Chapter 2783 Melee Combat 1
And just when little Fletcher's vision had not shifted away, the Baltimore had another big explosion! This time it seemed to have hit the motor compartment behind the No. 3 turret. It also penetrated without any suspense. Then there was an explosion, a fire, and the shutdown of the artillery servo equipment. The Baltimore's No. 3 turret was stuck at a fixed angle. , so, in less than a minute, the most cutting-edge armored cruiser in the United States had been destroyed!
Afterwards, the Gaobo ignored the remaining armored cruiser at all, and aimed its guns at the battleship Mecklenburg at the front! At a distance of less than 10 kilometers, the high dial also left scars on the strongest first-class battleship during the war!
"What's going on!" Feeling the vibrations of the battleship, Redel asked loudly.
"We were hit. The right main armor belt was hit. One of our steel back plates was shattered. The entire armor plate was pushed back half a meter. The broken back plate fragments damaged the right side of the battleship. Boiler water condenser!" an officer reported.
"Repair immediately! Damn it. Where is Sims?" Redel said, looking at the two Japanese battleships in the distance that were gradually starting to exert force.
However, before the words could be said, another 15-inch shell hit the No. 1 turret of the Mecklenburg. Although this hit did not penetrate the 400mm thick turret front of the battleship, the violent explosion and vibration still occurred. The servo equipment of one of the artillery was destroyed. In this 1 vs. 2 close combat, Redel was keenly aware that he would soon be at the bottom. The estimation of the strength of both sides in this battle was still somewhat wrong. The problem is that the two latest American armored cruisers cannot even contain a Fuso, and the result of 2 to 1 is to put the Mecklenburg in danger!
Well, now the question is, while Redel and Fletcher are fighting with the two Fuso-class battleships, what are the other battleships doing? What are Sims doing? What are the other warships in the main force of the Japanese Combined Fleet doing?
At the beginning of the war, the U.S. fleet had a total of 16 main ships with a capacity of over 10,000 tons. Until now, two old-fashioned armored cruisers have been sunk, another old-fashioned armored cruiser was seriously injured, and one of the two new armored cruisers was seriously damaged. Another boat was paddling alongside…. There is no way. Even if it is as close as 10 kilometers, it is unrealistic for Fletcher to achieve high output against Fuso. According to the original script, Redel should use this wave of lightning strikes to kill the Ibuki, and the two ships The armored cruiser killed Hiei...
However, due to some accidental factors, hindered by smoke and barrages, although Redl and Fletcher successfully cut into the formation of the Japanese fleet, they failed to block the two weak ships. But even so, Sims still led 10 American battleships and the remaining Japanese combined fleet to fight together! These include 2 Nagato-class battleships, 4 Fuso-class battleships, Ibuki, Hiei, and two first-generation dreadnoughts Kawachi and Settsu!
To be honest, this cut-in tactic can be considered a success. After Redel's fleet used the smoke to cut in quickly, it temporarily disrupted the deployment and command system of the Japanese fleet. If Japan's eight strongest warships are ready to evacuate, they can leave. , but the last Ibuki, Hiei, Kawachi and Settsu will stay. The Ibuki and Hiei have been severely damaged by Redel, and their speed has dropped. The two dreadnoughts have no speed advantage compared to the American battleships, and even more Not to mention there are a large number of destroyers to contain lightning strikes. Therefore, if the Japanese withdraw 8 warships, they will temporarily become 4 old Japanese warships facing the entire American fleet. Then it will not take long for these four warships to die! The Japanese fleet is considered lost.
But at the critical moment, Yoshimatsu Motaro and Betty still withstood the pressure and did not evacuate! Instead, they used destroyers to delay time while immediately reorganizing their formation. In addition, Redel was holding on to two Fuso-class battleships, allowing the four weak ships behind to quickly join the main fleet to face the advancing Sims fleet.
The Japanese fleet maintained its most basic formation, and the American fleet won the opportunity to fight to the death. In the game just now, neither side could claim a complete victory!
The combat distance between the battleships of both sides was shortened from about 17 kilometers just now to about 12 kilometers! At this distance, the artillery attack accuracy of both sides became extremely accurate, and the armor-piercing ability of armor-piercing projectiles was also enhanced. Therefore, in this 10v10 battle, the two fleets will engage in a bloody close battle.
"Judging from the current situation, it seems that the Japanese fleet is weaker?" Sims said in his heart, he has never been more confident in victory than now!
Sims quickly calculated the strength comparison between the two sides in his mind. Although everyone was 10v10 in terms of numbers, the actual situation was that the four battleships on the opposite side could only be described as soy sauce. The Ibuki and Hiei had already Although the situation of the two first-generation dreadnoughts was better, even if the distance between the two sides was very close, it was still unrealistic to expect 12 guns and unimproved armor-piercing shells to penetrate the 13.5-inch armor of the American battleship! Sims felt like he had a huge advantage, and then Sims came up!
"Immediately send a telegram to the Tosa and Takaha. I request at least one of them to support the main fleet! Send a signal to the Mutsu! Together with it, we will first focus on two new American battleships equipped with 16-inch naval guns! After they are severely damaged, we will be able to stabilize the situation!" In terms of tactics, Shigetaro Yoshimatsu is still quite good. In a situation where 10v10 is not a favorable situation, he quickly grasped the key point of the problem - the biggest threat in the US fleet. They are still two 16-inch battleships. These two battleships can completely pose a fatal threat to any Japanese battleship at this distance, so they must not be allowed to play a role!
As a result, the four most powerful battleships in the two navies launched a fierce battle. At this distance, the two sides launched a bloody and cruel exchange of fire like eggs with hammers on their wheels. Almost at the same time, both the Nagato and the Colorado left a deep scar on each other's body!
A 16-inch shell from the Nagato hit the lower part of the armor of the Colorado's No. 4 turret. At this distance, even the 15-inch-thick armor could not block the 16-inch armor-piercing shell from 11,000 meters away. This shot The 16-inch shell penetrated very reluctantly. At the last moment of penetration, the last bit of armor was blown through by an explosion. However, no matter what, the No. 4 turret of the Colorado was completely disabled, and until now, the U.S.S. There are only 4 main guns available on the navy flagship!
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