Episode 76 Torpedo, Fire!

"Mo Xie" is a large ocean-going submarine with a standard displacement of 1,325 tons, a crew of 49 people, a 4-inch deck gun, a 20 mm machine gun, a machine gun, 8 533 mm torpedo tubes (6 in the bow and 2 in the stern), and a maximum surface speed of 16 knots.

Submarines of this class are designed to be used against Japan. The idea of the design of the Ming army's ocean-going submarines is: Once a war breaks out between the two countries tomorrow, the Ming Dynasty will give full play to the advantages of the mainland countries and carry out a naval blockade of the island country of Japan. The surface ships of the Ming Dynasty were responsible for defending their own sea transportation lines in the South China Seas, and at the same time cutting off Japan's transportation lines in the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean. However, it will be very difficult for the Daming surface ships to break through the blockade of the Japanese island chain, enter the Pacific Ocean eastward, and disrupt Japan's Pacific transportation lines. Therefore, the task of blockading Japan in the Pacific Ocean must be handed over to ocean-going submarines.

And the Mo Ye successfully touched the Tsushima Strait, which once again proved the irreplaceable advantages of submarines.

The captain stepped on the railing and held the binoculars, looking ahead. Battleships and submarines moved in opposite directions, and the distance was reduced extremely quickly. And as the distance shortened, the captain also put away his original unruly style, and began to appear more and more cautious. From time to time, she would turn her head and give an order, and then the officer next to her would pass the order to the submarine below.

Now it's only about five nautical miles away from the battlefield. The more times like this, the more careful it is to sail. Because the speed of submarines is much slower than that of surface ships, once they miss a crossover and want to turn around and follow, it will be difficult to keep up. Now the Mo Xie is sailing from south to north, the Japanese fleet is in the northeast of the Mo Ye, and the Ming fleet is in the northwest of the Mo Ye, and what the Mo Xie wants is to insert itself in the middle of the two fleets, seize the short opportunity to fire torpedoes at the Japanese ships, and then leave the battlefield.

The captain was now giving orders, and the speed of the Mo Xie was constantly decreasing, and the course was constantly adjusting, trying to aim at the middle ground between the fleets on both sides.

Suddenly, an observer shouted:

"Target spotted ahead! Bearing 355! 10,000 meters away! ”

Several people on the bridge immediately pointed their binoculars ahead. In the darkness far ahead, flashes of light frequented by. From time to time, a flame rose as if it were exploding.

"Battlefield!"

The captain shouted. She held the binoculars and looked at it for a moment, visually finding a more accurate position than sonar, and then asked the officer next to her to transmit the new course to the submarine.

She used her binoculars to roughly estimate the shape of the battlefield and the intensity of the battle, and felt that it was no problem to rush closer. She then ordered the speed to be increased. The speed of the Mo Xie soon rose to 15 knots, dragging the white waves, and rushed towards the battlefield with impunity on the sea.

When the nearest warship was only 3,000 meters away, the captain ordered to dive down to periscope depth.

She judged that at this distance, the warships on the opposite side would no longer change course, and as long as she lurked here and waited, she would automatically be in the center of the battlefield. - And once you dive, and any of the belligerents on the opposite side suddenly changes course, then your submarine is extremely slow underwater, but it can't catch up at all.

The officers and observers on the bridge quickly slipped into the submarine, and the captain was the last to get in and close the watertight door. The waves rose and fell, and finally they did not cross the bridge. The Mo Xie was completely submerged, leaving only the periscope still on the surface, dragging a long line of white marks.

……

After diving more than ten meters underwater, it was completely calm, and there was no longer a trace of bumps. The cacophony of diesel engines is gone, replaced by the sound of electric motors. In the red light, the captain's face was pressed against the periscope, slowly turning.

"Good...... Very good...... Very good......" she muttered, suppressing the excitement in her heart, "yes, just come here......"

The warships are getting closer and closer, and now they are only about 5,000 meters. Even in a low periscope, you can see it clearly.

The captain observed the target and sorted out the operational thoughts: ...... We attacked the battleship with torpedoes No. 1-4 in the bow, and then a heavy cruiser behind it with torpedoes No. 5-6 in the bow. Then the enemy ships passed us by, and we attacked the second heavy cruiser with torpedoes No. 7-8 in the stern...... Normally we should dive to dodge, but now we don't, we turn to the right side of the rudder and lean towards our fleet...... The destroyers of the little Japanese followed if they had the guts, haha.

She commanded:

"Torpedo tubes No. 1-6 ready."

The gunner, almost immediately, replied from behind him:

"Torpedo tubes No. 1-6 are ready."

The captain just held the periscope handle in both hands and continued to observe.

"The left rudder is 5 degrees, and two-thirds of the speed is forward."

"Yes, 5 degrees on the left side, two-thirds of the way forward."

The sound of the motor in the cabin increased by a few decibels, and the submarine began to quietly accelerate underwater.

Now, all the girls in the cabin held their breath and looked nervously upward. In the dim red light, everyone's faces looked so weird, like a group of female ghosts.

In the periscope, white seawater foam undulates on the circular lens, and every time the sea water falls, the ship in the distance is clearly visible on the periscope scale.

On the battlefield of the surface ships ahead, the battle was in full swing, and the battleships on both sides were already burning and emitting black smoke. All three Japanese cruisers were also wounded, while the heavy cruisers of the Ming army were gone, and only three of the six destroyers remained.

……

Now there is a distance of 1,500 meters left from the target Fuso. The captain suppressed the excitement in his chest and commanded softly:

"Full speed ahead! Open the bow torpedo compartment! ”

"Yes, full speed ahead! Open the bow torpedo compartment! ”

The noise of the motors suddenly increased by many decibels, and the six torpedo hatches in the bow slowly opened, and the sound of sea water pouring in could be clearly heard.

"Lock on torpedoes No. 1-4," the captain commanded, raising his voice, "3 degrees to the left rudder!" ”

The head of the submarine was shifted another 3 degrees to the right, aiming at the calculated course of the battleship Fuso.

Gunslinger says:

"Check! Locked! ”

The captain commanded:

"Hold your bearings! Torpedoes No. 1-4 are ready and launched! ”

The gunnery officer shouted to the torpedo compartment:

"Torpedo No. 1-4 ready!"

The shouts of the torpedo compartment came:

"Torpedo No. 1-4 ready!"

The gunnery officer raised his voice and said in a loud voice:

"Torpedo No. 1 ......"

The torpedo compartment repeated:

"Torpedo No. 1!"

The gunnery commanded:

"Launch !!"

"Launch !!"

"Woohoo————"

With a sharp bubble and water spray, a thick torpedo "spewed" out of the bow of the Moxie.

The gunners then shouted:

"Torpedo No. 2 ......"

"Torpedo No. 2!"

"Launch !!"

"Launch !!"

"Woohoo————"

"Torpedo No. 3...... Launch!!! ”

"Woohoo————"

"Torpedo No. 4...... Launch!!! ”

"Woohoo————"

Four torpedoes, lined up in a narrow fan and spraying long bubbles, rushed towards the Fuso at a high speed of 35 knots.

Immediately afterwards, the captain pressed his periscope and ordered:

"Lock on torpedoes No. 5 and No. 6, 2 degrees on the right rudder!"

"Check, locked!"

The bow of the submarine shifted two more degrees to the left, aiming the torpedo tubes at a cruiser behind the battleship.

The captain commanded:

"Hold your bearings! Torpedoes No. 5 and No. 6 were launched as soon as they were ready! ”

"Torpedo No. 5-6 ready!"

"Torpedo No. 5-6 ready!"

"Torpedo No. 5...... Launch!!! ”

"Torpedo No. 6...... Launch!!! ”

Two more torpedoes whistled out and swooped down on a Japanese cruiser behind.

……

Amid the dull noise of the motor, everyone tilted their heads, held their breath, and waited for the explosion. In the red light, the captain's eyes lit up, pouting his ass, staring at the periscope and staring at the Fuso. She ripped off her hat, irritably scratched at her hair, licked her lips, and waited silently.

The gunnery officer stared at the timer in his hand and said slowly:

"Torpedo No. 1 misses the target."

After a few seconds, she added:

"Torpedo No. 2 misses target."

The atmosphere in the cabin became agitated. The sonar soldier slowly brought the headphones closer to his ears and began to gasp for air. The captain also continued to scratch his hair irritably.

Suddenly—

"Boom !!"

The anticipatory explosion was heard, and everyone was shocked. Immediately a low cheer erupted in the cabin.

"Boom !!"

Another bang. There was another low cheer in the cabin.

Moments later, a third explosion entered the cabin.

This is the last sound.

"Torpedo No. 6 misses target."

The gunnery officer said.

The Fuso was hit by two 533-mm torpedoes, and the heavy cruiser was hit by a 533-mm torpedo. Combined with previous shelling damage, both warships were at least severely damaged. The balance of victory returned to the side of the Ming fleet.