Wild North America 1846

Chapter 363 Caught a big fish

more than half an hour later

"Oh my God, it's the Constitution. I'm sure it's the Constitution. Sir, we caught a big fish!"

"The Constitution is accompanied by four schooners, which can be confirmed to be armored sail frigates with a displacement of between 850 and 1,100 tons. They are sailing in a single column to the northeast."

"They have discovered our fleet. Now all the sails are spread out. They are sailing at full speed with full wind, and the course has turned 20 degrees to the northwest."

On the armored destroyer "Spring Moon" that was pursuing the north, the lookout post reported a series of lookout messages with excitement, speaking much faster, showing the uncontrollable excitement in his heart.

"Your Excellency, General, I once said that accidents always happen inadvertently." After a rare show, Major General Mo Chengcai had a proud smile on his lips, showing his inner happiness.

The USS Constitution is really a big fish!

His tone immediately turned serious and he ordered: "The whole ship has entered a high-speed pursuit state, the boiler continues to increase pressure, and heavy oil is added to burn to squeeze out the last bit of power. The speed is 17 knots. Sit tight, boys, we are about to start racing at sea.

"

In order to catch this big fish, the armored destroyer "Spring Moon" was ready to go all out.

Injecting heavy oil into the boiler room to intensify combustion can allow the steam engine to reach its highest speed in a short time, but it cannot exceed three hours, otherwise the entire power equipment is in danger of being scrapped.

Since joining the war

The Third Expeditionary Squadron has never been so desperate. This is all for the "Constitution" three-masted iron-clad galleon that is fleeing crazily on the sea ahead.

If we catch him, everything will be worth it.

The sailing frigate USS Constitution, also known as "Old Iron Hull", is the most famous battleship during the American Revolutionary War in the 19th century. It is regarded by the US Navy as a spiritual symbol of struggle and victory.

It has participated in many naval battles and has never been defeated.

The sailing frigate "Constitution" has a displacement of 2,200 tons and 44 guns. It is a 3-masted sailing ship. It is a super sailing ship of the United States Navy (Northern). It has two fully armored gun decks and a large number of cannons. It has

The tough oak hull version was modified with armor, so it was nicknamed "Old Iron Hull".

The wood used in the construction of this ship was collected from 1,500 large trees from Maine in the north to Georgia in the south, and the artillery was cast in Rhode Island. It can be said that the ship was built with the efforts of the whole country.

During the War of 1812 between the United States and Britain, the ship participated in more than 40 naval battles and repeatedly won in one-on-one battleship battles.

The sailing frigate "Constitution" was launched in 1797 and entered service on July 22, 1798, patrolling the West Indies. It has been in service until after 2020, with a service period of 205 years. It is the spiritual pillar of the American Navy and the world's best sailing frigate.

The longest serving battleship.

In July 1805, the United States and Tripoli signed a peace treaty on the sailing frigate USS Constitution.

On the afternoon of August 19, 1812, the United States and Britain went to war 600 nautical miles off Boston. The sailing frigate "Constitution" encountered the British warship HMS Guerriere.

In this naval battle, 14 people died on the American ship and 79 people died on the British ship. The British ship sank due to severe damage.

On December 29, 1812, the Constitution encountered the British warship HMS Java 30 nautical miles off the coast of Brazil. In this naval battle, 34 people died on the American ship and 150 people died on the British ship. These were the two most important battles during the Constitution's service.

A glorious and victorious naval battle, it was also a shame for the British Royal Navy.

In 1815, after the war between the United States and Britain, the sailing frigate "Constitution" served as the flagship of the U.S. Navy many times.

In July 1828, the sailing frigate "Constitution" was temporarily decommissioned. After the outbreak of the Civil War, the ship underwent armor modification in Boston to strengthen its defense, and once again came out to contribute to the U.S. Union Navy.

Unexpectedly, I encountered it off the coast of Virginia today...

"God, we must seize it. I didn't expect that I would witness a great naval battle today." Commodore Phillips was so emotional at this moment that he was already standing in the command tower and starting to jump.

Rear Admiral Mo Chengcai could understand the British mentality at the moment. He firmly grasped the fixed handrail in front of the bridge with one hand, steadying himself when the ship was speeding at high speed, and replied calmly; "We can soar on the sea to

17 knots, no sailboat can escape at this speed.”

"I'm looking forward to this very much. If you sink this damn sailing ship, I guarantee you, Mr. General, will win the applause of all the British Royal Navy."

"He can't run away, man, today is the end of the Constitution."

"Awesome!" Brigadier General Phillips waved his fist vigorously and said happily.

As black smoke billowed from the two huge chimneys of the "Spring Moon" ironclad destroyer, the 3,550-ton behemoth galloped wildly on the sea. The floating bow of the ship was like a kowtow machine, submerging into the waves one after another.

Then it suddenly tilted up again and galloped wildly among the crests and troughs of the waves.

The sharp bow of the ship split the waves, and countless tons of seawater were smashed into pieces, turning into mist and spreading...

At such a high speed, all the officers and soldiers on the gun positions must hold the fixed objects tightly with both hands to prevent their bodies from being blown away by the high-speed warships and oncoming waves. It is simply too exciting.

Fortunately, it is August with the scorching sun, and the large swaths of sea water pouring down on the body are particularly refreshing, which only arouses the soldiers' fanatical fighting passion.

If it's cold winter, it can really kill people.

"The enemy fleet is 21 kilometers away and is still running away madly, with a speed of 15 knots."

"The enemy fleet is 19 chains away..."

"The enemy fleet is 17 miles away. Sir, the four sail frigates following the USS Constitution have turned one after another with the intention of intercepting our fleet. Please give instructions."

"Ignore them and pursue them at full speed." Major General Mo Chengcai gave the order decisively.

"As ordered, general, don't worry about them and pursue them at full speed." The captain repeated the order loudly, and the excitement on his face flashed away.

They have seen many hundreds of tons of coastal sailing gunboats like the U.S. Northern Federal Fleet, and they have sunk a few and captured a few. These small fish cannot attract the interest of the 3rd Squadron at all.

Experienced so many naval battles

The expedition fleet of the Tang Empire had long figured out the strength of the Yankee fleet. The three steam-armored battleships were placed in front of them, allowing them to bombard them with artillery fire. Apart from leaving some uneven battle marks on the armor, almost nothing was left.

There can be no substantial destructive effects.

Unless a solid shell hits the officers and soldiers at the secondary battery position, it is basically impossible to cause any casualties.

The bombardment of these old-fashioned artillery can be regarded as throwing a lead ball from a long distance. After passing a distance of a few hundred meters to 1,340 meters, the impact on the steel armor is just a sound, which is almost as high as the sky.

on the blue sea

The three-masted sailing ship "Constitution" in the lead deployed all the sails. Dozens of sails filled with sea wind pulled the huge hull speeding across the sea. The taut sail ropes vibrated like a lyre.

Play the simple music of "bumping and jumping".

All the white officers and soldiers of the US ship on the ship had a look of fear on their faces, including the captain, Colonel Michel, everyone knew;

Once they are overtaken by those terrifying steam-armored battleships, they will face the tragic ending of destruction.

Been fighting for so long

The current situation of the war is very clear. In the sea battle, the south cannot defeat the north, and the north cannot defeat the Tang Empire expedition fleet with all its steam ironclad warships. Its artillery fire is particularly sharp and terrifying. The thin armor defense of the northern ironclad warships is like

Like paper, it was torn apart in a violent explosion...

The Northern Fleet has given up the extravagant hope of blockading southern ports. Most of its ships have retreated to the waters north of Virginia, focusing on defending the area around New York Harbor. At that time, an unprecedented and brutal maritime battle may break out.

None of the ironclad ships of the Northern Federation with all kinds of strange shapes can be used. Even if the navigation performance is poor, the key is that the artillery fire is not good!

The sailing battleship "Constitution" is of special importance to the U.S. Navy. Seeing the enemy fleet approaching closer and closer, Colonel Mitchell had no choice but to issue the order to "cut off the tail to survive".

The four accompanying armored sailing gunboats behind were required to entangle the enemy fleet, buy time, and create conditions for the "Constitution" to escape from this dangerous sea area.

There is no choice but to sacrifice them.

Sail warships cannot turn at large angles quickly when traveling at high speeds. Therefore, when the four sail warships spread out and began to turn at large angles, the sharply tilted hull had already caused the main sail on one side to rub against the sea surface. Several of them did not.

The man holding the rigging rope lost his grip and fell into the sea as the main sail shook violently, letting out a series of screams.

Now that we couldn't care about them, a more tragic situation happened on the deck.

Due to the sharp turn, one side of the rope binding the artillery broke, and the artillery weighing more than 500 pounds swept across the deck like a meteor hammer, instantly splashing a bloody storm.

Two crew members who could not escape retreated to the mainmast. Their legs were strangled by the rope that was swept over quickly, and they screamed hysterically...

You can see that on the vast sea, the sailing speed of the four U.S. sailing gunboats dropped sharply after they dispersed and turned.

The steam ironclad "Spring Moon" and the two ironclad frigates "Hanfeng" and "Hanye", which were still sailing at high speed, were like three bows and arrows in the shape of "pin", passing through the empty sea area where the US sail warships were spread out.

, followed closely by the "Constitution".

The four schooners that had slowed down and turned were already far behind, and soon they were no longer visible.

Not to mention firing artillery to block the attack, even holding him for a minute is a luxury.

Colonel Michel always stared behind him, and his pale lips trembled after seeing this scene. He underestimated the other party's determination to pursue the "Constitution" and made one wrong step in a hurry.

There is no other way now. You will definitely not be able to escape, so you can only fight.

"Retract the mainsail, everyone prepares to fight." Colonel Michel shouted hysterically with a look of despair in his eyes.

In battle, the speed must be reduced and maintained between 5 and 7 knots per hour. Otherwise, the ship will shake and tilt violently when sailing at high speed, and the crew will not even be able to stand, let alone aim the artillery. What kind of battle is there?

(End of chapter)