"Giant, giant, Hawkeye 1 call, Hawkeye 1 call! Two lead-painted battleships were found in the northern sea, heading due south, at a speed of about 16 knots, and the preliminary judgment was that they were Russian ships, ready to reduce the altitude for confirmation! Repeated, two battleships with lead main paint were found on the northern seas......"

In the sky with dark clouds hanging low, a light-colored painted IK-35C carrier-based reconnaissance plane slowly descended with a low roar, and on the sea in front of the pilot's gaze, two dark-colored ships were sailing from north to south in the simplest column. www.biquge.info The lead ship is narrow and slender, with a fortress-like bridge and three-legged mainmast with a strong British style, with four twin main guns in the front two and two in the rear, and the one in the back is stubby, with a tower bridge and a single-column main mast, and the four triple main guns are the first and second configurations of the front, one and the second in the middle that were popular in the early years, and the two amidships are arranged on the central axis face to face.

A moment later, the Irish Navy scout, with the tactical number B-01, sent out radio waves again: "Giant, giant, Hawkeye 1 call, Hawkeye 1 call, both battleships are flying red flags, one of them is a Gangut-class battleship, the other is a heavy cruiser of unknown type, and all weapons of both battleships are not covered with gun vests." Repeat, a Gangut-class battleship, a heavy cruiser of unknown type, two ships flying red flags, weapons without gun jackets......"

Dozens of kilometers away in the sea, the flagship of the Irish Navy "Belfast" and the accompanying light cruiser "Stokes" have turned north. After receiving the report of the reconnaissance aircraft, the commander of the formation, Rear Admiral Stechen-Walters, immediately ordered to enter the second level of combat readiness, and the rapid alarm bells sounded on the two Irish battleships, and the crews of the anti-aircraft guns and torpedo positions lifted their armor covering their weapons to prevent the erosion of the sea. This is not the first time since the end of the Battle of Britain that a Irish Navy ship has used Level 2 combat readiness in the North Sea, and it is not the first time that a Western Allied ship has encountered a Russian ship in the North Sea.

Under the close monitoring of carrier-based reconnaissance planes and radars, the Irish naval formation cruising the North Sea gradually approached the Soviet and Russian naval formations from the northern seas, and finally met 30 kilometers north of the Irish Sea ********.

The "Belfast", which took the lead, took the initiative to send out an internationally accepted light signal: "I am the flagship of the Irish Navy, the 'Belfast', and I am here to carry out a vigilant patrol mission, please inform you of the name and mission of the ship." ”

The other party's lead ship, the "heavy cruiser" whose type the Irish pilot could not identify, responded nonchalantly: "I am the 'Kirov' of the Soviet and Russian Navy, sailing in formation with friendly ships, passing through here, without specific tasks. ”

Seeing the other party's light signal, there was a sigh of embarrassment on the bridge of the two Irish ships, it turned out to be the mysterious Kirov-class cruiser - judging from the silhouette of the cruiser, its technical performance, its birth time, and the speed of construction, the Soviet and Russian naval engineers must have learned valuable experience from the British Brave-class large cruiser, so its ship type should also be defined as a "large cruiser" more appropriately. The limited intelligence obtained by the Western Allies indicates that the Kirov-class cruisers use the same British-made MK28 twin 203 mm guns and Parsons steam turbines as the Valiant class, and have an overwhelming advantage in firepower and range over ordinary light cruisers, but the level of armor protection is still in the light cruiser class, the maximum speed is slightly inferior to that of light cruisers built in the same period, and the radius of movement may be better than that of ordinary light cruisers.

"It is a great honor to meet you in the North Sea, and I wish you all the best in your voyage." The flagship of the Irish Navy greeted each other with a light signal, and then threw out his own request: "It needs to be reminded that our country is carrying out maritime surveys in the waters ahead, and the survey facilities may threaten the safety of ships passing by, so please adjust your course and detour." ”

This time, it took several minutes for the Russian battleship to send a light code: "We will be responsible for the safety of our own navigation." ”

Undoubtedly, this is a rather blunt response. Seeing that the other side did not mean to adjust the course, the "Belfast" and the "Stokes" quickly turned to the right, and they drew a long arc on the sea surface, showing the port side in front of the other party, and all the main guns turned at a certain angle, but did not aim the muzzles directly at the Soviet and Russian ships.

The two Soviet and Russian ships continued to go south, the distance between the two sides continued to shrink, the two Irish ships sailed first, and the Russian "Kirov" cut horizontally from the water marks left by the Irish light cruiser "Stokes", at this time the distance between the two cruisers was less than 100 meters, and the distance between the two capital ships was only five or six hundred meters, and the outline lines and even many details of the warships of the two sides were clearly reflected in the eyes of the officers and men of the other side!

In the battle bridge of the "Belfast", Walters, who is nearly 1.9 meters tall, looked at the Russian battleship in his sight with a solemn expression, as if he saw two Russian men who were full of alcohol. As a new generation of admirals born in Ireland, Walters discovered and focused on cultivating a resolute, resolute, and calm character in the process of growing up, and with solid military qualities, he coldly observed and judged the situation on the scene: close combat, the Irish formation can win with torpedoes and open a long battle, and the two Irish battleships have the advantage of shooting accuracy and rate of fire, that is to say, the two Irish battleships have a tactical advantage in the case of slightly inferior tonnage, but the character of the Russians is arrogant and unreasonable, Their torpedoes and shells were equally deadly, and in the event of a direct clash between the two sides, it would probably be the result of the burning of jade

Weighing the pros and cons, Walters responded quickly: on the one hand, he ordered the formation to turn right and cut cross-cutting in front of the opponent's route again, and on the other hand, he ordered the communications officer to send his statements and opinions on the spot to the Navy General Staff.

Not to mention whether the officers on duty in the naval staff can contact the chief of staff and other competent generals at the first time, even if they receive the report immediately, they cannot immediately make a final decision, and must report to the Minister of Defense and His Majesty the King as soon as possible......

At the time of its completion and commissioning, the maximum speed of the Gangut-class battleships of Tsarist Russia was close to 25 knots, which was actually faster than the German "von der Tann" battlecruiser, but for more than 20 years, the fate of the two was completely different. The four Gangut-class ships that are now in service with the Soviet and Russian Navy can be described as old-fashioned, and their combat performance is far from being restored to the best state after their service, and their full horsepower cannot reach the speed of the year, and the "von der Tann," that is, the "Belfast," which has been transferred to service in the Irish Navy, has been modernized twice, and its comprehensive combat performance has been improved by about 50 percent compared with the "factory state." Both the condition of the ship and the quality of officers and men are relatively ideal, and in the case of a substantial increase in the overall tonnage, the ultimate speed has also increased slightly.

As a result, there is a scissors gap in performance between the two sides.

The Belfast steered as swift and graceful as ever, with the cutting-edge Stokes following closely behind, and by this time the speed of the squadron had increased to 24 knots, half the speed of the opponent's current speed, and was able to regain control of the Russian ship with ease. Under the direct command of Walters, "Belfast" passed more than a hundred meters in front of the "Kirov", and "Stokes" bravely passed between the "Kirov" and the Gangut-class battleship with the red flag on the mast. It is important to know that ships are different from pedestrians or automobiles, they cannot change course and speed in just a few seconds, and if they make a mistake in calculation or ignore a subtle factor, they may collide violently -- so it is not uncommon for friendly ships to collide during exercises or operations, and they are often seriously injured or even sunk.

The Irish relied on their superb technical and tactical skills to play a heartbeat, and the Russians naturally had to follow suit, and after the "Belfast" and "Stokes" sailed by, the sailors could be seen throwing angry fists on both Soviet and Russian warships.

Seeing that the two Russian warships still refused to change course, Walters commanded his formation to turn around again. Although the Irish Navy had no precedent for this, their king, His Majesty Joachim I, was the direct driver of the hand-to-hand combat of the Jutland warships, and if Walters' warship collided with the Russian ships, it would not disgrace Joachim's prestige!

In the third non-armed interception, the Irish Navy formation changed its route slightly, and the "Belfast" and the Russian ship "Kirov" danced a "veneer dance" that made people's blood pressure explode, and the distance between the two was once shortened to about 30 meters, and in a state of close parallel sailing, in the event of a collision, it was definitely the "Kirov" with less than half the tonnage of the other side that would suffer.

The "Belfast" immediately turned left with full rudder, went around the right side of the "Kirov" to the rear of the Gangut-class battleship, and then chased it from behind it to the left, and at a distance of about 100 meters, greeted with a light signal: "I am the flagship of the Irish Navy, the Belfast, can you please report your ship name and mission?" ”

After a moment of silence, the Russian ship replied: "I am the 'Paris Commune' of the Northern Fleet of the Soviet and Russian Navy, and I am on this trip to Leningrad and have no intention of invading your country. ”

At the end of World War I, Tsarist Russia was forced to cede Ukraine and Belarus, recognize Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia as German protectorates, and then the Soviet Revolution overthrew the old regime, and after the baptism of civil war, gradually dragged the country back from the abyss of disaster, but Russia's strategic situation has changed drastically, they no longer dominate the northern shore of the Black Sea, but huddle in a corner, neither necessary nor capable of maintaining a large Black Sea Fleet; They lost their naval bases on the Baltic coast, the unique defensive superiority of the Gulf of Finland was seriously weakened, and the strategic position of Kronstadt and Leningrad was no longer what it used to be. Therefore, the strategic deployment of the Soviet and Russian navies was constantly shifting to the Barents Sea in the north and the western Pacific Ocean in the east, and the construction of ports and defense facilities was carried out accordingly. By the time World War II broke out in 1933, the Northern Fleet and the Pacific Fleet had more than half of the combat strength of the Soviet and Russian navies, and two of the four Gangut-class ships were deployed to the Northern Fleet. During the war, Soviet Russia had close contacts with Britain and the United States, and most of its trading and cooperation were carried out through the Northern Route, which made the Northern Fleet the most active force in the Soviet Russian Navy.

(End of chapter)