As the British formation withdrew, Ashigara and the accompanying Japanese heavy cruisers trained their guns on Birmingham. Birmingham answered by laying its six-inch battery on the cruisers' bridges and the Japanese shore headquarters. At a range measured in hundreds of yards, nominal six-inch versus eight-inch comparisons no longer captured the tactical danger. The larger shells might pass high over parts of Birmingham while her deliberately aimed guns threatened exposed command positions. Both sides therefore faced a lethal standoff.
Notable Point · 24:21-25:34
Birmingham answers eight-inch guns at point-blank range
When Japanese heavy cruisers trained their batteries on Birmingham, the British ship aimed at their bridges and shore headquarters from only hundreds of yards away.