Although the Dignity was much older than the four newly commissioned battleships, the sighting equipment on the Dignity and Furious was the best at the time.

After being salvaged, the two ships were repaired and improved at the front. At that time, the four "New Provincial Capital" class battleships were almost completed and were doing the final debugging. And these four battleships still used the previous generation of sighting equipment. In the process of improving the Dignity and Fury, engineers completed the development of a new generation of sighting equipment and built four samples. In order to determine the performance of the new sighting equipment, two of them were used in the improvement of the two battleships. And in the improvements, the main guns of both battleships were replaced with better barrels.

Compared with the power of armor-piercing shells, the "Dignity" was no match for the new battleship, but it was slightly better than the accuracy. This is also the reason why the "Dignity" was able to hit the target first (the "Rage" was at the front of the fleet, and the target was the "Nevada", which was the third in the US fleet, and the distance between the two ships was about a nautical mile farther than that of the "Dignity" and the "Oklahoma", which reduced the hit rate of the "Rage" shells) 36o mm armor-piercing shells were at a distance of 14 nautical miles (in fact, it was less than 14 nautical miles at that time, probably only 133 nautical miles, and the distance between the two warships was the closest in the formation of both sides), There is a more than fifty percent chance of penetrating the main armor of the "Oklahoma".

The first three shells hit the right side of the battleship's seaplane platform (retrofitted when it was improved) C turret, as well as the secondary gun group in the middle of the battleship. Among them, the armor-piercing projectile hit the C turret successfully penetrated the weak armor on the side of the turret and exploded after entering the turret interior, blowing almost the entire turret away. Fortunately, there were not a few shells in the turret, otherwise the battleship would have been finished. With this gun, the "Oklahoma" lost two of the eight remaining main guns (the ship's B and c turrets were double, and the A and D turrets were triple), and the armor-piercing shell in the middle of the port side did not penetrate the armor belt, but only blew several secondary guns in this position into the sky.

In the fourth salvo, the "Dignity" successfully hit another shell of the "Oklahoma". The shell hit the root of the chimney behind the battleship, and after passing through several layers of bulkheads, it exploded above the engine room, and the huge destructive force not only completely destroyed the chimney, but also blew more than a dozen nearby cabins into rubble. What's more, the shell reduced the ship's power output by at least 30%. The Oklahoma immediately slowed down. The explosion also caused a fire, and the huge "Oklahoma" became a bunch of torches at sea. The light of the fire immediately attracted more shells.

In front of the "Dignity" was the battleship "Chengdu". Originally, the battleship was dealing with the "Tennessee" in front of the "Oklahoma", and two shells had already accurately hit the target. When the fire on the "Oklahoma" was burning, the captain of the "Chengdu" immediately ordered the target to be shifted, and went all out to kill the "Oklahoma" (after the fleet fought, each warship had the right to choose its own targets, but if it was not necessary, it would never easily change the assigned target) two ships to fight one, and the eight main guns on the "Oklahoma" had just turned around and fired the first salvo, and then they were attacked by the opponent's eighteen main guns. From the fifth to the eighth salvo. "Dignity" and "Chengdu" each fired 36 shells. Among them, the "Dignity" sent 5 shells to the enemy ship, and the "Chengdu" also sent three 4oo mm huge shells.

"Oklahoma" became the first battleship to finish in this fierce artillery battle. The fatal shell was fired by the "Chengdu", and the lookout on the "Chengdu" accurately recorded the point where the shell hit: the waterline from the bow of a quarter of the length of the ship. Here was the ammunition depot for the main gun under the battleship's A turret. 4oo mm armor-piercing shells after penetrating the main armor belt (16 inches thick) near the waterline of the battleship. Entered the main ammunition compartment and exploded. Although the charge of this armor-piercing shell was just over 1oo kg (the armor-piercing projectile itself weighed 9oo kg, but most of it was the weight of the shell), this was enough. More than 1oo kilograms of explosives were not enough to sink the battleship, and hundreds of main artillery shells that could be stored here were enough to complete this "mission".

The bow (a quarter of the captain) of the USS Oklahoma, which had been detonated from the ammunition depot, was blown off because it was an old ship, and a mid-term overhaul could not completely renovate it. The watertight system of the battleship itself was not too good. The battleship had tilted its bow 25 degrees in three minutes, and its ass was cocked high. Then, the keel of the battleship could not bear the huge weight of the ship, and it broke off from the middle, and the ship smashed into the sea. Within ten minutes. "Oklahoma" disappeared from the sea. Of the more than 13oo officers and men on the battleship, only more than 1ooo escaped. It was 4:28 a.m.

The "Dignity" also suffered a huge bomb during this period, but this 356-mm armor-piercing shell was not able to penetrate the main armor on the battleship, and only caused a little skin wound to the "Dignity", which did not affect its combat effectiveness at all.

When the "Chengdu" was dealing with the "Oklahoma," the "Tennessee" seized the opportunity and hit the "Chengdu" with two shells in its three salvos. One of them hit the seaplane deck of the battleship, igniting aviation gasoline stored on the next deck. Although this was not a fatal injury, it immediately made the "Chengdu" a torch at sea. When the "Oklahoma" was damaged, the guns of the "Tennessee" and the sister ship "California" in front of it were all concentrated on the "Chengdu". The "Oklahoma" had just exploded, and the main gun of the "Chengdu" had not yet rotated, and while aiming at the "Tennessee", a shell smashed on the frontal armor of its armored turret. The 356-mm shell did not penetrate the frontal armor of the turret (on battleships, the frontal armor of the main gun turret was the thickest) but it shattered the turret's rotation mechanism, the turret could only rotate within ten degrees to the left and right, and the pitching mechanism of the two guns (each gun had a separate pitching mechanism) Only one gun in the armored turret could continue to be used, but all the gunners in the turret were stunned, and after ten minutes, the gun resumed firing.

Having eliminated the opponent, the "Dignity" immediately aimed its guns at the "Tennessee", and the other six main guns on the "Chengdu" also immediately opened fire on the "Tennessee". And by this time, the "Guiyang" in front of the "Chengdu" had already fired three salvos at the "California", and at least one shell hit the target. "California" had to transfer the muzzle. Abandoned the "Chengdu".

Once again, a two-on-one situation was formed, and the "Tennessee" became the opponent of the two battleships, even if the battleship had 12 main guns, but its local opponent had 15 main guns, and it would soon be restored to 16. What's even worse is that at a distance of 14 nautical miles, the shells of the "Tennessee" could not deal with the battleships of the Don Army at all, and it was almost impossible to penetrate the main armor of the battleships of the Don Army, and the armor-piercing shells of the main guns on the battleships of the Don Army. In particular, 4oo-mm armor-piercing shells have more than a fifty percent chance of penetrating the main armor of the "Tennessee".

While the "Tennessee" was besieged by superior firepower, the "Fury", which was at the front of the battle line of the 3rd Task Force, was also suffering from a stormy shell. The situation of the "Fury" was even more difficult than that of the "Oklahoma", because it had to deal with not two American battleships, but three. The three ships located at the front of the battle line of the American fleet, namely the "Maryland", the "West Virginia", and the "Nevada". The first two of these three battleships (that is, the two at the front of the American fleet) were the two of the eight battleships with the shortest age, the strongest firepower (4o6 main guns), the thickest armor, and the most combat-ready of the eight battleships. The Fury is one of the two worst ships in Task Force 3!

From the order of the six battleships of the Third Task Force, Yan Shiqi's intentions can also be seen. Because there was a difference in the number of two battleships. And after the battle began, the battleships fought one-on-one with each other (a very classical tactic, which would soon be replaced by group combat), and Yan Shiqi arranged the two weaker battleships in the front and last positions. It is precisely to solve this problem. In the event of a one-on-one duel, the "Canton" class would be able to take out any American battleship by an overwhelming margin. And the "Dignity" and "Fury" also have certain advantages, but this advantage is not obvious. If a fight starts, the best result would be that the "Dignity" and "Fury" would each carry two enemy ships, and the four "Guangzhou" class battleships would eliminate their opponents as soon as possible, and then support the two "Dignity" class battleships, so that the difference in numbers could be changed. The worst-case scenario is that now, the "Fury" (and possibly the "Dignity") will take on three enemy ships alone. As a result, it was clear that the sacrifice of the "Fury" bought time for other ships.

Personally. Yan Shiqi's arrangement was very cruel, but from the situation at the time, this was the only solution, and this was the only way to exchange quality for quantity. Even if the "Guangzhou" is changed to carry it, it is impossible to hit three at once, and any battleship in the position of the "Fury" will have the same outcome. The sacrifice of the "Fury" was actually exchanged for an advantage in the overall strength of the hull.

This was exactly what happened, in the first four salvos of the American fleet, the "Fury" received five huge shells, the A turret had lost its combat effectiveness (the armor protected the gunner inside), and the situation of the B turret was not much better. There was also a shell under the bridge, and all the officers and men in the commander's bridge, including the captain, were either killed or wounded.

"Fury" withstood such a heavy blow, and also returned two shells to the "Nevada", one of which destroyed the "Nevada's" C turret. But in the next three rounds of shelling, the "Fury" suffered four more shells, and almost all the secondary guns on the starboard side of the battleship (mainly the 12o anti-aircraft guns) were blown up. A shell hit the engine room of the battleship's No. 2 ship, and the ship's power system was seriously damaged, and the degree was rapidly decreasing.

If the "Fury" withdrew from the battle line, then the next ship would be the "Canton", the flagship of the 3rd Task Force. At this time, opposite the "Canton" there was not only the "Pennsylvania", but also the three American battleships in front. That is, as soon as the "Fury" is out of battle, then the flagship of the fleet will be besieged by four enemy ships! No matter how brave the "Canton" is, it will never be able to withstand the onslaught of dozens of huge cannons on four enemy battleships!

At this critical moment, the captain of the "Fury" made an extremely important decision, a self-sacrificing one. It stands to reason that when the "Fury" could not keep up with the fleet, it should have withdrawn south from the battle, and then it should have turned left. But instead of turning to the left, the battleship turned right and rushed towards the American fleet. Only two guns from the two turrets in front of the "Fury" could still fire, and it had to face dozens of huge guns from the enemy's three battleships.

When the "Fury" rushed north at a distance of 18 knots in the face of the enemy's shells, the officers and men on the other Tang Empire battleships were stunned, and these officers and men immediately reacted. The "Fury" was not going to die, but to buy time for the other five warships to destroy the enemy. As its name suggests, the "Fury" frantically rushed towards the enemy's fleet at the last moment, exchanging its own sacrifice for precious time!

The "Fury" suddenly turned around and rushed towards the enemy fleet at 4:32 a.m., that is, four minutes after the sinking of the "Oklahoma". Yan Shiqi received a telegram from the "Berserk" at this time, and the telegram had only one word: victory! All Imperial Navy soldiers knew the meaning of this word, and the first Imperial Admiral to use this word was Marshal Yuan Haoyi, who gave this signal to the other ships after the victory in the bloody battle, and since then, this word has had a very special status in the Imperial Navy.

Yan Shiqi's hand holding the telegram was shaking, the "Fury" was making self-sacrifice, using the lives of more than 1ooo officers and soldiers on the battleship to make self-sacrifice, and the ultimate goal of self-sacrifice was victory, the final victory!

"Boom, give me a hard bang, kill the enemy ship on the other side, kill it!"

At the same time, the captains of the other four battleships also issued the same order, to kill the enemy ships on the opposite side, to avenge the "Fury", and to make the sacrifice of the "Fury" worthwhile, decisive value!