Before the duel between the capital ships of the Chinese fleet and the British fleet, the battle between the heavy cruisers had already begun a dozen nautical miles away from the main battlefield. The three Cavendish class heavy cruisers of the British Navy faced off against the four 'Zodiac class' heavy cruisers of the Imperial Navy.

The Cavendish class heavy cruiser is the first class heavy cruiser of the British Navy, with a length of 184 meters, a speed of 18 meters, a draft of 6.2 meters, a standard displacement of 9,750 tons, and a full load displacement of 12,190 tons. It has a maximum speed of 31 knots and is equipped with 7 7.5-inch (191 mm) main guns, 6 76 mm secondary guns, and 4 76.2 mm secondary guns. The armor was relatively weak, only 64 mm at its thickest point.

And the Imperial Navy's 'Zodiac class' heavy cruiser is also the first class heavy cruiser of the Imperial Navy, and compared with the subsequent improved versions, the first class of the 'Zodiac class' heavy cruiser is undoubtedly the worst in performance. However, compared to the Cavendish class heavy cruisers, the Imperial Navy's 'Zodiac-class' heavy cruisers still have a great advantage. It has a full load displacement of 11,200 tons, and is armed with three twin 50-caliber 210-mm main guns, 10 105-mm secondary guns, 10 88-mm rapid-fire guns, and eight 37-mm machine guns, with a maximum speed of 28 knots, and the armor thickness at key positions is generally more than 100 mm. Except that the speed and tonnage are not as good as the 'Cavendish class' heavy cruisers, the other performance is above the 'Cavendish class' heavy cruisers.

Marshal David Betty had also wanted to have three Cavendish class heavy cruisers cruising around the periphery of the battlefield so that the inferior Chinese navy could be pinned down and their pursuit would create an opportunity. However, unexpectedly, the four 'Zodiac-class' heavy cruisers of the Imperial Navy immediately came out, clearly intending to kill their three 'Cavendish class' heavy cruisers.

"Boom! Rumble! Rumble! "The heavy cruisers 'Son Rat' and 'Ugly Cow' of the Imperial Navy laid siege to the heavy cruiser 'Cavendis'. The heavy cruiser Yinhu was against the heavy cruiser Hawkins, and the heavy cruiser was against the heavy cruiser Raleigh. Three twin 210-mm guns. Against 7 191-mm guns.

In terms of the number of main guns, the British Navy seems to have a slight advantage. However, in terms of the power of the main guns, the Imperial Navy was at an advantage. The 50 mm gun, with a 210 caliber caliber, could easily tear through the thin layer of armor of the heavy cruisers of the British Navy.

The battle between heavy cruisers is not like the battle line of the capital ships. It's a mess. Heavy cruisers on both sides. All tried to sink the other party. The distance of the battle is also generally four or five thousand meters. This distance is when the main guns of the heavy cruiser can exert their maximum power. Of course, because of the difference in numbers and performance, the three 'Cavendish class' heavy cruisers of the British Navy were at a disadvantage from the start.

"Hell! How did the heavy cruisers of the Chinese hit so accurately? "On the heavy cruiser 'Cavendis,' British Navy Lieutenant Commander Philip scolded. Besieged by two heavy cruisers of the Chinese Navy, his situation was undoubtedly very difficult.

"Shoot back, shoot back! Attack the Chinese 'Mouse' first. Let go of the Buffalo. Lieutenant Colonel Philip commanded loudly.

"Boom!" A dazzling flash of fire suddenly erupted from the bow of the heavy cruiser Cavendis. A 210-mm shell easily tore through the deck armor, which was only more than 30 mm thick, and exploded inside the battleship, blowing up the entire bow compartment into a mess.

"Bastard, report the loss!" Lieutenant Colonel Philip scolded. At the same time, his heart was sinking. He seemed to realize that this battle was for him and the entire heavy patrol formation. are extremely dangerous.

"Your Excellency, the bow of the ship has been hit. The main gun A was damaged. Can't turn, can't continue firing. The damage management officer reported.

"Can you troubleshoot?" Lieutenant Colonel Philip asked with a frown.

"It's hard, you need to go back to the shipyard." Damage management personnel reported.

"Hell!" Lieutenant Colonel Philip had to curse, and then said no more. Obviously, in the next naval battle, the main gun A will not be useful. As for returning to the shipyard. It's hard to say. If you're lucky, you might have this chance. If you're unlucky, you'll end up at the bottom of the ocean.

At 11:48 a.m., the Imperial Navy's heavy cruiser "Ugly Cow" fired a salvo with three twin 210mm guns. Six 210-mm shells. Two hit the target. One exploded on the left side of the Cavendish apostle, blowing off a 76mm secondary gun and detonating a bunch of shells, causing it to burst into flames. Another shell hit the stern, and the weak armor above the waterline was easily torn apart, blasting a large hole. Saltwater began to pour into the ship, leaving the damage crew unable to close the watertight doors of the adjacent compartments. This caused the battleship to tilt at an angle, and at the same time, the speed of the battleship was also affected to a certain extent. Under the siege of two heavy cruisers of the Chinese Navy, the situation of the heavy cruiser 'Cavendis' became more and more difficult.

However, the first heavy cruiser to be sunk was not the 'Cavendish', but the 'Hawkins'. In the fierce battle with the heavy cruiser "Yinhu" of the Imperial Navy, the "Hawkins" showed great bravery, and in order to enhance the chance of hitting, the "Hawkins" even shortened the distance of the battle to less than 4,000 meters at one point. Although this made the 191 mm of the heavy cruiser 'Hawkins' hit the heavy cruiser 'Yinhu' several times in a row. However, no fatal damage was inflicted on the heavy cruiser "Yinhu". On the contrary, it has plunged itself into a crisis.

The heavy cruiser "Yinhu" of the Imperial Navy hit the heavy cruiser "Hawkins" with multiple salvos. The A and C main guns in the bow of the ship were destroyed one after another. A large hole was also blown out of the right side of the ship, causing a serious water leak. And that's not even the deadliest. The deadliest damage lies in the stern. A 210 mm shell pierced the armor in the stern and blew off a propeller shaft, causing the ship's speed to drop continuously. Once the speed slows down, then the probability of being hit will undoubtedly go up a notch.

At 11:54, the heavy cruiser "Yinhu" of the Imperial Navy completed the lore of the heavy cruiser "Hawkins". In this round of salvo, a shell directly killed the heavy cruiser 'Hawkins'. The stern E gun was hit, and its weak turret armor was easily torn apart by 210 mm shells. Either there is a 191-mm shell in the chamber at this moment, as well as tens of kilograms of ******. During the explosion, the shells and ****** in the chamber were also detonated, and the fire spread along the turret to the ammunition depot. In a panic, the British sailors did not have time to close the fire door. This allowed the fire to spread to the ammunition depot. Dozens of shells stored inside, there was a martyrdom. The huge power directly blew the heavy cruiser 'Hawkins' in two. Then, in less than two minutes, the heavy cruiser 'Hawkins' sank into the sea.

The sinking of the heavy cruiser "Hawkins" made the British Navy's heavy cruiser formation even more disadvantaged. The four heavy cruisers of the Chinese Navy formed a siege on the three remaining heavy cruisers of the British Navy.

Moreover, both the heavy cruiser "Cavendish" and the heavy cruiser "Raleigh" have been shot several times and have suffered considerable injuries. Unless it is a manifestation of God, so to speak. Otherwise, the sinking of these two heavy cruisers would have been inevitable.

At this time, Marshal David Beatty, who was commanding the battle patrol formation and the Chinese navy in a fierce battle on the battlecruiser "Hood", also learned of the plight of the heavy cruiser. Therefore, he ordered the heavy cruiser formation to retreat, and sent two 'Danae-class' light cruisers with two 'R' destroyers to rush to reinforcements, hoping to force back the heavy cruisers of the Chinese Navy by lightning strikes and rescue the heavy cruisers 'Cavendish' and 'Raleigh'.

However, what Marshal David Beatty did not expect was that his actions brought huge trouble to the battle patrol formation of the British Navy, and even suffered huge losses as a result.

Two Danae-class light cruisers and two R-class destroyers bravely rushed towards the heavy cruisers of the Imperial Navy, and the torpedo tubes in the bow were already loaded with 533 mm heavy torpedoes.

The heavy cruisers of the Imperial Navy, which also spotted the light cruisers and destroyers of the British Navy attacking at high speed, the secondary guns and rapid-fire guns of the battleships, began to fire at these light cruisers and destroyers. The main guns, on the other hand, continued to fire on the two heavy cruisers of the British Navy, and they did not want to let the cooked ducks fly away.

"Boom! Rumble! ”

Under the siege of the heavy cruisers "Zirat" and "Ugly Niu" of the Chinese Navy, the heavy cruiser "Cavendish" could not hold out at first. Because of the multiple hits, the keel of the battleship broke. The entire battleship broke into three at once, and soon sank into the sea.

Two light cruisers and two destroyers of the British Navy also launched lightning strikes, 16 533 mm torpedoes, fired at the heavy cruisers of the Imperial Navy, so that the heavy cruisers of the Imperial Navy had to abandon the pursuit of the 'Raleigh' and avoid torpedoes.

Eventually, the heavy cruiser 'Raleigh' escaped. However, the light cruisers and destroyers of the British Navy, which launched lightning strikes, also paid the price of one destroyer being sunk and one light cruiser being heavily damaged. The British Navy can be described as suffering heavy losses. (To be continued.) )

PS: The thirty-seventh is here, ask for a monthly pass and a reward!