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At a distance of twenty kilometers, for a light cruiser and destroyer, which had already accelerated to twenty knots, it would only take twenty minutes to be able to enter an effective shè course. The four light cruisers and six destroyers of the Chinese Navy, with light cruisers in front and destroyers behind, slaughtered the 8th destroyer formation of the US Navy. After all, the two twin 155-mm naval guns on a light cruiser are undoubtedly lethal for these destroyers with a displacement of only a thousand tons, and once hit, they will be hit if they don't die!

"Boom! Rumble! "At 8:42, when there was still a distance of 8 kilometers from the 8th destroyer formation of the US Navy, the light cruiser 'Zhoushan' opened fire first. Two twin 155-mm naval guns began to strike at the US destroyer formation, and the armor-piercing projectiles weighing seventy or eighty kilograms flew towards the US fleet with a roar, and the shells flew at high speed under the action of kinetic energy, piercing the air and producing a sharp whistling!

After the light cruiser 'Zhoushan' opened fire, the light cruisers 'Taizhou', the light cruiser 'Lishui' and the light cruiser 'Jinhua' also opened fire one after another. Dense shells flew towards the 8th destroyer detachment of the US Navy, and the shells exploded on the surface of the sea, splashing columns of water!

"Damn! Fight back! Fight back! "On the destroyer 'Elwin', Colonel Paul ordered loudly. The four light cruisers of the Chinese Navy opened fire frantically, putting great pressure on the 8th destroyer detachment of the US Navy. These 155-mm armor-piercing shells may not do any damage at all for a battleship with rough skin and thick flesh. But for these destroyers. All it takes is a shot. That's what you can do!

"Boom! Rumble! Rumble! The destroyers of the 8th Destroyer Detachment of the US Navy also opened fire on the 76.2 mm guns. Although the power of the speed shè cannon is small, the shè speed is very fast. It's just that at a distance of eight kilometers, the hit rate is very low, and if you want to hit the warships of the Chinese Navy, I'm afraid you have to God forbid!

"Sir, the distance is too far for our speed shè guns to hit the target. And at this distance. Even if you hit the opponent's battleship, I'm afraid you won't be able to break through the armor of their battleship! A major officer said.

"Hell, then close the distance! Hum! Those despicable yellow-skinned monkeys think we are easy to bully, and I must make them regret it! Tell everyone, as long as we keep going, we will win! The 4th light cruiser formation will be able to arrive in an hour, and then it will be time for us to teach those yellow-skinned monkeys a hard lesson! "Colonel Paul said to everyone. A destroyer of more than 1,000 tons looks so small in front of the light cruiser of the Chinese Navy with a displacement of more than 6,000 tons, as if a toddler is trying to fight an adult!

"Boom!" An explosion rang out in the queue of the 8th Destroyer Detachment of the United States Navy, and the smoke and flames enveloped one of the destroyers in the queue, and the entire bridge area seemed to be shrouded in smoke.

"Sir. It's the 'Ba District'! The 'Ba District' was hit! A junior officer shouted loudly.

"Ask the 'Ba District' if their injuries matter. Can you continue to fight? Colonel Paul hurriedly asked, and at the same time, he also had a bad premonition in his heart. Hit on the bridge by the 155-mm naval guns of the Chinese light cruiser, the 'Ba District' must have been wounded.

Two minutes later, the destroyer "Ba District" replied to Colonel Paul, because the bridge was hit, and several officers, including the captain and the chief navigator, were all killed, and only the chief engineer escaped, and is now commanding the destroyer. However, the destroyer's firepower was not damaged, and the four 76.2 mm guns were able to continue firing!

Under the orders of Colonel Paul, the ten destroyers of the 8th Destroyer Detachment began to accelerate towards the forward formation of the Chinese Navy, trying to close the distance between the two sides so that their own naval guns could threaten the other side. With the power of the destroyer's 76.2 mm speed gun, it will be able to exert its maximum power at least at a distance of about three thousand meters!

The distance between the two sides continued to close, and at a distance of 5,000 meters, the 105-mm secondary guns of the four light cruisers of the Chinese Navy also opened fire, and the 105-mm naval guns of the other six destroyers also began to fire at the American troops. Each light cruiser has 10 105mm secondary guns and 8 88mm speed guns, although these cannons are installed on both sides of the battleship, and only half of them can fire at the target, but this is also a very terrifying fire blow for the 8th destroyer detachment of the US Navy!

"Boom! Rumble! Rumble! "Dense shells exploded around the 8th Destroyer Detachment of the US Navy, splashing columns of water on the sea. The destroyer has a small displacement, at most a thin layer of armor in the vital parts. Even small-caliber artillery can inflict a lot of damage on a destroyer. What's more, the Chinese Navy, whether it is 155 mm naval guns, 105 mm naval guns or 88 mm speed guns, is capable of inflicting fatal damage on US destroyers. At this time, the 10th destroyer detachment of the US Navy took the initiative to attack the forward formation of the Chinese Navy, and it looked very much like it was looking for death!

"Sir, the Kasin has been hit and caught fire. The Duncan's stern was hit and is now flooding, and they asked to withdraw from the battle. The 'Donne' was hit continuously, and the damage management personnel were unable to plug the loophole, and they asked for permission to abandon the battleship! A communications officer reported to Colonel Paul.

"Grant their request!" Colonel Paul said with a dark face. Although the decisive factor in the victory or defeat at sea is the duel between battleships and other capital ships, it is also the most interesting and eye-catching. However, the fight between small warships was also very tragic. Without the protection of armor, once a small battleship is hit, it is very likely to be sunk, and the casualties of the sailors on the battleship are also very large!

Within ten minutes of the battle, the 8th Destroyer Detachment of the US Navy lost one destroyer, and one destroyer withdrew from the battle due to injuries. Of the eight remaining destroyers, several were wounded.

After paying a heavy price, the United States was able to reduce the distance between the two sides to about 4,000 meters by the 8th Destroyer Detachment. At this distance, the 76.2 mm guns on their destroyers were barely able to pose a threat to the light cruisers and destroyers of the Chinese Navy. Of course, the armor of the light cruiser was relatively weak, but it was very difficult for the 76.2 mm speed gun to tear through the armor. Not to mention the key locations such as turrets, bridges and engine rooms!

"After this battle, the bureaucrats of the Admiralty must also equip the destroyers with 105 mm guns! Although the firepower of the 76.2 mm speed gun is powerful, the power is too small! Colonel Paul said secretly. It's just that he will never have a few chances again, and after the US Navy loses this decisive battle at sea, it will directly lead to the destruction of the United States. After the United States is destroyed, there will naturally be no more US Navy left!

After the US Navy's 8th Destroyer Detachment narrowed the distance between the two sides to about 4,000 meters, the Chinese Navy's forward formation began to turn around under the order of Lieutenant Commander Deng Wei, always keeping the distance between the two sides at about 4,000 meters, and not giving the US Navy's 8th Destroyer Formation a chance to get closer. Although the 76.2 mm speed guns equipped on the 8th destroyer of the US Navy could not pose a mortal threat to the light cruisers of the Chinese Navy, even if they were shortened to a distance of two or three thousand meters. But don't forget, the most powerful weapon of a destroyer is not a naval gun, but a torpedo! Compared with the Chinese Navy, which does not pay attention to torpedoes, the US Navy attaches great importance to torpedoes, and all warships, including battleships, are equipped with torpedo hair tubes. Even if the Chinese Navy's 'Ningbo-class' light cruisers have a displacement of more than 6,000 tons, if they are hit by a torpedo of the US Navy, they will have to suffer heavy damage even if they do not die!

"Boom! Rumble! Rumble! "The cannon rumbled on the sea, the shells flew through the air, and then exploded on the sea, splashing columns of water. Although the fierce battles here are not as thrilling as the battleship duels, the tragic Cheng Dù is not bad at all. However, the 8th destroyer detachment of the US Navy was completely in the object of suppression. Constantly warships were hit, wounded and even sunk. It seems unlikely that they want to hold out until reinforcements from the US Navy arrive!

"Sir, the 'Ba District' has sunk in battle, and the 'Banhan' and 'Boga' have also suffered heavy losses in the morning and have lost their combat effectiveness! Now that we have lost half of our ships, we are still retreating! Hold on any longer, we'll all be sunk!" "The captain of the destroyer 'Elwin' said to Colonel Paul. In just over half an hour after the start of the naval battle, the US Navy's 8th Destroyer Detachment had lost more than half, and the casualties they inflicted on the Chinese Navy's forward formation were very limited. And as more and more ships were sunk or heavily damaged, the remaining intact ships were hit harder by more and more firepower. If this continues, it will be a matter of time before they are hit or even sunk. And the reinforcements of the US Navy have not yet been able to reach the battlefield, and by the time the reinforcements arrive, they may have to collect their corpses long ago!

"Order all the battleships to turn around and move closer to the 4th light cruiser detachment!" Colonel Paul finally ordered. He knew that if he continued to persevere, it would really be all over.

"The Americans want to run away? Did you run? Order the ships to speed up the pursuit and not let the Americans run away! Lieutenant Colonel Deng Wei ordered! (To be continued......)