764 West Wind Flame (10)

In the two downward recessed gaps in the middle of the deck, two five-pack torpedo tubes with a thick zigzag shape were particularly hideous in the night, and compared with the bow and stern guns, the torpedo was the largest killing weapon on the destroyer. ※※※※※ I ※ I ※ ※

Especially this type of torpedo that was equipped after the war!

Lao He sat next to the launch rack with a helmet, his eyes were fixed on the improvised sight, his comrades had already stood behind him, holding the trigger in his hand and ready to fire at any time, and the wind whistling in his ears told everyone that the destroyer had begun to accelerate.

The destroyer he was on had a name that everyone in the world knew, Cheng Zhijie!

Back then, Chen Lao's three-plate axe was famous all over the world, especially the latter move "plucking out the ears", the two horses were staggered, and they swept around, and I don't know how many heroes and heroes fell under the axe.

This trick requires the staggered war horses, which is somewhat similar to the torpedo attack, and the attack of the enemy's sword and axe will also be encountered when "picking out the ears", and the destroyer will be baptized by the enemy's artillery fire when the destroyer is assaulted.

In fact, he is only 28 years old this year, but after a steady stream of young soldiers came in, he, a non-commissioned officer, gradually became a veteran, and he was called Lao He by everyone.

This kind of use of torpedoes to carry out a surprise attack on the enemy, according to everyone, belongs to the capable business of pinning the head to the waistband of the trousers, because destroyers can not hide under water like submarines, and when they use torpedoes, they often face guys who are bigger than themselves, which is very dangerous, so since the beginning of the war, destroyers have been the most lost ships of the Empire.

As a veteran non-commissioned officer who has served for five years, Lao He knows that there are many kinds of torpedo attack tactics, and there are two kinds that are commonly used: one is that when the enemy is paralyzed or does not pose much of a threat, the destroyer can be launched at a long distance in a parallel pursuit attitude, and the second is the assault fan tactic that is currently being used.

Assault fan tactics are one of the tactics that destroyer captains must master, and refer to the general term for several or even dozens of destroyers to carry out high-speed assaults on a large target.

Single-line and single-point, in fact, means that there is only one formation, arranged in a single-winged goose-type formation, to launch a surprise attack on a target, because all maneuvers in tactics, including artillery suppression, must be strictly synchronized with the pilot ship, so the bow main guns of the seven destroyers and the quadruple 47 mm rapid-fire guns on both sides of the bridge can suppress a point with large firepower. From , the intensity of firepower can even suppress all the secondary guns of a Guam-class battleship!

In single-point tactics, all destroyers actually attack at a certain point, and no matter how many serpentine maneuvers they make on the way, they will eventually need to launch torpedoes after reaching this point.

There is also a strict procedure when launching a torpedo, not that it can be launched at will, the launch must start at the moment when the destroyer makes a U-shaped turn, and then each torpedo needs to be counted down to 3 times, that is to say, each torpedo is about 3 seconds apart, because the destroyer is still doing a U-shaped maneuver when launching, so the 10 torpedoes will naturally form a fan, to ensure the hit rate to a large extent.

From the point of view, a good time to launch a torpedo is on the way to the destroyer's rush forward, so that the destroyer, which can reach a speed of 35 knots, can increase the speed of the torpedo into the water, but the torpedo fired in this way is not fan-shaped, unless it can be commanded halfway, otherwise the probability of hitting is a little worse, so the navy is willing to use a sharp U-shaped tactic to throw the torpedo out when dealing with a cluster target.

Although throwing it out does not increase the speed, it can increase the range of the torpedo, and it will allow the torpedo to naturally form a perfect fan arc to increase the kill coverage.

The Lance-3 torpedo with a speed of 47 knots, 550 mm, and a charge of 450 kg, against the battleships of other countries in these years, eating one is enough to kill, two are at least paralyzed, and if there are three, then you can basically go and collect the corpses.

2 light cruisers took the lead to divert the enemy's dangerous main artillery fire, 3 destroyers created a chaotic road from the right side, and 7 on their side were sharp spears!

At 6000 meters, 70 spear oxygen torpedoes were fired!

Lao He took a deep breath and looked at Xue Rengui, who was following closely behind the side of Cheng Zhijie, although the distance between the two ships was less than 100 meters, but at this time, all the light sources on the destroyer were turned off, so he couldn't see any partners clearly, but he could still feel the heartbeat on the other deck.

"23,000 meters!"

The shouts of the captain of the deck guns came from the front, and Lao He and his comrades slammed their grip on the nearby fixtures, and their hearts suddenly contracted, and all the blood began to gush up their heads. Because, at this distance, even if the enemy does not see him, he will gradually be attracted by the sound of the engine screaming after accelerating.

The destroyer under his feet, there was a shudder, there was a scream from the steam pipe, the 4 steam turbines were completely overloaded, pushing the 2,500-ton Cheng Zhijie to an ultra-high speed of 35 knots, if it weren't for the technical department to make concessions in speed in order to ensure the balance during the sprint, the Weiqing-class destroyer could run more than 37 knots!

"Squad leader, are you nervous?"

When the wind blade blew across his cheeks, a timidly inquiry sounded beside him. Turning his head, the little soldier who had just been transferred from the reserve was clutching the fixed handrail, his chest rising and falling violently.

"I'm afraid."

Lao He smiled slightly, and said unexpectedly: "The first time I made a turn, I almost fell into the sea, if it wasn't for the old squad leader holding me, it is estimated that I would have fed the sea king." ”

"Really?" The little soldier's eyes widened, and he forgot all about his nervousness, as if he did not believe that this torpedo chief, who was said to be the best in the detachment, could have such a bad thing.

"It's true."

Lao He squinted his eyes, as if recalling, and said: "At that time, I also asked the old squad leader like you, and he told me that he was also nervous, but after he saw the enemy ship hit by a torpedo, he forgot about it. ”

"Why?"

"Why? Hehe, in a moment, you'll know! ”

"Boom, boom, boom......."

When the little soldier was still about to ask, there was a sudden roar in the distance, and when he looked up, he saw countless fires and bright spots erupting in the target fleet in the dark, and in an instant it seemed that the sky was burned red!

"The cruiser fired! It must be our cruiser that is drawing away the artillery! ”

The little soldier jumped happily, but Lao He still sat firmly in front of the simple sight with a smile on his face, and after seeing that the little soldier's safety belt was a little loose out of the corner of his eye, he helped him tighten it again. (Full text reading, all in. (.i. Want. Wen. Learning Network)

Who knew that after helping him tighten it just now, the destroyer under his feet suddenly leaned to the left, and the little soldier who didn't grasp it suddenly lost his balance and almost slipped into the sea.

"Thank you, squad leader."

"Boom, boom, boom......." The little soldier's thanks were still lingering, and the shells began to explode everywhere around him, like a column of water, rising from the sea, enveloping the seven destroyers in an instant.

"Hold on, let's ...... and pluck our ears!"

Lao He took the little soldier behind him, laughed and pulled the rotary machine, and the five-pack torpedo launcher quickly began to rotate, and only half a minute later, the launch port was aimed at the sea.

"17,000 meters, the countdown begins!"

"Boom......."

The main guns of the seven destroyers began to fire fiercely, and the 14 L47/130 mm guns were aimed at the distance at a speed of 98 pieces per minute, and the hull of the ship was constantly deflected to the left and right to make a serpentine maneuver.

The cannonballs kept falling on the side, and the excited water column hit the deck, and after a while, all the torpedo men, including Lao He, were wet, as if they had just been fished out of the sea.

No one spoke, except for the neighing of the ship's guns, everyone on the destroyer sank, and the little soldier who experienced this scene for the first time trembled, and suddenly he found that the veterans, including Lao He, had become wolves with red eyes and sharp teeth, silently pounced on the enemy!

There was a loud bang, coming from behind.

The little soldier turned his head to look, his eyes turned red for a moment, only to see a flame burst out of the amidship of Xue Rengui, and in the blink of an eye, the flames engulfed the entire deck, and the comrades who were still alive a few minutes ago in the firelight were wrapped in flames, and the battleship began to tilt.

His fingers unconsciously clenched Lao He's arm in front of him, pinched it in the flesh, and grabbed it to death! "Wait, brother, I will avenge you!" Lao He took a deep breath, turned his head, and his tiger eyes became blood-red.

"10,000 meters!"

"Calculate the angle ......!"

"Listen to me!"

Lao He raised his left arm high, and the comrades behind him immediately took their places, and the little soldier also forgot about his nervousness at this time, leaned out half of his body, and began to calculate the launch angle.

"Boom......."

A shell landed on the left side of the bridge, and the shrapnel clanged on the thick armor of the torpedo launcher, and one of the small fragments bounced up and tore a slender wound on Lao He's arm.

"Squad leader......."

"Can't die, calculate the angle of entry into the water!"

The little soldier shed tears, took a deep breath to adjust his mood, and after a while, he began to report the number: "Azimuth 010, the target angle is tilted to the left 17 degrees......."

Lao He quickly adjusted the sight according to the data of the little soldier, which is a simple gyro sight, and after setting the parameters of the enemy ship, waiting for the vertical pointer in the center to return to the center position, it means that the torpedo can be fired.

At the same time as Lao He adjusted the sight, he suddenly felt his body lean back suddenly, and his vision gradually widened, and when a touch of orange cannon flame came into the corner of his eye, only the vertical pointer was left in his mind.

The six destroyers began to turn almost synchronously, and the strong inertia made all the sailors on the deck involuntarily lean back, but fortunately everyone fastened their seat belts and grabbed the fixations, so there was no slipping.

The white waves formed a violently curved arc in the stern of the ship, and the pointer on the sight began to move closer to the center little by little, and when it finally reached the red dot, Lao He almost used all his strength and roared and shouted.

"Hair ...... Shoot! ”

The shooter pulled the trigger of the No. 1 torpedo tube, and after hearing only a slight sound of air expansion, a thick black shadow suddenly appeared in the front of the torpedo mouth. After the black shadow rushed into the water, it quickly disappeared into the sea with a hundred meters long white wave.

"1, 2, 3 pull."

"1, 2, the shooter silently counted in his heart, every 3 numbers will pull the next trigger, when the fifth is pulled, immediately shouted: "The first machine is over!" ”

"The second machine starts launching!"

It is said to be slow, but in fact, the whole process is only 30 seconds, and when the destroyer leaves the bottom from the U-shaped bay, the ten torpedoes of the two launchers have all left the deck.

When the oxygen torpedo enters the water, it also needs compressed air to advance some distance, so the fighters can clearly see 10 white waves, but after a few seconds, the white waves quickly disappear, but everyone knows that they are rushing underwater!

The destroyer had already begun to turn around, and many shells were still falling, and from time to time one or two fires exploded on the deck, but no one cared, and ran to the deck, shouting loudly.

"Rush, rush, rush!"

At 6,000 meters, it takes about 4 minutes for a torpedo, and about 4 minutes for a destroyer to escape from a dense 10,000-meter circle of fire, which becomes 4 minutes for everyone to be anxious about!

In the distance, one by one enemy ships began to accelerate and deflect in the firelight, although they could not see the torpedoes, but Hua's unique destroyer assault tactics had been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and it was estimated that as long as they made a move, they would have to carry out torpedo evasion.

"Ahh

Lao He also clenched his fists and shouted, just as the watch was about to reach the end, a cannonball suddenly smashed on the deck, ......booming, and in the explosion, Lao He slowly fell.

The little soldier didn't notice the one behind him, but he felt a heat on his back, and when he was almost knocked to the ground by the heat wave, next to the huge target ship in the distance, a huge column of water suddenly rose, although the little soldier couldn't see the scale of the water column, but he saw that the black shadow of the ship's hull in the firelight was suddenly obscured by a large piece!

Then, another fireball burst out from the cover, and I saw only the target ship, as if it had been forcibly torn off by something, and the front and back suddenly disconnected!

"Squad leader, hit, we'll hit ......." The little soldier waved his fist excitedly, and when he turned his head to let Lao He share the joy, he found that the squad leader had fallen on the chair covered in blood.

"Squad leader......, we hit! I'm not afraid! The little soldier threw himself to Lao He's side, hugged him with all his strength, and wiped his tears. Hit. Lao He smiled, his right hand trembled and slid down: "The next wave, you ......, you, come!" When his finger finally reached the sight, he slowly closed his eyes.

"Reload!"

"Let's ......, kill back!"

"God!"

"It's ......, Northampton!"

In the bridge of the Malaya, Cameron, who was holding a telescope, saw the terrible picture of his life, only to see the right side of the American heavy cruiser USS Northampton, with a displacement of 23,500 tons, two huge water columns appeared one after another, and then the entire battleship slanted violently to the left.

Just as he thought it would tilt, the front chimney and mast of the battleship collapsed suddenly, and then the hull below was quickly torn open, and the cracks widened like craters of magma, and countless figures inside could even be seen swallowed up in the shouts.

The crack grew larger and wider, and then it snapped in, and the hull quickly became two, and several huge whirlpools formed at the fracture, swallowing the front in the blink of an eye.

It was later learned that none of the 1,173 US officers and men, including the commander of the US Grand Fleet in India and Rear Admiral Roboli D. Evans, were spared.

The killing continues.

The Irish behind the Northampton deflected sharply to avoid the explosion vortex, and who would have thought that the bow had just avoided the exploding Northampton, and the stern was also hit by a Lance-3 torpedo.

According to the recollection of Colonel Cosway, the captain of the Irish Sea, he only felt a sudden jolt under his feet, and then the whole person flew up and pressed against the steering wheel, and the glass windows in the bridge burst open in an instant, and the flying fragments crossed his face, and when he was rescued by the paramedics, he could no longer see the whole part of his face.

The stern of the Irish, as if a piece was bitten off, the propeller and rudder were all destroyed, and finally this ship, which was originally built by the Ottomans and forcibly seized by the British Navy before the war, has five twin 305 mm naval guns, and is fully loaded with 25,250 tons of steel behemoth, was torpedoed and sunk by a Chinese submarine in the early morning of the next day, 277 of the ship's 1,070 officers and men died in the explosion, and the rest were captured a few days later.

In fact, the unlucky one in this wave of attacks should be the armored cruiser Edgar Quinnet, this old armored cruiser with a displacement of 8,700 tons was in the middle of the right side of the Northampton and Ireland at that time, exactly in the middle of the 60 torpedo fan, but was hit by 2 spears, did not even emit any flames, and disappeared into the sea in less than a minute, so that when the casualties were counted the next morning, many people thought that it took advantage of the chaos and quietly escaped.

The remaining torpedoes were still under the water of the fleet, and a total of 90 torpedoes** were hit, causing one sinking of the capital ship, two cruisers and multiple damages, and the sinking of one armed ship converted from a freighter.

"Fire!"

Facing this tragic situation in the bridge, Campbell's eyes were almost on fire, and he immediately ordered the remaining capital ships and cruisers to smash all their shells at the two Yangtze River class light cruisers that attracted firepower.

"Boom......."

Maybe it's fear, maybe it's the desire to survive, the remaining few capital ships in the Indian Grand Fleet are getting more and more accurate, which makes Gao Xianshen feel the pressure, and the second wave of torpedo attacks will take at least 20 minutes, so how to survive this time has become the key.

But at this moment, an accident still appeared, a 305-mm shell landed on the rear deck of the Haihe next to it, the shell penetrated the horizontal armor and fell into the power compartment, the explosion destroyed one power compartment, destroyed two steam turbines, and the vibration also jammed another spindle, causing the Haihe to quickly lose speed.

"Captain, Haihe!"

When the navigator saw this scene, he immediately shouted: "Haihe is dead, we must go back to save him!" ”

"Bastard!"

"Go back and focus all your fire on those two cruisers!"

"Contact the Haihe and inquire about the situation."

"Inform the destroyer formation that the Haihe is injured, and we will block the pursuit of the cruiser, but they must complete the loading and assault again within 20 minutes to divert the enemy's main force!"

"Yes!"

After Gao Xianshen finished giving the order, he walked to the porthole and began to get nervous. Since the start of the war, Hua has not lost the Yangtze River-class light cruise, and every time the Yangtze River class is in distress, it can always quickly pull away and escape, but he didn't think that he would lose one this time, and judging from the current situation, it is estimated that it will be difficult to leave.

Lives must be saved!

"Captain."

In the bridge of the Haihe, the first mate held the telephone and reported loudly to the captain who was bandaging his head.

"Mainframe One is finished."

"The No. 2 main engine compartment is flooded, the spindle is stuck, and it is being repaired."

"Several compartments in the stern are flooded, and the deck is losing balance!"

"Captain, the Lancang River is asking us to abandon the ship immediately, and they are approaching."

"Fill with water."

"Fill the starboard side with water and keep your balance!"

"Close all watertight access to the stern compartment and prepare to abandon ......."

"Captain, two cruisers of the enemy! The distance is 15,000 meters, and it is approaching at a fast pace! ”

"Signal, can't leave!"

"Fire at the enemy cruiser at full speed, and evacuate non-essential combatants immediately!"

"Torpedo, shoot all the torpedoes!"

"Torpedo?" The staff officer was slightly stunned, there are still 15,000 meters away from the enemy cruiser? Launched so far, is it effective?

The order was carried out, and after 10 black shadows drilled into the sea from under the main deck of the injured Haihe, at the same time, the Haihe also knew that it could not leave, and if the Lancang River came, it might not be able to leave, so the captain bit down and ordered to use inertia to turn 90 degrees, and suddenly blocked the middle of the Indian Grand Fleet pursuing cruiser and the Lancang River.

The remaining 2 triple main guns and secondary guns began to fire fiercely, Gao Xianshen also knew Haihe's thoughts after seeing this scene, so he immediately accelerated to the back of Haihe, and began to save people while using naval guns to drive out two British cruisers.

Seeing that the torpedoes did not work, the Indian Grand Fleet behind the two British cruisers began to speed up, and the Haihe was finally not abandoned, and the captain ordered the opening of the sea valve before boarding the lifeboat.

At 2:23 a.m., the Haihe light patrol began to sink slowly, and 271 officers and men who did not evacuate in time died with the ship in the depths of the Indian Ocean, 180 nautical miles northwest of the Maldives.

Seeing one light cruiser sunk and one fleeing, Campbell ordered the fleet to be gathered. Yesterday afternoon, the injured British Lord Nelson-class battleship Lord Clyde suddenly exploded on the right side of the bow, which caused water to enter seven cabins in front of the bow, and the foredeck area from the bow to the bridge was almost completely submerged in seawater, and the speed dropped to 6 knots.

Who could have caused such a sudden attack?

Campbell and all the officers believed that it was a submarine, so they immediately ordered a maneuver and turned on the searchlights to begin searching the sea, but in the end they could not find the "submarine", and had to leave in a huff when the enemy could continue to sneak attack.

It wasn't until decades later that the Chinese Navy documents were declassified, and there were indeed several submarines on the battlefield at that time, but they were all on standby dozens of nautical miles away in order not to affect the 72nd fleet's surprise attack, and the hit on the Lord Clyde was actually a spear oxygen torpedo fired by the Haihe River.

The hit range of this torpedo created the world later, because it was originally launched from 15,000 meters away to attack two pursuing cruisers, and after missing the target, it rushed into the main force of the Indian Grand Fleet 8,000 meters later, and the strange thing is that it did not hit any warship in the center of the Grand Fleet, and then crossed the entire ship group, and after sailing another 4,300 meters, it hit Lord Clyde.

From the position of the Haihe at that time, it sailed more than 27 kilometers to the time it hit!

This declassified document also finally confirmed the fact that China has long possessed an unparalleled super torpedo, and before, countries were only speculating without any evidence.

The 72nd Fleet, with 2 light cruisers and 10 destroyers, launched a brazen surprise attack at night, and finally at the cost of 1 light cruiser and 2 destroyers, 2 destroyers were seriously damaged, and 4 were slightly damaged, in exchange for 3 capital ships of the Indian Grand Fleet (Lord Clyde was sunk by the 73rd Fleet that arrived the next day, but the credit was credited to the 72nd Fleet), 2 cruisers, 1 armed ship, a total of 6 sunks, and many damaged proud records.

"Oh my God!"

"Did they encounter the main fleet of the Chinese?!"

Marne and his comrades stood on the deck, looking at the miserable picture of the main force of the Great Fleet around them, staring at their eyes and opening their mouths wide, almost swallowing their fists in their stomachs, and they couldn't bear to see it.

The scorching sun in the Indian Ocean at 9 a.m. was already very hot, but he couldn't feel any temperature standing on the deck, because the tragic scene around him really shocked him and the Y3 formation that fled back to converge!

At the time of departure, the main formation, which had a total of 46 battleships and 11 transports, had lost 13 ships in just two nights, including three large ships such as the Northampton, which had four twin 15-inch guns.

Moreover, black smoke was emitting from every remaining battleship, and corpses were thrown from the deck into the sea, and blood was swept into the sea along the washed water, attracting countless terrible fins. Several of the ships had several shocking holes in their hulls, and he even believed that there was no need to fight, as long as the wind and waves were stronger, these ships might sink completely!

Importantly, except for the Y3 decoy formation he was part of, which escaped with 3 cruisers and 5 armed boats, none of the other two decoy flotillas came out. Now, this means that they are all ......!

2 nights!

In just 2 nights, 2 decoy flotillas and 13 warships were lost, and it will take at least 3 days to reach Seychelles!

What will happen?

Marne sat on the deck with his head in his hands, the beard on his chin that had not been shaved for three months was constantly shaking, his eyes were already full of nervousness and fear, and when his comrades were also sluggish and gasping hard, a terrible cry came from the mast again.

"Plane, 10 o'clock!"

Looking up, dozens of large planes that had never been seen before appeared in the sky. In his eyes, there was already a layer of dead ash.

Can you go back to Europe?!

RO！ ~！