[FONT="]The Franco-Japanese War - earth, water and fire.
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[FONT="]The
Hoche was burning. Three hours of the long running fight had seen losses on both sides. The Japanese had lost a battleship and the whole French fleet had watched an armoured cruiser fall onto her side. In return the French had lost the brutally ugly
Neptune to an explosion that annihilated the 12000 tonne battleship in an ear-splitting blast as well as the old
Formidable which had sheered out of the formation ablaze amidships, running for the coast of Vietnam to try and beach herself and save as many crew as possible.
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[FONT="]The ugly, ungainly
Hoche the grand hotel of the French fleet, a ship flawed from the moment she had been laid down was still fighting despite five 12 inch rounds as well as an even dozen 6 inch rounds detonating on her flank or in her hull. The midships 10.8 inch barbette had been knocked out when debris from a hit on the high superstructure had fallen on the exposed gun, disabling its training gear, severing the steam pipes and starting a small ammunition fire. The single charge of powder had gone off with enough force to wreck the mounting but not threaten the ship.
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1)
[FONT="]But her fore and aft 12 inch guns, protected by the steel and iron of their turrets continued to belch our rounds every three minutes at the Japanese line just over 5000 yards away now. Amidships her remaining 5.5 inch guns fired as quickly as they could, pumping out a shell as soon as it was loaded and aimed, the gun crews from the starboard battery helping to feed the guns and keep them in action when a shell entered the battery and cut down the men.
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[FONT="]MN
Formidable Speed 10 knots. – Midships near the fire.[/FONT]
[FONT="]“Keep at it men! We’re getting it under control! Henri! Back on your feet man, an officer should inspire his men, keep at it, just a bit longer and we’ll be safe!”
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[FONT="] Captain Bergeron yelled through the semaphore, his once immaculate uniform torn, smoke and bloodstained as he directed the upper deck bucket teams to fight the roaring blaze amidships. Below decks the stokers kept feeding the old ships boilers despite the fire over their heads.
[/FONT][FONT="]The ships guns had fallen silent and every member of the crew was fighting to keep the old ship afloat.
[/FONT][FONT="]Those not fighting the blaze were working with damage control parties to plug holes or shore up bulkheads. The
Formidable had been hit multiple times close to the waterline, her iron belt had kept out some of the rounds bit it was not enough, water flowed through breaches in the sides giving the ship a 8 degree list which had forced the main guns turrets to push against their runners, jamming them in place.
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[FONT="]Ahead a mere four and a half miles away was the coast of Vietnam. The ships navigator, despite splinter and shrapnel wounds was still on the bridge, his head bandaged up like an Egyptian Mummy directing a young midshipman as the ship ran for her life. If she could be beached she could later be salvaged, the same if she sunk in shallow water and the
Formidable was sinking despite the heroic efforts of the crew, the ships bulkheads had corroded with age and her water tight integrity was not in line with the rest of the fleet and of course there was the fire amidships. Although the 6.4 and 5.5 magazines had been flooded and secured there was still detonations from shells in the wrecked box battery amidships.
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[FONT="]“Captain! Mr Brochard recommends we start pulling the crew onto the upper decks, we’re approaching shoal waters and with the increased draught due to the flooding he says there’s a risk we could strike bottom.”
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[FONT="]A runner said quietly as the Captain stopped urging the exhausted crew on. The Captain nodded. “Head below decks, inform the Chaplain and doctor and let them know we will be moving the injured first”.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Fillipe Bergeron had to raise his voice as another blast rocked the amidships blaze, this time from a trio of 47mm shells cooking off. The runner saluted smartly before running off into the smoke and the bowels of the ship. Walking to the small conning tower just aft of the funnel Captain Bergeron reached the speaking tubes.[/FONT]
[FONT="]“Jaque, it's time to start getting your men out of there, we’re not far from the shore, you’ve done an excellent job but it’s time to go. Reduce speed to five knots and keep the engines ticking over with what ever steam’s left, I don’t want any more dead men or heroes in the engine room understood?”
“Yes sir, she’ll get you as close as she can. The engines have not failed us yet!”
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[FONT="] The chief engineer replied, exhausted and almost numb from the brutal pace the ship had to keep as well as exhausted from constantly maintaining the old ships engines. The port engine had almost failed twice but was still turning even if it was vibrating heavily, the stokers were working in hellish heat in guts of the ship, air conditioning was many decades away but still they shoveled coal into the hungry furnaces of the ship who were now finally being relieved of duty, clambering up ladders and gantries, their skin as black as the coal they had been shoveling.[/FONT]
[FONT="]MN
Hoche speed 14 knots.[/FONT]
[FONT="]An 8 inch round punched through the thin hull plating the metal barely slowing the solid armour piercing round. It ripped through the ship until it met something suitably solid and quite unique in all the worlds warships.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Ripping through the wall of the officers wardroom the round slammed into one of the marble wall panels , the tip of the shell deforming in a microsecond, the armour piercing nose flattening out as it met unyielding stone with its iron backing. The marble cracked but the shell ricocheted round the Wardroom, smashing the piano, chairs, tables and ripping a chunk out of the wooden floor before coming to a halt in the Officer’s bar. It would make a fine trophy if the ship survived.[/FONT]
2)
[FONT="]IJN
Shikishima Speed 18 knots.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Not for the first time in the day Rear Admiral Tokioki cursed softly. The French line was still maintaining its position and formation despite the pounding it had received. With one ship sunk and another withdrawing flames could clearly be seen from fires raging on the decks and in the hulls of the ugly French ships but still they fought. And now the wind had shifted, blowing funnel and gun smoke towards his ships, shrouding the Frenchmen in a crude smoke screen.
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[FONT="]"Sir, report from the Magazine Officers, we're down to about 35% of our ammunition and we are suffering from the repeated firings."[/FONT]
[FONT="]The Admiral nodded, he'd studied gunnery extensively and knew that repeated firings of the main guns would slowly wear down the rifling of the massive 12 inch cannons fore and aft, this in turn would increase the amount of gas vented wastefully as the shells propellant ignited, reducing range and affecting accuracy. And with his main battery now down to 60 shots for each turret the chance of a decisive action was growing thin. With each shot fired there would be less pressure behind the shells as the erosion in the barrels got worse.
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[FONT="]A pyrrhic victory at best could be claimed. One battleship sunk, one withdrawing two cruisers destroyed and eight torpedo boats sunk, but for the loss of one priceless Battleship and armoured cruiser, losses the Imperial Navy could not afford.
[/FONT][FONT="]Suddenly shouting and cheers broke the Admiral from his thoughts, he turned his binoculars on the French line and was greeted with a sight that was both horrific and amazing. A modern battleship capsizing.[/FONT]
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[FONT="]3)
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[FONT="]1)The
Hoche after her 1900's refit with most of her ghastly superstructure cut away and removed to make her a more seaworthy ship and capable of sailing in anything more than a flat calm. It was in this condition that she fought the Battle of the Tonkin Gulf.[/FONT]
[FONT="]2) The
Hoche's Wardroom in more peaceful times. French battleships were often extravagantly outfitted in terms of Officers accommodation and many featured such things like Champagne cellars and extensive oak fittings, all of which added weight. In the
Hoche this reached its peak with her having marble fittings, leading to her being nicknamed the floating hotel.[/FONT]
[FONT="]3) Another ship disappears beneath the warm waters of the Tonkin Gulf.
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