Maelstrom area, Kara galaxy, Moon of Destruction battlefield
"Phil 2, the torpedo tubes are ready."
"The gun deck of Phil No. 1 is burning! Emergency damage control is being implemented. It is estimated that it will take 20 minutes to extinguish the fire!"
Through the burning wreckage of the Endurance-class Mercury Sage, Chinedu used observation equipment to watch an enemy ship nearly forty kilometers away. At this time, it was already in flames under the siege of Starhawk bombers. Then he calmed down.
issue instructions.
"Adjust course to 220, port side is horizontal seven degrees!"
Two minutes later, the starboard observation post shouted:
"One cruiser, two predators, starboard nine degrees, course 110, distance 30 kilometers!"
These three battleships were maneuvering along the opposite route to the Crossbow, trying to get close to the 19th escort formation. They had previously fired torpedoes, but they failed to hit due to distance and battlefield interference, so they chose to bombard them.
This is a place near the edge of the Moon of Destruction battlefield. Under the command of the Supreme Master Azrael, the empire's fleet has turned into an M shape and is transforming into a V shape. The 19th escort formation is in
The outermost part on the right side of the entire large formation, and their mission is to protect the Mercury-class battlecruiser Hydra.
The birth of the Mercury class is closely related to the Gothic War. When the Imperial Navy was fighting against the invasion of the fleet of the great predator Abaddon, Baka's Mechanic-Priest and the Storm Battle Fleet were facing a dilemma, that is, in allocating troops to support Hazy
In the case of the star field battle fleet, the problem of pirates will become more acute. Since the cruisers in the fleet at that time are relatively slow, the pirates will take the tactical initiative.
So under the instructions of Admiral Knightbridge, the Mechanicus Magi of Baka began to design a new battlecruiser that could not only adapt to the tactics and strategy of the Grand Fleet, but also deal with smaller pirates and pirates.
The threat of raiding ships, through direct integration of existing technology, allowed the Adeptus Mechanicus to come up with a solution in less than two standard centuries, and it is generally believed that this is the fastest new Imperial model in thousands of years.
Battleship.
This model combines the basic layout of a cruiser with the engineering suite usually found on battleships, giving it a faster propulsion system to keep up with fast raiding ships, as well as broadside turrets and lance turrets on the spine.
As well as the bow nova cannon, the Mercury class has enough firepower to quickly destroy small ships without escort ships.
However, these powerful performances still come at a price. The Mercury class increases speed and firepower at the expense of survivability. Although it has firepower close to that of a battleship, its shields and armor are barely comparable to those of a Moon-class cruiser, or even
Even slightly weaker.
Therefore, the Mercury is a warship that very much needs the protection of an escort formation to be effective, and its speed is also the key to action. Azrael deployed it on the edge of the two extended arms in the hope that it can completely defeat the Red Pirate Fleet.
When caught in the imperial formation, quickly outflank the enemy from the side, cut off the enemy's retreat, and turn the inverted V shape into an inverted triangle.
But the commander of the Red Pirates was not stupid. Even during the maneuver, the Mercury had destroyed two cruisers and four small battleships. It was impossible to ignore such a huge threat.
Since the 21st escort squadron had lost three battleships, especially the formation command ship Endurance-class Mercury Sage, which was hit and sunk by an enemy torpedo, the entire formation basically lost its combat effectiveness, which doubled the pressure on the 19th escort squadron.
Even so, they could not let the enemy warships get close to the Hydra, because even the firepower of the cruiser was enough to pose a threat to the Hydra.
"The main gun gives priority to attacking the enemy cruiser, and recovers the second bomber squadron for rapid preparation."
Chinedu said calmly, this order was immediately conveyed to the light spear turret on the spine of the ship, and then his second order was:
"Phil 2, Phil 3, launch torpedoes."
Immediately, a string of long-range torpedoes rushed towards the enemy's fast-moving small formation at extremely fast speeds.
The Crossbow then opened fire. When the opponent's cruiser avoided the torpedo, the beam impacted the void shield, but did not penetrate. Then a red beam from a distance instantly overloaded the opponent's void shield and hit the cruiser's
The bow of the ship hit the higher bridge, and instantly the entire upper deck burned violently.
The Long Snake will naturally not be idle, and it is precisely because of this powerful bombardment ability that the Red Pirates regard it as a thorn in its side.
Then the Crossbow began to continuously attack the red pirate cruiser that lost its shield. In less than five minutes, the light cruiser lost its combat effectiveness, leaving only the burning wreckage floating in the void.
"Warning! Three cruisers approaching!"
"Full left rudder, heading 180! The second bomber squadron takes off!"
After experiencing continuous operations, the Crossbow now only had 21 Starhawk bombers left, and Chinedu immediately integrated all bomber squadrons into the second formation.
"Phil 4, launch torpedoes."
When the enemy's cruiser formation tried to approach the Hydra for bombardment, the Hydra also began to perform evasive maneuvers at high speed. However, it had to go to the predetermined position on time, so it could not maneuver too far. It could only engage in gunfire with the Red Corsair cruiser while moving.
.
boom--
Suddenly, the bridge of the Crossbow shook violently, and Chinedu quickly grabbed the handrail beside him.
"Area A of the void shield was penetrated!"
"Flight Deck One was shot!"
"There is a fire in the take-off area! The damage control team is urgently putting out the fire!"
The Defiant-class Crossbow is actually not suitable for participating in such fierce frontline conflicts, but its mission dictates that it cannot retreat and can only block the enemy with a thin front line.
The enemy's three cruisers turned around, two of them took a channel parallel to the 19th escort squadron, and used naval guns to fire at the Scimitar frigate in the front of the formation, while the other one tried to approach the Hydra and fired.
Landing craft, that ship contains hundreds of Chaos Space Marines. Once they enter the Hydra, the consequences may be catastrophic.
Chinedu realized that only the use of torpedoes and counterattacks could stop the opponent's progress, so he immediately issued an order to charge and approach to launch torpedoes. However, Phil 2 had been locked by the firepower of the two cruisers. As a frigate, it was impossible to
Unable to withstand such firepower, it immediately lost its combat effectiveness in a salvo, and the entire hull began to roll and burn out of control.
But in such a critical situation, the remaining frigates, including Phil 1, which had just extinguished the fire inside the ship, quickly turned left, and the torpedo tubes quickly aimed at the target ahead.
Before they could fire, a macro cannon shot into the bow of the Phil 1. A huge gap immediately appeared on the front deck and burned. At the same time, shrapnel was flying across the torpedo room, flames shot into the sky, and the casualties were extremely heavy.
But Phil 1 continued to sail and even broke away from the formation.