Facing the fiercely attacking Spanish fleet, the American fleet immediately scattered and fled.
Colonel Lorante soon felt a trace of regret, because although the Iowa under his seat looked mighty, its top speed was only a terrible 16 knots. This speed was incomparable to the Turin class, which could still run 18 knots.
It's a bit unsatisfying. Not to mention, there are 20-knot Maria Teresa-class armored cruisers harassing the side, making it even harder for Iowa to run faster.
Two hours later, in the desperate eyes of the officers and soldiers on the Iowa, three Turin-class ships surrounded her.
"Boom, boom, boom!"
The greetings from the three Turin-class 356mm main guns came roaring from a distance of 6,000 meters. The successive sprays of water made the officers and soldiers of the Iowa heave a sigh of relief.
But they knew that now was not the time to relax, there were at least 3 hours until dark, and they had to survive these 3 hours.
Of course, the Iowa was not without counterattacks. The four 305mm 35x main guns it was equipped with also fired at the enemy ships on the sides and rear. However, they also failed to hit.
However, the failure of both parties to hit is temporary, because the two parties are getting closer, making it easier and easier to hit.
"boom!"
A 356mm shell weighing more than 400 kilograms hit the stern of the Iowa ship. The violent explosion punched a large hole in the stern of the ship. It also caused the Iowa's speed to drop sharply. The expressions of the American officers and soldiers on the ship suddenly changed.
It looked ugly, the power cabin was hit and the speed slowed down.
Seeing this opportunity, how could the three Turin-class battleships miss it? They already had the speed advantage and took the opportunity to surround them immediately.
"Let the three armored cruisers leave to pursue the enemy ships. Leave this to us."
Colonel Leifer, who was in charge of commanding the battleship formation, first issued an order for the three Maria Theresa-class armored cruisers to leave. This was not because he was afraid that they would take the credit, but because the battle between the battleships was really not going to happen next.
It is suitable to install patrols to intervene, because from a visual point of view, battleships are heavy cavalry, while patrols are light cavalry. Any light cavalry that wants to confront heavy cavalry will not have good results.
The three cruise ships also understood what Colonel Leifer meant, left a message wishing them good luck, and flew away.
Okay, the next step is the duel between battleships, but it is three against one. You can choose to fight three of us one by one, or three of us fight one of you.
Okay, without further ado, at a distance of 4,500 meters, the artillery fire from the three Turin-class ships was mercilessly attacking the Iowa. Of course, the Iowa did not give up its plan. Its four 305mm guns
The main gun and eight 203mm secondary guns also fired back. The two sides continued to fire, hoping to give their opponents a fatal blow.
This was a real hand-to-hand battle, and the gunner kept repeating the firing order. The shells were lifted up from the ammunition magazine at the bottom under the action of the hoist and manpower, and then sent into the still hot barrel. Then they were stuffed.
Enter the belt bag wrapped in silk, close the breech block, aim and shoot!
The successive bombardments caused damage to both sides. For example, the Isabel II, formerly known as the USS Barry, was hit multiple times by the Iowa's 305mm shells and 203mm shells, causing damage to two 152mm secondary guns.
and human losses.
However, the loss of the Isabel II is completely insignificant compared to the Iowa. The Iowa is now riddled with scars. The damage caused by the 356mm heavy gun to the Iowa is very considerable. Its ship
The bow and rear chimney were hit, which directly resulted in extremely poor aiming of the rear main gun. In addition, the four 203mm secondary guns in the middle of the ship were destroyed. In addition, several large holes on the side of the ship also showed that its armor was inferior to the 14-inch cannon.
There is not enough to see in front of me.
Of course, this is just the beginning of Iowa's suffering.
Boom, boom! Two loud bangs rang out from the rear of the Iowa hull! At a distance of less than 3,500 meters, the main gun of the Palermo, renamed Princess Cristina, fired two 356
mm armor-piercing projectiles penetrated the stern of the Iowa at a nearly vertical angle.
The first shell hit the main armor belt, with a huge impact on the Iowa's main armor belt. Although it did not penetrate, it tore an entire main armor plate from the hull, directly causing the Iowa's stern rudder to
A large hole of more than ten square meters appeared near the room!
Another shell directly penetrated the upper armor belt of the Iowa, and then after passing through several cabins, exploded above the wheelhouse. The huge shell directly destroyed the wheelhouse, and the entire battleship was suddenly semi-out of control.
state.
Next, the three Turin-class battleships continued to spray firepower on the Iowa, causing its losses to increase. The counterattack firepower from the Iowa also became weaker and weaker.
"It's time."
At this time, Captain Leifer ordered the two destroyers waiting outside to enter the battlefield. It was a bit difficult to rely on artillery shells to defeat the opponent, so it was better to use torpedoes. Besides, there were still tasks ahead, so it would be good to save some artillery shells.
Under the order of Colonel Leifer, two destroyers, the Alvaro and the Molina, rushed into the scene. Both destroyers were new Spanish ships that were commissioned in 1896. They had a displacement of 800 tons and carried 4
It has a 356mm torpedo tube launcher and a maximum speed of 28 knots.
Two destroyers were seen rushing towards the Iowa. Facing the malicious little guy, the Iowa was still resisting desperately, and the only few secondary guns on the ship were still firing at it.
It's just that the two destroyers chose their positions very cleverly. Only three 57mm guns can shoot them. The 57mm naval guns can only deal with small torpedo boats, but they are still not good at dealing with destroyers.
When they were close to a distance of several hundred meters, the two destroyers made a beautiful turn, and six torpedoes hit the Iowa.
"Bang Bang Bang~" Five consecutive loud noises opened a huge horizontal crack in the Iowa. A large amount of seawater poured in, causing the Iowa to tilt at a speed visible to the naked eye. This giant ship had already
Go to the end of life.
At this time, the sun has already dropped to the sea level. If it were later, the night would come out.
Compared with the three battleships who spent a lot of effort to deal with their opponents, the two Garibaldi-class ships were simply not too relaxed when dealing with the New York patrol.
As quasi-battle patrols, the two Garibaldi-class ships declared their death the moment they caught up with the New York's armored patrol. The salvo power of the 16 10-inch main guns shocked the Spanish officers and soldiers who fired the guns.
The first round achieved a hit at a distance of 5,000 meters, and every subsequent round of shooting achieved a hit.
The thickest 6-inch sloped dome armor on the New York was like paper in the face of the ferocious firepower of the two Garibaldo-class ships.
Within an hour, the New York, which was attacked by two ships, was sent into the sea.
Then the two ships relied on their own speed to continue to pursue the enemy's escaping warships. Of course, they were not the only ones, two Venetian cruisers were also pursuing them, and later three Maria Teresa-class cruisers were added. 7 cruisers
The patrol's pursuit prevented several protected cruisers from escaping. Because these battleships were basically built around 1890, their top speed was only 17-18 knots.
But no matter how much fighting happens, it should stop after dark.
Seeing the black shroud, the American warships that had escaped pursuit rushed to New York and needed to inform them of the arrival of Spain.
