The sailors on the auxiliary cruiser looked at the clear water below like a fool, feeling as if they were in a dream, because the two torpedoes did not hit them, but passed directly through the bottom of the ship, just like the other two torpedoes.
Hit the USS Texas.
It could escape. The Texas, which had a draft far deeper than it, was not so lucky. Although relying on the skill of the helmsman, this second-class battleship was able to avoid the two torpedoes that hit the bow.
But the two missiles that passed through the bottom of the auxiliary cruiser hit its bottom keel. Two fiery red monsters suddenly appeared under the sea water, and then they saw this giant ship of more than 6,000 tons jumping upward fiercely.
In the huge explosion sound like the earth was shattering, it was broken like a toy, and the fire that shot up to the sky spurted out from the broken part of the ship with countless hull fragments. Then, under the astonished gaze of countless people, the two sections of the ship crashed back.
The sea surface began to sink instantly.
Dewey staggered in the distance and even felt a little dizzy. All the sailors on the USS Indiana where he was were looking sadly behind them, watching the sinking of Texas.
In the Spanish fleet, there was a deafening cheer.
The sinking of the Texas also woke up the sailors on the auxiliary cruisers. They knew that now was the life and death of the entire fleet and even the U.S. Navy. There was no room for shrinking. Almost all the auxiliary cruisers moved forward to block the Spanish destroyers.
between the fleet and its own main fleet.
However, this time, the wandering wolves in the distance no longer let them go because their value was too low. Under the leadership of the two ships of the Bishop, they immediately targeted the Brooklyn. At this time, the nine thousand ton ship
The armored cruiser was already fighting with the Pelayo coming from the other side. Although the tonnage of both sides was the same, the Brooklyn, which had eight 203mm main guns, had more fierce firepower. The dense shells turned the Pelayo into a sea of flames.
.
The advantage of the Pelayo is that almost every shell it hits can cause serious damage to the Brooklyn. The two sides just go back and forth with shells to destroy each other, and at the same time launch an attack from the other side.
The destroyer fleet has begun to fire torpedoes at the auxiliary cruisers guarding the Brooklyn. The four high-speed destroyers are pouring 75mm picric acid high-explosive bombs at the four auxiliary cruisers in front of them at hundreds of rounds per minute.
, while zooming in to within seven kilometers at a high speed of 35 knots, and then launched two torpedoes at each of them.
The four auxiliary cruisers blocked the Brooklyn's starboard side and fired wildly at the sea surface with naval guns of various calibers. Unfortunately, their shells had almost no effect on torpedoes with a fixed depth of five meters. Those eight obvious track lines
Still rushing straight towards me.
Captain Cook on the Brooklyn was also frightened and ignored the battle with the Pelayo. He hurriedly ordered to turn the steering wheel to avoid it. He could see clearly what happened to the Texas just now and the opponent's torpedoes.
It was obvious that it was drilled through the bottom of the auxiliary cruiser with a draft of only four or five meters, but the draft of the Brooklyn was more than six meters, and the draft of ships such as the Iowa was even more than seven meters, so such a good thing would never happen.
The eight torpedoes passed through the bottoms of the four auxiliary cruisers in an instant under an incredulous look. Except for two that missed the target after grazing the bottom of the ship, the remaining six continued to shoot at the Brooklyn.
The Brooklyn, which could reach a speed of twenty-two knots, turned around like crazy on the sea, while the Pelayo opposite it and the Empress Teresa that followed took the opportunity to focus their firepower on this unconcerned area at the same time.
On the resisting opponent, dense artillery shells exploded on the Brooklyn one after another, and one even directly penetrated its waterline armor belt and exploded deep in the hull.
Fortunately, hard work will eventually pay off, because the distance is too far. With the Brooklyn's avoidance, all six torpedoes were actually fired. The torpedoes that lost power quickly sank to the bottom of the sea. Cook, who was originally thankfully wiping away a cold sweat,
The captain found out helplessly that his bow was facing the side of the Pelayo and the Empress Theresa.
The failure of the torpedo attack caused a sound of regret among the destroyers in the distance, but forcing the Brooklyn to the point of being focused on the fire was an unexpected gain. After feeling that they could not get a good attack angle, these wolves immediately launched
The target was the New York.
At this time, the auxiliary cruisers also woke up and quickly outflanked the destroyers preparing to siege and penetrate the defense. However, the Bishop and Tocana who were standing by would not allow such a thing to happen. The two ships had 16 doors and 152
The main guns immediately began to pour shells on these auxiliary cruisers. Under their cover, six destroyers launched an attack on the New York.
The five auxiliary cruisers escorting the New York no longer considered blocking torpedoes at this time. They all turned around and rushed towards these destroyers. They knew that due to the problem of fixed depth, the torpedoes launched by these destroyers would definitely not be able to hit them. When they saw this,
The other four destroyers that were originally far away also joined the assault, while the remaining five fought against the auxiliary cruisers that were outflanking the Massachusetts in front.
However, just when Dewey was sure that the target of the destroyers was the New York, the ten wolves rushing towards the New York suddenly formed an elegant arc on the sea at the moment when the auxiliary cruisers opened fire, and then
At a high speed of 35 knots, it left behind these classic ships with more than 10 knots and headed straight for the USS Iowa, which was at the forefront of the U.S. fleet.
This scene made all Americans dumbfounded. Dewey's force configuration was five auxiliary cruisers next to each battleship. Now a total of twenty ships were mobilized by their false shot, protecting the Iowa in front.
The three ships, Indiana and Massachusetts, only had ten auxiliary cruisers. The three ships, which were originally engaged in a fierce battle with USS Cologne, USS Columbus, and USS Carlos V, suddenly became chaotic.
The auxiliary cruisers that were deceived moved forward like crazy. Unfortunately, the speed difference between the two sides was more than double, so they were destined to be unable to catch up.
The destroyer fleets that were originally divided into two groups quickly converged, and the fifteen evil wolves pounced ferociously at the front. After confirming that he was the target, the captain of the Iowa, Evans, wisely did not order to protect his five ships.
The auxiliary cruisers move forward to fight. The speed difference between the two sides is too big. If these auxiliary cruisers move forward, they are likely to be swayed by the opponent.
His arrangement was to simply continue to form a group. The five auxiliary cruisers, three in the front and two in the back, and the Iowa in the middle, displayed all their side medium-caliber naval guns, waiting for the destroyers to come like a maritime fortress, while the rest
The large-caliber main gun continued to fire at the Carlos V, which was duel with itself.
In fact, Camara's Spanish main fleet was not having a good time at this time. These battleships were weaker than the US military in terms of tonnage, protection, and firepower, especially when compared with first-class battleships like Iowa, the gap was huge.
The bombs have somewhat made up for the gap, but after all, the strength is there. So far, all six battleships have been seriously injured, especially the Columbus, which is single-handedly challenging the Indiana. This 6,000-ton armored cruiser is almost stronger than itself.
Although the opponents of the two levels also caused considerable losses to each other, they themselves were also disabled.
The Carlos V, which was duel with the Iowa, was equally miserable. Under such circumstances, the destroyer fleet began to attack the Iowa.
Fifteen destroyers lined up in a row, aiming straight at the Iowa with their bows. In order not to give the opponent enough time to dodge, these small destroyers also risked their lives, even if they entered the range of the Iowa's guns.
Instead of launching torpedoes, they continued their desperate attack at a high speed of thirty-five knots.
When it was nine kilometers away, all the 203 and 152 guns on the starboard side of the Iowa opened fire at the same time, pouring shells wildly at these deadly wolves. The American sailors who were forced to the dead end also broke out with strong combat effectiveness.
At a distance of seven kilometers, a 203mm shell hit the bow of a destroyer. The huge explosion power was too cruel for such a small ship. The entire capital of the destroyer was blown away. Watching the destroyer begin to sink,
However, the remaining fourteen destroyers were not affected at all and continued to charge forward without hesitation. As the distance shortened, the 120 guns on the auxiliary cruisers on both sides also opened fire one after another.
The charging destroyers were hit by this rapid-fire artillery one after another, and fireballs exploded on five of the destroyers. Unfortunately, the power of the artillery of this caliber was not fatal, so the injured destroyers seemed unaware.
Walking through the water columns exploded by cannonballs, the distance between the two sides soon narrowed to within six kilometers.
"Turn the helm!" Seeing that he could no longer stop them from launching torpedoes, Evans hurriedly shouted. As the steering wheel turned, the Iowa began to turn around. Almost at the same time, all the charging destroyers were heading towards this 10,000-tael displacement ship.
The thousand-ton giant ship launched torpedoes.
Twelve heavy torpedoes were instantly blasted out by the compressed air, then plunged into the sea water, then leveled and rushed forward at a high speed of forty-five knots. At the same time, all the destroyers hurriedly turned around and began to escape at high speed. Twelve track lines
Behind them, head straight for the Iowa.
Including the Iowa, all US warships could no longer care about these destroyers. Nearly a hundred large, medium and small caliber naval guns were aimed at the sea surface at the same time. The dense explosion of shells made the sea water boil like a boiling pot, but such an interception
With little effect, the twelve torpedoes were getting closer and closer in the eyes of people who were frightened and desperate.
Four minutes later, except for one of the twelve torpedoes that was intercepted by a naval gun and four that missed the target, all seven of the twelve torpedoes hit the starboard side of the Iowa under the waterline. (To be continued...)