In order to deal with the threat of the huge submarine fleet of the Chinese Navy in the future, the Admiralty of the Chinese Empire, in response to the instructions of Emperor Wang Chenhao, vigorously carried out the research and development and testing of antisubmarine equipment, and actively promoted the construction of antisubmarine forces to deal with the threat of the submarine fleet of the Chinese Navy.

In accordance with the special instructions of the Emperor, the Admiralty of the Chinese Empire directly deployed anti-submarine weapons on the two carriers of hunting ships and seaplanes, which saved the Imperial Chinese Navy from many scientific research mistakes and detours.

To this end, the Naval Engineering Administration has carried out a large-scale modification of a hunting destroyer DD203 under construction to enable it to meet the requirements of anti-submarine warfare.

After the DD203 destroyer has completed the refit, its overall combat surname is completely different from that of the Mistral-class hunting ship.

The Admiralty classified it as Osprey. DD203 also became the lead ship of the Osprey class.

The Osprey-class hunting ship has a standard displacement of 1,105 tons, a full load displacement of 1,257 tons, a size of 93×8.4×3.2 meters, and is equipped with the latest oil-fired boilers and Parsons steam turbine units, with an output indication power of 30,000 horsepower, making the speed of this class of hunting ships reach 36 knots.

The original standard armament was a single 127 mm rapid-fire gun in the bow, a twin 102 mm rapid-fire gun, and two main guns in a knapsack turret. On the port side there is a twin 47 mm rapid-fire gun, two twin 21-inch torpedo tubes, and a twin 102 mm rapid-fire gun in the stern with a crew of 72 people.

After the anti-submarine modification, the twin 102 main guns in the stern were removed and replaced with two sets of anti-submarine depth charge catapults, carrying 80 anti-submarine bombs.

The anti-submarine bomb is a special weapon developed by the General Administration of Naval Engineering to deal with submarines, and its principle is to rely on pressure, magnetic surname or sound induction to detonate hundreds of pounds of explosives. The advantage is that the explosion of the swarm is so powerful that it can cause damage even if it does not directly hit the target. The disadvantage is that the anti-submarine personnel need to estimate the depth at which the submarine is located, and the depth can be detonated only after the depth is calibrated. If the submarine is at a depth of 60 and the depth charge is detonated only 30 meters, then the impact on the submarine is much weaker.

After the anti-submarine weapons are determined, another task is to detect and discover the equipment of the submarine.

A sonar system consists of a combination of multiple sound detector arrays. Because the conduction rate of sound in water is slower than that of electromagnetic waves in the air, a complete sonar system must have a 360-degree sound bar, and the sound energy is emitted by a total electrical energy sonic energy converter, and all hydrophones receive echoes at the same time.

The directional sensitivity of the sonar can be increased by increasing the number of drums in the soundbar and the soundbar, and the distance and arrangement between the drums depends on the frequency of the sonar. Low-frequency sonar can be used for long-distance searches, but the recognition ability is poor, and the drum volume is also large. On the contrary, high-frequency users have strong recognition ability, small drum size, but short detection distance. If you increase the power of the energy converter, you can increase the detection distance, but it will cause a cavitation effect that prevents the sound from being transmitted in the water.

The sonar developed by the Chinese Empire was still in its infancy, and sonar was a collective array composed of the earliest hydrophones and sound drums invented in Europe and the United States. A hydrophone is the simplest type of sound detector that can pick up sounds from all directions, but it can't tell where they're coming from, and they can't measure the distance of the sound source. If several hydrophones are arranged in a line, barrel or other regular array, the direction of the sound source can be determined according to the time difference between the hydrophones receiving the same sound at different locations.

A drum is the simplest active sound detector and an energy converter that converts electrical energy into sound waves and vice versa. If it is energically excited, it releases acoustic energy (i.e., sound waves) and then shuts down, acting as a hydrophone. If the emitted sound waves hit an obstacle (e.g. a submarine), they will be reflected back and received by the drum. Although the drum does not indicate the direction of an obstacle, the distance to an obstacle can be calculated based on the time difference between the emission and reception of sound waves. If several drums are combined in some kind of array, the direction of the obstacle can be determined by the time difference between the drums in different positions receiving the sound.

Since the Imperial Chinese Navy has been equipped with sonar arrays since the beginning of the promotion of submarines, the General Administration of Naval Engineering installed the newly developed sonar array on the DD203, which is located under the hull.

However, during the test, the noise generated by the flow of water through the hull will mask the intended sound, especially at high speeds, and secondly, the noise generated by the mechanical operation of the ship itself will also affect its detection sensitivity. Because the sonar system of the Chinese Empire was still in its infancy, its sensitivity and accuracy were insufficient, and without advanced computer support, it could only be judged by the ears and wisdom of sonar soldiers, so it was too difficult to install sonar under the hull.

In order to avoid these shortcomings, the experts of the Imperial Chinese Naval Engineering Administration replaced them with towed sonar. The towing distance of the towing sonar can be quite far away from the ship, so as to greatly reduce the impact of noise in the ship, and its operation will not be affected by the violent movement of the ship. Moreover, after using towed sonar, the sonar does not detect dead ends, making it easier to detect submarines.

After a series of modifications, the DD203 became the first anti-submarine hunting ship of the Imperial Chinese Navy. The Admiralty has been waiting for anti-submarine every day, and it has reached the point where it can't wait, and this is all thanks to Emperor Wang Chenhao's downbeat of the Admiralty, so that the officials of the Admiralty have to pay attention to the tactical subject of anti-submarine.

On November 3, Guanghua 7, the weather was sunny in the waters near the Huludao submarine base in Bohai Bay.

At 2:15 p.m., the DD-203 destroyer was patrolling the predetermined sea area, and the underwater sonar spotted a close Western Han-class submarine Redfish SS-24.

"Azimuth 135, distance 7 nautical miles 6 chains, depth 30 meters, speed 10 knots!" Sonar crews reported that a submarine had been spotted and was rapidly approaching.

Captain Li Hailiang, the commander of the 203 ship, ordered: "Turn on the submarine fleet channel, inform them that they have been discovered by our ship, and let them surface and surrender!" ”

"Sir, isn't our mission to sink it?"

"Bastard! Don't you know what to do without a fight? ”

"Yes! Sir! After being scolded, the signal soldier stopped being wordy, and immediately dialed the submarine fleet channel and demanded that the Redfish float up and surrender.

Captain Huang Xing, the captain of the Red Fish, heard the "persuasion" from the walkie-talkie, and couldn't help but snort coldly and said, "Take care of them!" Left rudder 15, combat speed, bow torpedo two ready for two! ”

"Yes! Left rudder 15! ”

"The speed limit has reached 10 knots!"

"Bow torpedoes No. 1 and No. 2 are ready!"

Huang Xing swore and said: "Want to be anti-submarine? Lao Tzu directly sinks you, see how you are anti-submarine? ”

On the bridge of No. 203, the signal corpsman replied: "Redfish keeps the communication silent and refuses to reply!" ”

At the same time, the sonar continued to report the location of the Redfish submarine, "Redfish turned to 140 and continued to approach me!" ”

Li Hailiang suddenly smiled bitterly, it seemed that this trick was not very good, so he didn't dump him, so he decisively ordered: "Anti-submarine combat preparation!" ”

"Yes! Anti-submarine combat! The communications staff officer repeated the captain's order and sounded the anti-submarine alarm. Suddenly, all the officers and men of the ship entered a state of antisubmarine combat readiness, and the fighters were in place. Depth charges were sequentially fed onto the conveyor belt of the anti-submarine catapult, waiting for the next command.

"Sonar report the situation!"

"Azimuth 145, distance 4 nautical miles, depth 25 meters, speed 10 knots!"

The Redfish has entered combat speed and is still floating on the move, which means that the opponent is preparing for a torpedo attack.

"What a fierce general! Even trying to sink us! Li Hailiang immediately understood the other party's intentions, so he shouted: "Combat speed!" Raise the anti-submarine identification circle and calibrate 390 meters! ”

Anti-submarine projectiles can only shoot depth charges at a distance of 390 meters, so when the enemy submarine does not reach the range of the anti-submarine bomb, it needs to be attacked with other shipborne weapons.

"Prepare the main gun!"

"The main gun is ready!"

"Main gun fire!"

"Yes! Main gun fire! ”

Boom! Knock knock!

The single 127 mm rapid-fire guns and twin 102 mm rapid-fire guns of the Project 203 destroyer suddenly erupted in flames, and the shells whistled and fired in the direction of the Redfish submarine.

"Boom!"

The shell penetrated the water and exploded, stirring up columns of water.

"Report, the opponent's speed is still 10 knots, and the dive is up to 50 meters!"

"Do you think you're not afraid?" Li Hailiang smiled slightly, and immediately ordered: "The right rudder is full once, and go at full speed!" ”

"Yes! Full rudder right once! Full speed ahead to 36 knots! ”

The Project 203 destroyer, which had entered combat condition, quickly turned west and advanced at full speed in the direction of the Redfish submarine.

"Enter the anti-submarine identification circle, the target is 40 meters underwater, the course is 120, the speed is 10 knots, and the countdown begins!"

7 chains!

6 chains!

...... "Depth charges are ready for two shots!" Calibrate 50! Preparation! ”

Li Hailiang picked up the sonar headphones, listened intently, and suddenly ordered: "Release!" ”

With two thuds, the catapult on the rear deck of the destroyer fired two depth charges in the shape of a barrel into the target water. The bomb was fired downward at a speed of 7.5 meters per second.

"The countdown begins!"

5！

4！

3！

2！

1！

Rumble! Rumble! Two explosions were heard beneath the water's surface.

"Target turn, 115, 50!"

"The depth remains the same, firing at 3-second intervals, right-hand drive 5, ready!" Put! ”

"Target turn, 110, 65!"

"Depth 60, left rudder 20, ready, put!"

"The target continues to turn to the right and dives 64 meters!"

Li Hailiang was stunned for a moment and said, "It's already exceeded their maximum safe diving depth!" They can't do it! ”

Then he said: "Depth 65, left rudder 30, ready, put!" ”

"Hit the target!" The sonar crew judged by the echo that the depth charge hit the Redfish submarine.

After a while, a clear code communication came from the fleet channel: "I'm Huang Xing, commander of the Red Fish, congratulations to you on sinking me!" ”

"Yay!!" The whole ship burst into cheers.

Li Hailiang took the walkie-talkie and said with a smile: "I said Lao Huang, you let me, right?" ”

The other party was silent for a while, and said, "Don't be complacent, next time you will definitely beat you all over the ground to find teeth!" ”

There was another cheer.

After the end of the anti-submarine exercise, the Admiralty was in jubilant spirits.

In the following month, a number of anti-submarine exercises were carried out one after another, in which the anti-submarine success rate reached 85 percent. For this result, the Admiralty still could not fully accept, and their demand was 100% anti-submarine success.

To this end, the Admiralty ordered the General Directorate of Naval Engineering to continue the development of anti-submarine weapons.

As early as the study of anti-submarine hunting ships, the General Administration of Naval Engineering began to jointly study with naval aviation units the use of anti-submarine bombs to carry out anti-submarine warfare.

HNA seaplanes are fast, and once they find a submarine on the surface, they can immediately dive down like an osprey, shoot at the submarine with a heavy machine gun, or drop anti-submarine bombs mounted under the wings.

After several tests, it was much more effective to conduct anti-submarine warfare with aircraft on the front. However, the problem is that the range of the aircraft is limited, and once the submarine acts outside the range of the aircraft, then naval aviation will not be able to support.

To this end, the General Directorate of Naval Engineering contacted the Air Force and put forward a request for the H1N1 bomber. The Navy demanded the acquisition of a water bomber for the exclusive use of naval aviation for anti-submarine use.

Soon, the Air Force converted an H1N1 bomber into a seaplane with a 12.7 mm heavy machine gun, and the aerial bombs were converted into anti-submarine bombs or depth charges.

Due to the long range of the bomber, HNA obtained a prototype and finally completed the anti-submarine mission in the air after many exercises.

Subsequently, the Admiralty carried out underwater anti-submarine, that is, the use of submarines to counter-submarine, which also achieved significant success.

In February 1908, the Admiralty finally completed the construction of the final three-dimensional anti-submarine system, and the anti-submarine task force was composed of naval aviation, escort fleet, and submarine fleet.

Of course, this is not absolute. Wang Chenhao also understands that it is very rare for the Admiralty to be able to complete the construction of a three-dimensional anti-submarine system in such a short period of time.

Although the establishment of the navy's anti-submarine system is inseparable from Wang Chenhao's far-sighted ideological guidance, Wang Chenhao is happy to see the completion of the imperial navy's anti-submarine system.

After the formation of the anti-submarine system of the Chinese Imperial Navy, it was still in a state of secrecy, and only secretly built an anti-submarine task force.

In March 1908, Congress approved a grant of 15 million dragon dollars for the construction of the navy, which was actually an appropriation for the anti-submarine fleet.

With this appropriation, the Admiralty immediately began to build 30 Osprey-class hunting ships, the naval aviation ordered 100 H1N2 water bombers, and at the same time carried out anti-submarine modifications to more than 200 existing hunting ships, frigates, and light cruisers of various types in the empire, and the capital ships were also equipped with underwater sonar systems to detect submarines that might come to sneak attack, which greatly improved the survivability of the ships of the imperial navy fleet, so that they would not panic in the face of the enemy's submarine sneak attack.

(To be continued)