Chapter 2575： Open three (1/2)
However, the battleship Arkansas, which has the first-hand advantage and has a very good position, still caused a lot of trouble to this Japan's current strongest battleship. After all, the firepower of 12 12-inch guns cannot be underestimated! In the second round of the salvo, the target was clamped again. Before Shimada issued an order, the Arkansas finally obtained the US Navy’s first certified main gun in the battle tonight in the third round of the salvo. Hit!
A 12-inch shell hit the armor belt on the front of the Hyuga No. 4 turret. Although under normal conditions, the hardened armor with a thickness of more than 380mm is enough to withstand most of the current heavy artillery attacks, however, this time the distance is too close! 6200 yards, but a distance of 6 kilometers! This cannonball slammed into the inclined armor at the front of the turret like a knight’s lance. Accompanied by the sound of metal collision and the explosion of the cannonball, a 10-inch deep crater appeared in the original smooth armor. On the board, the shattered shell accidentally hit one of the 15-inch guns!
The second shell hit the vicinity of the main mast of the Hyuga hull. The vibration from the explosion caused the rotating rangefinder to temporarily jam at a fixed angle. So, judging from the current situation, the Hyuga cannot use the main rangefinder to measure the Arkansas!
”Damn, we were bitten by mosquitoes!” Shimada said furiously. ”Order, all turrets use their own rangefinders to bombard the target!” Just when Shimada gave the order, another shell hit, but unfortunately, the shell that hit the main armor belt was directly attacked because of the angle. Bounced off. The continuous strike at such close range made the Japanese feel uneasy and fearful of their most advanced warships. After all, no one had tried to attack the main armor belt with heavy artillery at a distance of 6 kilometers in the test!
Therefore, under anxiety and fear, Shimada once again issued the order to release the smoke. Then, in this way, in a short period of time, it will be difficult for the battleship Hyuga to effectively counterattack.
”Zuo Xian found the torpedo track!” At this moment, the watchman's alarm made all the Japanese soldiers on the Hyuga feel bright! Only now did they realize that their opponents are also very difficult, and that the US Navy's combo boxing is still quite dangerous.
However, Shimada, who was struck by lightning many times during the exercise, also made the right choice at this moment. He does not even know the specific location of the American destroyer, but judging from the white traces on the sea, it should be shot from the northwest. What comes here is a chase issue, not an encounter issue. Therefore, it is much simpler to deal with such things!
”Leave the fleet, then speed up the voyage to throw them away! Release the flare to the rear, hit the destroyer first, then the battleship!” Shimada made the decision in the first place. A large amount of heavy oil was injected into the boiler again, and the steam pressure in the pipeline rose linearly, and the Hyuga began to accelerate, and then decisively left the queue to avoid the incoming torpedoes and shells. So far, from the battleship Arkansas to the departure of the Hyuga, the entire process took only 5 minutes. However, everyone who has a certain understanding of naval battles knows that this time, Colonel Lacey's offensive has actually failed.
boom! Another 12-inch shell landed on the Hyuga. This shell hit the upper deck, smashing several cabins and the Japanese soldiers in it, and lit a fire. The battleship seemed to vibrate slightly, but it was still accelerating to evade. In the dense water column and explosion, the Hyuga stubbornly avoided the distance, and began to use all firepower to attack the US Navy destroyer that appeared in the light.
At this moment, the only three American destroyers tried their best to stick to it, and then use a deadly dagger to kill the behemoth, just like the dragon that challenges the warriors in Western legends. However, the fairy tale is a fairy tale after all. After the US destroyer squadron with the advantage of the surprise attack was exposed, after the Himu battleship took correct evasive measures, when the Japanese fleet turned around, then the outcome of the US destroyers participating in the attack was certain!
The battleship Yamashiro and the battlecruiser King Kong first reacted. They gave up their previous steering maneuvers, and used dense side string artillery to launch a stormy blow at the American destroyer under the searchlight and flares, in less than 2 In minutes, the first American destroyer was destroyed by dense 6-inch shells, and the second destroyer lasted less than 5 minutes before being shattered by a 14-inch shell! After releasing all the fish, the third destroyer was hit by a 15-inch shell from the Hyuga during the evacuation process. The entire hull was suddenly pushed into the sea and never came up again!