What Zhou Sen discovered was Kurita Keno and the Third Patrol Team, who had belatedly tried to help Kume Island.

The Third Heavy Patrol consisted of two Tone-class heavy cruisers, as well as the Oi and Kitakami heavy torpedo cruisers, which were known as the "weapons of the decisive battle." The former was the follow-up ship of the highest rank, and because it was not bound by the treaty, it used the same five 203-mm twin-mounted main guns, with a full load of 14,000 tons. It was planned to build four, but before the latter two could start construction, war broke out. The latter, on the other hand, was a "new type of warship" specially converted from two Ball Mill-class cruisers after the successful development of the Jiusan 'Lance' oxygen torpedo. Each of the two ships has ten quadruple 610-mm torpedo tubes, which can fire 20 torpedoes at a time when firing a one-sided salvo! The whole ship is up to 40 pieces! Combined with the terrible range and lethality of the 93 'Lance' oxygen torpedoes, theoretically, one salvo of two cruisers was enough to destroy an aircraft carrier fleet! Therefore, after the successful development, it has been hidden by the Japanese Navy to this day.

Yamamoto's reorganization of two heavy torpedo cruisers into the third squadron and the appointment of Keno Kurita as the commander of the squadron were carefully chosen. Don't look at Kurita's perennial service at sea and no university experience, his status in the navy seems to be inferior to Nagumo, but in terms of lightning strike tactics, he is stronger than Nagumo, and is recognized as the "lightning strike king" of the Japanese Navy.

In addition, there are many islands in the Ryukyu Sea, so it is a good place to carry out night lightning strikes. Giving him two of the strongest heavy torpedo ships, Yamamoto Isoroku took great pains.

When the 'Sailfish' sent a telegram and led the 'Big Yellow Fish' to seize position, the 126th and 128th Patrol Squadrons, which were patrolling in the two directions southwest of Keirama, heard the news, and the commanders of the formation, Colonel Yang Zhikai and Colonel Chen Jiansheng, immediately rushed at full speed from the direction of Kume Island and Miyako Island. The two formations, consisting of 4 heavy cruisers, 4 light cruisers, and 16 destroyers, formed a semi-arc and prepared to encircle the Kurita fleet.

"General, there are still ten minutes to enter Keirama."

"Let the 15 teams turn on the detector and search forward. We need to be careful. "Inside the tall bridge of the Ligen. Kurita raised his chin slightly, looking vigilant, after all, the current East China Sea is no longer the sea area where the Japanese navy could run rampant in the past. But he can't help it, the war situation is more serious than imagined, if the country is broken and the fleet is there, then the navy will be nailed to the pillar of shame forever. So as soon as he entered the waters of Kerama, he ordered the four Yangyan-class destroyers to disperse and turn on the active sonar to guard the submarine.

Since the early spring-class destroyers, the Japanese Navy has begun to install 93 detectors and Type 93 hydrophones, that is, active sonar and passive sonar. The 93 detector is modeled after the French SCAM active sonar. The Type 93 hydrophone is an imitation of the American MV passive sonar. Among them, the detector is mainly equipped with surface destroyers, with a maximum detection distance of 2,000 meters and a depth of 310 meters, but the error reaches 100 meters, while the latter is mainly equipped with submarines.

The 'Kuroshio' and the other four destroyers that scattered from the formation made Zhou Sen's eyes stare for a moment, and before he could give an order, several shrill voices suddenly came.

“pin――pin――pin。”

"Damn! It's active sonar! Give me the bearings! The submariners were too familiar with this kind of voice, and Zhou Sen was also frightened into a cold sweat. He didn't expect that. The Japanese fleet turned out to turn on active sonar. You know, when the fleets of all countries sail, they can't wait to be quiet, unless they have a clear goal. Active sonar was rarely turned on, so he thought it was discovered by a Japanese destroyer. Later he learned that the Japanese Navy was extremely uneven and seriously lacked anti-submarine tactics. That's why I always like to turn on the sonar when I enter a dangerous sea.

"Angle 150, speed 22 knots." Although the other party turned on the active sonar, it was convenient for positioning. But after the first mate quickly pressed the calculator, he shook his head: "The torpedo angle is insufficient, and the minimum requirement is 180." ”

"Made! Spelled. Zhou Sen stomped his feet and slapped the handrail: "All the crew members of the non-duty ship gather in the front cabin and close the engine room." The left pressurized water tank is filled with water, the torpedo is checked, the engine room is ready for pressurization, ready for a large inclined launch. The sound that made everyone frightened became more and more urgent, and the submariners immediately gathered in the front compartment according to the order, and then closed the watertight hatch, and the left pressure water tank also quickly emitted a slight pouring sound. Due to the filling of the left pressurized water tank and the empty right pressurized water tank, the sailfish's hull quickly deviated to the left, and everyone clung to the handrails to avoid falling. This method of counterweighting by irregular water injection and artificially speeding up the bow deflection allowed the bow to obtain a large left-turn speed, and the angle that originally took tens of seconds to obtain by electric propulsion now took only 15 seconds to reach the launch conditions. However, this is dangerous, and if the balance is not controlled, it is very likely to cause an accident in the bow torpedo or engine room.

"Targeted! Torpedoes No. 1, 2, 3, 4 fired! Calculate impact time! The right pressure tank is filled with water! After 10 seconds, the main pressurized water tank is filled with water! Left rudder 15 degrees - dive, dive! ”

"Bang-bang-" The bow of the boat shook slightly as the four Yu-5 thermodynamic torpedoes came out of the cabin. As the right pressurized water tank began to fill with water, the submarine slowly regained its balance and the engine room was finally functioning normally. When the main pressurized water tank also began to fill with water after ten seconds, the depth gauge quickly moved downward.

"Twenty meters, twenty-five meters, thirty meters."

"10-second countdown 8, 7, 6."

The counting sound inside the boat and the harsh active high-frequency sound waves outside made everyone sweat, hugging the handrails and waiting with bated breath.

"Forty meters."

"2, 1 boom!"

The dull explosion, like the thunder before a summer rainstorm, broke the oppressive and suffocating atmosphere. The sailors waved their hands fiercely, venting the joy in their hearts. But the crisis is not over: "The sound of high-speed propellers we have been discovered!" They're dropping depth charges! ”

"Knock-knock-knock."

Before he could surface to see what had hit the target, the Sailfish sonar was already screaming loudly, and a continuous stream of depth charges overhead sounded overhead. However, after concentrating for a while, Zhou Sen breathed a sigh of relief with everyone, because the nearest depth charge drop distance was more than 500 meters away from the submarine.

The sea was already in chaos, and Zhou Sen's risky large inclined launch not only quickly won the launch angle for the 'Sailfish', but also miraculously hit the heavy cruiser Tsukuma and the escort destroyer Natsuun in succession. 350 kg of thunder heads, not as powerful as the Japanese 'spear' torpedo. But for the destroyer, it is still not to be underestimated. In an instant, the Japanese destroyer "Natsuun" was like a bamboo joint, and the explosion from the stern of the ship spread to the torpedo launcher in the middle, and the oxygen engine and torpedo exploded all the way and swept across the deck. The Chikuma Heavy Patrol also quickly leaned to the left, and more than a dozen sailors on the deck were thrown into the sea. Before Kurita could give his voice to evade, his feet trembled violently twice, and at the same time, the port side of the Tsukuma in front of him once again raised two huge columns of earth.

This round of attacks was carried out by the 'Big Yellow Croaker' who followed behind the 'Sailfish'. Unlike Zhou Sen, who left two torpedoes. Taking advantage of the confusion, the captain of the Great Yellow Croaker aimed all six torpedoes at the Tone and Tsukumo, which were close at hand. With a loud bang, the water column rose high, and the Tsukuma, which had been hit by three torpedoes in a row, instantly spewed out billowing smoke, and the deck was in chaos, and the sailors jumped into the sea with their lifebuoys in their arms. The Ligon was no better, and although it missed a torpedo, it still couldn't prevent it from tilting, especially since the stern was sinking rapidly. The seaplanes and debris on the deck kept slipping down, and even the bow slowly cocked.

Kurita's scalp was numb, and he didn't expect it to arrive at Keirama. Before he had a chance to play his skills as the 'Lightning Strike King', the two most important heavy cruisers in the team were attacked by submarines one after another. The heavy patrol losses of the flagships Tone and Chikuma also stunned the Oi and Kitakami who followed behind, and Rear Admiral Kishi Fukuji, who led the two ships, was even more anxious like ants on a hot pot. I don't know if I should continue to move forward and complete the mission, or give up the heavy patrol and retreat immediately. Even Kurita, who claims to be experienced, even forgot to give an order at this time. Just thinking of a way to save the flagship.

The remaining five destroyers did their duty, blindly dropping depth charges, and the sea was full of white foam stirred up by the bombs. After the 'Sailfish' and 'Big Yellow Croaker' replenished their torpedoes, they originally wanted to go around and continue the sneak attack, but in the face of this situation, they could only quickly evade it. It took a full fifteen minutes for Kurita to lead the officers and men to desperately restore the balance of the Rione, but the deck of the Chikuma was already vertical, and he could only watch it slowly sink. "Retreat, retreat!" In Kurita's roar, the Tone, with the rest of the ship, turned around and fled eastward. Just when the fleet was about to see the lighthouse of Cape Kiya at the southern tip of Ryukyu Oshima, they did not know that the danger was rapidly approaching.

At 23:10, the radar of the light cruiser "Nenjiang" of the 128th Patrol Formation captured the Tone and four escort destroyers who had escaped at 22 knots. With no radar, Kurita had no idea that he had been targeted by a light cruiser and two Qinling-class destroyers. Because the opponent was a heavy patrol, even if he was seriously wounded, Vice Admiral Huang Cankun, the captain of the 'Nenjiang', did not dare to rashly close the distance to launch an artillery battle, so after reporting to the main force behind, he ordered the three ships to turn sideways at a distance of 8 kilometers and prepare to carry out a torpedo attack. But at this critical moment, a fireball suddenly lit up on the deck of the Regen. Later, it was learned that this was caused by the spontaneous combustion of the electrical line caused by the damage management personnel restarting the starboard generator set. This faint light allowed the Tone to escape, and it was with this faint light that the "cat's eye" on the mast found the "Nenjiang" eight thousand meters away, which had turned sideways. "Starboard - enemy attack!" In an instant, a piercing siren sounded in the sky, and the wounded Ligon immediately turned its gun.

"All firepower!" Realizing that the sneak attack had failed, Major Huang Cankun immediately asked the three ships to shoot all the torpedoes, and then ordered an artillery battle. "Nenjiang" is an old-fashioned Tumenjiang-class light cruiser, with a full load displacement of only 8,800 tons, weapons with four twin 155 mm / L50 main guns, air defense and anti-submarine capabilities, and the new light cruisers of various countries are relatively backward, so in addition to participating in several missions in the early days of the war, the remaining six ships of the same type were used for patrol and escort missions.

The artillery battle immediately became white-hot. Densely woven cannonballs, weaving between the high waves of the sea. The Tone, which was heavily flooded, was the first to be shot, but the eight 155mm guns could not pose much of a threat in high sea conditions. On the contrary, the Tone's 10 203-mm guns took advantage of the heavier shells. At 23:27, the Nenjiang suffered a tragic blow, and one of the Ligen's armor-piercing shells passed straight through the front of the No. 3 turret and exploded in the turret, resulting in the loss of the gun squad and the complete destruction of the turret.

"Sir, the left rear of the Tone, the target signal is strong, it is suspected to be a cruiser, 8 nautical miles away!" Huang Cankun was about to find a way to deal with the Ligen, when the radar suddenly reported that it was behind the left of the Ligen. Several more warships were found, two of which had a strong reflected signal. At this time, the radar could not distinguish the target, but through long-term use, the radar soldiers explored a set of methods to distinguish the size of the target by the strength of the reflected signal. The news of the appearance of two more cruisers made Huang Cankun retreat, but he didn't know that the underwater crisis was approaching at high speed.

Just as the 'Nenjiang' turned right and tried to pull away, there was a sudden loud noise from the stern of the port side of the ship. Originally. Taking advantage of the chaotic night battle, the two Japanese destroyers "Kuroshio" and "Qinshio," which were escorting the Tone, took the Tone as the axis to cut into the radar blind spot from the bow of the ship, and then drilled out of the darkness on the left side at high speed, and fired 16 Jiusan "Spear" torpedoes at the "Nenjiang." Although only one hit in a hurry, the powerful 610-mm 'Spear' oxygen torpedo made the 'Nenjiang' lose its ability to sail in an instant. The main engine was damaged, the rudder was out of order. The Nenjiang, which could only move in place, was immediately attacked by five Japanese warships, including the Tone. Ball after ball of fire, rising from the deck and hull, everywhere there were explosions and thick smoke, and the captain of the ship, Major Huang Cankun, was also killed in this round of shelling.

Seeing that the "Nenjiang" is in danger. As it began to sink, a series of heavy artillery fire, with a stream of dark red cannon flames, fell fiercely around the Ligen.

The 128th Patrol Formation led by Navy Colonel Chen Jiansheng. Fight your way out of the darkness in the direction of Miyakojima in the south. The heavy cruisers Sakhalin and Chongmyeong formed an artillery formation and threw shells at the wounded Tone at a rate of three rounds per minute. The sister ship of the Nenjiang. The 'Suifenhe' light cruiser and the other six destroyers concentrated their firepower and fiercely plunged straight into the Kurita fleet, trying to cut off the connection between the Tone and the two heavy torpedo cruisers in the middle. With the help of radar, the 210-millimeter shells of the two Taiwan-class heavy cruisers all poured into the Tone, the most threatening one, like a tidal wave, and launched a concentrated fire attack on it.

Under such ferocious blows, the Tone's movement became slower and slower, and the counterattack began to weaken. The 'Suifenhe' immediately seized the opportunity and led the destroyer to attempt a surprise attack from the bow of the Tone, which could not only contain firepower, but also strike at the opponent at close range. Seeing this, the Japanese destroyers immediately crossed out and strangled with the formation of the "Suifenhe". Extremely brutal night artillery battle, enter the most **! More than 20 warships of both sides were constantly maneuvering and maneuvering at the southern tip of Ryukyu Island. The sailors fired shells and torpedoes with all their might. In just a few minutes, both sides lost two destroyers each. Explosions and fires turned the night into day.

At 11:50 p.m., the Suifenhe, whose deck was on fire, rushed to the port side of the Tone, cutting off Kurita's communication with the Oi and Kitakami. At this time, the destroyer 'Danxiashan' of the 126th Destroyer Patrol Formation, which had been patrolling Kerama, led three sister ships to catch up from the west. Without receiving an order, the four destroyers did not hesitate to attack the Kurita fleet.

Enemy ships appeared on both sides of the southwest at the same time, and there were two Taiwan-class heavy cruisers in the distance. These situations were intertwined, which made Kurita Keno begin to panic, pinching Yidao's palm, wet and slippery. At this moment, an unexpected appearance appeared, and a dazzling fireball suddenly lit up on the deck of the two Taiwan-class heavy patrol "Ojing" that was trying to cross the "Ligen" to attack the two Taiwan Island-class heavy cruisers. The fireball frightened Kurita, who thought it was a detonating flare from a torpedo that had been hit. You know, the heavy torpedo cruiser is not only attacking powerfully, but the 40 torpedoes and oxygen engines on it are also a huge powder keg. What's more, two heavy torpedo cruisers were the key to whether he could escape, so regardless of the lack of distance and angle, he strictly ordered Kishi Fukuji to immediately launch a lightning attack on Sakhalin Island and Chongming Island.

Chen Jiansheng actually knew the power of the Japanese 'Lance' oxygen torpedoes, and also knew that the Japanese could carry out lightning strike tactics from destroyers to heavy cruisers, so he had always deliberately let the Sakhalin Island and Chongming Island carry out long-range artillery bombardment 15 kilometers away outside the battle circle, and the speed was also maintained at 25 knots. It stands to reason that at this distance and speed, even if the Japanese ship carries out a lightning strike, there is enough room for evasion. Kishi Fuji also understood, so he was always looking for opportunities to try to use the cover of the 'Ligen' and the destroyer to close the distance. According to his prediction, as long as he can get closer to 10,000 meters, or even 12,000 kilometers, he will have a 100 percent chance of sinking these two Taiwan Island-class heavy cruisers in one fell swoop.

But Kurita's order made him helpless, so he had to order a starboard salvo in advance.

All 40 Jiusan 'spear' oxygen torpedoes were fired in just one minute, forming a huge fan and rushing towards Chen Jiansheng at a high speed of 50 knots.

In fact, the 93 'Spear' oxygen torpedo is not as the Japanese boasted, there is no trace. At least after launch and into the water. There are still obvious traces. Therefore, as soon as Chen Jiansheng entered the battlefield, he reminded him to pay attention to the torpedoes, and also noticed that these two ball mill-class light cruisers with very weak firepower deliberately asked the destroyers to pay attention. However, he did not allow the Heavy Patrol to attack, because according to the principle of engagement, he had to destroy the Tone first.

After Kishi Fuji ordered the torpedo to be fired, a Qinling-class destroyer discovered the anomaly and immediately notified the flagship to evade it.

The ball mill-class light cruiser, which is already very familiar to the Chinese Navy, has two quadruple 610-mm torpedo tubes. Therefore, Chen Jiansheng and his staff officers immediately calculated the required avoidance space and distance according to the old data. It should be said that from the beginning to the end of the battle, the 128-drive patrol formation did not make a mistake, on the contrary, it kept pressing the Kurita fleet to fight again. Even if the 'Nenjiang' was hit and damaged, it deserves to be commended because it bought time for the arrival of the main force. But Chen Jiansheng never expected that the two ball mill-class light cruisers on the opposite side had already been changed beyond recognition by the Japanese Navy, let alone expected. There will be people who will install 40 610-mm torpedo tubes on warships in one breath, and the lightning fan is three times that of the old ball mill class!

At 1:17 a.m., Chen Jiansheng, who thought he had broken away from the 'torpedo sector', ordered a turn and prepared to deliver the final blow to the 'Ligen'. But at the same time as the two heavy cruisers turned the rudder. Several violent explosions rang out from the port side of the two ships. 610 mm! It can run 20,000 meters at 50 knots! Thunderhead charge 490 kg! The five 'spears', hidden underwater without a trace, hit the Sakhalin Island and Chongming Island in unison.

Many years later, the sailors who participated in this night battle remember the thrilling scene. The Sakhalin, which had eaten three torpedoes, immediately stalled. The bow was cut off in one piece in the explosion, and the seawater cavity effect created by the torpedo pushed the 14,000-ton hull several meters horizontally. The fire spread to the entire deck in an instant. Although Chen Jiansheng and his officers and men tried hard to rescue them, they were too seriously injured and had to be ordered to abandon the ship 20 minutes later, and finally 227 officers and men died with the ship. The Chongming Island, which had eaten two torpedoes, was also heavily damaged, the first torpedo hit the forward boiler room, losing half of its power, and the second torpedo hit the stern, causing serious damage to the engine room and spindle, and had to withdraw from the battle immediately.

The successive losses of the two heavy cruisers plunged the 128-drive patrol formation, which was originally in an advantageous position, into a bitter battle for a moment. If it weren't for a bold captain and a whimsical signal, I'm afraid the whole formation would have been finished!

Just when the 'Chongmingdao' sent out a light signal to leave the battle circle, but the Japanese 'Tone' cheered and shook the sky to celebrate her escape from death, the Chinese Navy's destroyer 'Danxiashan' that came up from its right rear suddenly lit up its mast and repeatedly played a series of strange lanterns: "Don't shoot at friendly ships again."

At this time, the attention of Kurita Keno and the 'Tone' was all on the two Taiwan-class heavy patrols and the frontal assault of the 'Suifenhe' light patrols. You must know that due to the short visual distance of the night chaos, it is easy to be injured by mistake, so after the Japanese signal corps reported to the bridge, the "Captain Tone" thought it was really his own warship and asked for verification.

Due to the dense artillery fire and heavy smoke at that time, and the sea conditions were also poor, the Japanese Navy's 'cat's eye' did not immediately distinguish it, but as the distance got closer, the officers and sailors of the 'Danxia Mountain' began to get nervous. Only Major An Jiasheng rubbed his hands excitedly: "Searchlight ready!" Aim at the mast and deck observation post, torpedo unlock and turn on the lights! ”

In a loud roar, the two high-power searchlights on the 'Danxia Mountain' were like two sharp needle punctures, piercing those Japanese 'cat's eyes' with tears. Everyone knows that under strong light, it is very difficult to distinguish the light source by sight, and the 'cat's eyes' on the Ligon were pierced by two strong lights, and the target was more and more difficult to distinguish. At this time, the 'Danxia Mountain' was still pretending to be innocent and desperately sending light signals.

"Don't shoot at friendly ships anymore, don't shoot at friendly ships anymore."

It wasn't until the Danxia Mountain rushed to the port side of the Ligon at a speed of 33 knots that the huge chimney alone made the eyelids of the cat's eyes jump wildly. But it's too late for anything! At the age of 29, Naval Lieutenant An Jiasheng, who had the ancient style of the Age of Discovery, drew his saber like a madman, rushed onto the deck, and was so straight and straight exposed to the muzzle of a heavy cruiser, with all his strength, the tip of the knife pointed, and shouted the order: "Fire at full speed!" Avenge the flagship! Torpedo! Hit out, all out! "Three twin 120mm rapid-fire guns, pulling a long, dark red line of fire, frantically 'cleaned' the deck of the Regen, and even the 40mm rapid-fire guns fired fiercely at everything from the bridge to the mast. The eight torpedo tubes on the amidships of the hull were all fired in five seconds.

Eight 550-mm Yu-5 thermodynamic torpedoes, also at a high speed of 50 knots, rushed to the Japanese heavy cruisers, which were seriously flooded, and were beaten by two Taiwan-class heavy cruisers to only 19 knots. At such a close distance, even the Tone, in its heyday, would not be able to dodge. The most dazzling and most ** scene of the night battle in Keirama appeared! I saw that the 'Tone' seemed to have sailed into a terrible hurricane, and as if there was a Poseidon giant standing next to it, it was constantly pushed southward by a thick column of water up to 100 meters high from the port side, and the huge steel hull was constantly tilted-flattened-skewed again.

The explosion occurred first in the bow of the ship, and then the No. 1 and No. 2 turrets detonated, and hundreds of 203-mm high-explosive shells that were originally used to shell Kume Island exploded at the same time, and the two turrets of several hundred tons were lifted to a height of tens of meters by the shock wave. The explosion quickly spread to the ship island and the aft deck, and the 93 'Spear' oxygen torpedoes, oxygen engines, gas tanks, transport boats, turrets at the back, and boiler rooms at the bottom were in the amidships. It flowed from bow to stern as if it were wrapped in fire. In the end, after a few continuous squeaks, the warship broke one by one.

This tragic explosion really frightened the sailors on both sides, so much so that everyone didn't even notice that the two Wuhan-class heavy cruisers and two Yangtze River-class light cruisers of the 126 drive patrol formation had appeared 12 kilometers away.

"Fire!" The heavy loss of his friend and classmate Chen Jiansheng made the short and fat Yang Zhikai angry. He was not as cautious as his old classmates, and directly ordered the four cruisers to close to 10,000 meters to attack. 18 210 and 24 155-mm naval guns, all aimed at the most threatening Ojing and Kitakami. Poor Kishi Fuji didn't think about artillery battles at all, especially in the face of the new 10,000-ton light cruiser with 12 155-mm naval guns and 84 shells per minute, in less than a few minutes, the torpedo launcher armor cover on the deck of the Oi was continuously penetrated, and the torpedoes exploded one after another. The Kitakami was even worse, it didn't eat a single shell, but because it was too bumpy during high-speed maneuvering, the mine body of the 93 'Spear' oxygen torpedo, which was already filled with liquid oxygen, exploded after mixing fuel and liquid oxygen. In the end, the destroyer Moganshan saw the opportunity and rushed to the starboard side where the torpedoes had been emptied, and fired four torpedoes at it in a row...... (To be continued......)