webnovelfull Chapter 469: Sinking the Fuso Ironclad Ship
Chapter 469: Sinking the Fuso Ironclad Ship
Although the Fuso ironclad ship was bulky and had no speed advantage, the thickness of its armor was extremely amazing, which could effectively prevent the attacks of the Dragon Claw's naval guns and torpedoes. At this moment, under the siege of four Dragon Claw light cruisers, blue smoke was rising from the right side of the Fuso, including the bow deck.
But in a short period of time, it would be difficult for the Fuso to be completely destroyed and sunk.
The Fuso was equipped with 12 twin-mounted 356mm/45-caliber main guns, with amazing firepower, but the speed advantage of the Dragon Claw light cruiser was too obvious. Even though the Fuso's naval guns continued to roar angrily, the huge shells repeatedly missed the target and posed no threat to the four Dragon Claw light cruisers.
On the contrary, Fuso's Kinu light cruiser has an advantage over the Ryuzua light cruiser due to its light tonnage and high speed. It is equipped with 50 140-caliber Type 5 5mm single-mounted guns, 40 127-caliber Type 1 2mm twin-mounted anti-aircraft gun, and 16 torpedoes. It constantly moves flexibly on the sea, avoiding the bombardment while looking for opportunities to counterattack.
Seeing this, Mountbatten, who was watching the battle through a telescope on the deck of the Jiaolong, immediately ordered: "Let the Chengfeng of the First Fleet fire the main guns and sink the Fuso directly!"
On the Yuifu, after roughly calibrating the position of the Fuso ironclad ship, the 460MM main gun made a thunderous roar. The Yamato was famous for its giant main gun. There were three triple-mounted main guns, two triple-mounted turrets were configured on the front deck, and one triple-mounted turret was configured on the rear deck. 3 mm. The weight of the main gun turret's swing unit was 460 tons.
The shells did not hit the target in the first bombardment, but it still made the people on the Fuso ironclad ship break out in cold sweats.
"Ono-kun! Look! That looks like our Fuso's Yamato-class battleship!"
At this time, the captain of the ironclad ship, Gojiro Yamamoto, could hardly believe his eyes. The Yamato-class battleship was the pride of the Fuso Navy and even the entire Fuso. Fuso had exhausted all the country's strength, but had only built two 100,000-ton giant battleships, the Yamato and the Musashi. But wasn't the one firing at them a Yamato-class battleship?
After the second calibration, the battleship Chengfeng adjusted the angle of the muzzle again, and the gunners were fully focused, waiting for the order to fire. At this time, the sea surface had returned to calm, like the calm before the storm, but the smell of gunpowder in this naval battle became stronger.
Fuso's Yamato-class battleships were able to quickly operate a mechanized loading system. The Yuikaze, which was based on the Yamato-class battleship, could fire one round in just 6 seconds, which was undoubtedly a great advantage in naval battles at the time. Within 2 minutes, it completed 3 salvos, with a firing rate of up to 1.8 rounds per minute, demonstrating its powerful firepower output capability.
Each shell weighed 1.5 tons, and the charge reached an astonishing 330 kilograms. These shells were like messengers of the god of death, carrying the power of destruction and flying towards the Chengfeng cruiser. The three types of shells equipped with the artillery - Type 91 460mm armor-piercing shells, Type anti-aircraft shells and high-explosive shells, each of which had different killing effects, but they were undoubtedly fatal.
This time, the Chengfeng's gunfire finally showed its power. Six shells streaked across the sky like meteors and hit the target. One of the shells landed on the deck of the Fuso ironclad ship, instantly causing a violent explosion.
The impact of the explosion blew the deck apart, and huge flames and thick smoke rose into the sky, illuminating the surrounding sea surface red. The explosion was mixed with the sharp sound of metal tearing, as if the entire ironclad ship was torn apart at this moment.
The shock wave generated by the explosion spread across the sea, forming huge water columns. The waves were blown high up and then slammed hard on the deck, making a deafening roar.
The Fuso ironclad ship was shaken violently by the impact of the explosion, and the hull seemed to be falling apart. The officers and soldiers on the ship were frightened by the sudden attack and ran around, trying to find a safe shelter.
As the artillery roared, two more shells, like the stroke of death, once again broke the tranquility of the sea horizon. With the power of destruction, they locked onto different parts of the Fuso ironclad ship.
The first shell directly hit the bridge of the Fuso ironclad ship. A huge explosion shook the sky, and the bridge was instantly blown off, with fragments flying everywhere. The fire from the explosion reflected on the faces of every officer and soldier, and their eyes were filled with fear and despair.
Almost at the same time, the second shell hit the left side of the Fuso ironclad. Amid the deafening explosion, the ship shook violently, as if it was about to be torn apart. Under the huge impact, seawater poured in violently through the hole created by the explosion. This hole, which was about three meters in diameter, was like the wound of a giant beast, constantly devouring the vitality of the ironclad.
The middle area of the Fuso ironclad ship was broken under continuous bombardment, and the hull began to tilt. Seawater rushed in quickly, and the officers and soldiers on the ship screamed in fear and ran around. They tried to plug the gap, but to no avail. The entire ship gradually sank under the impact of seawater and eventually could not escape the fate of sinking.
A large number of Fuso naval officers and soldiers were forced to jump into the icy sea. They struggled hard, trying to grab anything that could save their lives. However, in this vast ocean, the hope of survival was slim. They could only watch in despair as the ship below them quickly sank to the bottom of the sea.
On the other side, four Dragon Claw light cruisers were besieging Fuso's Kinu light cruiser. Amid the dense gunfire, two torpedoes approached Kinu like ghosts. With two loud bangs, the torpedoes hit the target, and Kinu's power system instantly failed, and the entire ship shook violently.
The Kinu light cruiser, which had lost its mobility, became a living target for the four Dragon Claw light cruisers. They launched rounds of artillery fire around the Kinu, and each shell left deep scars on the Kinu light cruiser. In the end, the Kinu, which represented the latest technology of the Fuso Navy, also sank completely into the sea.
In Changxiong Port, the Fuso Asian First Fleet began to move out on a large scale. Obviously, the commander, Hase Aokawa, had already received the news of the sinking of the Fuso ironclad ship, and confirmed that this fleet should be the Chinese naval fleet. Although this fact was difficult for Hase Aokawa to accept, Hase Aokawa still believed that in terms of the army, although China already had world-class military standards, in terms of the navy, they were not yet qualified to challenge Fuso.
On the South China Sea Fleet side, one of the Dragon Claw-class light cruisers also suffered serious damage in the counterattack of the Kinu and had to withdraw from the battle. In fact, the Dragon Claw had no advantage over the Kinu in terms of armor, speed, and weapons equipment, but the four Dragon Claw-class light cruisers still used the so-called wolf pack tactics to kill the Kinu.