Chapter 564 This butcher! Next

"General, your coffee."

"Thank you."

The fragrant coffee cheered up Major General Stoddart.

The sky has been covered with stars, and the moon shows thin buds like a woman's eyebrows. As usual, he would enjoy this night, but now he is extremely annoying and hateful.

Because those knightless Germans like the night, the submarine captains in the Atlantic love this weather, and the torpedoes are almost suffocating Britain. In the past year since the start of the war, the total number of merchant ships lost by Britain alone has exceeded 200,000 tons.

Fortunately, the United States joined at this time. Their arrival greatly enhanced the fleet and escort forces that entered the Atlantic Ocean. The rampant of German submarines was temporarily contained a lot, but just as their officers guarding the channel were about to take a breath, a more serious news came.

The two most powerful Guam-class battleships in the world, even the most powerful in the world, have plunged into the Atlantic Ocean!

This is not a trivial matter. According to the current data, the two battleships have a displacement of more than 40,000 tons, equipped with nine German-made L47 380mm guns, and 24 130 and 152mm secondary guns, plus other rapid-fire guns, almost armed to the teeth.

Even if he stood in the bridge of the USS Grafton and drove in the South American channel far away from Europe, he could feel the tension from the navy. For the busy Atlantic channel, the two such battleships were like lions entering the flock of sheep. Even if it was a false shot, it was enough to make people nervous.

To this end, the Admiralty has urgently set up an E fleet consisting of three battleships and the latest Tiger to intercept. At the same time, the United States has also launched two Pennsylvania-class battleships that are still under sea trials and two Northampton-class heavy patrols that are also at the end of the sea trials, forming the A fleet to go south.

Although there are eight of the best warships, they still can't make people feel at ease, because whether it is Fleet E or Fleet A, maybe they have just anchored now, which is not enough to reassure themselves in the depths of South America.

Three consecutive naval battles in the Pacific have completely failed, making the future suddenly uncertain, especially the news that the Falkland base was attacked three days ago, which made the waterway from here to Australia extremely dangerous. God knows whether the two battleships will suddenly appear in front of them.

But he can't avoid it. The things on these 20 American ocean-going cargo ships are too important. In addition to 10,000 American soldiers, they also carry 400 tanks, 300 cannons and ammunition, which are urgently needed equipment for Australian troops.

The situation of Xinhua's attack on Australia is already very obvious. The army over there has entered full preparations. However, because the route from Xinhua to Australia has not been cut off, both the British and the United States will be threatened, so the army urgently needs a large number of heavy weapons to ensure that it will not be continuously attacked by Xinhua. The army is flooded, so this batch of goods is so important.

So he chose to sail close to the coastline along the way. In addition to the fact that the other party is two battleships with deep water, and because the other party is alone, he will definitely find a way to avoid fast small torpedo ships and submarines, both of which are offshore, so offshore navigation is far safer than the deep sea.

But after all, it's night, and the fleet doesn't dare to get too close to the coast, because there are many reefs and islands on the coast of South America. In case the enemy doesn't meet, I'm stranded on a large scale. I'm afraid it's a joke.

As the moon rose little by little, the fragrant coffee could not resist fatigue. It was already two o'clock in the morning, and Stoddart's hanging heart was finally half relieved.

It's only half.

Because only when the day comes tomorrow can this heart finally be put down. At least the experienced lookout during the day can find the danger 30,000 to 40,000 meters away. Now it is only 20,000 meters at most, and it can sail closer to the coast during the day. At that time, as long as it can be found in time, the fleet will have enough time to avoid it, or even hold it in an emergency. Shallow is also better than being sunk.

There are still three and a half hours left.

Major Stoddart shook his head. The night was really too hard. If he was so nervous every day, maybe the Australian soldiers would be exhausted. Should we reduce some soldiers on duty and let everyone have as much time to rest as possible? You know, it will take at least 20 days to get to Australia from here.

Besides, the two battleships should normally go through the Atlantic deep-sea channel, and they won't come here, right?

Before Stodat finished thinking about it, he suddenly heard a sad shout from outside the deck.

"Enemy attack, ten o'clock direction!"

This sound suddenly flew away all the drowsiness. There was a harsh beep warning on the three armored cruisers and two protective cruisers, and the slow and huge transport fleet was even more chaotic.

Although the enemy was very strong, the British sailors were worthy of the military quality of a century-old naval power. They formed a battle formation in just two minutes, protecting 20 cargo ships on the inside, and the fleet immediately sailed off the coast.

But Stoddart still underestimated his opponents. The two Guam-class battleships and the Tumenjiang are maintained at 28 knots at this time, that is, about 750 meters per minute. It only takes 12 minutes from being found from 22,000 meters to approaching 13,000 meters!

This may be the fastest battleship assault in the world so far, so that Stoddat has just completed the deployment and sent a message of the attack for help by radio. After talking to the captains about the interception and how to retreat when encountering problems, the two huge figures in the dark shone fatally on the side of the ship. The fire.

In the dark night, the fire on the side of the ship was particularly obvious, just like the most magnificent fireworks, but in the eyes of British naval officers such as Stoddart, it was more terrible than the devil.

When everyone was still immersed in the shock of the high-speed assault and fire of the other battleship, a violent explosion had come from the side, especially when they saw that there were two explosion points behind the formation, and everyone's hearts suddenly sank to the bottom of the ice!

Cross-shoot!

There was a cross shot in the first round alone!

Therefore, it means that cross-fire is a simple term for shells to cross the target and explode around the target. In naval battles, especially in bombardments, this is simply synonymous with death.

Because it means that the enemy's naval guns have been aimed, all they need is luck!

Are they really that lucky?

The idea of Major General Stoddart just came up, and the fire lit up again in the darkness after a minute of calming down. He did not know that compared with Xinhua's previous fire control methods, the Guam level can be said to have been reborn. If the distance is more than 20,000 meters, it may take three rounds, four rounds or more to cross. Shoot, but at this time, it is only 13,000 meters. Heavy armor-piercing bullets can ensure that the trajectory is extremely stable. This distance can ensure that even the worst performance in training can ensure a hit rate of 30%!

According to the old gunner, there is no need to aim at this distance.

When the roar of the first round of shells was still echoing in my ears, the second round of shells was already in front of me. Everyone on the deck of Guam saw the most beautiful scene. They only saw the first target targeted, like a giant explosive bag that was ignited. The explosion in the middle of the hull could be clearly seen dozens of kilometers away. The roaring explosion a few seconds later filled everyone's ears!

Beautiful!

Just as the officers and soldiers of the Guam and Medan celebrated, Major General Stoddat's hands and feet were cold. At this time, he found that his fleet had not fired a shell.

"Fike back!"

Stoddard raised his whole body and shouted, but there was a lack of fire control. How can the gun without a rangefinder threaten the other party? What's more serious is that the main gun of the remaining two armored cruisers has a small elevation angle, a maximum range of only 12,000 meters, and the secondary guns are all layouts, which can't even reach the tickle!

There was no second way. At this time, Stoddart and the British naval sailors showed a fearless spirit. In order to buy half an hour for the fleet, the Uruguayan fleet began what was later called a fierce assault.

"Do you want to play with your life?"

"Well, it's a pity that I don't have time!"

"Order Medan to cancel the fire, and we will deal with the first one!"

In the navigation bridge, in Li Xiuyan's cold hum, the third round of volley shot was hit again. Although it was not hit, the signal soldier had issued an order to cancel the fire collection through the mast lamp.

The fourth round they aimed at was still blank, and the fifth round was also blank. When the old gunner also felt a little evil, the sixth round completely destroyed Stoddat's Uruguayan fleet.

Only two armored cruisers were seen on one side, and two fireballs rushed out at the same time. At a distance of 12,000 meters, the smooth direct shell penetrated the vital main armor belt, and it was also a heavy 850 kg heavy armor-piercing shell. For the thin 152mm British Harvey Steel, it was not so much sunk, but Rather, it was smashed, and even one of them, relying on its strong penetration ability, penetrated through the port waterline of the Grafton and out of the starboard underwater part before it exploded.

Although he knew that the enemy must have sunk sooner or later, Li Xiuyan still gave the order to fight two more rounds. The two armored cruisers with fire almost became shell magnets. After approaching 10,000 meters, the Medan even created an unprecedented one, and even many naval battles were broken later. Record.

At 2:25, the raid began for only 20 minutes. The lookouts on the front and rear masts of Medan reported at the same time that they saw six explosion points after nine armor-piercing bullets were shot!

Not to mention two old armored cruisers of less than 10,000 tons, even if the Guam class itself was hit at such a close distance by six armor-piercing bullets, I'm afraid there would be only half a life left, so the Grafton, which was hit, almost immediately broke into three pieces and disappeared on the sea.

The only remaining Gibraltar is not much better, because Li Xiuyan has ordered the replacement of high-explosive bombs, and separated the Tumen River from the two protective cruisers and gave the order to chase the merchant ships.

30 points.

When the two Guam passed only 5,000 meters away from the Gibraltar, which had begun to sink, the rear main gun of the Guam fired three high-explosive bombs.

280 kilograms of TNT loaded the Gibraltar suffered an unprecedented blow. The sweeping explosion not only completely destroyed the hull, but also killed the soldiers who had jumped into the sea.

Afterwards, it was learned that four of the five escort warships escaped back to the coast 40 nautical miles away. Only the Gibraltar did not find a survived warship from beginning to end, which showed the power of these three high-explosive bombs.

But tonight is destined to be a killing night. The maximum speed of 20 full-loaded ocean-going cargo ships is only 15 knots at this time, and they haven't been able to see the coastline for half an hour!

When two Guam-class ships accelerated to 28 knots and entered the fleet again, a massacre began!

Although the fleet has received an order to disband, how far can it run in 15 and a half hours? In the face of 28 knots, the Guam class with a displacement of 45,000 tons can be sank.

The biggest problem is that before the devil realized how inhumane his behavior was, he aimed the muzzle at the eight large troop carriers in the center at the beginning.

"Captain, you can use high explosive bombs against merchant ships."

This is the original words of the shy young staff officer, because he knows that a merchant ship without any armor can't stop the drop of a high-explosive bomb weighing 750 kilograms. Although it touches the fuse, the weight and speed of the fall will make the shell hit the hull in an instant and explode inside.

280 kilograms of TNT can be guaranteed to completely destroy the merchant ship if one is hit.

It should be said that the Guam class was indeed not born for the attack. If the attack is considered, the four turrets must be better than the three, because it can deal with more targets, but it doesn't matter.

In order to save ammunition as much as possible and reduce the wear of the shell on the barrel, Li Xiuyan gave up the concentrated shelling, but let each turret choose its own target. Finally, even the navigation was handed over to the captain, allowing him to rush to the place where there were many ships. He robbed the lookout position of the top shelling command tower.

The turret shoots alone, in a group of three pieces. It seems that the power has been reduced a lot, but the problem is that the captain actually rushed within 5,000 meters of the troop carrier!

The roaring shells buried the lives of American soldiers who kept falling into the water from the deck. These cargo ships and troop carriers that were not even armed merchant ships have become the largest iron coffins in history.

Standing in a high place, Li Xiuyan clearly saw that a high-explosive bomb rushed in from the waterline and then a big explosion occurred. The violent explosive fire was wrapped in countless limbs and broken arms. After they were thrown into the altitude of nearly 100 meters, they snapped into the sea, as if there was a bloody rain!

The wound of more than 20 meters in the waterline, no matter which ship can hold on, so before the American soldiers in other cabins escape, the troop carrier has disappeared on the sea, leaving only a huge whirlpool.

The killing continued, especially after ten minutes, it solved the two light patrol Tumenjiang, and showed everyone what a multi-purpose light cruiser is. Its 152mm naval gun may not be enough to deal with large merchant ships, but it is equipped with a speed of 45 knots, and a 450KG loading spear two modification. The torpedo has become the biggest killing ghost.

30 sessions of assault, and then launch at close range at 2,000 meters!

It's that simple!

High speed can ensure that it catches up with the farthest freighter. There are two torpedoes in a group, and the Guam-class acceleration to the maximum speed within 2,000 meters can't escape, let alone the slow freighter.

Perhaps at this time, everyone on the ship is longing for a quick-fire cannon against torpedoes.

A cargo ship full of ammunition was hit by a close-range torpedo, and continuous explosions bloomed like fireworks. The fire directly ignited the nearby sea. Such a violent explosion almost swept the unprepared Tumenjiang in.

The rumble of explosion lasted for two hours, and the sea was full of ghosts. The bodies of countless soldiers floated on the sea. The fire reflected their dead gray faces, and the flames scorched their scorched bodies.

When the two troop transports finally struggled to rush to the beach, and countless American soldiers jumped down from the high deck of the cargo ship like crazy, the roaring high-explosive bombs sang the last elegy for them.

Ten minutes later, when 180 high-explosive bombs split the two troop carriers, the killing finally stopped.

The next morning, all 20 cargo ships were sunk, five escort cruisers were sunk in the sand, Major General Stoddart was killed, and 9,300 army soldiers, more than 5,000 sailors (s), and 400 tanks, 300 cannons and a large amount of ammunition were all destroyed were reported to President Wilson. When it's on the desk.

The hands of the President of the United States began to tremble. The secretary stood in front of him for ten minutes before he heard a sentence, "This butcher!"

(to be continued)