Chapter 1562: Battle of the Tasman Sea (Second update, please subscribe)
September 13, 4:35 am.
With the HMS Success opening fire first in the T-shaped battle formation, the Battle of the Tasman Sea began.
Although both sides deployed pre-dreadnought battleships in this naval battle, it was actually the first large-scale naval battle between the Imperial Navy and the British and American navies.
After two calibration firings, the six battleships and armored cruisers of the South Pacific Squadron formed the first salvo, targeting the Royal Navy flagship of the Combined Fleet, the Barfleur. At this time, the Barfleur was at the head of the fleet and naturally became the target of the main attack.
"The Imperial Navy's artillery is truly both accurate and fierce."
Colonel Ferris Brooke, standing in the command tower of the Centurion, looked at the water column surrounding the Barfleur and the flames that kept exploding from its side, and couldn't help but praise it in his heart.
"Indeed, sir, we are now at a 2-nautical-mile engagement distance disadvantage."
Just at this moment, a grenade landed on the deck in front of the bridge of the "Centurion" and exploded. The flames of the explosion rose into the air, and steel fragments flew everywhere, even flying into the command tower through the observation window. In an instant, several officers and sailors were hit by shrapnel.
But even so, Colonel Brooke still stared straight ahead motionlessly. Even though a junior officer next to him was hit by shrapnel, he still stood there without changing his expression.
"In the first salvo, at least three shells larger than 10 inches hit the Barfleur..."
Putting down the telescope, Brook couldn't help but admire the Imperial Navy gunners 16 kilometers away. Their artillery fire was really... too accurate!
"It seems that this battle is really not easy."
"The Imperial Navy is more powerful than we thought!"
Standing in the command tower of the "Iowa", Admiral Schroeder frowned. Originally, they had learned that the Imperial Navy's South Pacific Squadron had entered the Tasman Sea, so they attacked to intercept it.
But what is the reason for taking the initiative?
Isn't it still based on strength advantage?
But now, as soon as the battle started, he realized that his opponents were stronger than he had imagined, maybe they were weaker in strength, but their artillery skills were excellent and they were good at long-range artillery combat.
When facing such an opponent, you should always be as cautious as possible.
Staring at the water columns that formed near misses, Schroeder could see that as the bombardment continued, the water columns were getting closer and closer to the "Barfleur". The water columns were an important reference for observing and adjusting shooting. Those water columns stayed in the air for a few seconds, and the Imperial Navy used them to adjust parameters. Slowly, the shells would continue to approach the target like nails falling from the sky, and then...
At this moment, a huge cloud of smoke suddenly rose from the midship of the "Barfleur". Just judging from the smoke column, it was certain that it was a 12-inch shell.
However, even after being hit by several 12-inch shells in succession, the "Barfleur" still stood tenaciously in the gunfire. The Royal Navy sailors on the "Barfleur" fully demonstrated their qualities. They always took advantage of the intervals between shellings to rush onto the deck and use high-pressure water cannons to disperse the flames. These damage control sailors acted very quickly. It only took them a dozen seconds to put out the flames on the deck.
"Chiu..." The sharp whistling sound of artillery shells came from the air, and the sailors of the deck damage control team immediately sought shelter. When the shells flew over, some damage control sailors were blown directly into the sky in the violent explosion, but the violent explosion did not stop them. They always took advantage of the gaps between the bombardment and rushed to the burning deck, rescuing the warship with due diligence.
When the Imperial ship fired the third round of salvos, the British and American fleet was still turning, and the lead ship "Barfleur" was still passively enduring the bombardment.
At this time, the explosions around the "Baffler" were earth-shaking. The port side of the ship was facing the port side of the Imperial fleet's gun muzzle, as if it was constantly being hammered by a huge hammer. The hull was constantly being hit, and the secondary guns on the port turret and the secondary guns on the side were even damaged without firing a single shot.
After the armor-piercing shells penetrated the hull, torn steel fragments and shrapnel from the exploding shells splashed everywhere in the cabin. Large groups of sailors were cut down to the ground like wheat in a wheat field, and the deck and the cabin were instantly filled with rivers of blood.
For the "Barfleur", it was like an abandoned child at this time, silently enduring everything. Only after the fleet turned around and the distance between the two sides was shortened, they would fight back.
In the following time, the "Barfleur" endured an unprecedented group fight. It completed the turn 16 kilometers in advance and seized the opportunity of the Imperial Navy at the beginning. It used fierce long-range artillery fire to seize a temporary advantage.
"Bang..."
Accompanied by a loud bang like a bell, almost everyone on the sea could hear the sound. It was definitely the armor belt hit by an armor-piercing shell of more than ten inches.
A 13-inch soft steel capped armor-piercing projectile accurately hit the armor belt on the left side of the "Barfleur". Like a giant's heavy punch, the armor-piercing projectile not only penetrated the armor belt, but also directly broke the soft steel rivets that fixed the armor belt to the ship's plate. The broken rivets flew in the cabin like bullets, knocking down a group of sailors in the cabin.
However, the most fatal blow was the armor-piercing shell. After penetrating the armor steel, it penetrated the ship's plate and then hit a boiler. At the moment the boiler was penetrated, the shell exploded near the boiler furnace. A dozen kilograms of explosives might not cause fatal damage to the cabin, but the shell exploded near the furnace, not only shattering the furnace, but also shattering the boiler water pipe. In an instant, high-temperature and high-pressure boiling water and steam seemed to cover the entire boiler room. The sailors who were shoveling coal in front of the boiler didn't even react, and were enveloped by flames, high-temperature boiling water and steam in the explosion.
Those sailors who were lucky enough to survive should envy those who died. At least they did not have to endure the pain of being drenched in boiling water. When the splashing boiling water and steam rushed over, their skin was peeled off in the blink of an eye. When they screamed in pain, the high-temperature gas and steam produced by the water in the furnace took their lives...
When flames enveloped the boiler room and seawater poured into the boiler room along the broken sidewall, the captain of the "Barfleur" decisively gave the order to close the watertight compartments. Many sailors who had not had time to escape were directly blocked in the compartment and then swallowed by the seawater.
Naval battles have always been like this. Being ruthless is not only towards the enemy, but also towards yourself!
It was at this time that the British and American combined fleet, having completed its turn, finally opened fire on the South Pacific Squadron...
(End of this chapter)
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