The encounter of the Maria Teresa angered other battleships in the Spanish patrol formation, and a more violent counterattack followed. The bombardment of dozens of naval guns put the three Pennsylvania-class ships into a difficult situation.
At a distance of three thousand meters, especially the 254mm 40l main guns fired uniformly on the two Garibaldi-class cruisers, the hit rate is astonishingly high.
According to subsequent statistics, in the close-to-hand combat with the Pennsylvania-class 3,000-meter gun, the hit rate of the 254mm main gun was as high as 26%, and 70 of the 268 shells fired hit the target.
The hit rate of the three Pennsylvania-class cruisers was much worse. The hit rate of the three battleships was only 13.4%. Among them, the most threatening 305mm main gun fired a total of 42 rounds and hit 6. The 152mm secondary gun fired
284, 38 hits.
In terms of firepower projection and hit volume, the three Pennsylvania-class patrol ships are far from comparable to the two Garibaldi-class ships.
This also caused it to gradually fall into a disadvantage after sinking the Maria Theresa.
But sometimes, just looking at the hit rate is not enough, luck also plays a very important factor.
For example, now, a 305mm armor-piercing shell fired from the USS New Jersey directly hit the gallery of a 140mm gun on the USS Vizcaya with a harsh sound that cut through the air. The shell penetrated without any hindrance.
The steel plate outside the gun gallery and the flying debris instantly killed everyone in the gun gallery.
Then, the shell continued to move forward, and after successfully penetrating the cabin wall, it finally exploded at the bow flue. The huge explosive force directly destroyed the entire flue. The yellow smoke produced by the explosive and the black smoke pouring out of the flue instantly
Filled the entire middle of the ship, thick smoke rose into the sky. Because the flue was destroyed, nearly half of the Biscay's boilers were forced to stop operating due to smoke exhaust problems, and the speed of the entire battleship was gradually reduced to 13 knots.
about
"Let the Biscay evacuate immediately."
After seeing the speed of the Vizcaya slowing down, Colonel Ramos, who was leading the team, was shocked. He was afraid that this precious cruise ship would suffer the same fate as the Maria Theresa.
But it's not easy to leave. How could Colonel Simpson allow his prey to slip away like this?
"Concentrate your firepower and prioritize the opponent's Biscay."
Following his order, the guns of the three Pennsylvania-class cruisers were aimed at the Biscay. The shells fired by dozens of various artillery pieces directly covered the Biscay, and the nearly missing water columns and shells exploded.
The gunpowder smoke covered it like a curtain. As a cruise ship with a displacement of only 7,000 tons, it was completely unexpected to be targeted in this way.
Several rounds of 305 mm armor-piercing shells easily shredded the Biscay's armor, and the flying armor fragments directly cut off several steam pipes. What's even more terrible is that one of the shells exploded outside the boiler room. The huge explosion force directly
Three more boilers were shut down. This directly caused the Philadelphia's speed to immediately drop to 6 knots, indicating that the ship's end had arrived.
While the three Pennsylvania-class patrol ships were attacking the Biscay, the Spanish patrol formation's counterattack also continued.
"Hit the fire and kill the opponent's Colorado."
Seeing that there was nothing he could do, Colonel Ramos decided to focus on an enemy cruiser first. The one he chose was the Colorado, which had been bombarded by the Franciscos. This battleship had suffered a lot of damage in the previous duel, and it happened to be
Suitable for gathering fire.
In the concentrated fire of three Spanish patrol ships, the 305mm twin-mounted cannon on the bow of the USS Colorado was hit twice in three minutes and was immediately declared scrapped.
More shells still landed on the sides of both sides. After the Colorado's forward main gun was destroyed, three other armor-piercing shells were chiseled into its sides, one of which opened a large hole in the bow. The other
Although the main armor belt that hit the hull could not be penetrated, it still caused the armor to crack and create a gap of several square meters.
Another shell directly penetrated the upper armor belt of the Colorado. After splitting 6 inches of the upper armor, the huge shell exploded near the hoist of a twin-mounted 152mm secondary gun, followed by raging flames and shrapnel.
Together they destroyed the fragile protection near the projectile channel.
A fire dragon rolled in the passage. Although the ammunition depot had a fire door, the fire dragon still ignited the picric acid high-explosive bombs accumulated inside the passage and on the gun positions. Then the Rurik's side line was suddenly torn off by a huge explosion.
A large piece of steel, flames, gunpowder smoke and minced meat spurted out in an instant, and the entire battleship was shaken like chaff by such a powerful explosion.
The large influx of seawater has caused the hull to tilt by about 5 degrees. Several steam pipes have also been ruptured by various shells. The Colorado's speed has dropped sharply, and the maximum speed can only be maintained at about 11 knots.
This is really a turn of events, and now it's Spain's turn to beat the dog in the water.
"Kill the Colorado!"
Following the order of Colonel Ramos, the three-ship patrol became more powerful.
Among them, a 254 mm shell from Columbus officially pronounced the fate of the Colorado. This shell passed through the 6-inch armored belt at the stern and blew up the wheelhouse of the Colorado. At this point, it had lost two-thirds of the firepower on the engaging side.
The Colorado was completely out of control, floating slowly on the sea like a dead fish under the influence of its own power and ocean currents. He couldn't go back, and even if he let it go, it would be sent into the depths of the ocean by the destroyer.
At this time, of the 10 ships patrolling on both sides, only 5 were left. This was a bloody battle.
Of course, the bloody battles in the armored patrol formation were brutal, and the battleship side was not bad either.
Compared with the direct movement dogfighting tactics of mounted patrols, battleship battles are much more rigid. Of course, the Turin class also has some advantages due to its speed advantage.
The 330 mm heavy artillery and 203 mm heavy artillery of the American battle fleet, and the 356 mm heavy artillery and 152 mm artillery of the Spanish battle fleet were constantly spitting deadly flames at each other. Both sides tried their best to attack, and attack first was the only option for both sides.
choice.
Relying on veterans who have been with battleships for ten years, the Spanish fleet scored more effective hits. The Massachusetts, which was bombarded by the battleship Queen Isabel, was hit by at least 5 356mm heavy guns in just twenty minutes.
More than once! One of them will directly hit 1
The twin-mounted 203mm turret reached a burning torch, while another 356mm heavy gun blasted the barrel of a 330mm gun into two pieces, and the rest mostly hit the upper deck. The 3 on the side line were
A 4-inch cannon and numerous 6-pounder cannons were beaten into piles of scrap metal!
The situation of the Indiana behind it is not very good, because the freeboard is low, and every shell hitting the side of the hull is very likely to cause water intrusion. As a low-freeboard warship, the reserve buoyancy is small.
This directly determines that it is very sensitive to water intrusion, and as more and more shells are fired, holes are opened one after another in the side string.
This first true battleship in the United States has tilted to the right, and its speed has gradually been reduced to about 13 knots! Fortunately, the firepower can be maintained, but a twin 203mm turret has been knocked off.
At the same time, almost all the 57mm guns were lost. Although the twin 330mm guns on the rear deck were not destroyed, they had to temporarily stop firing due to water intrusion.
As for the third USS Oregon, it is still undergoing happy shooting training without anyone taking care of it.
On the Spanish side, the situation of the Queen Isabel and Isabel II is relatively good. In addition to the inevitable fire accident, the loss in armament is that the two 152mm twin turrets of the Queen Isabel were destroyed.
, a 152mm twin turret on the Isabel II was destroyed. In addition
The hits on the hull caused a certain degree of water intrusion. In particular, a 330mm shell hit the middle part of the hull, cracking the joints of the entire armored belt. A crack with an area of about 2 square meters caused a large amount of damage to the hull.
Water intrusion and damage to the ship's shape also increase the battleship's resistance, and deceleration is necessary.
The two Turin-class ships and the three Indiana-class ships still had an advantage. This was a result that no one expected.
"If I had known this was the case, I should have directly fought a decisive battle with the U.S. Navy."
Lieutenant General Sedra looked at the situation in front of him and felt a little regretful at this time. Not only him, no one thought that the level of America's first battleship was so wide that it could counterattack in this two-on-three battleship.
Well, in fact, the main reason for this is not only the design performance of the battleship, but also the human factor. For example, in terms of battleship performance, if the combat effectiveness of the Turin class is calculated as 100 points, then the Indiana class will only have 85 points. Of course
This is just a comparison of battleship performance.
Everyone knows that warships require the cooperation of many personnel. Only the more skilled the personnel, the better the performance of the warship. In this regard, the three U.S. Navy officers and soldiers on the Indiana class have only served on the ship for three years at most. And in these three years
, they have not experienced any war tempering, and can only use 80% of the battleship's performance at most.
As for the Turin class, the ships are all elites who have been tempered by many wars, and can bring out 120% of the Turin class's combat effectiveness.
Based on this calculation of one plus and one subtraction, it is very reasonable for the three Indiana-class ships to be at a disadvantage.
Of course, according to common sense, although they are at a disadvantage, the losses of the three Indiana-class battleships are not significant, and they can continue to fight the Spanish formation for another 300 rounds.
But at this time, an accident occurred on the battlefield. A 356mm artillery shell fired from the Queen Isabel hit the deck of the Massachusetts. With a sharp collision and the sound of steel plates twisting and tearing, the side of the Massachusetts
of double installation
The 8-inch artillery mount was torn open by a 356mm armor-piercing projectile. Hundreds of kilograms of artillery shells crashed directly into the projectile hoisting channel under the 8-inch gun emplacement! The projectile hoist inside was blown into a pile of twisted metal, along with the cannonballs above.
It was detonated together with the propellant pack.
After the first explosion, there was a loud noise, and an orange fireball shot out from the center of the bullet! The huge energy tore the entire front of the gun mount into pieces, and the upper 8-inch turret was also shaken. Then the thick
Smoke and flames spread across the front of the battleship, with flames more than ten meters high.
Soaring into the air. To make matters worse, the Americans did not follow the operational requirements. The high-intensity and tense battle made the Americans nervous and they forgot to close the fire door of the ammunition depot during the transmission. As a result, an even bigger fireball shot out.
Come on, this is the ammunition depot that was detonated.
A huge gap was opened directly amidships of the USS Massachusetts, and surging seawater violently poured into the cabin. In just 10 minutes, nearly a thousand tons of seawater was poured into the Massachusetts. At this time, the Massachusetts was abnormally
It was dangerous. It had tilted 15 degrees to the right, and due to the intrusion of seawater, the speed of the Massachusetts dropped to 10 knots. Fortunately, the power cabin was not affected, otherwise the Massachusetts would be dead.
"Have the Massachusetts evacuate immediately! Order the Oregon to take its place."
Seeing the desolate appearance of the Massachusetts, Rear Admiral Samplin was startled and quickly ordered the Massachusetts to evacuate.
After severely damaging an opponent's battleship, the Spanish battleship formation's confidence greatly increased. It wanted to continue pursuing victory and make persistent efforts.
"Aim at the enemy Indiana and we will sink them."
Following Vice Admiral Sedra's order, the two Turin-class battleships aimed all their artillery at the leading USS Indiana.
Everything was so skillful, ranging, and then aiming with a half salvo. After forming a burst of fire, it switched from slow fire to fast fire. The roar of eight 14-inch naval guns resounded throughout the battlefield, like the clarion call of the doomsday battle.
It's usually heart-stopping. The Indiana in the lead was shrouded in an oval-shaped bomb drop zone. After the fall shot, a near miss occurred quickly, and then a 14-inch shell hit the stern of the ship.
This is a high-explosive round. Due to the angles of both sides, even if an armor-piercing round is used, it is difficult to penetrate the main armor belt at a large angle. This round successfully tore open the unprotected area at the stern of the ship and opened it at the stern.
A large hole measuring more than ten square meters was immediately drilled into the hull.
With the activation of the fuse, more than 20 kilograms of explosives detonated in the hull. Immediately, a fire storm swept across the entire stern. With the impact of the explosion, cracked steel plates, support beams, etc. turned the entire stern into a purgatory, with a bright sky.
The yellow fire dragon soars into the sky, and the billowing smoke rises from the stern of the ship, obscuring the firing range of the tail gun.
Just when the Americans were still horrified by the blow just now, another 14-inch shell fell from the sky. Due to the angle of incidence, this shell still hit the stern of the ship.
"Standing from my position, I can see a fireball streaking across the stern side line at high speed. This shell may not have directly hit the target, or it may have rubbed against the side of the ship. Then a huge fireball rose from the water on the starboard side of the hull.
Unexpectedly, the damage caused by this shell to the hull was greater than the damage caused by the shell directly hitting the hull. The whole ship shook for a while, and then tilted slightly to the right. A large amount of seawater poured in along the hole that was opened.
Hull."
Afterwards, Leifer recorded the hit of the second shot in his report.
At this time, the Indiana was already facing an extremely dangerous situation. Two 14-inch shells hit the stern of the ship, causing its speed to be greatly reduced. Although it was not as tragic as the Massachusetts, it was definitely not much better.
In the battle between battleships and armored cruisers, the Spanish side has gained an advantage, but the two Venetian-class armored cruisers that have made huge sacrifices are at a disadvantage. Although armored cruisers are better than protected cruisers in terms of firepower and armor,
Even better, but if the numbers are at an absolute disadvantage, then the party that gets beaten up will definitely be the patrolling one.
The two Venice-class patrol ships are a good proof of this truth. Tigers are also afraid of wolves.
In a firefight with a group of protected cruisers, the two Venice-class cruisers suffered heavy losses in just over half an hour.
The two rear 254mm main guns of the Duke of Ulloa (Venice) were destroyed, and four 152mm guns and several 57mm guns were also lost. In addition to the loss of the artillery, the hull of the Duke of Ulloa was also in pieces.
It was in a mess, many of the armor plates on it had fallen off, and there were even some bullet holes left on it.
As for the Marquis of Venardito (Brescia), it is no better than the Duke of Ulloa. In addition to the interruption of one 254mm main gun barrel, it also lost three 152mm guns and several 57mm guns. In addition,
The No. 2 chimney of the Marquis of Venardito was also broken, and the uncontrolled thick smoke seriously affected the firing of the rear main gun. As for the hull, like the Duke of Ulloa, it was in a state of disarray.
.
Of course, against this group of opponents, the two cruise ships were also fighting back vigorously. Among them, the Philadelphia and the San Francisco were hit by 254mm main guns. After losing four 152mm guns, they did not dare to get too close.
