The giant cannon roared, and the flames spurted like clouds; the roar of the mountain collapsed and the tsunami-like water columns seemed to bring people back to the era of cannon giant ships a quarter of a century ago, making every battleship remnant who yearned for force and art excited. Lewen Novel

In the command tower of the most massive and slender giant ship, Nimitz, the commander of the square-shaped US 1st Battleship Detachment, was staring at the surroundings with a look of shock and anger; a majestic water column with towering clouds had risen on the sea less than 100 meters away from his ship, and the majestic momentum above the mast shocked him inexplicably. The Germans actually left a powerful fleet in the Caribbean Sea and appeared in front of them at this critical time, which made it difficult to achieve the mission of their surprise landing. The excellent qualities shown by the opponent's sailors also completely awe-inspiringly; just a few rounds of shooting, they achieved accurate range measurement of their warships!

According to the reconnaissance report sent back by the seaplane, the enemy in front of him was an artillery squad consisting of four Bavarian-class battleships, which made Nimitz feel a little relieved. This class of German warships have been in service for a full 20 years, and are even older than their own Colorado-class; the only thing worthy of praise is the absurdly powerful main gun firepower. Even with his flagship equipped with 9 406mm l50 heavy artillery, it is equipped with 9 406mm l50 heavy artillery

Compared with the "New Jersey", the opponent's 12 400mm main guns were even better in projection. You should know that this battleship belonging to the Iowa class is more than 10,000 tons larger than Bavaria! However, because of this, Nimitz's mood quickly calmed down; the Germans' old battleship with so many artillery must have insufficient protection defects. As long as their fire control is performed normally, the enemy ships will definitely be sunk.

The warship trembled and roared. In the magnificent wave of Chili Clouds, the New Jersey completed its half-volley. The fired artillery slowly lowered its elevation angle and waited for another round of loading of the servo machinery in the rear; the artillery on the side slowly raised its muzzle. Waited for the correction parameters reported by the central fire control room based on the error of the previous round of shooting. Since Nimitz's mission on this trip was to support the other side, he never thought that he would fight head-on with the German battleship; therefore, most of the ammunition carried by each ship was

It is a high-explosive bomb, and the number of armor-piercing bombs accounts for less than one-third of the total share. Even the new American battleships have high-priced bombs of 130 rounds per gun, and the number of armor-piercing bombs in their inventory is definitely unable to support the consumption of traditional scattered bombs. Given this reason, Nimitz can only choose a more ammunition-saving combat method; his current hope is that the opponent's battleship is as big as he expected, and can achieve decisive results in 40 rounds of scattered bombs.

"General. Should we bring the fleet closer to the opponent to improve the shooting hit rate?" When the neon-like gully flames quickly dissipated, a young staff officer on the New Jersey couldn't help but say to Nimitz. According to the results of years of training by the U.S. Navy, the hit rate of the main gun of the battleship was only about 15% at a distance of 220,000 yards (10,000 yards = 9,144 meters). This is not a serious flaw in the flat fashion of a large number of armor-piercing shells, but the number of armor-piercing shells is rare.

At present, it is a problem that must be faced. Even if all the inventory is exhausted, the current US fleet that implements long-distance shelling can only theoretically obtain 30 to 35 hits; for the four German battleships with a permanent displacement of more than 40,000 tons, it is undoubtedly quite far from destruction to bear this damage. What's more, New Jersey and Iowa have been in service for less than 4 months, and it is still a big unknown to see how far those novice observers and gunmen can perform.

If the distance is shortened to less than 180,000 yards, the main gun hit rate can suddenly increase to 42%, which means that the US fleet can obtain 90 expected hits in 40 volleys. Even if the adverse factors of duds and personnel are taken into account, it can cause a fatal blow to the enemy fleet. What's more, close-range fast-paced combat is more conducive to quickly defeating the opponent, and it is expected to continue to carry out the shore bombing mission after the battle is over. Due to the low latitude, the Caribbean has considerable daytime even in November winter. With the fierce firepower of the 6 battleships, the German landing field can be turned into a sea of ​​fire in half an hour!

After listening to the advice of the staff, Nimitz's thoughts were louder; he fully understood the current situation of the fleet, and the insufficient number of armor-piercing bombs was the biggest weakness he had hidden in the current advantageous situation. However, Nimitz had another concern in his mind, that is, whether the vertical protection of his warship could withstand the opponent's bombardment.

Since the US Navy's artillery warfare concept has been completely changed to long-range artillery since the 1930s, the new battleships focus on horizontal protection in armor design without taking into account the invasion of vertical armor during close combat. At present, whether it is the South Dakota class that is still under the framework of the treaty or the Iowa class that pursues high-speed, its built-in main armor belt is all 307 mm inclined in 19 degrees, and there are only 125 inches and 15 inches in thickness in the outer plate. According to the US Navy's own test, the vertical protection of these two new battleships can only protect the shells fired by the South Dakota class MK6 406 mm l45 guns at 20,000 yards; if faced with the Iowa class MK7 406 mm l50 gun, this safe distance will suddenly be larger than 240,000 yards!

Although the 400mm artillery equipped on the opponent's battleship was a 20-year-old cargo, the artillery did not show any revolutionary technological improvement during the naval holidays; therefore, as long as the new shells were replaced, the power of the old cannon should not be underestimated. Once the distance is closer, Nimitz will have to worry about whether the side defense of his warship is enough. The core compartment being penetrated is definitely not something that can be calm. The rampant German submarines and aircraft carrier-based aircraft can launch deadly attacks on the stalled warships that are staggering back.

"Wait first. The defense of the old German warships is bound to be insufficient. Our 16-inch cannon can cause a fatal blow to it. In addition, due to its number advantage, the four South Dakota-classes have obtained a favorable situation of two against one; they are all warships that have been in service for more than a year and a half, and the crew and equipment are at their peak, and their shooting accuracy can be guaranteed! After the latter two German battleships were severely damaged by them, the Germans should also release smoke and retreat. After all, they cannot know the specific situation of our reserve bullets. Withdrawal in a bad situation is their only choice." Nimitz pondered for a moment, and then slowly spoke, "In this way, we can repel this intercepting fleet without suffering major losses, and then completely destroy the German landing ground with high explosive bombs."

Under Nimitz's order, the US fleet always maintained a distance from the opponent during maneuver. However, in order to improve the hit rate, Nimitz still took the risk of bringing the fleet closer to the other party's 210,000 yards away: the theoretical hit rate at this distance can be 23%, which is a certain compromise taken by the situation of insufficient ammunition. During this period, the German battleships that were the first to form a cross-fire undoubtedly took the lead in the artillery battle. The four ships of New Jersey, Iowa, South Dakota, and Indiana all had violent explosions and fire groups appearing from the hull, and the roaring air waves showed the amazing damage contained in the 400mm shell. One shell was not biased.

It just broke through the 38mm thick outer plate of the New Jersey and hit the 307mm main armor belt inside. After a thunder explosion like a mountain shaking sky, the loss department heard news that excited Nimitz. The shell did not penetrate the tilted main equipment of the warship. The explosion on the outside only destroyed several adjacent cabins and caused the fuel depot on the side below to leak. Nimitz, who learned about the details of the loss of the pipe, breathed a sigh of relief. Although this was just an example, it was enough to show that the power of the other party's shell was still within his expectations. Next, it was his four South Dakota-class stage to exert their power!

"Boom!" Accompanied by the earth-shaking thunder, nine 406mm heavy artillery on the American battleship continued to rush out the uniform red and purple fire dragons: after using a half-volley to form a cross-fire to the target, the Americans turned to send a higher-performance full-volley. The towering and surging silver pillars continued to rise around the German battleship, among which the two ships Saxony and Württemberg located at the rear were particularly critical. In addition to the opponents they fought against, there were two American battleships with strong firepower shooting at them without any interference; a few minutes later, huge orange-red fireballs burst out on their hulls. Seeing this, the sailors on the American battleship immediately burst into joy!

"Beautiful job!" Seeing the two German battleships behind the queue in the telescope, Nimitz couldn't help but wave his fists. Although under the dense bombardment of 12 400mm heavy artillery by the opponent, the USS New Jersey and other four ships were also hit repeatedly, and the flames burst into the sky; but judging from the current damage reported by each ship, they were all flesh and blood and no muscles. The direction on the battlefield is moving step by step according to his own script; when more than 10 shells were hit, the two German battleships in the rear team will suffer severe damage due to the repeated breakdown of the core compartment, and they will win the naval battle in 30 minutes.

However, as time went by, Nimitz became more and more shocked and anxious. (To be continued. (.))

ps: Thanks to book friends Palang 54, Xiaoxiang Night Rain Foreigners' monthly ticket support, Hejin Crab, Yuan yh1234567, Zhouyu1976's reward~~

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Chapter completed!