October 26, 1908

Kauai in the Hawaiian Islands, also known as; Kauai.

There are three Seagull 2 destroyers stationed on Kauai Island to patrol the sea, and these old destroyers, who have served for nearly 30 years, are no longer able to serve as front-line duty, but they are still loyal to their duties and give full play to their spare heat in maintaining the safety of the alert sea area and escorting and protecting fisheries.

On the small pier in Kauai

Admiral He Fang, dressed in a white general's uniform, accompanied by a group of generals and colonels, inspected seven submarines that had successfully arrived on Kauai, which were the first submarine detachment of the Pacific Fleet, with port numbers T101 to T107.

"T" is the first letter pronunciation of the Pacific Fleet's Chinese pinyin, 1 represents the first submarine detachment, and the subsequent one is the submarine serial number.

At present, in the entire Royal Navy, there are only these 7 ocean-going submarines that are the first to enter service, and the other submarines are all experimental models, and there is no regular naval service serial number.

Each of the seven submarines is equipped with four torpedo tubes, which can be reloaded, and the whole submarine is equipped with a total of eight torpedoes that can dive to a depth of 60 meters, and the bow deck is equipped with a 95 mm long-barreled howitzer and a 20 mm rapid-fire gun.

T-class submarines use a hybrid of diesel and electric motors, with a maximum speed of 13 knots on the surface and 6 knots underwater.

The real diving time is very short, only 3~5 hours, and you have to float up again to recharge.

Compared with the submarine technology of the same era, the performance of the T-class submarines was not outstanding.

The K-class submarine developed by the United Kingdom has a water displacement of 1,980 tons, an underwater displacement of 2,700 tons, a surface speed of 22 knots, and an underwater speed of 12 knots, with a cost of about 35~380,000 pounds, which is equivalent to the construction of a 6,500-ton general-purpose cruiser, or equivalent to the "Dingyuan" ironclad ship 20 years ago.

The K-class submarines, which cost so much money to build, were not perfect, and the British Admiralty Secretary Sir Fisher strongly opposed the construction of the K-class submarines for three reasons;

First, the K-class submarine uses steam turbine power in pursuit of high speed, which causes great trouble when diving, not only retracting the chimney, closing many inlet and drainage outlets is extremely cumbersome, but also releasing a large cloud of steam, the whole diving process is more than 30 minutes, and the target is extremely significant, which is simply a disaster for the submarine with extremely high concealment requirements.

Second, due to obvious comparison factors, the K-class submarines were planned to be equipped with 203-mm large-caliber guns, because the French installed twin 203-mm large-caliber guns on the submarines, and the British, of course, could not lag behind.

There were even radical Britons who wanted to install a 305-mm large-caliber naval gun on the submarine (the proposal was rejected), fantasizing about diving into the depths of the enemy harbor and bombarding it with artillery, which made Sir Fisher so angry that he scolded in his office; "A bunch of idiots who only know how to dream in the office, they just don't know what to do."

Third, the cost is too expensive and the technology is not mature, it is better to build a few more cruisers with this money.

Although Sir Fisher, the British Admiralty who presided over the construction of the Dreadnought-class battleships, was very fond of submarines, he could not resist the likes of the top brass of the Dunned government!

Therefore, the plan to build K-class submarines was successfully approved, in the end, the British Royal Navy has a lot of money, and it will build 8 ships at one time, and retain the additional orders for the subsequent 8 ships.

The same is true of the Ocean Empire, Admiral He himself is actually very uninterested in T-class submarines, but the king who can't stand on the throne of the dragon chair likes it!

The Holy One has spoken today;

Submarines seem to be assassins on the bottom of the sea, representing a new direction in the development trend of naval technology in the world today, and deserve great attention and persistent research.

Get...... This sentence defined the submarine as an integral and important part of the Royal Navy.

Those big ships and giant artilleryists who dare to oppose it, just look at Admiral Geng Guigui who is now in the noble senate, basically eating and waiting for death, it has no effect.

Those who disobey the will of the saints today must stand aside.

The commander of the 1st Submarine Detachment was Colonel Chen Mantun, wearing the dark blue naval uniform peculiar to the submarine force, and walked step by step beside the Minister of the Admiralty, Admiral He Fang, the commander-in-chief of the Imperial Fleet, so that he could inquire at any time.

"What do you mean, you want to lead a submarine formation to the port of Seattle, participate in the port blockade, and look for fighters?"

"Yes, Your Excellency Lord." Colonel Chen Mantun replied respectfully.

He and Rear Admiral Bian Chunsong have been friends for decades, thinking that when he was a high-spirited second lieutenant in the navy, Bian Chunsong was just a technical researcher under Professor He Zuguang, and Li Zhong and Wu Baoli, two little guys, saw that he was a "Brother Mantun", and he called him so affectionate......

Now 20 years have passed in a flash, and Bian Chunsong is now the commander of the Army's Honorary First Armored Division, and he is about to lead his troops to land in North America and gallop on the battlefield and make another meritorious service.

Li Zhong was promoted to brigadier general and deputy commander of the armored tiger cavalry division, holding an armored tank regiment and an infantry regiment in his hands, and earning a hereditary noble title for the family is almost a sure thing, which is really enviable.

Wu Baoli served as the deputy commander of the brigadier general in the 4th Armored Division of the Royal Praetorian Guard, and his future is bright.

Compared with these old brothers in the past, Colonel Chen Mantun was almost submerged in the heroic Royal Navy, and the most inferior captains here are all outstanding students who graduated from the Citigroup Naval Academy, and the elites trained in Britain, Germany, France and the Empire's native naval academy abound, and it can be said that a small group of the most elite people in the empire have been gathered.

Entering the submarine force was the most important choice in his life resume, and others were not optimistic about this unit, so he was able to get lucky to be appointed as the detachment leader.

Colonel Chen Mantun replied solemnly;

"Humble opinion;

The submarine force has a high degree of concealment, and can quietly sneak into the strait and wait for an opportunity to act when it is not being noticed by the US defense forces.

Our submarines are equipped with high-power radio stations with an effective range of 300 km. It can cruise in the outer waters of the strait outlet and the Pacific coast, and can be used as a forward reconnaissance post to transmit information to the main fleet in a timely manner.

The radio and confidential personnel of the submarine detachment have been trained to relay telegrams, and a few submarines can form a vast and effective surveillance network, which will play an active role in this battle for supremacy at sea as the eyes and ears of the main fleet of the empire.

Therefore, the lowly position only asks you to fight on behalf of the submarine detachment. ”

"Well, that sounds good."

Admiral He Fang could not abandon the submarine force beloved by the Holy Lord today, and he should also make a gesture of liking and attaching importance to it, he seriously considered it and said; "The Port of Seattle is deep in the interior of the Strait, and the Great White Fleet hides in it and refuses to come out. A strong attack is completely inadequate, if you can surprise him and make him ruthless at once, it will play the role of startling the grass and snakes, it is not a solution. ”

Speaking of which

Admiral He Fang stood down, turned his head to look at Colonel Chen Mantun and asked; "Although the U.S. military has not set up anti-submarine nets, it has laid mines extensively in the external seas, how are you going to solve this problem?"

"Report to the sir, the plan is to place most of the submarine forces in the outer area of the strait, forming a tight surveillance pocket array. As for infiltrating into the strait, only two or three highly skilled submarines were dispatched, and enemy freighters were selected to follow them at the right time to secretly infiltrate the Puget Sound. ”

"Won't it be discovered?"

"Sir, our submarine vents are painted light blue above the depth of the vents, and according to experiments, they are no longer recognizable to the naked eye at a distance of 300 meters. It can just blend in and infiltrate the trajectory of a freighter, and the chance of being detected is extremely small. ”

"It seems that you have made a lot of preparations, in that case, let's go and do it boldly,

I agree with this battle plan. ”

"Thank you for the cultivation, I am grateful for my humble duties, and I will never forget it."

"Do your job well, don't live up to the expectations of today's saints and the Royal Navy." Admiral He Fang waved his hand casually, but did not take it to heart.

In his bones, he is a staunch supporter of the doctrine of big ships and giant artillery, and he is not interested in these submarines and airplanes, but the former Minister of the Admiralty, Geng Guigui, was slow to respond to the new military wave, and was severely reprimanded by the world today, thus losing the important post of Minister of the Admiralty.

No matter how hard Admiral He is, he will not dare to fight with the current saint, isn't it a great death?

Okay, since you think the submarine force is okay, then I will also give you this opportunity to perform, as for whether you can get a satisfactory answer, you have to speak with facts.

Colonel Chen Mantun had been waiting for this opportunity for a long time, and since the commander-in-chief of the Imperial Fleet was relieved, he immediately took action, leading a submarine detachment of seven submarines, and two submarines to support the mother ship, sailed out of the docks on Kauai Island and headed north overnight, heading in the direction of Seattle.

Seattle

The greater Seattle area is not just one port, but there are more than a dozen ports, large and small, from the port of Niohbay, Port Angeles, Port Everett at the entrance of the strait, to Victoria Port on the other side of the strait, and then there are Port Essen, Port Sequim, etc., all the way to the Port of Seattle in the depths of Puget Sound.

In the mid-19th century, Seattle was just a small town that flourished because of the wood that was exported to San Francisco and became popular.

By the end of the 19th century, Seattle's timber business had begun to take shape and became the center of Citi's timber industry. Seattle's other industries grew rapidly from 1865 to 1867 until it became a city in 1869.

On June 6, 1889, a sudden fire razed Seattle to the ground.

So-called; Seon lost his horse, but he didn't know if it was a blessing.

The fires destroyed not only the city's low-rise wooden buildings, but also corrupt bureaucracy and poor urban planning, and the first city meetings were held on the streets behind the ruins, and citizens were making suggestions for Seattle's development.

In order to avoid the recurrence of fires, it was decided that all future buildings would be made of masonry. Before the fire, the city was built on a very humid beach, and there were frequent problems with seawater backflow.

In the process of reconstruction, the experience of urban construction of the Ocean Empire was actively referenced, and all the streets were raised 3 to 11 meters above the original ground, and perfect sewerage facilities were built, and urban gardens and green spaces were built, completely eliminating the disadvantages of seawater inflow.

Since then, the whole city has taken on a new look.

In 1893, the Transcontinental Citi Railway was extended to the northwest of the country, and Seattle became an important terminal for the Great Northern Railroad, not just a port on the Pacific coast, but also an important transportation hub for Citi's northwestern land-sea intermodal transportation.

It continues 174 kilometers north to the U.S.-Canada border, and continues to more than 50 kilometers north across the U.S.-Canada border to Vancouver, Canada's second largest city, with extremely convenient transportation between the two places, and Vancouver has regular liners to Seattle, which only takes 10 hours to arrive.

In view of the neutral position adopted by Britain in the "Wool War", Canada followed, and the Ocean Empire fleet was unable to use the port of Vancouver for supplies, which was also widely criticized for Britain within the Empire.

Li Fushou quietly wrote down another piece of black material in the small notebook.

This is not mentioned for now

The third large-scale population migration triggered by the Western Development Movement of North America also came at this time, Seattle ushered in a new wave of immigration and industry, and the city expanded rapidly in size and the economy developed rapidly.

In 1896 and 1897, gold was discovered in Alaska and the Klondike River basin in Canada, and the gold rush quickly became popular across the United States.

Seattle, known as the "Gateway to Alaska", as the only way to Alaska from the North American continent, became a transit point between Alaska and the Yukon River, providing various supplies for gold diggers and playing a very important role in the gold rush.

Seattle's prominence in the frenzy of the era was fueled by gold prospectors who traveled here to buy supplies needed to squander, and squandered their hard-earned gold.

In the 20th century, Seattle had a population of more than hundreds of thousands, making it a veritable northern powerhouse.

In a beautiful two-story Victorian white building in Seattle, Vice Admiral Doug, the Secretary of the Admiralty, who had arrived not long ago, was holding a military meeting, and the atmosphere at the meeting was extremely dull, and it could be seen that the admirals were quite resistant.

said a thousand ways and ten thousand, and finally found a stable life in Seattle, who wants to go to sea and risk losing their lives?

The ships of the Great Ocean Empire were blocked outside the strait like wolves, which had become a nightmare for the officers of the Great White Fleet.

Lieutenant General Doug's expression was firm at the moment, and he commanded without question; "This is a personal order from President Roosevelt, the Supreme Commander of the Army and Navy of the United States, and the Admiralty Department has jointly issued a decree that any failure to carry out the order will be punished as treason.

"Sir, I want to ask, isn't it child's play that we were allowed to come all the way from the East Coast to come here, and now we are told to go back with a word?"

"Yes, we can temper our troops in Puget Sound, this is the first line of the battle at sea! Why do you have to return to the east coast at the great risk of being surrounded and intercepted by the enemy's powerful fleet? ”

"There is no such reason, it is pure blind command."

"In my opinion, Mr. President thinks that we are not clean enough to die, so put another noose around our necks, right?"

The officers below were excited, full of slots.

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