My Italian: Chapter 406 fireworks in newport
On the busy North Atlantic, the Cross Flower freighter is sailing leisurely,
"Captain, look, where is it? It seems to be a fleet, or a team of large ships." Jack, the lookout of the freighter, said as he looked at the black smoke rising from the distance.
"What a fuss." Captain Baske picked up the binoculars in his hand and looked into the distance, only to see two huge figures driving towards this side at high speed in the distance, and there were eight smaller figures behind. However, that is only relative to the previous two behemoths. Overall, it is still much larger than his 6,000-ton Cross Flower.
"What a speed, they should have 15 knots."
"They don't seem to be merchant ships.. They are warships!" The two giant ships became more and more clear in Basco's telescope! The huge turret on the ship made his heart tighten. "This is definitely not an American warship." A thought popped into his mind.
The chief mate said with a sullen face. "This is certainly not an American warship, and the British and the French do not have such a huge warship in America."
Now everyone knows that the battleships of the US Navy have basically been concentrated in the south. Half a month ago, the Cross Flower was also leased by the U.S. Navy for the transportation of arms. .
"Damn, it's the Spanish flag! It's the Spanish fleet!"
At this moment, Jack, who was on the observation deck, had already determined the identity of the other party.
"God, let's evade quickly, the rudder is full, let's get out of here!" Basco said in a panic. This is a 6,000-ton merchant ship, almost all his worth.
"Master Captain, it may be too late, they want us to stop the ship!" Jack said desperately.
"Don't worry about them, they can't come for us, we leave the main channel, they may not catch up. Then we go back!" Under the order of Captain Basco. The Crosshair began to steer slowly, but the heavy load made the ship unwieldy.
Captain Basco was right. The Spanish fleet was indeed not here for looting.
But at the same time, they will never let go of any merchant ship they encounter. In order to ensure the concealment of the action, the Spanish fleet does not go in a straight line. They leave the busy transportation line as much as possible and intercept the encountered of all U.S. merchant ships. Unfortunately for the Cross, they ran into the Spanish fleet that wanted to hide their whereabouts.
"A futile move."
looked at the crosshairs evading in the distance, and shook his head.
I saw a destroyer rushing towards the other side. After easily catching up with the other side, two 102mm main gun shells made the 6,000-ton big guy stop honestly.
"We are civilians, you can't treat us like this." Captain Basco said loudly after being pressed onto the ship.
"Wars are all equal. You can block Cuba, and we can block the east coast of the United States." The Spanish officer sneered. "You are our captives now, and that poor merchant ship will be scuttled after we take some necessities."
The Crosshair is not the first unlucky one, and definitely not the last. During the long voyage of nearly a thousand nautical miles, the Spanish fleet sank more than ten large and small transport ships. More than 300 American sailors were taken prisoners of which the U.S. Navy knew nothing. …
It is no wonder that most of the US naval power has reached the South. In the view of the U.S. military, the priority of the Spanish fleet must be to enter Cuba first and then complete the preparations, and then start a decisive battle with the U.S. fleet, or start a decisive battle first and then start a decisive battle.
But the Americans may have forgotten that mobile warfare has always been the choice of the weak, and the US fleet has used destructive warfare. The British navy is relatively passive. And this time the Spanish fleet has the same strategy, but it's played a bit bigger.
It would also be incorrect to say that Americans are not prepared at all. Although all the ocean-going fleets have gone south, they still have a certain defense force in some important naval ports.
For example, in the naval port of Hamilton, the Americans left behind the 6,000-ton coastal defense ironclad USS Texas, the 6,000-ton shallow-water heavy gunship USS Puritan, the 4,000-ton shallow-water heavy gunship USS Dread and the USS Monterey, and two torpedo boats tb2 and tb3. Come to guard the naval port of Hamilton and the adjoining Naval Newport News Shipyard.
In the early morning of September 18, when Lieutenant Admiral Sedra led the fleet to see the land, Captain Juliti, who was hired with a high salary, shouted immediately. "We're on the southern tip of the Delaware Peninsula, just over 40 nautical miles from Newport News, which is pretty close."
Captain Giulietti’s words lifted the spirits of the Spanish officers and soldiers on board, and it seemed that the goal was not far away.
After more than two hours, looking at the warships quietly docked in the distant naval port and the Newport News Shipyard opposite, Lieutenant General Sedra and all the officers and soldiers of the fleet showed ecstasy expressions, and the enemy was unexpectedly unguarded.
It can’t be said that they were unprepared. Two torpedo boats rushed out of the military port. Although they knew that they were bound to die, they rushed over without hesitation in order to defend the military port and the shipyard.
In addition, the fort on the hill outside the military port finally opened fire, but this old-fashioned front-mounted gun is more to embolden itself. At the same time, the battleships such as the Texas and the Puritan in the naval port finally started to light up, but unfortunately, it is impossible to make the battleships move without a warm-up time of two or three hours. And will the Spanish fleet give them three hours?
"All ships obey orders, give priority to solving enemy ships, and then bombard shipyards and ports."
Under the order of Lieutenant General Sedra, ten large warships began to move. Two torpedo boats with half-wheel secondary guns set fire
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The next immobile battleships, such as the Texas and the Puritan, were completely hit by the Spanish fleet as fixed targets that could not fight back. Dozens of large-caliber artillery spewed out tongues of flame at them, and the orange flames and gunpowder smoke at the muzzle were even more connected.
Countless artillery shells swept toward the American warships in the naval port like raindrops. In less than 1 minute, the Texas was hit by at least 10 large-caliber artillery shells, and each large-caliber artillery shell was like a heavy hammer. Constantly knocking on the fragile hull of the Texas.
Some lucky Americans really understand what it means to live like a year. No one knows how long they will live. Everyone is afraid that a shell will penetrate the cabin next door not far away. Those less fortunate were killed by explosions, shrapnel and flames. In just a few minutes, the entire battleship was passed by dense shells! The entire superstructure became a flaming torch, and yellow-green flames spread around the deck, devouring everything that came across it! …
The Texas is still struggling in the fire and smoke, and the Dread next to him has no chance to even struggle. With a displacement of over 4,000 tons, it actually has a twin-mounted 305mm main gun and a Dual 254mm secondary guns, plus 330mm main armor.
The data on paper is excellent, but the level of the American people is very clear in their hearts. The reserve buoyancy is minimal, the dry string is extremely low, and the main armor belt is so narrow and short that it is almost useless. Coupled with the excessive weight of the armament, the stability and redundancy of this ship is really poor. Although it was not taken care of, it was still beaten by the two Venice-class armored cruisers at the end of the team.
A 254mm high-explosive round hit the Dread's bow like a heavy hammer. The entire battleship shook violently, and then a bright yellow flame exploded at the bow, and the huge explosive force directly opened a large hole of more than ten square meters in the bow. The entire bow then sank sharply, a large amount of sea water poured into the bow, and the Dread suffered a serious bow.
At least 3 more 254mm shells were hit afterwards, and the Dread was riddled with holes. The raging fire spread on the ship, and the people on the bridge were either killed or injured. The fire quickly developed out of control, and the ship was over.
As for the American counterattack, the naval port was suddenly attacked, many crew members were not on board, and the sporadic counterattack did not cause any harm to the Spanish fleet at all.
In the next half an hour, the Dread sank, the Monterey sank, the Puritan sank, only the Texas was not sunk, but it was as motionless as a dead fish, not even the artillery to counterattack.
Then a destroyer approached the Texas and a torpedo took out the opponent. After the warships in the naval port were cleared, the two Venice-class ships were left to bombard the facilities in the port, and the other warships sailed to the Newport Shipyard opposite the port, where two conspicuous giant ships were still waiting for them to destroy.
While the naval port was devastated, the Americans were not idle, although there were no forts and artillery there.
But taking advantage of this precious time, the small boat coming from Hamilton Port quickly laid a small number of mines on the main channel. The shore personnel, under the command of the officers, arranged smoke canisters to cover the two giant ships that were outfitting.
In the face of this situation, the Spanish fleet did not dare to get too close to the target. After all, its fleet did not have a minesweeper.
Just increased the elevation angle of the artillery to fire at the distant shipyard~www.mtlnovel.com~ If the fleet engagement can still be called combat, then now it is purely slaughter. Shots of artillery shells slashed through the air in curves that heralded doom, and the screeching sound of piercing the air fell to warships under construction and nearby factories several kilometers away.
A round of artillery shells exploded around the target, and the violent explosion made the entire Newport people panic. The two giant ships under construction were silently under the bombardment of giant artillery, they were not finished yet, there was no armor plate and no artillery, just like two targets.
The Kentucky was hit directly first. A 356mm shell hit the Kentucky's cannon ring. After a loud bang, the prototype's cannon ring was directly blown by nearly half, and the more deadly flames passed through. The flammable material in the cabin spreads towards the inside of the hull. Then, the power compartment in the midship of the hull of the Kilsarge was also hit by a 356mm shell, which blew up the pipeline and power system being installed inside.
Although due to the relationship between the smoke and the distance, there are not many shells that directly hit. But for these two unfinished, unarmored, unbuilt warships with no damage control, such a blow has been quite fatal.
The materials and inflammables in the hull became the accomplices in ruining the two battleships. Plenty of air poured in from the gun mounts and other holes, giving enough oxygen to the flames inside the hull. In the scorching flames, the two warships, which were supposed to be completed in 1900, were completely turned into a pile of scrap metal. At this moment the US Navy is crying.