Today, I will accompany my wife to take the exam, only one more chapter, and I hope you will forgive me!

"Torpedo found on the starboard side of the sea, three thousand yards away......"

A long warning comes from a full-time lookout at the lookout post, a job that is increasingly being replaced by radar and sonar, and the assigned personnel are usually people with excellent natural eyesight, sufficient concentration, and high-magnification binoculars, who tend to be more convincing in their observations.

Three thousand yards from starboard, the officer hurriedly looked at it in the corresponding direction and distance, and it was clearly on the other side of the giant mail ship, that is, the group of American GIs on the deck was paying attention precisely in the opposite direction. He frowned helplessly, and the words in his mouth were uttered: "May God forgive these simple and dull people...... Let's hope they still have time to jump ship and escape, and hopefully there won't be a fatal explosion......"

Unlike artillery shells, torpedoes usually travel underwater at a speed of about 40 knots, which means that it takes about a minute to cover a distance of a thousand meters (and a little more than a second for a shell). A maneuverable and nimble ship often has ample time to evade by turning in the event of early warning, which is one of the reasons why it is difficult for submarines to sink destroyers and frigates. Under the direct command of the captain and his right-hand men, the light cruiser, which had gradually increased its speed to 30 knots, made a swift right turn in an elegant attitude that almost flicked its tail, thus forming a position basically perpendicular to the mail ship, and if the two continued to maintain their respective courses, the light cruiser would pass in front of the other ship's bow. Just as the turn was completed, the six main guns in the front of the light cruiser suddenly made a deafening roar, this was their first time in this sea area, the thick smoke of gunpowder still swirled around the muzzle position, and the 6-inch high-explosive shell had already roared down to the front right position of the "Europa", stirring up a huge column of water on the rippling blue sea, which was extremely discordant with the surrounding environment, and the height they rose was surprising, but after all, it still did not exceed the chimney mouth of the giant mail ship. However, this sudden sound of artillery woke up the US officers and soldiers who were obsessed with erroneous guidance. At this time, you can see the American personnel in various uniforms running to the other side of the deck with their respective weapons, standing on the high side of the ship, they should easily spot the torpedoes looming under the surface of the sea and the tracks left behind, but the time left for them to save themselves is very limited.

"Damn, damn it! It's been less than a year since another world war......"

On the light cruiser, which had just let out the roar of heavy artillery, a non-commissioned officer in a crisp white naval uniform took turns holding the railing with both hands to avoid being thrown out during the ship's rapid turn, and he was followed by a trembling young sailor who followed the non-commissioned officer to the bridge in roughly the same position. Since the torpedo attack, the fierce gunfire on the ship has been incessant, and even the triple 6-inch main gun has been added, and the breath of war has returned. But after six long years of suffering, except for a few madmen who clamored for the elimination of the red threat, most of them longed for a period of peace long enough to endure the pain of war for the rest of their lives.

Finally getting up to the bridge, the non-commissioned officer habitually took off his military cap and reported to the officers who were concentrating on the sea in front of him: "Sir, we have a young man who understands Russian, and he saw some white letters written on the torpedo. ”

The young sailor stood anxiously in front of the captain, first mate, and staff officer, and waited timidly for them to speak.

The white-bearded British captain asked in a low lion-like voice, "What?" ”

"Hooray." The young sailor replied in a whisper.

Hearing such sensitive words, the captain's eyes widened, and he raised his voice and said, "What? ”

The young sailor was startled, realizing that all eyes were on him, and he carefully explained: "I saw Russian on the torpedo...... It's '[***] Long live'! ”

Before the words fell, a loud bang came from this point, as if to reflect the last slogan of the young sailor. One was cautious, the other was like thunder, and these two successive sounds unconsciously produced a heart-shaking effect, and the British naval officers and men present were taken aback for an instant, regardless of their experience.

"I'm afraid this means that the war has broken out again!" The Navy non-commissioned officer who came with a young sailor to report was not necessarily a bad man, and according to the psychological subdivision, this state of mind may be a long-term fear of war, full of hostility and fear.

Looking at a huge white splash of water mixed with gray-black gunsmoke rising rapidly from the right side of the mail ship, the white-bearded British captain slowly took off his military hat as if paying tribute to his dead comrades, crossed his forehead and chest with his right hand, and said: "May God bless the British Empire!" ”

Several of the officers standing around him prayed in much the same way.

"Everyone!" Captain Whitebeard said in a mournful tone, "Although we long for peace, at this moment, we are once again being challenged by a powerful enemy. I believe that everyone is well aware of the situation we are in, the enemy's weapons are more advanced than we think, and it is very bad that we do not have specialized anti-submarine sonar and depth charges, we can only fight the enemy with our own wisdom and courage. Now I command...... Correspondence officer, immediately to London, to the whole world, the British cruiser "Newcastle" and the French mail ship "Europa" are in the north-central Pacific Ocean...... At 48 degrees 41 north latitude and 27 degrees 72 west longitude, it was attacked by a number of Soviet submarines, and the "Europa" was hit by two torpedoes one after another......, and the situation was very critical.

This is a proud statement, but it would be too rash to draw conclusions based on the sight of a young sailor. Judging from the demeanor of the officers present, it is obvious that some people have a more rational and prudent view, but perhaps out of respect for the commander, or perhaps they feel that this is not equivalent to a direct declaration of war, and the dignitaries of various countries still have room for mediation and negotiation through diplomatic occasions, they did not oppose it in person, but let the communications officer send this clear code telegram that was about to shock the world.

On the deck of the cruiser and on the various battle gun emplacements, ordinary British [***] officers and sailors were also full of astonishment at what they were looking at. From different directions and angles, it was easy to tell that the two batches of torpedoes came from two different submarines, and what made them nervous and tormented was that these torpedoes were more stealthy and faster than the conventional torpedoes used by the German Navy during the war, like a jungle wolf turned into a jaguar, with similar body attack power, and the latter had an absolute advantage in speed and skill.

"Look, God...... A torpedo slipped through the bow of its ship! ”

The alarm from the lookout post pulled the officers and men back to reality from their stunned state, and the slightly slackened artillery fire quickly resumed its intensity. In the line of sight, sure enough, there was an object that looked like a sea fish swept over the front of the giant mail ship and swam towards this side, the refraction of the sea water and the influence of sunlight made it difficult for people to judge the precise location of this thing, the rain of bullets poured by the guns on the ship caused a chaotic splash on the huge sea surface, those shells with time-delay fuses exploded in the sea water at different depths, but the violent explosion caused by the detonation of the torpedo did not arrive for a long time, seeing the attack weapon of underwater diving quickly approaching, The cruiser, which was sailing at high speed, turned around amid the sound of sirens that resounded throughout the ship. The sharp bow of the ship was deflected to the left at an unimaginable speed, and almost with this shift, the hull also showed a very obvious left tilt, which was fully reflected by the towering mast. With this racing-like veer-like turn, the cruiser completely reversed its previous course in less than half a minute. A speed of 30 knots means a displacement of 15.4 meters per second, which means that the 180-meter-long battleship only needs 11 seconds to complete a full body displacement, so this half minute is more than enough to avoid the torpedoes coming in the forward direction. When the terrible black explosive flew past the rear of the cruiser at a speed faster than the cruiser itself, the officers and men on board sighed and cheered. At this point, someone wanted to see if the torpedo was actually scrawled in Russian as the rumors were spreading so quickly, but not everyone had the opportunity to see it up close.

Unsure of how many torpedoes were fired by the attackers, the British officers in command of the light cruisers did not dare to be careless – although more than thirty years had passed, the German submarine U-9's astonishing record of sinking three British armored cruisers in 75 minutes in 1914 still serves as a wake-up call to every captain of the Royal Navy. For the huge cruise ship flying the French tricolor flag and suddenly accelerating to capsize, the British light cruiser, which was "accompanied" rather than "escorted", did not come up to the rescue, but followed the turn that had just been evaded and headed eastward, only to turn back again after a quarter of an hour, and took a Z-shaped route on the sea that could more effectively avoid torpedo attacks. During these 15 minutes, the speed of the huge "Europa" slowed down significantly, and although there were no open flames on its hull and upper deck, there was an unusually thick black smoke from the chimney, which meant that its internal compartment was on fire and even worse. As no terrible torpedoes were observed on the surface of the sea, the British officers and men on the cruiser watched vigilantly at the surrounding waters, and at the same time looked at the slower and slower ship with different attitudes, which at this moment was like an iceberg that could only go with the flow, and the thick and towering chimney had tilted about 10 degrees to the left, and the hull on the right side had become a steep slope, but the first torpedo attack was still not exposed above the water.

On the open observation deck of the bridge were the middle and senior officers of the "Newcastle", and the telegram that might bring about the result of the explosion had been sent, and no response had been received for the time being, and most of the officers were sad and frowned. Although today's Soviet Navy does not have the headache of the Bismarck-class battleships, nor does it have the scale of the sea wolves of the heyday of the Third Reich, the maritime conflicts that have occurred between European countries for hundreds of years are different from the aggression against backward countries, they are often evenly matched and thrilling, and even the British Royal Navy, which has gradually reached the peak of hegemony through successive victories, has paid a heavy price for victory again and again. Throughout history, few leaders have been willing to start another war immediately after a war that has cost a lot of energy, and the tiredness and fatigue of the mentality has also affected the commanders on the front lines. They are not afraid of the challenge of a strong enemy, but they hate the painful process of war, and they do not want to bear the grief of losing colleagues, friends, and relatives over and over again.

"Oops!"

The white-gloved and binocular-mounted staff officer of the ship lamented in amazement, following the prestige, smoke rose from the deck of the huge "Europa" amidships, and occasionally red flames burst out of the hatch, and those American GIs in military uniforms did not suffer heavy losses when the torpedo exploded, and had barely maintained order before, but now under the stimulation of thick smoke and fire, chaos gradually appeared on the deck. The lifeboat hanging on the side of the ship was originally a lifesaver in the eyes of people, since the sinking of the British cruise ship "Titanic", the passenger ship must be equipped with enough lifeboats for all passengers according to the regulations, and now the "Europa" is far from reaching the full number of passengers, and the number of lifeboats has not been reduced before the voyage, so it is said that there is no shortage of ships. However, just after eating the second torpedo, its capsizing and sinking speed increased considerably. The untrained American GIs were so busy with the seemingly simple procedure of lowering the lifeboats that many of the lifeboats were already plunged into the water headlong down, and the order to abandon ship was not issued in a timely manner, and the crew members who had been evacuated from the lower cabins also joined the ranks of releasing the lifeboats and leaving the ship to escape.

Captain Whitebeard's face was still heavy at this time, but his thinking did not become sluggish and clumsy, he picked up the telescope to observe the situation on the giant mail ship, and he coldly ordered: "Slow down, keep a distance of ten thousand yards from it, the ship's guns are on alert, and the radar and sonar are in operation." ”

The staff officer felt that he had guessed the captain's intentions, and he reminded him: "The enemy did not use periscopes during the attack, presumably using a sensitive sonar system, and they must have been able to detect our presence, presumably just cruising nearby, and not surprisingly surfacing to the surface." ”

Captain Whitebeard looked at the sea without changing his face, and after a while he answered the words of the staff officer: "I am waiting for the enemy to officially fire torpedoes at us, if so, I can be sure that they are clearly hostile to the British Empire." If not, the previous danger might have made it possible to understand the mistaken attack on the French ships. ”

This sounded quite profound, and the staff officer, who was much younger than the captain, pondered for a long time and sighed: "The enemy must not fire torpedoes at us." ”

Captain Whitebeard didn't know if he could do it, but stood quietly on the edge of the railing, exposing himself to the direct sunlight. At this time, the sky was still blue, the sun was still so clean, there were no guns and explosions, and the sea seemed to be calm and peaceful again. The breeze blows against the waves, the waves crash against the hull, and for a moment the gaze is fixed on the tendency of the huge mountain of cruise ships to sink less obviously, and even makes people think that it will float down, and the smoke and flames on the deck only rise silently. More than ten kilometers away, all the panicked, frightened, and angry shouts were cut off in the distance...... Seeing that there were people waving colorful flags on the top of the superstructure of the "Europa", the British Navy's communications officer reported to the captain of the ship in a matter-of-fact manner: "Sir, they have sent a signal that we can come up and rescue as soon as possible." ”

Finally returning to his normal demeanor, Captain Whitebeard couldn't help but frown slightly. In his heart, he has no essential resistance to Americans and French, and he does not belong to the kind of cold-blooded monster with a hard heart. As a member of the glorious British Royal Navy, he experienced two world wars and knew all the true offensive and destructive power of the seemingly inconspicuous weapon of the submarine. Although the sea in front of you looks calm, there is a sinister murderous motive hidden beneath the surface. If the Newcastle had been commanded to come to the rescue, it would have been possible to hit the enemy's muzzle at a thousand yards or less, even if it had not slowed down and been vigilant, and would have been subjected to a volley of torpedoes from the enemy at a distance of 1,000 yards or less, which was barely enough to avoid the attack. You must know that half an hour has passed since the end of the last torpedo attack of the opponent, and even if it is an old conventional submarine, this time is enough time for the crew to reload two or more torpedoes. During the war, the Soviet submarine forces were mediocre for most of the time, and their technology, numbers, and strategic location limited their performance, but at the end of the war, especially when the Germans launched a large-scale naval retreat, Soviet submarine commanders broke out. In those days when the north wind was howling, they sank ships carrying a large number of Germans one after another, causing one of the worst shipwrecks in history. At that time, more than 20,000 tons of luxury cruise ship "William. The "Gustloff" was carrying more than 10,000 German refugees and wounded military personnel and medical personnel evacuated. That night, the Soviet Navy submarine C-13 fired three torpedoes from 900 meters away, all of them hit the tragic cruise ship, causing 9,343 deaths, the C-13 submarine was awarded the Order of the Red Banner, the highest medal of the Soviet Navy, and the captain Malinesco was awarded the title of "Hero of the Soviet Union", and the corresponding German [***] people who reached six times the number of victims of the "Titanic" sank into the ice.

Due to the avoidance of the Soviet and German sides, "Wilhelm. The Gustloff incident was not known to outsiders at this time, but the fact that the Soviet Navy was able to find German equipment that they could find, including all kinds of unfinished and even self-sunken ships, attracted widespread attention in the Western Allies. The whitebearded British captain quickly instructed the communications officer: "Signal back: we must alert the enemy to attack again, and will send transport boats and lifeboats to the rescue." ”

Experienced officers know what this rescue can do, but as long as the selfish desires of the country and the nation exist, the world will not be able to get rid of such coldness......

(To be continued)