The rockets of this era had short range and poor accuracy, requiring the operator to row a small boat and operate close to the face to hit.
Lots of shortcomings!
But the advantages are equally obvious!
No matter how big a warship you are or how thick your side plates are, as long as you are hit by a rocket, it depends on the amount of rocket charge of this era.
If you take three to five shots, you will have to sink into the sea to feed the Dragon King!
Rest! Rest rest! Rest rest rest!
As a large number of small boats approached the Dutch warships, the sound of "xixixixiu" resounded throughout the entire sea area.
The rockets trailed long tail flames and fell towards the Dutch warship.
In order to adapt to naval battles and cause maximum damage to Dutch warships, the Liberation Army modified the rockets used in naval battles.
A sharp tapered guide rod is installed on the head of the rocket.
The guide rod is made of steel and is very heavy!
This design can be said to kill two birds with one stone!
First, after installing the guide rod, the rocket will be top-heavy as a whole and its trajectory will be very stable.
Second, after the rocket hits the Dutch warship, there is a tapered guide rod, so the rocket will not be bounced off and fall into the sea.
Instead, it will pierce their hulls hard.
Then let the rocket explode in the face, causing maximum damage to the Dutch warship.
A rocket pierced the Dutchman's side planking, and the matchstick that started the fire burned out.
Boom!
The warhead of the rocket exploded, and the fire spread quickly with a shock wave.
The shock wave ripped open the side of the Dutch sailing battleship!
A large hole was opened in the side of the Dutch sailing battle line, and many Dutch soldiers and sailors fell out of the gap and into the sea.
Next, explosions continued to sound one after another!
Boom! Boom!
With the explosion, several Dutch battleships disintegrated.
The gunpowder in the cabin was ignited and exploded, turning the sturdy sail battleship into pieces of wood floating on the sea.
On the Dutch flagship Santa Maria, Commander Raymond stared blankly at the scene happening on the sea, feeling as if his head was buzzing.
"Oh, my God!"
"What kind of tactic is this?"
"Those rapid-firing artillery shells trailing flames from the Ming Dynasty are simply the weapons of the devil!"
"How could this happen? It was a sailing battleship. How could it be sunk so easily?!"
"Oh my god, please tell us what to do. The weapons of the Ming Dynasty are simply too terrifying!"
"..."
The other Dutch people around Raymond exclaimed in surprise.
They were stunned by the Ming army's unprecedented tactics of rocket and speedboat assault!
Lei Ming shouted loudly.
"Hold on, don't panic!"
"There is nothing to be afraid of in Ming Dynasty's tactics and weapons. We have hundreds of ships and they can't possibly defeat us!"
"Warriors of the United Provinces, please show your courage and beat those yellow-skinned monkeys!"
Under the comfort of commander Raymond, the Dutch quickly regained their composure.
Follow the line tactics of the sail battleship and continue to command the battle!
The Dutch can be called sea coachmen, and their qualities in all aspects are not just for boasting.
Coupled with the natural rough nerves of sailors who make a living on the sea, the Dutch quickly recovered from the shock caused by the Ming army's rocket and speedboat assault tactics.
The battle continues!
…
When Lin Awu and others saw that many large Dutch ships were sunk by them, they couldn't help but burst into cheers.
"Wan Sheng!"
"Wan Sheng!"
"The Ming Dynasty will be victorious!"
"..."
The Ming army's small boat fired the rockets on the boat and quickly rowed the boat back to its own fleet to reload.
During this process, the Dutch shelling never stopped!
But as the distance between the two sides became farther and farther, and the battlefield was filled with thick smoke, the accuracy of the Dutch's artillery fire was very low.
It did not cause too many casualties to the Ming army's small boats!
…
Zhu Hongyu held the telescope in his hand and looked at the several Dutch battleships on the battlefield that either simply disintegrated or slowly sank after being bombed.
Heaving a sigh of relief!
This was the first time rockets were used in naval battles!
The weapons and tactics are novel, and even the soldiers operating them are new recruits with little war experience...
It is impossible to say that Zhu Hongyu is not nervous!
Fortunately, the result is good!
A rocket boat raid sank several Dutch battleships.
Fully demonstrated the power and practicality of the Ming Army's rocket and speedboat raid tactics!
The results achieved by this rocket speedboat raid alone are even more brilliant than those achieved by battleships in a half-day bombardment!
"Hahaha, my Ming Dynasty soldiers are mighty!"
Zhu Hongyu slapped the railing and let out bursts of hearty laughter.
Zheng Chenggong on the side also had a look of admiration on his face, but at the same time he felt a little scared.
All he wanted to say now was that fortunately he had no objections to Daming.
Otherwise, the consequences will be disastrous!
Faced with this rocket speedboat assault tactic, Zheng Chenggong couldn't think of a way to deal with it.
Seeing that the Dutch battleship was sunk and destroyed, the morale of the Ming fleet reached its peak.
"Wan Sheng!"
"The Ming Dynasty will be victorious!"
"Long live His Royal Highness the Governor!"
"..."
The sailors of the Ming army kept cheering.
At this time, the heavy artillery on both sides was still roaring.
The distance between the two sides gradually narrowed, and the shells continued to fire back and forth.
However, as the distance gets closer, the hit rate of the cannonballs begins to gradually increase.
Just as Zhu Hongyu was patting the railing and laughing proudly, a cannonball flew over and hit the side plate of Zhu Hongyu and Zheng Chenggong's ship heavily.
Fortunately, this ship is very strong, and even if it was hit by a cannonball, there was no major damage.
The strong side plate was hit by a cannonball and a dent the size of a human head was made. The cannonball was embedded in the dent. It can only be said that it was lucky that no holes were formed.
However, driven by the terrifying kinetic energy carried by the cannonballs, Zhu Hongyu's ship violently rolled left and right.
Unprepared, Zhu Hongyu stumbled and almost fell.
"Horse rider!"
Zhu Hongyu, who was supported by the guards, became a little angry and broke away from the guards' support, shouting orders.
"Those who are riding horses, send orders to the whole army to fight back, and fight back alone!"
"Use all explosive bombs, aim at the Dutch fleet commander's ship, and hit him hard!"
Zheng Chenggong also looked very unhappy.
You must know that Zhu Hongyu and his ship are not located near the front.
Being hit by a cannonball is extremely unlucky!
In this era where feudal superstition is politically correct, it is not a good sign for one's own commander's ship to be hit by an enemy's cannonball.
Zheng Chenggong, who was deeply poisoned by feudal superstition, thought this way!
Boom! Boom!
The next moment, the Ming army's naval guns began to roar!
The target is the Dutch flagship Santa Maria!
One after another, the explosive shells were fired towards the Santa Maria as if they were free of charge.
A large number of cannonballs were fired into the air and landed in the sea. Apart from forming water columns and large waves on the sea, there was no other effect.
But a few shells hit the Dutch flagship!
The hit rate is about 34%, which means that out of a hundred shells, only three or four can hit the enemy.
A few hundred meters away and a hit rate of 34%. If it were placed on land, Zhu Hongyu would probably be so angry that he would order the gunners to be chopped off!
But now we are fighting a naval battle at sea!
There are too many objective factors that affect the accuracy of shelling!
To have a hit rate of 34% is already very impressive.