Chapter 284: , The war (two)

The three warships in the fierce battle noticed the actions of the British, but because the British were still flying the American flag when they were retreating, the French on the "Free Trade" still regarded them as Americans.
　　
"When did the Americans sell their teammates like this?" Zola had some contacts with the Americans before. In his impression, although the Americans are a bit crude, they are relatively simple and honest, and all of them have big eyebrows and big eyes. It doesn’t look like someone who is good at doing this.
　　
　　 But the British can speed up and run away no matter what they think. As soon as they left, the whole battle situation immediately changed radically. The French fleet in the port began to leave the port, and the French immediately added a frigate and three small gunboats. Even if only counting the number of ships, the French began to gain the upper hand.
　　
　　 The "US", which is approaching the "Free Trade", naturally discovered this change. Colonel Matthews, who was in charge of the command, immediately realized that they had lost the battle. As far as the current situation is concerned, even without considering the French reinforcements, it is difficult for the two ships to beat the French. A steam boat. Coupled with the reinforcement of the French, let alone winning, it is difficult to escape.
　　
　　 But even so, the "U.S.A." must first approach and fire on the enemy ship, so as to save the "Congress" from being beaten and unable to fight back.
　　
　　The distance between the two sides is getting closer and closer, and the USS has approached more than two hundred meters from the port side of the Free Trade.
　　
　　 The nine cannons on the port side of the "Free Trade" had never been given a chance to fire. Now that the enemy ships are approaching, they will naturally fire on the "US".
　　
　　 At a distance of more than two hundred meters, the rifled gun still achieved good results. Nine rounds successfully hit two rounds, and one of them hit the bowsprit of the USS very accurately.
　　
　　 This shell has achieved almost devastating effects. The bowsprit is the place where the spinnaker is suspended. In addition to providing most of the power for sailing against the wind, it is also essential for the various controls of the sailboat. Now after a shot, the sturdy bowsprit broke in two with a click.
　　
　　 The broken bowsprit fell directly into the sea. And this mast is wrapped with a large number of cables, these cables tie the sails and connect to other masts. It suddenly fell into the sea when the ship was sailing at high speed, and the cables still tied to it suddenly stretched straight and pulled the other masts on the ship to the right, and the bow of the ship suddenly turned over.
　　
　　 "Quickly, cut the rope!" Matthews quickly ordered.
　　
　　 The performance of the Americans was quite good. Several sailors swung their axes and rushed up. They quickly cut the rope with a few axes, avoiding a greater crisis. (For example, the main mast was pulled off, etc.) But after losing the bowsprit, the speed of the USS dropped significantly and control became difficult.
　　
　　 "Send a signal to the'Congress' to retreat." Facing the current situation, Matthews sadly issued a new order:
　　
　　 "Now, let us fight desperately, hold the enemy, and cover the retreat of the Congress."
　　
　　 Matthews' order was signaled. But the "Congress" was also badly beaten by the "Free Trade" at this time. And because it is obviously slower than the French in terms of speed, whether the "Congress" can escape is still a big question.
　　
　　 But in fact, "Free Trade" also faces a problem, that is, its limited shells.
　　
　　 "Free Trade" uses rear-mounted rifled steel guns. The shells used by this type of artillery are different from ordinary shells, and the technical content is much higher. The big iron used in other artillery can be made everywhere, but the artillery shells used in rifled guns have no place to produce in the Americas. It all depends on the shells carried by the ship. One of these shells is one less. The "Free Trade" must also leave enough shells to ensure its safety when returning.
　　
　　 During this voyage, the task that the Navy prepared for the "Free Trade" was mainly to verify the ship's voyage capability, and it did not consider that so many battles would take place. And they feel that as long as the speed is fast enough, the "Free Trade" will not be too dangerous, so they even deliberately brought a little less ammunition to load more, which in their opinion is more helpful for the voyage experiment s things.
　　
　　 So at this time, the Americans are grieving, but the French are also anxious for their ammunition. Now the "Free Trade" ammunition stock has reached a dangerous line.
　　
　　 On the other hand, in the absence of high-explosive bombs, it is almost impossible to sink a large ship like the ‘US’ or the ‘Congress’ just by hitting a solid shell. Even if the requirement is lowered to the point where the enemy ship loses its combat effectiveness, a lot of shells are needed. The remaining shells of the "Free Trade" are not necessarily enough even if they are to achieve the second goal. Therefore, the "Free Trade" is now faced with a choice, and that is which of the two U.S. cruise ships to keep.
　　
　　 Captain Zola quickly made a decision, abandoning the "Congress", attacking the "US" with all his strength, and keeping it as long as possible. This is not only because the "U.S." sailing ability has been damaged to a certain extent, it seems easier to keep her, but also because capturing a ship named "United States" is obviously better than capturing a ship named "Congress". The ship sounds more exciting.
　　
　　 In a sense, it is a bit stupid to name warships, such as consumables that are easy to lose in wars or even in peace, by names of countries or nations. Because of this type of ship, once it is lost for some reason, the morale of the entire country will be severely hit.
　　
For example, in the later World War II, Santoko stupidly named an assault ship used for death adventures "Germany" at first, and then when the war started, he suddenly discovered that this ship was going to work. It probably won’t take long for the newspaper to publish the news: "Germany sinks" or "The Royal Navy sinks Germany". How unlucky you said. Don't go out to work, isn't that boat built for nothing? In the end, Santoko had to change the name of the ship first, and then let her go out to work, thus successfully turning "Germany sinking" into "Luzov sinking".
　　
And Santoko’s ally, the foot pot chicken also named the battleship "Pressing Dock" after his own national name, but when it was time to use it, he worried that the thing was lost and the omen was too bad. As a result, the goods were used most of the time. Li is really pressing the dock.
　　
　　 So when the "Congress" tried to distance itself from the battle, the "Free Trade" did not catch up, but turned directly to the "US". Because he was very confident in his own defense, the "Free Trade" didn't even bother to the T position, and directly aimed his ship's side at that of the "US". This will of course give the USS US more shooting opportunities, but as a target, the projected area of ​​the USS ship’s gunwale direction is much larger than that of the bow, and both sides move in the same direction. Shooting such targets The hit rate will be much higher. Considering that the "Free Trade" is currently short of shells, launching an attack from this direction will obviously be able to use each shell more efficiently.
　　
When the "Free Trade" turned its main target to the "U.S.", the "U.S." was immediately caught in a predicament. Taking advantage of its maneuverability, the "Free Trade" has always maintained the same level as the U.S. At a distance of about ten meters, at this distance, the artillery on the "Free Trade" can guarantee a very high hit rate, but the cannon on the "US" can not touch the "Free Trade" suspension steel armor.
　　
Coupled with the astonishing rate of fire of the cannons on the "Free Trade" relative to the artillery of this era, they can shoot at least three to four shots in the time the opponent fires one shot. Although there are only 9 guns on the side, the number of shells fired per unit time has exceeded the "U.S." in perfect condition. After a few rounds of salvos, the "U.S."'s gun bay was a mess. Said to be a river of blood.
　　
The USS US tried to get up more than once and hit the USS Free Trade. However, the USS, which had lost its bowsprit, was rather clumsy in steering, while the steam-powered USS Free Trade was originally. More flexible than her. Such a move will naturally have no results.
　　
Soon, there were only two or three guns still firing on the port side of the USS, and the frequency of their firing dropped drastically. Obviously, it is estimated that there were some people in the remaining gun group. Casualties, so as to reduce the launch speed.
　　
　　 Generally, by this time ~EbookFREE.me~, it's time to hang up a flag indicating surrender.
　　
　　 "They should surrender too." Captain Zola sighed as he looked at the "U.S." not far away, "They have tried their best, and surrendering now is not a loss of honor."
　　
　　 At this time, on the mast of the USS, a long triangular red flag was raised.
　　
　　 "They raised the St. George's flag." Zola sighed, "Yes, this ship is the USS. She must fight to the end anyway. God bless us, we don't have a warship called the French."
　　
　　 "St. George's flag?" Victor on the side was obviously not very familiar with the navy's stuff, so he asked, "I remember the St. George's flag shouldn't be the red cross flag on white background in England?"
　　
"That is the flag of England." Zola explained, "but here in the navy, there is another St. George flag that represents the courage and despair of warships. Well, it's the side over there. That flag means Yes: fight to the end and never surrender."