Chapter 542: The First Battle of Hawaii 15

"What? Two Nagato-class ships together?"

Nimitz opened his mouth, and then said to his chief of staff Frederick: "Damn it, the Japanese think the same as us."

"Admiral, what's following us now..." Frederick asked, "Should we release the seaplane?"

"No need, turn 360 degrees and prepare for artillery battle!" Nimitz seemed determined to fight a battle. "The South Dakota will be in service in three months, and there will be four South Dakota-class ships in service this year, and at least two Iowa-class ships will be in service next year... So we are not afraid of losses, even if one North Carolina-class ship is sunk in exchange for the heavy damage to the Japanese super battleship, it is worth it."

Nimitz's calculations are of course accurate, otherwise he would be Colonel Nimitz now. Through the naval battles in the European battlefield and the last "Battle of Hawaii Big Island", he has clearly known the truth that "old ships are useless".

Therefore, the truly valuable battleships of the United States in the next two years are 2 North Carolina-class, 4 South Dakota-class, and 2 or possibly 4 Iowa-class. The construction of the Iowa-class has been accelerated due to different situations, and it is very likely that 4 ships will be in service in 1943!

As for the Japanese, according to the current situation, there are only 1 or 2 80,000-ton super battleships. With Japan's national strength, it is estimated that it can't build a third 80,000-ton battleship. Even if the Japanese devils sell their pots and sell iron and try their best to build the third and fourth 80,000-ton battleships, they will definitely not be able to serve soon.

So at the battleship level, in 1942 and 1943, the confrontation between the United States and Japan actually took place between Japan's 2 80,000-ton battleships and 10-12 new American battleships.

The Japanese side has a quality advantage. Before the Montana-class entered service, the United States did not have any battleships that could fight against Japan's 80,000-ton class. But the United States has a quantitative advantage, and even if the exchange ratio is 5 to 1, the United States can bear it.

Of course, Admiral Nimitz didn't have Germany in his plan. He had recently heard that President Roosevelt was likely to become President von Luzevelt, so he was also preparing to become Admiral William von Nimitz at the right time - it sounded more impressive, and he was originally of German descent. His ancestor was Baron Ernst von Nimitz of Germany, and his parents were both of German descent, with very authentic bloodline, a blond and blue-eyed Aryan superman...

"Flare!"

Yamamoto Fifty-Kai was sitting in the command tower of the Yamato battleship, closing his eyes and thinking about how to use the key chess piece of the Hawaiian Islands to contain as many US Navy battleships as possible, when someone shouted in his ear.

Yamamoto opened his eyes, and at this time, a staff officer had already opened the curtains of the command tower porthole. It was already as bright as day outside the porthole, and three dazzling and bright light groups appeared in front of the Yamato.

"The Americans want to fight?" Yamamoto Isoroku was stunned for a moment, and immediately thought of something, "Let the Emperor Friedrich III fire flares, let the observation post watch carefully, and find out the enemy's strength."

The Emperor Friedrich III, which was sailing on the left side of the Yamato, received the order and immediately fired 6 flares at the approximate location of the enemy fleet detected by the radar.

Yamamoto Isoroku did not wait for the cat-eye warrior on the observation post to report, and raised his telescope to look over. I saw two particularly tall watchtowers suddenly appeared under the pale light.

"Sure enough!" Yamamoto Isoroku gritted his teeth, "It's two North Carolina-class battleships!"

"Commander..." Ugaki Matoi was also watching with a telescope, and he was also startled by these two North Carolina-class battleships.

"Okay, two is two." Yamamoto Isoroku put down the telescope and said nonchalantly, "Just sink them all!"

"Huh!"

Seeing that Yamamoto was determined to fight, Ugaki Matoi immediately began to make plans. He said, "Commander, in the last battle with the American battleship, the Yamato's main guns were not very accurate in long-range shooting. Therefore, we should use the Yamato's solid armor, brave the enemy's artillery impact, get as close as possible, and then use the giant guns to concentrate on destroying a North Carolina-class battleship."

The power of the Yamato's main gun is undoubtedly powerful, but whether in the test or in actual combat, the accuracy of this cannon at long distances is still not ideal - this is actually normal, compared to the 460mm naval gun, which is also the first time in the world to be built, unlike the 406mm first-level naval gun, which has long been a mature product. The main gun of the 460mm naval gun is definitely not as reliable as the 406mm first-level main gun.

But this is not a problem for the Yamato. Just get closer and shoot. The power of the 460mm caliber main gun is something that no battleship in the world can withstand.

"Admiral, the Japanese battleship is accelerating towards us!"

The atmosphere in the command tower of the North Carolina battleship was so tense from the beginning that it made people tremble. Because everyone knew that the Japanese battleship they were fighting had an 18-inch (460mm) main gun that could easily penetrate the North Carolina's command tower!

As long as one shot hit the command tower, everyone would die.

"Turn right 30 degrees. Gunnery officer, focus fire, target the Japanese super battleship! Calculate the shelling parameters."

Nimitz did not hesitate at all and immediately issued an order to turn to the starboard side to meet the enemy. Since the Japanese wanted to rely on the heavy armor of the battleships to attack fiercely, they should first taste the power of the 18 45-caliber main guns of the two North Carolina-class ships. Although the 14-inch (356mm) armor-piercing shells could not do anything to this Japanese battleship in the last Battle of Hawaii, it is now facing 18 16-inch guns and it is impossible for it to be unscathed.

The gunner quickly calculated the shelling parameters based on the data from the observation post. At 3:10 am on January 3, 1942, just 15 minutes after the Colorado battleship and the Japanese battleships Nagato and Mutsu started a fierce battle, the two North Carolina-class battleships also fired the first round of salvos at the Japanese battleship Yamato.

…

"Boom! Boom..."

In the Alainuihaha Strait, the United States and Japan have each fired 8 rounds of salvos. Among them, the eight 1-gun Colorado-class battleships were all aimed at the Japanese battleship Mutsu, and because the Nagato and Mutsu were facing the enemy with their bows, they could also fire eight 410mm guns, and the target was naturally the Colorado-class battleship.

The well-trained and cat-eye skills of the Japanese Navy once again demonstrated their power. The eighth round of salvos from Nagato and Mutsu fired a cross-shot around the Colorado battleship. Colonel Larkin, the captain of the Colorado, looked very ugly. Hitting a cross-shot means that it is not far from hitting, and the charge of the two Japanese battleships should end soon, and then they will turn and concentrate their fire with one main gun...

"Captain, the Japanese ship is turning!"

This is expected. The distance between the two sides has now been shortened to 15,000 meters, which is relatively close in a night battle. At this distance, the Colorado's armor could hardly withstand the 410mm armor-piercing shells of the Nagato-class, and the armor of the Nagato-class battleships could also hardly withstand the Colorado's 1 cannon...

"Crossfire!"

Cheers suddenly rang out in the Colorado's command tower. It turned out that in the 10th round of salvos, the Colorado also fired a crossfire. But then the Colorado was hit. A 410mm armor-piercing shell penetrated the thin armor of the battleship's bow, and the shell penetrated the battleship's non-commissioned officer cabin. After sweeping through several cabins, it exploded when it was almost about to penetrate the bow of the Colorado. The bow of the battleship became a mess and caused a fire.

One minute later, another 410mm shell hit the lifeboat on the Colorado's lifeboat deck, breaking several stacked lifeboats, and the shell exploded between the bridge and the No. 1 chimney. The huge shock caused by the explosion made all the people in the Colorado's command tower unable to stand and fell to the ground. However, the biggest harm caused by this shell was not the bruises on the officers in the command tower.

"Captain, the No. 2 steam pipe is broken!"

The call from the chief engineer quickly plunged Colonel Larkin into despair - he knew that he was going to lose the Colorado, and he might even lose his life.

Because the steam pipe rupture means the partial loss of power, the Colorado, which was already running very slowly, is now likely to become a giant turtle floating on the water.

Perhaps knowing that it is difficult to escape, the Colorado battleship also burst out with the strongest combat power. Just one minute after the second 410mm shell hit the Colorado, the Colorado fired an armor-piercing shell that immediately hit the waterline armor of the Mutsu battleship 15,000 meters away, and it effortlessly penetrated the 305mm thick main armor belt, and then penetrated the dome armor that protected the vital part of the hull, causing a big explosion outside the No. 2 boiler room.

Although it failed to penetrate the boiler room, it also severed the steam pipe from the No. 2 boiler room to the engine room, causing the Mutsu to lose a quarter of its power. At the same time, the explosion cut off many electrical wires and ignited many miscellaneous objects, causing a fire inside the Mutsu.