The Americans left the anchorage with two outdated warships with high morale. And they blocked the Spanish fleet on its way to the Newport News Shipyard with great enthusiasm! But this high morale was restored when they saw what they were about to face.

After the right battleship, he immediately let out a glimpse of his eyes!

"God, is this a Spanish battleship? Look at its triple main gun, it looks like the three-headed dog of Hades!" an American sailor said loudly.

"Damn the Admiralty, they moved all the capital ships away, and the Spanish came to attack our shipyard! Are they all pig-headed?" another sailor cursed.

"Get ready to meet the enemy, boys. We have no way to retreat. Behind us is the heart of the U.S. Navy! The Spaniards are nothing to be afraid of. Our 12-inch cannon is enough to knock through the opponent's armor!" An officer encouraged his subordinates to fight.

.

Four Spanish warships came at a very high speed and quickly lined up on the sides. Up to 20 10-inch 40L Armstrong rapid-fire cannons were aimed at the two US warships 5 kilometers away. An unspeakable feeling

A sense of oppression instantly enveloped the two American warships. "It will be the first warship I sink in my naval career." Scheer said excitedly.

4500 meters, 4000 meters, 3500 meters! "Fire". The gunners of the four Spanish warships kept repeating the firing order. Dozens of large-caliber cannons sprayed out tongues of flame in the distance, with orange fire at the muzzles.

Flames and gunpowder smoke connected together. The 227kg artillery shell flew at a muzzle speed of more than 700 meters, flying over a 3.5km wide sea in less than 6 seconds, shrouding the American fleet in the distance in a column of water!

"The firepower of the Spanish main fleet was too dense. We never dreamed that we would be bombarded with such fierce force. The Spaniards lined up neatly and opened fire at us calmly. Within a minute, they would at least deliver to our fleet.

Tons of ammunition! We were surrounded by yellow water columns. What’s even more unfortunate is that the unlucky USS Texas was hit in the first round of shelling.” A surviving US Navy soldier wrote in the diary

wrote this.

The distance of 3,500 meters is a bit far, but with the support of the huge number of artillery guns and high fire speed, in the first minute of the battle, a 227kg shell plunged into the middle deck of the Texas! 6-inch haha

Nickel steel armor root

It can't stop a blow from a 10-inch armor-piercing bullet. (Note that Harvey nickel steel armor and Harvey hardened armor are not the same thing. The former just adds some nickel elements to the steel plate, and its defensive power is slightly stronger than steel-faced armor.) After

Quench hardened bullet

The body tore through the armor easily and then plunged into the middle deck. After passing through two cabins, it exploded about a cabin away from the flue! More than ten kilograms of picric acid explosives mixed with shrapnel and hull fragments turned the surrounding area into

a burning refinement

Hell! The high-speed debris easily tore apart the cabin wall, and the shock wave and fire generated by the explosion spread to all directions along with the breach. Thick smoke billowed from the middle of the Texas's hull, so much so that it could be seen several kilometers away.

Newport can be seen clearly.

"Fire, counterattack those Spaniards." The American gunner cursed and manipulated the artillery. But those 12-inch heavy artillery that gave people a sense of security were not as good as people imagined. The American 12-inch 35l artillery was essentially no better than

Dingzhen

The refitted Jiangnan-made 12-inch 35l artillery is advanced, and even the continuous fire powder is chestnut gunpowder! The simple turret, backward ammunition supply and loading system, and the long-lasting thick smoke after firing make these huge-caliber 12

The inch cannon cannot exert its power!

Three minutes after the battle started, the artillery of the two American warships fired only two rounds! The 300+kg shells plunged into the sea 30 meters away from the Spanish ship. Apart from creating a splash, it had no effect.

"Close them and kill them." When soldiers gain the upper hand in a war, even the most cowardly person will become belligerent! The entire Spanish fleet began to close the distance. It is hoped that these two annoying people can be quickly solved through close-range and intensive firepower.

guy!

The distance between the two sides quickly closed to 2,500 meters. This distance is basically the optimal distance for the Spanish fleet to exert its firepower. The 10-inch guns and 6-inch guns poured firepower towards the opposite side at the highest speed. 4 Spanish battleships and 2 American battleships were like

Medieval cavalry usually rushes past. It’s just that

On one side were heavily armored cavalry riding warhorses holding warhammers, while on the other side were light armored cavalry holding daggers and riding inferior horses. The two sides passed each other quickly, firing cannonballs that slashed at each other like the scythe of death.

At the moment when the two sides crossed paths, the two American warships were instantly submerged in a hail of bullets!

Countless 10-inch, 6-inch and 3-inch shells rained down on the American warship. In less than 1 minute, the Texas was hit by at least 3 large-caliber shells, one with a 10-inch shell.

The artillery shells kept hitting this place like a heavy hammer.

The fragile hull of the Texas! Once, twice, three times, some lucky Americans truly experienced what it means to live like a year. No one knew whether they could survive until the end of the war. Everyone was afraid of a shell.

Penetrate the cabin not far away

Next door. Those unfortunate people were directly killed by the explosion, shrapnel and flames. In just a few minutes, the entire battleship was hit by intensive shells! The entire superstructure turned into a burning torch, yellow and green.

The flame of se is in the armor

The plates spread everywhere, devouring everything they encountered! And more importantly, a 12-inch gun turret was hit by a 227kg high-explosive round! Although it did not penetrate the 12-inch-thick protection, the huge shock and fragments were still

This turret is stuck!

The Texas was still struggling in the fire and smoke, and the Monterey that followed had no chance to struggle. With a displacement of just over 4,000 tons, it actually had a twin 12-inch 35L cannon and a twin

Mounted with a 10-inch 30L gun and a nominal 13-inch main assembly! The paper data is excellent! But what level is it?

The Americans know very well that the reserve buoyancy is very little, the stem is very low, and the main armor belt is narrow and short! It is almost useless! Coupled with the excessive weight of the armament, the stability and redundancy of this ship are really poor.

Okay, even though he wasn't taken care of, he was still beaten up by the two Pisa-class armored cruisers at the end of the team!

A 10-inch high-explosive bomb hit the bow of the Monterey like a heavy hammer. The entire battleship shook violently, and then a bright yellow flame exploded at the bow. The huge explosion force directly

A large hole of more than ten square meters opened in the bow of the ship, and the entire bow suddenly sank. A large amount of seawater poured into the bow. Then a serious incident occurred on the Monterey.

There was a heavy bow tilt, and the speed of the entire battleship also dropped a bit. Then at least three more 6-inch shells and countless machine gun shells swept across the entire bridge. In the few minutes as the two sides passed each other, the Montreal

It was also riddled with holes. A raging fire spread across the ship, killing or injuring people on the bridge. The fire quickly developed out of control.

"Full right rudder, let's go up from behind and try again." At this time, Severa no longer had any worries in his heart. Such a disparate battle made him full of confidence. The only flaw was that none of the four warships carried torpedoes, otherwise

If so, he could order the battleship to strike again and then get closer to prepare for the lightning strike!

"Your Excellency, Admiral, there are two new ships coming out in the distance to die. Should we also send them to the bottom of the sea?" Scheer said while looking at the two coastal defense ships that rushed out of Officer Hamilton.

"It's the Puritan and the Terror! The other side has four 12-inch guns and four 10-inch guns," a staff officer said after looking at them for a moment.

"These two ships look a little more difficult to deal with. Let's focus on sinking the Texas and Monterey first, and then we'll deal with these two snails." Severa thought for a moment and said.

At this time, after seeing the two American warships coming out of the naval port, the Texas and the Monterey immediately turned around and moved closer to the friendly forces. Unfortunately, only the Texas could survive the rain of bullets.

Turning. The Monterey had difficulty keeping up with the former due to the loss of buoyancy and severe tilt. When the Spanish fleet came from behind

During the detour, the four behemoths did not stop firing at this poor shallow-water heavy artillery ship. Shells continued to hit the hull and opened several holes in the side armor. The influx of large amounts of seawater made the ship

The stem of the battleship is basically the same as the water surface. The originally low speed is even lowered to a pitiful level under the influence of sea water.

23 minutes after the battle began, the Monterey became the first battleship to be sunk in the Spanish-American War. The Texas ignored the American sailors who fell into the water and moved closer to the Wanderer and Terror at its maximum speed. The Americans needed

Reorganize the formation, extinguish the fire on the battleship. Then continue to fight! However, the Spanish did not give the Americans much time. Just after sinking the Monterey, four Spanish battleships began to charge the American fleet!

The Saint is in front, and the Terror is behind. Then there is the Texas, which is putting out the fire. This formation is stronger than the previous one, but subsequent facts prove that this American fleet is not enough to challenge the opponent! Relatively speaking,

The Saint is also a very good coastal defense shallow water heavy gun ship, with 4 12-inch 35L guns and 6 4-inch 40L guns.

guns and 6 6-pound guns. The Terror behind it has 4 10-inch 35L guns, 2 4-inch 40L guns, 2 6-pound guns and 2 3-pound guns. But they are all coastal defense warships after all.

It's okay to deal with some small ships that sneak attack the port, but they are far from qualified to face giant ships like the Dante class or the Pisa class that sail across the ocean!

"The American artillery is very intimidating, but the actual effect is very mediocre. The extremely slow fire speed makes it impossible for American warships to hit, and the lack of rapid fire cannons makes it difficult for American warships to hit our warships with high-explosive bombs.

The bridge of the ship became very weak. This battle felt more like a massacre to me." Scheer wrote in his diary.

It was another hedging of steel, and the Americans walked side by side with the Spanish fleet in the same direction regardless of their choice. The smaller relative speeds and almost fixed combat sequence of the two sides were undoubtedly an added advantage for the Spanish fleet, which had superior firepower, so the United States was very

Choose to delay rationally! At least buy time for the shipyard's evacuating personnel.

"We cannot drag on like this. The 10-inch 40L main gun shells cannot be replenished at sea. If we cannot destroy the opponent with as few shells as possible, I am afraid that even if we win the naval battle, we will not have enough ammunition to attack Newport News.

There is a shipyard in Sri Lanka." Scheer soon discovered the problem and suggested that he immediately change course and fight the opponent in the same direction.

"Do the same tactical moves again, hedge, turn astern of the enemy fleet and sail in the same direction." Severa rejected Scheer's suggestion. From a tactical point of view, Scheer's suggestion can save ammunition and ammunition to the greatest extent.

Time, but what about after the naval battle? Is it really possible to use naval guns to wipe Newport News off the map? Severa would not dare to make such a decision!

To a certain extent, Severa's purpose was to gain an advantage in the war and keep the colonies in the Caribbean, rather than to really upset the United States. Severa knew that even if Spain won the war, after ten years

After making preparations, the United States can still seek control of Cuba again. Perhaps in that time, Spain will eventually lose its colonies in the Caribbean. But Severa feels that it is better not to anger the United States too much. After all, the United States at this time is not

The United States in 1812, and Spain was not Britain!

Thanks to Youshan Qingqing for the reward. As of now, I don’t even have 200 recommendations in a month...Clicks and collections are both miserable. Can everyone help the author and give me some motivation? Collection,
Chapter completed!