Pirate Kingship.

Chapter 11 Artillery Battle! Boarding!
Officers of all ranks on the cruiser [HMS Severe] issued orders to the entire ship.

"Everyone, get to your fighting positions!"

"Reef the mainsail and prepare for the gunnery, and clear the weather decks of all flammable materials."

"The lower gun deck has removed its living facilities and is entering combat mode."

A group of lieutenants and reserve officers in neat military uniforms surrounded Lieutenant Colonel Harold and Baron Adonis and walked to the command position on the rear deck.

Everyone looked at the pirate ship not far ahead with a grim expression.

"How could these damn pirates be so fast? The battle should have been over half an hour ago.

When I catch them, I will crush the bones of these bastards one by one!"

This is what most of them think.

You know, the throne was decided a few days ago.

Many cruisers of the Channel Fleet were tasked with blockading the coastal waters and recovering all the property of Lancaster and its vassal states.

In addition to the "Severe", there are many level 6 and level 5 cruisers in the fleet that perform the same mission.

They are all competitors.

If you eat one more bite, I can only eat one less bite!
It was originally expected that the Man-eating Shark would be caught up within 2 hours.

But they didn't know what went wrong. They started chasing at 1:35 pm and kept chasing until after 4 pm before they finally got within the one-kilometer artillery range.

It also made the group of navy chasing them anxious.

The fifth-level ship [Severe] is 39 meters long and has a capacity of 200 people.

有一层前后贯通火炮甲板装备20门12磅炮，一层露天甲板装备12门6磅炮，共计32门火炮。

Both the personnel and firepower are enough to easily crush the opponent.

They didn't take the opponent's pirate ship seriously in the first place, and at this time they threw all tactics out of their minds.

I just want to use the most direct and violent force to make these damn pirates understand who the master of this sea area is!
"Order, reload!"

Under the leadership of the gunner, the gun crews on the upper and lower decks completed the loading of all the guns on both sides of the ship at the fastest speed.

The cannon was pushed out of the muzzle using a gun carriage.

Of course, for sailing warships, which are large mobile artillery platforms at sea.

Although the artillery range can reach one kilometer, the actual effective range is actually only one or two hundred meters.

Until the sailors of the two sailboats were able to see each other's appearance clearly.

Captain Harold then suddenly brandished his gilded command knife:

"Port side, ready to fire. Three, two, one, fire!"

boom! boom! boom! boom!
White smoke rose up, and the orange-red flames suddenly illuminated the sea surface.

Sixteen red-hot cast-iron shells whistled in the air and flew towards the Man-eating Shark.

A large part of it fell into the water due to the shaking of the waves, causing huge white waves.

Only a few of them hit the pirate ship hard.

At such a close distance, the shells blatantly penetrated the oak hull on the side, carrying countless wooden fragments, bouncing across a large area of ​​the lower deck.

Fortunately, the lower level of the pirate ship is the cargo hold and living area, and there are no combatants.

However, one of the shells happened to land on the edge of the open deck, hitting a 6-pound bronze cannon that had no time to fire back.

The wooden gun carriage carrying the cannon was smashed to pieces!
A bronze gun barrel weighing tons immediately rolled left and right on the deck like a wild horse out of control, and ran over the lower bodies of the two gunners.

Sharp screams echoed throughout the ship.

"Ah ah ah ah ah"

Fortunately, after Byron's spiritual awakening, his five senses and even the sense of crisis associated with his sixth sense became extremely sharp, and he had already pounced to the side in advance.

Not only did he avoid the shells and flying wood chips, but he also avoided the heavy artillery that was rolling around wildly.

He grabbed a piece of "rigging anti-scratch sheet" on the deck which was made of cotton and wool fabric and had extremely strong friction.

He used some skill to throw it far away, which stopped the cannon, which had turned blood red, from continuing to wreak havoc.

Several brave pirate gunners rushed forward and tied it up again with some thick rigging, and finally subdued this "wild horse".

But without the gun mount, the cannon could no longer be used in this battle.

The two sailboats continued to approach each other under the strong wind.

Taking advantage of the moment when the other party was reloading their ammunition, Captain Salman's eyes flashed with a blood-red light full of wildness and murderous intent, and he finally brandished his scimitar and roared:

"Fire!"

It's just like the line-up shooting tactic that's popular in this era.

With the efficiency of loading a muzzle-loading smoothbore gun, there is only one chance to fire a volley that poses the greatest threat. The closer you get, the higher the hit rate and the greater the lethality! A naval artillery battle is not only a duel of equipment and artillery, but also a fierce collision of courage.

And personal bravery is nothing compared to the power of artillery.

boom! boom! boom! boom!
The power of the seven 6-pound guns was indeed much weaker than the enemy's 12-pound guns.

We managed to pull one back by relying on a higher hit rate.

A cannonball, as if assisted by God, happened to break a rigging on the foremast of the Severe that was hanging the sail boom.

The topsail, which was retracted 50%, fell down heavily along with the heavy boom.

Killing casualties is secondary. The key point is that the mobility of the [Severe] has been reduced by half, which cannot be compensated in a short period of time.

"Well done! The crew that fired the cannon will be rewarded with two barrels of rum after the battle!"

There was cheering on the pirate ship.

It was this shot that increased their chances of escape.

The next moment, the Man-eating Shark, which was in a leeward position, was engulfed in the smoke rising from the firing of both sides.

But Byron, who graduated from the Royal Naval Academy, knew the current situation of both sides best.

"Occupying the upper hand means we have a firm tactical advantage. Even if the cruiser loses some of its maneuverability, it will still not be difficult to blockade the Man-eating Shark.

A boarding battle is inevitable.”

What does it mean to have the upper hand?

This time, [Severe] is it!
When warships are fighting, there is a tactical move that is equivalent to the starting move of a martial arts technique called - grabbing the wind.

Whoever can gain the upper hand in battle, that is, attack from the direction from which the wind is blowing, will have the advantage in every way possible.

Intuitively, it is easier to use a parabola to hit the underwater hull of the leeward opponent, and the thick smoke from the artillery fire will also be blown to leeward.

The fundamental reason is that as long as you have the upper hand, you have the "tactical mobility" to pursue or escape.

Because when the wind blows over the warships upwind, it will be disturbed by the masts, spars, and rigging of the warships.

Like a rock standing in a big river, when water flows through here it will form a large and chaotic "wake".

The length of the turbulent zone extending downwind is generally four to five times the height of the warship's sails, which is about 200 meters.

During the artillery battle, the leeward ships were caught in the turbulence created by the windward ships, which greatly reduced their maneuverability.

That is to say, the windward warship will add a mobility buff, while the leeward warship will add a mobility debuff.

If there is no sudden change in wind speed, the leeward warships trapped in the turbulent wind will not be able to escape even if they want to.

The actual war situation developed exactly as Byron had expected.

After several rounds of free shooting by the gunners, the Harsh, which was already very close to the Man-eating Shark, turned the steering wheel and rammed the pirate ship hard.

"Boarding!"

"Marines, throw the line!"

A dozen iron hooks tied with thick ropes were thrown over by the naval soldiers and firmly hooked onto the sidewall of the "Man-eating Shark".

At the same time, the mast on the ship, which could accommodate dozens of people standing side by side, was already across the sky above the two warships.

Many impatient sailors bit their sailor knives in their mouths, grabbed the ropes tied to the mast, and swung over like spiders.

Obviously, it is different from what many people imagine.

In the naval battles of this era, artillery was not a decisive force and was far from being as powerful as the future "God of War".

Unless a parabolic trajectory could be used to hit the ammunition depot below the waterline, causing the entire ship to explode.

Otherwise, relying on these solid cast iron lumps, even if a wooden ship was turned into a honeycomb, it might not be able to sink it.

Boarding combat is the main dish that can determine the outcome of a battle.

Some military experts from various countries even call naval battles "sea sieges", and the marines on board are the key to determining victory or defeat!

Pirate Ten Commandments Rule 6: [Those who delay the opportunity to fight, those who escape in the middle of the battle will die! ]

After the pirates lined up to fire a volley of muskets, welcoming the navy with a storm of hot lead bullets, the bloody hand-to-hand combat officially began.

"I am invincible!"

"Kill! Leave no pirates alive!"

Amidst the hail of bullets, a burly naval lieutenant wearing silver chain mail and holding a sharp boarding axe jumped over the bulwark of the Severe.

Like a whirlwind, he pounced on Byron, who was already ready at the edge of the deck.

At this time, there are still ten minutes left before the celestial phenomena perceived by [Weather Intuition] change!

(End of this chapter)