Chapter 792 Naval Battle of Genoese III
Chapter 793 The Naval Battle of Genoese III
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In fact, windsurfing warships sometimes use this arc formation to attack.
However, the sailing boat adjusts its angle slowly. Once it is arranged in an arc, it will take a lot of time to form a whole team if you want to maneuver in a horizontal formation.
Therefore, unless one's own side has already occupied an absolute advantage, the sailing warships are basically fighting in a linear array.
The flexible steamboat does not have this concern. As long as the sailors are proficient in handling the ship, they can complete the formation change in a few minutes, so they can let go and use the best attack method to shoot.
This is also the reason why Bern feels that the firepower of the French battleship is too fierce.
Under the interference of the approach of the French battleship, the "Carriage" and other ships ate the shells for seven or eight minutes, and they were unable to get around the opponent's fire range.
Hotham finally couldn't sit still.
He suppressed his anger and said to the messenger: "Raise the flag, the battle line moves eastward, ready to attack the enemy fleet."
On the sea in the distance, the British cruise ship "White Coral" seemed to have been hit by the ammunition compartment and began to ignite a raging fire. The sailors jumped into the sea wailing, forming a circle of raindrops around the ship. Ripples.
The "Carriage" and "Quartz Sand" were severely damaged and have begun to tilt. Several other ships have also suffered varying degrees of injuries. They are floating in place and have almost lost their ability to maneuver.
Only two paddle sailboats escaped the battle because they were at the end of the formation before.
Only ten minutes before and after, the British cruise ship formation that went to disrupt the formation of the French fleet had already lost more than half of it. This damage efficiency was almost as high as that of the Shanghai military in the era of sailing warships.
On the other side, the British battleship formation had full sails and swooped towards the French battleship.
Hotham looked at the enemy ship outside the porthole, silently thinking in his heart.
2000 yards.
1500 yards.
1200 yards.
He was about to order to prepare for battle, when he saw the signal flag raised by the French flagship.
The more than 30 boats immediately accelerated with extremely high efficiency, turned their heads, and then headed northeast in a mess.
It was as fast as a hyena that had just stolen a lion's prey and was running away happily.
When the British battleline approached the "Carriage" and other warships, there was only a large white track left on the sea, and the faint smell of soot in the air. The French ship had already appeared a nautical mile away.
Two British cruise ships and a frigate are on the verge of sinking, and the other three are in very bad condition. I don't know if they can hold on until they are towed back to the port.
Hotham only felt that his anger had nowhere to vent, and he slammed a punch on the steering wheel frame.
"Damn French, these cowards, cowards! "He gritted his teeth and growled, "Come and have a man-to-man battle with me!""
The French fleet in the distance seemed to have heard what he said, took a quick circle, turned his head, and still sailed towards Hotham from the north in the previous seemingly loose formation.
Hotham sneered and loudly ordered the battle line to adjust its orientation, move up the air outlet, and try to flank the enemy.
Half an hour later, the French steam battleship formation surpassed Hotham's battle line and took the lead in occupying the upper pass on the west side.
The British commander's face began to look a little unnatural.
At first, it was obvious that his position was closer to the west, and the French ship went around north for a while to avoid him, but he was the first to reach the upper position.
He had to order the formation to tighten, keep the bow pointed to the northeast, and prepare for the impact of the enemy ship.
To be honest, he is not afraid of the French fleet attacking.
With the sturdy hull of the third-class ship and the firepower of up to 74 heavy guns, even if the wind is unfavorable, those French boats can be quickly destroyed.
Immediately, the French battleship moved.
In the case of downwind, the speed soared directly to more than 12 knots, and almost in the blink of an eye it came to 800 yards from the British battle line.
Then, they suddenly turned right, and under Hotham's surprised gaze, they drove at breakneck speed to the end of the British battle line.
There is no intention to carry out line-to-line shooting at all.
Hotham was a little confused, but soon understood that it was impossible for the French boat to shoot against him, so he hurriedly ordered the formation to be adjusted to keep the sideways facing the enemy.
But the speed of the steamship that has the upper hand is not comparable to that of the clumsy third- and fourth-class battleships.
The steamboat was fully powered, constantly adjusting its angle, and then in a very unreasonable manner, it sped past the southern tip of the British battle line.
The fourth-class battleship "Roughtip Shark" at the southern end turned desperately, but when the French battleship passed 400 yards from it, he was still facing the opponent with his tail.
There is no mistake, one song, one shot, one content, one look at it one by one!
The French cruise ship poured a round of shells on the Roughtip Shark in the form of a reverse "T-shaped horizontal head", or it should be called a "T-shaped horizontal tail".
Although each ship had a chance to fire a salvo, after the continuous bombardment of seven or eight ships before and after, the stern of the Roughtip Shark had been eroded, and even the stern sail was severely damaged.
The French fleet was not in love with war at all. When the fourth-class ship finally turned around with difficulty, the steamship that did not join the attack immediately turned sharply and pulled away.
Seeing the black smoke-emitting guys going away, Hotham really wanted to order a pursuit, but reason told him that at the speed of his own formation, it was impossible to catch up.
The staff officer reported to him the injury of the Roughtip Shark.
Fortunately, it is not too serious, and the battle can still continue, but the stern sail is broken, which may slightly affect the speed.
Hotham ordered another ship to go to the tail of the formation and protect the Roughtip Shark in the middle.
Then, he saw the French battleship spewing black smoke and rushing viciously from a nautical mile away.
At this moment, he remembered the herd of hyenas he saw when he went hunting in Africa a few years ago.
Each of them is far smaller than a lion, and they are not opponents of a lion in a head-on fight, but they always use their flexibility to attack the lion while the lion is eating.
Many times, he has seen hyenas successfully eat the prey captured by the lion, and even bit the lion bruised during a sneak attack.
At this moment, the French battleship that was "howling" towards this side was simply a group of hyenas.
But he is like a powerful but helpless lion. . . . . .
This time he ordered three battleships to protect the tail of the formation in a column. But after those "hyenas" quickly circled his battle line for a few laps, they successfully pulled out the gap and took the opportunity to carry out a "T-head attack" on the "Caesar", which was a little farther away from the formation.
After wounding the bow stringer of the "Caesar", they sailed away again.
It wasn't until it got dark that the French fleet stopped attacking and sailed to the southeast, gradually disappearing above the sea level.
(End of this chapter)
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