At this time, Sun Hui would not have thought about what it would be like when this day really came.

The next day, Sun Hui and Ye Chuchu went to Voroshilov and wanted to ask him to help arrange for him to go to the battleship "October Revolution", the capital ship of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet, to visit.

Two days later, Voroshilov sent them a reply: a captain of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet and several sailors came to meet the "521" heroic crew on the orders of Vice Admiral Tributs, the commander of the fleet, on the orders of Vice Admiral Tributs, in a small gunboat.

Sun Hui and the girls then happily boarded the dinghy and went to the mooring place of the "October Revolution".

After getting on the gunboat, Sun Hui asked the captain named Boryadov about the operation of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet, who was the captain of a gunboat and knew the battle situation very clearly and was also very talkative:

"Hitler's bandits had approached the outskirts of Leningrad and occupied Peterhof, Strelina and Uritsk. The Finnish army advanced along the northern coastline to Shestroretsk and re-entered the shores of Lake Ladoga. All that connected Leningrad to the rest of the country through Lake Thorndoya was a long corridor only twenty to twenty-five kilometers wide. The enemy was very rampant, and made several frantic efforts to attack the city with all his might; However, the enemy can no longer go beyond the minepool. Our troops retreated to the outskirts of Leningrad and stood still. ”

"Kronstadt covered the chest of Leningrad from the sea like a shield. The coastal batteries supported the infantry in the counterattack, began to destroy the enemy's artillery, and even made the enemy ships afraid to make any attempt to land or break into Leningrad. So, as in the days of the Civil War, naval forces came from Kronstadt to the land front. ”

"Behind Kronstadt stood the besieged Leningrad, and in front, to the west, a long line of our islands stretched out to the entrance to the Gulf of Finland, and the few garrisons on these islands, as well as a number of ships based in Kronstadt, dealt a powerful blow to the enemy's lines of communication. Although the enemy has occupied both sides of the Gulf of Finland, he is still not the master of the Gulf of Finland. ”

Boryadov told Sun Hui that because of the fear of large warships being bombed by enemy planes and causing losses, the main ships of the fleet generally rarely made sorties, that is, they provided artillery support for the defenders of Leningrad nearby, and frequently attacked the enemy, mainly destroyers, fast gunboats, submarines, and small hunting submarines.

"Have you ever reconnoitred the coast occupied by the enemy?" Ye Chuchu asked him.

"Of course I did." The captain recounted an experience in combat a few days ago.

"We were given a reconnaissance mission along the coast occupied by the enemy. I made a pre-flight calculation, carefully calculating the length of the voyage, the time spent on the voyage, the orientation of the various bends, and the possible correction of the compass. Since there was no definite prediction of possible enemy artillery positions, we also had to carry out mapping and carefully inspect the smoke screen equipment. In order to do our job well, we also conducted a study on distress alerts. ”

"On the morning of departure, the sky was covered with dense clouds and a gloomy drizzle. The gunboat followed the route made on the chart at a low speed. There was a promontory, which we felt particularly unreliable, and when there were still 10 minutes to go from this cape, Alexei raised the battle alarm. As we sailed past the cape, a volley of cannon fire was fired from it facing north. I immediately made a mark in my notebook. Half a second later, there was a dry sound in the air, and the smoke of shrapnel appeared. The second row of guns allowed me to check that the bearings I had recorded were accurate. ”

Alexei picked up speed and changed the direction of the voyage. Although the gunners showed pleading eyes, we did not return fire. The gunboats sailed in zigzags, always making the enemy's test shots uncertain. When the bearing changed by 30 degrees, the gunboat headed straight ahead again. The bearing of a promontory in the distance...... The location of a looming lighthouse...... Orientation of the artillery corps...... It's all written down. It's time for us to leave under the cover of a smokescreen. ”

"On the shore, another German artillery corps was firing. Paths of light of tracer bullets of various colors flew from this cape towards our gunboats. Already at the corner, I felt the direction of the automatic artillery team again. We threw the smoke bomb in the water, hid behind the smoke curtain, and left the shore. The captain of the sailor reported that there were six shrapnel holes in both sides and that the posts on the railing next to the ship had been broken. However, there were no injuries. ”

"Towards the end of the voyage, Alexei turned the gunboat around. We wanted to tease the shore fire again in order to correct the position of the second artillery group more accurately. Alexei ordered all personnel to wear steel helmets. ”

"Before we could get close to the cape, the Hitler bandits opened fire in a hurry. This is exactly what we need. In this way, a new bearing line is drawn on the map. However, I was waiting for the enemy's automatic artillery to fire. Alexei helped me by playing a game of 'eagle catches chicken' with cannonballs. When the ballistic trajectory flew towards the bow of the boat, he raised the gunboat's speed to the top; If the enemy corrected the gunboat's speed, Alexei reduced the speed to trick the enemy. ”

"'30 degrees to the left!' In this way, a volley of shells flew over the gunboat. '60 degrees to the right!' And so he escaped again. An entire volley of enemy shells exploded on the spot where the gunboats were not reached. ”

"Unexpectedly, a high splash was made in front of the bow; The first German artillery unit finally succeeded in test firing. A large amount of seawater splashed on the gunboat. After this unexpected shower, I shook my body and ran to the azimuth. The new compass bearing with the marked location must now be determined and noted as soon as possible. ”

"We sailed under the cover of a smoke screen to a considerable distance from the shore, and at this point I made a note on the map of the position of the two gunners and the position of the gunboats themselves. Everything was fine; But I think that in order to be sure, I have to do a calculation to get the test position. ”

"In the third, the gunboats, entangled and buzzing like mosquitoes, appeared in front of the muzzles of the enemy's coastal artillery positions. The enemy was furious. In addition to these two artillery groups, a third artillery team was added. The heavy guns of this artillery group do not fire very often, but a single shell can sink a warship five times larger than our 'little mosquito'. ”