1890 King of Southeast Asia

"Sir, the second deck is flooded severely. Many supplies are soaked in seawater and cannot be used. The floating debris slows down our progress." The damage control officer ran to the command tower and said.

"Let the sailors throw away all the unusable supplies, and go to plug the leak and pump out the water. Hurry up! We can't let the water continue to spread." The captain glanced at Betty and said when he saw that he didn't respond.

"Yes! Sir!" The damage control officer saluted and staggered out.

"General, the Germans' artillery fire is too fierce, and their tactics are... very barbaric. Should we change our route a little?" The captain hesitated for a while and said to Betty.

"How long will it take for the reputation to arrive?" Betty glanced at the captain and then at the staff officer.

"Because we were heading west at the beginning, there was still about 20 nautical miles to go, but the Germans were heading east and were expected to be within range in 15 minutes."

"But General, we are heading west, and the relative speed of both sides exceeded 40 nautical miles, and we will soon cross each other."

The fleet staff was a little sad. The Germans did not turn according to their ideas. Although they paid the price of a Blücher, it was undoubtedly worth it for the Germans.

The Germans did not know, but the fleet staff knew that Britain had dispatched 14 battlecruisers and dozens of destroyer cruisers to encircle and suppress the main force of the German 1st Scouting Fleet.

At this time, 3 Indefatigable-class battlecruisers were galloping 40 nautical miles north of the German 1st Scouting Fleet, and there were two Invincible-class battlecruisers behind the Indefatigable-class.

There were 4 Renown-class battlecruisers to the east of them, only 20 nautical miles away, and they were still fighting with 5 Lion-class battlecruisers.

On a larger scale, several British naval battleships have begun to sail towards the only way for the German 1st Scouting Fleet to return. If the German 1st Scouting Fleet is entangled, they will have nowhere to escape tomorrow.

However, due to the German maneuvers, a large hole appeared in the encirclement of the British battlecruiser formation. If the Germans seize the opportunity, they are likely to escape.

"Reduce the speed to 1/2 speed, make small-scale maneuvers, and extend the fighting time with the Germans as much as possible." Betty nodded and said to the captain.

"Yes, sir, engine operator, 1/2 speed, helmsman, turn left half a compass point." The captain thought about it and chose to turn left.

Although this will shorten the distance between the two sides and further increase the accuracy of the artillery fire, it can also prepare for the next left turn.

Yes, the captain has guessed that the next tactical action must be a left turn.

Now the two sides are sailing relatively parallel at a position of 13,000 kilometers, the British are heading west, and the Germans are heading east, with a relative speed of more than 40 knots.

The overall length of the German 1st Reconnaissance Fleet is about 5 kilometers, and the overall length of the British fleet is about half of that of the Germans.

If neither side turns, it won't take long for each other to sail out of effective range.

This is definitely not what the British want. After all, this is equivalent to tearing a big hole in their encirclement and letting the Germans leave.

Therefore, the Lion-class battlecruiser formation will definitely turn sharply, and turn left, only in this way can it continue to stick to the German 1st Reconnaissance Fleet.

"General, should we let the Tireless and Invincible classes turn east and southeast? In this way, even if the Germans break through later, they will be blocked by them." The fleet staff said while looking at the sea chart.

The fleet staff found that after they crossed with the Germans and before the reputation arrived, there would be a small window period, a hole about 20 nautical miles long.

As the Renown advanced, the Lion class also advanced. The gap did not shrink much, but the German 1st Scouting Fleet and the Renown class were closer.

"Give the order, notify the surrounding warships to gather over there. If the Germans run away, go and interfere." Betty looked at the sea chart and nodded.

boo!

At this moment, another shell fell around the Lion, and Betty's face suddenly became ugly.

"Crossfire." The fleet staff's face was also not good, and he said softly.

…………

"Crossfire!"

"Captain, the No. 2 turret has completed the crossfire, and the artillery parameters are..."

"The main guns of the whole ship are effective according to the following parameters, and the secondary guns are free to fire according to the following parameters."

This scene is taking place on the third ship of the Derfflinger-class battlecruiser, the Hindenburg.

Just now, a shell from the No. 2 main turret of the Hindenburg landed on the right side of the Lion, forming a crossfire.

After the straddle fire is formed, the artillery command room will combine the main gun firing parameters and the enemy ship movement parameters to give the firing parameters of each main turret. The gunner only needs to fire according to the fixed parameters given by the gun director.

The main gun hit rate at this time is said to be a mathematical problem, but it is actually a metaphysical problem. The hit rate is very low, less than 5%.

Just like the five Lion-class battlecruisers, which fired hundreds of shells at the Blücher for more than ten minutes, but only hit a dozen.

But at least half of the shells were aimed by the British, and they should have hit mathematically, well... if external factors are not considered.

The main gun firing order is probably calibration firing-straddle firing-effective firing. Straddle firing is straddle firing, and the shells hit the rear of the enemy warship, which means that the design parameters are correct. The rest depends mainly on whose faith is more firm and pious.

Effective firing is to fire as many shells as possible according to fixed parameters before the enemy changes its course.

Because once the course is changed, effective firing is useless, and the battle returns to the process of calibration.

This is why battleship duels often take half a day.

At this time, the Hindenburg entered the effective firing stage and shared the firing parameters with other warships. This can be regarded as the prototype of digital warfare, right? Data link!

The Hindenburg was very lucky. In the second round of shelling, before the British turned to sail out of the dangerous waters, it hit one round.

It was this one round that made Beatty's plan to encircle the Germans bankrupt.

The 350mm shell crossed 13,000 kilometers and hit the rear of the Lion's hull amidships. The 234mm Harvey armor could not stop the 600kg armor-piercing shells fired by the 350mm 45-caliber gun.

Even if this 350mm gun is weaker than the British 356mm gun!

The 600-kilogram shell passed through the waterline armor, piercing several compartments and one deck, and exploded only after penetrating the rear of the Lion's three decks.

This time, the shell did not hit any core area, but the shell penetrated too deep, which directly caused the explosion to blow up the last deck of the ship, affecting the transmission shaft and steering gear.

The two transmission shafts were slightly deformed around, and long-term use will cause the transmission shaft to heat up, and if it is not stopped in time, it may cause the transmission shaft to deform.

The steering gear was directly stuck, causing the Lion to be unable to turn. The most important thing is that no one noticed the problem of the steering gear at this time, and they were all dealing with the problem of the transmission shaft.

Rumble...

Only one minute later, another round of shelling came. This time, the Lion was hit by four large-caliber shells, three of which were 305mm shells fired by the Moltke, and one was a 350mm shell fired by the No. 1 turret on the Derfflinger.

A 305mm shell hit the front of the midship turret, and the midship turret of the Lion battlecruiser was unable to block the 305mm shell.

The 305mm 50-caliber main gun equipped on the Moltke has performance far superior to similar products. In terms of gun performance, the German 305mm 50-caliber gun is basically equivalent to the British 343mm 45-caliber gun.

Moreover, the firing rate of the 305mm gun is faster than that of the 343 gun. The firing rate of the German 305mm gun can reach two to three rounds per minute.

It is precisely because of this firing rate that the projection of the German 305mm gun is not inferior to the British 343mm, and the British strongly requested Vickers to quickly develop the 356mm main gun.

Of course, this firing rate is formed under relatively ideal conditions, and it requires very coincidental conditions to achieve it in actual combat.

The frontal armor of the main gun of the Lion battlecruiser was only 234 mm thick, the same as the waterline armor, and was easily penetrated by the German 305 mm shells.

The German delayed fuse had a delay time of 25 seconds, and the charge was also a relatively slow TNT charge, which basically did not cause premature explosions, but there was a possibility of duds or overpenetration.

After penetrating the frontal armor of the turret, the shell flew for a while and finally embedded in the turret seat ring. This was a dud.

However, when the shell hit, the midship main gun was preparing for firing, and the propellant had not yet been pushed into the gun barrel. The high-temperature jet generated by the friction between the shell and the metal ignited the propellant.

In the confined space, the entire turret was in a mess, and the shells waiting to be fired in the gun barrel were also detonated. The two barrels of the midship turret were gone at once, and the explosion also blew many holes in the seat ring and caused high temperatures.

Under high temperature, the propellant in the hoist may be ignited continuously. At the critical moment, the gunner decisively bypassed the captain and ordered water to be poured into the ammunition depot of the main gun in the middle.

Sure enough, the propellant in the hoist was ignited as soon as the water was poured in. If the water was not poured in time, the ammunition depot would explode and the Lion would be gone.

The second 305mm main gun hit the Lion's rear mast, making a hole in the hull, and caused the transmission mechanism of the Lion's rear main gun turret to be stuck, and the rear mast rangefinder and antenna to lose their function.

The third hit a secondary gun, knocked off the turret, and ignited the secondary gun ammunition stored on the deck, causing a series of small explosions and fires.

The 350mm shell fired by the Derfflinger hit the starboard side of the Lion's bow, which was almost a cross-fire.

The firing angle of this 350mm gun was very different, forming a clamp of about 20 degrees with the deck of the Lion, which means that the first thing to touch the deck was not the shell head, but the inclined surface of the shell.

You have heard of ricochets, right? If the thickness of the Lion's deck can withstand this kinetic energy, then this 350mm shell is a ricochet.

Unfortunately, the deck armor thickness of the Lion-class battlecruiser is only 5mm, which is too weak for a 600kg armor-piercing shell, even if it hits at an angle.

The shell smashed the deck into a dent until the warhead successfully hit the deck armor, leaving a nearly 1-meter-long mark on the deck during this process.

Then the warhead was broken by the cap, and the warhead successfully passed through the first deck, moving irregularly farther and embedded in the angle between the second deck and the hull.

Then, there was a violent explosion.

The explosion tore a hole with a diameter of more than one meter, involving all 23 decks. Seawater poured into the third deck frantically, and hundreds of tons of water entered in just a few minutes.

Because of the water filling in the ammunition depot of the midship turret and the small holes caused by the 150mm gun, the Lion has already taken in hundreds of tons of water. In this way, the Lion has taken in more than a thousand tons of water, and its speed has dropped rapidly.

The worse news is that the two transmission shafts on the left side are overheating and must be shut down, otherwise they may be deformed.

"Let the Royal Princess take over the command, and the Lion will withdraw from the battle line." After Betty knew the situation, he looked at the German 1st Reconnaissance Fleet unwillingly.

Several German ships were also hit, still by 356mm guns, but they only caused flesh wounds. It was not that they could not penetrate, but that they were in the wrong position, as if the goddess of luck no longer favored the British Empire.

"Yes!" The fleet staff nodded and went to give orders.

"Report, the steering gear is out of service." The helmsman found that no matter how he turned the steering gear, there was no response, and shouted in panic.

"What?!"

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