is afraid and dare not fight, such a singleton style of play is really unbearable for ordinary people.

But this time he couldn't help it, and wanted to start a battleship. Even with the assistance of the horizontal electronic system in the seventies and eighties, it takes 300 people to ensure the operation of the firepower. And that's not even counting the troublesome damage management, and praying that the power system doesn't mess up at critical moments.

The worst part. The 300 or so men he commanded were not well-trained and well-coordinated Royal Navy sailors, but a gathering of adventurers, mercenaries, outlaws, and pirates from all over the world. Their ability to fight alone is good, but when combined, command obedience alone is enough for a headache.

Even if they have been practicing together for more than two years before, Nelson has no idea how far these people can go.

So he made a seemingly risky but helpless battle plan. Pretending that the ship is really not armed at all, lure-lure the enemy ship closer and get within the accurate range of the main guns. And then a surprise attack. All it takes is a 305mm heavy armor-piercing projectile hit, or even a grenade, to make the thinly armored Burke I destroyer lose half a life!

"Remember, we only have one chance. Only from the fire. Until the short time when the enemy ship is completely out of range! If we can't hit it hard during that time, it will be very difficult for us to escape! ”

In the face of anti-ship cruise missiles with a range of around 500 km, the speed of the battleship is a joke. Not wanting to be tortured to death, it's best to pray that their luck is blessed by God.

The blatant shelling of the destroyer on the opposite side made Nelson quietly put down his heart for a long time, and that was right. The Americans, who were mad, would certainly not easily take out their own ship, so they would not be able to vent their anger. Only this kind of torture can meet their heart's needs. This is also the only chance that the ship can fight back.

Therefore, he had to continue to pretend that he had no ammunition, let the other party vent for a while, and by the way, close the distance.

The "Kenya" is like a wounded whale, there are fire heads above the deck and around the bridge with thick smoke billowing up, and the automatic fire extinguishing device seems to be difficult to ensure the firefighting ability. Looks like it's clumsy and deadly.

Happy laughter rang out from the missile destroyer.

Captain Stanley sneered harshly, "Look, their stupid look, I can't believe how they dared to go to the Atlantic to spread wild!" A guy who can't even match four hosts, vainly trying to challenge the powerful US Navy? ”

Edward smiled lightly: "Probably they have been carried away by luck, thinking that they would be able to run away after committing such a crime. I think they may run out of fuel, and it probably won't take long to pursue them like this. ”

Stanley agreed.

The last replenishment from the Mediterranean, going around in circles with the US military in the Atlantic, this is at least 5,000 nautical miles. Even if the other side uses diesel engines to save fuel, it will be able to cruise at 8,000 nautical miles. In the last few days, they should have been sailing at high speed, so the biggest remaining force is only to return to North Africa at low speed with diesel engines. With such a chase at sea and desperate maneuvers, the last fuel will be exhausted and become a living coffin floating on the sea!

If the US military does not speak, who will dare to come and help them?

These guys are dead!

In the blink of an eye, more than 30 shells fired, and the "Kenya" finally accelerated by more than 22 knots, black smoke billowed from the chimney, and flames rolled on the deck, as if it was going to die at any time. But its maneuvering and changing posture was still ecstatic, and there was no sign of stopping.

Stanley was a little impatient, and said sharply: "Suspend the shelling and replace it with a missile attack, we haven't tested the effect of live ammunition on target for a long time, and it's rare to have such a rough and thick target ship!" ”

There was a murderous intent hidden in his jokes, and the officers in the CIC listened to it with great pleasure.

The director of missile weapons immediately issued an order, and not long after, the cover of the vertical hair box on the deck was opened, the fireworks were boiling, and two "whaling fork" anti-ship missiles roared out, turning suddenly at a large angle over the battleship, dragging a strong wake trail towards the sea, accelerating wildly, and reaching the top of the "Kenya" in a blink of an eye!

A missile grazed the side of the ship and slammed into the middle of the towering bridge.

"Boom!"

The 230kg semi-armor-piercing warhead, detonated with a delayed trigger fuse, easily shredded the structure where there was only a 200mm thick surface armor and a 55mm Kevlar lining, and a large ball of fire swallowed half of the bridge, and the tons of steel exploded from a distance, as if the battleship was torn apart!

The power is indeed good, a shocking big mouth suddenly appeared, and the cabin on the inner floor was destroyed and swept away, and all the tables, chairs, benches and other things were all turned into scum! This means that no one is there, otherwise it will inevitably turn to ashes!

Another missile smashed at a large bevel angle to the armor above the waterline, and the superhard armor made of modern alloy technology slammed and bounced the warhead of Mach 0.76 into a sharp depression, forming only a noticeable dent on the surface, but did not cause much damage.

The explosion on the bridge caused a burst of cheers within the CIC, which made a futile but regrettable display of hands against the armor.

Stanley nodded disapprehantly: "It seems that our goal is at least not to cut corners in terms of armor, which does not match the rumored quality of Chinese products." Did he really use high-strength ship steel to build these two big toys? Waste! ”

His Excellency did not utter his subtext: "Such behavior is even more damned!" What did he think of the Navy! ”

With a curse hidden between his teeth, Stan slashed down with a wave of force, "Go ahead, sweep his superstructure to the ground!" (To be continued......)