Chapter 374 So fast!

"Moro, you just follow."

"Yes, take it off, take it off!"

"Damn it, it's all old men here. You're afraid of a ball!"

"Isn't it two balls? We Morrow are young people who have just graduated, and they are soft-skinned.

There was a burst of laughter in the front turret of the Antarctic Star. Morrow despised the guys who had been together for more than three months. He took a breath and stripped off his military uniform under the gaze of his comrades-in-arms. He only wore shorts, rushed out of the turret with a waterproof repair bag, and quickly climbed to the top of the turret.

The rainstorm poured down, and the bean-sized raindrops hit the skin painfully. In less than a while, they seemed to fall into the pond and were soaked.

After climbing up the top of the turret quickly, he took a big wrench to open a piece of the lens of the optical rangefinder, and carefully took out a new lens from the maintenance bag.

This is a technical work. Although this kind of turret optical rangefinder was designed for rapid maintenance, it is now raining heavily outside. If water vapor penetrates into the lens, it will have a great impact on the artillery observation at a while.

So he must crawl, press the place where the lens is rotated with his body, and then take out a dry cotton cloth from the waterproof repair bag and carefully wipe the new lens before reinstalling it.

Although it was fast, in fact, it would take more than ten minutes to replace it, so when he returned to the turret, his skin all over his body was washed white. The veterans immediately brought hot tea to warm him up. At the same time, they also quickly climbed up the narrow observer position in the turret to check the effect of the lens replacement.

The brushed rainstorm makes the world in the rangefinder still chaotic. The rangefinder can only detect the effect through the Akashi anti-collision fog lamp in the distance. If you really want to know whether it is repaired or not, you have to wait until dawn.

This is a hidden danger, but no one can do anything about this kind of ghost weather. Who makes these newly equipped turret reading rangefinders so delicate?

In the last minor conflict in Borneo, it was exposed that once the Jinghai class left the formation, the rest of the fleet's capital ships lacked long-distance ranging and aiming means. The equipment department immediately organized the attack according to the requirements of the navy and successfully took out a resolute rangefinder similar to a 13-meter-long bamboo tube for each main turret. .

Originally, the equipment department was planning to put the rangefinder into the turret as a whole and stick it out at the left and right ends. However, due to the huge cost of replacing the turret, all the resources and steel quota of the navy are basically occupied by the six new capital ships that have been newly started, so in the end, a thin layer of iron sheet had to be added to it. It is installed directly on the top of the turret.

This method is simple and easy to maintain, but it also causes the current situation. Due to the process problem of sealing, some of the lenses of the rangefinder are foggy by water vapor, and the effect is greatly reduced, so I have to find Mo Luo to replace it.

Seeing Moro began to dress, several members of the noisy gun group were still preparing to make trouble. Suddenly, a figure flashed at the door of the turret, and Captain Yang Tai had appeared in front of everyone.

"Regone!"

Yang Tai smiled and replied to the soldiers. As the first mate of the original Antarctic Star, after Ji Rushan was promoted to the fleet commander, he took over the position of captain of the Antarctic Star, and also continued the rule that the commanders had to inspect each position before the war began.

"Morrow, how's the rangefinder?"

"Report to the captain that the lens has been replaced, but it's too dark, and there is a rainstorm, so I can't find a farther reference for debugging for the time being." Moro saluted.

Yang Tai smiled and patted Moro on the shoulder: "It's okay. It's dawn in a minute. It's not too late to test it later." After saying that, he glanced at the cannon group again and said, "Everyone work hard. Don't drop the chain for our Antarctic star for a while!"

After Yang Tai finished speaking, he was ready to continue the next battle position inspection. An old gunner suddenly shouted at him at this time: "Captain, how's the battle ahead?"

Yang Tai knew that, even if everyone was laughing, they were actually worried about the three destroyers that accelerated to leave last night. He smiled and said, "Don't worry, what else can happen to this damn weather? Each shot a few shots, and then all of them withdrew.

"So, it depends on us!!"

Hearing that the destroyer was fine, everyone breathed a breath, but they were all veterans who had fought several battles. The destroyer formation returned without success, which also meant that they and the British stood on the same starting line again!

"No, I have to go up and have a look!" Looking at the captain's departure, Moro suddenly took off his newly put on trousers. Everyone knew what the new technician was worried about.

Ji Rushan in the command tower looked at the hazyness of the east, and he was also sad.

The destroyer formation sent out fought a bad battle, because the visibility of the sea was too poor in the rainstorm. The two sides did not find each other until it was close to 3,000 meters. Although Britain had a numerical advantage, it was faster on its own side. As a result, no one failed to achieve results. After wasting hundreds of shells, they exchanged each other across the Bus Strait. They chased and eventually withdrew from the battle.

He didn't know if Felitman had got the battle report. At least according to the news, the Mengmeng rain brought great trouble to the fleet's aiming, and the effectiveness of the rangefinder, which was originally relied on, would be greatly reduced in this kind of ghostly weather!

"Report!"

"The ranging results have appeared. At present, each ship can only accurately locate about 10,000 meters at most. No matter how far it is, the accuracy will be greatly lost!"

Ji Rushan quickly measured the distance data from the gun barrel, and the eyebrows were tighter, 10,000 meters, which means that both sides can penetrate the main armor of the other party, and the long-range shelling advantage on their side is completely lost. It depends on who is lucky!

God wins? Or did Guan Gong dance the knife smoothly?

"Report, received the hurricane signal, he is located 40 kilometers southeast!" In Ji Rushan's thinking, there was a shout from the communication staff. When he found the Hurricane, he waited to find the British fleet, so he quickly marked the position of the Felicman fleet with a ruler, and then measured the position of the Bus Strait with a compass.

At the same time, almost at the same time! In this situation, whoever grabs the Bus Strait first is the winner! In the case of the similar speed of the battleships of the two sides, they can rely on their respective cruisers!

"Drap the alarm, the muzzle direction is 060."

"Jingwei, Self-Defense, set off immediately!"

"The heavy patrol team went out and blocked the bus strait first!"

"Order Lan Jianshu to cooperate..." Ji Rushan quickly gave the order, but before he finished speaking, an alarm had resounded through the whole fleet. Ten thousand two thousand kilometers, British cruiser!"

Ji Rushan's heart sank again, and Felitman also found himself!

"Fire!" -

In the bridge of the Old Man Star, Phillyman and all the officers pricked up their ears, and the faint thunder from the sea breeze made them understand that the enemy was in the distance!

On the deck beside them, the thick muzzle had all been aimed at the direction of the gunfire. The sailors stood in the wind and rain, and the rain slid down their hats and collars to the dusty deck washed by the wind and rain all night.

"This damn rainstorm! It's all because of the damn Li Mo. Why did he provoke the empire!"

The medical officer hiding under the deck looked at the foggy sea and stamped his feet angrily, because he knew that even if the fleet won, many soldiers would definitely fall ill in this kind of ghostly weather.

Phillipman didn't know how difficult the war in this weather was, but he had no choice. From the time he was discovered by the airship last night, he knew that the war for the interests of the Far East had begun. Although Britain and Xinhua had not yet declared war, he knew very well that it was just a trace of borrowing for future diplomatic negotiations. Mouth!

The Far East Fleet is not here for vacation!

"Left rudder, let's go!" Felitman took a deep breath. As soon as he gave the first order, the observer immediately shouted, "Two o'clock, enemy ship!"

In the shouting, everyone saw that the two cutting-edge large torpedo ships of the Xinhua Navy suddenly appeared from the water mist, and almost at the same time, their muzzle had spewed fire.

It is almost a replication tactic and the only choice in typical harsh weather conditions.

In the case of low visibility, small ships are sent to look for and take the initiative to attack, tempting the enemy to show a specific position. This is a tactic known to every British naval officer, so it is not surprising that the appearance of the other party's small warships. What really makes people angry is that the opponent grows up standing on the shoulders of the British navy. Later, it was used to deal with the style of the British navy!

"Fire!"

At 6:40, Philippeman issued an order to fire, and the dense artillery suddenly rushed at the two defense-class destroyers. Seeing the enemy firing, the defense and Jingwei, which had completed the task, accelerated again and quickly penetrated into the rain.

When their figures were quickly submerged in the white fog again, Felicman immediately gave the order.

At 6:45, the formation of the British Far East Fleet changed. Five new old-star battleships quickly formed a straight front, while five first-class armored cruisers quickly broke away from the formation and entered the rain and fog with the rest of the ships like light cavalry.

Ten minutes later, when the fleet was regrouped, Phillyteman slowly raised the telescope. At this time, the adjutant staff found that this was the first time the lieutenant general used the telescope after he went to sea!

When his falcon-like eyes locked the direction of the destroyer's departure, the First Fleet led by Ji Rushan also completed the tactical formation. Four Vladivostok-class heavy patrols and the six returning destroyers also formed a driving patrol group and rushed to the Basra Strait at the same time.

At the same time, six capital ships turned the rudder at the same time, and they also chose to take the initiative to approach after Felitman.

No one knows if this is a coincidence. The two commanders actually delayed the enemy at the same time, helped the capital ship clean the front passage, and handed over the important T-position work to the driving formation in the fleet!

7:20!

The observers on the masts of both sides found thick smoke rising from the rain and fog at the same time. When the two fleets, which were almost in the same direction, appeared together five minutes later, the sad shouts also sounded at the same time. The well-prepared muzzle began to move up and down, trying to focus on the hazy shadows in the distance.

"The distance is 130, 125, 120,..."

When the observer on the phone just shouted the number 115, two Polaris and four Duke-class, 24 L45/305mm main guns roared at the same time!

When the fire flashed out in the rainstorm, Felix's pupil in the lens suddenly shrank into a little cold star.

"It's so fast!"

At 7:30, the First Fleet of the Royal Navy of the Xinhua Empire fired the first round of volleys. Only five seconds later, in the second round, four Duke-class 16 second-level 203mm secondary guns also fired at the same time!

At the same time, the British Far East Fleet also made the first round of volleys! ......

(to be continued)