The more than a dozen officers of the Mastin's were subjected to detailed interrogation – and while there was no legal violation, they were now treated infinitely close to that of the suspects.

From the gunners to the captains, everyone was interrogated one by one about the details.

The captain of the Lexington, Colonel Friedrich Sherman, was treated similarly, but slightly better.

The specially set up commission of inquiry is a hodgepodge of members of parliament and the president's designated federal prosecutors, in addition to naval personnel.

It stands to reason that the investigation of such wrongs has nothing to do with the disposition and the federal government, and should be the responsibility of the Navy's judicial department.

However, the nature and impact of this incident were too bad for the navy to resist the verbal and written criticism of the outside world, so it could only agree to it.

During the cross-examination of the persons concerned by the Commission of Inquiry, the Navy's Special Military Tribunal also charged all officers of the destroyer Mastin, with the loss of equipment and the financing of the enemy.

First, according to UCMJ-908-108, the loss of U.S. military property due to its own reasons.

Second, according to UCMJ-904-104, he helped the enemy by various acts.

"Our investigation hasn't been put together yet, those Navy guys have already made accusations, and I don't know what they're thinking."

"Maybe it's in response to the pressure of public opinion, it's normal."

In a conference room on the second floor of the building, several lawmakers and federal prosecutors are chatting as they sort through their files.

"Because they know that everything is in their problem." Department of Justice agent Egbert said lightly.

The rest of the people looked at it, and he continued to say unhurriedly: "The situation has been very clear, except for one torpedo mechanism that could not be launched due to a malfunction, the other two were all successfully launched. At that time, the Mastins and the Lexington were only 1,500 yards apart, and at least 7 torpedoes hit her, but only 4 explosions occurred. ”

"Egbert, you mean ......"

"If something has a failure rate of more than 43%, do you still think it's normal?"

The group sorted out the interrogation documents and left the building with their briefcases.

Countless protesters were already gathering outside the Admiralty building, stretching from the gate to the National Mall, and people were driving across the Potomac River Bridge to join the demonstrations.

Those banners read slogans such as "Shame on the Navy" and "Four-and-a-half Million Dollars for Christmas Gifts."

Some of them are not afraid to hide their identities, and they trumpet widespread negligence and corruption in both the US Army and Navy, and that much of the bureaucracy must be eliminated to win the war.

Silver shirt, blue tie, blue trousers......

"It's these guys again, they were seized by the National Guard at an armed stronghold in Virginia three months ago, and there was an exchange of fire between the two sides, and there were about forty casualties." Agent Egbert said disdainfully.

What is clear is that political rivalry is never absent from such events.

Now the conclusions of the preliminary investigation can be said to be quite detailed, and all the spearheads point to the culprit who caused the big mistake - torpedoes!

Admiral Hasburn's temperament is certainly upright, but he still has the basic wisdom to deal with the world.

According to the operational reports of the submarine forces of the Pacific Fleet, the captains of several submarines have reported the situation of torpedo duds, which means that not only the Mk15 torpedoes used by surface ships have problems, but also the Mk14 torpedoes used by submarines have serious flaws.

So it can basically be concluded that it was the fault of the Naval Ordnance Bureau - there was something wrong with the torpedoes supplied by these guys!

But many officers in the U.S. Navy know what's at stake, and the local Newport legislators are very protective of their calves, and they won't give up easily when they get into trouble.

So generally speaking, people are reluctant to provoke them, and often choose to turn a blind eye.

After careful consideration, Admiral Hasben-Kimmel decided to report truthfully.

For the morale of the Navy, for the victory of the war, and for the sake of personal reputation, I can't care so much for the time being!

The combat reports of the four submarines and the captain's handwritten feedback were compiled, photocopied and printed in quadruplicate, and encapsulated in waterproof file bags.

A lieutenant colonel, accompanied by several armed sailors, carried documents on a nondescript PBY Catalina seaplane from Honolulu to the West Coast before connecting to Washington.

Because President Franklin attached great importance to this matter and specifically instructed that the progress of the investigation must be reported in a timely manner, it was not long before the preliminary conclusions of the commission of inquiry and the summary of the report sent by the Pacific Fleet command were sent to the desk of the White House.

After reading it carefully, the president said in a deep voice: "I'm afraid that some people in the Ordnance Bureau will have to give a reasonable answer. ”

At his behest, the Board of Inquiry immediately went to Newport and began an investigation of the torpedo station of the Naval Ordnance Bureau.

The Mk14/15 torpedoes and the Mk6 magnetic fuse used with them were designed and developed by engineers from the Naval Ordnance Bureau, and the mass production work after the finalization was mainly concentrated at the Naval Torpedo Station in Newport.

However, because the United States began to expand its armaments a few years ago, the increase in torpedo production is one of many plans, and now some private enterprises are also involved in the manufacture of spare parts.

The Navy's purchase price for the Mk14 533mm torpedo is $10,000, which is so expensive that it is enough to buy ten brand-new cars, most of which cost just over $800, and some of the better ones are only more than $1,000.

Now, the Douglas DC-3 passenger plane in which the Investigative Committee was traveling has landed smoothly on the runway of Newport Naval Base.

Located in Rhode Island on the north east coast, Newport is home to a beautiful waterfront and colorful arts festivals, as well as a key base for the U.S. Navy, home to the Naval War College, which trains mid- and high-ranking commanders.

For the investigation team that suddenly arrived, the Ordnance Bureau torpedo station was not surprised.

Although the Naval Ordnance Bureau still vehemently denied that there was a problem with the torpedo itself, they said that the occurrence of the duds must have been attributed to the sailors' illegal operation or non-maintenance according to the technical manual.

But at this cusp, even if they deny it, they can't change the facts that have been investigated against them.

The Ordnance Bureau's torpedo station is essentially an official enterprise owned by the Navy, and some of its managers are also Navy civilians, and the workers are also employees on standard labor contracts.

After a decent investigative visit, the Commission of Inquiry expressed its wish to conduct practical tests and to test the reliability of a batch of test firings from among the completed torpedoes.

However, the management of the torpedo station refused to fire the test on the grounds of "insufficient authority" and "lack of test conditions".

As a result, the commission of inquiry had to submit an application to Washington and then prepare to stay here for one night, hoping to be authorized in time.

"I don't know why, they would choose a canning company as a parts contractor?"

"That's not all, International Harvesters has also taken on some orders."

That afternoon, just as the group was about to leave, Agent Egbert went to the bathroom in a hurry.

He walked to the sink while tying his belt, and suddenly, a figure slipped up behind him, threw something on the floor, and turned away.

He quickly turned his head, only to see the man flicker by and disappear into the bathroom door.

But on the floor tile at the door, an envelope lay quietly there.

Agent Egbert picked it up and saw the words "To the Investigators" written on the envelope, and immediately became vigilant.

After looking around to make sure it was safe, he opened the envelope and pulled out and unfolded the stationery inside.

The handwriting is a little sloppy, but it doesn't affect the reading.

"To the investigators, I'm a Navy officer at Newport Torpedo Station, and I thought I needed to give you some inside information.

Rhode Island's voters, legislators, and unions have always had close ties to Washington, and they've always favored us, the Newport torpedo station, or the workers who work there.

I think the guidelines they maintain are excessive and inappropriate, and there have been cases where managers have tried to fire an incompetent worker, but there has been strong resistance and eventually he has given up on his intentions.

Some voters even declared that members of the House and Senate belonging to Rhode Island would visit the Secretary of the Navy in person if employees working here were fired at will.

But in fact there is no arbitrariness, and it seems to me that a considerable number of workers lack a sense of professional responsibility, and they often work in a state of confusion and hangover, with a high failure rate......

Agent Egbert, frowning, took a deep breath, then pulled out his camera from his pocket and snapped a few shots at the letter.

Outside, too, there was a shout from a companion, "Egbert, what are you doing?" It's been three minutes. ”

"I'm sorry, I'm here."

In this way, the group left the factory area of the torpedo station in the midst of your words and my words.

They stayed at a nearby hotel that day, and Agent Egbert packed the film into an envelope and dropped it into a letterbox on the side of the street before returning to his room.

After making sure there were no outsiders nearby, he told the rest of the committee of inquiry about what had happened.

Everyone got together, went through the letter from beginning to end, and immediately argued.

The federal prosecutor couldn't help but exclaim, "Man, this is a lot worse than privately owned companies." ”

There are pros and cons to everything, and in a sense, the Lexington's coincidental capture by the Ming army is also a bad thing.

Historically, because of the stubbornness of the Naval Ordnance Bureau, it was not until four or three years that the Americans began to officially work on the problem of duds for torpedoes.

In October of that year, twenty-one months after the outbreak of the Pacific War, the first modified Mk14 torpedoes were loaded into submarines and put into service.

But this time, it was not the case, and the enormous pressure from the military, government, and people was put on the arrogant bureaucrats of the Ordnance Bureau, and it was impossible for them to try to pass the buck.

It is foreseeable that the Daming sea transportation line will face the threat of a surge in the near future, and the US submarine force, which sank 5 million tons of Japanese merchant ships in the original plane, will soon get rid of the infuriating dud bomb problem.

In addition, the new submarine - the Little Shark class, which has learned from the experience of previous generations of submarines such as the Dolphin class and the Salmon class, has also completed the design plan and will be put into production soon.

A school of sharks is coming.

However, the Akito, who was intoxicated with the joy of victory, did not realize this, and the asama still had the mentality of watching the excitement.

"Paralyzing carelessness and slackening armament, the pioneer of aviation warfare was finally won by our country's DPRK"

"Beauty Must Fail!" The 10,000-ton giant ship was abandoned, and the general was furious"

"A glimpse of the leopard in the tube, a glimpse of it, there are such omissions in the dignified national war"

The major newspapers of the Ming Dynasty from north to south were happy to publish all kinds of articles, gloating and ridiculing.

The teahouse is full of high-minded comments from folk critics, who often sprinkle thousands of words and tell people all kinds of jokes.

For example, General So-and-so was so angry that he vomited blood, such and such an officer resigned, or the commander in the White House was so angry that he ordered the arrest of many people......

"Hey, I still can't understand Cantonese."

Zhou Changfeng, dressed in casual clothes, and a few soldiers strolled along the river, where many magnificent painting boats floated slowly, and the laughter of diners was constantly heard from the nearby teahouses and restaurants.

After more than half a month of hard work, the Lexington, escorted by three destroyers, finally arrived in Guangzhou.

After initial repairs in Surabaya, the Lexington's breaches were closed and half of its power was restored.

Zhou Changfeng thought that he was also a layman after all, and he really couldn't resist the psychology of watching the excitement, so he made a special flight from the capital to witness this rare scene.

Aesthetically speaking, the bridges and chimneys of the Lexington-class are tall and abrupt, and some of them feel light on one side and heavy on the other, which is not coordinated.

[Picture]

But after all, this is someone else's ship, and the bad is also good, and the ugly is also beautiful.

At this moment, the Lexington was being towed by a barge into the No. 3 dry dock at the Chuting Shipyard.

Zhou Changfeng, who was standing on the side, pointed and asked, "What is the navy's plan?" Can it be fixed? ”

He was surrounded by several shipyard directors and naval officers, and one of the major replied without thinking: "Chief Hui Zhou, it has not yet been finalized, and the cost of repair must be carefully assessed, and if it is too large, then it will be simply repaired and used as a training ship." ”

Such a badly damaged battleship was laborious to repair, time-consuming and costly.

Moreover, only this 260m dry dock at the Chuting Shipyard meets the maintenance conditions, and the rest of the dry dock length is not enough to accommodate the Lexington.

Repairing her meant that production tasks had to be put on hold, and the five armored aircraft carriers were preparing to be built, and the two were in conflict.

"And Zhou Zhizhao doesn't know, the power plant of this ship is different from ordinary ships, to be honest, you have to think about it."

Zhou Changfeng looked at the shipyard engineer who was talking in surprise, and asked suspiciously: "Generally boilers and steam engines?" ”

The latter shook his head slightly, smiled wryly and replied: "Although this ship also has boilers and turbines, it uses steam to drive the turbines to generate electricity, and then uses electric motors to drive the propellers. ”

The optimal speed range for the main shaft of a steam turbine is usually 10,000 revolutions per minute, while the optimal speed range for large propellers is about 300 revolutions per minute.

How do you fit the two? Countries around the world generally use large gear reduction mechanisms to reduce the rotational speed.

However, the Americans took a different approach and adopted electric propulsion on many capital ships, directly adjusting the speed of the electric motor to drive the propeller.

"Is it hard?" Zhou Changfeng blinked and muttered, "Wouldn't it be good to go to the thermal power plant and find someone to help." ”

(End of chapter)