Central Pacific, December 25, 6:25 pm.
The 24 British battleships originally intended to rescue the "Emperor of India" had changed their course, gave up the rescue, and instead headed straight for the two "Dazhou" class ships and the two "Zhongwang" class ships that had just entered the battlefield.
At this time, Admiral William Bagga, who commanded the British fleet to participate in the battle, had learned from the reports of destroyers and airships scattered around the battlefield that in addition to the two "Da Zhou" and the two "Zhong Wang" ships, there were also other ships on the Ming side. Another 12 old-fashioned "Hero" class and "Hanwu" class ships are arriving. Although the performance of these two battleships is a bit outdated at the moment. But the number of 12 ships is there. If the British army cannot get rid of the two 30,000-ton new battleships and the two 20,000-ton Zhongwang-class battleships before they join the battlefield, then the British... It's almost over.
Li Kezhi and Yu Yang were also surprised by the huge array of 24 British battleships at this time, especially the two leading "William IV" class, which were also 30,000-ton steel behemoths. Each "William IV" The "Shi" class is equipped with 10 14-inch cannons, and the barrels have been raised high. As for the direction of the muzzles, it goes without saying that it must be the "Dazhou" battleship where Li Kezhi and Yu Yang are located.
The seaplanes carried by the "Dazhou" and "Daqin" had already taken off at this time. Such small aircraft were flammable and explosive burdens in artillery battles. It would be better to let them go up early and let the pilots fly from high altitudes. Overlooking this magnificent battlefield.
Thirty or forty steel behemoths have been fighting in two groups on this open sea, and sixty or seventy small warships are loyally guarding them and fighting with all their strength.
The fighting between the two sides has been going on for some time. More and more ships have been damaged and unable to maintain their speed. In addition, the Ming army's cruisers and destroyers, which have the trump card of steam gas torpedoes, have repeatedly launched torpedo attacks, which also disrupted the British ships. The battle line was lost, and the British ships that lost the battle line had to launch desperate attacks again and again, hoping to disrupt the Ming army's array and drag the battle into a "chaotic battle."
The British's goal of "chaos" has been partially achieved. The Ming army's beggars' battleships could no longer maintain their ranks, and the beggars' battleships were forced to engage in a brutal close-range fight with the British Sovereign class. They have too few artillery and thin armor. They are no match for the monarchy level and are about to be completely defeated. However, the "Kongming" class, "Haohan" class, "Zhuangshi" class, and "Guardian" class of the 3rd cruiser group of the Ming Dynasty's Pacific Fleet used the opportunity of the "Junquan" class to strangle the "beggar's version of the battleship" to launch torpedo attacks one after another. Get results. This battlefield is full of warships that are burning and about to capsize and sink... It has become a warship graveyard! The "Shi Huangdi" class ships of the Ming Dynasty still have the upper hand at this time. Although their armor and firepower are not much stronger than the "Indian Emperor" class, their high speed of 27 knots and 28 knots allows them to always occupy half of the T position. ——Although it is not the entire T position, they can still concentrate all their firepower to bombard an "Indian Emperor" class. On the side of the "Emperor of India", although it is clear that its firepower and armor are not weak, it is always in a passive state of being beaten, and it is becoming more and more passive... It seems that it can no longer hold on for too long.
However, the British Empire is not without opportunities, because there is a large gap in speed between the various levels of battleships of the Ming Dynasty. The fastest "Shihuang" class can reach 27 knots and 28 knots, and the "Dazhou" and "Zhongwang" can also It can run at 25 knots, while "Hero" and "Hanwu" can only run at around 20 knots.
Therefore, when the battleships of the Ming army are at full power, there will be a disconnect. The first one to arrive is the "Shi Huang", then the "Great Zhou" and the "Zhong Wang", while the "Hero" and "Han Wu" can only slow down. Come quickly.
On the other hand, on the British side, their battleships can't run very fast, which actually helps them concentrate their forces... thereby gaining an advantage of up to 15 minutes!
"Admiral, we have 15 minutes to defend our world empire!"
Rear Admiral Jervis had estimated the time the Royal Navy would have available to defend the Empire on which the sun never set.
"15 minutes..." After hearing this number, William Baga just smiled bitterly, "From the time Elizabeth I began to unite European allies to challenge the world empire of the Habsburg dynasty, to when our country overwhelmed Spain, It took the Netherlands and France more than 200 years to build the Anglo-Saxon world empire step by step, but now we can only spend 15 minutes to defend it..."
"Yes," Major General Jervis said, "These are 15 minutes that determine the fate of all mankind!"
"Okay then!" William Baga said, "Tell everyone that we have only two targets, which are the two unknown Ming Dynasty 30,000-ton battleships..." He suddenly raised his voice , "Concentrate your firepower and sink them. Victory belongs to the British Empire!"
"Yes, Admiral!"
...
"Two 30,000-ton ships...also!"
"Sink them and you win!"
At the same time, Li Kezhi and Yu Yang were also holding telescopes to look at the "King William IV" and the "Queen Elizabeth" less than 20,000 meters away. The 30,000-ton steel bodies looked particularly intimidating. !
Li Kezhi put down the telescope and took a deep breath, "The 30,000-ton ship at the top of the enemy's queue is the target of concentrated fire! The salvo started at 18,000 meters, focusing all the 360 mm and 300 mm cannons... .Sink it!”
"Yes!" At 30:00, just before the last sunset on December 25 was about to disappear, the "Dazhou", "Daqin", "Wuzhongwang" and "Chengzhongwang" of the Ming Navy 32 360mm and 300mm heavy guns roared at the same time!
Just ten seconds later, more than 200 heavy guns on 24 British battleships also fired their first salvo!
Nearly 300 heavy artillery pieces simultaneously played the most magnificent symphony in the world, and the smoke from the muzzles even obscured the disappearing sunset.
The critical 15 minutes that determine whether the sun never sets on the Empire have begun!
Perhaps the layout of the twin four-turrets is relatively stable, or it may be because the Ming Dynasty's optical measurement equipment is more accurate, and the ballistics calculated by their "abacus soldiers" are also more accurate. Two "Dazhou" class ships and two "Zhongwang" ships The main guns of the class performed to a very high level in this crucial artillery battle. In just the third round, the battleship Wilhelm IV burst into flames.
The first hit on the König Wilhelm IV was the Dazhou-class battleship Daqin. A 360mm armor-piercing projectile fired from its bow turret concentrated on the main armor belt of the rear bridge of the König Wilhelm IV and penetrated it with one hit! The main armor belt of the King William IV class is designed to defend the 14-inch main gun, and the 360 mm is larger than the 14-inch... and the Ming army's latest hooded armor-piercing projectiles have stronger armor-piercing capabilities. , completely incomparable to the British army's 14-inch armor-piercing projectiles. However, the 360mm shell that penetrated the main armor belt of the Wilhelm IV did not cause much damage because its delayed fuze reacted too quickly this time and exploded just after it penetrated the main armor of the Wilhelm IV. , and it did not penetrate the steel plate covering the power cabin of the William IV. It only cracked some pipes and caused some high-pressure steam leakage, but it was not serious.
However, this shell provided an important coordinate. As its impact point was captured by the fire control rangefinders, four battleships of the Ming Navy completed the gun calibration... This meant destruction. start! At 33:00, the 32 heavy guns roared again, allowing the Wilhelm IV to experience the true power of the 300mm and 360mm cannons. Two 300mm cannon shells and three 360mm cannon shells collided past its steel plate.
In an instant, this large battleship named after King William IV suffered the heaviest blow. A 300 mm armor-piercing projectile was mounted on the command tower of King William IV. Although the 16-inch-thick steel armor He withstood the blow, but still knocked everyone in the command tower to the ground and looked like stars! Another 300mm shell hit the relatively thin armor belt near the bow of the ship. It penetrated effortlessly and also opened a small hole in the bow of the Wilhelm IV. , causing hundreds of tons of seawater to pour in.
Compared with the less powerful 300mm armor-piercing bullets, the 700-kilogram hooded 360mm armor-piercing bullets are truly deadly!
One of the three 360mm armor-piercing projectiles tore through the thickest main belt amidships of the König Wilhelm IV-class ship, and then continued to smash through the steel plate outside the boiler room. Finally, the No. 1 boiler of the König Wilhelm IV was There was a big explosion in the room, which not only destroyed all the boilers, but also let seawater surge in. In the end, the damage control had to seal the entire cabin to prevent the incoming seawater from flooding everything.
The remaining two 360mm armor-piercing projectiles hit the stern of the Wilhelm IV and the front of the D turret respectively. The stern armor of the Wilhelm IV was unable to withstand an armor-piercing projectile of this caliber. One shot made a big hole, ignited several cabins, and caused a fire, which caused thick smoke to billow from the butt of the Wilhelm IV.
The D turret of the Wilhelm IV withstood it. The 16-inch-thick armor was not something that a 360mm shell could penetrate! However, the direct hit of the 360mm shell and the huge shock caused by the explosion still stunned the entire artillery squad and temporarily lost consciousness.
Only a few minutes into the battle, the British had already tasted the wrath of the Ming Dynasty!
However, the Empire on which the sun never sets is not a vegetarian. The 24 British battleships on the sea quickly returned the favor, and the battleship "Dazhou" immediately ushered in the real test! At 34:00, a 14-inch shell fired by the Queen Elizabeth suddenly hit the strongest main belt of the "Da Zhou", and immediately exploded into an extremely dazzling fire ball!
