Summoning Japan: Flights of the Fancy

Chapter 12 - A Man's Flowery Road

"That's impossible. The turret ring has a thickness of 410 millimeters. A 30,5-centimeter shell wouldn't cause a crack like that!"

"But, there really is a crack, sir."

Bragston thought again. Indeed, it was impossible for a 30,5-centimeter shell to create a crack in the turret ring. But it might be possible to dent the surface...

"Damn, that's it!"

Bragston inadvertently raised his voice, drawing the attention of those around him. He felt incredibly heavy, but he had to speak anyway.

"Listen. It's certainly impossible to create a crack in the turret ring with a 30,5-centimeter shell. But it might be possible to dent the surface. If the turret ring is distorted, the turret rotation won't be smooth. And if the distortion catches somewhere, the turret won't move."

The personnel who reported asked, "That may explain why the turret can't rotate, but it doesn't explain the crack in the turret ring, does it?"

"Recoil," Bragston spat. "The force from firing a triple 46-centimeter gun is incomparable to being hit by a single 30,5-centimeter shell. Normally, the force is distributed throughout the entire turret ring, so there's no problem. But because the turret ring is warped and caught, the force is concentrated in one place."

It might be easier to understand if you think about the difference between having no incision at all and having a small incision. Bragston pounded the wall with his fist.

"I caused this! We can't fire the main guns anymore. Even if we fire just one, we can't predict how much the damage will spread. In the worst case, the turret itself might come off. If that happens, the ammunition elevator for the main gun will be exposed!"

A dark cloud loomed in everyone's hearts.

"Enemy ship approaching at 20 knots!"

At the report from the radar operator, everyone turned pale.

. . .

La Kasami has a catalog performance speed of 18 knots, indicating the maximum speed within which the ship can safely navigate. However, the situation with the runaway engine is far from safe, and La Kasami was moving at a speed of 20 knots due to the dangerous conditions. Compared to the Kingdom of Irnetia's Repsilon, which has a speed of 31 knots, La Kasami may be slower, but given the colossal size of the ship, La Kasami's imposing presence surpassed Repsilon's. and this was not off the coast of Doiva, this was the Folk Strait.

"I have an opinion. How about conducting impact observation through preliminary shelling to ensure a direct hit at the closest approach? Even with preliminary shelling, we might score a hit," the chief gunnery officer suggested to Captain Minilar. It was clear that he was confident about hitting even with preliminary shelling.

"Do as you please."

The surroundings were surprised, not by Minilar's response, but by the fact that he made the decision without consulting Brendas.

Addressing Brendas, who was equally surprised, Minilar said, "Commander, the management of the ship is within the authority of the captain, me."

"...Correct."

The surrounding men understood clearly. Minilar decided to keep a distance from Brendas. There was no captain who could be favorable to a commander who dragged the ship under their command into the fate of sinking or running aground. While the engineers were doing a desperate job, the gunnery crew members were lively. The rear second turret was still out of sight and unable to fire, but the front first turret was rotating.