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Chapter 81 Sweet Harbor Storm--Juhua Island Sea Battle 1
Why is it to starboard instead of port? This question obviously makes no sense. Lelin has been in the navy for several months, and she still understands the basic principles of being a soldier: obeying orders and following orders.
"Aim directly at the hull," Xi Yazhou said regretfully, "It's a pity that there are no grenades, otherwise one shot would be enough to sink a ship."
"You can use incendiary bombs." Le Lin suggested.
The so-called incendiary bomb is of course not a gasoline napalm bomb, nor a white phosphorus bomb, or a thermite bomb, but a solid iron ball that is burned red. The effect of this thing is pretty good, but the gunner must be very careful and pay attention to safety when operating it, so neither the artillerymen of the army nor the navy like this kind of ammunition.
"Okay, just use incendiary bombs."
The 12-pound cannon on the ship is one of the four standard artillery that was recently manufactured by the industrial department based on Lin Shenhe's proposal and prepared to be equipped with the army. The imitation prototype is the US Army's 1857-type 12-pound cannon, also known as Napoleon cannon. Although this gun is a smoothbore gun, driven by a 113kg standard firing charge, it can accurately project a standard 12-pound shell at a shooting angle of 5 degrees to a distance of 1480 degrees, and when the shooting angle is 10 degrees, it can reach An astonishing 1911 meters. Although it was a smoothbore cannon, its shooting accuracy was at a relatively high level at the time, enough to engage the enemy at a distance of 1,000 meters, and it only took a few rounds to incapacitate an entire company of enemies. It was an artillery piece commonly used by both sides during the Civil War.
The only disadvantage of this gun is that it is relatively heavy, almost half a ton. But there is no problem if it is installed on the deck of a ship and used to bombard targets at sea.
In order to facilitate shooting at sea, these four artillery batteries are fixed on a simple turntable, and the recoil recoil principle is used to reset the artillery.
The nearest enemy ship on the starboard side was less than one nautical mile away. With the power of the Type 1857, the enemy was already within shooting range, but Xi Yazhou still did not give the order to fire.
Xi Yazhou's idea was to hit the target with one hit: the whale had to hold on for at least 20 minutes before it could wait for reinforcements from detachment A arriving from ten nautical miles away. Therefore, it is best to hit a large number of enemies with the first shot, otherwise it will be a hard battle.
The accuracy of the Type 1857 is naturally good on the shore, but when hitting a target 1,000 meters away on a bumpy sea, only God knows whether it can hit it. Although Xi Yazhou is not a naval enthusiast, he at least knows that in naval artillery battles in the sailing era, the distance must be within 100 meters to ensure that most shots can effectively hit. The British even emphasized firing again within 50 meters.
Even if the 1857 is more powerful and accurate than those old smoothbore cannons, in order to ensure accuracy, it is still necessary to compress the shooting distance to within 400 meters.
Ten minutes passed. Everyone is waiting. The gunners stared at the iron balls in the heating furnace. To ensure safety, the heating furnace was surrounded by a thick protective layer of sand. If necessary, the furnace could be covered immediately with sandbags. The sailors behind the wall of sandbags stared out from the firing holes. The pirate's ship is getting closer.
Xi Yazhou put on the 80 steel helmet brought to him by the messenger, but refused the stab-proof vest. Standing on the deck wearing this thing would make him hot to death. He remained silent and carefully watched the enemy's movements with his binoculars. As he estimated, the three ships on the starboard side were faster than the four ships on the left.
Finally, the boat closest to them was within 400 meters away.
"Attention deck and gun emplacement" he shouted.
There was a slight sound on the ship, and then it fell silent again.
"Start shooting," Xi Yazhou ordered, "Target at 3 o'clock."
The order was immediately conveyed to the deck. The straw mats covering the gun positions were quickly lifted, and the straw bags that hindered shooting were also thrown into the sea. The dark cast iron bodies of the four artillery guns were instantly exposed on the deck.
The "distance two chain" rangefinder quickly reported the straight-line distance to the target.
The gunners made no move. It turned out that these were army gunners, and they were accustomed to using meters as units of length. Lelin quickly corrected: "The target is 360 meters away at 3 o'clock."
"Target 360 meters, 1 incendiary bomb loaded"
The gunners quickly filled the gunpowder bag in the barrel with a moist soft mud cake, which was pounded into shape with straw and clay. Then the gunner used iron pliers to carefully pick up a red-hot iron ball from the furnace. The two gunners used an iron lifting frame to work together to load the hot iron ball into the muzzle.
It can be seen that this thing is dangerous enough. If the mud cake that isolates the gunpowder does not play its role well, the artillery will fire by itself. At least the gunner who is busy in front of the muzzle will not survive.
"Fire" Le Lin shouted.
The four cannons opened fire one by one from No. 1 to No. 4 in a tacit understanding, and the deck was suddenly covered with a layer of light smoke.
"Damn it," Xi Yazhou cursed. The smoke from the artillery fire was so annoying. When will nitrocellulose propellant be available?
After the smoke from the artillery fire blew over the ship, Xi Yazhou saw the effect of the attack on the enemy ship just now: the leading single-masted ship above the waterline was shot, black smoke was already rising, and the people on the deck were He desperately fetched water in an attempt to extinguish the flames.
Although the effect was good, it did not "instantly kill" the opponent, which made Xi Yazhou a little disappointed.
At this time, white smoke rose from the three ships coming from the front, and the rumbling sound of cannons was heard. But these hastily fired shells fell into the sea a long way from the whale. Xi Yazhou knew that the enemy's artillery was not very powerful and would be difficult to be effective unless it penetrated 50 meters, so he could confidently and boldly pack up the ship on the starboard side first.
In the next shot, the incendiary bomb pierced the sail and flew into the sea. The enemy's sail burned and soon turned into a torch. Another shot flew across the rear deck, and the entire rear stern was The sail tent collapsed in a chaotic mess, and no one among the dozen or so people gathered there was spared. They were all beaten to pieces, and their skin was charred and their flesh was charred.
"Good fight," Xi Yazhou was extremely excited when he saw this, "continue to fire incendiary bombs."
But the incendiary bomb was gone. It would take a long time to use a stove to heat a big cold iron ball. Le Lin has ordered to use solid bullets instead.
The distance between the two sides has approached nearly 200 meters. The 12-pounder cannons are almost 100% accurate at this distance. The first sloop on the starboard side is almost completely paralyzed. A raging fire is burning on the stern, and the deck is full of people. Broken corpses.
The deck of the Great Whale was shrouded in smoke from artillery fire. A gust of wind blew. When the smoke dispersed, Lelin almost screamed. One of the four ships on the port side had already approached less than fifty meters. On the deck, the shirtless pirates, armed with double-headed spears, waist knives and bamboo pole spears with murderous intent, stared with red eyes, just waiting for the moment the two ships came close to each other to jump over and fight.
Following the command of the marine platoon leader, the marines behind the sandbags opened fire. With the sound of gunfire, the pirates gathered on the deck fell down in a row and fell into the water as if they had been swept by a sickle.
At this time, the four cannons aimed at the enemy ship on the starboard side also fired a beautiful volley. Four out of four shots were fired, and the 12-pound iron ball tore a large hole in the waterline of a brig - it began to sink. , the pirates above jumped into the sea one after another, and boarded a brig behind.
The sailors on the deck cheered. "One was sunk and one was hit and set on fire." Le Lin reported.
"Okay," Xi Yazhou replied, "keep shooting and change to shotgun shells."
The salvo fired by the sailors just now inspired him. Since the distance is less than 200 meters, shooting with shotguns on a ship with no protection and a large number of people gathered on the deck will definitely achieve good results, even if it cannot sink the opponent. , at least it can kill a large number of enemies and weaken the enemy's hand-to-hand combat effectiveness.
12-pound shotgun blasts began to sweep across the deck of the pirate ship. Each shot of the cannon will eject 68 iron projectiles, "washing" the deck of the pirate ship like a heavy rain. Almost no one could survive such a bombardment. The last ship on the starboard side gathered a large number of pirates who were ready to join the gang. After a salvo, there were no more active people on the entire deck.
The threat on the starboard side was basically eliminated, but the three ships of the Gu family approaching from the front also arrived in front of the Great Whale. They swooped down on the ship, and the twelve bow-mounted cannons opened fire simultaneously, making it impossible to evade.
Unfortunately, the big whale was hit. The stones and iron bullets hit the sandbags, making a dull "pop" sound, and green smoke rose from the wet straw bag. Then another shot hit the foremast, the sails fell down in chaos, and a roar immediately sounded from the enemy's ship.
The artillery battle between the two sides continued for ten minutes. The enemy ships and the whale were invisible in the white smoke of the burning gunpowder, and it was not until the smoke receded that the mutual losses between the two sides could be known. The first casualties had already appeared on the whale: an iron bullet penetrated a sandbag wall, and three sailors and a gunner behind it were hit and died on the spot.
"Pay attention to protection," Xi Yazhou shouted. Suddenly his head shook and he felt a little dizzy. A stone bounced off the helmet.
The pirate ship began to attack the big whale with various weapons. The cannons fired with crackling sounds, and there were gunfire crackles everywhere. Stone bullets, iron bullets, lead bullets, feather arrows, javelins and torches were thrown onto the Great Whale. Bullets rained down on the deck. Although protected by high sandbag bunkers, there were still more casualties. Xi Yazhou was almost hit several times. For a moment, his calf trembled, and he desperately wanted to get behind the bunker. However, Xi Yazhou, who firmly believed that he was protected by the protagonist's aura and possessed by the aura of the king, commanded Ruo Ruo He stood tall on the poop and gave orders calmly, as if he was directing the firing of a salute during a review.
"Why hasn't Detachment A arrived yet?" Xi Yazhou seemed calm, but in fact he felt guilty. If detachment A doesn't come, I'm afraid we will have to engage in hand-to-hand combat.
More casualties began to appear on the ship, and the dead and injured were immediately sent to the lower deck, where the wounded received emergency treatment. Sailors poured sand onto the blood-stained decks to prevent people running back and forth from slipping.
"fire"
"Double Shot"
"Mizzen mast fire, damage control team"
"Hygienist, someone is injured."
The shouts of the sailors on the deck, accompanied by the sound of guns and the howls of the enemy, made Lelin feel dangerous and exciting. He was covered in cold sweat, but his whole body was immersed in an indescribable and huge pleasure, which was almost light. He was about to fly. He held a pistol in one hand and a naval officer's sword in the other. He danced and shouted in Cantonese. No one could understand what he was saying. Fortunately, there was no need for this now. The usual training has had full effect, and everyone knows what they should do.
The guns on the big whale were fired, and the smoke was filled, like a fire-breathing dragon, moving slowly on the sea.
Suddenly, Xi Yazhou discovered that the enemy's ships began to turn around. Detachment A must have arrived. He quickly picked up his binoculars. Sure enough, in the gap between the smoke and the smoke, two fishing boats were approaching at full speed in the distance. White waves were rolling, and the navy flag was flying. fluttering.
"Finally here" he muttered.
The addition of two fishing boats immediately ended the battle. Although Gu Dachun was originally surprised by the firepower on the Big Whale, he knew that he had many people and ships. As long as he surrounded them and fought hand-to-hand, he could still capture the Big Whale, not to mention that his own three ships had not suffered much damage. But the arrival of these two clippers without sails and oars made him immediately understand who his opponent was.
The opponent is the Australian who has defeated Liu Xiang and Zhu Cailao's troops. No wonder he has such strong firepower. Thinking of this, Gu Dachun almost burst into tears. Compared with Mr. Zhu from Leizhou, Gu Dachun, who has been working in this area all year round. I know a lot about the rumors about the Australians, and I have heard a lot about their strange things, especially the big iron ships and iron clippers.
"Quick, hang up the flag and leave," Gu Dachun's face turned pale and he ordered.
There is no need to worry about the direction of escape. In the past few years, every time when a robbery at sea has not gone smoothly, or when I have encountered an encirclement and suppression by the army, or an enemy is chasing me, I just run towards Juhua Island. As long as I cross the Maojiao Pass, I will be safe. What's more, this time it was an iron clipper that was much faster than them. If they escaped in a straight line, they would definitely die. Only by running into the formation at Juhua Island could they possibly escape.
The Gu family's three boats were the first to turn their bows and, driven by sails and oars, fled towards Juhua Island. Then, the remaining boats also turned around and fled.
On the sea, two powerless floating ships and one ship with flames rising into the sky were left. The people on these ships had basically been killed and injured, and the sails, masts and rudders were all destroyed. Even if there were some living people, they could not be used. They moved. The sea breeze carried the wails and curses of the pirates who had been abandoned on the broken ship. ,.
