Nomura's face turned pale with shock. The shells from these artillery guns were fired from the starboard side. The ship's plank on the starboard side was like paper, instantly shattering in an explosive manner. The one-foot-diameter ribs were broken, and cannonballs and wooden spikes swept across the entire cannon compartment. The artillery in the gun warehouse was knocked over and made a huge noise.
Nomura heard clearly from the deck. The heavy artillery flew up and knocked down a large number of gunners. The bones and tendons of these people were broken by the flying artillery, and they were smashed into meat patties. However, the kinetic energy of the cannonball was not exhausted, and it actually broke through the ship's wall panel from the port side and flew out again.
It fell far into the sea. It stirred up a plowed ditch of white water.
How many pounds of cannonball is this! This power simply frightened him. This kind of artillery was not designed at all for the ship under his feet. This boat is already the largest boat he has ever seen.
He heard from the older generation who had returned from a voyage to Europe that there were ships seven or eight times larger than this ship in Europe. The displacement can reach three to four thousand tons.
The shock of this shell was not over yet. Then, bang bang bang! There was a dense sound of being shot. Eighteen fifty-pound spherical solid bullets, all hits.
Because the distance between the two ships was less than 200 meters, and although the cruiser did not have stabilizer fins, it did have a fixed bilge keel. The amplitude of roll is greatly reduced. Very helpful for artillery aiming and design.
Therefore, the cruiser's hit rate is extremely high. The heavy metal gun mount and complex spring recoil system also provide good shooting stability.
For warships with side gun windows, the biggest factor affecting the accuracy of the artillery is roll. A ship moves in six degrees of freedom on the sea. It is moving forward, backward, left, right, up and down, and is in motion all the time. Rolling refers to the lateral side to side rolling of the ship.
The feeling in the gun window on the side is that the muzzle is constantly moving up and down. Because the hull is rocking from side to side. In this era, artillery was lit with fuses and match ropes. Only when the gunpowder in the fire door is ignited can it be fired.
At this time, the muzzle of the gun is aimed at the enemy ship. But it takes time for the fuse to burn. When it is burned in, the angle of the hull changes, causing the muzzle to be either higher or lower. When a cannon is fired, it will either hit the sky or hit the sea.
The solution is also simple. For example, for a long time in the West, a stove was placed next to the cannon with a red-hot iron stick inserted in it. When firing, the red-hot iron stick was directly inserted into the fire door. This allows instant firing.
But this is risking one's life. The gun compartment is filled with propellant packs and ammunition. Set up an open fire here, and if you are not careful, you can blow up the battleship into the sky. The enemy's artillery shells came in, destroying the stove, sending charcoal fire flying everywhere, and they had to die.
Therefore, the Japanese Navy has not yet learned such advanced technology, and they are still using lead wires.
Eighteen rounds of fifty-pound shot put all hit. Even Yang Fan, who was watching the battle on the cruise ship, excitedly patted the armrests of his chair. Read the book
As soon as the cannon was fired, Xiao Niangpi shouted excitedly: "There's a fight, there's a fight. Master, hurry up and move us away so we can watch them fight. I haven't seen a naval battle yet."
The little girl is just watching the fun and not afraid of big trouble. All I need is a handful of melon seeds.
At this time, the Royal Clipper staggered forward, just in time to watch the battle between the two sides clearly from the balcony. They watched as the cruiser's dense shells hit the Spanish galleon.
Because the cruiser is 85 meters long, while the Spanish galleon is only more than 40 meters long. The difference between the two sides is doubled. Eighteen heavy guns spanned the entire deck. From start to finish.
Therefore, some cannons shoot straight, and some cannons fire diagonally at the opponent from the front and back. This creates a crossfire. They could clearly see that in just one round of these heavy shot put, the poor Spanish galleon was completely transparent.
The lead ball not only shattered the wall of the gun warehouse, but also made a mess inside the gun warehouse. The hit artillery broke away from the gun carriage, the bronze cannon was bent, the iron cannon was shattered, and the fragments flew everywhere. The flying artillery smashed the gunner's flesh and blood everywhere.
These fifty-pound lead balls, after making a mess, flew out from the other side. This Spanish galleon was like a rag with countless holes in it. Translucent everywhere. You can see what's going on inside at a glance from the outside.
"One more round and the ship will sink. Stop firing solid rounds. Try firing incendiary rounds instead." Yang Fan said. Xu Xiu, who was behind him, immediately walked out and asked the signal soldiers to signal Yang Fan's instructions.
Soon, Dong Tianpeng received the order.
"Stop the bombardment. Battery No. 3, load an incendiary bomb and target the enemy ship." Dong Tianpeng ordered.
Nomura and others saw a volley fired from the opposite ship, almost completely destroying the superstructure above the waterline of their own ship. My legs are still weak. The front and rear bridges, the forecastle, and the gun warehouse are all large holes with a diameter of more than one meter. The walls inside collapsed and the house collapsed, and the damage was beyond recognition.
Countless wounded gunners and sailors who were still alive were writhing in pools of blood and wailing.
This round of volley completely destroyed the gun warehouse. I never saw any artillery crew getting up and continuing to fire. Two of the ship's three masts were broken. These masts penetrate multiple decks and are fixed on the keel.
When the cannonball passed through the gun warehouse and forecastle, it directly broke the mast and foremast.
"Master Fengxing, what should we do now? Should we fight?" A leader stepped forward and asked.
Before Nomura could make a decision, Shirifune on the opposite side opened fire again. Nomura screamed in horror. This volley could completely smash the boat, fill it with water, and sink it.
However, after one gun fired, there was no second salvo. This left them a little confused, and then they understood why they only fired one shot this time.
A cannonball roared and hit the bow of the Spanish galleon.
With a bang, a fireball exploded from the bow of the ship. All remaining buildings on the bow of the ship were blown away. There is almost no hull structure left above the waterline. It was like a big chunk was suddenly smashed off with a sledgehammer.
After the fireball rose, it exploded again, emitting a blazing white light. The high brightness can almost blind one's eyes for a moment. Everyone reflexively lowered their heads and closed their eyes. But my eyelids can't stand the white light either. It feels like everything is white before my eyes.
Then they felt a wave of heat hit them. You can even smell the burnt hair. Then, a shock wave swept through the remaining people on the deck. They were so shocked that they fell off the boat and fell into the cold water. Or be thrown away and fall to the ground.
Nomura hit the wall behind and fell to the ground. Then, the white light disappeared, and with a bang, the bow of the ship, which was tilted upward, burned violently because the forecastle was knocked off.
In the sea, a Spanish galleon was tilted up high, like an invisible hand holding a torch extending upward at an angle of 45 degrees in the water. Burned violently.
