The two fleets hedged at high speed, and the relative speed of up to more than 30 knots quickly shortened the distance between the two sides.1 When the two sides approached about 6 kilometers, the two fleets chose to turn almost at the same time, the Spanish fleet turned to the left, and the American fleet turned to the right, and the two fleets quickly moved two battle lines sailing in the same direction, and then the American fleet chose to take the initiative to approach the opponent, because Shelly knew very well that whether it was 8-inch 35L guns or 6-inch 30L guns, Neither of them were as accurate as the Spanish fleet's 8-inch 40L guns and 6-inch 40L guns at high speeds, and in Shelly's view, the only advantage of the American fleet was the large number of 6-inch guns. The fire of up to 24 6-inch rapid-fire guns could be concentrated on one side. The number of side-chord 6-inch guns of the Spanish fleet was only 16.

And in the comparison of the number of 8-inch guns...... The strength of the two sides is the opposite. The US Navy had only 5 terrace 8-inch guns. And the Spanish side had 12 8-inch turret guns! The rate of fire of the former is at most one shot per minute. And the rate of fire of the latter is up to 1 minute and two shots! The difference in the amount of projection between the two sides is more than 4 times! Therefore, Shelly planned to limit the engagement distance between the two sides to a distance of about 2,000 meters, which was the best range of the American 6-inch 30L gun. At a distance, the 8-inch and 6-inch 40L guns of the Spanish fleet were more powerful. And at a closer distance, the Spanish Navy's 12-pounder guns could be used, and these guns were much more powerful than the 3-pounder and 6-pounder guns of the Americans, ......... power.

Shelly's calculations are good, and Jericho is not stupid. Unlike Shelly, who fixed the distance of the fleet to 1,500 to 2,000 meters, Jericho boldly set the distance at 3,000 meters. In the new rangefinder. With the help of telescopic artillery sighting devices, excellent gunners in Britain and Germany can also get high hits at a distance of 3,000 meters!

In the face of the menacing American fleet. Jericho constantly ordered the fleet to adjust its course, and the high-speed performance of the Guiyuan class was vividly exerted at this moment, and the four warships with similar ship types were basically the same in terms of maneuverability, so the four battleships always maintained a strict formation when maneuvering at high speed, and the speed higher than the average speed of the American fleet made it difficult for the American fleet to approach quickly. The two columns sailed at high speed on the surface of the sea like two swimming dragons, and the American fleet was constantly trying to find a suitable opportunity to cut in, but the tight formation of the opposing side and the rapid-fire guns of the hedgehogs on the side chord always made Shelly unable to make up his mind. A whole 12 8-inch turret guns were aimed at themselves. Waiting for yourself to cross a certain line!

"The vast majority of the 8-inch guns of the American fleet are not rapid-fire at all. Therefore, our cruiser fleet must have an absolute numerical superiority in artillery before it can take the initiative to challenge the opponent. At this time, Shelly's ears remembered what Magiffen had said. and Magiffen's envious look at the Guiyuan-type cruiser at that time. At this moment, Shelly suddenly wanted to lead the fleet away, and he regretted his somewhat reckless decision. Now. Shelly had no chance to evacuate, because at this very moment, Jericho's fleet attacked! …。

The 4 protective cruisers in the Spanish fleet accelerated to 19 knots, and then turned half a compass point to the right, and at this time the American fleet did not immediately change its course, and the distance between the two sides was only 4 kilometers and quickly closed to about 3 km! "Fire!" Accompanied by the command of the running commander, 12 8-inch guns spewed tongues of fire at the same time. ACCOMPANIED BY A DULL SOUND OF ARTILLERY FIRE AND VIOLENT VIBRATIONS, 12 SHELLS WEIGHING 100KG FLEW FROM THE CHAMBER TO THE TARGET AT A SPEED OF MORE THAN 700 METERS PER SECOND!

In less than 5 seconds, Shelly's flagship and subsequent USS Baltimore were covered in a yellow-green column of water! This is produced when the smoke from the explosion of a picric acid shell dissolves in water. And after the first wave of 8-inch guns fired a salvo, the subsequent 6-inch 40L guns also began to shoot! After a short shot, the American fleet also finally began to counterattack. AT A DISTANCE OF 3KM. The accuracy of the shelling of the American fleet was low.

"Damn, they're eyeing the flagship and the USS Baltimore! They basically aimed all of their 8-inch guns at the two battleships, while the other 6-inch guns began to fire at the remaining American stations. The captain of the St. Francis said as he looked at the Spanish fleet in the distance, which was constantly spewing tongues of fire. …。

At this time, the two most important battleships of the American fleet were now surrounded by a rain of bullets, albeit at a slightly greater distance, supported by the high rate of fire of 12 turret guns. The Baltimore, which was in second place, was hit first, and an 8-inch armor-piercing bullet slammed directly into the porch of one of the Baltimore's 6-inch guns with a piercing sound that pierced the air. The shell penetrated the steel plate outside the gallery without hindrance, and the flying fragments instantly killed all the personnel in the gallery, and then, the shell continued to move forward, and after successfully penetrating the next door of the cabin, it finally exploded at the bow flue, and the huge explosive force directly destroyed the entire flue, and the yellow smoke produced by the picric acid explosive and the black smoke gushing out of the flue instantly filled the entire hull amidships, and a thick smoke screen rose into the air. Because of the destruction of the flue, nearly half of the boilers of the Baltimore were forced to stop due to smoke exhaust problems, and the speed of the entire battleship was gradually reduced to about 14 knots! …。

And then the unlucky one was General Shelly's flagship...... This time the hit was between the 6-inch guns on the side chord No. 2 and No. 3, and this time it was a high-explosive shell that exploded after penetrating the outer hull plate. Although it did not hit the more important compartment, the fire caused by the explosion of the charge far exceeding the armor-piercing shell began to spread to the two nearby gun emplacements, the shell landed relatively close to the No. 2 gun position, and the flames mixed with fragments smashed the next door on the right side of the gun emplacement, and the flames and debris instantly flooded the entire No. 2 gun position like a tide, and along the way, detonated a 6-inch gun shell that was being reloaded and the matching propellant bag! After a dull explosion, the 6-inch gun, which weighed more than 4 tons, was blown into several pieces, along with the gun carriage. The No. 3 gun emplacement next door was lucky, the entire gun gallery was not washed by shrapnel, and the picric acid with a pungent smell still enveloped the entire gun emplacement. In just a matter of seconds, the flagship of the American fleet permanently lost a 6-inch gun. Another 6-inch gun could not be used.

For the American fleet at this time, the biggest problem was not that it was hit a few times by an 8-inch hammer, but that the entire fleet was suppressed, the flagship was attacked and could not be effectively commanded, and the Baltimore, the most powerful in second place, was suppressed by the other side and could not exert its firepower, and the four battleships behind desperately used 6-inch guns to concentrate on shooting the Manila and Santiago in the Spanish fleet. The long distance and the heavy armor of the opponent make the ultimate improved version of the two Returnable Ships basically ignore the opponent's attacks! In this way, the Spanish fleet used accurate 8-inch guns at a distance of 3KM to concentrate fire on the two most important warships of the American fleet! …。

Just when Jericho thought he was in control of the whole battle, suddenly, the Philadelphia in the third position and the San Francisco in the fourth position suddenly shifted a compass point to the left. Rush to the Spanish fleet! Try to insert into the opponent's formation and lead the battle into chaos. Thereby relieving the pressure on the flagship and the Baltimore. Thus giving the American fleet a chance to regroup.

In the face of these two 4,000-ton cruisers rushing over like brute bulls, Jericho was suddenly a little blind. The speed of the American fleet was reduced because of Baltimore, and the speed of the entire American fleet was also reduced, and the speed of the Spanish fleet gradually decreased in order to better attack, and at this moment both sides were basically sailing northeast at the same speed. Faced with these two suddenly accelerating American battleships, Jericho hesitated.

In order to keep the battle line intact, Jericho should lead the fleet to the left to evade, so that the distance between the two sides would be widened, and this would be tantamount to abandoning the attack on the Newark and the Baltimore. After a short period of fighting between the heavens and the man, Jericho, who was calm by nature, decided to temporarily abandon the attack on the American fleet, and also wanted to offset the left side by 1 compass point, and then readjust the firepower to deal with the two approaching American cruisers. …………。

Because of the lag in adjustment, the two American cruisers managed to get close to the Spanish fleet, and the long-dormant U.S. Navy finally began to exert its might, with a total of 12 6-inch rapid-fire guns on the side chords against the strongest in the Spanish fleet, the Manila and Santiago.

The dense rain of bullets soon fell around the two lightly armored cruisers, and the Spanish fleet, which had been fighting smoothly just now, seemed to be suddenly caught off guard by the brave and even reckless behavior of the two American cruisers...... The whole battle seemed to be suddenly reversed, with two American cruisers staring at the Spanish fleet, while the three American cruisers in the distance used their precious time to fight fires and regroup!

In Jericho's opinion, everything the American fleet did was nothing more than drink to quench its thirst, and the two cruisers that suddenly killed did disrupt the attack of the Spanish fleet, and the dense high-explosive shells did cause some trouble for the Spanish fleet! It's just a nuisance! Facing the Spanish fleet, which had absolute superiority in firepower. Once the fire was concentrated, it was only a matter of time before the two battleships, which were not even armored on the waterline, were destroyed, and of course, the Newark and the Baltimore did get out of the crisis. This was only temporary, and when the remaining 3 American battleships rejoined the battle, it was estimated that the USS Philadelphia and USS San Francisco were heavily damaged! …。

In the first place, the valiant actions of the American fleet did not fundamentally change the tide of the war. On the contrary, because of the dispersion of forces, Jericho was given a chance to break the opponent individually, at the beginning, the Newark and the Baltimore were indeed suppressed, with only 12 8-inch guns, it would take a while to make these two battleships ineffective, this is good, the reckless actions of the two American cruisers not only did not fundamentally turn the tide of the war, but made the defeat of the American fleet faster! Under the premise that the two battleships led by Yang Yonglin were not in place, the US fleet showed defeat!

Thanks to the book friends...... Tips~~. The Florida Strait skirmish is exactly the beginning~~. (To be continued) RQ

wqe。