Chapter 771 Hunting (asking for double monthly tickets)
Immediately, a herald ran back and forth on the ship, loudly conveying the captain's instructions: "The British fleet was spotted at two o'clock, 2 nautical miles away. There are 5 merchant ships, 2 cruisers and 2 frigates!"
Maderno's heart skipped a beat.
A cruiser is a fifth-level battleship, usually equipped with 44 cannons.
On our side, there are only three frigates: "Overlook", "Seagull Wings" and "Big Tide". They are only equipped with 21 guns.
If a battle breaks out, our side has no chance of winning.
Logically speaking, the captain should immediately order to avoid it at this time. But the current heading of our formation is clearly heading towards the British fleet.
He sighed in his heart: God, I just escaped from the English Channel, please protect me from dying in the Mediterranean...
Half a minute later, the rapid drum beat sounded through the "Yuanwang". This is a battle alert.
Apparently the enemy ship also discovered the French warship and began to slowly turn westward, aiming its port side towards the "Overlook". At this time, there was a westerly wind blowing on the sea. This was a typical tactic to seize the upper wind.
At the same time, the several merchant ships fled straight south, creating a situation where the British warships were between themselves and the French formation.
"The boiler is pressurized!"
The captain's voice came from the communication tube, and then the petty officer in the power cabin shouted the same: "Pressure the boiler! Add coal quickly!"
Black smoke billowed out from the chimneys of the three French steam frigates, and the speed of the ships suddenly increased a lot, as if this was the Atlantic Ocean with strong sea breezes instead of the calm Mediterranean Sea.
The British warships were obviously extremely surprised and hurriedly accelerated their formation adjustments.
Among them, the two galley frigates moved to the easternmost side, intending to cover the merchant ships.
A series of semaphores were played on the "Seagull Wings" - it was the flagship of the formation and was to command the other two ships in combat.
The three steam warships immediately began to deflect, and at the same time there was a loud "click" sound in the boilers, which was obviously at full capacity.
Their sterns dragged out narrow white traces and circled towards the easternmost side of the British fleet at an incredible speed.
The British warships immediately followed suit and moved southeast, always forming a straight line from end to end, aiming their broadside main guns at the French frigates.
Although the British fleet commander was a little surprised by the speed of the enemy ships, he was calm in his heart.
He knew very well the combat effectiveness of the small frigates opposite. As long as the opponent enters the range of its own cannons, the battle will end within ten minutes - generally speaking, a 44-gun cruiser is enough to sink two frigates, and it can still keep up with three frigates.
There are 2 cruisers on his side and 2 frigates to assist.
What he didn't understand was that the French seemed to be crazy and rushed over to ask for a fight!
He even began to wonder whether there was a large French fleet ambushing nearby.
But he immediately laughed at himself.
The main force of the French Mediterranean Fleet was blocked in Toulon Port by Lord Samuel Hood. Where could there be an ambush?
The second officer on the side turned to him and said: "Major Hicks, the enemy ship is still 800 yards away from us."
According to British naval regulations, a distance of 350 yards is considered to be within the optimal firing range.
At the current high speed of the French ship, even if it started to turn immediately, it would plunge into the firing range of its own battle line.
He raised his hand calmly: "Get ready to fire."
"Yes, Commander!"
The British ship's gun door covers were all opened, and dark cannons poked out from inside.
Major Hicks had already raised his hands and was about to plug his ears - the first round of shelling was usually very harsh, and it would be much better after the ears were numb later. However, his eyes suddenly widened as he looked out the porthole.
Seeing the French ship, which was only more than 600 yards away from him, he suddenly turned sharply to the right, and with completely incredible turning efficiency, he threw his battle line to the port side.
The three black smoke-belching ships turned so fast that their hulls tilted severely, almost reaching an angle of 60 degrees with the sea level!
At this time, the French ship's bow was facing southwest, and it was already semi-headwind, but their speed still maintained a very high speed.
With his rich experience in naval battles, Hicks immediately estimated that according to the current situation, the French frigate would pass by the end of his battle line in a few minutes.
And once they get around, they will be able to face those merchant ships...
The corners of his eyes twitched, and he hurriedly ordered: "Turn left, quickly! Turn left 1.5 compass points! Ignore the formation. Fire, fire immediately!"
At this time, the two sides were about 550 yards apart. Although they were within the maximum range of the cannon, the hit effect would definitely not be good.
"Yes, Commander!"
Major Hicks stared at the French ship that kept sailing towards his left rear, thinking silently in his heart: "God, I must hit a few shots!"
The British cruiser's hull made a "crunching" sound, which was because it was turning desperately, but its speed was still much slower than the French ship.
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The two galleys had already turned around, and the 18-pounder guns on the port side began to emit a series of roars, and the surrounding sea was suddenly shrouded in thick white smoke.
Large waves rose up around the French warship, but it was so far away and it was a target of high-speed sailing. If you wanted to hit it directly, you really could only rely on God to appear.
The French ship did not fight back, and just "hurried". When the British cruiser aimed its broadside at them, the stern "Perspective" happened to pass by the westernmost side of the British formation, and lost the stern to British.
The British cruiser's 32-pounder gun roared, but the shells just fell feebly into the sea dozens of yards away from the French ship.
Hicks hurriedly raised his telescope and looked south. His merchant ship sailed a little more than 1 nautical mile.
With the exaggerated speed of those French ships, they could catch up with them in about ten minutes at most.
He turned to the second officer and shouted: "Let the 'Beacon' and 'Dragonfly' catch up! We must entangle the French!"
The two British galleys immediately turned around, and the oarsmen in the bottom cabin, "encouraged" by the overseer's whip, tried their best to paddle the oars.
Finally, after a few minutes of acceleration, they barely reached the speed of the French ship.
Maderno clung to the mast and stared at the British merchant ships getting closer and closer in front of him. Then he turned to look at the British warships in the distance. He suddenly felt like a seabird flying wantonly.
The fish is right in front, waiting to be caught, while all the wind and waves are far behind.
Be free, relax and enjoy the moment.
British merchant ships also realized that something was wrong and began to disperse and escape in different directions in order not to be caught all at once.
Seven or eight minutes later, the "Yuanwang" caught up with a merchant ship with the words "Long-tailed Ray" painted on its bow, and soon sailed alongside it.
The sound of cannon wheels rolling could be heard beneath Maderno's feet.
The next moment, fierce fire flashed from the gun cabins from the bow to the stern.
The merchant ship 200 yards away suddenly trembled, and large pieces of wood splintered from the middle of the hull and the stern, flying all over the sky.
(End of chapter)