Chapter 34 The Second Battle of the Jinqing Strait (5)

The Yinshan ship was carrying out the final tenacious resistance to the sea at 7:33 to support the first shell! Before their arrival, the blocking battle between the Taishan and the Japanese army went on for two full hours, and the Qing fleet suffered extremely tragic losses!

The battle team composed of four ships, among which the Leixun and Wanfeng had already sunk, and there were small lifeboats floating on the sea. The Taishan and Wanri did not care about rescuing the sailors, so the soldiers who fell into the water could only barely row the boat and waited far away - they were too close to friendly forces, and the artillery fire on the enemy ships was even more unbearable. There was no need to mention that pitiful look.

The situation of Taishan and Wanri was also not optimistic. One of the sub-cannon turrets of Wanri and two rapid-fire cannon turrets was destroyed in a salvo at 6:30. At 6:32, the shells fired from Bolai hit the side of the rear bridge. Although the angle when the shells fell was very large and could not penetrate the armor outside the bridge, after hitting the open-air deck, they hit the horizontal armor and eventually destroyed the rapid-fire cannon group on the left side of the rear bridge (eight rapid-fire cannons on both sides), and caused communication between the rear bridge and other departments to be interrupted.

At 6:35, in the eleventh round of volleys, Xiangri and Hewu hit two opponent's shells respectively. The first hit point was at the rapid-fire gun group between the two chimneys. At least six rapid-fire guns were blown up. The second hit the top of the commander's bridge, and penetrated only 184 mm thick armor, and exploded inside the commander's bridge.

Fortunately, Xu Luan, the captain on the ship, was covered by the combat staff and others. Otherwise, this shell would be enough to kill him and dozens of officers and soldiers of the Wanri Command. Even so, the power of the bomb explosion should not be underestimated. The total number of people killed and injured in the cabin was more than fifteen, which also caused the command of the Wanri to temporarily fail.

At 6:37, the gunners of Wanri also achieved results: the two shells fired from the turrets No. 1 and No. 2 hit the turrets No. 3 and No. 5 on the left side of Xiangri almost at the same time. After destroying the turrets of the turret, they penetrated the open-air armor and finally exploded after hitting the horizontal armor. Because the explosion point was too close, the part of the turret of Xiangri was completely torn apart, causing damage to the main armor belt, and the three nearby cabins were flooded by sea water.

Three minutes later, the Hewu did not escape the blow and was hit hard! The shell hit the deputy firepower command center behind the rear bridge. Although there was no explosion, it directly destroyed the last firepower command point of the ship, causing more than a dozen officers and soldiers to suffer casualties. Because the Hewu only had two main guns left at this time, and the fire control communication was interrupted. The loss of the deputy firepower command center did not have a great impact on the ship.

At 6:44, after a round of vacancies, the Taishan finally showed its power. The shells that flew out of the muzzle made a beautiful volley. A 350-caliber shell shot from the No. 3 turret hit the No. 3 turret No. 3, making the last two main guns that could still be used in the ship became mute. It completely eliminated the firepower system on the No. 3, and the latter had no effect and had to withdraw from the battle group in disgrace.

The Qing army repelled the Xiangri and the Huwu. The price paid was that the Leixun and the Wanshen sank under the joint attack of the Nara and Dresden respectively. The soldiers and sailors on the ship were killed and injured, and the rest were busy saving themselves. Fortunately, the Japanese army was busy dealing with the unfinished battle, which did not happen in the Tsushima Strait. The tragedy of the captain of the Akagi Nagasawa Tsunayoshi ordered the shooting of the officers and soldiers falling into the water.

The Nara and Dresden, which had eliminated the enemy, began to turn and aimed at the Taishan, the flagship of the Qing army. However, the gunners on the ship could not aim directly. They could only slightly go to the right when they received the fire control parameters, that is, to deviate a little from the rear of the enemy ship. As for whether they could hit the enemy's turret, it depends entirely on luck. Of course, experienced gunmen officers will calculate the offset of the aiming point based on the combat distance and navigation speed of both sides.

A shell shot from the turret of Nara hit Wanri again, but this time it hit the ground not the commander's bridge, but the Luosu Bridge above the navigation bridge. The shell penetrated the armor on the top of the bridge that was only more than one hundred millimeters thick and exploded after entering the Luosu Bridge.

Xu Luan, the guard guard, had not yet woken up from the explosion just now. Although he was covered by his subordinates, he was still injured by shrapnel. The first mate who was commanding him was in the navigation bridge. After the explosion, more than a dozen officers and soldiers, including the first mate, were killed, and none of them were spared. At this time, the second mate was commanding the damaged team members to repair the damaged hull, mainly to block the cracks on the port side of the warship and prevent excessive sea water from pouring in, thus avoiding the disaster.

The artillery battle was over seven o'clock, and the Wanri and Taishan each suffered at least seven shells. By this time, the two surviving Chinese ships had each suffered nearly thirty shells. Two of the three turrets on the front deck had lost their combat capability. Only one secondary gun and two rapid-fire cannons were left on the port side. Both the front and rear bridges had been destroyed, and there were five more serious scars on the hull.

However, there was no sign of sinking between the Taishan and the Wanri, and there was no explosion in the ammunition depot. Even the sub-art ammunition depot was safe and sound. What made the officers and soldiers on the Nara even more unbelievable was that the speed of the two enemy ships did not decrease at all! Firmly control the road leading to the strait ahead.

At 7:08 and 11:00, the Taishan shot two more guns. The landing points of these two shells were astonishingly accurate. The first shot hit the front armor of the only turret No. 3 that was still firing. After leaving a five-point deep scratch, it flew into the sea.

Three minutes later, almost at the same position, I was not so lucky this time. Fortunately, this was a 250mm shell fired from the Dresden. If it were Nara, the power of this gun alone would be enough to destroy the only remaining firepower of the Qing army.

Even so, the damage to the turret by the shell explosion was very serious. Turret No. 3 immediately turned into a mute, and the gunner inside was shocked and hit the bulkhead, causing his skin to break and blood, and all turned into a rolling gourd.

Fortunately, sailors in the other two turrets quickly filled their posts. After a six-minute pause, the Taishan gun barrel spit out flames again - at this time, there were still sixteen minutes before the arrival of the Yinshan ship led by Enshou Ren.

The fleets confronted by China and Japan are relatively no more than 7,000 meters. This is almost possible to see the distance between the sailors, crew members and gunners on the other ships with telescopes. Their guns can be reached in just a few breaths. The fierce artillery battle is getting more and more intense. The Wanri is better. The Taishan has undertaken most of the bombardment of the enemy ships. It has been preserved to this day, and the damage on the ship is not very serious. At this time, the energy is energized, the frequency of the shells is high, and the landing point is very accurate. Unfortunately, the 250 mm caliber artillery is less powerful and cannot cause too much damage to the enemy ships.

The Taishan was in danger. At 7:29, there was a loud bang. The gun barrel, which had been heat-eroded for a long time, could not withstand the excessive chamber pressure and the high temperature caused by the launching medicine. The third gun position exploded! After a loud bang, more than a thousand tons of turrets carried the body of the Qing army gunner, and the remaining limbs fell into the sea. All the heavy firepower on the ship was exhausted!

Chen Zhaoqiang stomped his feet hard, "It's only an hour! He didn't even have any allowance!"

"Sir, what should I do next?"

"Steer 230, bombard the enemy with the side cannon and the secondary cannon to block the enemy!"

Even the port guns were not many. The Taishan was equipped with 16 150-caliber rapid-fire guns on the left and right sides. However, in the artillery battle that began in the early morning, eleven guns had been destroyed for the enemy. The remaining firepower network composed of several and secondary guns was still considered powerful for a while, but it could not last long.

Shenghaizhou finally felt relieved and "ordered Dresden and Bresden to speed up and rush through the waters defended by the enemy ships!"

The two friendly ships moved when they heard the order. The Dresden ship was small and flexible. Before the Tarzan was able to mobilize the secondary gun gun to attack it, they rushed past it quickly. "Sir, an enemy ship has passed by our blockade!"

"Give the Wanri signal to block it from behind." Chen Zhaoqiang knew that his combat mission had become a dying struggle until now. After giving the order, he added, "I ran away a small one, but I can't let it pass! I aimed the enemy ship with the secondary gun and bombed me with all my strength!"

The Qing warships had become trapped beasts that were still fighting. Sheng Haizhou was relieved and sneered, "Did you think you were desperate at this time? Don't you think it's too late? Rush up! Give him a glorious end!"

The Nara increased its horsepower, and the snow-white waves were stirred up at the tail of the ship. Together with the Bolai, the Xiangri and the Tsurumi, rushed towards the two remaining enemy ships on the sea. Before they could travel five hundred meters, a harsh scream came from behind. The huge shells fell on the sea. The Nara almost hit the huge water column that was almost bouncing!

The landing point of the shell was very accurate. Even the huge hull of the original level of the hut could not withstand this violent impact. The bow of the ship smashed the water column, and the impact force made the bow sink downwards. Then it was lifted up again, as if it was about to break through the air, and lifted up high!

Sheng Haizhou couldn't stand in the bridge, and his body leaned back violently, shouting, "Ah!" He knocked over several people behind him, subconsciously stretched out his hand and grabbed a corner of the navigation table to support his body.

But the vibrations in his body and mind were second. An ominous thought flashed in his mind, "Did the Chinese stand out so quickly?" Looking back, 10,000 meters away, black smoke came out of the chimneys of the three warships, attacking him at the highest speed.

Sheng Haizhou was in tears. Unexpectedly, under the premise of gaining all the advantages, he caught up with the main fleet of the Qing army! A sense of frustration and shame surged in his heart, making him seem to be unable to hear the words of the combat staff. "Your Excellency! Please make a decision as soon as possible!"

...
Chapter completed!