Chapter 12 six inch machine gun

In the first few minutes of spotting the Japanese cover, the American formation did not immediately open fire.This is because the echoes from the towering hillsides on nearby islands concealed the target, so the experts in the battlefield intelligence center could not accurately determine how many Japanese ships were in front, nor did they know their configuration and heading. Everything can only depend on the commander's on-the-spot command and decision-making ability.Ainsworth ordered to change the sailing formation into a combat formation, and conduct thunder-controlled shooting when approaching the Japanese ship to a medium distance.

The purpose of approaching is to shoot more accurately, but the disadvantages are also obvious-the distance is 6,200 meters, and the Japanese army's observation post has already spotted the US ship by sight before the US military fired. In a short period of time, Ainsworth could no longer distribute shooting through the radar. He could only concentrate all firepower and choose the largest or closest target to shoot. This target was Akiyama's flagship "Crescent". Thunder-controlled shooting is a shooting that uses radar waves to hit enemy ships, and then automatically and accurately measures the distance through reflection.This is completely different from using a rangefinder to measure the distance. In theory, it should achieve the effect of every shot, so the US military's shooting in the night is quite accurate, and the first salvo of the cruiser's main gun hits.

In the first five minutes of the battle, the three cruisers poured more than 2,500 rounds of 152mm shells (that is, six-inch shells) on the Japanese ship, which the US military called "six-inch machine guns."Most of the shells landed on the "Crescent", and before the "Crescent" had time to fire the torpedoes, the rain of shells destroyed its bridge.Akiyama and his staff, who were commanding the operation, died on the spot, and then the hull sank to the bottom of the sea. Ainsworth knew very well what the magic weapon in the Japanese night battle was, so he ordered the formation to turn five minutes later to avoid torpedo attacks.

What is correct in theory may not be feasible in actual combat.In addition to the "New Moon", the destroyers of the Japanese cover team were the "Suzukaze" and the "Tanikaze".Ainsworth thought that five minutes of "machine gun fire" was enough to sweep most of the Japanese ships into sieves, but in fact only the "Crescent" was sunk, and the "Suzukaze" and "Tanikaze" were not shot. It also has enough counterattack capability. In the Battle of the Solomons, because there was no flame suppressant in the ammunition, the flames of the US naval guns would reveal their position when they were fired, thus providing targets for torpedo attacks.The U.S. military has noticed this problem, but there are still very few flameless ammunition provided to the front line. Three to four salvos are enough to finish the fire.

The "Suzukaze" and "Tanikaze" aimed at the flash of US artillery fire and fired all 16 "spear" torpedoes in the torpedo tubes. Then the two ships withdrew from the battlefield while releasing smoke. When the Ainsworth formation turned around, the torpedoes launched by the Japanese army happened to reach the position of the American ship. The light cruiser "Helena" in the center of the formation was the base point for the Japanese ship to aim at, and was hit by four torpedoes successively.With the destructive power of the "spear" torpedo, one shot is enough to sink a cruiser, and the two ends of the hull of the "Helena" were blown up as if they had been folded.Crockpots are always broken without leaving the well, and it is inevitable for strong men to die before the battle. The same is true for warships. The "Helena" survived many times in the Battle of Solomons, but this time it failed to escape and eventually sank into the sea.

The shooting of the "Helena" caused confusion in the situation of the US military.After the turn was completed, the formation immediately reorganized to attack the newly-appeared Japanese Second Transport Group.Ainsworth saw that the second transport team was turning right, so he ordered the formation to maneuver and occupy the "T" horizontal position first. In the "T" position, all American ships can exert firepower, while only the first Japanese ship "Amagiri" can fight back.Due to the unfavorable position, the Japanese ship lost the opportunity to launch torpedoes. The "Tianwu" was hit by four shells in a row, and the "Chuxue" was also hit by three shells. The two ships fled in a hurry.The two destroyers behind saw that the US ship's guns were ruthless and accurate, and they did not dare to engage in battle, so they also turned around hastily.

Japanese ships all have a set of ways to hide from radar, some use coastal radar clutter for cover, and some sail away from the effective range of radar.Ainsworth saw only his own destroyers on the radar screen, so he gave the order "all guns unloaded". To Ainsworth's surprise, the "Cool Breeze" and "Valley Breeze" that had withdrawn returned.They reloaded the spare torpedoes and prepared to carry out the second attack, but at this time the US formation had withdrawn from the battlefield and had to return angrily. The brainless "electronic dog" sent his master Akiyama on a journey of no return, but Akiyama divided the Japanese ship into three groups before he died, which proved to be a correct decision - Ainsworth in the library When Lawan fought fiercely with the cover team, the Japanese transport team had sent more than 1,600 army officers and soldiers and 90 tons of supplies to the shore.

Because there was no radar guidance, the Japanese destroyers could only find shortcuts to run after unloading. Among them, the destroyer "Changyue" strayed into shallow waters and ran aground. It was sunk by US aircraft after dawn.In the Kula Bay naval battle, 2 Japanese destroyers were sunk, 5 were injured, and more than 300 people including Akiyama were killed, but the transportation task was basically completed.The U.S. military lost a light cruiser and failed to stop the Japanese reinforcements. Overall, it was a failed naval support battle.