Chapter 804: Escape (43rd Update)
"Boom! Rumble! Rumble! ”
On the surface of the sea, the cannon rumbled, as if it were thunder. The Chinese fleet and the British fleet are engaged in the most tragic life-and-death struggle. Especially fifteen minutes after Marshal David Beatty gave the order for the final battle, the British fleet even exerted its strength to feed.
"Boom!" A shell fired by the British Navy's battlecruiser 'Howe' hit the Imperial Navy's battleship 'Dragon'. This shell hit the bow of the 'Longteng' and was shot. Weak deck armor, simply could not reach 381-mm shells. After the shell penetrated the deck, it exploded inside the battleship, destroying several compartments in the bow and causing a raging fire.
However, the Imperial Navy's battlecruiser 'Long Yao' was immediately returned to color. In this round of volleys, the battlecruiser "Princess Royal" of the British Navy was hit. A 305mm shell hit the apostorboard of the battlecruiser HMS Princess Royal, blowing off a 76mm secondary gun and killing several British sailors.
At 1:24 p.m., the 2nd Battleship Detachment of the Imperial Navy led by Rear Admiral Li Dingxin appeared on the southwestern side of the battlefield. The five 'Five Emperor-class' battleships formed a battle line and sailed north. In this way, it was stuck on the road to the west of the British fleet.
"To the southwest, twelve nautical miles, the Chinese Navy is discovered." The lookout immediately gave a warning.
On the battlecruiser 'Hood', Marshal David Beatty's face could not help but change drastically, and the most fearful situation still appeared. Reinforcements from the Chinese Navy have already appeared. This meant that the British fleet would be completely at a disadvantage. If they don't do anything else, I'm afraid they will pay an even heavier price.
"All are Chinese' 'Five Emperor-class' battleships. Unexpectedly, they actually put these 'Five Emperor-class' battleships here. "Regarding the Chinese Navy's 'Five Emperor-class' battleships, David Betty is very clear. Such a battleship with a displacement of only thirty-five thousand tons, by adopting a triple 381-mm gun. This makes the hull length of the ship only 172 meters, which is nearly 100 meters shorter than the 'Admiral-class' battle cruisers. However, its armor is very thick. The 381 mm gun, which is fifty times the caliber, has extremely strong armor-piercing ability. Even the Royal Navy's 'Revenge-class' battleships and 'Queen Elizabeth-class' battleships are absolutely incomparable.
Although, the overall performance of the 'Admiral-class' battlecruisers was very powerful. But the advantage is mainly in terms of speed. The firepower is inferior to the 'Five Emperor-class' battleships of the Chinese Navy, and the defense is far from being comparable to it. This makes the 'Admiral-class' battlecruisers have no strength to compete with the 'Five Emperor-class' battleships at all.
When the Chinese Navy's 'Five Emperor-class' battleships appeared, Marshal David Beatty knew he had to make a choice. Otherwise, the British fleet would have suffered even greater losses.
"Order the ships, start turning, and increase the speed to the maximum!" Marshal David Betty ordered.
"Yes, Marshal!" The staff officer immediately ordered.
Merely. The speed of the British fleet at this moment could no longer be unified, and the battlecruisers "Hood" and "Howe" were able to maintain a speed of thirty knots. The battlecruiser HMS Princess Royal was also able to maintain a speed of 28 knots. If they escaped at a speed of 28 knots, they could completely escape from the pursuit of the Chinese Navy by virtue of their speed advantage.
But the speed of the battlecruiser Anson had dropped to 21 knots, the speed of the battlecruiser Rodney had dropped to 23 knots, and the speed of the battlecruiser Tiger had also dropped to 22 knots. These three battered battle cruisers, if they want to escape the pursuit of the Chinese Navy, it will be impossible.
The 'Five Emperors-class' battleships of the Chinese Navy. At a speed of more than 25 knots, those four battle cruisers of the Chinese Navy. The speed is also around 27 knots. It was quite possible to lay siege to the three battered battlecruisers of the British Navy.
In other words, if Marshal David Beatty wanted to escape, he could only take the battlecruisers Hood, Howe, and Princess Royal. As for the other battlecruisers, they could only remain. Together with the previously sunken battlecruisers, this time they lost a full five battlecruisers. Already half of the total number of battlecruisers of the expeditionary fleet of the British Royal Navy. This was undoubtedly also a huge blow to the overall strength of the expeditionary fleet. This made the Royal Navy, which had an advantage, begin to succumb to a disadvantage. If you want to win this naval battle, it will undoubtedly be even more difficult.
At this time, the accident happened again. The battleship "Longyun" of the Imperial Navy is in this round of salvo fire against the battleship "Royal Princess". Successfully hit the Royal Princess. A 343 mm shell that shaved off one of the chimneys of the 'Royal Princess'. The collapsed chimney not only smashed a twin main gun. Moreover, the toxic smoke in the boiler cannot be discharged and permeates the boiler room. The sailors who worked in the boiler room were poisoned in a very short time. As a result, the speed of the battleship also began to constantly decrease.
"Your Excellency Marshal, the 'Royal Princess' reports that their speed is decreasing." A staff officer reported.
"Hell! How so? Marshal David Beatty yelled. At the critical moment, the battlecruiser "Royal Princess" was hit again, which will make the "Royal Princess" battlecruiser finally unable to escape.
"Your Excellency, what shall we do?" The staff officer asked.
Obviously, the British Navy was ready to lose one more battleship cruiser.
Before Marshal David Beatty could make up his mind, the Chinese Navy's 'Five Emperor-class' battleships had already narrowed the distance between the two sides to about 15,000 kilometers. The three triple 50-caliber 381 mm guns of the battleship 'Shaohao' were the first to open fire, aiming directly at the battlecruiser 'Hood'. The other four 'Five Emperor-class' battleships also began to fire heavily on the 'Hood' battlecruiser.
Obviously, Rear Admiral Li Dingxin, commander of the Second Battleship Detachment, hoped that the results of the battle could be further extended, and if the battlecruiser "Hood" and the battlecruiser "Hao" could also be severely damaged, and then they could also be dealt with. Then, in this naval battle, the Imperial Navy can undoubtedly lock in the victory in advance.
"Bastard! I have to give up the 'Royal Princess' for the time being. Let the 'Howe' follow us and immediately turn to flee. Otherwise, we'll all have to stay here. "Marshal David Beatty ultimately made his choice. He knew that if they didn't run away, the end result would be total annihilation. The remaining 14 battleships and two battlecruisers on the side of the main fleet could no longer turn the tide. The final result is probably that Britain admitted defeat in this naval battle and had to compromise with the Chinese Empire.
"Yes, Marshal." The staff officer nodded. However, from his eyes, there was a clear hint of relief. After all, if they choose to fight to the death, they may not escape death in the end.
If the battlecruisers Hood and Howe could escape, they could at least save their lives.
I have to admit that the speed of the 'Admiral-class' battle cruiser should be the fastest among all capital ships. When the Imperial Navy's 'Five Emperor-class' battleships came out, they were able to increase their speed to more than thirty knots and leave calmly. Although the Imperial Navy's 'Five Emperor-class' battleships fired several salvos, it was useless.
However, Marshal David Beatty was able to escape with two 'Admiral-class' battlecruisers. However, the remaining four battleships were not so lucky. The Chinese Navy's five 'Five Emperor-class' battleships, plus the other seven capital ships, undoubtedly have an absolute advantage over them. On the battlefield, it is completely possible to form a situation of three against one.
"Invent the code telegraph for the British, and make them surrender." Lieutenant General Li He ordered.
It is a pity that the British refused to surrender. Although, those British sailors were eager to live, the glory of the Royal Navy for hundreds of years made it impossible for them to do such a thing.
And so, the battle began again. Five 'Five Emperor-class' battleships of the Imperial Navy launched an attack on the British Navy's battlecruisers "Anson" and "Rodney". The remaining seven capital ships besieged the battlecruiser "Tiger" and the battlecruiser "Royal Princess".
The 381 mm main guns of the 'Five Emperor-class' battleships were powerful, and they also had an overwhelming advantage in the face of the British Navy's 'Admiral-class' battlecruisers. Therefore, the battlecruisers 'Anson' and 'Rodney', which had already suffered heavy losses, were almost powerless to fight back under the siege of the five 'Five Emperor-class' battleships of the Imperial Navy.
At 1:54, the battlecruiser "Anson", which was besieged by three "Five Emperor-class" battleships of the Imperial Navy, was the first to be sunk, and at least three 381-mm shells hit the battlecruiser. After the waterline armor was torn apart, it sank to the bottom of the sea due to too much water.
The battlecruiser "Rodney" only lasted about ten minutes longer than the battlecruiser "Anson". Subsequently, it was also sunk.
The battlecruiser "Tiger" and the battlecruiser "Royal Princess" also sank in less than twenty minutes because of multiple hits. The battle cruiser detachment of the British Navy, so far suffered heavy losses. (To be continued.) )
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