Two 533mm torpedoes hit the middle of the right hull of the Kunlun Mountain, and one of them exploded violently, and the violent shaking almost caused the captain to fall.

A large rectangular hole about four meters long had been torn open at the waterline of the hull, allowing a small car to enter and exit, and tons of seawater rushing in through the breach.

The damage caused by the torpedo did not stop there, because a large number of cables were damaged, and the sudden increase in many short circuits overwhelmed the main distribution box of the Kunlun Mountain, and the circuit breaker immediately jumped to cut off the power supply to prevent an electrical fire.

As a result, the Kunlun Mountain lost its power supply, and there was no electricity available for lighting and equipment.

Fortunately, the other Mk15 torpedo that hit the stern did not detonate and did not cause further damage.

The Kunlun's power supply system outputs 220 volts and 380 volts of three-phase alternating current, the latter of which is used only to drive the main turret. If the voltage of the ship's power grid drops to the alarm threshold of 320 volts, the equipment in the emergency power supply compartment will automatically take effect, and the diesel generators will be driven by compressed air cylinders to start running, and 220 volts of electricity will be output to the ship's power grid.

But the trouble is that the problem now is that there is a serious short-circuit fault in an unknown location, and the resulting trip is almost irreversible - there is no time to troubleshoot now!

The battleship designers did take into account such extreme cases, so that important equipment had backup power lines.

Several mechanical and electrical soldiers flipped the switch to switch the power output of the emergency generator to the backup power supply line, and one after another the lights finally turned on, and some instruments and equipment finally resumed operation.

However, because the emergency generator could only provide 220 volts of electricity, the main turret of the Kunlun Mountain was still unusable.

Obviously, the designers of the battleship took it for granted that since they were forced to activate the emergency generator, they must have suffered heavy damage, and at this time, it was naturally the best strategy to take the thirty-six plan, and leave Qingshan without fear of running out of firewood.

Considering that the Ming Dynasty's industrialization and army building had great roots with France, it is difficult to say that this design concept has nothing to do with France—both the Dunkirk-class battlecruisers and the Richelieu-class battlecruisers.

But the current battle situation is so urgent, the captain of the Kunlun Mountain is unwilling to withdraw from the battle like this.

The story of a country lost its horseshoe and died is well known, not to mention that it is now a heavy cruiser!

Someone quickly ran into the electrical control cabin and said loudly: "The captain has given a death order, the power supply of the main line must be restored, otherwise the main gun will not move!" ”

An old mechanical soldier frowned and said: "There is a short circuit in the line, and there will be big problems." ”

The lieutenant next to him waved his hand and shouted: "The fire is burning the eyebrows, the enemy is under the nose, whether it has it or not, obey the order!" ”

Several mechanics tried hard to push the circuit breaker back into place, but they couldn't keep it in place, and as soon as they let go, they immediately bounced off.

Someone brought a mop and used the mop rod to push the circuit breaker lever against it, the length was no more and no less, just right.

The main power supply lines were forcibly connected, the warning lights were flashing, the "doodoo" sirens were also ringing, and the countless cables inside the hull were heating up rapidly due to short circuits.

This is a short-circuit state of 380 volt three-phase alternating current, for a group of old electricians, what situation is more scary now?

At 2:21, the Kunlun Mountain fired its first salvo after the power was restored, and nine shells were fired at the Indianapolis ten kilometers away.

In a flash of fire, a 208mm armor-piercing bullet accurately hit her bridge, causing heavy casualties in an instant!

The shock wave even threw the co-captain off the bridge, rolling in the air a few times before slamming heavily onto the deck, covered in bruises and bleeding all over his body.

More than thirty seconds later, the second salvo of the Kunlun Mountain came again.

The 208mm cap-piercing shell effortlessly penetrated the 2.5-inch armor of the A turret, and the American sailors inside were killed and wounded in an instant.

Another shell hit the top of the firing command post, and the gunnery officer and more than a dozen officers and men who were calmly directing were either killed or wounded.

The Kunlun Mountain counterattack was accurate and deadly, and in less than two minutes, three 208mm shells were hit at key parts of the Indianapolis, and the rest of the superstructure and deck were also baptized by 128mm anti-explosive shells from Ming destroyers.

Although she has not lost her combat effectiveness, her actual combat efficiency has dropped significantly, there are nearly 20 fire points on the whole ship, the bridge is a mess, and there are blood stains all over the ship.

The Kunlunshan's twin 128mm Gaoping dual-purpose guns hit almost at the same time, but the target of the secondary guns was the rotating destroyer Elite (DD-398).

Multiple shells hit the ship, flashes of explosions came and went, and a 128mm anti-explosive bomb hit the main mast, and the gun emplacements of the two Chicago piano anti-aircraft guns on the left and right below were instantly swept by fragments!

Half a minute later, artillery fire from the Huaihe Light Patrol also covered the maneuvering US destroyer, and a total of two 144mm anti-explosive shells were hit.

The Elite's C turret was blown up on the spot, killing and wounding more than a dozen people; Another shell penetrated into the hull and exploded, destroying a flue, and the choking waste from the heavy oil boiler soon filled several compartments, and the badly wounded Elite quickly released the smoke and fled.

At the same time, the condition of the Kunlun Mountain itself has also deteriorated sharply, and the internal cables of the ship's hull have gradually become red-hot, and the insulation layer that surrounds the cables has melted.

The lights were all flickering in an unstable strobe, and the cabin was filled with choking gray smoke, and countless ignition points appeared one after another.

At 2:23, twenty minutes after the battle began, the battlefield became more and more chaotic due to the fierce fighting.

However, the Ming army lookout post still found the clue, and identified the model of the American warship in a scene of alternating light and dark and flickering firelight.

The Yongping chose to change the target of the attack, and launched multiple salvos in a row against the most threatening West Virginia, and the scene was so majestic that it was blood-pumping.

The second turret fired a 384mm anti-explosive shell in the third salvo, and the shell landed in an extremely tricky place - it was right under the bridge of the West Virginia, and if it was an armor-piercing shell, the consequences could be imagined.

The explosion of tens of kilograms of explosives caused a huge wave of air that swept the external facilities to pieces, and many people were thrown into the air and fell into the sea, like ragdolls flying in a tornado.

The attacks of the American forces were equally ferocious, with shells of different calibers as dense as raindrops, and the sea was full of white torpedo tracks as far as the eye could see, which made people's scalps tingle.

The Kunlun Mountain, which had severely damaged the Indianapolis, was quickly retaliated by the combined efforts of the San Francisco and Chicago, and was hit by more than a dozen 203mm armor-piercing shells and ordinary shells in four minutes.

The main mast of the Kunlun Mountain was blown off, and it fell heavily into the glittering sea, making a big splash.

It was hit by a torpedo before and now there are about 700 tons of water ingress, and countless electrical fires inside have caused the Kunlun Mountain to lose power again.

The Benson-class destroyer, the USS Benson (DD-421), a cutting-edge warship delivered only a few months ago, immediately made a sharp turn at a speed of 37 knots after noticing that the Ming heavy cruiser seemed to have been heavily damaged.

At 2:30, the Benson fired five torpedoes from the A launcher at a distance of more than three thousand meters; A minute later, five torpedoes from the B launcher also fell into the sea one after another.

The artillery fire fired by the two sides was reflected on the sea surface, which could be described as brilliant, and ten white tracks quickly moved forward on such a brilliant sea surface, heading straight for the Kunlun Mountain in the distance.

The destroyer USS Sims (DD-409) to the north had similar intentions, but she had more ambitions, attempting to lightning strike the battleship Zhanghe five kilometers away.

The movement of the Sims was detected by the Ming destroyer Foshan, which was guarding the Zhanghe, and the Foshan decisively turned on the searchlight, and two bright and dazzling beams of light shrouded the American destroyer with bad intentions.

All the guns of the Foshan aimed at her and opened fire fiercely, and then the light patrol of the Huaihe on the side also turned its guns to attack this high-threat target that was lit up.

At this time, the U.S. Light Cruiser USS Philadelphia aborted the attack on the Yutai - the destroyer suffered heavy damage, all the ship's guns were fired to the point of dumb fire, and only a few anti-aircraft guns were still firing.

Seeing that the Ariake battleship dared to turn on the searchlight, the USS Philadelphia immediately aimed at the source of the beam and fired continuously.

The brave charging Sims was attacking Zhanghe, the Foshan and Huaihe were attacking Sims together, and the Philadelphia was attacking Foshan......

The chaos of the scene was beyond imagination, the two sides were so close that the trajectory of the shells fired was almost straight horizontal.

When the warships of the two sides were fighting fiercely, a large group of landing ships, transport ships, freighters, and auxiliary ships off the coast of Haleiwa were inevitably involved in the battle.

These ships were slow to sail and slow to start, and were almost helpless against countless incoming torpedoes.

The Ming sailors used machine guns or anti-aircraft guns to strafe those tracks, but it was futile and they could only watch as the torpedoes crashed into them.

Violent explosions came and went, sometimes several booms in a row for tens of seconds, and sometimes two or three minutes before there was a rumbling sound.

A mine-class minelayer was turning, and the anti-aircraft machine guns on the side kept strafing the sea, but it still burst out with a large ball of flames, and all kinds of debris flew around, scattering into the sea.

In less than two minutes, the minelayer disappeared without a trace.

The captain of the Lu Xun personally went into battle to steer the ship, dealing with a number of incoming torpedoes with a heavy and calm manner.

The maneuverability of an amphibious command ship based on the B-83 freighter is so maneuverable that maneuvering such a clumsy ship to evade a vast number of torpedoes can be compared to the most difficult alloy warheads.

The captain of the ship gave a loud order while spinning the rudder, "Check the life jackets, everyone evacuate the bilge." ”

He knew very well that he had to prepare for the worst now, and no one could guarantee that the Lu Xun would be able to survive the difficulties.

The essence of the Lu Xun is the large number of elite staff officers on board, it is good that a few of these people die, but if they are served in a pot, it will be a tragic price, I am afraid that it is no less than a capital ship being sunk.

"Zhou waits for the edict, and the survival circle is also good." Someone walked briskly with two orange lifebuoys.

"I don't need it, it's useless to add a circle if the life jacket is not used."

Zhou Changfeng was also checking his life jacket, he tried to stay calm, and he couldn't stop complaining in his heart.

Damn it! Didn't the navy say that "all preparations are made, and if the US military dares to attack at night, it will definitely return home"?

Just half a minute later, a torpedo slammed into the bow of the Luxun, and many people felt the muffled sound of touching.

After realizing that it was a dud, everyone couldn't help but cheer.

"Knock !!"

Before the cheers were over, another torpedo fired diagonally came one after another, exploding violently, and Zhou Changfeng hurriedly grabbed the handrail on the side so that he did not fall.

Although the structure has been strengthened to a certain extent, the Luxun is still the foundation of the freighter, and the less powerful aviation torpedoes may be barely able to support it, but the ship's heavy torpedoes are enough to inflict fatal injuries on her.

The captain of the ship had long been mentally prepared for the mine in this ship, and just shouted: "This ship rushes to the beach!" All ready! Squat with your head in your hands! ”

The Luxun, which was more than 8,000 tons, made an effort to turn to the beach and rushed over at a speed of 12 knots.

At 2:35 on July 27, the intensity of the naval battle suddenly weakened subtly, and it became silent for a while.

After more than half an hour of fierce fighting, the warships on both sides were covered in bruises, without exception. After such a long period of continuous high-intensity operation, the sailors of the two armies were also exhausted.

The TF37.1 Task Force Task Force flagship San Francisco was left with only the C turret still firing, half of the engines failed, the output was less than 55,000 horsepower, it was hit in many places below the waterline, the speed was sharply reduced to 19 knots, and the bilge was flooded with nearly 1,000 tons.

The Ming army was also bleak, the Kunlun Mountain almost became an electric oven, or a crematorium, a quarter of the ship's cabins were filled with flames and smoke, the fire was out of control, in order to avoid the explosion of the ammunition depot, the captain ordered the ammunition depot to be filled with water, which caused the Kunlun Mountain to tilt sharply to the left.

The battleship Yongping was also seriously damaged, with a total of 11 406mm armor-piercing shells, 16 356mm armor-piercing shells, and 24 203mm ordinary shells.

The captain was killed, the deputy captain was seriously wounded, and the gunnery officer was killed, and the navigator now took command of the entire ship. The internal communication of the whole ship was basically interrupted, and a large amount of seawater poured into the left side of the hull and tilted, and only 1,000 tons of water could be injected into the right side to balance.

This originally majestic 32,000-ton giant ship only had a maximum speed of 9.5 knots left, and the three 384mm main turrets miraculously could still operate normally, but because the firing command post was destroyed, the main turret could only use its own rangefinder and equipment to measure the elements, and the hit rate plummeted.

The Mk1 406mm twin-mounted main gun of the West Virginia was actually not very good, but in such a close engagement...... Caliber is justice.

Seeing that both Ming battleships were damaged, the West Virginia could suppress both with a single ship, and the Arizona and California turned their guns and began to bombard the beachhead.

A large number of 356mm high-explosive bombs crashed into the beach like heavy hammers against anvils, and the trucks, tents, and piles of supplies of the Ming landing force were wiped out in the continuous violent explosions.

At 2:39, an artillery shell landed in the ammunition storage area of the Ming army's second beachhead, detonating boxes of 64mm and 80mm mortar shells stacked here.

A series of explosions lit up half of the sky, and the loud boom was accompanied by a reddish-yellow glow, like a volcanic eruption.

The Lu Xun was attacked by a US destroyer during the beaching, but only two shells hit directly, causing only a dozen casualties.

The command ship, which had been completed less than a year ago, washed up on the beach, and the violent shaking of the grounding caused the sailors to stagger. Zhou Changfeng grabbed the handrail hard, and his body was still shaking forward because of inertia.

"Convinced! Why hasn't the detachment come yet?! In view of his past experience, he did not believe that the Ming Navy would have a situation where friendly forces would be unable to move like a mountain.

The straight-line distance between Cape Kaina and here is only fifteen kilometers, how can it be that it is still missing?

"Stop, put the ladder!"

"Throw the rope down!"

"Abandon the ship! Abandon the ship! It's time to go! ”

The sailors gathered at the side railing, tied the ropes and ladders, and dropped them to disembark.

But at this moment, several flickering points of light suddenly appeared on the distant sea, and thirteen seconds later, an incomparably dazzling light appeared on the front of the Arizona's hull, overshadowing any other light sources on the battlefield.

Everyone subconsciously looked at it, and suddenly saw five or six water columns retracting, and a huge fireball surging into the air in the middle.

In the open sea, about 20 kilometers to the north, wisps of green smoke were still rising from the muzzles of the Longshuo's triple main guns, and there was a dead silence in the bridge command tower and the firing command post.

Yes?

After a while, a Guantong soldier opened his mouth, which broke the silence.

"Newspaper... reported that multiple projectiles were observed to miss closely, two hits, and the enemy ship ...... Violent explosions. ”

(End of chapter)