Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 518 030 The Glorious Battle of the Gulf of Finland (Part )

When Kron saw the Z-shaped flag, he was filled with mixed emotions. Now that he was a vice admiral of the Russian Navy, he knew very well the meaning of this flag.

During Columbus's voyage, the Z flag was used, representing good luck, victory and justice. If it had been Nelson's, it would have been "England requires all officers and men of the fleet to be loyal to their duties." As for the more familiar one, "The rise and fall of the empire depends on this one, let alone the efforts of all parties." This thing did not exist yet, let alone any "special military operations."

"Count, it seems that you know a lot about this, but it's a pity that you are in the army, otherwise I would definitely recommend you to be the commander of a battleship squadron, which would be a good way to motivate the morale of the brothers!"

From generals and captains to sailors, everyone will be inspired as long as they can see such a flag.

"We have to fight the enemy now to let them know how powerful we are! Besides, even if the Victory comes, I don't think it will do any good. After all, the British can capsize their own ship. The Baltic Sea is all about who is braver!"

By the way, after taking over the command, Kron chose to operate in more open waters in order to give full play to the firepower advantage of the nine battleships in his hands.

After all, the firepower of the "Grace" with 130 guns, the "Gabriel" with 100 guns, and the "Warrior" with 120 guns in his hands is already superb. Any combination of the three largest warships of the Swedish Navy is inferior to the firepower of two of them. If it weren't for the Royal Navy's two battleships, the "Ruthless" and the "Centaur" here, it would definitely not be enough.

In the Battle of Reval, the Russian Navy was attacked from three sides and defeated the Swedish Navy's 11 battleships with only 22 battleships. Now the two sides have roughly equal forces. The old sailors who have served on the "Grace" for more than ten years know that it would be a shame to run away at this time.

The Baltic Fleet may have poor training due to lack of money, but looking at these warships, we can see that they are actually very strong.

Vice Admiral Kron was willing to launch a direct attack because he knew very well that both the Royal Navy and the Swedish Navy had their own problems at this time.

When the Russian fleet was ready to fight, Samuel Hood Jr. on the Centaur saw it very clearly.

"Ah, the Russians actually used the Z-shaped flag. They are going to fight to the death. We can't be vague. We have to have a good fight with them."

The Royal Navy's battleship squadron, under the command of Sir James Sumares, rarely encountered the Russian fleet after entering the Baltic Sea from the Denmark Strait. If the entire British fleet entering the Baltic Sea was here, perhaps the Royal Navy itself could have fought a fierce naval battle with the Russians.

But the problem is, after entering this sea area, the Royal Navy's battleships were assigned a lot of patrol missions, and the Swedish Navy still has a certain strength. Under such circumstances, the assembled Anglo-Swedish joint fleet can also fight.

Little Samuel Hood saw it with his left arm holding up the telescope. At first he admired the courage of his opponent, but then he knew that these Russians were rushing towards him at a speed of 12 knots and they would definitely fight to the death!
This Hood was also the nephew of Admiral Samuel Viscount Hood, and he himself was knighted. However, he had a small problem. He also lost an arm in his right sleeve due to an encounter with the French Navy in 1806. He was definitely a brave warrior, and he had performed very well on the Centaur. Earlier, he participated in the Battle of the Nile on the Zealous, and finished off his first opponent in 12 minutes.
Apparently, he was very satisfied to have encountered such a stubborn Russian. The battleship commanders in the Royal Navy have always been brave fighters, unlike the escort teams that later abandoned their transport ships in the Norwegian fjords. Since the two sides have similar strength on paper, it is not surprising that they would have a big fight.

Of course, the only thing that made Major General Hood feel a little worried might be that his two battleships were overloaded Type 74 third-level ships, each equipped with more than 80 cannons. When encountering the enemy, it might be a question whether the Swedish Navy, which had not fought a war for more than ten years, could keep up. I hope their training level is sufficient!

Hood also signaled to Martin, the captain of the "Relentless", that the two ships should maintain a close battle formation, as the opponent this time was indeed more troublesome.

Because behind the three giant Russian ships, there were at least six battleships, one of which, the "Bold", was at least a second-class ship with 6 guns. Although the other battleships were a little weaker, they were all third-class ships in relatively new condition. This opponent was obviously not easy to deal with.

If the "Varyag" had not been launched too late, it would have been brought along this time. In that case, Samuel Hood Jr. might have considered turning around and retreating. After all, the opponent's four battleships could gather nearly 500 pipes. Even in the Nile River and Trafalgar, his old friend Nelson had never encountered such an outrageous opponent with powerful firepower and thick skin.

However, Hood was somewhat worried about what the Swedes would do. After all, in terms of navigation capabilities, the Swedes, who could only operate in the Baltic Sea and the Denmark Strait, did not have enough combat power to confront the Russians. Moreover, only one of the Type 64 battleships had completed the upgrade and transformation, so the Swedish army should still suffer a great disadvantage in firepower.

And now Hood has not seen the following Russian frigates, he only saw the beginning of the fleet.

The Russian Navy's frigate fleet also includes 6 large frigates and 6 level 50 ships. Among the large frigates are two brand new "Hurry" class frigates, the "Argos" and the "Fast". In addition, there is a new ship completed at the Goncharov shipyard. However, it is a bit unfair to call this ship a frigate. It is equipped with more than guns, which is clearly the firepower level of a level ship. The name of the ship is inherited from the "Flora" that was lost in a shipwreck.

Although the "Flora Goddess" should be a very cute god, a frigate using such heavy equipment, if some American counterparts take a look at it, they will probably feel a sense of déjà vu after looking at their own "old ironclad" "Constitution".

That's right, the Goncharov Shipyard can't accept big orders now, but this experimental heavy frigate not only has stronger guns, but also uses stronger oak, teak suitable for high-quality decks and copper-plated hulls. Part of the hull is also protected by iron sheets, and a clipper bow and some new designs are used on it. Pushkin's future father-in-law even privately told Solovyov that compared to letting his father squander the money and the deficit of hundreds of thousands of rubles a year, it would be better to spend all the money on a new ship ordered for the emperor, at least it can make a sound and bring honor to the family.

Obviously, having such a ship, and calling it a frigate, is a reflection of the "essence of overloading" of the Royal Navy.

Kron actually knew that if he followed his old boss's method, if that unlucky battleship was hit by his old colleague from the Royal Navy while turning, it would be difficult for it to escape.

PS: Historically, in this sea area, the "Vsevolod" was overtaken by Martin and Hood during its retreat, and then abandoned and burned after a battle. Therefore, it is better to use its own firepower advantage to teach the Swedish Navy a lesson. After all, there is now an inspector from the army to endorse it.

In the Russian Navy, it has always been a shame to be afraid of the enemy and avoid fighting. Even if you fail in a naval battle, you will not be investigated. Even when fighting with the Swedes, the Second Battle of Rochensalm, Prince Nassau-Siegen sank dozens of warships in the bay and lost 40% of the Baltic Fleet's frigates and galleys, but he was not tried - although that was because the Empress was always more tolerant of the "old hooligans" in the navy. Even if old Chichakov cursed the Swedes with a bunch of dirty words in front of her, it was okay - she claimed that this was "naval terminology" and the old lady really didn't understand it.
Fortunately, Solovyov didn't know that there was a Hood on the Centaur, and he was a major general at that. Otherwise, he might have to trigger the God's perspective and ask what happened to the opponent's ammunition depot.

Now that the two fleets are approaching each other, Hood's main concern is the combat effectiveness of the Swedish Navy. He is not even demanding the performance of its sailors, but only considering the warships on the books.

The two battleships of the Royal Navy left their Swedish allies behind at a higher speed, and there was still some disconnect between the two.

When Kron saw this kind of fighter plane, he wanted to praise his old colleague from the Royal Navy. He had obviously seized the advantageous position very beautifully. However, these warships of the Swedish Navy were obviously out of touch. If Hood and Martin had slowed down, they might have been covered by the Russian army like these friendly forces.

When Hood saw this situation, he also realized that the commander must be a veteran who was familiar with British tactics. He even suspected for a moment whether Ushakov had boarded the ship again.

During the Battle of the Nile, both he and Nelson had met Ushakov, and both had great respect for the veteran. Nelson's somewhat barbaric "cut in half" tactics were also what Ushakov often used when he was in the Black Sea Fleet.

This tactic was used repeatedly by the Russians against the Turks, and later by Nelson against the French, and such initiative was rarely seen outside the Royal Navy.

Of course, he could not have imagined that the other commander was also a British, a former Royal Navy officer who came to serve in Russia twenty years ago.

In this situation, the British seized an advantageous position, but it was foreseeable that the Swedish navy would first face the interception of the T-formation and then be hit by the superiority of the Russian navy's giant ships.

As for the "Grace" which was in the front, after the British put it on its right, it launched the first round of bombardment at the Swedish Navy's flagship "Gustav IV", without even giving the opponent any chance to fight back.

Solid shells were fired at the bow of the Swedish ship. Kron personally directed the battle at the stern. He was very satisfied with this round of shooting. It was a pity that he did not catch the stern, otherwise the damage would have been even greater.

At the same time, the two British battleships were entangled by frigates led by "Flora", "Argos" and "Fast". Although for Samuel Hood Jr., this threat might not be the most dangerous compared to the enemies he had encountered before, the connection between him and his stupid Swedish teammates was cut off. If he could not quickly get rid of the entanglement of the Russian frigates and deal with several relatively weak Russian third-level ships to share the pressure of friendly forces, then there would be no need to wait for Sir Sumares and the Royal Navy squadron led by the "Victory" to arrive here before the Swedish Navy could be completely buried at sea.

These three frigates have a total of 144 naval guns, and nearly 70 guns can be deployed on one side. This firepower is not weak. In addition, there are several level VI ships waiting for an opportunity to move. In short, for the Russian frigates, the most important thing is to prevent the two British battleships from affecting the first row of battleships and the battle with the Swedes.

After the "Grace" fired, it was the turn of the "Warrior", but the round of shooting from this 120-gun battleship was too much for the Swedes to bear. The heavy artillery on the lower deck directly smashed the bow of the "Gustav IV", and the guns on the two upper decks caused huge damage to the rigging and sails.

"This is not a good idea, Count. We should shoot at the Swedish ships to make them lose their combat effectiveness faster. It would be best if they sink into the water quickly or surrender."

“But it looks like”

As Solovyov was speaking, a solid bullet whizzed past them, but it didn't hit anyone and finally hit the guardrail on the right side.

"It's a bit dangerous, isn't it?"

"It's much more exciting than fighting in the army, although I've been stabbed by bayonets and bullets more than once."

"Then you can enjoy this battle. After all, you can't be so close to the shells every time!"

Kron was very brave. He even encouraged the sailors to continue fighting on the deck.

As for the "Gabriel", after it caught up and fired another shipload of shells at the "Gustav IV", the "Grace" had already turned left and began looking for its next target.

The British were still being entangled by the frigates. Hood finally managed to turn the "Centaur" and finally confronted the Russian level VI ship, which cleared a path for his ship and the "Ruthless" to threaten the rear of the Russian front-line battleships, and caught the "Flosheward" at the rear of the team to prepare for an exchange of fire.

However, the main fleet of the Swedish Navy is now facing even greater trouble.

(End of this chapter)