The Ming submarine was unusually skilled in diving into the sea. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 Info: In such extremely harsh weather conditions, it was difficult for the Allies to spot these cunning sea wolves. In addition to constantly going around in circles and still trying their luck with depth charges, they could only wait for the Ming submarine to show itself at this time.

Originally, this tactic was the best way to deal with submarines. Submarines of this era did not have nuclear power or internal circulation systems that could last for months. They can't stay at the bottom of the ocean for long, and they'll be on the surface after a few hours at most.

However, because the flotilla was attacked and the heavy losses caused by the officers and men were in a hurry, the Allied convoy did not notice that two reflectors on their radars, which could hardly be of much use in bad weather, were rushing towards the convoy from both north and south directions at the same time.

By about one o'clock in the afternoon, the radar crews on the heavy cruiser Macon, the flagship of the Allied convoy, had finally confirmed that unidentified large surface ships were approaching their fleet. Unfortunately, before they could alert the captain, the 200-millimeter shells had already smashed down on the head and face.

The strength of the escort fleet of the Americans was not very strong, and the size of one heavy cruiser, three light cruisers plus nine destroyers was just a very ordinary formation for the WS79 fleet.

Under normal circumstances, such a force would be enough to deal with a single submarine siege or two Ming attack ships. However, when the submarines of the Ming army came to attack together with the attack ships. Especially when the fighter forces on the islands were unable to take off for reinforcements due to bad weather, this escort force was somewhat weak.

Fang Renxu's previous submarine attack had greatly disrupted the formation of the fleet, and many escort warships were scattered in all directions to pursue the submarines of the Ming army. By the time the Ming attack ships suddenly appeared and began to attack, the American convoy could not even assemble effective forces to counter.

The two Luzon Bay-class heavy cruisers of the Ming Army, the Sicilian and the Rabaul, had a clear division of labor, one containing the US escort fleet and the other specifically attacking the transport ship.

These slow-moving, well-loaded transports are not sturdy warships that use military armor. Under the intensive fire of the Ming army's twin 200-mm guns, many transport ships caught fire. Even the pouring rain at this moment could not extinguish the burning steel.

The 55 times diameter 200 mm guns equipped with the Ming warships used extremely advanced observation and sighting equipment, and even because these two large warships were new-type warships, the first-generation fire control radars newly developed by the Ming army were also installed on these new warships. When combined with these new sighting devices and fire control radars, they are powerful enough to make the warship play a huge role in this harsh environment at this moment.

Coupled with the ultra-high rate of fire of more than six rounds per minute of the Ming army's 200-millimeter main gun, seven or eight transport ships had already been hit in less than 20 minutes. And there was also a light cruiser and a destroyer that were crippled and incapacitated.

It took more than 20 minutes for the U.S. escort fleet to regroup its fleet to confront the surface warships of the Ming army. At the same time, the commander of the escort fleet, under great pressure, ordered the transport fleet to break through on its own.

On the dangerous sea, transports without any defenseless forces escaped from the cover of escort warships and formations and escaped alone, which was simply sending them to their deaths. It's just that, judging by the situation at this moment, the Allies have no choice. If you continue to sail in dense formation, you can only be wiped out in the end.

The next thing is simple, after the entire WS79 formation began to disperse and break through, Fang Renxu and his submarine detachment began their own carnival feast. Without the escort of a shepherd-like convoy, Fang Renxu even surfaced the submarine to quickly pursue the enemy, bombarding the transport ship with torpedoes and 88-mm guns equipped on deck. Numerous Allied transport ships were soon blown up one after another under the pursuit of the Ming submarine forces.

The assault lasted until nightfall.

In the end, thirty-three of the forty-two transports in the WS79 formation were sunk, and four were wounded and barely managed to reach Ireland. Only five transports with a dash of luck were able to escape. And the hundreds of thousands of tons of various goods they were carrying also sank to the bottom of the sea.

The tragic fate of the WS79 flotilla greatly irritated the Allies. They immediately suspended all sea routes, and at the same time called back all the fleets that had already set sail to port. After the rearrangement and adjustment, the fleet with a stronger escort force made another large-scale sortie. By this time, the Allies had greatly strengthened their convoy protection. They even sent in escort carriers and old slow battleships to serve as guards.

After the reopening of the North Atlantic route, the Allied garrison multiplied. Although this greatly increased the frequency of the use of Allied naval forces, it increased the burden on warships. However, the effect is also more obvious. The results of the Ming attack on the ships fell rapidly, while the loss rate increased significantly.

However, the Ming army did not sit idly by, and as Zhang Cheng's attention to the North Atlantic route continued to increase, more and more warships were constantly deployed into this vast sea area. Even in order to deal with the large convoy warships of the Allied forces, Zhang Cheng personally issued an order to the Admiralty asking them to send large warships to attack the convoy as well.

As for possible losses, Zhang Cheng believes that these warships were originally intended for combat. Protection makes no sense in a heavily guarded seaport. The theory of the existence of a fleet is actually a failed tactic. The navy is an offensive branch of the armed forces, and it does not dare to fight for fear of losses, so there is no hope for this kind of navy.

The large warships that Zhang Cheng said can only be ships of the capital ship class. The bigwigs of the Admiralty feel sorry for their large warships, even if the battleships have fallen, but these bigwigs are reluctant to let these capital ships do the work of attacking transport ships. Even if the Ming Navy has a great cause, it is impossible to carry out a loser act of this scale. Zhang Cheng's order was a loser in the eyes of the Admiralty bigwigs.

However, Zhang Cheng's order could not be violated, and after some negotiation and debate, the Admiralty finally decided to send the only two remaining battle cruisers in the Ming Navy that had little effect on the battlefield to take on the task of attacking ships.

The two last remaining battle cruisers have been in service for many years, and if it hadn't been for the outbreak of war, they might have been decommissioned by this time. In this case, the Admiralty quickly pushed them out as a shield. In any case, the battle cruiser is also a large battleship is not.

Regarding the spear played by the Admiralty, Zhang Cheng was naturally slightly dissatisfied in his heart. Although these are fast, endurance, and ferocious firepower, it is not impossible to go out as an assault ship against the battle cruisers of those fierce old battleships. However, the battle patrol is suitable for fighting in bad weather conditions and at night. However, under the circumstance that the Allies equipped the transport fleet with escort aircraft carriers on a large scale to provide air power, the Ming Navy also had the need to dispatch its own aircraft carriers.

It's just that for the current Ming Navy, it is far more difficult to dispatch aircraft carriers than capital ships. The core of the current navy is aircraft carriers. In the end, no matter how unwilling the navy was, Zhang Cheng's order was something the navy could not refuse. With the continuous expansion of the scale of the battlefield, both capital ships and aircraft carriers have been continuously engaged in the battle of the Atlantic.

In fact, the main purpose of Zhang Cheng's order to attack the North Atlantic route was not to send tons of cargo and a large number of Allied officers and soldiers to the bottom of the sea. Zhang Cheng's main idea was to deter the Americans from providing support to the European theater.

Now, with the arrival of spring, the weather in Russia that used to dripping and ice is gradually improving, and the hard and steely earth that was frozen in winter is gradually thawing. The muddy roads of the Russian spring, which were in terrible condition, could not stop the progress of the Ming army's steel torrent.

The powerful Ming army didn't care about the motorized hours of the armored troops, and all kinds of vehicles and machinery were so unscrupulous to consume the precious motorized hours in the eyes of the allies on the muddy roads. The Ming army was about to sweep through Russia, and then enter the heart of Europe to end the war on the continent. At such a time, Zhang Cheng would never allow the Americans to cause trouble for him.

As the Ming Navy continued to intensify its attacks on the North Atlantic route, the Allies also began to strengthen their escort forces. The number and size of large warships brought into the battlefield by both sides increased rapidly, and eventually what was originally just a continued blockade of transportation lines turned into a large-scale duel between the main forces of the two navies.

From late March onwards, fierce battles at sea broke out almost every week. As the Ming army continued to expand its superiority on the European battlefield, the allies who were anxious to get on fire also greatly strengthened their transportation. The navies of the allies, which are facing a huge crisis, cannot care about preserving their strength at this moment. The warships that were built at great expense and kept in the harbor all the year round and were used as a presence fleet set sail one after another, and were engaged in one fierce naval battle after another.

Although the all-out attack of the allies brought a lot of pressure and losses to the Ming army, and the Americans also transported a lot of supplies and troops to the continent of Europa. But the strength of the Ming Navy is beyond doubt.

The Ming Navy continued to mobilize fleets to join the Atlantic naval war, and in the case of huge losses of its own, it also brought devastating losses to the allied navies!

Until the Ming Army swept across the Europa continent and advanced its own troops to the Atlantic coast. The fleets of European countries involved in the naval war of the Atlantic have lost more than half of their warships of all types.

And this long-lasting naval battle also greatly hindered the Americans' reinforcements to Europe, thus delaying the Ming army's offensive plan, and provided strong support for Zhang Cheng's strategic deployment! (To be continued.) )