Chapter 792 The Naval Battle of Genoa·2
20 minutes later, more than 30 French warships appeared on the southeast side of the sea.
When the British sailors on the "Theseus" saw those French boats emitting black smoke, they couldn't help but smile sarcastically——
The largest ships are the fifth-level ships. They are not even qualified to join the battle line and can only be responsible for peripheral security.
At the same time, the formation of the French fleet is also loose and loose. It is neither a standard diagonal charging formation nor a linear formation. It is simply like a group of leisurely sightseeing boats.
Moreover, the wind is blowing from the southwest now, but the French are sailing from the east and half against the wind...
Some British soldiers have begun to suspect that the French are not here to fight, because the latter have made almost all the mistakes that can be made in naval battles.
However, Major General Hotham and other British officers were still cautious about the black smoke-belching fleet in the distance.
Because they had noticed that even in a semi-headwind state, those ships still maintained a very high speed.
The captain of "Theseus" turned his head and suggested to Hotham:
"General, our wind direction is very favorable. If we rush directly with the wind, we should be able to crush those small boats directly." [Note 1]
In the naval battles of this era, whoever seizes the upper wind can use the wind to quickly adjust the formation and freely choose the angle of attack during the battle. It can be said that half of the battle has been won.
Not to mention just bullying a group of light battleships.
Hotham shook his head hesitantly: "No, let's observe first. The French are not idiots. If they dare to rush over like this, they probably have something to rely on."
He looked at the herald on the side: "Let the 'Brigade' bring a few galleys to meet them and disrupt their route."
"Yes, General!"
Soon, the fifth-class cruiser "Quarter" on the left side of the British battle line, led by two other cruisers and eight frigates, quickly approached from the right front of the French battleship.
This makes it clear that the auxiliary battleships of the British fleet can threaten them if the ships bullying the French are small.
If the French battleship chooses to turn left and use its broadside guns to meet the "Quarter" and other ships, the latter will immediately break away from the battle, and the French battleship will lose the best angle of entry because of turning early.
Generally speaking, the charging warship should wait until it is about 800 to 1,000 yards away from the opponent's battle line before turning and entering a broadside firing state.
If you turn too early, you can only make a circle on the sea and find the angle of entry again.
But the main force of the British fleet is still eyeing the upper wind. How can it give you a chance to re-enter? As long as you dare to turn your head, they will rush directly towards you and defeat you in one fell swoop with their neat formation.
Ed Byrne, the captain of the "Brigade", saw that it was approaching 800 yards away from the French ship. He immediately raised the signal flag and ordered to prepare to turn left and pass the left rear of the French fleet.
Of course, if the French forced their course, they would go into battle.
Although they would suffer losses, the French warships entering the battle would also be entangled, and the "Theseus" on the west side would only need 15 minutes to rush over and end the battle.
However, the French warships made a reaction that was beyond all British expectations - they turned left!
Dozens of white traces were instantly drawn on the sea. The French fleet turned sharply at almost a 90-degree angle and suddenly landed in front of the "Quarter". The black muzzles on the side of the ship were pointed directly at the British warship. bow.
The people on board the "Brigade" and the dozen or so ships were immediately shocked.
This is so counterintuitive!
The Frenchman actually made such a sharp turn under headwind conditions. No, even if there is a tailwind, a turning radius of at least twice as much as this is required to make it possible for it to cross in front of you. The French battleship seemed to have been pushed from the side by an invisible monster on the seabed, and its bow pointed directly to the northeast.
In other words, at this time, the French warship had completed a standard "T-shaped cross-head" tactic.
Bourne hurriedly ordered the signal flag to be raised, and asked the warships behind him to follow him and turn right, using the wind to sail south as quickly as possible to minimize the contact time with enemy ships.
He had heard before that French steam battleships had extremely high turning efficiency, but he had never imagined that it could be as high as this.
Due to the long-term self-confidence, or arrogance, of the British navy, reports of ships escaping from the cannons of French steam battleships were always considered to be exaggerated.
After all, no one can measure the turn rate carefully when under attack. It can only be reported in general terms that "the French ship turned extremely quickly."
After analysis, the British Admiralty believed that as long as the wind was favorable, the British sailors' maneuvering abilities should not lose much to the French ships in turning.
At this moment, Bourne and others knew that they had been tricked by the men of the Navy Department.
The sailors on the "Brigade" and other ships desperately adjusted the sails, and the helmsman turned the rudder to the head. However, they had prepared to turn left before, and they adjusted in the opposite direction at this time. It was too late.
As soon as a dozen ships turned their bows less than 20 degrees, they were already within the range of the French warship's cannon.
The 32-pounder gun on the port side of the French steam cruiser "Tunisia" was the first to roar, and then the cruisers and frigates following it began to fire salvos one after another.
There is no mistake in every song, one post, one content, one 6 one, one book, one book, take a look!
Thick white mist suddenly filled the sea, making it feel like a fairyland.
The "Brigade" basically still had its bow facing the enemy ship, so it was unable to fight back and could only be beaten.
Bourne listened to the screams of the "chirping" shells all around, and his heart was already pounding. He just felt that the density of the firepower seemed to be too high.
It's like facing a third-tier battleship!
Soon, a "click" sound was heard from the lower left, which was caused by the shell tearing the hull of the ship.
Then there was the same sound on the port side gun deck, followed by the screams of the injured sailors, and the boatswain's orders to turn the sails.
On the "Theseus" in the distance, Hotham, who was holding a telescope, also had a gloomy expression.
This was the first time he saw French steamships in action. The amazing speed and turning efficiency made him feel heavy pressure.
Moreover, the formation of the French warships' attack at this time was also very strange.
It was not a standard line array, but was arranged in an arc, forming a semi-encirclement of the "Quarter" and other ships.
This formation allows them to exert firepower that is 20 to 30% greater than that of a line formation.
[Note 1] According to British naval operational regulations, the fleet commander does not directly manage the flagship. He just stays on the flagship and commands the entire fleet. The flagship itself has its own captain.
This mode has many advantages, one of the more important ones is that when the flagship is sunk, the fleet commander can transfer to another ship and quickly switch flagships without causing confusion in the command system on the new flagship.
(End of chapter)