As per Vice Admiral Kurita's assessment, the friendly cruisers and destroyers were gaining an advantage in the battle against the American fleet. The eight heavy cruisers of the 4th and 7th Cruiser Divisions attacked the four Baltimore-class heavy cruisers, utilizing their numerical superiority to push through.
In terms of individual ship performance, the Baltimore-class heavy cruisers were superior to the Takaos of the 4th Cruiser Division and the Mogamis of the 7th Cruiser Division. However, with the enemy being twice in number, the odds were clearly against them. Furthermore, all four Baltimore-class heavy cruisers had been severely damaged by the steep dive bombing, making the difference even greater. Under these unfavorable conditions, the four Baltimores could not possibly have the strength to resist the eighty 20-centimeter guns being pointed at them, and early on, all the ships caught fire, resulting in a loss of their combat capabilities.
On the other hand, the Agano, Noshiro, along with sixteen Type A destroyers, overwhelmed the sixteen Fletcher-class destroyers. The Fletchers were versatile destroyers capable of high-level anti-ship, anti-air, and anti-submarine warfare. However, every ship had been hit by the Zeros' bombing, and no ship was able to go into battle in perfect condition. Agano, Noshiro, and the sixteen Type A destroyers isolated and systematically attacked the Fletcher-class destroyers, preventing them from coordinating effectively and always maintaining numerical superiority.
At this point, the battles between battleships had also taken a decisive turn. The first to fall was the USS South Dakota, which was in the third position. A shell from the Yamato hit the South Dakota near the funnel with a steep angle, easily penetrating its thick horizontal armor and releasing its explosive power deep within the ship. The shock rendered half of the boilers and turbines ineffective, causing a rapid decrease in speed. Although the Yamato's gunfire, thrown off by the slowed South Dakota, missed twice, it quickly adjusted its parameters, scoring eleven hits in a 10-degree fire cycle and setting the South Dakota on fire.
Slightly behind, the Musashi had also rendered the USS Indiana combat ineffective. The Indiana had been heavily damaged by concentrated 46-centimeter shells from the Musashi, with her machinery spaces being significantly destroyed and losing her power source.
Realizing that it was impossible to reverse the situation at this point, Admiral Lee ordered his flagship, USS New Jersey, and the second ship, USS Iowa, to act as shields due to their limited damage. He retreated with the remaining three battleships that still had propulsion. The Alabama, Washington, and North Carolina followed Lee's orders to withdraw. Understanding the enemy commander's intention, Kurita left the two remaining American battleships to the 2nd Battleship Division and led Yamato, Musashi, Nagato, and Mutsu to pursue the three American battleships that still had propulsion. The eight heavy cruisers and two light cruisers of the 4th and 7th Cruiser Divisions, along with sixteen destroyers, also relentlessly pursued the American battleships.
These 26 fast ships overtook the American battleships and launched 196 torpedoes while doing so. Despite the saturation attack, only four torpedoes hit their targets, just slightly exceeding a 2% hit rate. However, at this stage, this had a significant meaning. The Washington and North Carolina, each hit by one torpedo, significantly reduced their speed, while the Alabama, hit by two torpedoes, could only crawl forward. The 1st Battleship Division, having caught up with the damaged American battleships, opened fire on them. The American battleships returned fire, but due to their listing from flooding, their gunfire was clearly inaccurate.
The Yamato used her 46-centimeter guns to literally crush the Washington, and the Musashi did the same to the North Carolina. The Nagato and Mutsu, armed with 41-centimeter guns, pummeled the Alabama to a pulp. Meanwhile, the Ise, Hyūga, Yamashiro, and Fusō, armed with forty-eight 36-centimeter guns, ruthlessly pounded the wounded New Jersey and Iowa.
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Battering Ram of the Sea
Historical Fiction「The situation has changed. The surprise attack on Pearl Harbor has been called off.」 "The British Empire is sending six battleships to maintain peace and order in Asia." Due to the unexpectedly upgraded Eastern Fleet's naval power, the attack on Pe...
