Liu Tan and Feng Sihai led two armored ships to stay here for three days, waiting for the moment when Alfonso's fleet returned for reinforcements. Their mission was to block the Franco fleet in the narrow waterway of the strait.
This narrow deep-water channel is like a pass in the mountains at the moment, easy to defend but difficult to attack. No matter how many the opponent's warships are, it is impossible for them to rush over in a swarm, because the narrow deep-water channel can only allow a few ships to travel in parallel.
A channel that is several miles wide seems to be able to accommodate multiple ships in parallel. However, you must know that when attacked, the ship needs room to move and maneuver. Otherwise, it will become a living target. In addition, the sporadic rocks and reefs in the middle of the channel are also threats. In order to navigate,
With unobstructed traffic and room for flexible maneuvers during battle, this deep-water channel can accommodate up to four ships in parallel, which is the limit.
With the combat firepower of the Ming Dynasty's armored ships, the two warships can definitely block the waterway. As long as the enemy appears and wants to pass through, it is time for the two armored warships to show off their skills.
Dozens of Tiger Howling Cannons roared continuously, and shells fell like rain around the Valor and Gem. Water columns rose into the sky, and the seawater fell like a heavy rain, falling with a thin splash on the two Franco warships.
on deck.
The panicked French soldiers on the Courage and the Diamond were shouting in panic. The officers ordered to quickly turn the rudder to avoid the fire, and at the same time ordered to return fire. At the same time, they reported to the rear fleet with flags.
The two Franco warships at the rear were on the sea 300 steps away. They also saw the enemy ships lying in front of them and fired artillery shells. According to the previous deployment, if encountering an enemy attack, they were not allowed to retreat and should move forward quickly.
They came forward to join the battle. As a result, the two warships in the rear did not retreat but advanced, and quickly rushed forward.
At this moment, brilliant smoke and sparks erupted on the deck of the Diamond. Two explosive bombs exploded on the deck almost at the same time. One was on the front deck and the other was in the saloon. But the roar was deafening, and there were sawdust on the ship.
They were scattered in all directions, and half of the ship's hall was blown away.
The captain who was directing the battle in the ship's hall was covered in blood. He was hit in the head several times by fragments and fell unconscious on the spot. Seven or eight sailors on the deck who were manipulating the sails were killed or injured. The Diamond, which was originally maneuvering to the right, suffered such injuries.
Such a blow that I fell down all of a sudden.
Once a ship lies motionless, it becomes a living target, which is the most dangerous thing. In maritime operations, ships must constantly move to avoid the opponent's shooting blind spots and prevent the opponent from comfortably aiming and shooting. If the ship moves too fast
If you are slow or stationary, you are a fixed target. For your opponent, that is simply a dream.
How could the Ningxia, located on the east side, let go of this opportunity? After an order was given, and after a salvo, three solid bullets hit the Diamond's hull from the front, middle and rear defenses.
The bow and stern of the ship were shot, but the shot was in the upper position. Although it was hit, it also damaged the upper side of the ship. But it was not fatal to the warship. The most lethal one was the cannonball in the middle.
It directly hit the middle part of the hull, half a foot above the waterline, and penetrated a large hole in the hull.
The sea surface was originally not very rough, but the rapid maneuvers of the ship caused rippling waves, and a large amount of seawater poured into the cabin along with the waves. It was still poured in intermittently at first, but as the seawater entered the cabin, the ship's draft became deeper and deeper, and the seawater poured into the cabin.
Started pouring it into the cabin like crazy.
The Franco soldiers on the Diamond screamed in horror. The soldiers tried to plug the leaks and close the watertight compartment. But how could they block it? A solid shell the size of a sea bowl hit, causing damage as big as a washbasin.
Seawater rushed into the cabin like a waterfall and could not be blocked. Soon, a large amount of seawater was poured into the middle cabin.
Due to the gravity of the sea water, the damage to the middle keel caused the structure to break. The entire ship made a terrifying cracking sound.
Although the long and narrow ship is fast and maneuverable, its shortcoming is that its structure is not strong enough. The middle section of the ship is under tremendous pressure and can easily break. Especially after tens of thousands of kilograms of seawater are poured into the middle, it is like a pair of invisible ships.
The giant hand grasped both ends of the ship and pushed it towards the middle. The strength was extremely amazing.
Not long after, a creepy crackling sound was heard. The Diamond slowly began to break apart, its bow and stern rising rapidly, like two horns soaring into the sky, slowly moving towards
The water sinks.
More than a hundred Franco soldiers on the ship began to escape quickly. A large number of soldiers jumped from the ship into the sea and swam desperately into the distance. There were also a dozen people who had already put down their lifeboats and rowed away quickly. But most of them were not rescued.
Those who are in a boat can only swim as hard as they can back on the sea. Behind them is the warship of the Folangji people. As long as they swim hard, they have a chance to survive.
In less than a moment, the Diamond had sunk into the sea.
When the Diamond was hit and sank, the Valor in the west channel also caught fire. The Yansui commanded by Liu Dam continuously hit the deck of the Valor with explosive bombs, bombarding all the facilities on the deck of the Valor.
Everything was in chaos. The Spirit tried her best to maneuver and escape, but the sails caught fire and the deck saloon also caught fire.
However, the Francois on board still desperately turned the rudder of the burning ship and fled to the rear. The Yansui did not pursue it because their purpose was to block the channel, not to pursue and sink the opponent.
When the Diamond completely sank, the Courage extinguished the fire on the deck with the help of the water hose from the auxiliary flagship Holy Cross that arrived from behind. However, the entire ship was seriously damaged and became a useless ship.
After the battle started, Alfonso, who was on the Flower of the Sea flagship a few miles away, received the report. He immediately climbed up the ship's building and watched with a telescope. Soon after, he saw the sinking of the Diamond through the telescope.
situation, and the scene of the Spirit retreating after catching fire.
Alfonso's face was ashen, but he quickly adjusted his mood. As he expected, the opponent intercepted his fleet here and prevented him from returning to Guri Port. It can be seen that the opponent's warships are very powerful, and it is easy to confront them.
Killed two of his warships. But they also exposed their whereabouts and strength, which was exactly what he wanted.
Enemies who are hidden and faceless are more terrifying. Once they appear, they are not so scary.
"Instructions are given, the flagship Holy Cross attacks the enemy warships on the west side, and the Loyalty and Kraken follow suit. The flagship Glory, the battleship Knight, and the Immortality attack the enemy warships on the east side. The two enemy ironclads must be sunk.
Alfonso ordered loudly.
The messenger quickly waved the flag and began to deliver the order.
"Dear Commander, the channel is narrow and the six warships may not be able to maneuver. The channel is not good and there are reefs under the water, which is very dangerous. It is almost dark," said an officer next to him.
Alfonso glared at him and said: "Mr. Mark, don't I know that the channel is narrow? But are we going to be blocked here by those two enemy ships? No matter what, we must deal with them quickly."
The officer named Mark stopped talking. He saw disgust in Alfonso's eyes. Alfonso was stubborn and could not tolerate any different opinions since he accepted the Eastern Fleet. It would be better for him to say less.
The flagship of the Ocean Flower began to move forward rapidly, approaching the battlefield ahead. Alfonso did not put down the telescope in his hand for a moment, paying close attention to the situation ahead.
As Alfonso's order was issued, two small fleets headed by two giant flagships began to advance forward. These two flagships were large in size and equipped with Folan heavy artillery with improved range, and their combat effectiveness was no less than that of their opponents.
In addition, each has two warships to assist in combat, so three against one will definitely win.
At least that's what Alfonso thinks.
The Holy Cross was already in front, so it took the lead to get within the combat range. Following the orders, the heavy artillery of the Holy Cross began to roar. Suddenly, water columns rose into the sky on the sea ahead, and the flames of the explosion changed.
It was extremely dazzling on the dark sea.
The Yansui maneuvered quickly, weaving through the water column with agility that was incompatible with a huge hull. At the same time, seven or eight Tiger Roaring Cannons on the side roared and fired. A row of cannonballs exploded on the sea, but
The strange thing is that the impact point was far away, and the shell exploded a few miles in front of the three warships of Fo Langji.
But soon, the exploding shells filled the air with thick smoke, forming a smoke barrier on the sea. With the help of Holy Cross's artillery fire suppression, the two ships were charging forward rapidly, trying to get close to their opponents, the Siren and the Loyalty.
Suddenly being obscured by the smoke screen in front, I lost my visual ability and the direction of the opponent.
Oliver, the Franco officer on the flagship of the Holy Cross, had experienced the Battle of Manchuria. He had seen his opponent use this method in the sea battle of the Manchuria Strait. At that time, the opponent used smoke to shield the traces and charged.
Breaking into his own fleet and engaging in close combat, he overran the formation of his own fleet and severely damaged many warships, forcing Almeida to order a retreat. It seemed that the opponent was going to use this trick again.
So Oliver immediately issued an order, ordering the Loyalty and Kraken in front to immediately slow down and turn back immediately to avoid being repeated by the opponent. After all, the Holy Cross also lost the opponent's position at this moment, and was in a small angle and was unable to fully bombard the opponent.
, unable to provide fire suppression.
However, although Commander Oliver's order was issued, the Allegiance and the Kraken, which were charging too hard, were unable to stop their charge in time. The Kraken, in particular, was a smaller ship with a faster speed.
The distance of a hundred steps is more than two hundred steps beyond the Loyalty.
When the opponent's smoke bomb exploded, a barrier was formed on the sea not far in front of the Kraken warship. The Kraken, which had stopped moving, had no room to turn around and plunged into the smoke.
Captain Yoneyama, the commander of the Kraken, shouted loudly in the smoke: "Turn left, turn left, withdraw, withdraw."
But the inertia caused the Kraken to rush forward for more than a hundred steps, directly through the smoke and onto the clear sea on the opposite side. When they could clearly see the enemy's armored warship, they also saw the Yansui at the same time.
Fire bursting from the side.
Boom boom boom boom!
The Kraken happened to be turning left, and after rushing out of the smoke, it sold all its starboard side to the opponent. Originally, the Kraken's hull was smaller, and it was difficult to be hit in a frontal charge. But such a sideways attack greatly increased the risk of being hit.
The interception target was enlarged. Everyone on the ship heard the continuous shaking of the ship's hull amid the roar, and heard the explosion sound from the ship's hull.
Just as they looked at each other in horror, the right side of the Kraken's hull tilted suddenly, and the soldiers on board suddenly rolled off the starboard side like dumplings. The moment they fell into the water from the side of the ship, they saw more than ten huge spots on the starboard side.
The hole. Sea water is pouring into it crazily.
Only then did they realize that the right side of the Kraken's hull had been hit by more than a dozen solid bullets in just an instant. The large iron balls penetrated more than a dozen holes in the side. Only one round of bombardment destroyed the Kraken.
The ship quickly took on water and rolled over to the starboard side.
After the smoke grenades dissipated, the officers and soldiers of the Franco aircraft on the rear Holy Cross and the Allegiant warship which was turning back saw the Kraken which was capsize and sinking. They took a breath of cold air.
In just a moment, under the eyes of their own people, they sank the Kraken, which is simply unbelievable. What a cunning trick this is, it is really difficult to deal with.