If you want to know what bayonet fighting is at sea, you have to study the emergence and development of the secondary weapon system in the ironclad era.
Battleships fight on the vast sea, with no village in front of them, no store behind them, and no land in sight. At this time, humans naturally hope that the battleship will be an all-rounder, or humans will directly define the battleship as an island.
According to the long-standing rules of the human navy, a battleship is not just a tool made of wood and steel. It is a protective shell for humans to defeat the sea, and a floating land on which humans can survive.
Whether in terms of emotions or practical needs, ocean-going battleships are like an unsinkable island, providing all-round protection for mankind.
Therefore, the navy has a tradition since ancient times. Battleships are the floating territory of a country. This is a tradition that humans have adhered to in modern society.
Think about it carefully, why don’t trains, cars, tanks, and airplanes say that they are floating territories of a country? No matter what mode of transportation you use, you must abide by the laws of that country.
The only exception is the warship. Even if there are no diplomats living on it, the warship will naturally have diplomatic immunity when visiting other countries. Any country will recognize the warship as the territory of the country to which it belongs.
This is the habit left by history to mankind, and the habit eventually turned into culture, and culture turned into established international law.
If the Zhiyuan docks at the Thames Estuary, that area is originally British territory, but on the deck of the Zhiyuan, the British must also abide by Chinese laws. They must recognize that this deck is Chinese territory and their sovereignty is inviolable.
The battleship has been transformed by the human spirit. It is not only a battleship, but also endowed with many emotions of its own people, and even a spiritual totem.
Because humans have the habit of equating battleships with islands and territories, and because early battleships had to undertake many exploration responsibilities, the design of battleships was close to a generalist design.
Artillery can shoot at long range, muskets and crossbows can shoot at short range, daggers, swords, hammers and axes can be used for close combat, and even sailors on battleships can conduct amphibious operations against the coast alone.
Sail Battleship The early thinking of humans in designing battleships was to be able to cope with a variety of melee battles, so they were very rich in weapons and equipment.
When the armored battleships were just born, the designers' ideas were deeply influenced by this idea. At that time, the armored battleships of various countries had not yet formed a large scale, which meant that the idea of battle line combat had not yet appeared.
In the pre-dreadnought era, the Navy required that ironclad battleships must also be versatile, with main guns for long range and secondary guns for short range. The sail bay could carry a large number of marines and conduct amphibious operations when necessary.
In the designer's mind, spending so much money to create a steel behemoth would be a crime if not to squeeze out all its potential.
The same goes for the Zhiyuan. The three 210-caliber main guns are the most commonly used weapons in naval battles. They have the highest accuracy and the greatest power of all human navies within eight kilometers. Most battles are completed with main guns. After all, this The Battle Reach suffered minimal casualties.
But don't forget that the Zhiyuan also has an extremely powerful secondary weapon system.
There are three 6-inch caliber Armstrong breech secondary guns on both sides of the ramp. There are 2 57mm caliber Hachikai rapid-fire guns in the bow and stern, and 4 on the deck. There are 2 37mm caliber Haqikai driver's gun masts, engine room shed, and two seats on each side of the bow and stern. There are two 0.45-inch caliber six-barreled rotary Gatling heavy machine gun masts, and two on each side of the fore and stern.
There are even four 18-inch torpedo tubes on the stern and sides of the Zhiyuan. However, due to Prussia's tight schedule, the four torpedo tubes have been installed, but the allocated ammunition has not been produced.
When the Zhiyuan returned to China, the torpedoes were not sent with the ship, but had to be transported separately after being processed by the Prussian Soldier Factory.
It doesn't matter if there are no torpedoes. Such a powerful secondary weapon system is enough for the Aleut to drink. In the past, Xiang Ying was reluctant to injure the Zhiyuan, so he never ordered close-range shooting. These secondary weapon systems were of no use.
Today's naval battle has reached a point of intense battle for life, so don't consider casualties at this time.
The strong wind pressurized inlet next to the tall chimney suddenly blew up a strong wind. The cold sea breeze rich in oxygen was sucked in and forcefully poured into the burning boiler. The burning coal suddenly erupted with excited whimpering sounds.
The flames suddenly turned from red to faint blue, and the temperature increased sharply. The boiler pressure gauge began to rise rapidly. The propellers submerged in the sea suddenly sped up, and the entire hull of the Zhiyuan shook slightly, and rushed towards the Aliut.
The Zhiyuan drew a small arc on the sea, and soon came within a hundred meters of the Aleut. Here, both the enemy and the enemy could take out their rifles and shoot at each other, not to mention those powerful secondary weapons. .
"The whole ship opened fire to sink the enemy ship." Xiao Letian felt his throat was hoarse. At that time, he felt the deck under his feet suddenly shook, and a dazzling fire flew into the sky in front of him.
Boom boom boom, that's the 210 main gun firing high-explosive ammunition at close range.
There was a sound like a heavy rain. It was the sound of Gatling heavy machine guns and Hotchkiss rapid-fire cannons firing collectively. At this moment, you can no longer hear the single explosion. All the explosions merged together, filling people's hearts. My ears felt like the biggest thunderstorm in summer.
The entire starboard side of the Zhiyuan was suddenly covered in thick smoke. All the sailors fired blindly. They could not see how the enemy ships on the opposite side of the smoke had been beaten.
"Fire, fire, keep shooting!" The fire controllers on the deck kept shouting. They knew that in such a violent explosion, the shooters could not hear their roars at all, but they still had to shout, they were venting their hearts. of blood.
Various types of ammunition were poured down without any restriction. The muscles in the Gatling shooter's face, shoulders, chest, and belly were all shaking, as if all the bones had been shaken apart.
The arm and fingers of the loading hand were numb from the shock, and I guess I couldn't hold the chopsticks steady when I was eating today. They watched the barrel of the gun turn dark red instantly, and a wave of heat hit their faces. Everyone couldn't suppress their emotions, and when they opened their mouths, they didn't know what they were howling.
The Aleut's counterattack was too weak. From the beginning of the exchange of gunfire, only four shells were fired from the opposite side. One shell exploded next to the main gun and killed two Zhiyuan soldiers, while the remaining three shells were concentrated on the Zhiyuan. On the side deck.
The thick steel plate could not be blasted through at all, and except for one unlucky guy whose scalp was scratched by the explosion fragments, there were no casualties.
I don't know how much time passed, but the shooters felt someone whipping them behind them. It was only then that they heard the latest order.
"Stop shooting! Damn, are you deaf? Stop shooting"
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