However, as time went by, the bombardment of the Tennessee and the California gradually became more accurate, and several hits were achieved. However, the firepower of the 14-inch 45l main gun was still weaker.

The North-class battleship was not a big threat. Although the Tennessee-class battleship was hit more by bullets, its defense was stronger after all. So the two sides fought several times.

It can almost be said to be a tie, neither one can hurt the other. The Oklahoma and New York behind them showed signs of decline in the battle with the Vittorio and San Martin, although they were also American Iron Turtles.

It is a popular product, but there is still a certain gap between the defense performance of these two earlier super-dreadnoughts and cutting-edge battleships such as the New Mexico. The most important one is the insufficient length of the main armor belt.

The protective length of a battleship's main armor belt should be able to cover the most important compartments, such as the ammunition compartment and power compartment. However, in addition, there are some secondary compartments. Although they may not be fatal, it is still troublesome if they are broken, such as

Motor compartment (2) The main armor belt height and protection strength of the Venetian-class battleship are good, but

The difference in length is a bit). The armored belts of these two super-dreadnoughts are a bit shorter. The motor compartment in the front of the bow of the Oklahoma was hit by a 350mm shell, directly losing one-third of its power.

.Although the motor room of the other ship, the New York, was not removed, the No. 2 turret was stuck, resulting in a sudden reduction in firepower.

It stands to reason that the New York-class battleship has five twin turrets and is short of two main guns. This should not be a big problem. In theory, this is true, but in fact, the New York has a relatively big problem, that is, the No. 3 turret in the middle is close to the power compartment.

So the temperature is too high, causing the middle

The main gun's deviation is too large. (The author once saw a photo of the New York's target shooting. Two of the 10 splashes were far away from the other 8.) So 10 guns can shoot 8 guns.

Firepower, after losing two more artillery pieces, there will only be 6.

Although the accident is unfavorable, it will still take a long time for the two Calacciono-class battleships to destroy the two American battleships they are trying to capture. At present, it is just a pressing attack. Although the American battleships are at a disadvantage, in a short time

Nothing serious will happen. The real problem lies in the last two battleships. The French Brestany is attacking the only remaining Italian dreadnought in a relaxed and happy manner.

Count of Cavour! If the battle between the Caracciono-class battleship and the Americans can be described as a slight advantage, and the two Austro-Hungarian battleships were almost tied with each other, then Brestany beat the Cavour

The Count has an absolute advantage. The French's training level is not low, and the hardware gap between the two sides is really too big. This Italian Navy's first dreadnought is already obsolete!

The Brestany scored the first hit from the Allied battleship. A 14-inch shell fired from the slender barrel hit the Count of Cavour amidships like a sharp spear.

, this shell continued to concentrate downward on the main horizontal armor after shattering the upper deck. Although due to the close distance and angle problem, this horizontal shell failed to penetrate, but due to the violent loading

The vibration caused by the armor still caused the deformation of the armor plate and the cracking of the back plate. Countless fragments flew down from the ceiling of the power cabin, ricocheted back and forth between the boiler and various equipment, and several steam and power lines were cut off. At a few degrees Celsius

Baidu's high-temperature and high-pressure steam shot out from the pipes and swept across the entire cabin with countless debris. Just this one shell caused the Count of Cavour to lose at least 40% of its power!

And this was just an appetizer. In the subsequent three salvoes, two more shells hit. One of the shells turned the No. 3 turret of the Count of Cavour into a burning iron box. The other shell

An explosion occurred on the upper part of the horizontal armor at the stern, and the violent vibrations directly caused one of the propellers to stall. This further reduced the speed of the Count of Cavour. In just half an hour, the demise of the Count of Cavour was doomed.

.He began to slowly fall behind

During this period, the two Austro-Hungarian Empire's Prinz Eugen-class battleships also tried to assist the friendly ship, but failed. The Italian torpedo boats even braved the firepower of the opponent's armored cruiser in an attempt to release torpedoes and smoke

However, the 6-inch and 5-inch artillery shells that hit like a downpour drove these fast but fragile guys far away. One torpedo boat was even missed by a 10-inch artillery shell because it could not dodge.

hit.

The impact generated by the explosion of the high-explosive bomb wrapped in countless shrapnel and high-pressure bubbles violently impacted the hull of the torpedo boat. Amidst the heart-wrenching sounds of squeezing and tearing, the torpedo boat, which was only a few hundred tons in size, was destroyed.

The violent impact tore him in two, and with this

The speedboat that could not dodge was eventually destroyed. The Italians' rescue of the Count of Cavour finally came to an end! The Brestany vented all its long-simmering anger on this Italian Navy's first fearless ship.

On the ship, there were continuous explosions.

There was a sound, the mast was broken, the chimney was already dilapidated, and 4 of the 5 turrets were sadly damaged. The speed had dropped to less than 10 knots, and the rest of the work could be left to the torpedo boats. However, the French finally vented their anger.

People think that it should be done by hanging Dharma

The French tricolor torpedo boat sent the battleship to the bottom of the sea. Without Magifen's consent, the French torpedo boat was sent out, and then fired as many as 100 shots at the battleship that had tilted 14 degrees.

More than 20 torpedoes......

However, McGiffin had no time to pursue this trivial matter at this time. Now the five American battleships under his command had been fighting each other for more than forty minutes. The Tennessee and California relied on their thick skin and thick flesh to fight against each other.

There are two more artillery pieces than the opponent.

The door and the two Calagiono-class ships were fighting equally. A shell from the Veneto successfully jammed the No. 2 turret of the California. However, a 14-inch shell from the Tennessee jammed the Calagiono's turret.

Turret No. 3 was destroyed. This shell destroyed a barrel.

At the same time, a violent explosion destroyed the hydraulic equipment of another gun barrel. Of course, more shells still hit the superstructure of the hull, and balls of flames burst out from the bridge from time to time. It was majestic.

Lingling's superstructure was damaged by flames and explosions

It is riddled with holes, but as well-made products of the two countries, there is still no problem with the core cabins of these two-class battleships. Although the front and rear are also shot, relying on good compartments and a drainage system with sufficient horsepower, the battleships are not flooded.

Still within controllable range.

However, the New York and Oklahoma behind were unable to hold on under the attack of the Vittorio and San Martin. The two battleships were originally at a disadvantage in terms of firepower and their gunnery skills were not very good.

After a long battle, it was completely suppressed by the other side. The New York suffered the worst, with half of its ten 14-inch naval guns destroyed in less than an hour of battle.

At that time, a secondary battery mount was penetrated, and dozens of shells and a large amount of propellant stored in the dressing room were detonated. The violent impact instantly tore the entire turret into pieces, and flames and shrapnel exploded in the gun under the action of the shock wave.

They ran rampant in the gallery deck. In the successive explosions, fireballs rose into the sky from the hull from time to time. The fire on the entire battleship almost got out of control.

The Oklahoma is in a better situation, but is still suppressed by the fierce attack. So far, she can still use 6 main guns to counterattack the opponent. Although the Brestany successfully destroyed the Cavour battleship

, but the belligerent Allied powers on the entire battle line did not gain the upper hand.

After Brestani made up for it, Magiffin agreed to the request of the captain of the New York to let the scarred battleship temporarily escape the limelight. "Why don't the British guys come? What happened?" looked at Chichi.

There was no fast battleship formation to keep up with, and Ma Jifen felt a little uneasy in his heart.

So what are the three fast battleships doing now? Well, the results are a bit surprising. The British and Italians are competing for the command of the fleet. Although the British only have one battleship, after some coordination, the British

The people still got the command of the fast fleet. This is of course the British

The result of the coordination between the Chinese and Americans, as a reward for Thomas' cooperation with Magiffin. Although the Dutch, who owned two fast battleships, were dissatisfied, they had no choice. If nothing unexpected happened, the British should command the fast fleet to come to support at this time.

, but unfortunately, something unexpected happened.

Just as the fast fleet cleaned up the Allied torpedo boats that launched the assault, and was about to go to support Magiffin, several twin-engine attack aircraft flying from the southern land brought some trouble to the fleet, and they directly targeted it.

The largest battleship in the entire fleet. These aerial bookshelves flew over in spite of the not-intensive anti-air fire, and then dropped round objects one after another! These 200kg bombs were originally used for ground attacks.

Directly used as a guest anti-ship

Okay, although the attack accuracy of these aircraft can be described as pathetic, one of the aircraft was so lucky that it dropped a bomb directly on the superstructure of the Malaya! With a bomb of nearly 100kg of explosives

Under the influence of

A huge fireball rose from the bridge of the Malaya, and the scattered shrapnel and shock waves happened to affect the fleet commander and captain who were commanding on the bridge! One of them was directly beaten to a sieve, while the other also suffered from bleeding.

Too much and shock!

Then the question arises. It stands to reason that if the fleet commander is injured and cannot command the entire fleet, then the captain of the flagship should take command on his behalf. But now if neither the commander nor the captain can fulfill their responsibilities, then who should be responsible?

Silent Jack, the commander of the Dutch fleet, believed that his officer was the highest-ranking officer in the entire fleet, so he should naturally be handed over.

The British thought that the deputy captain could still command, so they were unwilling to hand over the command. If it was a simple dispute of temper, it would not matter. The key point was that the two sides had a dispute about the next move. The Dutch believed that the deputy captain could still command.

Interception could be implemented to achieve greater results, but the British conservatively chose to follow up and cooperate with the main fleet in combat.
Chapter completed!