On the vast expanse of the ocean, a formation of six light cruisers sailed from north to south.

From a distance, these six warships formed a standard one-two-two-one formation sailing formation, and the blue sky and silver eagle flag were hung on the mast on the top of the bridge tower, and it could be seen that this fleet belonged to the Royal Navy of the Tang Empire.

On the deck, a group of sailors wearing the blue and white navy uniform unique to the Royal Navy of the Tang Empire were diligently scrubbing the deck.

These six light cruisers were temporarily leased by the British Royal Navy to the Royal Navy of the Tang Empire, and the British Royal Navy Officer Corps headed by Rear Admiral Stephen was personally responsible for the daily training of the officers and men of the Royal Navy of the Tang Empire.

After six months of intensive training at the British Naval Training Center in Manchester, Rear Admiral Stephen selected the first batch of 2,000 outstanding naval officers and sailors led by Lieutenant Commander Li Haichen from among the more than 30,000 trainees sent to Britain by Rear Admiral Stephen, and then took them back to the Tang Empire in six light cruisers leased from the British Royal Navy.

These six light cruisers formed the First Fleet of the Royal Navy of the Tang Empire, with the flagship of the Leander and the fleet commander Lieutenant Commander Li Haichen, and the other five ships were the Amphion, Alisiusa, Falta, Iris, and Mercury.

Along the way, Rear Admiral Stephen conducted rigorous training for the 2,000 officers and men of the Royal Navy of the Tang Empire, and successively conducted joint formation sailing, fleet replenishment, and the most important joint military exercises with the British Royal Navy detachments that were patrolling in the Mediterranean, the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea, the Indian Ocean, and the coastal waters off Australia.

Through a series of training close to actual combat, under the strict training of Rear Admiral Stephen, Lieutenant Colonel Li Haichen and other 2,000 officers and men mastered the common naval fleet operations and operational tactics such as fleet command, operations, supply, and search and rescue, and became the first batch of qualified naval operations and command personnel of the Royal Navy of the Tang Empire.

On board the flagship Leander, fleet commander Lieutenant Commander Li Haichen asked Instructor Stephen some tactical questions about naval warfare.

Suddenly, the sonar staff officer sounded the alarm to Li Haichen.

"Azimuth 071, distance 11 nautical miles 3 chains, depth 30 meters, speed 8 knots!" The sonar crew reported that a submarine had been spotted and was rapidly approaching the fleet.

Li Haichen immediately stopped the conversation with Instructor Stephen, and the two immediately went to the bridge command room.

"Battle alert! Turn on the fleet channel and inform the other ships to prepare for anti-submarine! ”

"Yes! Battle Alert! ”

As the rapid battle sirens sounded, an urgent notice sounded over the flagship light cruiser Leander.

"Level 1 Battle Alert! All personnel immediately went to combat duty! Repeat! Level 1 Battle Alert! All personnel immediately went to combat duty! Repeat! This is not a drill! ”

"Radio Warning!"

"This is the Leander of the Royal Navy of the Tang Empire, you have been discovered, please surface and surrender immediately! Repeat, you've been discovered, float up or sink you! ”

Under the sea, in the Barracuda, the No. 5 submarine of the Royal Navy's submarine fleet of the Tang Empire, who was about to approach the Leander light cruiser, the captain of the boat, Captain Huo Huakham, immediately slammed the table after hearing the other party's clear notice.

"Sir, we've approached them very carefully, why did they find out?"

"It's supposed to be ASDIC!"

As one of the few intellectuals with a university degree among the members of the Royal Navy of the Tang Empire, Captain Howard was trained by the Submarine Section of the Polland Naval Training Center in the United Kingdom, and he was very interested in the advanced equipment of Shijie countries, so he paid special attention to the latest Jishu Revolution in the British Royal Navy.

In 1916, Canadian physicist Robert Boyle undertook a sonar project belonging to the British Association for the Study of Inventions, and Robert Boyle produced an original model of active sonar for testing in mid-1917, because the project was soon placed under the jurisdiction of ASDIC, (Anti-Submarine/Allied Submarine Reconnaissance and Investigation Committee), this kind of active sonar was also called "ASDIC" by the British, in order to distinguish it from the transliteration "sonar" of SONAR. Translate ASDIC as "submarine detector".

In 1918, both Britain and the United States produced finished products. In 1920 the British tested sonar equipment still called "ASDIC" on board HMS HMSAntrim, which began production in 1922, and in 1923 the 6th Destroyer Detachment was equipped with ships with ASDIC.

In 1924, an anti-submarine school was established in Portland, HMS HMS Osprey, and a training fleet of four ships equipped with submarine detectors was established.

Unfortunately, Zhang Meng also attached great importance to anti-submarine warfare, so the anti-submarine officers and men of Li Haichen's fleet all received the most advanced anti-submarine training in Portland before the forties.

"We're in trouble!"

Captain Howard, knowing that he had encountered a formidable opponent, immediately ordered: "Left rudder 25, combat speed, bow torpedo two ready!" ”

"Yes! Left rudder 25! ”

"The speed limit has reached 10 knots!"

"Bow torpedoes No. 1 and No. 2 are ready!"

Knowing that the other party had ASDIC anti-submarine equipment, Howard did not dare to hesitate and was directly ready to strike first.

At this point, the Leander scanned the Barracuda again.

"The enemy submarine turned to 070 and continued to approach me!"

Only Li Haichen knew that this was an exercise, and everyone else thought it was a real battle, and this was Zhang Meng's request that the army, navy, and air force of the Tang Empire always treat every exercise with actual combat as the background.

"Prepare for anti-submarine warfare!"

"Yes! Anti-submarine combat readiness! ”

At the sound of the order, all the officers and men of the ship entered a state of antisubmarine combat readiness, and the combatants were in place. Depth charges were sequentially fed onto the conveyor belt of the anti-submarine catapult, waiting for the next command.

The other five warships of the formation also entered the state of anti-submarine warfare one after another, and each ship quickly dispersed and formed an alternate cover formation to advance towards the sea area where the target submarine was located.

"Sonar report the situation!"

"Azimuth 075, distance 4 nautical miles, depth 20 meters, speed 9~10 knots!"

The Barracuda had already entered combat speed and was still on the move, which meant that the opponent was preparing for a torpedo attack.

Li Haichen guessed that the other party was ready to break the cauldron and fight, and immediately shouted: "Battle speed!" Raise the anti-submarine identification circle to the maximum! ”

The anti-submarine projectile aircraft carried on the light cruiser Leander was still a late World War I equipment, and it could only shoot depth charges at a distance of 200 meters, so when the enemy submarine did not reach the range of the anti-submarine bomb, it was necessary to attack it with other shipboard weapons.

"Prepare the main gun!"

"The main gun is ready!"

"Main gun fire!"

At the sound of an order, the cannon roared.

The three twin 203-mm guns and the twin-mounted 88-mm rapid-fire guns of the light cruiser Leander suddenly erupted in flames, and the main guns of the other ships also opened fire, and dozens of shells whistled towards the sea where the Barracuda submarine was located.

The moment the shell pierced into the sea, there was no expected explosion scene, and only caused waves about a meter high.

It turned out that all the shells had already been replaced with a third of the charge and rubber warheads, although the range was not affected, but it was impossible to rely on the shock wave of the shell explosion to attack the submarine under water.

In actual combat, even if the Barracuda did not directly hit the Barracuda, the Barracuda would have been severely damaged by the seawater shock wave.

But after all, the exercise could not truly simulate a real combat environment.

Sure enough, Howards continued to order the Barracuda to move forward without caring about it, on the grounds that his submarine had not been directly hit by a rubber shell.

"Report, the opponent's speed is still 10 knots, the course remains the same, continue to approach our ship!"

Li Haichen smiled helplessly, so he gave up the shelling and prepared to defeat the opponent with overwhelming strength.

"Full right rudder once, full speed ahead!"

"Yes! Full rudder right once! Full speed ahead to 33 knots! ”

33 knots is the combat speed of the Leander, which can only last for about half an hour.

But this half an hour was enough for Li Haichen to force the enemy submarine out of the water.

"Enter the anti-submarine identification circle, the target is 35 meters underwater, the course is 020, the speed is 6 knots, the countdown begins!"

4 chains!

3 chains!

……

Li Haichen knows that the biggest weakness of the submarine is that the underwater endurance is insufficient, there is no air supplement, and it can only last about ten hours by relying on the motor to propulsion, and it will not exceed two hours if it dives at high speed.

Obviously, in order to quickly approach the Leander, the Barracuda used the tactics of approaching at high speed underwater, and preparing to escape at high speed as soon as it succeeded.

"Depth charges ready for two shots! Calibrated 30! Preparation! ”

Li Hailiang picked up the sonar headphones, listened intently, and suddenly ordered: "Release!" ”

With two thuds, the catapult on the aft deck of the Leander light cruiser fired two depth charges in the shape of a barrel into the target waters. The bomb sank into the sea at a speed of 7.5 meters per second.

"The countdown begins!"

4！

3！

2！

1！

Rumble! Rumble! Two explosions were heard beneath the water's surface.

"Target turn, 045, depth 55, is on a rapid dive!"

"Fixed depth 70, launched at 3-second intervals, right-hand drive 5, ready! Put! ”

"Target Turn, 090, 75!"

"Depth 80, left rudder 20, ready, put!"

"The target is still diving, it's already 90 meters!"

Li Haichen was stunned for a moment, this has reached the maximum safe submarine alert depth of the V4 submarine, they are dying!

Still dropping depth charges?

All the personnel in the bridge command room looked at Li Haichen, and if he dropped a bomb even if it was one-third of the charge, it would easily cause the opponent's submarine to be in danger.

After all, it's your own person, what if something really happens?

At this moment, a clear communication came from the fleet channel.

"I'm Lieutenant Huo Huakh, commander of the Barracuda of the Third Submersible Fleet of the Royal Navy of the Tang Empire, congratulations on your hesitation, so that my crew and I can safely rise to the surface and become your prisoners!"

Hearing that Huo Huakhan took the initiative to admit defeat, Li Haichen finally breathed a sigh of relief.

At this time, there were enthusiastic cheers from all the ships, and it was clear that they had once again successfully completed the anti-submarine mission.

The voice in the fleet channel was silent for a while, and then said: "Don't be complacent, this time I admit that I lost to your ASDIC, and next time I will definitely fight you all over the ground!" ”

Until Zuihou's moment, Huo Huakhan was still unconvinced, and found a powerful step for himself.

In this regard, Li Haichen still smiled helplessly, but he responded without showing weakness.

"I'll wait for you!"

There was another cheer.

For mobile phone users, please read it on m.biquge.info.