The stars are shining, and the moon is in the middle of the sky. In the fighting compartment of the Taku submarine, the atmosphere has completely changed from the initial dull and boring to excited and enthusiastic. The weather is clear tonight, and you can see the silhouette of the ship two kilometers away. And because the German battleships have a significantly different appearance from conventional ships under Fang Yan's design, as long as it is a slightly trained British sailor, they can judge the target camp from the number of turrets, the shape of the bridge and other external features!

"These cunning German devils turned out to be hiding in these seas, no wonder our search fleet has not found any trace of them to this day!" The British captain gritted his teeth and spoke, his words full of hatred for the enemy. His submarine was also part of a large search party sent by the British fleet to the Atlantic to kill German warships, and they communicated with each other by radio; It was only because its top speed of 15.5 knots could not keep up with the pace of the surface fleet that it was ordered by the Admiralty to carry out reconnaissance missions alone at a cruising speed of 8 knots. After so many days, the British captain did not receive a single valid telegram from the discovery of the enemy ship, and he originally thought that the Germans would take advantage of the situation to withdraw their troops after several successive battles, but he did not expect that the other side would hide more than 400 nautical miles west of the Azores, and always covet the busy Gibraltar-Iberian waterway!

But why did these German battleships sail so slowly? The British captain pondered with some bewilderment. The speed of the other side is even worse than that of heavy merchant ships: even if you want to save fuel, you must ensure that at least one boiler is operated at a high load to produce sufficient quality steam, otherwise it will damage the delicate steam turbine. And the output of today's large oil-fired boilers is no longer the same as the small coal-fired boilers of the past: any battleship that started construction in the second half of the 20s can produce at least 10,000 horsepower for a single boiler!

No matter how much it is, let's attack first! The British captain's eyes flashed with fierceness, and he suddenly made up his mind. Under his orders, Green, who was the torpedo chief, began to quickly calculate the torpedo launch elements, and his target was the large ship nearly two kilometers away. Although Buren also wanted to get the submarine closer. In order to obtain more accurate navigation information about the target, this suggestion was rejected by the British captain. Because in the periscope's field of view, he spotted a total of 2 suspected destroyer escort ships. In order not to startle the noise generated by the submarine sailing, the British captain decided to attack from a long distance. Anyway, he commanded a large submarine, and the number of torpedo tubes in the bow reached as many as six; Even though there may be a certain error in the range measurement due to the night, but at this time, the opponent's speed is unusually slow, and a wave of fan attacks can ensure an effective hit. The British captain had always had full confidence in the power of his own 533-mm torpedoes.

"Send a signal to friendly forces about the presence of German warships in this area." In the end, the British captain did not forget his crucial mission. Command the signal corps to send this brief radio signal. After the attack, the submarine will dive immediately, and it will be impossible to get any news out of it. While the fingers of the signal soldier were still tapping rapidly on the transmitter, the British captain had already given the order to fire a salvo of torpedoes, and in an instant, the entire submarine trembled slightly, which was the surging reaction force generated when the six torpedoes were fired almost simultaneously.

"Go to hell, evil German battleship!" During the rapid descent of the submarine, Bren gritted his teeth and whispered.

Two minutes later, at about 3 o'clock in the morning, a deafening thunderous roar suddenly exploded on the tranquil sea. The cascading waves soared more than 20 meters high, like a tsunami. Countless sleeping German sailors were awakened in an instant, and they did not care to be fully dressed, like startled ants, and appeared on the decks of their warships in a blowout of numbers. Soon. They saw a sad and anxious scene: the aircraft carrier Blucher, located in the center of the fleet, somehow appeared more than 10 degrees ****!

"Submarines, it must have been submarines that attacked us!" Fang Yan, who was disheveled, ran into the navigation room and said loudly to Hoffman, the captain on duty late at night. In the presence of radar. It was impossible for British ships to sneak up on their own fleet, and Fang Yan made great efforts to prevent spontaneous combustion of light fuel oil on aircraft carriers: not only did they use a cement-sealed casing to prevent them from volatilizing, but they also installed several exhaust fans that were running 24 hours a day. Excluding all possibilities, the only thing left is a sneak attack by a submarine. If it approaches in a semi-submersible manner. German sea-to-sea radars could hardly detect a submarine with only one conning tower exposed. As for the sound of propellers and diesel engines, it is very likely that the sonar crews on the German destroyers will be confused with the noise made by friendly ships, after all, there are too many friendly ships around!

In fact, this form of attack is the standard pattern of Dönitz's wolf pack tactics when launching an attack. Fang Yan had always admired Dönitz's tactical innovation, but he never imagined that he would suffer the same attack from his opponent. As soon as he thought of this, Fang Yan couldn't help but feel unspeakable bitterness in his heart. His good fortune seems to have been exhausted in the battles of the past, and now the goddess of doom is beginning to give him a dangerous and deadly gaze.

Hurried footsteps sounded from the escalator, and then Bo Mei, with two black circles under his eyes, appeared at the door of the command room with an angry face. He slapped his palm on the bulkhead beside him and roared with a rare rage: "Damn the Italians, they ruined everything!" It could only be that their stupid behavior just now attracted the vicious British shark hunting! Now that the British telegram has been sent, we cannot stay here any longer. Immediately send a signal to the Blucher to give her a quick assessment of her injuries. If there is no answer within five minutes, only 2 destroyers will be left to protect her, and the main force of the fleet will prepare to evacuate first. ”

"Your Excellency, I think it seems like we can stay in this area for the time being." Fang Yan, whose thoughts were flying, suddenly flashed with an aura, and slowly spoke in a quiet but clear voice.

"What are you going to do here, Jonas?" Hoffman, who was rich, spoke in astonishment, and there was a hint of anger in his surprise; If it weren't for the fact that the other party's contribution to the reconstruction of the German Navy was too great, he would almost have to vent it with roaring words. As the object of direct targeting, the anger on Bomei's face gradually subsided. He rubbed his chin and frowned in contemplation, and after a moment, a sharp light flashed in his eyes.

"Your Excellency, Colonel, I'm not trying to put the fleet in a dangerous situation." Fang Yan's eyes were blazing, and the previous bitter sense of loss had disappeared without a trace, "Although the British attacked us secretly, it is almost impossible to have a second submarine nearby: not to mention whether they have learned General Dönitz's swarm tactics, even if they can really have a submarine organization mechanism like ours, it is impossible to summon other submarines in a specific sea area in a short period of time without determining the general location of the target in advance." Now, in two hours, the sky will be brighter. At that time, submarines that appear in a semi-submersible form will be spotted at great distances. ”

"That is, the only submarine that can pose a threat to us now has been driven into the sea at this time. Before daylight, the fleet was almost completely sure that it would not be attacked again. Bo Mei suddenly cut off.

Fang Yan nodded and said, "That's right. If we choose to stay put, there is a key benefit, which is that the escort ships can continue to receive sufficient fuel from the Italian tanker. At present, the fuel replenishment of auxiliary ships is less than a fifth complete, and most warships have only a range of more than 3,000 nautical miles left; If we retreat like this, then we will face no more problems than if we continue to stay here. After all, this tanker will not be able to keep up with the speed of our fleet, and even the towing effect will not be ideal; I think we need to refuel before we act. ”

"But what if the British fleet was nearby? While we were refueling in place, perhaps our opponents had already rushed in front of us. Hoffman's tone softened, but his words were still full of questioning confusion. Fang Yan replied calmly, "We have a strong air force to rely on. If the British dare to come during the day, we will give them another taste of divine punishment with a wave of bombs and torpedoes. And if it is bad weather or dark night that is not suitable for carrier-based aircraft sorties, we also have radar + oxygen torpedoes as the last barrier. If the British want to eat us, they will inevitably crush their teeth. ”

"In addition, only if the fleet remains concentrated, the injured warship can have the best chance of returning safely." Speaking of this, Fang Yan's eyes showed a somewhat worried look, and he said slowly, "I hope the Blucher can survive this blow, and now every aircraft carrier is an extremely valuable asset to us." ”

Bome exhaled and said with a somewhat complicated gaze, "Yonas, you are right. We should stay there until clear news arrives from the Blücher's damage pipes, and the escort ships are fully replenished. If she can not be sunk by this torpedo......" Bo Mei did not continue, but Fang Yan and the others understood his will. Because it was too far from the German mainland, and more than half of the route was within the range of a possible British naval attack; As long as Berme did not want to abandon the warship, he could not make it return on its own, as he did with the Bismarck on September 3, but had to provide sufficient escorts. (To be continued.) )

PS: The author is still on a business trip, and the update is difficult to ensure stability, so I hope you will forgive me