March 4, 1947, Norfolk Military Harbor, East Coast of the United States.

Dusk, the remnant sun, and the blood-red light reflected the sky, and this scene always made the newcomers admire and the veterans feel nostalgic. The vast ocean is full of challenges and hopes, and it is also a place for countless heroic souls to return.

Approaching the end of work, Pier 4 is still in full swing. Stevedores hired by the U.S. Navy were hoisting all sorts of cargo onto the heavy cruiser at anchor near the docks, baskets of fresh vegetables and fruits, bags of flour and potatoes, crates of candy and wine, and, of course, guns and ammunition to make these war machines lethal.

"Be careful, these are dangerous goods!"

A group of American ** officers in white sè naval uniforms stood on the dock and watched the workers hang the huge cylinders one by one to the warship, there are two of these big guys covered with canvas outside, which are hard and heavy metal objects to the touch, and there is no text mark on the cloth, each of them is more than one person tall, and the horizontal width is so wide that adults can't wrap their arms around, and the hook design on their top makes it possible for the crane to lift them one after another very steadily. It's just that from the time they left the ground to the time they landed safely, the officers stared almost intently, as if they were afraid that there was some magician hiding in the vicinity, and that the goods would be dropped if they didn't pay attention. In addition, some workers also noticed that the security around the wharf was extremely tight today, the number of guard posts had more than doubled, there were rare armored vehicles at the intersection, and not a single plane had appeared over the port for most of the day.

"The last one!"

The foreman's high-pitched shout lifted the spirits of the workers who were rushing to leave work, and the naval officers present were finally relieved to see the last metal cylinder hoisted safely onto the large, slender warship next to the dock.

The stevedores on the docks began to disperse, but the front and rear decks of the warship were still full of busy figures, because they did not have special cargo holds like cargo ships. Sailors need to move these supplies to specific locations – food depots, freezer compartments, sanitary compartments, ammunition depots, and other spare compartments. The large canvas-covered cylinders were placed directly between the main chimney and the auxiliary bridge on the deck, where the transport boats and lifeboats were originally kept, and they were divided into two sides on one side, each held in place by wrist-thick steel cables, so that even the hurricane that capsized the warship could not separate them.

On the open bridge above the armored conning tower, two senior Navy officers of similar age silently watched the busy scene on the ship, one of them was a slightly shorter, round-faced and thick-eyebrowed wearing the epaulettes of a U.S. Rear Admiral. Taller, wide-faced, and wears a Navy Colonel's accessories.

Turning his head to look at the scattered workers, the rear admiral said slowly: "I hope it will be a peaceful voyage!" ”

The Colonel's gaze also followed the backs of the workers, some of whom looked back from time to time, but could not tell whether it was curiosity or peeping, or perhaps both.

"With the established route and speed. They will arrive in France the following Monday, and in such a short period of time, even if the enemy learns that there is a plan, it will not have time to deploy. The colonel's words were half analysis, half relief, if the enemy had already deployed his forces and waited for a suitable opportunity, then a few hours would be enough to complete the deadliest deployment.

The heavy expression of the rear admiral reluctantly accepted the inference of his companion. Then he asked affirmatively, "You can be ready by 8 o'clock!" ”

The colonel looked at his watch. Answer: "The order is to be ready before 7:30, and now at 6:40, the main cargo is in place, and there will be no problem with setting sail at 8 o'clock." ”

The rear admiral then turned his gaze to the bow, where four new-looking destroyers were moored end to end next to each other by the adjacent dock. A pier further to the west, there was also a very beautiful-looking light cruiser moored. They also have the Star-Spangled Banner of the United States floating on their masts.

He stood silently for nearly twenty minutes, until the workers had completely dispersed. There were no ordinary workers on the wharf, and the rear admiral spoke: "Signal to send flags: set sail at 8 o'clock and leave the port in the established escort formation." ”

The admiral did not hesitate to convey the order, and then asked the fleet commander, who was not very emotional: "How about getting dinner done before we set sail?" ”

"I don't have much appetite." The rear admiral replied, "I'll eat something light today." ”…,

"The main course is your favorite roasted foie gras with asparagus, and you won't be able to eat fresh foie gras without land." The admiral said as he walked that they could not notice that someone was spying on the flag signal from the heavy cruiser with optical equipment several kilometers away, and that it would not be long before the information about the time of their fleet's departure would be transmitted to the submarines lurking in the eastern waters of the United States, who were not the Soviet attackers that the United States feared, but the Great German Reich powers, which were more adept at sea raids.

When the sailors were still busy outside, the kitchen of the heavy cruiser's dining room was already full of aroma, and when the two chief officers and the White House envoy, the chief of staff of the fleet, the chief of staff of the flagship, and the accompanying engineer arrived, a fresh and fragrant dish was immediately served on the table, and these American ** officers in white naval uniforms chatted while eating. From the moment all the cargo was put on board, the officers and men were not allowed to leave the ship, and outsiders were also forbidden to board the ship, and the relatively closed environment also allowed them to completely open up the conversation.

"Dr. Mante, how many tons of TNT are these big guys mighty...... I heard that it is measured in 10,000 tons? The first mate asked curiously.

Dr. Mante, a nuclear weapons engineer who accompanied him, was not an old man with glasses, but a middle-aged man in his forties with a sturdy physique, who was accompanied by an emergency technical team to ensure the safety of special cargo and eliminate possible accidents during the voyage.

"Well, their initiation technology has been further improved, so the same material is much more powerful than the earlier ones that were smashed on the heads of the Japanese, and it is estimated that they can reach 50,000 tons."

"50,000 tons each? Oh my God, if they exploded at the same time, it would be enough to wipe Norfolk and New York City off the map! The Chief of Staff of the Fleet, Han Tening, blurted out a statement of surprise, and only after saying it did he realize that it was out of place.

At this time, the White House envoy, who is neither a diplomat nor a representative of the government garrison, spoke: "Don't worry, they're like cannonballs." It only explodes when the fuse is installed and triggered correctly, and it doesn't hurt if you take a hammer and hit it hard, am I right, Dr. Mante? ”

"That's right." Dr. Mante replied, "They are even safer than stockpiled shells, because enemy shells can't make them either." Moreover, I have heard that the probability of encountering Soviet ships in the Atlantic Ocean is close to zero. ”

"Yes, almost zero." The special White House envoy smiled and took the ball he had just kicked out, "The mighty Allied navies have sealed the poor little navy of the Soviets in their harbors, and they are not as good at submarines as the Germans." ”

"Be careful in everything!" Captain Anglo did not mean to defend his subordinates, but rather to what the White House envoy had just said was "close to zero" — that it was impolite and unauthoritative for non-Navy personnel to take a position on the Navy's expertise. This can easily mislead others unnecessarily.

"That's what the Colonel said!" The White House envoy hurriedly responded, and in order to divert the topic, he kicked the ball to the doctor: "It's okay because of the violent shaking caused by the wind and waves!" ”

"The 'fat man' and 'little boy' who bombed Japan were sent by sea from the mainland to the bases in the western Pacific, and that voyage was even longer, and Japanese submarines were still very active at that time...... Don't worry. Under normal circumstances, there is no problem. Dr. Mante replied with confidence.

"Mr. Leghall!" The commander of the fleet, Admiral Jetlika, pointed to the Daimyo of the White House envoy and said. "As far as I know, the Army has used B-29s to deliver these terrible Pandora boxes from the mainland to Europe before, why did you go to the Navy this time, didn't it take more time and risk on the road?"

"That's an interesting question, and I'd love to know the answer." The White House envoy, who looked to be in his mid-forties and had a sleek-looking appearance, shrugged his shoulders and said he really couldn't do anything about it.

"Maybe it's because this season isn't very suitable for long-distance transatlantic flights. Security is not high. Dr. Mante gave his personal opinion in a somewhat over-the-top manner.

"To tell the truth, a plane transports a big bomb. Even if there is an accident, we will lose more than a dozen crew members, and there are more than 2,000 people up and down in a fleet like ours. If such an unfortunate situation really happens, boom! It's all hanging! The general's expression when he spoke was so serious that only the White House envoy pretended to take it as dry humor. …,

"Hopefully this is the last time, what do you say, Mr. Leghall?" Colonel Angelo said in unison.

The White House envoy awkwardly replied, "Ugh...... I hope so...... Hehe! ”

After dinner, the officers went to their posts, and Dr. Mante was going to the ship's side to check out the "big killers", and the White House envoy was following his ass. At 8 o'clock sharp, the mast of the Baltimore-class heavy cruiser raised the rear admiral's flag and the fleet commander's flag, and the fleet composed of one heavy cruiser, one light cruiser, and four destroyers officially formed a formation action, and then the light cruiser was in front, the heavy cruiser was in the center, the destroyer was tailing, and the six warships slowly sailed away from Norfolk Military Harbor under the escort of barges and pilot ships. The Navy and Coast Guard have been on high alert in the vicinity for nearly a year, but since the war with the Soviet Union, foreign submarines have often appeared in the waters off the coast of the United States, and photos of Soviet-flagged submarines spotted in the waters off Bōston have caused widespread panic. After leaving, the U.S. fleet turned off its signal lights, and soon disappeared into the night, accompanied by the sound of the fading waves.

Four hours later, the U.S. fleet, sailing at 20 knots to Europe, was eighty nautical miles away from its home port in Norfolk, and the sea was calm and calm, and the ship's radar screen echoed the full bō pattern, which meant that there was nothing near the sea, and everything seemed to be quietly proceeding as the top brass had envisioned. At the lookout posts and combat duty positions of the ships, the officers and men of the US Navy wearing white uniforms still paid close attention to the situation on the sea.

The hour hand went from 10 to the minute hand and quickly reached the 30 position, and just as the senior officers were on their last patrol of the day, a panicked figure suddenly burst out of the radar control room of the flagship "Bōston", and the communications officer quickly found the fleet commander and captain who had reached the stern. Breathlessly reported: "Found ...... Pulse radar bō...... The bō is about ...... long 50 cm ......"

Upon hearing this, General Jetlika and Colonel Angelo immediately looked at each other, but their first reaction was not to sound the battle alarm, nor to speculate whether the encounter was accidental or an internal leak, but to determine the opponent's position as soon as possible and then increase the speed to avoid the danger zone, leaving the difficult underwater attackers far behind.

The group hurried back to the battle bridge. A follow-up report also came from the radar control room: "The source of the L-pulse bō is located at 32 degrees north-east at a distance of about 40 nautical miles. ”

Immediately afterwards, the radio department intercepted a communication telegram transmitted at close range, the contents of which could not be deciphered.

A few minutes later, the "Bōston" issued a "Discovery of enemy submarines in the northeast, each ship speeding up to 28 knots." 30 degrees south-east", and reported the sudden situation and the fleet's course adjustment to the command at the Norfolk base.

Every ten minutes or so, the ship's detection instruments were still able to detect the presence of pulsed radar bō, and the source of the bō was slowly moving southward, even at the submarine's maximum surface speed. At this time, it is impossible to intercept this American fleet. With the passage of time. Every officer and soldier in the fleet had no intention of sleeping, and the officers and sailors on the four destroyers were particularly nervous, and the guns and deep-shell combat positions were all on alert; because the sensitivity of the sonar of the ships was greatly affected at high speed, and the radar could not determine the targets under the water, many sailors spontaneously strengthened to the lookout and warning posts. In order to detect the incoming submarine as soon as possible at the moment of attack.

The property has passed, and the hún siren of "torpedo found" has not yet been heard. The source of the pulsed radar bō in reverse calculation was also gradually thrown behind, once it exceeded 30 nautical miles. Submarine radars will struggle to perform surface detection unless their adversaries significantly improve their existing technologies.

"General, you go and rest first, I will hold on here, and if there is an emergency, I will send someone to wake you up."

On the battle bridge of the "Bōston", Colonel Angelo offered to take a replacement.

In this case, General Jetlica should have accepted this advice, and his first reaction was indeed so, but before he could leave the battle bridge, the radar control room found a second set of pulsed radar bō reports in front of him, and he was completely sleepy. …,

"Damn it, that guy informed his accomplices about the change in our position, and now the Soviet submarines in the Atlantic are probably converging on us!" The general frowned and analyzed.

"The fleets in the Atlantic are coming and going, so why are they eyeing us?" Angelo's own question, he quickly found out the answer - "They know we're carrying ......"

The general sighed heavily, and the fears he had since receiving the order finally became a reality, and he immediately called Dr. Mante and the White House envoy: "We are being targeted by the enemy, and it is estimated that there are many submarines waiting for us ahead!" ”

"It's so serious?" The White House envoy was surprised that Dr. Mant did not have any opinion or advice in this case.

"I have reported the situation to the Naval Operations Department, and the plan cannot be carried out." General Jetlika's tone was unmistakable, even though he didn't even see the shadow of the enemy at this point, and the burden of eight atomic bombs made him make a quick decision - he didn't care much about whether he would become the laughing stock of his colleagues in the future because he was frightened by the two sets of pulse radars and turned back.

"I have no opinion if the Naval Operations Department orders the fleet to return immediately, but if the War Department gives you the authority to adjudicate the battle, I advise you to carefully consider the risks associated with advancing and retreating." The White House envoy said without compulsion.

"What do you mean?" General Jetlica asked, a little annoyed.

The White House envoy said quickly: "I don't know if you have ever wondered if the enemy determines that this fleet has nuclear weapons and uses radar to determine our location, whether it will take all kinds of corresponding plans - including our U-turn and return to Norfolk!" ”

"Then let's go to Bōston! Go to Philadelphia! Even if you go to Florida! "Admiral Jetlica was clearly determined to turn the fleet around—the only thing that could stop him was the orders of the Naval Operations Department.

"Back to the East Coast ports of the United States with two atomic bombs? Then you just fell into the hands of the enemy! The White House envoy shook his head vigorously.

General Jetlica retorted: "What about going back to America with them?" As soon as we arrived in port, we unloaded the warships and sealed them in a safe place, didn't Dr. Mante say that the shells could not be detonated by exploding? ”

"You can't have an ordinary shell, but what if it's an atomic bomb? Even if it's the smallest equivalent! The White House envoy turned to Dr. Mante, and General Jetlika and Angelo, who had not ventured into the battle of words, also set their sights on Dr. Mante.

The Doctor, who had been calm since boarding the ship, had his eyes widened by this time, and he replied tremblingly, "The atomic bomb detonated the atomic bomb...... God, this will indeed wipe out the ports we dock into, and no one within a radius of hundreds of kilometers will survive! ”

General Jetlika was startled and nearly stumbled, then turned to look at Angelo, and reluctantly at the White House envoy.

The envoy gritted his teeth and said, word by word: "Either we return at the risk of causing disaster and damage to the east coast of the United States, or we can use our speed to avoid enemy interception, and the worst case scenario is that we will all be buried at the bottom of the Atlantic, or we will bring disaster to Europe." ”

General Jetlica hesitated, which way was not what he wanted.