Volume 1 Tigers in Southeast Asia Chapter 67: Shooting at Sea
After receiving the order from Captain Diego, the Columbus immediately opened at full speed. The boiler furnace was burning red, and the boilerman next to it was adding coal to the furnace like crazy. Puffs of black smoke came out of the chimney. The high-temperature steam pushed the propeller, and the propeller pushed the warship. The warship rushed towards the Pangu like a huge angry beast.
Bifang on the Pangu ship was keenly aware of the enemy ship's increased speed. He picked up the megaphone and shouted, "Start the steam engine, run at full speed, and speed up the evacuation."
The Pangu ship immediately started the steam engine. In order to reduce the resistance to movement, the gunners raised the sails, and the Pangu ship rushed away at a high speed.
The speed of the Pangu ship far exceeded that of the Columbus ship, so it quickly widened the distance between it and the Columbus ship. This made Captain Diego annoyed and surprised, because he could not imagine that any civilian ship could be faster than a warship!
Just when Captain Diego was puzzled, the Nuwa ship discovered the Columbus ship. Ma Chengfeng reported to Lin Fei loudly: "Captain, we found the Pangu ship and a Spanish warship. The warship only has four guns and is small. It should be a gunboat!"
Lin Fei shouted "OK", then picked up the megaphone and said to all the sailors: "Brothers, the Pangu has attracted a Spanish gunboat. It's time to avenge Miss Xiaoyu and all the victimized Chinese!"
Everyone cheered, Lin Fei put down the megaphone, and Liu Daming laughed and said, "Why is it just a gunboat? How boring! I want to attack the Spanish protected cruiser!"
Lin Fei laughed and said, "How can we have a big meal right after a banquet? Don't we have to eat a few appetizers first? Don't worry, that protected cruiser can't escape!"
Lin Fei said with a smile: "I'm going to the mast, Daming, you take command from here."
Liu Daming asked several times: "What are you doing on the mast?"
Lin Fei smiled and said, "Of course, we use the fire control computer. I'm worried that they won't be able to use it well."
Liu Daming nodded and said, "Then go ahead. I will aim the broadside of the Nuwa ship at the enemy ship."
Lin Fei naturally understood that aiming the broadside at the enemy ship would maximize the concentration of firepower. He turned and walked out of the command cabin and went up to the mast in a few steps. The fire control computer in the mast was already ready.
This primitive fire control computer needs to calibrate an important parameter - the distance change rate. Only when the distance change rate is set can it accurately calculate the position of the enemy ship at a certain moment in the future. The setting of the distance change rate depends on the user's experience. No one is better than Lin Fei in this regard, so Lin Fei must complete this task personally.
After obtaining the distance change rate through observation, Lin Fei would use a megaphone on the mast to notify each gun position. The gunners at each gun position would set the distance change rate for their fire control computers, thereby calculating the target's position at the future moment.
Lin Fei picked up the telescope fixed in the mast, used the ruler in the telescope to measure the distance between the Nuwa ship and the Columbus ship, and then silently calculated the rate of change of distance in his mind. At this time, the two warships were more than 3,000 meters apart. It was difficult to fire and hit at this distance, so both ships remained silent.
At a distance of 3,000 meters, the Columbus also discovered the Nuwa ship. Captain Diego was shocked when he saw the Nuwa ship through the telescope. He said hesitantly to Chief of Staff Heradis: "Why is there an extra ship ahead? That ship looks like a warship."
Chief of Staff Heradis laughed and said, "Captain, what's wrong with you? Can't you even recognize the appearance of a battleship? Why are you so hesitant?"
Captain Diego shook his head and said, "It's very strange! The ship opposite is long and narrow, obviously a military ship, but there are no cannons on the hull!"
It turned out that in order to conceal his identity, Lin Fei asked the light industry craftsmen of Chiyou City to weave a large tarpaulin to cover up the cannons on the Nuwa ship. Captain Diegol certainly couldn't see it, so he thought there were no cannons on the Nuwa ship. In addition, Lin Fei installed a lot of tarpaulins on the chimney and mast, disrupting the outline of the Nuwa ship. Captain Diegol also failed to recognize that the Nuwa ship was the Cuba cruiser.
Upon hearing this, Chief of Staff Heradis raised his telescope and looked towards the Nuwa ship. As expected did not see any artillery. He shook his head and said, "How strange! What kind of ship is this? Order the signal cabin to send a signal to inquire."
The Columbus sent a signal, which was quickly received by the Nuwa. Ma Chengfeng turned to Lin Fei and said, "Captain, the other side sent a signal, asking for our identity."
Lin Fei pondered for a moment and said, "Tell them that we are the warship of the Sulu Sultanate."
Ma Chengfeng nodded and sent the message, which surprised Captain Diego and Chief of Staff Heradis. Captain Diego frowned and said, "The warships of the Sulu Sultanate are all small wooden boats. How can there be such a large steel warship?"
Captain Diego and Chief of Staff Heradis were surprised that the distance between the two ships was close to 2,500 meters. Lin Fei had tested it before. With the advanced stereoscopic rangefinder and fire control computer, it was entirely possible for the Nuwa ship to hit the target at a distance of 2,500 meters.
Lin Fei decided to fire the first shot at a distance of 2,500 meters!
Lin Fei picked up the megaphone and shouted loudly: "Attention all gun positions, distance is 'two-five-dong-dong' meters, distance change rate is 'one-four-turn' meters per second, prepare to attack." Here Lin Fei used military language again, calling "seven" "turn".
Voices came back from all the gun positions: "Captain, gun position one is ready, gun position two is ready..."
Lin Fei went on to say: "High-explosive shells! Fully loaded! All gun positions ready!" There are certain rules for using high-explosive shells or armor-piercing shells in naval battles. The first wave of shooting in naval battles is of a test nature, that is, the shooting parameters are corrected according to the landing point of the first wave of shooting to make the shells more accurate.
It is very difficult to observe the landing point above the vast ocean. When using high-explosive bombs, the explosives will blow up a water column more than ten meters high, which is very convenient to observe. However, there is no explosive loaded inside the armor-piercing bomb, so it will not explode when entering the water, and the splashing water is not easy to observe.
The well-trained gunners loaded the shells and propellant in just a dozen seconds. Lin Fei shouted loudly: "Number one gun position, test fire, fire!"
The gunner at the No. 1 gun position pressed the firing button, and a shell whizzed towards the Columbus. The shell landed in front of the Columbus, splashing a large wave.
Captain Diego on the Columbus also saw the water column splashed by the shells, but he was not panicked at all. Instead, he laughed, because he was very clear about the level of artillery at that time. It was rare for shells to hit the target at a distance of 1,500 meters, let alone 2,500 meters.
Captain Diego pointed at the splashing water and laughed, saying, "The Moros are stupid. They actually wanted to hit us at a distance of 2,500 meters."
Chief of Staff Heradis did not laugh, but said worriedly: "Where did the Moros get such a steel battleship?"
Captain Diego's brows were also furrowed, but he soon relaxed his brows and said with a smile: "Don't worry, their gunnery skills are not good, we will rush to them and sink them."
The Columbus maintained its original course and approached the Nuwa. On the Nuwa, the gunners at each gun position corrected the direction of the muzzle according to the landing point of the test shell. Lin Fei calculated the distance change rate between the two ships and found no change, so he ordered loudly: "The distance change rate remains unchanged, gun position one to gun position four, fire!"
The gunners at the four gun positions pressed the firing buttons at the same time, and four shells flew towards the Columbus, exploding in front of it again. Although they did not hit the target, the shells loaded with high-performance explosives still created a huge shock wave, pushing the Columbus to shake slightly.
Lin Fei did not lose heart when he saw that this round of artillery shells still missed the target, because the artillery bombardment in naval battles is a process of "fire - observe the landing point - adjust the shooting parameters - fire again". After all, artillery shells are not missiles. They do not have guidance heads and control servos. Whether the artillery shells can be hit accurately depends entirely on the direction of the muzzle when the shells are fired. This direction needs to be constantly corrected in order for the shells to hit the target.
The gunner on the Nuwa ship corrected the firing parameters again and pressed the firing button again. Four shells flew out again. Lin Fei watched the landing point in the mast and couldn't help but shouted excitedly: "Great!"
Ma Chengfeng asked from the side: "Captain, what's wrong with you? I rarely see you so excited!"
Lin Fei pointed at the Columbus in the distance and said, "You didn't see it just now, our shells formed a cross-fire!"
"Cross-fire" means that some shells fall in front of the target, and some shells fall behind it. This means that the target ship is already within the coverage range of the shells. As long as you fire according to this shooting parameter, you will definitely hit it!
Lin Fei shouted, "Attention, all gun positions. Our ship's shells have formed a cross-fire pattern! Rapid firing."
As soon as Lin Fei gave the order, each gun position fired shells at the fastest speed, and twenty shells were fired from the barrel within one minute.
The twenty shells flew towards the Columbus, and one of them landed directly on the deck near the chimney in the middle of the ship. The steel deck collided with the warhead, activating the fuse on the shell. A violent explosion occurred on the deck in an instant, shaking the entire ship.
Captain Diego and Chief of Staff Heradis on the Columbus were both dumbfounded, because what the Nuwa ship did was completely beyond their knowledge. The distance at this moment was 2,500 meters, and the Nuwa ship actually hit the Columbus ship at such a long distance!
Captain Diego shouted in surprise: "What's going on? How could the Moro shells hit us? Is God beginning to bless the Moros too?"
At this moment, the warship's damage control officer hurried into the command room and shouted, "Captain, Chief of Staff, it's bad, there's something wrong with the Moro shells!"
Captain Diegol frowned and asked angrily, "What's strange?"
