There are several explanations for this phenomenon. Some believe that this is pure coincidence. More analysis, however, attributed the complete absence of sharks to the fact that they were scared away by a continuous stream of violent explosions inside the massive hull. In the last few minutes, the hull of the 46,000-ton aircraft carrier was blown up several times, and the force of the explosion traveled far in the water. The shock wave travels a long distance in the liquid, and a violent explosion underwater can kill fish in a radius of several hundred meters. Air is compressible, so the blast force disappears quickly, while water is incompressible and can travel the blast wave of the explosion far away. So, the sailors attributed the "inhabitants of the depths of the sea" to this reason for not showing up.

When the bomb exploded in the middle of the warship, Captain Yang Baiyu and the deputy captain shook off the hemp rope, and they both fell into the clear, warm water. The two of them breathed out of the sea and swam to the jet ski that searched for the last few people in the water. The two of them were rudely dragged onto the jet ski, and the captain wore the gold-trimmed hat No. 1.

It's 18:30. The tropical night came early, and it was almost dark. As the sun sets over the sea, the rescue work is nearing its end. The pilots' motorboat was filled with exhausted swimmers, some of whom were very sick after eating ice cream and filling their stomachs with seawater. The people on the motorboat are on board. Except for Yang Mingjun and Navy Second Lieutenant Ma Wenkai, everyone else climbed onto the boarding net that was lowered on the deck of the cruiser. At this time, another terrible explosion occurred, the most powerful explosion of the "Tiger Hill", and a total of about eight to ten tons of strong cotton explosives in the torpedo head finally exploded.

"All hidden!" The shouts of the deck officers were heard.

Ma Wenkai and Yang Mingyun secretly glanced at the "Tiger Hill" aircraft carrier that was exploding, and saw debris, planes, steel plates, wooden planks, and large and small fragments mixed with white smoke and flames, rushing into the sky. People hid tightly behind the steel plates of that cruiser, and debris splashed on the surface of the sea several hundred meters around.

Even by this time, the undestroyed "Tiger Hill" did not sink, but the fire was even greater. The flight deck is now completely ripped open from end to end. Obviously, this last explosion blew open both the fuel and gasoline tanks, and the flames rushed to an altitude of one or two hundred meters, and a thick cloud of black smoke was on the top.

It was a spectacular sight in the twilight, but it also pierced the hearts of all who saw it.

After getting on the ship, Yang Mingyun went to the cruiser's laundry room and dried his whole body. There Yang met a friendly Marine. He was in charge of the laundry, and at his suggestion, a sailor lent Yang Mingyun a set of shirts and trousers, and Yang Mingyun's burnt and tattered clothes were washed and dried there. The pair of expensive leather shoes were bought by Yang Mingyun in Yanjing, and they were also put into the drying box, and they were retrieved in less than an hour, and they were not damaged at all after soaking.

Yang Mingjun came to the deck. Night fell, it could have been a starry night, but Yang Mingyun couldn't make out it, and the sky-high fire of the "Tiger Hill" covered all the glimmer of the sky. Every silhouette and wreck of the aircraft carrier was visible in the glare of the fire, and the surrounding tropical night sky was as unfathomable as velvet. The two destroyers circled around the burning hull to ensure that no one was left behind in the water.

At 19:15, Vice Admiral Zhang Qifan on the aircraft carrier "Longtian" sent a signal ordering the fleet to regroup and then transfer. Yang Mingyun has been staying here for at least three hours, and in this sea area infested by enemy submarines, he is asking for trouble by doing so. It was time to leave, but the warships moved slowly, as if unwilling to leave their brave companion, the Tiger Hill.

The Chinese sailors did not leave the Tiger Hill behind, leaving behind a destroyer that circled the hull that was burning inside and now cherry red. Apparently, it will burn for a few more hours before sinking. How a signal sign it is in the dark! Submarines or reconnaissance planes can be seen from a hundred nautical miles away or beyond, and the location of the Chinese Navy can be easily marked accurately on nautical charts or aerial maps. So, General Zhang Qifan ordered to sink it.

The destroyer "Qian-122", which was left alone, carried out this task. From a distance of 1,500 meters, the crew fired four torpedoes at the starboard side of the "Tiger Hill". The sound of the explosion was almost drowned out by the sound of the fire that rushed into the sky. Even so, the explosion of the torpedo did not allow the "Tiger Hill" to sink quickly. It sank slowly and almost steadily, for several hours. The torpedo penetrated the last layer of protective steel plates, causing it to shake. Huge tongues of fire mixed with smoke soared into the air, and the white-hot steel plates bent and deformed when exposed to water, emitting a sharp hissing sound. There was another burst of explosions inside the ship, rumbling into a ball, which must have been a huge pressure that had broken the bulkheads and exploded the gasoline vapors. Now the sinking speed of the "Tiger Hill" began to accelerate.

However, it remained in a steady state, and neither the bow nor the stern of the ship was poked down. The waves gradually submerged it. An officer standing next to Yang Mingyun watched this last scene and said to himself: "It sank, it didn't turn over." It went down with its head held high. The heroic 'Tiger Hill', a warrior who persevered to the end! ”

In this way, Yang Mingyun and everyone went down to eat, and people always have to eat. As soon as Yang Mingyun walked into the officers' conference room, there was immediately a burst of cheers and friendly teasing. Yang Mingyun paused for a moment and looked left and right, surrounded by the familiar faces of Yang Mingyun who had eaten together for a few hours on the "Tiger Hill". Yang Mingyun seems to have returned to the "Tiger Hill", but the appearance of this room is different. Yang Mingyun realized that the "Tiger Hill" was still alive, living in the hearts of the crew who indulged in it. They will continue the cause.

The entire officers' conference room was buzzing, full of friendly, tanned and unshaven faces. They were invited to a sumptuous table, everyone was well fed, and as guests of the officers and men of the cruiser, it was all relaxed.

The crew of this cruiser was very hospitable, they did not have enough supplies, but they were helpful. Everyone on the ship opened their wardrobes and duffel bags, and offered military uniforms, underwear, undershirts, blue cloth overalls, shoes, and the best of all, beds. Crates and boxes of cigarettes and cigars passed among the pilots. Sour plum soup, iced tea and ice cream were also stuffed into Yang Mingyun and the pilots, which were a lot of small things for the crew who had been at sea for a long time and were isolated from the land. On this ship, no one wants money from the pilots at all.

After dinner, when Yang Mingyun had a casual conversation with the ship's quartermaster, he asked Yang Mingyun if he had a place to sleep. He was more thoughtful than Yang Mingyun, because Yang Mingyun hadn't thought about it yet. He gave his bed to Yang Mingyun and said, "Okay, you can sleep in my cabin." I can't go to bed for a day or two, I have to go and arrange things on the ship. ”

He pointed out the bed to Yang Mingyun, and then took out a copy of "Ship Regulations" to find out what "rights" Yang Mingyun had in this situation. A passage was found in the section on "Shipwrecked" in which it was said that each of Yang Mingyun's gang should be provided with clothes, bedding, towels, toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, and razors. He immediately ordered the quartermasters to get busy opening all the storage rooms they could use.

He made arrangements for each crew member of the cruiser according to the list, that is, they were to receive their comrades from the "Tiger Hill". For example, the captain of the cruiser took Rear Admiral Yang Baiyu into his cabin, the deputy captain of the cruiser received Lieutenant Commander Lin Zun, and the cruiser's mechanical and electrical captain gave up the cabin to Lieutenant Commander Rong Keding, and so on. The gunners of the "Tiger Hill" doubled the gunners on the cruiser. The crew of the engine room of the cruiser lived in the engine room and vacated the cabin to the crew of the engine room of the "Tiger Hill", as did the crew of the boiler room. The Marines were with the Marines on the cruiser, and the Signal Corps was with them. Even Rear Admiral Lu Qi and his staff officers had a place to live on the cruiser. There was also a general's cabin on the cruiser, but there were no generals on the ship, and now the generals and staff officers who were originally on the aircraft carrier lived.

The situation with the pilots was slightly different. The cruiser had eight pilots, while the aircraft carrier flew in various squadrons with dozens of people. The cruiser pilots still tried to arrange for their own cabins, and the rest of the people were arranged wherever they had a place, that is, small beds were also put in the corridors and aisles, and in some places the mattresses were placed on the deck.

The crew of the cruiser had an arrangement that left a deep impression on Yang Mingyun. They all had one bed per person, and now they volunteered to occupy a bunk and make room for the crew of the "Tiger Hill". They take turns resting, one resting and the other on duty.

Yang Mingyun walked to the deck of the soldier's dining room to see if he could find one or two soldier friends. There were dozens of people sitting there chatting, smoking cigarettes in satisfaction. Yang Mingjun asked everyone: "How do you feel on the ship?" Do they all have beds? ”

"What else to say, good. They were so hospitable that they gave almost the whole ship to us. ”

That night, the cruiser's band came together to play lively music for the crew of the carrier.

The captain in charge of editing the cruiser's tabloids said that if the crew would provide him with material, he would come up with a special issue on the Tiger Hill, and the crew would hold a meeting to appoint a few people from the Tiger Hill to write a report on the aircraft carrier. On the first page is a portrait of the Tiger Hill Tower, which is the laurel of the "Tiger Hill" because it is called the "Pagoda Ship". Below is a sailor standing on the deck of the "Tiger Hill". On the second page, a short poem by Navy Commander Li Yuxi appeared: "We have seen her glorious life, so that everyone who witnessed her heroic martyrdom will be strengthened when they think of her in the battle to defend the motherland." ”

Next to the poem are short essays by Rear Admiral Lü Qi and Rear Admiral Yang Baiyu, in which Admiral Lü Qi writes: "To the officers and men of the 'Tiger Hill', I would like to pay the highest tribute to you for your performance in the battle and for the efforts you did to save this heroic warship. You have carried forward the fine traditions of the Chinese Navy. The enemy fought at least three aircraft carriers against two of ours, as a result of which they lost two and we were only one. ”

"I personally hope that the crew of the 'Tiger Hill' will board another 'Tiger Hill' together to avenge the loss of the ship. I am honored to have fought alongside you and hope to continue to be with you. ”

Rear Admiral Yang Baiyu wrote: "I have never received such hospitality from the cruiser 'Xichang'. On behalf of all the officers and men of the Tiger Hill, I would like to express my deep gratitude to you. Your hospitality has alleviated our grief over the loss of our warship. ”

"The Tiger Hill is a great warship we love. We hope to still be able to fly a new 'Tiger Hill' as a unit. We have lost this warship, but we have asked the enemy to pay it twice. ”

"We are proud of our achievements and proud to be able to fight side by side with good comrades-in-arms like the officers and men of the cruiser 'Xichang'."

The third page of the newspaper is a brief history of the "Tiger Hill" written by the boatswain (he has been on board since the service of this aircraft carrier). There is also a picture of a sailor's toast: "Although she is still glorious in death, let the damned devil go to hell!" ”

The fourth page describes the football match on the "suspended" Tiger Hill, and the fifth page is a gossip about the last hours of the "Tiger Hill"; The last three pages are the history of the battle of the "Tiger Hill". Yang Mingyun stayed up all night to weave it up and type it out on a borrowed typewriter so that it could be printed in the morning. Yang Mingyun's life as a journalist was like this.

At the bottom of the last page is a seascape with a wreath and an inscription floating on the water: "Goodbye! ”

Around midnight, Lieutenant Commander Lin Zun arrived in his pajamas. It turned out that he stumbled and was pushed into bed by the doctor as soon as he got on the cruiser. He led the damage management personnel of the "Tiger Hill" to extinguish the fire, and fought for five hours in a row, and he was overtired and exhausted.

He called out a few officers of the Tiger Hill and began to register the list of survivors in a corner of the officers' conference room. He also demanded that all other frigates have an officer, and that early the next morning, they should first draw up a list of the crew members of the "Tiger Hill" on the ship. Later, he asked the doctors to draw up a similar list of the wounded. Finally, he demanded that all the officers of the Tiger Hill report a list of those who died in air combat and on board the ship, which they knew.

After the loss of a warship, there was an astonishing amount of documents to be provided to the naval authorities, which took a long time to complete, and now the work began.

In the ship's wards, doctors were busy treating 60 wounded. They had to do orthopedic correction for the wounded, prepare splints and models, treat burns with tannic acid ointment, treat gunshot wounds and shrapnel wounds, and the operating rooms were packed all night. The same is true on other ships. Minor injuries are treated and returned to their beds, which is about twice as many as the number of people living in the ward.

Yang Mingjun was very surprised to see that some people were seriously burned, but they slept soundly. The doctor explained that as soon as the men were lifted to the ship, the wounds were covered with a large amount of tannic acid ointment, which, in addition to the analgesic effect, formed a protective layer of burned tissue; At the same time, morphine was injected to relieve the pain of the wound, and blood transfusions were given to people with severe burns to replenish dehydration and prevent shock. This combination of treatments has significantly reduced the mortality rate caused by extensive and deep burns in the past. Timely application of ointment allows the wound to heal without leaving any scars.

"But isn't it hard for you to save the lives of some of the wounded, doctor?" Thinking of his own combat experience, Yang Mingyun asked him.

He replied: "No, after the wounded person has undergone plastic surgery, he will apply sulfonamide again and use a plaster cast, so that the wound will not have to be changed all the time, and the treatment will be roughly reduced to observation, feeding, and slowly healing the wound." You must remember that the crews at sea live and dress cleanly and are rarely exposed to air pollution. It will never lie in the dust or on the ground, as it is for army soldiers. The likelihood of an infection in the course of treatment is very small. ”

Now, the survivors of the Tiger Hill have overloaded several of the warships that housed them. For example, there was a destroyer that received more than 400 crew members of the "Tiger Hill" in its cabin, and the wartime quota of the ship alone was full. Almost the entire fleet of ships is inhabited by the crew of the "Tiger Hill", which hinders the combat effectiveness of the fleet. Vice Admiral Zhang Qifan, anxious to make as many warships as possible combat-ready, ordered a reorganization and a concentration of these crews.

The work was carried out at sea, and the entire fleet continued to maintain cruising speed, which, although somewhat noticeable, was neither difficult nor dangerous. The steps are as follows: two warships receiving crews from one ship and transferring crews to one ship come closer together, keep a distance of about 50 meters from each other, and shoot a rope at each other's ships with rocket artillery. The rope was tied first on the deck, and finally on the superstructure, so that the place where the rope drooped out of the water. Hang a pouch on the rope, and you can pull the rope back and forth to transport people.

The sailors transported two people at a time in a pouch. A pouch transports an average of 80 people an hour, or a little more than one person per minute. Several warships carried out this work at the same time until it was completed according to General Zhang Qifan's deployment.

On the fourth day, June 12, Yang Mingyun arrived at the French port of Noumea, New Caledonia. Several thousand Chinese soldiers landed here just a day or two ago. Here, Yang Mingyun transferred to another batch of Chinese [***] ships and sailed to the port of an island further west. In this way, Yang Mingjun left behind the new acquaintances on the "Tiger Hill" aircraft carrier and its escort ships.

During this time, no one was allowed to go ashore. Arriving at the port of the second island, Yang Mingjun transferred to several transport ships (these ships brought in the Chinese army garrison to guard an archipelago in the Pacific Ocean in case he attacked). Yang Mingyun stopped here for four days before embarking on the last leg of their journey back to their hometown. During these four days, the officers and men took turns on leave, and each of them could go ashore for four hours to let his boots get some dirt.

(To be continued)