Don't look at the "Liu Changxun" is a large aircraft carrier with a full load displacement of more than 80,000 tons, but its maneuverability is not bad, and when turning at high speed, the ship's hull is tilted more than 30 degrees. Because it is turned to the left, the hull is tilted to the right. Looking out of the porthole of the officer's quarters, the gray sea turned into an oncoming wall of water, like a tsunami. It's just that no one is looking out of the porthole at this time.

It must be said that the "Liu Changxun" was very lucky.

Because there were still several carrier-based planes preparing to land, the "Liu Changxun" maintained a relatively high speed of nearly 28 knots before being attacked. The point is that the next step is to get the air defense fighter into the air, and the 4 catapults will operate at maximum power, and there needs to be enough steam reserves, so the 4 power systems are in full working condition and can reach the maximum propulsion power in 15 seconds.

If anything, this is also the main reason why the Imperial Navy began to adopt gas turbines from the "Chen Bingxun" class.

Although four sets of recuperative steam generators are specially configured to cooperate with the four high-power steam catapults, which occupy a lot of hull space, compared with the traditional power system, that is, the steam turbine, the gas turbine has the advantage of fast start-up speed and shorter time to reach the maximum output power.

It is precisely in this way that after completing the emergency turn, the speed of "Liu Changxun" reached 30 knots.

However, just running fast is not enough!

On the way to the commander's bridge, Bai Huawei and they heard an explosion, which was coming from outside, and it was relatively far away, it should be behind the aircraft carrier.

The explosion was muffled, and at the same time as the explosion was heard, the aircraft carrier was shaking violently.

Apparently, the explosion occurred beneath the surface of the sea, and the sound wave was transmitted at the same time as the shock wave.

If it happens on the surface of the sea, it will come after the shock wave because it travels much slower in the air than in the sea.

There is no doubt that it must have something to do with torpedoes!

When you come to the commander bridge, you don't need to ask at all.

The explosion occurred in the rear of the "Liu Changxun", and the anti-submarine frigate responsible for close cover was hit by the mine, and the hull of the ship had been torpedoed and was sinking at a speed visible to the naked eye.

That frigate blocked a shot for the "Liu Changxun"!

Although the Imperial Navy did not make mandatory provisions, let alone require escort warships to block guns for aircraft carriers in the code of operation, protecting aircraft carriers itself is the number one mission of escort warships, and intercepting the thunder bombs fired at aircraft carriers is the duty of all escort warships, including frigates.

In terms of tactical arrangement, fleet commanders often leave 1 frigate to provide close cover for the aircraft carrier.

Obviously, this arrangement is meaningful in itself.

Do not forget that the frigates are mainly anti-submarine, and the air defense capabilities are not very strong. In modern anti-submarine warfare, in addition to the anti-submarine patrol planes carried by aircraft carriers, anti-submarine helicopters carried by anti-submarine warships are mainly carried by anti-submarine warships, and the combat area of anti-submarine helicopters is generally 50 kilometers away. Anti-submarine operations within 50 kilometers are carried by anti-submarine missiles, that is, rocket-assisted anti-submarine torpedoes.

The point is that almost all escort warships are capable of carrying and using anti-submarine missiles.

In addition, cruisers and destroyers are also equipped with anti-submarine helicopters, and usually two, and are also equipped with various submarine exploration and search equipment, including towed array sonar, and the anti-submarine combat capability is not bad, but it is said that more attention is paid to combat missions in other aspects.

Not to mention anything else, even the "Qingzhou" class air defense cruisers are equipped with 2 anti-submarine helicopters and 1 complete anti-submarine warfare system.

If only for anti-submarine purposes, there is no need to keep the frigate next to the aircraft carrier at all.

In fact, in World War II, the destroyers that carried out anti-submarine missions were all operating on the periphery of the formation, and the warships that remained in the inner layer of the formation were mainly anti-aircraft warships.

Then, leaving 1 frigate to follow the aircraft carrier's actions, the real intention is to block the aircraft carrier's guns when necessary!

If anything, this also has a lot to do with the various advanced guided torpedoes born after the war, especially wake guided torpedoes.

Theoretically, it is not possible to make a wake guided torpedo miss by jamming.

In addition, in order to obtain the maximum damage effect, torpedoes generally use a composite fuse based on magnetic induction, supplemented by active sonar or touch. To put it simply, as long as the magnetic induction fuse works properly, the torpedo will be detonated under the hull of the battleship at a depth of about 2 to 3 meters. Only if the magnetic induction fuse fails, the spare fuse will be activated, either by direct impact or at a sufficiently close distance.

After figuring this out, the Imperial Navy found a way to "deal with" wake guided torpedoes.

The first task of a frigate responsible for covering an aircraft carrier at close range is to block torpedoes fired at the aircraft carrier, especially wake guided torpedoes!

As a rule, the frigate has a set of strong magnetic field generating devices on board.

It is not an advanced device, that is, a special electromagnet that generates a strong magnetic field after activation, in order to imitate a warship with a larger tonnage.

In this way, even if the torpedo is set to a depth much longer than the draft of the frigate, under normal conditions, it will not detonate even if it passes under the belly of the frigate, and after the corvette activates the strong magnetic field generator, it will definitely explode under the corvette.

It's just that the frigate responsible for blocking the gun must be more than lucky.

Wake guided torpedoes can only be used against surface warships, so they are all heavy torpedoes, the weight of the tornado head is usually more than 250 kg, and it is generally loaded with a powerful mixed explosive, which is more than twice as powerful as ordinary explosives, that is, TNT.

Not to mention frigates, even 10,000-ton cruisers cannot resist heavy torpedoes.

If anything, because of the great power, after entering the missile age, the major naval powers still attach great importance to heavy torpedoes.

Theoretically, only 4 to 6 heavy torpedoes of the MK48 class are needed to be able to sink a large aircraft carrier.

The Type 65 heavy torpedoes of the Western Continent Group theoretically only need 3 to take out 1 large aircraft carrier!

Switching to missiles, even heavy anti-ship missiles, at least 10 are needed, and with the help of luck it will be possible to sink a large aircraft carrier.

Obviously, it can be said that it is very important to protect the aircraft carrier from torpedoes.

On the other hand, the loss of a 4,000-ton ocean-going frigate is definitely more "cost-effective" than the loss of a large aircraft carrier of 80,000 tons.

It's just that more than one torpedo was fired.

Almost half a minute later, shortly after Bai Huawei and the others arrived at the commander's bridge, the sinking frigate exploded again.

Judging by the point of the explosion, as well as the height of the water column that was blown up, it should have been caused by a second torpedo.

Almost simultaneously, 2 sets of rocket depth launchers installed in the stern of the aircraft carrier suddenly opened fire.

Dozens of depth charges were fired at the rear of the aircraft carrier, between the aircraft carrier and the frigate, and the splash area was parallel to the course.

Dozens of explosions followed.

The depth of the deep bomb is very shallow, not against submarines, but against torpedoes!

In fact, this is also the reason why the Imperial Navy kept rocket depth launchers.

In modern anti-submarine warfare, depth charges have become of little value, and at most they are carried by anti-submarine helicopters and are used against small submarines with poor maneuverability and even worse submarine capabilities. In the fight against large attack submarines, anti-submarine torpedoes had to be relied on.

Relatively speaking, the biggest problem with rocket depth bombs is that the range is too close.

Although the latest rocket depth bomb has a range of more than 10 kilometers, the range of anti-submarine missiles is more than 20 kilometers, and some of them exceed 30 kilometers.

However, there are also advantages to the short range, such as fast reactions.

Crucially, depth charges are more suitable for underwater targets, such as anti-ship torpedoes with a diving depth of about 10 meters.

Because seawater is thousands of times denser than air, and the resistance is much greater than that of air, it is difficult for even large-caliber naval guns to play a role at this depth.

It is precisely in this way that the rocket deep bomb became the last line of defense to intercept torpedoes!

It's just that whether a deep rocket can hit an incoming torpedo or not depends entirely on luck.

According to the tests done by the Imperial Navy, the probability of a direct hit on a torpedo by a rocket depth bomb is almost zero, and it mainly relies on the shock wave generated by the explosion to destroy the torpedo.

Although it is not possible to completely destroy the torpedo, there is a high probability that the torpedo will be disabled, to be precise, the torpedo will not work properly due to damage to the guidance equipment.

The point is that modern advanced torpedoes are equipped with sophisticated guidance systems.

There is no doubt that the more sophisticated the system, the more vulnerable it is to damage.

It was based on this theory that the Imperial Navy developed an anti-torpedo tactic, that is, to drop enough depth charges on the torpedo's path, and let these depth charges detonate at a distance as close as possible to the torpedo, destroying the torpedo through the shock wave generated by the explosion.

If anything, this set of tactics is mainly aimed at wake guided torpedoes.

The reason is also very simple, wake guided torpedoes tend to sail along a relatively fixed course at the end of the voyage, which means that there is a certain pattern. Theoretically, it is only necessary to obtain accurate information about the torpedo at 3 consecutive turning points to be able to calculate the trajectory of the torpedo.

As a result, the Imperial Navy's warships still retained rocket depth bombers, and large warships such as aircraft carriers were generally deployed in the stern, while escort warships such as frigates and destroyers, which were mainly anti-submarine ships, were deployed in the bow to obtain a wider firing range.

During the exercises, this set of tactics was proven.

It's just that no one knows how effective it will be in actual combat.

After a few more minutes, after the news came from the combat command center, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Although no explosion of the torpedo was detected, after a few minutes, the carrier did not have a neutral mine, which was enough to prove that the torpedo had been successfully intercepted.

Even if the first interception fails, there is a chance for a second interception.

Subsequently, the combat command center lifted the torpedo attack alarm.

A total of 3 torpedoes were fired at the "Liu Changxun", of which 2 hit the frigate "Zhenyuan", and the other 1 was intercepted by a rocket depth bomb.

The ship is the eighth ship of the "Nan'an" class and one of the latest ocean-going frigates of the Imperial Navy.

It's just that I have to admit that the luck of the "Liu Changxun" is indeed too good.

Being able to cope with the attack of 3 wake guided torpedoes in one battle is an absolute miracle, at least in past exercises, which have never achieved similar results. Theoretically, being able to deal with 2 wake guided torpedoes is already very remarkable.

The price paid for this was the sinking of the "Zhenyuan".

Although the rescue operation was still ongoing, and before the "Zhenyuan" was hit by a torpedo, the "Liu Changxun" dispatched a search and rescue helicopter, and other escort warships also took action; within five minutes after the mine was hit, three helicopters flew above the "Zhenyuan," but the ship broke into two pieces after the first mine and sank rapidly, and the more than 200 officers and men on the battleship must have been more than lucky.

In fact, this also proves from one side that it was a large attack submarine of the "Los Angeles" class that launched the attack.

The reason is also very simple, the "Los Angeles" class has 4 torpedo tubes, and when fighting, it often keeps one torpedo for self-defense. Although 12 vertical launch tubes were added to the bow of the ship from the second batch onwards, capable of carrying anti-ship missiles, no submarine commander would use anti-ship missiles to attack surface warships in close combat, especially within the effective range of torpedoes.

Not only are anti-ship missiles less powerful than torpedoes, but also because anti-ship missiles expose submarines.

The key is that after the anti-ship missile is out of the tube, it will float directly to the surface of the sea, and then ignite and take off, and produce an extremely obvious signal.

If nothing else, the smoke and dust produced by the rocket's booster engine can be seen from 40 kilometers away.

For an anti-submarine helicopter, flying 40 kilometers is about 10 minutes. If you get closer, the anti-submarine missile can be dropped in less than 3 minutes.

Obviously, playing like this near the enemy fleet is tantamount to looking for death.

Comparatively, it is much safer to use torpedoes.

The key is that the speed of the torpedo can be set, and many advanced torpedoes can change the speed during the voyage to improve the concealment of the launch platform.

To put it simply, after launching, sail at a low speed, and then sprint at full speed after approaching the target.

As a result, the torpedo made a loud noise and was detected by the enemy's anti-submarine warship far away from the launch platform.

It is precisely like this, for submarines, as long as they can use torpedoes, they will definitely not use missiles.

In fact, most of the missiles carried by large attack submarines are cruise missiles used to attack ground targets, not anti-ship missiles.

After all, compared to the air defense system of the fleet, the missiles carried by the submarine are simply not enough.

If the attack is only a "L.A."-class, then there is nothing to worry about.

After a sneak attack, that submarine will definitely turn to escape. After all, torpedoes will make a lot of noise when they are sailing, and it is still possible to expose the submarine's whereabouts, at least the direction in which the submarine is located. Then before launching a second attack, it is definitely necessary to shift positions.

At the time of the attack on the "Liu Changxun", the nearby escort warships had already taken action and sent anti-submarine helicopters in the direction of the torpedo attack. After the alarm was lifted, the "Liu Changxun" immediately made adjustments and sent two anti-submarine patrol planes to the ejection point.

In just 10 minutes at most, anti-submarine helicopters and anti-submarine patrol aircraft will cover the direction of the torpedo.

In this case, the submarine will definitely have to flee for its life.

It was in this way that the tension in the commander's bridge was swept away after the alarm was lifted from the operational command center.

It's just that what happened afterwards proved that the "Liu Changxun" used up the good luck of the 41st task force!