Battle of the Third Reich Chapter 536: Fight against the Gulf of Siam (Part 2)
Although the [Thonburi] has an advantage in gun caliber, it does not mean that this shallow-water heavy gunboat has the capability of long-range artillery warfare. Her 4.5-meter rangefinder is a Japanese imitation of the British navy. Outdated products, it is difficult to track and determine long-distance high-speed moving targets. |
Although the Japanese-made 203mm gun has a range of 6,000 meters longer than that of the French 138mm gun, under the current combat situation, the Siamese navy can’t perform this kind of artillery. performance.
Lieutenant Colonel Wei Feng An was full of blind confidence in his warship. In order to cover the attack of the lightning strike, the [Thon Buri] carried out two orders with the front main gun at the extreme distance of 20,000 meters from the enemy. Shelling.
As a result, the captain was disappointed. The landing point was at least half a kilometer away from the target. It was obvious that there was a problem with the shooting azimuth plate in aiming and ranging.
"The target has speeded up suddenly and is recalculating." The gunner explained to the captain on the phone.
"Well, what a cunning enemy." The captain nodded in acceptance.
At this time, the speed of the two lightning strike ships has reached the highest speed. Although the speed of this type of lightning strike ship can be as high as 32.5 knots when it is launched, it is inevitable that the machinery will wear out after long-term use. After quite careful maintenance, but now the speed can only be maintained at about 30 knots.
For a warship with a full load of 400 tons, this is already a very high speed. In order to avoid the attack of the destroyer, the lightning ship also made two large-angle turns, and the waves splashed from the bow even hit On the decks on both sides of the bridge, the operators standing next to the single-shot torpedo tubes on both sides were chilled from head to toe.
Of course, the French destroyers have long discovered the actions of the Siamese lightning strikers. From the beginning, they did not regard the slower [Thonburi] as the number one target. The formation commanded the captain of the [Mogador]. Lieutenant Colonel Henry Totti had already planned it in his heart, and only needed to kill these two pesky lightning ships, and the rest was the fat in his mouth.
Their earlier luck was not so good. Before receiving the telegram from the headquarters, they only encountered a Siamese cargo ship, which turned out to be an offshore cargo ship of less than 300 tons, which was full of cargo and sent to Kolan Island. The French sailor searched the ship for daily groceries and found no valuable cargo. After catching all the crew on the lifeboat, he sank the merchant ship with a salvo.
Next they were like encountering a curse. They walked around the sea and found no target that could be attacked. What they encountered was either the Philippines or the Dutch East Indies ship, which made people feel Siamese. All the cargo ships have disappeared from the sea.
If it weren't for the news of the Siamese naval formation from the headquarters, Lieutenant Colonel Totti would have been considering whether to take a risk and rushed into Bangkok Bay with his men for a stroll.
Without command of the captain at all, the destroyer’s four turrets have all started shooting at the Siamese lightning striker. They have long been tired of playing this game with the Italian navy in the Mediterranean. The Italian torpedo boats are more cunning than these two warships. Many.
The French are very familiar with the performance parameters of Italian equipment. They know that the Italians’ 533mm torpedo has a range of about 12,000 meters, but if you want to get a hit rate, you can only use it. At high gear, the range will be shortened to three kilometers.
And the lightning strike ship in front of you must be close to within one kilometer to make a salvo, so that it may pose a little threat to the [Mugador] class over 35 knots. (System + Comprehension) How to thrive under the light of sister Mary Su
Siamese lightning strikers wanted to be brave, but they had not experienced a real naval battle, and had no experience in using torpedo attacks in actual combat. The two lightning ships, in accordance with the methods taught by their instructors from Italy, braved the precise and fierce fire of the French destroyers, and firmly assaulted the enemy.
The twin main guns of the [Mogador] used the latest automatic loader. Due to design flaws, the failure rate has been high. In history, because of the defeat of France, the French Navy stopped its improvement experiments.
But everything has changed now. The French navy has obtained sufficient usage data in the Mediterranean operations. It has replaced this suit with a more powerful motor and installed manpower auxiliary equipment inside the turret. Basically solve the problem of loading failure that once made people headache.
At this time, the four electric twin turrets are spraying 138mm shells at the Siam Lightning Strike Ship at a rate of one round every six seconds. If the eight artillery fires alternately, there will be no firing gap at all.
The French sailors have rich experience in actual combat. Three minutes after the bombardment started, a shell fired from the No. 2 turret of [Mogador] hit the [Rayong] bridge frontally at a distance of 6,000 meters. Because they were shooting lightly armored targets, the French chose a high-explosive grenade with a charge of four kilograms. The violent explosion completely destroyed the wooden bridge, and the storm and debris from the explosion instantly emptied the front deck.
The power cabin of the [Royong] did not know what happened to the bridge, so it still drove the lightning ship to sprint forward according to the navigation data given by the original bridge. At this time, only half of the wheelhouse was left in the front deck. The personnel inside were torn into pieces. The foredeck was ignited. Then the gunners who ignited the 76mm main gun were stacked on the deck. The propellant cartridge on the upper side, coupled with the wind pressure generated during high-speed navigation, the flames began to spread rapidly along the cabin to the rear.
[Mogador] judged that the lightning strike ship had lost its combat capability, and then turned its muzzle to cooperate with the [Volta] to dump the firepower against the [Songkhla].
The captain of the [Songkhla] witnessed the tragedy that happened on the [Rayong]. When the firepower of the French destroyer concentrated on him, it severely shook the confidence of the navy captain to continue to approach.
So under the command of the captain, the torpedo tubes on both sides of the [Rayong] bridge shot two torpedoes towards the French destroyer, and then quickly turned the course and shot the two double launch tubes in the midship of the ship. Then the lightning ship began to retreat in the direction of [Thonburi] at the highest speed.
Because the attack was too hasty, the [Songkhla] has not set the torpedo's front angle at all, and because it has not yet entered the effective attack range, this round of torpedoes is destined to miss.
The French destroyer was not going to let the escaped enemy ship go. The two warships were staggered to the left and right, and the four main guns in the front were tilted towards the [Songkhla].
The [Songkhla] maneuvered hard to avoid the enemy’s shelling, but this movement slowed her escape. The French destroyer originally had a faster speed than her, and the distance between the two sides began to narrow rapidly.
The lightning ship tried to fight back with two 76mm single-barreled guns behind her, trying to interfere with the pursuit of the French destroyer, but because the gun crew was too tight, the bombardment was not only intermittent, but also far away. The target position is missed. Super bodyguard of beautiful sisters
At 4:37 in the afternoon, two 138mm shells hit the midship of the [Songkhla] almost at the same time, and one of them destroyed the 76mm gun bay there. The radio room was blown up and all the sailors on the nearby deck were killed.
Another shell penetrated into the lower power cabin and exploded between the two high-pressure steam boilers. The shock wave tore open the bilge, broke the keel of the mine hunter, and tore the thin hull. The lightning strike was interrupted by the violent metal cracking sound, and the two sections of the hull tilted toward the middle and began to sink rapidly. The 400-ton lightning ship sank so fast that no one survived.
Just as the two lightning ships fought desperately against the French destroyer, the [Thonburi] was of course not idle. It's not that she is willing to watch her colleague die, but it is because she has encountered a more difficult opponent during this time.
"Keep shooting! Don't stop!" Wei Fengan roared loudly.
"The former main gun is being loaded! Sir." The gunner replied to ~IndoMTL.com~How about the shelling..." Weifeng An just said here, there was a loud noise outside the armored control tower, and then [ Thonburi's hull began to lean to the left rapidly.
"Near missed bullet!" The first officer reported loudly. At this time, there was a rain-like sound outside the control tower, which was the sound of water jets splashed onto the deck caused by shelling.
"Order the units to report the damage!" Weifeng An supported the pillar on the side of the command tower to stabilize his figure, and the ship's body was slowly restoring its balance.
"There are some cracks in the side hull of the hopper, and the water ingress is not very serious. The sailors are being organized to seal them." The sailor's voice came from the copper communication tube.
"Very well, I'll leave it to you. We must plug all cracks, Captain Sailor." Wei Fengan ordered.
"Is the main gun not loaded yet? How is the target situation!" The chief officer turned his head and looked at the gunner.
"Loading is in progress. The vibration in front has caused some mechanical problems, and we are working hard to eliminate it." Sweat dripped from the gunner's face.
"I don't understand, the enemy is also a heavy gunboat, but the rate of fire is obviously much faster than ours." The gunner said.
"I have never seen this ship. When did the French equip a shallow-water heavy gunboat, we didn't even know about it." The chief officer's face was full of dissatisfaction.
Of course, the officers of [Thonburi] could not find the answer in their memory, because the warship that was engaged in the artillery battle with them did not belong to the French navy at all. Until yesterday, it was still hanging from her mast. The proud Pozi flag has not even had time to conceal the Erebus [Dark Circle] brass sign on the stern.
PS: Although it was a bit late, the code was still over.
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Thank you. (To be continued.)