"Lao An, let's go and take a look and prepare for a rescue at sea." Political Commissar Zhang Tiezhu came to the command room and said to Captain Andre.

Colonel Andrei slowly lowered his binoculars with a pleasant smile on his face. "Commissar, do you think it's still useful? Unless the remaining half of the destroyer USS Richard P. Leary can hold out until we arrive. Otherwise, in this kind of weather and sea conditions of 2-3 degrees, no one will survive in this icy sea for more than 20 minutes. Even these Americans have the best winter swimming. ”

Zhang Tiezhu smiled and said, "We still have to fulfill our humanitarian obligations." Whether they can persist or not is one thing, and whether we can help or not. Zhang Tiezhu, the first batch of veteran naval soldiers in New China, also knew that the three US destroyers would definitely be completely finished, and the people on board were also unlucky, but the more this situation existed, the more he had to show the demeanor of a victor and fulfill his responsibility as a political commissar.

"Well, let's see if Colonel Hilson is lucky enough to make it to us. Comrade Political Commissar, go and organize, I will implement the results of the battle and go immediately. Andre turned around and picked up the intercom on the display console, and ordered loudly: "Straight 501 crew pay attention, go and verify the results; Attention to the straight 502 crew, you go and see the remaining supply ship, and order the big guy to surrender. ”

Like two big dragonflies, these two Mi-4 modified helicopters rumbled into the sky above where the US 12 Destroyer Squadron was located.

After receiving Captain Andre's order to attack, the HQ502 destroyer fired a C-802 missile at the No. 3 target it had locked, the USS Elborne, almost at the same time as the HQ501 destroyer. The 802 missile, at supersonic speed, hit the destroyer USS Elborn, near the starboard draft line under the main gun in front of the bridge. After the C-802 anti-ship missile broke through the starboard front armor of the US Fletcher-class destroyer "Elborn" under the effect of a huge launch, the missile's process-sensitive electric fuse immediately detonated, and the fierce explosion almost cut off the front half of the "Elborne" destroyer. At the same time, one of the bomb bays of the destroyer "Elborn" was detonated. Caused a chain explosion of 127-mm shells. The whole ship was shrouded in fire and constant explosions, the operation system was completely out of order, and the destroyer "Elborn", in the midst of fierce explosions, first tilted 10 degrees to the left, and then plunged headlong into the sea.

After the sinking of the destroyer "Elborne", most of the remaining half of the hull of the destroyer USS Richard P. Leary, 10 minutes after being hit, also began to sink from behind the loss of its tail, and after 15 minutes it bowed out of the sea, and then quickly disappeared into the icy water, in this icy sea, desperately struggling American sailors and some floating objects on the sea surface were swept into the huge whirlpool caused by the sinking of the destroyer "Richard P. Leary", and were sucked into the sea. forever a ghost buried at the bottom of the sea.

When the destroyer "HQ501" under the command of Andrei arrived at the nearby waters, he happened to see the sinking of the destroyer "Richard P. Leary", and it was the first time that Andrei witnessed this very tragic scene at such a close distance. He couldn't help but sigh once again at the huge destructive power of the C-802 missile. The more than 2,000-ton Fletcher-class destroyer of the United States is so vulnerable to the "sadism" of the C-802 missile.

"The Chinese are amazing. Creating such a ferocious weapon of sea killing. When Andrei sighed heartily in his heart, he truly realized that the gap in the army's combat effectiveness was not caused by a single factor such as "hardware". Rather, it is inseparable from many "software" factors, such as military leadership, military quality, military training, military establishment, tactics that match weapons, military scientific research, military ideological education, military culture, and military history. Successful military change is the integration of the above factors as a whole into the most suitable state.

When Andrei was in the Soviet Pacific Fleet, he was the captain of the destroyer "HQ501", and when the junior high school [***] team took over the Soviet Pacific Fleet, he reorganized these remaining technical backbones organizationally and ideologically, and China did not transform them as a victor, but in a comradely and friend-like way, and transformed this red navy with the appearance of the Chinese People's Liberation Army to make it the "Sino-Soviet" in the Far East Fleet In a short period of time, the comrades of the two countries have formed a comrade-in-arms relationship that depends on each other for life and death.

At the same time, the equipment left behind by the Soviet Pacific Fleet was gradually modernized. When refitting his destroyer, which was only launched in 1956 and had only been in service for more than two years, he was very skeptical that China, a country with a weak sense of the sea, would be able to transform this destroyer, which he considered to be the most powerful and perfect "Hao-class Type 07" destroyer in the world at that time, and a mine-striking ship with torpedoes as its main weapon.

He underestimated the wisdom of the Chinese, and when he saw the "HQ501" destroyer that he had been absent from for more than a year at the Dalian Shipyard after eight months of intense study and two months after graduating from the "Great Wall" class missile destroyer training class at the Vladivostok Naval Academy, he saw for the first time the destroyer "HQ501" that he had been away from for more than a year in the first-dimensional modification and installation plant of the Dalian Shipyard. He was stunned. The torpedo launchers, which were supposed to be the most powerful in their own right, and which housed the rear of the destroyer, were dismantled and converted into helicopter take-off and landing platforms. Between the main mast and the chimney were mounted 4 C-802 anti-ship missile launch boxes. Installed on the bridge, 3 phased array radars that do not need to be rotated, he knows the power of this new radar, using 1 immobile antenna array, you can detect targets in a 120-degree sector, and using 3 antenna arrays, you can achieve 360-degree uninterrupted target detection and tracking. The detection range is up to hundreds of kilometers

He knew that the modified "HQ501" destroyer was not as advanced and perfect as the "Great Wall" class missile destroyer. But it's strong enough! Under his leadership, all the commanders and fighters of the destroyer "HQ501" worked hard to learn the modified operation manual, the new regulations, and the relevant electronic information technology. It only took more than half a year for the modified "HQ501" to form a new combat force and re-enter service.

If it is not transformed, how can it be so easy to send these American Fletcher-class destroyers to the bottom of the sea like a target, and win this side of the victory? While admiring the Chinese, he was also sincerely proud that he and his family could become members of the Chinese nation, and even more proud that he was a commander of the Chinese People's Navy. His next goal is to strive to become the captain of the "Great Wall" class missile destroyer as soon as possible. It's just that this destroyer, the most advanced destroyer in the world, has not yet been equipped with the Far Eastern Fleet, but he believes that through this battle he has laid a good foundation for his next goal.

At this time, Colonel Hilson felt something different, and he led the more than 10 crew members of the destroyer "Richard P. Leary" to sit on a lifeguard and struggle in the wind and waves. At the end of February, the Tsushima Strait was cold and windy, like knives scraping on their faces, and their uniforms, wet by the waves, had formed a thick layer of ice, like armor, and the cold had invaded their muscles and bones, and their consciousness had become blurred. In desperation, they finally caught the rope thrown over again and again by the destroyer "HQ501" that came up to rescue them. They were no longer able to climb up the gangway lowered by the destroyer "HQ501", and in the end they had to come down with sailors on the destroyer "HQ501", tie them one by one with ropes, and pull them to the deck of the destroyer "HQ501".

In the sailors' cafeteria, Political Commissar Zhang Tiezhu looked at Colonel Hilson, who was wearing dry clothes donated by the Chinese sailors, with blankets on his body, shivering from the cold, and drinking fresh fish and ginger soup without grace at the table: "Colonel Hilson, how do you feel?" I didn't expect us to meet again so soon. ”

"Coconut, coconut, coconut, three, three, three grams of oil (yes, thank you,) Colonel Hilson, still stumbling on his teeth, replied, "Prepare for us, this, such a delicious fish, fish, fish soup." ”。

"No thanks, these fish are still your credit, you killed them with cannons. We Chinese are used to being diligent and thrifty, so we scooped up a few and boiled a pot of fish soup for you by the way. Knowing that you were choking on the cold in the sea, I put a few pieces of ginger. Doesn't it taste good? Zhang Tiezhu asked pretending to be very concerned.

Colonel Hilson didn't have time to pay attention to the Chinese "brigadier general's" questioning, he held a small basin in both hands and drank a large mouthful of fish soup intently, and said: "No, yes, that's, that's pretty good!" ”

Zhang Tiezhu saw this scene and couldn't interrogate him, so he said, "Okay, then you can enjoy this delicious fish soup." If you have any requests, please explain them to the guards here, and they will relay them to you. ”

Despite the fact that Colonel Hilson paid the price of 3 Fletcher-class destroyers and hundreds of lives for his "stubbornness", as military men they deserved it. In the face of no chance of victory, he still tried his best to make China pay the price of three missiles and millions of yuan. Zhang Tiezhu didn't want to humiliate them anymore, he turned around and left the restaurant.

Colonel Hilson's "stubbornness" does not represent an American's surname, nor is it a characteristic of an American. The supply ship "Claris" protected by the 12th destroyer squadron of the 43rd destroyer detachment of the 7th Fleet of the US Navy saw that his three bodyguards were attacked by the destroyer in an instant, which had a great shock to the "Claris" supply ship Captain Thomson, and he immediately made a "wise" choice, he did not want to be attacked by the destroyers of the Chinese Navy. "Smash it". He ordered the poor self-defense weapon on the supply ship "Claris" to stop "masturbating" shooting, put on a gun suit, and stop making moves to provoke the Chinese; The supply ship stopped moving and raised a single K-flag indicating "Expected Dialogue", but he did his duty as a soldier and reported to his superiors what was happening in as much detail as possible.

"Listen to the supply ship "Claris" below, you will immediately drop anchor on the spot and accept our inspection" The Helicopter No. 501 hovered over the supply ship "Claris" and made a non-stop broadcast in English.

The USS Claris supply ship quickly replied: "The United States and China are friendly countries. We sincerely invite you fleet commanders to visit us on our ship. ”

Political Commissar Zhang Tiezhu led four heavily armed Marines aboard the USS Claris, a mobile U.S. territory, from a helicopter cable. Captain Thomson is still very good at this person, he welcomed Zhang Tiezhu and his party to the conference room as if he were an old friend, and prepared beer, canned fruits, cigarettes, coffee, etc., and then presented Zhang Tiezhu with some friendly gifts, such as the ship's badge, sailor's hat, and the resume of the "Claris" supply ship. In this resume, there is an introduction to the number of sailors, officers, and the history of the ship on the supply ship "Claris". This saves the Chinese from the embarrassment of asking themselves.

Zhang Tiezhu roughly flipped through the resume of the "Claris" supply ship, the "Claris" supply ship is 208.2 meters long, 24.3 meters wide, 9.4 meters draft, 36.2 meters high, and has a full load displacement of 26,750 tons. , with a staff of 240 people. Main power system: 2 LM2500 steam turbines, continuous power 45,000 horsepower, two-shaft propulsion, design speed of 22.5 knots, service speed of more than 21 knots, endurance of 28,000 nautical miles, self-sustaining capacity of 90 days and nights, can be safely navigated under any loading conditions, under 12 winds.

The layout of the supply ship "Claris" is divided into two parts, the front and rear, and its structural arrangement is convenient for supply operations, with the wheelhouse, officers' quarters, and hospital located in the front superstructure, and the soldiers' quarters, fire control rooms, and hangars in the rear superstructure. The middle is the supply operation area, the cargo compartment is divided into three parts by two longitudinal bulkheads, the middle is loaded with dry cargo and ammunition, and the two sides are loaded with fuel, with 2 oil and water supply stations and 4 dry cargo supply stations, which can carry liquid cargo at a time, 10,550 tons of fuel, 1,000 tons of light diesel oil, 400 tons of supply water, and 200 tons of refrigerated food, dry goods: 1,500 tons of ammunition. The supply ship "Claris" is armed with 4 25-mm guns; 4 x 12.7 mm high-level dual-purpose machine guns for self-defense.

Senior Colonel Zhang Tiezhu put down the resume of the supply ship "Claris" in his hand, smiled at Lieutenant Colonel Thomson, who was sitting opposite him, and said: "Thank you for your hospitality, if Colonel Hilson could be as smart as you, we would have avoided that completely unnecessary casualty just now." ”

(To be continued)