The Fox of France - Chapter 276: Clash

The “Free Trade” ship was naturally slower than the “Constitution.” Having just made a turn, it further reduced its speed. The “Constitution” skillfully cut a radius, smoothly positioning itself at six o’clock on the “Free Trade’s” compass, and then began closing in.

Soon, both ships were within firing range of each other. The Americans were the first to unleash a volley of chain shots from their bow, aiming to damage the enemy’s sails.

Upon seeing the American warship cutting across their six o’clock, Captain Lefebvre knew that a battle was inevitable. He immediately ordered all non-combat personnel to evacuate the deck. A group of sailors swiftly dragged Viktor, who was eager to watch the spectacle, below deck.

The “Free Trade” began to maneuver once more. Like other warships of its time, the “Free Trade” lacked cannons on its stern. Therefore, it needed to rely on maneuvering to disrupt enemy fire and force the opponent to charge forward, creating a broadside exchange.

Of course, the “Constitution” could also attempt to maintain its position at the “Free Trade’s” six o’clock by continuously turning. However, this constant maneuvering would disrupt its own firing, significantly reducing its efficiency. If they continued like this, the battle would last all day.

The “Free Trade” was a steamship, and its steam engine was slowly building up pressure. While this process was gradual, it was not slow to the point of ineffectiveness. Once the “Free Trade’s” steam engine started running, the entire situation could flip entirely.

The “Constitution” was currently faster than the “Free Trade,” so it was in their best interest to capitalize on this speed advantage. They intended to catch up, take a position for firing, and deliver several rounds of strikes to the “Free Trade” before its steam engine advantage kicked in, weakening it.

The “Equality” had previously employed this tactic during a battle with British steamships, but they had taken the opportunity to seize the T-position from the enemy’s stern since the speed difference between the two ships was considerable. However, in this case, the speed gap between the “Constitution” and “Free Trade” wasn’t as significant, so the “Constitution” could only attempt to cross the “Free Trade’s” path from the front and establish a T-position.

The “Constitution” was a “super cruiser” with twenty-three large cannons on one side, consisting of ten 12-pound cannons on the upper gun deck and thirteen 24-pound cannons on the lower gun deck. The devastating firepower they could unleash in a broadside at the T-position was sure to deal a heavy blow to the French.

The “Constitution” approached the “Free Trade” from its starboard side, aiming to pass about one hundred meters from the “Free Trade’s” starboard before making a sharp turn to cut across its path and deliver a heavy broadside from the port side.

Passing at one hundred meters was a slightly risky move, as the enemy ship could potentially open fire with its broadside cannons at that range. However, this was one of Captain Hull’s intentions. With the ships rocking in the waves, the cannons would sway, and during naval battles in this era, scattered cannonballs were a common occurrence. At distances of over seventy to eighty meters between two ships, the hit rate was quite low, and often, the battles would devolve into close-quarters engagements after exchanging broadsides.

If the French opened fire from a distance of one hundred meters, some cannonballs might hit the “Constitution,” but Captain Hull believed the damage they would inflict would be limited. Loading the cannons was also a slow process. If the French broadside did not yield significant results, the “Constitution” would have a substantial window of opportunity. They could turn hard and close the distance, delivering another broadside from close range, causing chaos and panic among the French.

The “Constitution” appeared at a distance of a little over one hundred meters from the starboard side of the “Free Trade.” All nine of the starboard cannons on the “Free Trade” were already prepared for firing.

The steel-bore cannons of the “Free Trade” had a much higher initial velocity than standard cannons, resulting in longer effective firing ranges and less susceptibility to swaying. Additionally, the “Free Trade” was a large ship, equipped with larger stabilizing fins to reduce swaying. This made its firing accuracy at longer ranges significantly better than other ships of the era.

The initial velocity of the steel-bore cannon projectiles on the “Free Trade” was significantly higher than that of regular cannons, giving them a longer effective range and less susceptibility to swaying. Additionally, the “Free Trade” itself was large and equipped with a set of larger stabilizing fins to maximize range and reduce swaying. These measures made the “Free Trade” considerably more accurate in long-range shooting compared to other warships of the era.

Of course, every advantage comes with some drawbacks. The larger stabilizing fins reduced the “Free Trade’s” maneuverability slightly. When relying solely on sail power and not the steam engine, the ship’s maneuverability was indeed compromised, and this was one of the reasons the “Constitution” was able to take an advantageous position so quickly.

The order to fire had been given, and the nine cannons on the starboard side of the “Free Trade” began to fire one after another.

Though the gunners on the “Free Trade” had not yet fully mastered the capabilities of their new cannons, they were experienced seamen. By not fully mastering their cannons, it meant that they couldn’t entirely exploit the performance of the new cannons. For example, according to the original design, these cannons should have had a relatively high hit rate at a distance of four hundred meters under normal sea conditions. However, the gunners were not there yet.

Nonetheless, at a range of one hundred meters, they could ensure a high hit rate.

In the first volley, seven out of nine shots hit their mark.

When the “Free Trade” opened fire, Captain Hull couldn’t help but feel relieved. He knew that steam warships had limitations on the number of cannons they could carry, but seeing that such a large ship had only nine cannons on one side, it was far fewer than Hull had anticipated.

“Had I known, why bother with seizing the T? I could have just closed in and hammered them directly,” Captain Hull mused.

But then, a flash of fire, and Hull felt the deck beneath him tremble.

“These guys are accurate! Seems like I underestimated them a bit.”

Following that shot, the other cannons on the “Free Trade” also fired in succession, and the deck under Hull’s feet continued to shake.

“Their hit rate is quite high!” Hull thought while shouting below, “Report casualties!”

Hull had expected to hear something like, “No problem! No penetrations!”

However, the response from below didn’t come immediately. After a moment, he heard, “The deck has been penetrated, and we have significant casualties…”

Armor-piercing shells fired from the “Free Trade’s” 110mm-caliber bore easily pierced through the “Constitution’s” 70-centimeter thick oak hull. In the process, they transferred immense energy to the oak planks. As the shells penetrated the hull, the wooden planks in the gun deck splintered, with wooden shards flying everywhere, piercing the bodies of the nearby gunners like knives…

Some shells that had penetrated the thick hull practically flew through without deceleration, striking the other side’s hull and blasting a hole through it before exiting. Another shell lost stability after piercing the hull, turning sideways and striking the opposite hull. It then shattered into several pieces, rebounding and striking down several crew members.

The most devastating was a shell that, after piercing the hull, struck directly at one of the 24-pound bronze cannons placed on the other side of the hull. The shell shattered upon impact with the bronze cannon, showering surrounding gunners with deadly fragments. The bronze cannon itself was catapulted upwards, tearing off the iron chains that held it in place. The broken chain flailed like a whip, slicing through a gunner who couldn’t evade it.

The airborne bronze cannon collided with another bronze cannon, knocking it to the deck and crushing two more gunners.

After one volley, the lower gun deck of the “Constitution” was in chaos, as if a tornado had just ravaged the area.

Upon roughly assessing the damage, Captain Hull realized that he had indeed underestimated the French. Their accuracy in shooting and the power of their cannons far exceeded his expectations. But he remained resolute and issued a command:

“Hard to port! Close in, get in their faces, and blast them to pieces!”