"Boom! Rumble! Rumble! "The five 'Five Emperor-class' battleships of the Imperial Navy were the first to fire. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 The targets chosen for attack were the first two U.S. 'Montana-class' battleships, the USS Montana and the USS Ohio.

Although the distance between the two sides is now more than 20 kilometers, the upgraded 381-mm naval guns are fully capable of reaching this range. Armor-piercing shells weighing several hundred kilograms roared towards the American warship. It's just that because of the distance, even with the assistance of artillery sighting radar, the impact point is still very off.

"The distance is too far, at this distance, the shell appears a little lighter, because of the air resistance, it will float out very far, and it will be difficult to hit the target." On the battleship 'Shaohao', the gunnery officer said to Rear Admiral Cai Junbao.

Rear Admiral Cai Junbao nodded, it was indeed difficult to hit the US battleship more than 20 kilometers away with 381 mm naval guns. This distance is even beyond the line of sight, and the main turrets can only rely on the data and coordinates given by the gunsight radar for shelling. Whether or not you can hit the target depends more on whether God blesses you or not.

"Order the ships to wait until the distance is closer to twenty kilometers before firing." Major General Cai Junbao ordered. At a distance of twenty kilometers, the hit rate will increase a lot. Of course, the probability of being hit will be much greater. The new battleships of the Americans are not vegetarian.

Four battleship detachments of the Imperial Navy, divided into two battle lines. Among them, five 'Five Emperor-class' battleships of the 3rd Battleship Detachment and four 'Zhonghua-class' battleships of the 4th Battleship Detachment formed a battle line. The 5th battleship "Jinghai", two "Longxing-class" battleships and two "Longfei-class" battlecruisers and five battleships of the 6th battleship detachment captured a battleship group of the British Navy on a battle line.

The two battle lines were outflanking the American forces from the east and west directions, in an attempt to give full play to their superiority in the number of battleships. After all, if it were one-on-one, the battleships of the Imperial Navy were estimated to be heavily damaged or even sunk in a short time.

"Humph! Those yellow-skinned monkeys, they actually dared to take the initiative to fire, which is clearly provoking us. Order all the ships, ignore the old battleships in the west, and concentrate their firepower to sink the nine battleships in the east first, so that those yellow-skinned monkeys know how powerful we are. Major General Robert ordered.

Although, the number of battleships was completely at a disadvantage, Rear Admiral Robert was not at all worried. He believed that the battleships of the powerful US Navy would cost the Imperial Navy dearly. As long as they were given enough time, they could even slowly sink all the battleships of the Chinese Navy, leaving not a single battleship left.

"Command the ships, open fire! Do your best to sink the Chinese battleships in the shortest possible time. "Major General Robert gave the order.

"Yes, General." The communications officer immediately conveyed the order to the battleships.

A few minutes later, the Montana-class battleships opened fire first. Four triple 406mm guns fired a salvo at the Imperial Navy's battleship 'Shaohao'. 12 shells weighing more than a ton, under the action of kinetic energy, roared towards the battleship of the Imperial Navy.

"Boom! Rumble! Rumble! "The cannonballs fell inside, splashing columns of water that soared into the sky. Although, the American battleships were also equipped with gunsight radars. It's just that, in terms of radar performance, it is slightly inferior to the Imperial Navy. Therefore, even though the main guns of their battleships were larger in caliber and more numerous, they still failed to hit the battleships of the Imperial Navy because of the distance, and the impact point was also far away, which made the expression on Rear Admiral Robert's face very unsightly.

"Adjust the shooting angle!" When the gunners saw Major General Robert's face, they didn't dare to say anything, and could only hope that the next shelling would play a little better. Otherwise, Major General Robert would probably be to blame.

The main guns on the battleship Montana began to rotate slightly, and the elevation angle of the main guns began to change. After all, warships on the sea are fast-moving, and it is not so easy to hit fast-moving targets. Coupled with the distance of more than 20 kilometers, this distance requires the shells to fly for almost a minute. A minute later, the target battleship was already in its original position and had already sailed some distance. Therefore, it has always been very difficult to hit targets moving at high speed on the sea surface.

Two minutes later, the battleship 'Montana' opened fire again. Although, this time it still failed to hit the target. However, the impact point is much closer. This made Major General Robert's face look a lot better. The gunner, too, breathed a sigh of relief.

In naval warfare, luck actually plays a large part of the factor. After flying at high speed and flying over a distance of twenty kilometers, whether the shell can hit the target or not really depends on luck. If you're lucky, you might be able to hit the vital point of the target ship, inflicting heavy damage on the opponent in one fell swoop, or even sinking the opponent. However, if you are unlucky, the shells will fly 108,000 miles away.

"Boom! Rumble! Rumble! "As the distance between the two sides continued to grow, the battleships on both sides began to fire fiercely. Even though the battleships of the Imperial Navy were generally equipped with 381 mm guns and 343 mm guns, they could not cause fatal damage to the American battleships, but all the battleships were firing hard, and no one retreated. It was clear to everyone that they needed to buy time for the aircraft carrier formation to escape and release carrier-based aircraft, as well as for the arrival of the enemy's 1st and 2nd battleship detachments. As long as they held out until the 1st and 2nd battleship detachments arrived, they were victorious.

"Boom!" The performance of the Empire-made artillery aiming radar is indeed a little better. At a distance of twenty kilometers, the Imperial Navy achieved hits ahead of the American Navy. A 381-millimeter shell fired from the battleship "Zhuan" hit the US battleship "Ohio". Moreover, this shell hit the command tower of the battleship 'Ohio'.

However, it is a pity that the power of the 381-mm shells is still too weak, and there is nothing that can be done against the 572-mm thick armor of the battleship 'Ohio'. The shells exploded outside the command tower, and although the shrapnel killed a dozen American sailors on the deck and destroyed two anti-aircraft guns, it did not cause fatal damage to the battleship Ohio. It is even said that such an injury is simply insignificant and does not affect the subsequent battle at all.

However, when they were hit, the officers in the commander tower of the battleship 'Ohio', including the captain, were almost frightened. If it weren't for their excellent armor, they would all have been killed.

It wasn't until after the explosion that the U.S. officers inside were staggered, but they were not injured, that they were relieved.

"Damn, we were actually hit by the Chinese, fire at me and sink the Chinese battleship." Afterwards, the American captain of the battleship "Ohio" shouted.

When the battleship "Ohio" was hit, the officers and men of the battleship "Zhuan" cheered. But then, when the smoke cleared and it was discovered that the battleship 'Ohio' was not injured at all, everyone could not help but feel pity.

"Dog *day*. If the 460 mm guns of the 'Tokai-class' battleship hit the bridge of the opponent's ship, it should be able to tear through the thick armor of the opponent. "The captain of the battleship 'Zhuan' thought secretly. In fact, at this distance, it was very difficult for even the 460 mm guns of the 'Tokai-class' battleships to tear through the armor up to 572 mm thick.

A dozen battleships of the Imperial Navy besieged eight battleships of the US Navy and seemed to be in an advantageous position. But in reality, the battleships of the US army could not be moved at all. Even if it hits the target, it will only cause some innocuous injuries at most. This made the officers and men of the Imperial Navy very aggrieved.

"Boom! Rumble! Rumble! "The three triple 406-mm guns of the U.S. battleship Wisconsin began to roar, targeting the battleship 'Zhonghua', the lead ship of the Imperial Navy's 'Zhonghua-class' battleships.

The battleship Wisconsin had a displacement of 52,000 tons, while the battleship Zhonghua of the Imperial Navy had a displacement of only 30,000 tons, almost half of which was smaller than that of the other side. The 343-mm guns of the battleship 'Zhonghua' were also much less powerful than the 406-mm guns of the 'Wisconsin'. It can be said that the two sides are not a heavyweight opponent at all. The duel between the two sides is more like a duel between a child and an adult.

But even so, the battleship 'Zhonghua' did not retreat. Three triple 343mm guns are still firing frantically.

"Boom!" A loud explosion sounded on the battleship "Zhonghua", and a 406-mm main gun fired from the battleship "Wisconsin" hit the side of the battleship "Zhonghua". The powerful shell blew a large hole in the side of the battleship 'Zhonghua', blowing up two anti-aircraft guns and killing several officers and men.

"Damn, report the loss." After discovering that the battleship had been hit, the captain of the battleship 'Zhonghua' changed his face greatly. The small size of the battleship "Zhonghua" could not be compared with that of the American battleship "Wisconsin", and once it received a 406-mm shell, the consequences would be serious.

"Captain, the side side was hit. Two anti-aircraft guns were blown up, but fortunately the place where they were hit was above the waterline and did not cause much damage. The damage management officer reported.

This was a relief for the construction of the battleship 'Zhonghua'. (To be continued.) )