Chapter 407: Enemy or Friend
On February 17, 1864, the Confederate submarine "Henry" sank the Northern Federal frigate Housatonic, and the "Henry" itself also exploded. The resulting whirlpool caused it to sink.
In the next 40 years, submarines have never had similar results, and all countries are generally skeptical of the combat effectiveness of submarines.
George knew how great the war potential of submarines was, so Amur was on the right path from the beginning and unswervingly researched submarine-related technologies.
Now the harvest time has finally arrived.
The Amur submarine uses a dual propulsion system. It is driven by a diesel engine on the surface with a maximum speed of 15 knots and a range of 1,000 nautical miles. It is driven by an electric motor underwater with a maximum speed of 8 knots and a range of 100 nautical miles. The armament system is two torpedo launch tubes that can carry 12 torpedo.
Unlike other countries that still install artillery on submarines, Amur submarines do not use artillery and only have torpedoes. Although this reduces the attack capability of the submarine, it also reduces underwater resistance and is the fastest underwater. Both speed and endurance have been improved.
After the formation of the Japanese Six-Six Fleet, they announced their love to the world with great fanfare, fearing that others would not know.
The Amur military has long obtained photos of Japan's main warships through different channels, and naval officers and soldiers are familiar with them, so Daniel directly locked the flagship of the combined fleet "Mikasa" and prepared to launch torpedoes at the "Mikasa".
Dongxiang is still very cautious. The "Mikasa" is at the center of the fleet, and the entire fleet is always in motion, making it difficult to find a suitable attack angle.
Daniel is not in a hurry. Submarine No. 104 is like a shark lurking under the sea, patiently waiting for the right opportunity.
After the Siberian Fleet light cruiser attacked, the Combined Fleet light cruiser fled in panic. The addition of "Kasuga" and "Nichishin" did not change this situation.
The "Kasuga" class armored cruiser was urgently ordered by Japan from Italy before the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War. These two armored cruisers were originally ordered by Argentina from Italy, but the order was later canceled by Argentina and picked up by the Japanese. Cheap.
The "Kasuga" class has a displacement of 7,628 tons, 13,500 horsepower, and a speed of 20 knots; its armament system is slightly different. The front main gun of the "Kasuga" is a 254 mm high-elevation heavy gun, and the rear main gun is a twin Mounted 203mm gun.
The "Rijin" has twin 203mm main guns at the front and rear.
The secondary batteries are all 14 single-barreled 152mm rapid-fire guns.
The Vladivostok light cruiser has a full load displacement of 5,700 tons, and the main gun is also 4 203.
Unlike the Japanese cruisers, the artillery of the Siberian fleet has been electricized, with a faster rate of fire and significantly higher efficiency.
During the second blockade operation, the "Kasuga" hit the "Yoshino" in the middle and sank it. It was repaired in a hurry and continued to be used. The traces of damage to the front part were obvious, so it became the target of the Vladivostok light patrol.
In just five minutes, the "Kasuga" was hit by at least 4 shells. The main gun at the stern was damaged and unable to aim; a large hole was broken in the middle and water began to enter; the bridge was also hit. During the attack, the captain, Colonel Shikiga Nakamura, was killed on the spot.
The Siberian fleet also suffered losses.
The light cruiser of the Siberian Fleet has only two less secondary guns in its armament system than the "Kasuga", but its displacement is nearly 2,000 tons smaller. The weight saved is all in the armor.
The "Aceh", which was incorporated into the Siberian Fleet, was hit by a 203mm artillery shell from the "Rijin". The hull began to take in water and tilt, and was forced to withdraw from the battle.
The "Koryeo" was hit by a 152mm shell and its steering gear was damaged. It was unable to turn and move. It was concentrated fire by Japanese warships and the superstructure was almost wiped out.
Peter had already anticipated this situation.
The Russian Empire has not participated in a large-scale war for nearly 30 years, especially naval battles. In the 10th Russo-Turkish War, the Russian Imperial Navy had almost no performance, so the Russian Imperial Navy lacked experienced officers and soldiers.
After the establishment of the Siberian Fleet, Peter paid strict attention to training and spared no expense, breaking more than a dozen gun barrels every month.
After all, training cannot replace actual combat.
The performance of the Amur warship also needs to be tested in actual combat.
At 13:20, Peter personally led the main force of the Siberian fleet to attack, and the main force of the combined fleet led by Dongxiang finally moved.
Daniel saw the right opportunity and fired two torpedoes at the combined fleet flagship "Mikasa".
Daniel had bad luck. Only one of the two torpedoes hit, and it missed the "Mikasa" and mistakenly hit the "Naniwa" next to the "Mikasa".
The displacement of the "Naniwa" was only 3,700 tons. The huge power of the torpedo explosion completely tore the stern of the "Naniwa" apart. The sailors of the "Naniwa" had no time to close the watertight compartment.
With the influx of seawater, the bow of the "Naniwa" tilted up, and the entire rear half sank into the water.
Togo, who was watching the battle on the "Mikasa", was stunned by the tragedy of the "Naniwa". He had no idea what happened.
In current naval battles, torpedoes are limited in range and can only be used at relatively close range.
The main ship of the Siberian Fleet has just left the port and has not yet entered combat range. The torpedoes cannot hit the combined fleet at all.
Dongxiang's experience was indeed rich, and he soon realized that the Siberian fleet was equipped with submarines.
At this time in 1904, submarines were no longer a secret. As early as the 1950s and 1960s, Britain and France began to study submarines. French submarines even simulated sinking British battleships in exercises.
Although all countries have shown a certain degree of attention to submarines, since submarines have no actual results, the degree of attention is limited, and no weapons against submarines have been developed.
After realizing that the Siberian fleet had been equipped with submarines, Togo immediately ordered the fleet to evacuate.
But evacuation is not that easy.
Due to the use of new steam turbine units, the warships of the Siberian Fleet are generally two to three knots faster than the warships of the Combined Fleet.
The maximum speed of the "Kasuga" was originally only 20 knots. After a large amount of water was taken in, the speed became even slower, less than 10 knots, which severely hindered the retreat speed of the combined fleet. In order to prevent the Kasuga from being captured by the Siberian fleet, Togo ordered the Kasuga to be sunk.
The armored cruiser "Izumo" performed this mission.
Before sinking the "Kasuga", the officers and soldiers on the "Kasuga" must first be evacuated.
So the "Chitose" approached "Kasuga" and released the boat to pick up people from "Kasuga".
Just when the "Izumo" was preparing to launch a torpedo at the "Kasuga".
Submarine No. 104 fired two torpedoes at the "Izumo" again.
This time, the god of luck did not favor the Combined Fleet. Not only did the two torpedoes hit all of them, but they also caused the ammunition depot of the "Izumo" to explode, and a fire broke out in the boiler room. A minute later, the 9,700-ton heavy armored cruiser Sunk quickly.
The "Chitose" was stunned by the tragedy of the "Izumo" and failed to care about rescuing the officers and soldiers of the "Kasuga" and fled the battlefield as quickly as possible.
As the sister ship of the "Yoshino", the "Chitose" has a maximum speed of only 23 knots, which is pitifully slow in front of the cruisers of the Siberian Fleet.
The "Chitose" was quickly overtaken by the cruisers of the Siberian Fleet.
After a shelling, the "Chitose" hung up the white flag and raised his hands to surrender.
The captain of the "Chitose" still had integrity. After hoisting the white flag and surrendering, he ordered the officers and soldiers to leave in a small boat, opened the underwater water gate and scuttled.
The "Kasuga" was not so lucky. Its underwater water gate had been submerged and could only be captured by the Siberian fleet.
Peter did not let go of the Combined Fleet and led the main force of the Siberian Fleet to pursue the Combined Fleet until the Tsugaru Strait.
Unfortunately, Dongxiang did not give Peter a chance, and Peter failed to further expand his victory.
Even so, the result of the Battle of Vladivostok shocked the world.
In the naval battles before the Russo-Japanese War, whether it was the "Petropavlovsk", the "Yashima" and the "Hasuse", they were all struck by mines and sunk. The warships that were actually sunk in the naval battle, They are all smaller destroyers and offshore gunboats.
The "Izumo" was the first 10,000-ton warship to be truly sunk in a naval battle.
The Siberian Fleet did not sink the "Kasuga", but towed the "Kasuga" back to the Vladivostok naval port for repairs.
I don’t know whether it was intentional or unintentional, but the Siberian Fleet did not even lower the military flag hanging on the "Kasuga".
So "Haruhi" became the first Japanese warship to fly the Japanese naval flag and enter the Vladivostok naval port.
As more details of naval battles came out, the role of submarines really began to be taken seriously by various countries.
Peter became famous after this battle.
Dewey came to Vladivostok again.
This time he came not to visit George, but to visit Peter.
In the Battle of Manila, the U.S. Asiatic Fleet led by Dewey spent one morning annihilating the entire Spanish fleet.
Dewey was not too proud of this achievement because the Spanish fleet was too weak. This result was normal and in line with everyone's expectations.
After the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War, it has given the world too many surprises.
The outcome of the Battle of Vladivostok was also unexpected by many people.
"In the Battle of Vladivostok, the battleships of the Siberian Fleet did not fire a single shot, and we won the war. What kind of famous general am I?"
Peter was unhappy. .
"Aren't you the commander-in-chief of the Siberian Fleet?"
Dewey's top hats were presented in piles one after another. In the past few days, European and American newspapers directly praised Peter to the sky.
The positions of European and American countries in the Russo-Japanese War were very complicated. Although all countries remained neutral based on their own interests, they did not hesitate to praise Peter.
Amplifying the Russo-Japanese War, it was a war between ancient European empires and emerging Asian countries.
The Pacific Fleet of the Russian Empire was blocked in Port Arthur by the Japanese Combined Fleet and could not get out. The old white Europeans did not look good, and their self-esteem was seriously damaged.
Therefore, the real attitude of European and American countries towards the Russo-Japanese War is that they hope that Russia will lose, but not in an ugly way.
It is best to fight in a lose-lose situation, which not only curbs the expansion of the Russian Empire in the Far East, but also does not allow Japan to gain too much benefit, further enhance its strength, continue to maintain the previous poverty and weakness in East Asia, and continue to allow European and American countries to plunder situation.
It is different from the praise of Peter in European and American countries.
St. Petersburg is relatively ambiguous about the naval battle of Vladivostok, and the relevant news has not even been reported, as if this naval battle had never happened.
(End of this chapter)