Chapter 66: Typhoon Halsey, God of War (I)

The dark sky as black as the bottom of a pot, the furious ocean of fierce winds and waves. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

My God! The fleet has collapsed, the battle is over, and I may be miserable this time!

Standing on the bulkhead in the bridge where the floor swayed violently, the first captain of the 100,000-ton battleship "Hawaii", currently the largest tonnage in the United States of America, Colonel Warner R. Ezel, was almost stunned by what appeared in front of him!

While pressing the forehead that had just been broken and oozing blood with disinfectant gauze, he looked at the gloomy sky outside the porthole, the stormy waves that covered the sky and the sun, and the Halsey fleet that was struggling between the crests and valleys of the waves, and couldn't help but lose his mind slightly for a while.

The entire field of vision has been completely occupied by strong winds, huge waves, heavy rain, and dense fog, and the huge waves are like small mountains one after another, surging and churning; The sea seemed to be boiled, and it was picked up by the wind, and smashed into the deck with great force.

The hazy clouds and the equally hazy waters were so turbulent that it was almost impossible to tell where the sky was and where the ocean was, and only a flash of lightning swept across the sky to see a faint horizon in the light of what was there. However, when the storm began to pour down, even the last trace of the difference between heaven and earth was completely obliterated. Amid the lightning and thunder and the turbid waves, the poor sailors had to shout to hear each other, and they could not see anything from hundreds of yards...... Everyone in the cabin clung to what was around them, their knuckles turning white from the force until their arms were sore. Everyone's hearts were tense, and one of the newly recruited soldiers even lay on the edge of the compass dial, his face distorted as if he had epilepsy, his lips trembling violently with fear, and several others were so frightened that he was urinating.

Damn it! How did things come to this?

According to Colonel Ezel's many years of seafaring experience, under normal circumstances, at least in tropical waters, the Pacific Ocean is indeed quite peaceful compared to the North Atlantic, which is full of winds and waves, and ships can sail on calm seas for months without encountering any strong winds and waves.

When Magellan's fleet sailed across the Pacific Ocean, it was to "enjoy" two months of good weather along the way, and by the way, to be hungry for two months.

It wasn't until this moment that he finally realized what a huge and terrifying energy lurked in this seemingly calm water!

- When the first signs of disaster appear, everything is not so obvious. It's just that the wind speed on the surface of the sea gradually increased to thirty knots, and some ships with smaller tonnage began to become difficult to control...... No one expected that an unprecedented typhoon was coming towards them.

As a battle-hardened veteran seaman, Admiral Halsey was not afraid of such a small storm at all, and still commanded the fleet to continue to advance. But by this time, the ocean was already becoming more and more irritable at an alarming rate. A large amount of gray-white water, stirred into foam by the wind, swayed towards the American fleet. The smaller thousand-ton destroyers, as well as the medium-sized landing ships, which were just over 900 tons, were all jolting up and down violently in the ever-increasing waves. Although the captain and first mate were still trying to control the direction with the rudder, the huge waves lifted the entire stern of the ship directly out of the water, like a giant hand playing with a small worm - in such a situation, simply turning the rudder wheel could no longer balance the hull! Even some of the ship's propellers were broken!

As a result, the sea conditions deteriorated sharply, and the huge and bloated American fleet was gradually blown away. Some of the ships that were out of control were torn apart by the strong wind, and gradually moved away from the other ships. The original order of the fleet was no longer maintainable. The undulating and bumpy deck of the aircraft carrier brought great trouble to the US naval aviation reconnaissance planes that were taking off and landing. One of the fellows was so reluctant to land on the bumpy deck that he had to parachute out of gas, and although a destroyer kept an eye on his whereabouts, he was eventually lost in the stormy sea.

It was only at this point that Admiral Halsey, the flagship enterprise, issued a wind and wave warning with hindsight, but unfortunately it was too late to adjust it - the radio kept coming from the bad news on the ships. Several ships have reported that someone has broken a leg, and there are people on a certain aircraft carrier who have accidentally fallen into the water during deck operations, and others have not had time to rescue them, and there are already people on the sea. A water reconnaissance plane did not have time to return home, so it lost its way in bad weather and finally disappeared into the ocean...... But compared to the nightmare that followed, these losses were nothing.

In short, by this time, even the most sluggish people understood that their fleet had most likely encountered a strong typhoon this time, the most terrifying demon in the Pacific. And now it is indeed the summer of the Northern Hemisphere when typhoons are common......

However, in the era when there were no satellite cloud images, human beings were very limited in their ability to predict typhoons, whether it was the maximum wind force at the center, the future path, or even the location of the eye of the typhoon, they could only rely on experience and conjecture, and they always made mistakes—for example, this time, Admiral Halsey made a wrong judgment that with a slight modification of the course, he could bypass the typhoon and continue to advance towards the intended battlefield.

So, after fine-tuning the course, the American fleet thought it was going around from the rear of the typhoon to a safe sea, but in fact it plunged headlong into the center of the eye of the typhoon - after a while, even the battleship Hawaii, which was fully loaded and had a displacement of up to 15,000 tons, began to shake violently, and from time to time it suddenly tilted, or was violently thrown up and fell to the other side, followed by a huge wave in front of it...... Each ship struggled in the sea, and the road ahead felt like it was blocked, and it felt like a stone wall blocking the way of the fleet. And the radars on several large warships have even detected the location of the eye of the typhoon and found that the fleet has been driving there all the time - but unfortunately it is too late!

By this time, the weather on the sea was far worse than they had imagined. The field of vision was filled with fog, the air pressure dropped to 9200 Pa, but the wind speed broke through 60 knots. The raging waves of the sea crashed wildly against the warship, as if it was about to overturn the entire steel giant ship in the next moment. The flags on the masts had been blown straight away, and the sturdy antennas and radars had begun to creak, as if they would break apart in the next second.

On the surface of the sea, which was faintly visible in the fog, the highest wave had risen to fifty feet. From time to time, they surged from the rear of the battleship, lifted the stern with ease, and then pushed the bow into the great trough. The frustrated fleet tactical commander finally stopped asking to maintain the formation, but gave the order to "give priority to wind resistance". The most important thing at the moment is undoubtedly to protect the thousands of ships in this sea area under the attack of the typhoon.

As the fog thickened, one ship after another disappeared from view, and in the gray color, the crew of each ship seemed to feel that they were the only ones left on the sea, and only the sound of a call over the radio could make them confirm that they were not alone.

Unfortunately, all the news received on the radio was bad: through the shrill howl of the wind and the creaking of the ship's hull, the radio was constantly reporting the damage of other ships. People are constantly falling into the sea, being swept away by strong winds, and being thrown to the ceiling in the midst of the bumps and injured. There are constant reports of damage to their bulkheads, leaking hulls, and hope that other ships will come to the rescue, but no one can help. There were also a few boats that were emitting "The boat is shaking too much...... may soon overturn the ......" of despair and lose the signal forever.

- In the hoarse exclamation of the lookout, a huge wave suddenly rose from the surface of the sea, like a curtain slowly closing, and with a huge whistling sound took a destroyer into its arms, and then returned to the dark green abyss of death with the waves themselves......

At this time, the air pressure measured on the ship has dropped below the measurement range of the barometer, and the pointer arrow of the anemometer has also touched the top - eighty knots! The hands shook violently and emitted a piercing scream. The sailors of the battleship Hawaii were completely unable to stand in the wind, and those who were forced to work on the deck desperately lay down and firmly grasped the ropes; The wind was mixed with droplets, and the blow on the body was like a pinprick in the body.

And then, there was a ship that caught fire, and it was the flagship aircraft carrier of Admiral Halsey, the Enterprise! The planes on its deck were all thrown into the sea, and the planes in the hangar crashed with the hull and finally fell apart, gasoline leaked, and ignited after encountering a spark somewhere. Soon, both the flight deck and the cabins below were on fire, and the ship lost control. The panicked command immediately ordered several other ships to go to support the burning flagship Enterprise, but everyone was already unable to protect themselves...... An airplane thrown out of nowhere, carried by the monstrous waves, flew up like a cannonball, and accurately hit the mainmast of the battleship Hawaii, and the fragments of steel and aluminum alloy flew like raindrops in the sky, and the radar phosphor screen suddenly turned gray.

Listening to the hoarse news on the radio, Colonel Ezel's spine shuddered, and boundless fear enveloped his whole body like a thick fog at this time—the various crises described on the radio could also happen on his ship at any time. Immediately afterward, the waves that rushed up to the deck crashed through several watertight doors that had not been closed tightly, and poured into the cabin like a waterfall. Sailors had to line up to help scoop water out.

Suddenly, a huge wave crashed on the tail of the Hawaii, lifting the 100,000-ton ship into the air like a puppy throwing up an old shoe. The propellers were exposed, and the keel of the ship trembled violently. Then, as soon as the bow of the ship fell, it was swallowed up by the sea. The captain, Colonel Ezel, was also thrown from the floor to the other side of the bridge before he could stand firmly, and his forehead hit the handle of the hatch, blood splattered out, and one shoulder was dislocated...... But in the face of today's crisis, he can only endure dizziness and pain, stand up and continue to work.

The situation was getting worse and worse, the radio signals were intermittent, and even the lights in the cabin were flickering. Looking out of the bridge window, the raging hurricane was like a fierce beast, galloping more and more unscrupulously on the undulating expanse of the sea.

Under the relentless whipping of the wind, the undulating sea stirred up more and more turbulent waves, wave after wave, like undulating mountains. The whole world that Colonel Ezil could see seemed to have become irrational, and began to interpret the true meaning of so-called "chaos" in a bold and frantic manner, making it impossible to know whether this scene was the result of God's solemn and holy wrath or the devil's heartfelt ecstasy.

And the 100,000-ton battleship Hawaii was helplessly placed in this disorderly world at this moment, completely reduced to the plaything of the creator. Although in the eyes of mankind, the Hawaii, with a displacement of 105,000 tons and a 20-inch caliber main gun, is already an impregnable steel floating city. But in the face of the vast ocean, it is still just a small thing, and in the face of the terrifying power of the super typhoon, it is even more weak!

In the occasional burst of lightning and thunder, huge battleships were thrown from the crest of one wave to the bottom, and then to another. Thus it rolled and swung helplessly on the surface of the sea, at the mercy of the wind and the torrential rain, like the dice in the hands of a gambler......

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Fortunately, the battleship Hawaii's displacement of up to 100,000 tons and its incomparably heavy armor plates were somewhat useful. Even such devastating waves only shattered its superstructure, but it could not tear its hull apart - after some effort, the first mate managed to get the bow back into the wind and slow down the battleship Hawaii. Compared to the worst of the scenes just experienced, although the wind is still howling, the sea is still raging, and the ship is still bustling and jumping in the typhoon, at least for the time being, there is no need to worry about capsizing.

However, before the officers and men of the ship could breathe a sigh of relief, almost in an instant, an even more terrible disaster struck!

Under the lapping of the huge waves, the entire fleet was already in chaos, and according to the backup radar that had just been repaired, several ships were rushing towards the Hawaii from all directions! Frightened, the radar officer let out a hysterical cry of despair!

“…… Three thousand yards from the bow of the ship on the starboard side, there are ships approaching! ”

“…… Directly ahead, two thousand yards, there are ships approaching! ”

“…… Fifteen hundred yards from the bow of the port side, a ship approached! ”

“…… My God! Is this going to be a collision? Captain Ezel, the captain of the ship, who had many years of seafaring experience, cried out, feeling as if his heart was beating out of his chest, as if it had stopped beating—he had never encountered such a dangerous situation in his life. Since it was already difficult for him to control his boats, it is likely that the approaching ships were no longer controlled, but were doing irregular movements.

The first mate at the helm ignored the danger of capsizing, and simply hit the right full rudder, but unfortunately it was useless under the lapping and disturbance of the monstrous waves. When the chief engineer got the news, he was in a hurry to turn around the engine, trying to drive the horsepower to the maximum and rush out, but he made a mistake in his busyness, and instead broke the transmission system, so that the engine fell into idling, and the whole battleship lost thrust and could no longer move, so it could only stop there honestly.

All those who understood the situation gathered around the portholes, staring in horror at the battleship approaching from the fog a few hundred yards away. It was as if he had seen the shadow of death looming over his head. Through the ship's announcement, everyone on board heard a terrifying and desperate roar.

A heavy cruiser narrowly passed less than two hundred yards from the Hawaii, sounded four whistles indicating danger signals, and quickly disappeared into the gale. But then the oncoming battleship Montana could no longer dodge - Colonel Ezel only had time to shout a sharp and desperate "Prepare for shock!" into the ship's internal broadcast. And the terrible collision happened!

With an earth-shattering bang, two steel ships, which the United States of America regarded as the pride, were entangled together.

In the midst of the sparks, the violent collision caused all the sailors on the two warships who had not grasped anything to be thrown high in an instant. Then they fell heavily to the hard bulkheads and floors, bleeding from their heads, breaking their bones and tendons, and the wails of the sea echoed like the tide in the aisles of the cabins of the two giant ships. A few of the most unlucky people even fell into the sea screaming, only to struggle twice before never resurfacing.

The bow of the battleship Montana was inserted into the hull of the Hawaii, tearing the sturdy hull completely, and the layers of deck structure were all exposed to the monstrous waves! And the battleship Montana itself was torn open with several twisted huge cracks!

Driven by the strong winds, the sea water frantically poured into the hulls of the two battleships, staggering all the damage crew members who tried to plug the mouth. While the two super battleships were hinged together and dying on the sea, another light cruiser, already burning and on fire, crashed into the stern of the Hawaii and dealt a fatal blow to the already half-dead Hawaii in the form of self-detonation and disintegration!

Five minutes later, the entire ship lost power; Half an hour later, the Hawaiian dragon broke its bones and began to disintegrate from the center; Forty minutes later, the largest battleship in the history of the United States of America, by tonnage, sank unwillingly to the bottom of the sea in a typhoon before it could seriously engage in a naval battle. And when it was buried in the angry sea, the "murderer" Montana, who assassinated it, was also dragged into the cold and dark hell together......

And the tragic losses suffered by the US Pacific Fleet in this "nightmare typhoon" are far more than the above...... By the time the sun reappeared in the sky and the sea had returned to its former serenity, a third of the fleet had disappeared forever from the sea, a third had become steel trash that twisted and turned on its side or even the bottom of the ship, and the remaining third was in tatters and miserable sight......

Soon, all this was transmitted to the mainland of the United States on the other side of the Pacific Ocean through radio waves, and detonated a huge sensation in the news media and the public.

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PS: This weekend is really lively, first the crazy van terrorist attack in France, then the mutiny in Turkey, and now even Armenia has mutiny, the rhythm of detonating a big news every day? The little in the South China Sea was covered up by such an impact, but not many people cared about it......

On the bridgehead of Istanbul, there was another scene of heavily armed coup soldiers being dragged out of tanks by the people and violently beaten, and disarming without firing a single shot. It's like a repetition of the scene in Moscow. But these soldiers can't be blamed for being too weak and spineless. Because they were not supporters of the coup d'état at all, but were fooled by false orders, they originally thought they were in a drill, but after reading the president's speech on the Internet, they knew that it was a rebellion, and they naturally surrendered in a panic - obviously, the putschists did not regard them as their own people at all, so why did they want to be thugs for those crooks? As for being beaten and tortured by peace-loving people after the exchange of guns...... This is also common knowledge in today's world, and the masses on the streets are generally more ferocious than soldiers!