Chapter 2602 Bloody Battle 2
Of course, although the US fleet has an overwhelming advantage in firepower. However, the speed advantage of the Japanese light cruiser detachment is very large. The Japanese light cruiser known as the Kuma class has a maximum speed of more than 32 knots. This speed is more than 8 knots higher than the current fleet of old Fletcher! In other words, if the Japanese want to escape after discovering the American fleet, it will be difficult to retain them!
(The historical Kuma-class light cruiser has a maximum speed of 36 knots. The Kuma-class light cruiser in this book has strengthened its firepower and armor, weakened its speed, and its displacement is still more than 5,000 tons. Well, it is more balanced.)
"We must find a way to completely solve this problem." Old Fletcher said to his staff. It's useless to scare the opponent away, and it absolutely can't turn into a pursuit battle. On the one hand, it's because he can't catch up, and on the other hand, once the Japanese battle fleet comes over, old Fletcher will decisively play GG! Therefore, old Fletcher must find a way to keep the other party!
"The targets of the Japanese light cruiser squadron were small ships approaching the coast. The draft here was relatively shallow. The Japanese were worried that their battleships would run aground, and it was not cost-effective to attack these smaller ships with expensive main guns. Therefore, they This task is assigned to the light cruiser detachment," Colonel Nagel said while drawing on the chart.
"If I remember correctly, there should be an Army 155MM artillery group at this location. If we can divide the fleet into two parts, one part will go around from the north, and the other part will pursue and attack from the west. At the same time, we will use destroyers and torpedo boats to cooperate with the shore. If the 155MM shore artillery group blocks the east side, then the Japanese will definitely be skinned if they want to go out!" Nagel put forward a suggestion of closing the door and beating the dogs. He ignored the question of what to do if a Japanese battleship detachment came to support. Because there is nothing anyone can do about this problem. Moreover, old Fletcher wished that the Japanese could attack them and give up the pursuit of the transport fleet!
"Okay, let's get started. We have to be careful and don't let the Japanese see through our plan!" Old Fletcher said. And just when old Fletcher just started to deploy, the massacre of the Japanese fleet began!
"God, what happened there? Is it the rain of fire at the end of the world?" Although he had been mentally prepared, when the army general Pershing saw the rain of fire when the Japanese fleet fired a salvo, his heart was still filled with shock and excitement. panic! Pershing had to admit that even though he had experienced the baptism of war on the Western Front, the density of the navy's firepower was still several levels higher than the most brutal army artillery battle!
The shells flying down like meteors landed on the evacuating US Navy transport fleet. Water columns mixed with the aura of destruction rose on the sea, like a giant holding a long sword, constantly slashing the sea! In the night, the Japanese fleet rushed over like the god of death. The battleship's guns were the unstoppable and dodgeable scythe of the god of death. Each swing harvests a large amount of life.
The sound of cannons and the roar of battleship engines were like the roar of demons. The three Japanese fleets rushed in from different directions like tigers and sheep, and then began to slaughter wantonly.
The battleship's main gun, 152MM secondary gun, 120MM gun and 4-inch gun on the destroyer, and torpedoes. The terrifying firepower intertwined into an impenetrable net on the sea, covering a dozen or even dozens of ships, and then turned into fragments all over the sky in violent explosions!
The first major loss of the Americans was the large supply ship USS San Diego! The warship originally carried thousands of tons of food, tents, construction machinery and other supplies. Due to the previous bad weather conditions, it was unable to dock and unload cargo. According to the plan, this supply ship will start unloading tomorrow. After three days, it can return to the sunny Hawaii with the wounded who are ready to be evacuated. However, today, it Stay here forever!
A 15-inch high-explosive bomb hit the middle of the hull of the large supply ship San Diego. The explosion of nearly 100 kilograms of explosives turned the projectile weighing more than 800 kilograms into a blade storm composed of countless fragments! Easily opened a large hole of more than 20 square meters in the waterline of the San Diego! The huge load and massive water intrusion caused the battleship to quickly lose its balance, and it capsized and sank to the bottom of the sea in less than 2 minutes!
Following the sinking of the San Diego were two smaller landing ships. These battleships were closer to the coast because of their shallower drafts. However, they did not escape the massacre by the Japanese. Four destroyers passed by quickly, and at the extreme A series of 6 torpedoes were released at a close range! These specially improved torpedoes have a very shallow draft and are very suitable for offshore operations! Accompanied by several high water columns and explosions. The two landing ships were directly blown into several pieces!
With the assault of the Japanese fleet, more transport ships were attacked. Although some of them had already started to escape in advance, many more remained in this purgatory of blood and fire!
And in the fifteenth minute after the war started, the U.S. Army suffered the most serious casualty loss in the battle! The Angel hospital ship was loading the wounded and medical personnel in preparation for transfer when it encountered another Japanese fleet! The Red Cross flag and special identification marks on the Angel did not allow this poor ship to escape the clutches of the Japanese! On the contrary, it was the first target of the Japanese attack!
"If we kill it, we will have killed at least one regiment of American troops! And all we need to pay is a few artillery shells and a few minutes of time. In the hunting process tonight, there will be no more difficult task than attacking this target. Efficiency exists!" Kantaro Suzuki said excitedly.
Therefore, the remaining firepower of the Ibuki was first concentrated on this poor hospital ship. At this time, there were more than 1,400 wounded and medical personnel on this poor hospital ship! Although the Angel was improved from a cruise ship and could reach a maximum speed of more than 21 knots, it was a pity that in the face of the Japanese Navy's pure-blooded fast battleships and a large number of destroyers, the Angel could only struggle for a while to express its efforts. There is no other use for it!
In just 3 minutes, two 14-inch artillery shells and one 15-inch artillery shell landed on the poor hospital ship. The violent explosion cut off a layer of the towering buildings on the ship! Thick smoke and flames spread rapidly with the explosion, and the furniture, cloth and other flammable items inside the cabin began to burn crazily, accelerating the sinking of the hospital ship.
Add to the 10,000 rewards for book friend salenite~~~! Third update today~~~! Please subscribe and reward~~~!