"Attention! There is an enemy light warship on the port side, the distance is about 3000 yards, the course is east-south, it is recommended to dive to a depth of 50 feet without speed, and avoid the enemy ship in advance! ”

In the hazy moonlight, Captain Carsley saw a vague shadow approaching the sea, and with his 15 years of experience in the submarine force, 43 mock exercises and 20 naval battles, he made a warning and prediction in advance, and Major Brin immediately took his advice. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ

Interestingly, in combat operations in the waters of Britain and the Atlantic, because of the relative air supremacy of the Allied powers, the US and British warships often chose to operate at night, so the submarine forces of the Allied countries achieved more results at night, and the US and British submarine officers and men had relatively sufficient experience in carrying out attacks at night, and this was a major innate advantage for them in dealing with the Japanese navy.

The two of them were behind the conning tower, and it was not until all the crew members entered the inner compartment of the submarine that they successively drilled down the ladder to the watertight opening, and Major Brin closed the hatch.

As the enemy escort destroyer approached, the submarine, which was originally in a floating state, quietly dived into the water. For such a "big whale", 50 feet, that is, 15 meters deep, is not deep, and the periscope in a stowed state is only two or three meters above the sea surface, and once an enemy ship passes directly above it, it is very likely to collide with its periscope, and if it is changed to daylight, the crew standing on the deck may find its existence through naked eye observation.

Coming to the cockpit of the submarine, Carsley walked straight up to the sonar man, where he stood quietly for a moment before motioning for the sonar man to hand over the headset to him. Although this sonar instrument is authentically American, and the annotations under the indicator lights and buttons are also professional American terminology, after only a few days of contact running-in, Carsley was able to operate it smoothly.

As time passed, the noise from the sea surface grew from nothing to large, making everyone on the submarine nervous. Ship boilers and turbines are usually located in the middle and lower parts of the hull, so the roar of the boiler turbines is also clear to those who are underwater, in addition to the noise of the propellers churning the seawater. At the closest, the rumbling sound seemed to come from the upper cabin. Despite the fact that only the bulkhead could be seen upwards, most of the crew in the submarine instinctively raised their heads. After a long time in this anxiety, the voices finally faded until they became very faint.

It was a full forty minutes before Castlely signaled to Major Brin that the enemy ships were gone.

"Start the electric motor, go forward at a third speed, float to the periscope depth, raise the periscope!" Brin issued a series of commands decisively.

Although submarines can utilize air compressors to adjust ballast water tanks for static snorkeling, this method is difficult to precisely adjust the depth, and bubbles are inevitably created in the process. Therefore, the underwater depth adjustment is mainly achieved by changing the horizontal rudder angle during the movement of the submarine.

The enemy ship was swimming in the sea above, and even the faint sound of the motor was terrifying. Finally returning to the periscope depth, Major Brin stood in front of the periscope and turned a small half circle by holding the handle, while Carsley took the initiative to stand opposite him and cooperate with him to determine the target.

"Found an enemy ship, 3,500 yards away, heading southeast, 10 knots, bearing?"

"Directions: 029-11-23!"

"Judging by the outline, it should be a low-speed freighter, with an estimated tonnage of between 4,000 and 6,000 tons. The depth of the torpedo was set at 4 meters, the speed was set at 42 knots, the base angle of fire was 033, and the interval was 1 degree. With that, Major Brin looked sideways at Carsley.

Carsley nodded.

After about five minutes, a report came from the torpedo compartment: "Torpedoes No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 in the bow are in position, with a fixed depth of 12 feet, a fixed speed of 42 knots, the No. 1 launch tube as the reference, the firing angle 033, and the No. 2, No. 3, and No. 4 launch tubes are spaced 1 degree apart in turn,"

"Good!" Brin kept his eyes fixed on the periscope, and while the crew waited for the attack, he suddenly jerked the periscope and yelled "no".

Before the crew could guess what was happening on the water, there was a boom outside.

"What the hell, what the hell! The Japanese have discovered us! Their battleships fired from afar! "In the process of retracting the periscope, the submarine shook slightly under the impact of the shell explosion, which meant that the absolute power of the explosives was not great, but when the second and third deafening roars came overhead, people began to worry, knowing that the submarine is a very weak defensive weapon, even a 30 mm caliber machine gun shell may make it lose its ability to dive normally, let alone a destroyer main gun of about 100 mm.

"Maintain one-third speed, turn 10 degrees left with full rudder and dive to a depth of 200 feet!" Carsley was busy giving orders.

Without waiting for Brin to confirm this order, the ensuing roar was accompanied by a strong impact, and the submarine suddenly turned into a roller coaster in an amusement park.

The first mate did not dare to hesitate, and hurriedly followed Carsley's instructions. The submarine was already moving at a third of its speed, and after the horizontal rudder adjustment, the submarine quickly dived into the deep sea, and the change from the surface was obvious: the roar and the impact were relatively reduced, and the crew had recovered order after the initial panic.

"100 feet...... 120…… 140…… 160......" The technical non-commissioned officer reported in a trembling voice that it was not until he reported "200", which is equivalent to a depth of 60 meters, that the first mate adjusted the horizontal rudder accordingly, and the two crew members were trained to operate the water tank switch, and the submarine stopped diving.

"Turn off the motor and be quiet!" Brin shouted in his voice, and after a while, the entire submarine fell silent, leaving only the noise from the outside world.

At this time, at the tail of the Japanese destroyer on the sea, sailors in steel helmets and white uniforms were driving depth charges to roll along the trough. On the platform on the side, a middle-aged man wearing a non-commissioned officer logo was like a drummer at the rear of the military formation, shouting and roaring with bruised muscles and hideous faces, and behind him, the bright red sun flag was violently pulling in the wind!

"Kill the Yankees, kill the Yankees, and let them die at the bottom of the sea!"

Before dawn, the sea is breezy and should be the calmest and most harmonious part of the day, but the sea is full of noisy noises, all kinds of gunpowder-based explosives are surprising and angry on the sea, and the moving searchlight columns also destroy the gradual pattern of natural light!

In the dull but deafening sound of the explosion, huge columns of water rose on the surface of the sea, and white water sprays were scattered in all directions. The sea was already so chaotic that the water at the depths was being shattered by the constant rain of depth charges. With each explosion, the blazing light was fleeting, and a huge amount of water bubbles rose rapidly under the action of water pressure, and the invisible impact was transmitted along the seawater. In the faint darkness, a pitch-black submarine slid at an imperceptible inertial speed that appeared to be hovering, and the depth charges that landed farther away did not have a serious impact, but one or two would still land close every few minutes!

At this time, in the submarine cabin, dozens of crew members remained silent in various postures, like flesh-colored sculptures under the dim wall lamps. However, the sculptures are not completely motionless, some are reciting the Bible softly, or constantly making crosses on their chests, praying that the religious gods will bless them; Some people look numb or blank and open their eyes, just waiting for the nightmare to end.

Time passed slowly, as if it were a century, and the voices outside finally thinned out and sounded farther and farther away - the 50 people on board, including Captain Carsley from Ireland, should have repeatedly thanked the American and British naval tops for not selling the most advanced sonar and radar technology to the Japanese Navy during the political honeymoon period with Japan. Due to various factors, the radar and sonar technology of the Japanese Navy is still the last among the major belligerents.

After a long silence, Major Brin was the first to speak, "Alright, guys, the hardest times have passed!" Check the equipment on the boat and start the motor in 10 minutes! ”

With the nostalgia of the aftermath of the catastrophe, the crew returned to their combat positions one after another.

As if he was about to enter the banquet hall, Brin carefully arranged his military uniform, hoping to show his most attractive side in the most glamorous moments. The sonar soldier who was sitting next to him put back on his headphones, and he operated the seemingly simple device with a solemn expression, and after about five minutes, he reported: "No high-speed propeller sound was detected." ”

Brin looked at his watch: "It's almost dawn, and we don't have much time left." ”

Captain Carsley frowned, as if he had some concern.

Seeing that Castlely was silent, Major Brin ordered, "Float up to 50 feet without speed." ”

"Started to rise, 180 feet...... 160…… 140......" The technical non-commissioned officer reported the numbers representing the depth of the submarine as usual, and when he reported 50, Brin walked up to the periscope: "Raise the periscope!" ”

After a moment, the corners of his mouth provoked a smile: "The enemy ship is 2500 yards away, heading southeast, speed 10 knots, bearing?" ”

Carsley quickly read out the data: "Bearing 020-10-53!" ”

"Adjust the No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, and No. 4 torpedo tubes, the fixed depth and speed will not change, and the reference firing angle will be changed to 021 degrees!"

After the crew in the bow torpedo compartment adjusted their sharpest assault weapons, Major Brin ordered the motors to be turned off.

When a submarine is sneaking, the motor used to drive it is already quieter than the diesel engine, and when it stops working, people can even hear their own heartbeat.

"Correction! The enemy ship is 2,350 yards away, heading southeast, and reaching a speed of 9 knots! Azimuth? ”

"Directions: 022-30-33!"

"The firing angle has been changed to 023!"

The sonar soldier sitting quietly on the sidelines was engrossed, and with a pencil in his hand, he was gently recording - with the current state of technology, the former was obviously more accurate when the periscope and sonar were used together.

At 2,350 yards, with a salvo of four torpedoes, taking out a cargo ship was almost a sure thing, but it was too extravagant. Major Brin stared at the periscope for a full two minutes before ordering, "One launch!" Launch 2! ”

Five or six seconds later, the major said, "Launch number three!" Launch Four! ”

The command was transmitted unmistakably through the ship's microphone to the first torpedo room.

One last glance, the blonde captain decisively closed the periscope grip, "Put away the periscope!" ”

After the direct-sailing torpedo is fired, it is not difficult for the officers and men on the surface ship to judge its location by the white trail marks, and then to make an estimate based on experience, so that they can completely judge the direction of the submarine's firing.

Carsley pinched his watch and calculated the distance that a cannonball could fly in a second or two, and a torpedo in a minute or two.

At 122 seconds, the first explosion was heard.

Seven seconds later, a second explosion sounded.

All the crew cheered, but Carsley shook his head and muttered, "What a waste, what a waste!" ”

(End of chapter)