World War: Battleship Arms Dealers

"Wow, it's huge..." Koga murmured, then laughed. "Father, have you ever seen a ship this big? You must never have..."

The Haruhi Suzumiya was listing at an angle of more than thirty degrees. The seawater had already reached Koga's waist. He took one last drag of his cigarette and flicked the butt into the sea.

"Long live the Emperor, the Heavenly Locust!"

These were his last words.

Then, the seawater submerged him.

The starboard secondary gun command room of the battleship Yangtze.

Lieutenant Chen stared at the fire control radar screen, his fingers flying across the control panel. On the screen, a dozen small dots of light were hurtling toward the formation at speeds exceeding 30 knots, closing the distance to 15,000 meters.

"Target confirmed, Japanese destroyer group, number thirteen... no, now only nine. Speed ​​32 to 35 knots, heading directly towards our formation."

Deputy artillery commander Captain Zhou Weiguo nodded: "The Omaha-class is doing well, they've intercepted half of them. But the rest... seem determined to charge."

"They want to use torpedoes," Lieutenant Chen said. "The Type 93 oxygen torpedo has a range of 40,000 meters and a speed of 48 knots. If we let them get within 10,000 meters, it will be very troublesome."

"Then don't let them break in." Zhou Weiguo walked to the observation window, looking at the small black dots in the distance that were still charging despite billowing black smoke. "Order all secondary turrets: Target: Japanese destroyer, full automatic mode, free fire. Prioritize attacking the ones at the front."

"yes!"

The orders were transmitted to every secondary gun position on the Yangtze through the internal communication system. This 41,000-ton behemoth (standard displacement) was equipped with a total of twelve twin 105mm dual-purpose gun turrets and six twin 150mm secondary gun turrets on both sides. These guns were originally designed for anti-aircraft and anti-torpedo purposes, but with the support of advanced fire control radar and automatic loading systems, the barrage they created was enough to tear apart any approaching light vessels.

On the starboard C turret, gunner Li Daming switched the firing mode to "fully automatic." The fire control radar continuously provided target data, the servo motor drove the turret to rotate rapidly, and the automatic loader pushed shells into the breech at a rate of 15 rounds per minute.

"Target locked, distance 14,000 knots, speed 33 knots." Li Daming stared at the instrument panel. "Fire!"

Both 105mm rapid-fire cannons spewed flames simultaneously. The turrets fired continuously at a rate of one round per second, the shells tracing dense trajectories in the air as they flew towards the distant destroyer group.

Li Daming was among the first batch of gunners to receive training with the new artillery. He still remembers what his instructor said: "The Bismarck-class secondary gun system is not a simple defensive weapon; it is a complete anti-ship system. Within its range, no light ship can survive."

At the time, he thought the person giving him the information was just bragging. But now, looking at the rapidly decreasing dots on the radar screen, he believes it.

"Hit! Target's speed has decreased!"

"Another ship on fire!"

"Beautiful! A direct hit to the bridge!"

In the secondary gunner's command room, the observers excitedly reported the battle results. Zhou Weiguo, however, frowned.

"Something's not right," he said. "These destroyers know they can't break through, so why are they still charging? They've already lost more than half their ships to the Omaha-class destroyers, and now they're charging through our secondary guns... This doesn't make sense."

Lieutenant Chen also realized the problem: "Unless... they're buying time for something else?"

Zhou Weiguo suddenly looked at the radar screen. Behind the destroyer group, four larger dots of light were slowly moving—those were the four Japanese heavy cruisers: Chikuma, Aoba, Kinugasa, and Myoko.

"The heavy cruisers aren't charging; they're... they're flanking?" Lieutenant Chen said in surprise. "They're trying to outflank us?"

"No." Zhou Weiguo shook his head. "The main guns of heavy cruisers have a maximum range of 20,000 yards, which poses no threat to us at that distance. They're waiting... waiting for the destroyers to draw our attention, and then..."

His words came to an abrupt halt. On the radar screen, the four heavy cruisers suddenly began to turn, aligning their bows with the direction of Bismarck's formation.

Meanwhile, at the bow of their ships, torpedo tubes were being adjusted.

"Torpedoes!" Zhou Weiguo roared. "The heavy cruiser is to launch torpedoes! Range... 18,000 knots! Speed ​​35 knots! Quantity... at least sixteen!"

Lieutenant Chen's face turned pale instantly. Sixteen Type 93 oxygen torpedoes, traveling underwater at speeds exceeding 90 kilometers per hour, created a death fan several kilometers wide. Even with its 30-knot speed and advanced fire control system, the Bismarck-class submarine would find it extremely difficult to evade so many torpedoes at such a distance.

"Notify the bridge! Emergency evasive maneuver!" Zhou Weiguo roared into the communicator.

Almost at the same time, a piercing alarm sounded on the bridge of the Yangtze.

The foredeck of the heavy cruiser Chikuma.

Captain Shimazu stood at the bow of the ship, the sea breeze ruffling his blood-stained uniform. Behind him, four 610mm torpedo tubes were already in place, and the torpedo crew were conducting final checks.

"Distance?" Shimazu asked.

"Seventeen thousand five hundred meters!" the observer reported.

"Enemy ship's reaction?"

"They're turning! They're evading!"

Shimazu smiled. It was a smile of relief, a smile of finally finding the right tactic.

From the very beginning, he hadn't expected the destroyers to reach torpedo range. The Omaha-class's interceptor fire was too strong, and the Bismarck-class's secondary gun barrage was too dense. Of the thirteen destroyers that charged, only three were still struggling on the surface, and all of them were burning.

But their sacrifice was not in vain. They drew all the enemy's attention, allowing the Chikuma and three other heavy cruisers to quietly adjust to their optimal firing positions.

17,500 meters—this is the maximum effective range of the Type 93 torpedo. Launched from this distance, the torpedo needs approximately twelve minutes to reach its target. Twelve minutes is enough time for the enemy to perform numerous evasive maneuvers.

But Shimazu had sixteen torpedoes. He could spread them out in a fan shape, covering an area of ​​5,000 meters wide. Even if the enemy had a speed of 30 knots, it would be almost impossible for them to completely escape this deadly area within twelve minutes.

"Sir, all torpedoes are ready!" the torpedo officer reported.

Shimazu nodded. He glanced one last time at the southeast, where the outlines of four massive enemy ships were clearly visible. Those ships were enormous, much larger than the Kongo-class, their main guns terrifyingly thick.

"I'm so envious," Shimazu said softly. "If only we had a ship like that..."

But he knew the empire had none. The empire had no resources, no technology, no time. The empire had only one thing: the courage to fight to the death.

"Attention all ships," Shimazu announced over the loudspeaker. "This is the Chikuma's last battle. In one minute, we will launch all torpedoes and then turn to evacuate. I don't ask you to go down with the ship; I only ask that you... launch the torpedoes."

He paused, his voice choked with emotion: "Gentlemen, it is the honor of my life to fight alongside you. Now—launch!"

"emission!"