There is an armored cruiser detachment in the Martinez fleet, with a total of 4 armored cruisers: Cresey, Abukier, Dionysian Priest, and Hogg. These four warships are all Cresey-class, with a displacement of 12,000 tons and a speed of 21 knots. The main gun is two 233mm guns, the secondary gun is 12 152 guns, and there are 3 76mm rapid-fire guns.

Although the tonnage and speed of these four warships are good, and the caliber of the main gun is large enough, the number of main guns is only 2, which is obviously not enough, because Martinez knew that among the warships dispatched by the People's Army, there were two Red Tu-class armored cruisers. This type of warship was equipped with 8 200mm main guns, which was such a warship, and the number of main guns was equal to that of his own armored cruiser team.

So Martinez decided to ship the protective cruiser detachment in his fleet and cooperate with the armored cruiser detachment. The protective cruiser detachment in the Martinez fleet had five warships, namely two Blake-class: Blake and Blenheim; and three Edgar-class: Royal Arthur, Grafton and Cresent.

The Blake-class displacement is 9150 tons, and the Edgar-class displacement is 7150 tons. Although these two types of warships are protective cruisers, the main gun firepower is the same as the Cresey-class, with two 233mm guns. Therefore, the joining of five warships can greatly strengthen the firepower of the British fleet that is going to fight.

However, the use of protective cruisers with the same tonnage and firepower as armored cruisers is also one of the unique characteristics of British warships. Among the navies of various countries, the use of protective cruisers has obvious differences and combat positioning from armored cruisers. Armored cruisers are the auxiliary forces of battleships. Fighting for sea control and participating in the decisive battle of the main battleship can be regarded as a battleship that has reduced armor and firepower, but it still belongs to the scope of the main battleship; while the protective cruisers are second-class warships, which generally do some cruisers, escorts, breaking and other miscellaneous tasks.

However, in the British Navy, protective cruisers and armored cruisers are second-class warships. Armored cruisers are actually protective cruisers when equipped with vertical armor on the side, but the width and thickness of the side armor belts are not as good as those of other countries' armored cruisers. If the Qingzhou-class protective cruisers in the People's Army Navy are considered armored cruisers in the British Navy, and in the British Navy, the main combat missions of armored cruisers are similar to those of protective cruisers. The only one more is to deal with the protective cruisers of other countries' navies.

Of course, the British positioning these two types of warships in this way is also related to the characteristics of their own naval forces and the marine environment they face. Since Britain has a huge number of battleships, the total number of battleships in service and under construction exceeds 50, which is more than the total number of battleships in the Three Kingdoms Navy. It is precisely because of such a huge group of battleships that Britain naturally does not need to use armored cruisers as main battleships. After all, there is still a considerable gap between armored cruisers and battleships.

In addition, Britain has huge overseas interests, so counter-breaking and fighting is one of the important tasks of the British Navy. In other countries' navies, the main force of breaking and breaking is usually protective cruisers, plus a small number of armored cruisers. Therefore, the UK's requirement for armored cruisers is that it is enough to win the protective cruisers of other countries' navies, so there is no need to pile up firepower or thicken armor. Simplifying armored cruisers will also help reduce costs and obtain more warships. After all, Britain needs to use most of its funds to build battleships.

Moreover, Britain has a huge overseas colony, and it is necessary to have a sufficient number of warships to station in various overseas colonies. However, except for a few areas, Britain's colonies are mostly places where culture, economy and industry are very backward. The dispatch of battleships and armored cruisers are a bit wasteful, and protective cruisers are enough. However, in this way, protective cruisers must be built larger so as to accommodate more coal, water, and food, and give soldiers a loose living space, which is conducive to long-term combat in the ocean. Of course, the huge ship type is also a great influence on the indigenous people of the colonies. Therefore, the protective cruisers built by Britain often have a large tonnage, and the displacement of the Blake-class protective cruisers that went into battle this time exceeded 9,000 tons.

This is not the largest protective cruiser built by Britain. In the Expeditionary Fleet, there are three Crown-class protective cruisers with a displacement of 11,000 tons and two powerful protective cruisers with a displacement of 14,200 tons. This tonnage has exceeded most battleships of this era. Even in the People's Army Navy, there are only the Fuyang, which has just been listed, a warship with a displacement of more than 14,000 tons.

However, Martinez believes that these nine warships are enough to fight. After all, there is a clear advantage in number, and this battle is not necessary to defeat the opponent, but just to test the opponent's strength. Although Martinez also carefully studied the naval battle of the Natuna Islands when he was anchored in Singapore and believed that the officers and soldiers of the Far East Fleet would not lie, he could never believe it in his heart. The range and hit rate of the People's Army Navy are higher than that of the British Navy. How is this possible? This time, we just look at how much the People's Army Navy is. Of course, even if the British fleet is lost, we should be able to retreat calmly, because the speed of the warships in battle is above 21 knots, and the battle fleet can also rush to reinforce at any time. Even if 1 or 2 warships are finally sunk, the British fleet can bear this loss.

The temporary commander of the armored cruiser detachment was Lieutenant Colonel Cole, the captain of the Cresey. After receiving the order from Martinez, he immediately led the fleet, accelerated to leave the brigade, and drove forward.

About an hour later, both fleets were able to detect each other, and the distance between the two sides was shortened to less than 20 kilometers. Of course, the People's Army fleet has always been aware of the whereabouts of the British fleet, but now they can see each other on the observation deck of this fleet.

At this time, the two fleets had completed their final preparations before the battle. The deck was empty, and all combat personnel were in place. The artillery jackets of various artillery were removed and the shells were loaded. The observers on the observation deck also pressed their eyes against the range-finding instruments and stared at the opponent's warships. Below the deck, the personnel were on high alert, waiting to enter the range and start the battle.

Of course, Lu Kai did not expect the observers on the observation deck to provide them with the enemy's movements and shooting parameters, because at this time, a drone was hovering over the fleet's head and transmitted the image to Lu Kai's tablet computer. In the rear, the Kunming ship was also calculating the operation rate and amplitude of the enemy fleet based on the signals sent back by the drone. However, the observers on the observation deck still observed as usual and recorded the parameters, mainly to accumulate experience.

But at this moment, the British fleet began to change. It turned out that the nine British warships were lined up in a straight column and led by the flagship Cresey. However, the second-ranked Abukier surpassed the Cresey and became the leading warship, but did not change the flag. This shows that the British fleet did not change the flagship, but the flagship retreated from the usual leading position to the second.

Moreover, although Cresey retreated to the second place, it did not line up completely behind Abkir, but slightly deviated from the right by about 3,40 meters. Not only Cresey, but also from the seven warships behind it, all slightly deviating from the front ship to the right by 30-50 meters. The entire process of changing the array was very rapid. In less than 20 minutes, the transformation of all warships was completed. Looking down from the air, the British fleet also changed from a straight line to a stair-shaped formation in a diagonal line. If you look from the front of the British fleet at this time, you can see the front heads of all 9 warships in the British fleet.

Lu Kai looked at his tablet computer and saw the British fleet's transformation formation very clearly. Although the new formation of the British fleet is very strange, neither horizontal nor vertical, Lu Kai is a modern naval officer after all, and there are not so many rules and regulations in his mind. The so-called soldiers are indefinitely in power and water are indefinitely in shape. It only looks at the actual situation on the battlefield and the combat. The principles of the navy and army are the same. Therefore, it was soon seen that the British Navy's transformation formation is completely targeted at the People's Army Navy.

The British Navy is carefully studying the Natuna Navy. During this period, the People's Army Navy also repeatedly deduced the Natuna Navy, mainly to consider what measures the British Navy has to deal with. The People's Army Navy does not believe that Britain will remain indifferent to the results of the Natuna Navy. It will definitely study countermeasures seriously and may develop some local methods. Compared with local people, time travelers do not actually have any advantages in IQ. They only understand the general trend of historical development and have richer information. Therefore, they must not underestimate the wisdom of local people.

The Naval Battle of the Natuna Islands shows that the biggest advantage of the People's Army Navy is its long range, so that it can have the advantage when seizing the word "t". After the People's Army fleet turns, the British fleet must advance another 2-3,000 meters before entering the range of the line they are used to, and this period takes about 5-7 minutes. In other words, during this period, the British fleet basically has no counterattack power except the front main gun of the first ship. This point is very clear in the Natuna Islands Battle. At that time, the Far East Fleet was forced to turn early to fight with the People's Army fleet, but the result proved that this was by no means a good choice to defend, because the early turn was not the range that the British warship was used to. The Far East Fleet was eventually defeated. It has to be said that it had already been decided at the moment of the early turn.

After careful research, the British Navy designed this slashed staircase formation. The biggest advantage of this formation is that all warships in the fleet have a fire-firing angle, so that the fleet's counterattack fire will be greatly enhanced. Even if it is not within the range that it is used to, the increased firepower can also interfere with the enemy's shooting, shortening the distance for its own side, and making time available.
Chapter completed!