It'll be okay!
It definitely won’t be able to penetrate!
Both Tropp and Davy Jones heard the sound of the shell hitting the ship's plank. Their hearts twitched, but their reason immediately told them that the sturdy Zealand Province could withstand it!
If the Chinese used about 30 pounds of shells to bombard the vital points of the Sealand Province, they would have little confidence, but 18 pounds... there would definitely be no problem, unless God is on the side of the Chinese today - —In naval battles, luck is still very important! If the Chinese are lucky enough, the shells may fly directly into the gun cabin!
However, if the two of them could climb out of the butt of the Zeeland Provincial Council and take a look, they would definitely not be so calm, because there is actually a 15 A heavy bomb!
The cannonballs were pierced in the buttocks. If this battleship could talk, it would be screaming in pain right now!
"boom!"
There was a loud noise, and the entire battleship trembled for a few times. However, it was not the Sealand's butt that exploded, but the first shot from the No. 1 gun bay of the Sealand, and a 40-pound wooden shell exploded. It cut through the air and flew towards Wuhan Fugong, which was more than a thousand yards away.
The speed of the cannonball was not very fast, so that with the naked eye, a small black dot could be caught flying out at an extremely fast speed. Tropp and David Jones quickly followed it with their eyes, and before they saw the cannonball After falling into the water (also knocked crookedly), the battleship under his feet suddenly shook violently, and then roared again!
How is this going?
The two Dutch naval officers were a little dizzy by the sudden vibration and roar. What was going on? Why is it so loud? It wasn't the sound of a cannon being fired. Could it be that the chamber was exploding?
In fact, it wasn’t the chest that exploded, but the butt that exploded!
The fuse of the 15-pound explosive shell nailed to the butt of the Sealand just burned out, igniting the black powder filled inside the shell. Although the power of black powder deflagration is not comparable to that of dynamite explosion, the power of five or six kilograms of well-refined black powder cannot be resisted by an oak board. Under the huge impact force, the oak board with a thickness of more than one foot shattered on the spot and turned into countless small pieces of wood, roaring through the narrow gun cabin. There was no room for the soldiers of the two gun squads in the gun cabin. You can dodge, but you will be beaten to a bloody pulp by these flying wooden blocks, and you will be killed on the spot before you can even scream!
But this was only the beginning of the Zeeland disaster, there would be even more terrifying explosions to follow!
Because when the explosive bomb nailed to the butt of the Sealand just exploded, a 40-pound gun in the No. 7 gun bay had just finished loading and had not had time to fire. Now the fourteen artillerymen in No. 7 gun bay (although there are two guns, only one gun squad is in place, a total of 14 people) have all been killed, and there is no one left to light the cannon. We can only wait for this 40-pound shell to explode in the barrel...
This was a big explosion that could kill half of the Sealand Province! Not long after the starboard 40-pounder guns in the No. 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 gun bays of the Zeeland Province completed firing, a terrible big explosion once again occurred on the stern of the Zeeland Provincial Assembly. happened.
This explosion is not on the same level as the previous explosion. It was a 40-pound explosive bomb! The huge explosion power turned the barrel of the 40-pound gun wrapped outside into a bomb shell, and the whole thing exploded.
Under the shock wave of the explosion, the fragments of the 40-pounder gun violently hit the oak baffles on both sides. The oak baffles could not withstand it and were immediately knocked out of a large hole. The broken wood pieces once again turned into The murderous weapon rolled through the No. 6 gun cabin next door, killing and injuring more than half of the fourteen gunners inside. Although the power of the 40-pound shell explosion was powerful, it did not explode against the oak board after all, so it did not form Due to the energy-gathering effect, the damage to the personnel in the No. 6 gun bay is not as powerful as the 15-pound shell.
However, the damage caused by this 40-pound shell to the hull of the Zeeland was severe. Not only did it completely destroy the No. 6 gun cabin, but it also blew a large hole in the floor of the No. 7 gun cabin and pierced the No. 7 gun cabin. Baffle on the other side. Below the No. 7 gun compartment is the No. 7 ammunition compartment, which is filled with 40-pound explosive shells and powder packets!
Fortunately, the Dutch also learned the "water bottle fire extinguishing method" of the Ming Dynasty Navy. Before the naval battle began, they put explosive bombs and gunpowder bags together with porcelain bottles filled with seawater and plugged with bottlenecks. Therefore, such 40 pounds of explosive bombs The explosion shattered many porcelain bottles, and the flowing seawater wetted the explosive bombs and gunpowder, preventing a catastrophic explosion in time.
On the other side of the No. 7 gun room is the officer's kitchen, where dinner is being prepared, and the stove is lit. When the oak wall was blown through, several of the cooks inside died immediately, and the rest did not cook. He grabbed his head and ran away without putting out the stove. As a result, the fire started in this small officer's kitchen...
The stern deck of the Zeeland was also in chaos at this time. The violent explosions and vibrations coming from under their feet knocked everyone to the ground.
Tropp and David Jones were also a little confused. What was going on? Why did it explode all at once? Was there an accident, or did someone use an 18-pound shell to penetrate the gun cabin? Which shipyard built this ship? You won’t cut corners, right?
Because of the loading of explosive bombs on board, today's bombardment gunboats all have command podiums surrounded by sandbags. The command podium of the Dutch warships was at the stern of the ship, and the command podium of the Ming Dynasty naval warships was at the bow.
Holding on to the sandbags on the command platform, Davy Jones got up first. He looked around and saw that the battleship was still sailing. There were no traces of bullets on the upper deck, but there was thick smoke coming out of the right side of the ship. , if nothing else, a certain gun cabin should have been destroyed!
"Damn it... go and see what's going on?" He yelled at a panicked young officer who had just gotten up, "Go and have a look at the No. 7 gun bay!"
"Yes, Colonel!"
The man rolled away. At this time, David Jones saw that Tropp was being helped up, and he was holding his waist with one hand. He didn't know if he was broken?
"David, what's going on?" Tropp yelled when he saw David Jones - how do you teach students! Look at your students... they used an 18-pounder gun to penetrate such a thick gun compartment!
"I, I..." Davy Jones also looked innocent. He didn't know what was going on? It must be bad luck, right? Maybe it really hit the gun window of No. 7 gun cabin?
At this moment, another roar of explosive shells exploded, but it was not the Sealand Province that exploded, but a 500-ton warship behind the Sealand Province that exploded.
"Another, another ship..." Davy Jones's face turned blue.
Once is luck, twice is inevitable, and you can still hit the window? What a lucky gunner! Why are you still a gunner when you are so lucky?
The Ming Dynasty must have some new ammunition that can specifically hit the thick planks of battleships...
"Major General," Davy Jones's voice was trembling, "I think we underestimated our opponents! They must..."
"Hula! Hula..."
Before David Jones could say anything, the sailors on the deck of the Sealand Council cheered. It turned out that the Dutch fleet had an unexpected turn of events. A 30-pound wooden shell they fired hit the tall poop of the Flying Ship, causing a big explosion inside. The stern of a Western-style battleship usually houses the cabins of officers and sailors, which is not critical. It doesn't matter if you are hit by a few solid bullets or even hot arson bombs, but a 30-pound explosive bullet is very powerful and can kill you instantly. The butt of the Flying Ship was blown to pieces, and something was set on fire. The Flying Soon came up with smoke, and ended up with the Zeeland Council.
"Rear Admiral, we..." Davy Jones looked away and wanted to persuade Tropp to withdraw his troops, but saw the rear admiral waving his hand at him.
"Colonel, it is now three to one, we have an absolute advantage!" Tropp said, "And we must show the ability and determination to withstand losses... Although the Chinese have the financial resources of a huge population, the Dutch But it has the largest number of merchant ships and sailors in the world!”
