Chapter 770 Hunting (asking for double monthly tickets)

Chapter 771 Hunting (asking for double monthly tickets)

Then, a herald ran back and forth on the ship, loudly conveying the captain's instructions: "A British fleet was spotted at two o'clock, 2 nautical miles away. There are 5 merchant ships, 2 cruisers and 2 frigates!"

Maderno's heart was suddenly hanging.

A cruiser is a fifth-level battleship, usually equipped with 44 cannons.

On his side, there are only three frigates, "Overlook", "Seagull Wing" and "Great Tide". They are all equipped with only 21 guns.

If a battle occurs, there is no possibility of winning.

Logically, the captain should immediately order to avoid it. But the current direction of his fleet is clearly heading towards the British fleet.

He sighed in his heart: God, I just escaped from the English Channel, please don't let me die in the Mediterranean...

Half a minute later, the rapid drum sounded throughout the "Overlook". This is a battle alarm.

Apparently, the enemy ship also discovered the French warship and began to slowly turn westward, aiming the port side at the Overlook. At this time, the sea was blowing west wind, which was a typical tactic to seize the upper wind.

At the same time, the merchant ships fled straight to the south, forming a situation where the British warships were between themselves and the French formation.

"Boiler pressurization!"

The captain's voice came from the communication tube, and then the sergeant in the power cabin shouted the same: "Boiler pressurization! Add coal quickly!"

The chimneys of the three French steam frigates successively emitted billowing black smoke, and the speed of the ship suddenly increased a lot, as if this was the Atlantic Ocean with strong sea breeze, not the calm Mediterranean.

The British warships were obviously also very surprised, and hurriedly accelerated the speed of adjusting the formation.

And the two galley frigates moved to the easternmost side, intending to cover the figure of the merchant ship.

The "Seagull Wing" played a series of flags - it was the flagship of the formation, and it was going to command the other two ships to fight.

The three steam warships immediately began to deflect, and at the same time, a huge "click" sound came from the boilers, which was obviously at full capacity.

Their sterns dragged out narrow white traces and circled to the easternmost side of the British fleet at an incredible speed.

The British warships also immediately moved southeast, always forming a straight line with their heads connected to their tails, and aimed their side main guns at the French frigates.

Although the commander of the British fleet was a little surprised at the speed of the enemy ships, he was calm in his heart.

He knew the combat effectiveness of the small frigates on the opposite side. As long as the opponent entered the range of his cannons, the battle would end within more than ten minutes-usually speaking, a 44-gun cruiser was enough to sink two frigates, and even facing three would not be at a disadvantage.

And he had two cruisers on his side, and two frigates to assist.

What made him a little confused was that the French were like crazy, rushing over to ask for a fight!

He even began to wonder if there was a large French fleet ambushing nearby.

But he immediately laughed at himself.

The main force of the French Mediterranean Fleet was blocked by Lord Samuel Hood in Toulon Harbor. Where could there be any ambush?

The second mate turned to him and said, "Major Hicks, the enemy ship is still 800 yards away from us."

According to British naval regulations, a distance of 350 yards is considered to be the best firing range.

With the current high speed of the French ship, even if it starts to turn immediately, it will plunge into the range of its own battle line.

He raised his hand calmly: "Prepare to fire."

"Yes, commander!"

The gun port covers of the British ship were all opened, and black cannons poked out from inside.

Major Hicks had already raised his hand to cover his ears - the first round of artillery fire is usually very harsh, and it will be much better after the ears are numb.

However, his eyes suddenly widened when he looked out of the porthole.

He saw that the French ship, which was only more than 600 yards away from him, suddenly turned sharply to the right, and with completely incredible turning efficiency, it threw its battle line to the port side.

The three ships with black smoke tilted seriously because they turned too quickly, and the angle with the sea level was almost 60 degrees!

At this time, the French bow was facing southwest, which was already half against the wind, but their speed was still very high.

With rich experience in naval warfare, Hicks immediately estimated that according to the current situation, the French frigate would pass by the end of his battle line in a few minutes.

And once they bypassed, they would be able to face those merchant ships directly...

His eyes twitched, and he hurriedly ordered: "Turn left, quickly! Turn left 1.5 compass points! Don't worry about the formation. Fire, fire now!"

At this time, the two sides were about 550 yards apart. Although it was within the maximum range of the cannon, the hit effect would definitely not be good.

"Yes, Commander!"

Major Hicks stared at the French ship that was constantly sailing to his left rear, and silently said in his heart: "God, please hit a few shots!"

The hull of the British cruiser made a "creaking" sound. It was turning desperately, but its speed was still much slower than the French ship.

In the correct version of Yiyi!

The two paddle boats had turned around, and the 18-pound guns on the port side began to emit a series of roars, and the surrounding sea surface was suddenly covered with white smoke.

Large waves rose around the French warship, but the distance was so far and it was a high-speed target. If you want to hit it directly, you can only rely on God's miracle.

The French ship did not fight back, but just kept on "traveling". When the British cruiser aimed its broadside at them, the "Overlook" at the rear just passed the westernmost side of the British formation and left the stern to the British.

The 32-pound guns of the British cruiser roared, but the shells just fell powerlessly into the sea a few dozen yards away from the French ship.

Hicks hurriedly raised his telescope and looked south. His merchant ship had sailed a little more than 1 nautical mile.

With the exaggerated speed of those French ships, they could catch up with them in ten minutes at most.

He turned around and yelled to the second mate: "Let the 'Beacon' and the 'Dragonfly' catch up! We must entangle the French!"

The two British galleys immediately turned around, and the rowers in the bottom warehouse, under the "encouragement" of the supervisor's whip, rowed with all their strength.

Finally, after a few minutes of acceleration, they barely reached the speed of the French ship.

Madno held the mast tightly, staring at the British merchant ship approaching, and then turned his head to look at the British warship in the distance. Suddenly, he felt like a seabird flying freely.

The fish was just in front of him, waiting for him to catch it, and all the wind and waves were far behind him.

Freedom, relaxation, and enjoyment of the present moment.

The British merchant ship also found that something was wrong and began to flee in different directions in order not to be wiped out.

Seven or eight minutes later, the "Overlook" caught up with a merchant ship with the words "Long-tailed Ray" painted on the bow, and soon sailed side by side with it.

The "boom" sound of the cannon wheels rolling came from Madno's feet.

The next moment, fierce flames flashed from the gun cabins from the bow to the stern.

The merchant ship 200 yards away suddenly trembled, and large pieces of wood chips burst out from the middle of the hull and the poop, flying all over the sky.