Chapter 1298 Target practice at sea
This kind of target shooting mode not only tests the gunner's operation, but also places high demands on the captain's command. If the speed is too fast and the gun has passed the shooting area before it hits the target, the results will definitely be disastrous. And if you slow down your speed in order to pursue a hit rate and slowly move forward one target after another, then the shooting time will naturally be longer. How to weigh the balance between hit rate and mission completion time has become the biggest problem that tests the captain's command level.
In order to prevent someone from taking advantage of the rules and stopping the ship to shoot slowly, a time limit for completing the task is also clearly defined. If the time limit is exceeded, the result will be cancelled. If you want to stop the ship midway and shoot, you will definitely not be able to complete the mission. At least you must maintain a certain minimum speed to pass through the shooting zone.
In addition, the distance between the ship and the coastal target will also directly affect the hit rate. If you want to sail as close to the coast as possible to improve the hit rate, you must slow down and proceed carefully to avoid running aground on the rocks. Therefore, for the sake of fairness, the Navy deployed a number of fixed buoys on the sea in advance and drew a line more than a hundred meters away from the coastal cliffs. Warships from participating countries can only shoot at targets outside this line to avoid chasing hits. Getting too close to the coast has led to unnecessary navigation accidents.
For most visitors, this is their first time seeing such a target shooting competition at sea, and they all find it very novel. Yan Chujie also announced to everyone that this subject was confidential before the start of the military exercise. Even the Haihan Navy did not know the content in advance and was only notified last night like other participants. Therefore, this competition actually compares with the level of usual training, and depends on the degree of on-the-spot performance. For Haihan, there is no advantage of playing at home or preparing for the game in advance.
If what Yan Chujie said is true, then this maritime competition can somewhat reveal the strength gap between Haihan and the navies of other countries, and this is one of the main purposes of envoys from various countries coming here to observe the joint military exercise. Although the militaries of various countries know that the Haihan Army is extremely powerful, they are determined to not be able to defeat the Haihan Army with equal strength. However, most people do not have a clear idea of how much better their combat effectiveness is than their own country, and such a competition can undoubtedly intuitively see the gap in actual combat capabilities.
There are seven targets in total on the coastal cliffs, and their sizes, heights, and distances are slightly different. Even for the well-trained Haihan navy, it cannot be regarded as a simple task. In order to show fairness, the captains of warships from various countries have drawn lots on Xieyang Island last night to determine the order of appearance. Since Haihan had the largest number of warships participating in this exercise, it was no surprise that he won the first two spots.
The first expedition-class battleship "Changhua" to appear on the scene adopted a more cautious approach. After entering the shooting area, it slowed down and fired at targets on the coast with four guns in units, in case of mistakes. If all miss the target, the commander will immediately order the second batch of four guns to continue firing, and this rotation will continue until the target is hit. If three rounds in a row are missed, then the broadside naval gun will not have time to reload the next round, and will have basically moved out of the range that can hit the target.
In the first round of firing by the "Changhua", one shell accurately hit the target, which attracted a round of applause and cheers from the ship carrying spectators. However, perhaps due to the difficulty in aiming due to the inconsistent distance between the target and the ship, starting from the second target it was no longer possible to replicate the precise hit of the first round. When it came to the last target, three consecutive rounds of shooting failed to hit, but at this time the target had left the effective shooting range of the naval gun, and it was useless to fire any more.
So the appearance of the first battleship ended with a score of six out of seven targets. If the same score appeared later, the time consumed by the mission and the total number of cannons fired would be further measured.
The Haihan Navy, which is famous for its naval artillery battles, did not finish it easily and failed to hit all the targets. This made the audience realize that the difficulty of this subject is not as easy as imagined, even if the elites of the Haihan Navy went into battle in person. , and there is still the possibility of overturning. Some people can't help but secretly worry about their own performance. If you don't perform well on this occasion, it will indeed be a bit of a loss of face.
The second ship to appear was the flagship of the combined fleet in this military exercise, the "Dignity", the first ship of the Haihan Navy's Majesty-class battleships. This ship joined the navy at the end of 1629. It was the largest warship in the navy at that time. The 50-meter-long warship had three artillery decks and was deployed with three calibers of 12 pounds, 24 pounds, and 48 pounds. It has a total of 52 guns and a crew of more than 300 people. When using steam power as an auxiliary propulsion method, the maximum speed can reach 15 knots.
Although this ship is not the most powerful warship of its generation on the planet, its actual combat effectiveness is difficult for Western competitors to match. The use of steam power greatly enhances the ship's maneuverability at sea, and the Haihan span The weapons manufacturing technology of the era made the performance of naval guns far superior to those of its competitors at the same time. In the waters of the Far East, the Majesty-class battleship can be said to be invincible.
The number of actual combat missions that the "Mighty" has participated in in the past few years after it entered service is actually relatively limited. However, at present, almost all sailors serving on the same level of warships in the Haihan Army began to learn how to become a qualified sailor on the "Mighty". Battleship crew. This ship has trained thousands of qualified soldiers and officers for the Haihan Navy. Even if it does not perform combat missions on the battlefield, this ship is still a truly meritorious warship.
This kind of warship appeared on the sea at close range, and its visual impact was quite significant. Liu Shang silently compared it with the naval warships he had seen before, and the conclusion was undoubtedly positive - Ming There is no active warship in the military and navy that can compare with it. Whether it is hull size, speed, or firepower, there is a clear gap with warships of Haihan's level. As for actual combat capabilities, let alone it. The Southern Navy of the Ming Dynasty still had some actual combat experience at sea, but the navies in these places have either become decorations under the pressure of the Haihan people, or they are like the Fujian Navy. They also became the auxiliary army of the Haihan people, and they were basically hopeless.
The number of artillery deployed on a single side of the "Majesty" is more than twenty, so even if the strategy of firing in batches is adopted, the probability of hitting the target is much greater, and the gunners serving on the flagship are all Navy Elite, their skills in operating artillery are naturally more specialized.
Sure enough, the performance of the "Majesty" did not disappoint the audience. Except for one target that was slightly farther away, it took two rounds to hit, and the other six targets were all hit in one round, and the speed through the shooting area was also faster. It is faster than the "Changhua" that appeared previously, which shows that its commander has great confidence in his artillery and has no intention of increasing the accuracy of the hit by reducing the speed.
This time, Haihan's spectators were still cheering, while the boat where the foreign guests were riding was silent. Many people silently replaced the coast bombarded by Haihan with their own warships to think about whether they could escape or launch a counterattack under such density of artillery fire. But even the most optimistic thoughts, Probably just so that it would not be directly sunk in this round of bombardment. As for whether a counterattack can be launched, most people do not have such illusory hope. Although Liu Shang was watching the battle among a group of Haihan people, what he was thinking about was similar to other foreign guests. If the Ming Navy faced Haihan's majesty-class battleships, would it have any chance of winning? But after thinking about it, the answer seems to be very frustrating, because it is really difficult to talk about the chance of winning in the face of such artillery fire. It is more practical to first consider whether it can get rid of the pursuit under the muzzle of the Haihan battleship that comes and goes like the wind.
Liu Shang has listened to the introduction of the accompanying officers. This battleship was built six years ago. In the past six years, Haihan seems to have been improving this kind of battleship, and has subsequently built seven or eight battleships of the same level. But Liu Shang always felt that with the temperament of the Haihan people, they would not stop building warships of this level forever. Six years would be enough for them to tinker with a lot of things. After all, it has only been eight years since the Haihan people settled in Qiongzhou Island, and they have already transformed Qiongzhou Island into the so-called Haihan Kingdom. It shouldn't take too long for the Haihan people to build a more powerful warship, right?
Immediately after the two Haihan battleships came a warship from the Annan Kingdom. This was an exploration-class warship funded by Annan and manufactured by Haihan. Although this level of warship is already the smallest combat ship in the Haihan Navy, when placed in Annan, it is the main warship of its navy.
The firepower equipment of this warship is quite different from the two ships Haihan just unveiled. The guns deployed on one side of the ship are only four six-pound guns, and it does not have the concentrated fire attack of the Haihan warship. In exchange for the tactical requirement of hit rate, you can only aim at the target and fire in sequence. The commander of this ship was obviously very aware of his own situation. In addition, he had seen the operation method of the Haihan battleship before, so he pragmatically set the speed to the slowest in order to pursue a hit rate.
In this way, even if all four guns miss in one round, the slow speed can ensure that the gunners can at least complete the second round of loading and firing of the two guns, which means that a target can have about six shooting opportunities. Although it cannot compare with the intensive strike tactics of the Haihan battleship, relatively speaking, it maximizes the combat efficiency of this small warship. This also reflects that the Annan Navy has long had Officer Haihan serve as a military adviser and guide training, and it has indeed achieved good results.
But even so, the final shooting result was not ideal, only hitting four out of seven targets. This is not a big problem with the commander's tactical design, but is caused by a combination of factors. The exploration-class warship itself is smaller in tonnage, and its stability at sea is not that good. In addition, the artillery equipped on the ship is also an export model a few years ago. The shooting accuracy is not as good as the Haihan Navy's own version. In addition, the combat level of the artillery There is also a certain objective gap, and the final results can basically reflect the strength gap between the two sides.
Next on the stage is the Portuguese participating warship "José". It is said to be a warship, but in fact it is an armed merchant ship equipped with artillery, but it is enough to be used as a warship on the sea in the Far East. Although the overall strength of this ship cannot be compared with the Haihan naval warship, it is indeed higher than the warships of Annan, Champa, and Ming Dynasty. Moreover, most of the sailors on the ship are old sea dogs who have fought all the way from Europe to the Far East. They have rich practical experience, which is enough to make up for its shortcomings in the performance of weapons and ships.
In the end, Portugal ended the shooting mission with a score of five out of seven targets. Although it seemed that it only hit one more target than the Annan warship, its target shooting time was much less than that of the Annan warship, and even compared with the Haihan warship. The first ship "Changhua" appeared was almost the same. If it weren't for bad luck, it would not be impossible to equal the performance of the "Changhua".
Of course, this is just a target shooting result on the training ground. If it really comes to actual combat, the Haihan warship with steam power-assisted propulsion will be enough to overwhelm the Portuguese warship just by its maneuverability. Moreover, the Haihan battleship's protective capabilities and artillery performance are actually better than those of its opponents. Even if it is bombarded face-to-face, it will still maintain a clear advantage.
The Portuguese's results put great pressure on the Dutch ships that came after them. The Dutch also sent an armed merchant ship. They had fought against the Haihan Navy in the Taiwan Strait in the early years, and their actual combat experience was not bad. However, the results on this occasion will inevitably be compared with other countries. Although the Dutch will be dissatisfied with losing to Haihan, it is reasonable to lose to the strongest player in the South China Sea, and there will be no such thing. Who laughs at this result. But it would be very embarrassing to lose to the rival Portuguese.
Fortunately, the sailors on the Dutch warships did not bring shame to their country and completed the mission with the same results as the Portuguese. Although subsequent evaluations will also be based on the completion time and number of shells fired by both sides, these details are no longer so important. After watching this scene from the outside, the Dutch envoy and the Portuguese envoy each let out a sigh of relief.
Due to the large number of warships participating in this exercise, the target training lasted until noon and only about two-thirds of it was completed. Yan Chujie took the initiative to stop the exercise and let the participating troops and audience guests have lunch first.
The exercise continued in the afternoon, and several more ships of the Haihan Navy achieved perfect results, but the time was not comparable to the record-breaking "Dignity" in the morning. The worst results of warships from other countries were two out of seven, but the battle did not end with zero points.
(End of chapter)