Chapter 1008: Change the Shells and Fight
Chapter 1008 Let’s change the shells and fight
Compared with the close combat between the battleships United Forces and Fuso, the two battleships behind them fought more steadily. The St. Stephen and the Hyuga kept shooting at a distance of 15 kilometers. And because the two battleships have not been in service for a long time, the combat effectiveness of the battleships is also relatively low. Compared with the bombardment efficiency of the first two "brothers" who often throw more than a dozen shells at each other, the latter two "brothers" The "juniors" are a bit worse.
After the destroyers and the pre-dreadnoughts fought together, Colonel Seitz, the captain of the St. Stephen, thought that he should be more stable. After all, it was now certain that the count's fleet was nearby, as long as he could drag them Just arrive. Rear Admiral Tatsuo Sunmura, the captain of the Hyuga, also holds the same view, believing that he can only serve as a "fuse." After all, various RP incidents in naval battles are difficult to guard against. If something happens to the Fuso again, he can at least guarantee the retreat of two precious fast battleships.
But although it was not as fierce as the "predecessors", as the most terrifying war machines of this era, the battle between the St. Stephen and the Hyuga was equally thrilling! Compared with the No. 4 ship of the Combined Forces-class battleship, which has just been in service for a few months, the Hyuga has been in service for more than half a year, and this time the Japanese army has deployed elite troops and generals. Therefore, the tactical level is still higher than that of the opponent. During the eighth and a half salvo after the war started, the Hyuga first formed a straddle shot and hit the opponent in the tenth round of attack!
The first shell hit the rear of the No. 2 turret of the San István. The 90MM thick main horizontal armor blocked the heavy hit of the 15-inch shell, but the explosion of more than ten kilograms of picric acid explosives exploded inside the battleship. It caused a fire within a certain range, but the impact was not very great. And 2 minutes later, a 15-inch shell fired by the St. Istvan in response to the Hyuga was successfully deflected by the 330MM armor plate tilted at 18 degrees. This time, not even a crack was made... .
When the third shell hit by the St. Stephen was once again bounced off the main armor belt of the side chord, Colonel Seitz issued the first order on gunnery after the war began. "Replace the armor-piercing bullets with semi-armor-piercing bullets. We can't penetrate their armor."
The main gun ammunition types of the Austro-Hungarian fleet are divided into 4 types like the German Navy. Taking the 350MM artillery as the standard, the first type is a normal armor-piercing projectile, which usually contains about 15 kilograms of TNT explosive. Mainly used against battleships. The second type is a grenade, usually loaded with 60 to 80 kilograms of explosives, while the third type is an extended-range artillery shell designed for a longer range. The weight of the projectile is generally around 450KG. Only grenades do not have armor-piercing projectiles. The amount of explosives About 40KG.
This time, the shells Colonel Seitz chose were semi-armor-piercing shells. The armor-piercing ability was between armor-piercing shells and grenades. According to the design goal, it could penetrate the defense of the armored cruiser. At the same time, more charges could improve the aftereffects. This time Colonel Seitz chose this kind of shell. When asked after the war why he chose semi-armor-piercing bullets to attack his opponents, he explained this.
"When the third shell bounced off the opponent's armor,
I suddenly realized that we could not penetrate the opponent at a normal distance. Their main armor belt and turret armor had withstood the test, so under the circumstances, I could only operate on their non-key defense areas and bridge. "To put it in a simpler and clearer way, if the main armor belt cannot be penetrated, then it can only be set on fire... It is a similar routine to the high-explosive bomb suffocation of the year!
In fact, because of the proper choice of ammunition, the St. Stephen actually had some advantages after the start! The first semi-armor-piercing round hit the main horizontal armor behind the No. 3 turret of the Hinata. It was also unable to penetrate. It also ignited the fire, but the ignition with double the amount of charge was awesome. The yellow-brown color produced by the picric acid charge The flames spread rapidly around like flowing liquid. When the Japanese damage control team was caught off guard, the fire area filled with poisonous gas, flames and thick smoke had expanded to the vicinity of the Hyuga's No. 1 motor compartment. Because of the protection of the armor plate, there was no problem with the motor compartment itself, but it burned out several cables that transmit power to the outside! This directly led to a significant reduction in the efficiency of the No. 3 turret. At the same time, because the Japanese damage control team was not equipped with enough asbestos fire-proof clothing, they were helpless when facing a fire.
The second shell hit the bow of the Fuso. Although it was a semi-armor-piercing shell, the 350MM artillery said it could still penetrate the armor belt of less than 6 inches... The shell exploded immediately after penetrating the hull. The violent explosion caused serious deformation of the hull structure directly from the rear! A large piece of armor was pushed directly into the ocean from the inside, while another armor plate was directly blown outwards! It's a bit like the half speed brake of an airplane, with a large piece of armor plate running directly across it. Destroying the front shape of the Hinata's bow.
But after all, such an attack was a last resort. With both sides unable to effectively penetrate the other's defenses, the balance of the war gradually tilted towards the Hyuga. The first real damage to the battleship's combat effectiveness was caused by the Hyuga. A 15-inch armor-piercing round hit the No. 1 turret of the St. Stephen. The collision caused the gun rim of the No. 1 turret to deform, and a broken armor plate directly jammed the rotating mechanism of the turret. The two artillery pieces were temporarily rendered useless.
Fortunately, the St. Stephen responded with a shell 2 minutes later. This shell hit the right side of the Hyuga's No. 4 turret, blowing the thick 15-inch gun barrel into two ends. One of the barrels weighing more than 30 tons hit the No. 5 turret at an angle. With a violent collision and a series of sparks, the optical sighting equipment on the top of the No. 5 turret was directly smashed to pieces. The violent impact also caused some problems with the pitching equipment of a gun in the No. 5 turret.
Although the two sides exchanged two artillery pieces, it was 4 to 5 before and now 3 to 4. The Austro-Hungarian fleet was the loser, but because both sides were still "sane". At the same time, there is a certain gap between the level of gunnery and the "predecessors". Therefore, compared with the United Forces, which was beaten bloody and the combat effectiveness was greatly reduced within 40 minutes, compared with the Fuso, the two battleships are in very good condition. If If the fight continues like this, St. István and Hyuga said that it would not be a big problem to persist for one hour...
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