On the busy North Atlantic, the freighter Crossflower is sailing leisurely,
"Captain, look, what is that there? It seems to be a fleet, or a fleet of large ships." Jack, the lookout on the freighter, said as he looked at the black smoke coming out of the distance.
"What a fuss." Captain Basco picked up the telescope in his hand and looked into the distance. He saw two huge figures in the distance heading here at high speed, and eight figures that were not much smaller behind them. But that
Only compared to the previous two behemoths, overall, it is still much larger than his 6,000-ton Crosshair.
"What a fast speed. They should have 15 knots."
"They don't seem to be merchant ships... they are warships!" The two giant ships became more and more clear in Basco's telescope! The huge turrets on the ship made his heart tighten. "These are definitely not American warships." A thought came from his mind.
jumped out.
The first mate said solemnly, "This is definitely not an American warship. The British and French do not have such huge warships in America."
Now everyone knows that the warships of the US Navy have basically been concentrated in the south. Half a month ago, the USS Cross was leased by the US Navy for transporting arms.
"Damn it, it's the Spanish flag! It's the Spanish fleet!"
At this moment, Jack, who was on the observation deck, had determined the identity of the other party.
"God, let's get out of the way quickly, put the left rudder full, let's get out of here!" Basco said in panic. This is a 6,000-ton merchant ship, which is almost his entire worth.
"Captain, it may be too late, they want us to stop the ship!" Jack said desperately.
"Don't worry about them. They can't come for us. If we leave the main channel, they may not catch up. Then let's go back!" Under Captain Basco's order, the Crossflower began to turn slowly, but the overweight
The load made the boat move very awkwardly.
Captain Basco was right. The Spanish fleet was indeed not here for robbery.
But at the same time, they will never let go of any merchant ship they encounter. In order to ensure the concealment of their actions, the Spanish fleet does not go in a straight line. They leave the busy transportation lines as much as possible and intercept all the merchant ships they encounter.
All American merchant ships. Unfortunately for the Crucifix, they ran into the Spanish fleet who wanted to conceal their whereabouts.
"A futile act."
Looking at the evasive Crosshair in the distance, he shook his head.
I saw a destroyer rushing towards the opponent. After easily catching up with the opponent, two rounds of 102mm main gun shells brought the 6,000-ton ship to a halt.
"We are civilians, you can't treat us like this." Captain Basco said loudly after being pushed onto the boat.
"Wars are all reciprocal. You can blockade Cuba, and we can also blockade the east coast of the United States." The Spanish officer said mockingly. "You are our prisoners now, and that poor merchant ship will be there after we take away some
Scuttled after necessities.”
The Crucifix was not the first unlucky person, and it was definitely not the last. During the long voyage of nearly a thousand nautical miles, the Spanish fleet sank more than ten transport ships, large and small. More than 300 American crew members became prisoners.
, and the U.S. Navy knew nothing about it.
It’s no wonder that most of the U.S. naval forces have already arrived in the south. From the U.S. military’s perspective, the Spanish fleet’s top priority must be to first enter Cuba and complete preparations, and then launch a decisive battle with the U.S. fleet or launch a diplomatic-breaking operation and then launch a decisive battle.
But Americans may have forgotten that mobile warfare has always been the choice of the weak. The American fleet once used break-up engagements. The British navy was relatively passive. This time, the Spanish fleet's strategy was the same, but it was bigger.
It is also incorrect to say that the Americans are not prepared at all. Although the ocean fleet has all moved south, it still leaves a certain amount of defensive force in some important military ports.
For example, at the Navy Port of Hamilton, the Americans left behind the 6,000-ton coastal defense ironclad USS Texas, the 6,000-ton shallow-water heavy gunship USS Pilgrim, the 4,000-ton shallow-water heavy gunship USS Fear and USS Monterey, plus two torpedo boats TB2 and TB3.
To guard Hamilton Harbor and the adjacent Navy Newport News Shipyard.
In the early morning of September 18, when Vice Admiral Cedella and his fleet sighted land, Captain Giuridi, who had been hired with a high salary, immediately shouted. "We are at the southern end of the Delaware Peninsula, only a short distance from Newport News.
More than 40 nautical miles, which is very close.”
Captain Juridi's words cheered up the Spanish officers and soldiers on the ship, and it seemed that the target was not far away.
More than two hours later, Vice Admiral Sedra and all the officers and men of the fleet showed ecstatic expressions as they looked at the warships docked quietly at the military port in the distance and the Newport News Shipyard opposite. The enemy was actually unprepared.
It cannot be said that they were unprepared. Two torpedo boats rushed out of the military port. Although they knew that they were bound to die, in order to protect the military port and the shipyard, they rushed over without hesitation.
In addition, the fort on the hill outside the military port finally opened fire, but this old-fashioned front-loading cannon was more for emboldening oneself. At the same time, the USS Texas, USS Puritan and other warships in the military port finally started to light fires, but it was a pity to think
It is impossible to get the warships moving without two or three hours of warm-up time. And will the Spanish fleet give them three hours?
"Each ship obeyed the order and gave priority to destroying enemy ships, and then bombarded the shipyard and port."
Under the order of Vice Admiral Sedra, ten large battleships began to take action. The two torpedo boats failed to catch even half of the secondary battery fire and made no sound.
The immobilized USS Texas, USS Puritan and other battleships were treated as fixed targets by the Spanish fleet that could not fight back. Dozens of large-caliber cannons sprayed tongues of fire at them, with orange flames at the muzzles.
It is even more connected with the smoke of gunpowder.
Countless artillery shells swept towards the American warships in the naval port like raindrops. In less than 1 minute, the Texas was hit by at least 10 large-caliber artillery shells. Each large-caliber artillery shell was like a heavy hammer.
Constantly knocking on the fragile hull of the Texas.
Some lucky Americans have truly experienced what it means to live like a year. No one knows how long they can live. Everyone is afraid that a shell will penetrate the cabin wall not far away. And those unfortunate people will be directly hit by the explosion, shrapnel and
The flames took away lives. In just a few minutes, the entire battleship was hit by intensive shells! The entire superstructure turned into a burning torch, and the yellow-green flames spread all over the deck, devouring everything it encountered!
The Texas was still struggling in the fire and smoke, while the Terror next to it didn't even have a chance to struggle. With a displacement of just over 4,000 tons, it actually had a twin-mounted 305mm main gun and a
Twin 254mm secondary guns, plus 330mm main armor.
The paper data are excellent, but the Americans know very well what level they are at. The reserve buoyancy is very little, the dry string is extremely low, and the main armor belt is narrow and short, almost useless. Coupled with the excessive weight of the armament, this
The stability and redundancy of the ship were really poor. Although it was not taken care of, it was still beaten by the two Venice-class armored cruisers at the end of the team.
A 254mm high-explosive bomb hit the bow of the Terror like a heavy hammer. The entire battleship shook violently, and then a bright yellow flame exploded at the bow, and the huge explosive force directly hit the bow.
A large hole of more than ten square meters opened in the bow of the ship. The entire bow sank suddenly, a large amount of seawater poured into the bow, and the Terror tilted severely.
Subsequently, at least three more 254mm shells were hit, and the Terror was riddled with holes. The raging fire spread on the ship, and people on the bridge were killed or injured. The fire quickly developed out of control, and the ship
It's over.
As for the American counterattack, the naval port was suddenly attacked, and many of the crew were not on board. With a shortage of manpower, sporadic counterattacks did not cause any harm to the Spanish fleet at all.
In the next half hour, the Terror sank, the Monterey sank, and the Puritan sank. Only the Texas was not sunk, but it was as motionless as a dead fish, and it didn't even have the artillery to counterattack.
Then a destroyer approached the USS Texas and eliminated the opponent with a torpedo. After the warships in the military port were cleared, the two Venice-class warships were left to bombard the facilities in the port. Other warships went to Newport Shipbuilding on the opposite side of the harbor.
They sailed towards the factory, where two conspicuous giant ships were waiting for them to destroy.
While the military port suffered a devastating blow, the Americans were not idle either, even though there were no forts or artillery there.
However, taking advantage of this precious time, the small boat sailing from Hamilton Port quickly laid a small number of mines on the main channel. Under the command of the officer, the personnel on the shore arranged smoke canisters to cover the two giant ships that were being outfitted.
ship.
Faced with this situation, the Spanish fleet did not dare to get too close to the target. After all, its fleet did not bring a minesweeper. If it collided with one, it would be more than worth the loss.
They just raised the elevation angle of the artillery and fired at the shipyard in the distance. If the fleet battle can still be called a battle, then now it is pure massacre. The shells streaked through the air in curves that heralded destruction, and accompanied by the streaks
The harsh sound caused by breaking the air fell on the warships being built several kilometers away and nearby factories.
Cannonballs exploded around the target, and the violent explosions sent everyone in Newport into panic. The two giant ships under construction silently endured the bombardment of the giant cannons. They were not finished yet.
, without armor plates and artillery, just like two targets.
The first one to be directly hit was the Kentucky. A 356mm shell directly hit the Kentucky's gun ring. After a loud noise, nearly half of the prototype's gun ring was blown up. What was even more deadly was the flames that passed through it.
The flammable materials in the cabin spread towards the interior of the hull. Then the power compartment in the middle of the hull of the Chilsarge was also hit by a 356 mm shell, blowing to pieces the pipelines and power systems being installed inside.
Although due to the thick smoke and distance, there were not many direct hits from the shells. But for these two unfinished warships with no armor protection and no damage control, such a blow was already quite fatal.
The materials and flammable materials inside the hull became the accomplices in the destruction of these two battleships. A large amount of air poured in from the gun mounts and other holes, allowing the flames inside the hull to obtain enough oxygen. In the burning flames,
These two battleships, which were supposed to be completed in 1900, were completely turned into a pile of scrap metal. At this moment, the U.S. Navy was crying.
