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"Slow down! Slow down to 12 knots."

Seeing the armored cruiser Blake, which was less than 12,000 meters (13,000 yards) ahead, starting to turn, Chen Jian immediately issued an order to slow down to 12 knots. The reason for slowing down was because the speed was too fast and the ship could not move.

Steady, the ship is rocking too much and the gun cannot fire accurately. The reason why we don’t simply stop is to continue to close the distance to the target. Twelve thousand meters is still too far. Although the 210 equipped with Guogong-class equipment

The accuracy of the millimeter main gun is okay, but relying on the current artillery sighting technology and the stability that a 3,000-ton warship can provide, the two 210mm cannons installed on the bow of the Guogong-class ship can hit a dozen targets five or six kilometers away.

The target can still be somewhat accurate. It would be ideal if we could reach three or four thousand meters before attacking. Therefore, the eight Guogong-class ships under Chen Jian still had to maintain a certain speed and neat formation.

This is easy to say, but really difficult to do.

It is very difficult to keep eight 3,000-ton steamships in an orderly formation in a "high-speed sailing" of more than ten knots on the undulating ocean. Now they have to slow down by four knots together, and they have to slow down during the deceleration process.

It is too difficult to keep the formation neat and tidy after deceleration. It not only tests the level of boat handling, but also tests the integrity rate of the equipment. It even tests whether the bottom of the eight Guogong-class boats is clean and whether there are enough attachments for people to see.

Barnacles on scalp.

Only a navy that is truly well-trained, has sufficient funds, and has a large number of shipyards and shipyards that can be utilized can perfectly follow Chen Jian's orders to slow down and maintain the formation.

If it is impossible to keep the formation in order during the deceleration process, or the entire formation is already twisted before decelerating, then the ships may block each other's main gun firing range, and the firepower will not be fully exerted.

However, these eight 3,000-ton armored cruisers of the Ming Dynasty performed perfectly in maintaining a horizontal formation and decelerating in unison, which made Captain Jervis in the bridge of the Blake armored cruiser feel a little nervous.

The horizontal formation is so difficult, and they all play so well. I'm afraid of the artillery skills. I don't know who they will target to focus their fire. They probably won't hit the Blake, right? The Blake is not in a good position, so it is not easy to hit.

"Target, the third ship of the enemy formation, Blake class, distance is 8,600 meters!"

If Colonel Jervis heard what Staff Sergeant Lu Benwei shouted, he would definitely be relieved. The ship they want to fight is the Waterloo.

"Distance, 8600!"

A sergeant next to Lu Benwei then picked up the phone receiver and reported the results of Lu Benwei's observations to the bridge. Then he turned the knob used to adjust the distance clock - the distance clock is a clock dial that looks a bit like a dial.

A disc with numbers and pointers on it. However, what is displayed on this disc is not the time, but the distance to the target. The purpose of this distance clock is to use the phone on the ship. When the microphone fails, it can also be used.

The artillery below knows the distance. In addition, it can also let nearby friendly ships know the results of their observations, making it easier to "copy" each other!

At the same time, the atmosphere on the bridge of the Cao Guogong was extremely tense. The navigator kept reporting the distance between the ship and the target, while the gunnery chief used a phone headset to call the Fore A battery below.

Issue the order - according to the plan, only the two 210mm main guns of the bow No. A battery will participate in the concentrated fire attack on the target ship, and the 155mm secondary guns on the turrets on both sides will not join. This is of course also to avoid secondary

When the gun fires, it causes unnecessary shaking of the ship, which affects the firepower of the main gun.

In other words, the armored cruiser HMS Waterloo will face the bombardment of 16 210mm guns later!

The time of firing was when the Waterloo began to turn to the right.

On the flagship Wei Guogong, Chen Jian listened to the captain's report while holding a telescope and staring at the Waterloo - the distance between this ship and the eight Guogong classes when it turns will be very critical!

If the distance is close enough, the 16 210mm cannons can fire hundreds of rounds without any problem. If eight out of ten are hit, the Waterloo will have to be driven back to the Hindustan Shipyard in Mumbai even if it does not sink.

Go and repair it for a few months (is a few months enough?)!

Moreover, the British only have three Blakes in the Indian Ocean (there are three in total at this level). One of them was destroyed, and the remaining two can only cover its retreat. They will never dare to confront the Ming Navy fleet again.

Because if the collision continues and the other two are paralyzed, then the Indian fleet will not be able to fight even break-up engagements and counter-breakdown engagements. As long as there is no Blake class, it will rely on the 16 knots of the Guogong class and the Marquis class.

At 18 and 19 knots, the Persian Gulf Fleet of the Ming Navy was enough to sail across the Arabian Sea. There were 18 ships in these two classes! It was not a break of diplomatic relations, but a direct blockade war!

"Sir, the enemy's No. 3 ship has turned!"

The captain of the Wei Guogong suddenly shouted.

Chen Jian also saw that the 9,000-ton ship began to turn around, so he hurriedly shouted: "Report the distance!"

"6200 meters!"

Not ideal, but that's all.

"Target, enemy ship No. 3, hit me hard!" Chen Jian roared, and the veins on his forehead bulged.

After receiving the order, the gunnery commander immediately raised the phone, reported the calculated shooting numbers to the bow turret, and then roared: "Fire!"

When his order was transmitted to the turret, the gunner who received the order suddenly pressed the firing button. Almost at the same time, the gunners in the bow turrets of the other seven Guogong-class ships also pressed the firing button with full force.

The 16 210mm naval guns roared almost at the same time, and orange-red fireballs bloomed from each muzzle. The huge recoil pushed the 3,000-ton Guogong class back violently, causing it to

Lu Benwei, who was measuring the distance on the mast, felt as if he was pushed by someone and almost fell down. Fortunately, the deputy observer beside him was prepared and gave him a hand.

Without even having time to say thank you, he put his eyes to the eyepiece of the rangefinder again. When he looked again, he found that countless water columns suddenly appeared around the 9,000-ton ship, and the ship seemed to have crashed head-on.

Into the storm.

"First round cross shot. Well done!" Lu Benwei couldn't help but cheer when he saw this scene. He was not cheering for the gunner, but cheering for himself!

Cross-fire shows that the observations and calculations are correct. Next, as long as some adjustments are made on this basis (the ship is moving), it can ensure that the shells are dispersed in the "danger zone", so that hitting the target is only a matter of time.

"Distance!" the deputy observer on the side shouted. Only then did Lu Benwei remember his duty and quickly measured the distance.

At the same time, Chen Jian was staring at the Waterloo from the bridge of his ship, the Wei Guogong, and also witnessed the straddle fire just now. About forty or fifty seconds after the first salvo, the 16 210 mm cannons

Then the second round of shells was fired again.

This rate of fire is indeed fast enough!

Another straddle shot, and it was a near miss! More shells landed in the "danger zone", and countless water columns exploded.

Then came the third salvo, and the interval between it and the second salvo was also forty or fifty seconds. Less than ten seconds after 16 210mm shells were blasted out of the muzzle again, the armored cruiser HMS Waterloo in the distance appeared.

A huge fireball suddenly burst out.

Hit!

Amid the smoke, Chen Jian only saw thick smoke billowing from the bow of the Waterloo and blazing fire, as if a big hole had been punched out!

"Good job!" Chen Jian patted the railing in front of him with excitement. But what he was praising now was not the gunners, observers, and calculation soldiers, but the technicians responsible for improving the picric acid Z drug formula and fuse! Before

In the Battle of the Kii Waterway, the Ming Navy's artillery shells exploded as soon as they were touched, so they all exploded on the surface of the enemy ship's hull, instead of exploding after drilling into it.

And this shell apparently penetrated the steel plate on the bow of the enemy ship and penetrated inside before exploding!
Chapter completed!