Add Bookmark | Recommend this book | Back to the book page | My bookshelf | Mobile Reading

Free Web Novel,Novel online - All in oicq.net -> Historic -> Hero of 1911

Text Chapter 885 Ning Hai gets angry

Previous page        Return to Catalog        Next page

    At 2 pm on June 10th, Nanweitan.

    The light cruiser Kuma headed west, and together with the two Fubuki-class destroyers, formed an outpost formation.  Twenty nautical miles behind them, a formation composed of three battleships, the Kawachi, the Settsu, and the Izumo, advanced slowly along the channel opened by them at a speed of 18 knots.  On the flagship battleship Hanoi, the lookouts searched the surroundings with wide eyes, and the six turrets rotated from time to time, proving that the fleet was undergoing a pre-war armament test.

    Historically, the Hanoi exploded due to the Shimose gunpowder accident in 1918. However, in this time and space, it was on combat readiness due to the outbreak of the Yellow Sea conflict at that time, thus avoiding this low-level accident.  After the southward strategy, two Hanoi-class battleships and a large number of old warships were rearmed by Japan. In the face of severe shortage of military expenditures, the Japanese Navy also modified the Hanoi and replaced all the main guns with 50 times the caliber.  Allowing it to fire a true salvo and have eight main guns when firing to one side.  However, there are many problems with this modification. Although the caliber of the artillery is only increased from 45 times to 50 times, the recoil during salvo fire is fully doubled. In order to reduce the structural deficiencies caused by the recoil, the two old ships  The ship was affixed with thousands of tons of reinforced armor, so after changing the power again, the speed was only 20 knots, and its seaworthiness was extremely poor.

    Kawachi and Settsu are very old, and the Izumo next to them is an old-fashioned armored cruiser from the Russo-Japanese War. So despite the fact that the Third Fleet claims to have three battleships, Inoue Narumi's eyelids were twitching after the voyage.  .  This was a very bad omen. He was very superstitious and believed that the so-called Indian Ocean advance fleet was nearby.  Just think of the three aircraft carriers and two Anhai-class battleships in the opponent's fleet, you can imagine how much pressure he is under.  Therefore, what he could rely on was not the battleship, nor the only heavy cruiser Kinugasa that looked good, but the decisive weapon equipped on the ten destroyers following behind, the Type 93 acid torpedo.  Fortunately, after a series of maneuvers, the fleet was now less than 300 nautical miles away from the mouth of the Mekong River.  You can arrive by noon tomorrow at the latest.  Moreover, the Chinese and Indian advance fleet has not appeared so far, so he believes that he has left behind his opponent.

    "Sugiyama-kun, when will the Army plane arrive?" Inoue Narumi wiped the corner of her eyes, picked up the telescope and looked at the sky where there was nothing.  The Battle of the Andaman proved that a fleet without aircraft protection was dangerous.

    Sugiyama Rokuzo is the chief of staff of the Third Fleet. He took the voyage plan from the vice-officer and glanced at the navigation clock above his head: "The next batch should arrive in thirty minutes."

    "Let them hurry up, we will give them Zero War, not as a toy!" Inoue Narumi waved her hands angrily. The army pilots did not understand what escort was at all.  It stands to reason.  The fighters should be divided into at least five batches, and each handover should not leave any gaps above the fleet.  But the Army stubbornly had to wait for the escort aircraft to return to the airport before sending the next batch. This resulted in a 40-minute gap over the fleet every three hours.  And as the distance gets farther and farther, the gap period becomes more tiring and longer.

    "They can't fly zero combat at all. I think General Nagano made a wrong decision." Sugiyama Rokuzo was equally dissatisfied.  Because of the pressure from the Chinese Air Force, the Zero fighter was the only cooperation between land and sea in decades.  However, the navy was very dissatisfied with this cooperation and believed that the army could not use such advanced aircraft at all, so they always talked about it.

    "Then what can we do? There is a big gap between the technological strength of the empire and Europe and the United States. The Chinese aircraft technology has received help from Germany, France and the United Kingdom. The Zero War is the only aircraft we can defeat them." Narumi Inoue handed over the telescope  To the vice-minister, he crossed his arms and sighed.  He is the most determined officer in the Japanese Navy who opposes the Sino-Japanese war, and his attitude is even more determined than Yamamoto Isoroku.  The anti-war iron triangle of him, Yamamoto and Mitsumasa Yoneuchi has always insisted that it should only attack Britain and avoid conflicts with China and the United States.  Still think.  If a decisive battle between Japan and Britain and the United States is inevitable, they should firmly surrender to China and fight with China against Europe and the United States in the name of the yellow race and Asian countries.  Thus completely liberating the entire east of Suez and the southwest Pacific.  However, he and all the Japanese officers had a wrong understanding. They believed that the snake turned like a hurricane, the double-headed dragon looked like p38, the five-headed dragon looked like ju88, and the five-headed aircraft looked like dc3. They unilaterally believed that the rise of China's aviation technology was due to the support of Europe and the United States.  The differences in internal structure and performance are ignored.  Of course, this is also related to Japan's delay in obtaining information on the Chinese Air Force's front-line fighters.

    Hearing the sigh, Sugiyama Rokuzo frowned and asked, "Inoue-senpai, are you worried?"

    ?? Sugiyama Rokuzo graduated from the 38th class of the navy, and Inoue Narumi graduated from the 37th class, so this senior representative means that this is a private conversation.  Inoue Narumi nodded: "We have lost the smartest friend in the army. After General Nagata was martyred, no one in the army knows how terrible China's military power is. This is a bad thing. General Yamamoto and I have been avoiding getting our navy involved.  The Third China War, but now we need to reinforce those mindless horse shit! They have kidnapped us."

    "But senior, IWe don't have many choices.  Annam, Laos and Khmer were of great significance to the Empire!  If the Chinese occupy this place, Siam and Malaya will be threatened as long as some aircraft are deployed along the coast, and there is no way to block the South China Sea waterway if necessary.  "

    "You are right, but why should we occupy it? General Yamamoto said very clearly that China's ultimate interests are on the mainland, and the empire's interests are on the sea. Even without the Philippines and French East Indies, the previously occupied areas can allow the empire to continue  Strong. In this case, why should we offend the United States and the Chinese people? We are Asian countries like the Chinese people, and we have the same big goal. If we follow General Nagata¡¯s suggestion, we can co-administer Malacca with China and share oil and  If the minerals are obtained, the Chinese can concentrate on fighting in India, Central Asia, West Asia and the Persian Gulf. The empire can gain at least three to five years of stability, and can also provoke conflicts of interest between the United States and China in the Pacific. By that time, the empire will no longer  It will be attacked from both sides as it is now, and it can even gain support from both countries at the same time.¡±

    "You are right, the Indian advance fleet in China should be going to support the French. What should we do if we encounter them?"

    "As soldiers, we must obey orders, but Sugiyama-kun, do you think we can defeat the China Advance Fleet? Admiral Yamamoto is fighting in the Indian Ocean, and the four Kongo battleships and four aircraft carriers of the Second Fleet need to defend the United States in Rabaul  , Nagato and Mutsu have to guard against the China Beiyang Fleet. The Yamato will not be delivered until early next year." Inoue Narumi squinted her eyes and looked at the hot sun above her head: "They chose the best time, and this time is still  The army gave it to the Chinese people."

    Sugiyama Rokuzo nodded. The Third Fleet was originally a coastal defense fleet and it was impossible to confront the 22nd Fleet, which had two Ankai-class battleships, three aircraft carriers and two heavy cruisers.  Just as he was asking what to do next, nervous shouts suddenly sounded outside the cabin.

    "It's a China reconnaissance plane! Ten o'clock position!"

    Sugiyama Rokuzo was the first to rush to the window. After picking up the telescope, he saw two "Blue Swans" sailing in formation appearing in the sky.  "Sir Inoue, this should be the China water reconnaissance aircraft of Huangshan Majiao." After judging the target type, Sugiyama Rokuzo immediately turned his head.

    "They must be nearby! Prepare for air defense. Release reconnaissance planes. Scout in two directions to the northwest. Contact the army. Fighters must arrive within twenty minutes!" Although Inoue Narumi is unwilling to start a war, she does not want the fleet to be attacked.  To a sneak attack.  But what he was most worried about happened. Just as the fleet was preparing for air defense, four J-5 "Lightnings" rushed over from the north.

    "Prepare the anti-aircraft guns! Don't fire first!" After Sugiyama Rokuzo shouted, he handed the binoculars to Inoue Narumi: "This is the new fighter jet of the Chinese."

    Although the Hai J-5 "Lightning" entered service earlier than the Air Force version of the "Thunder", the Japanese Navy first discovered it in the Yellow Sea in early March this year, so it has no knowledge of the performance and data of this fighter. It only knows that this fighter is prohibited from deployment.  At island and coastal airports.  It can only be seen on aircraft carriers.  This shows that the 22nd Fleet that Inoue Narumi is most worried about is somewhere nearby.

    Sure enough, a few minutes later, the Kuma sent a telegram that they were blocked by two Ankai-class battleships and six destroyers.

    The situation suddenly became tense.  With more and more thunder and lightning in the sky, Inoue Narumi and the Third Fleet, who lacked air protection, fell into crisis.  "Your Excellency, there is no ship attack (dive) or ship attack (torpedo plane), and there are no bombs." After the aviation deputy officer discovered the abnormality.  reminded loudly.

    Did you hear that there were no dives or torpedo planes?  Lightning didn't hang a bomb either?  Inoue Narumi frowned, subconsciously thought of something, and ordered: "Let the Kuma continue to move forward."

    "Nani?! Your Excellency, there are two China battleships in front of them!" Sugiyama Rokuzo and the officers were frightened when they heard this.  The Kuma is only a light cruiser. If it continues to advance into the range of the two Ankai-class ships, it may not be able to last even five minutes.

    But Narumi Inoue did not hesitate, picked up the telescope and walked to the window with a firm tone: "Keep moving forward! The fleet maintains speed and course!" The officers looked at each other and could only bite the bullet and order the Kuma formation to continue moving forward.

    The news that the Kuma formation and the main force of the Third Fleet were not slowing down was immediately sent to the Liaoning 60 nautical miles away by a reconnaissance plane.  "What the hell is Inoue Narumi doing? Does he really think we can defeat us with three broken ships?" After landing in the Persian Gulf, Pan Duheng, who had been transferred to the captain of the Liaoning and served as fleet aviation deputy officer, squinted at the deck and looked at the torpedoes.  planes and dive bombers, and said: "Just let me kill him!"

    "Killing him is a declaration of war." Zhu Binhou waved his hand. The Navy wanted to fight, but the General Staff did not want to, so he had to look at Deng Haoqian who was holding the phone and waiting for orders, and nodded: "Don't you just want to know about An Hai in my hand?"Which two ships?  Tell him!  Order Zhenhai and Ninghai to fire warning shots.  "

    Pan Duheng understood at once: Commander, you mean, Inoue Narumi doesn¡¯t want to fight?  I just want to know which two Anhai ships are on the opposite side?  "

    "Narimi Inoue is not a fool. He wants to find out which two Anhais we have in our hands." After Deng Haogan gave the order, he put down the phone and walked over with a smile: "Experienced lookouts can use the sound of the shells and the falling water column to  The model of the shell can be identified, so he wants to know which two ships we have. If it is Dinghai and Ninghai, it means that our main force is still in Zhanjiang, and the Qingye in the Gulf of Siam will not be in too much danger."

    "This guy is so cunning!"

    "Haha, this is experience." Amid Deng Haoqian's laughter, Anhai and Zhenhai, who were transferred from the First Fleet, fired a volley at the same time.  "It's a 305mm naval gun! It's not a battleship from the China Nanyang Fleet, it's from the Beiyang Fleet." As expected, after the shell hit the water, the Kuma's lookout and fire control officer immediately identified the type of shell and sent the message  To the flagship behind.

    "Nani? Isn't it 330 millimeters? Did you see it clearly?" Sugiyama Rokuzo jumped up.

    As we all know, the four Anhai-class battleships and cruisers of the Chinese Navy, like the King Kong-class, have been upgraded to fast battleships after major modifications.  Dinghai and Ninghai of the Second Fleet were replaced with stronger 330mm/L55 naval guns during the refit, so they stayed in the dock for a full two and a half years.  The full load displacement increased from 35,000 tons to 38,000 tons, and the speed was 30 knots.  However, Anhai and Zhenhai, which are affiliated to the Beiyang Fleet, did not change their guns for some reasons. They only changed their armor, modified the bow and underwater lines, and changed the anti-aircraft firepower to eight twin 120mm high-level dual-purpose naval guns, sixteen  It has a twin 40mm anti-aircraft gun, twenty-four single-barreled 25mm machine guns, and a full load tonnage of 36,000 tons, turning it into an aircraft carrier guard with a speed of more than 33 knots.

    This means that the two Anhais of the Second Fleet have probably gone south to the Gulf of Siam!

    "Your Excellency, Aoba." Sugiyama Rokuzo was sweating profusely, and Inoue Narumi also felt like she was being poured ice water from head to toe.  A chill instantly spread throughout his body.  There were only two ways in front of him and the Third Fleet, either to rush past the two Anhai-class ships and three aircraft carriers, or to turn around immediately before the opponent attacked.  But whether it is Anhai Zhenhai or Dinghai Ninghai, it is impossible for the Third Fleet to win.  This is not a matter of muzzle thickness, it is simply an era difference!  Even with the powerful 93 element acid torpedo, the opponent still has many destroyers and light cruisers, not to mention three aircraft carriers and two heavy cruisers.

    The most damning thing is that the army plane has not come yet.

    "Retreat! Send a telegram to Colonel Suzuki. Ask him to retreat immediately!" Inoue Narumi closed her eyes in pain, and the thing she had been worried about came again!  The navy was finally kidnapped and involved in the third Sino-Japanese War!  The only thing we can hope for now is that the Dinghai and Ninghai have not yet reached the Gulf of Siam.  Or the Aoba and Nagara can use their speed to escape pursuit.

    On the Ninghai, Xu Zengtang, the commander of the 21st battleship formation who went to Germany to study with Bingwen and fought in the rough waves of the Arctic Ocean, never thought of letting go of the Qingye from the beginning!  It has a 330mm naval gun that is as powerful as a 381-meter naval gun.  The displacement is more than three times larger than that of the opponent, not to mention the light cruiser Oujiang (Xiangjiang class) and 3 Taishan class (domestic Utopia class) to help out. If an old heavy cruiser is allowed to slip away under the eyes.  He didn't have the nerve to go back.

    "The Oujiang is dealing with Nagara, and the destroyer protects it from letting the Japanese rush in."

    "Full speed, maintain steam pressure, keep the turret rotating, and fire quickly after five minutes!"

    "Captain, the French ship Bige sent a signal asking for our purpose."

    Purpose?  Xu Zengtang, who was commanding the attack on the Qingye and was sweating profusely, almost fell into the sea when he heard the navigation captain's words.  Purpose?  What other purpose could I have?  He stomped his feet angrily: "Tell the French guys that my purpose is to save them! Tell them to stop releasing smoke! Damn it, I can't aim!"

    "Stop releasing smoke, stop, stop quickly!"

    ¡°God, we are saved!¡±

    ¡°Well done, let the Japanese have a taste of their awesomeness!¡±

    After the Ninghai's mast light signaled, there were thunderous cheers on board the La Motte Biget and the Admiral Charles. Hundreds of French sailors who had narrowly escaped death whistled, shouted, waved their military caps, and vented their energy.  anger.  Only Bolangier and the officers helped with a cold smile?  Come and grab the French East Indies!  But now they have nothing to do. At least the Ninghai has saved themselves, and the Admiral Charles has begun to tilt. The La Motte Bige has been hit and flooded everywhere. Let alone fighting, if there is no rescue, I am afraid that it will not be launched again.  It's hard to go back.

    So they simply don¡¯t want to think about what will happen next. The country will surrender. Whether they can keep the colony depends on other people¡¯s faces.

    ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?When ordered to stop releasing smoke and move closer to the Admiral Charles to rescue people, Sosaku Suzuki, who had been enjoying himself just now, was already livid and muttered: "Baga! Baga!"  ! I want to kill the intelligence officer! Why do the Chinese appear here? Didn¡¯t they go to the Indian advance fleet?!"

    "Release the smoke, retreat, retreat!"

    Facing a battleship, Suzuki Zong knew that he had no chance.  Moreover, he couldn't even call for aircraft support now, because Japan's nearest bombers, Wu Chunli and Bangkok, were too far away to fly over in at least an hour.  Therefore, regardless of the Siamese navy that was lagging behind and knowing nothing, he immediately ordered to release smoke and turn around to the Nanyou Islands, trying to use the smoke and the islands to cover the high-speed escape.  But Sosaku Suzuki forgot that the Chinese Navy has been equipped with a large number of radars, so the Ninghai is not afraid of smoke.  However, Xu Zengtang was not without trouble. The Qingye's speed was 33 knots.  The Nagara is as high as 36 knots, and even the three Japanese Minekaze-class destroyers have 37 knots.  His Ninghai can only reach 30 knots after modification, and Oujiang can only reach 33 knots, and he still needs to face the threat of Japanese aircraft at any time.  Of course, he also has a trump card!  That's three Taishan-class destroyers.

    "Captain, the Qingye has turned." On the Ninghai, the radar and lookout captured the movements of the Qingye at the same time. When they told the news to Xu Zengtang, who had a goatee, he immediately patted the navigator: "  Want to use the island to block my shells? Okay! I'll play with you. Full left rudder! Stop firing! Order, the destroyer detachment goes directly north to block the front. After seizing the position, immediately launch torpedoes to force him to turn. Order Ou  The Jiang is approaching the Nagara. Don't be reluctant to fight after driving it away. Move to their starboard side and continue the pursuit." At this point, he smiled slightly: "Let's see how you turn!"

    Soon, the order was transferred to the three Taishan-class destroyers via radio.  As the highlight of Sino-French naval cooperation after the economic crisis in 1929, Yang Qiu, who did not understand the navy, was interested in Utopia-level speed.  Slightly different from the French prototype, in addition to using the same hull and power, the Taishan class is equipped with the navy's own three 120mm twin semi-automatic high-level and flat dual-purpose cannons, two in the front and one in the back, and four twin 40mm anti-aircraft guns.  A quadruple 550mm torpedo launcher was also installed, the standard displacement was increased to 2750 tons, the average speed was 37 knots, and the limit was 42 knots.  The most powerful thing is.  Although the French power unit consumed fuel, it allowed the destroyer to maintain a speed of 42 knots for a full 3 hours!

    It can be imagined that after receiving the order, the three Taishan-class power cabins were overloaded and accelerated to 42 knots to quickly catch up.  The Japanese sailors' eyes widened.

    "Haga!" Suzuki Sosaku was in trouble. The three Taishan-class ships that were constantly accelerating made his plan to send destroyers to intercept them fall through before being implemented. This made the Aoba likely to be attacked by a torpedo.  So he immediately ordered the Nagara to speed up.  Prepare to block the destroyer formation with light cruisers.  But at this time, the Oujiang also began to accelerate. The firing conditions of the light cruiser, which relied on speed, were not so stringent, so at a distance of 20,000 meters, twelve 155mm naval guns aimed at the Nagara and fired fiercely.

    As the third type of light cruiser, the Xiangjiang class absorbs the experience of the first two classes, with a standard tonnage enlarged to 10,350 tons and a full load of 13,500 tons.  It uses four triple 155mm/L55 naval guns with a maximum range of 28,000 meters, and is equipped with optical fire control for all guns.  Although it cannot be compared with the 203mm naval gun, the artillery speed is fast, and the amount of shells thrown in the same unit time is much higher than the Nagara's seven 140mm naval guns. What's more, the Oujiang also has six twin 120mm high and flat guns.  Using semi-automatic naval guns (one at the front and rear, two at the left and right) to boost the ship, the Nagara was soon forced to turn and give up the pursuit.

    After forcing the Nagara away, the Oujiang did not continue the pursuit. Instead, it turned northeast, cut into the starboard side of the Aoba and rushed up.  "Fooled! They want to get close to Suzuki Colonel!" After the Nagara found out that it had been deceived, it immediately sent a telegram to Suzuki Sosaku.

    But at this time, Suzuki Sosaku could not avoid the Oujiang that was rushing towards him at high speed.  At 3:50, three Taishan-class destroyers rushed in front of the Aoba, turned 18,000 meters away, and fired 12 torpedoes.  "Torpedo! Avoid!" Twelve obvious white tracks scared the lookout of the Aoba to shout repeatedly. After learning about it, Suzuki Sosaku had to painfully choose to turn.  In fact, even if the Aoba does not turn, it will be difficult for twelve torpedoes to hit the Aoba at this distance, because the main 550mm heavy torpedoes of the Chinese Navy do not have that wide a range.  Yang Qiu followed the German and Italian route. In recent years, his main focus has been on developing a new generation of electric torpedoes and sound-homing torpedoes. Therefore, the 550mm torpedo has a range of only 5,000 meters at 47 knots and a maximum range of only 12,000 meters.

    But people all have blind spots in their thinking. Since it was equipped with the decisive weapon 93 oxygen torpedoes, the Japanese Navy has always felt that the torpedo technology on the other side of the sea should also be very powerful.  In particular, the Chinese and Japanese navies have not fought against each other for more than 20 years, and neither side can figure out the other's trump card.  Therefore, after Sosaku Suzuki ordered the turn, not only did the battleship's speed drop to 25 knots, but its course also changed to east, with the ship's bow pointing towards the coast of Vietnam.  At this time, the situation became a three-ship battle.?On the port side, Oujiang is on the starboard side, followed by the pursuing Ninghai.  His Nagara followed behind and had to face the Ninghai's 330mm main gun. As for the three Minekaze-class destroyers, they were blocked by the Taishan-class.

    In order to escape, he immediately chose to break through from the weakest destroyer.  Therefore, wait until you are sure to avoid torpedoes and then turn the rudder eastward.  However, the two turns and speed changes took more than twenty minutes. Taking advantage of this opportunity, the Oujiang took the lead in catching him at 4 o'clock in the afternoon.

    After a roaring engagement, the Oujiang opened fire from 20,000 meters away without hesitation. Twelve 155mm naval guns poured out shells at a rate of 72 shells per minute.  Hundreds of water column forests forced the Aoba to slow down to fight (battleships and heavy cruisers need to slow down to gain accuracy when bombarding, while light cruisers and destroyers do not rely on accuracy).

    Seeing that the Aoba was slowing down to meet the challenge, the Nagara following behind was eager to protect the heavy patrol, and actively deflected and used the high speed of 36 knots to insert between the two ships.  But just as it left its position, Xu Zengtang stamped his foot.  Officers who are familiar with him know that this is the signal for a decisive battle!  "Left full rudder! Guns and artillery, recalculate and prepare to fire the various cannons!" When the sailors grabbed the nearest fixed object, the steel behemoth of more than 30,000 tons drew a huge line on the sea at a high speed of 28 knots.  In the arc of the ship, with the grinding sound of steel making people's teeth squeak, the hull tilted greatly, and countless debris fell onto the deck.  After a few minutes of sharp turn, the bow of the Ninghai was parallel to the Qingye, and the position was behind the opponent's side!  This means.  The Ninghai, which could only use six main guns to pursue pursuit just now, can now use all nine main guns.

    "Baga, you've been fooled! Tell Lieutenant Colonel Junan to turn around, turn around quickly!" The Nagara appeared on the starboard side at the same time.  Sosaku Suzuki realized he had made a big mistake!  Because the Nagara penetrated forward, the port side of the Aoba was suddenly exposed.  But it was too late. After a few minutes of deceleration, the main engine of the Ninghai was running at full speed again, and took the opportunity of harassment by destroyers and cruisers.  Quickly reduce the distance to 22,000 meters.  At this distance, the 330mm main gun can penetrate the 343mm homogeneous steel plate, which even the Beijing-class would not dare to try easily.  The power is even higher than the 381mm main gun used by the Hood!

    "Wang Kun, if you miss again, I will throw you into the sea! Fire!"

    When Xu Zengtang turned and roared at the gunner, the nine main guns fired at the same time, and the huge recoil directly pushed the battleship several meters away.  While the strong wind from the muzzle was raging on the deck, the gunners had quickly inserted the second shell.  After just three salvos, the new generation optical fire control developed from the Lombo system captured the impact point, and then the ballistic computer calculated the new trajectory based on the Aoba's speed, wind direction and other data.  After the new ballistic data was sent to each gun position and the fourth salvo was fired, the expressions of the Japanese naval officers and soldiers on the Aoba changed drastically!  At least three shells passed over the Qingba and exploded on the right side, forming a straddle shot!  This shows that the Ninghai has already targeted itself, and the rest is up to luck.  "Accelerate and hide in Dama Island." Under the command of Suzuki Sosaku, the Aoba spewed out billowing black smoke, rushed left and right, and resisted. Seeing that the warship was about to avoid the shadow area of ??Dama Island, but a 330 mm  The armor-piercing projectile accurately hit the stern of his ship.

    The 572-kilogram armor-piercing projectile effortlessly penetrated Aoba's less than 100 mm main armor belt. After a heart-stopping clang, the shell penetrated deep into the main shaft compartment at the bottom of the stern before exploding.  boom!  The nearly 10,000-ton heavy cruiser seemed to have been hit hard on the stern by something. It suddenly sank and then quickly lifted up.  A violent explosion extended from the bottom cabin to the deck. The dozens of tons of copper propeller on the left side could not withstand such a large impact, and it reluctantly separated from the main shaft after turning a few times.  The loss of a propeller spelled the death of the Aoba.

    The speed of the Aoba, whose stern was flooded, suddenly dropped to less than 15 knots.  Although it struggled to avoid the shadow area of ??the island, it was only a matter of time before it was sunk.  At the same time, the Oujiang also abandoned the Aoba after completing its harassment mission, and fought against the Nagara.  As an old ship that was commissioned in 1922, the Nagara cannot be compared with the new model that was commissioned in 1938. Its seven 140mm main guns were overwhelmed by twelve 155mm main guns.  The raging shells continued to explode on the deck, and the Japanese sailors without armor protection were blown to pieces!  Seeing that the battleship was in danger, the captain of the Nagara decided to use a secret weapon and launch a lightning attack.

    93 oxygen torpedo!

    Eight 610mm spears covered the Oujiang in a fan-shaped manner within thirty seconds.  Needless to say, the power of the 93 oxygen torpedo. Just the figure of 42 energy saving and maintaining 25,000 meters is enough to despise all torpedoes in the world.  However, we had already received intelligence that Japan had developed an ultra-long-range and high-speed torpedo. The Oujiang had been preparing for the opponent's lightning strike tactics. Therefore, when it saw the torpedo launch tube in the middle of the Nagara's hull turning, it immediately broke away at a high speed of 33 knots.  .

    No matter how fast the oxygen torpedo is, it cannot appear 18,000 meters away instantly, so the Oujiang quickly broke away from the torpedo fan.  The failure of the lightning strike tactic also meant that the Nagara had no last resort.  When the Oujiang opened fire again, the shells quickly hit the blind man.A lifeboat spread out.  Although the Japanese sailors struggled to cut the cables, a fire broke out amidships.  The flame shell entered the hull downward from the blasted gap, causing the boiler pressure tube to burst and causing the warship's speed to instantly drop to 23 knots.  The light cruiser without speed was the target. Upon seeing this, the Oujiang immediately took the initiative to close to 13,000 meters. In the five-minute concentrated fire, although it took 7 shells, 42 armor-piercing shells hit the Nagara.

    At 4:20, Captain Hase Shunichi of the Nagara ordered to abandon the ship.  After opening the sea valve, the ship sank in the deep sea 20 kilometers east of Tuzhu Island with 37 officers and 171 sailors who failed to evacuate in time.  After the Nagara sank, the Oujiang, which was eating shells and emitting black smoke, did not stop the pursuit and immediately turned around to cooperate with the Ninghai in attacking the Aoba.  The three undamaged Taishan-class destroyers continued to pursue the three Japanese Minekaze-class destroyers, and finally sank two of them an hour later. Although the other one escaped, it ran aground in Kampong Son due to excessive injuries.  Sunk.

    "Look at how you run, fire!" At the same time, the Ninghai also circled the east side of Dama Island and discovered Sosaku Suzuki who was stumbling north trying to reach Phu Quoc Island and ran aground.  Facing nine 330mm naval guns and the Ninghai, which is covered in thick armor.  Sosaku Suzuki knew he was finished, because his 203mm main gun could not cause damage to the battleship even within 10,000 meters.

    At this time, Suzuki Sosaku's last hope finally came.  Eight Army Type 97 heavy explosives came to support with 500 kilograms of bombs, but before they dropped the bombs, they were discovered by the Oujiang radar and came under powerful anti-aircraft firepower.  Three were quickly shot down, and the remaining four hurriedly dropped bombs and hurriedly tried to escape northward, but were quickly shot down by 12 Lightnings coming from outside Da Nang.

    It¡¯s five o¡¯clock sharp.  The deadliest shell was fired from the No. 2 turret of the Ninghai. After the 572-kg capped armor-piercing shell penetrated the main armor belt, it penetrated into the torpedo storage warehouse amidships and exploded here.  Although the torpedo here has not yet been oxygenated, the 550-kilogram charge of the torpedo head is more powerful than a 406-mm high-explosive bomb after being detonated.  The violent explosion tore a 16-meter-long hole on the port side of the Aoba, and at least 3,000 tons of seawater poured into the hull within a few minutes.  The design style of the Japanese Navy's small tonnage and high firepower has resulted in a serious lack of hull structure and redundancy. Even 1,000 tons of seawater is enough to be fatal, let alone 3,000 tons.  So in less than five minutes, the Aoba began to tilt. Sosaku Suzuki tried his best to save the battleship. Finally, the Aoba sank in shallow water less than 10 nautical miles south of Phu Quoc Island half an hour later.

    After sinking the Qingye, Xu Zengtang aimed his guns at the Siamese Navy, which was already scared out of its wits. The first one to suffer was the Ayutthaya Ayutthaya.  This shallow-water heavy gunship, ordered from Japan, has a displacement of 2,263 tons and is equipped with two twin 203mm/l50 naval guns. It adheres to the design ideas of Japanese small ship cannons. It is incredibly powerful but only has a speed of 15 knots, so it escaped for three hours.  Just arrived at Phu Quoc Island.  When the captain was about to escape to the shore, he was overtaken by the Ninghai and sent into the seabed with two salvos at a distance of 10,000 meters.

    The Thonburi ship of the same type that followed was so frightened that it quickly raised its white flag. Not wanting to waste cannonballs, Xu Zengtang sent a dozen sailors to completely capture the shallow-water heavy gunboat.  Then, according to Thonburi's instructions, he continued to move forward to Long Island outside Kampong Som Bay, where he met two Ratnakosin City-class shallow-water heavy artillery ships and the destroyer Palo that supported the army.  Similarly, the three Siamese warships, which only fired three rounds from their naval guns and showed no dignity at all, simply raised the white flag.

    While the three shallow-water heavy artillery ships escaped, the two destroyers of the Siamese Navy, the Samut Songkhram and the Tagin River, were not spared. After being quickly overtaken by the Oujiang, they were washed from head to tail with 155mm shells.  Once again, it sank with a crisp explosion.  As for the remaining torpedo boats and gunboats, Xu Zengtang was not interested, so after the other party hoisted the white flag, he asked three destroyers to escort the long prisoner formation to join the main force, while he protected the cruiser La Motte Bigay back to Cam Ranh Bay (  The Admiral Charles was abandoned and scuttled). After all, the Siamese Navy still had four submarines that did not show up. It was very dangerous for the battleships to operate in the enemy's offshore waters at night.

    After joining Bolangier, Xu Zengtang sent a report to Bingwen, notifying the end of the naval battle at Ca Mau Point.  At the expense of the Oujiang's damage, the Ninghai formation sank the Aoba and Nagara. It also sank five Japanese-Siamese ships and captured nine. It basically destroyed the Siamese Navy and successfully rescued Bolangier.  More than 600 French soldiers opened the passage for the landing formation to go south in one fell swoop.

    The naval battle at Cape Ca Mau was a typical asymmetrical sneak attack, so neither the Chinese nor Japanese navies believed that it was a reflection of the strength of the two navies.  And to the disappointment of the Navy, Inoue Narumi did not act impulsively in the end. After identifying the two Anhai-class ships of the 22nd Fleet, he immediately retreated to Bandar Seri Begawan under the protection of Army fighter jets, allowing the Navy to use this opportunity to start a war and eliminate the Third Fleet in one fell swoop.  Hope is dashed (To be continued)
Didn't finish reading? Add this book to your favoritesI'm a member and bookmarked this chapterCopy the address of this book and recommend it to your friends for pointsChapter error? Click here to report