Chapter 531 Cape Coronel

Night.

In the southeast Pacific Ocean, 300 nautical miles south of the Juan Fernandes Islands, a long and narrow black fin back rises and falls with Ling Ling microwave. If a ship passes here without looking carefully, I'm afraid it will think that it is a whale that is out of the water. Only when you walk in, will you find that it is a cold one. War machine.

On the back, in the small enclosure, after the captain Dai Jintang got out of the hatch, he immediately turned his head and looked at the direction of Maste Island, which was already invisible behind him, which was extraordinary for every soldier of the Imperial Royal Navy, because it was the birthplace of the Royal Navy!

It is said that the emperor also planned to buy the island from Chile as a souvenir, but in the end, he gave up because of the other party's declaration of neutrality. However, in order to improve the relationship with the empire, the Chilean political axe changed the name of the Port of Masty Bay used by the navy to the Port of China to commemorate that history.

Unfortunately, it happened to be daytime when passing by, so Dai Jintang sighed in his heart and then turned south. The moonlight was embedded in the inner wall of the enclosure, and the small nameplate engraved with Qian-029 flashed by.

Submarine-029, just the number of this submarine, its real name is Tiger Shark.

The tiger shark class is the third generation of Xinhua's equipment after the gray ridge shark. It is also a real ocean-going submarine with a length of 75 meters, 48 crew members, a water displacement of 1,100 tons, and 1,250 tons underwater. It uses two large V-shaped inline gasoline engines, with a maximum speed of 15 knots on the surface and 6 knots underwater.

After the displacement is nearly double that of the second generation, the effect is very direct. For example, the water surface endurance reaches 7,000 nautical miles/10 knots for the first time, and 50 nautical miles/4 knots underwater when propelled by the battery. In addition, the use of new special steel, double-layer shell and welding technologies makes it the maximum Dive to a depth of 150.

In addition to installing six 550mm heavy torpedo launch tubes and 20 ammunition at the bow, it also has the ability to carry an external underwater mine tank on both sides of the boat for the first time. 16 timed mines can be arranged at a time.

Unlike Europe, which likes to install cannons on submarine decks, the young designers of the empire adhered to the emperor's style preference. They did not install cannons, but only equipped with a double 37mm rapid-fire gun. Originally, the rapid-fire gun would not be installed, but later it was considered that it was more cost-effective than torpedoes in low-intensity action cannons. Install it.

In addition to the tonnage, the Tiger Shark class has two major improvements. For the first time, a hearing device was installed in the submarine, so that it can also distinguish whether there are ships on the water underwater and avoid the enemy when floating. In addition, a ventilation pipe was installed for the first time.

I have to say that compared with the hearing device, which often recognizes errors when the sound is blurred, another new equipment has a greater utility, that is, the installation of a ventilation duct for the first time.

The utility of the ventilation pipe is indescribable. It allows the tiger shark to turn on the engine underwater and exercise continuously at a speed of 8 knots, which is only one camouflage tube left on the sea surface, which greatly reduces the probability of being found, especially at night. If you are not careful, it is difficult even within a kilometer. I found it.

Of course, such good equipment is expensive. It is said that one tiger shark can build six gray sharks at the price. I also heard that in order to equip a few more, the commander quarreled with the Prime Minister again.

Of course, as for how much the tiger shark will be equipped in the end, even the friends of the Admiralty are not very clear. He is just the thirteenth submarine brigade of the First Fleet of the Royal Navy, and there are more than a dozen of them behind. And the last time he went to the Third Fleet, he saw the No. 35 boat that had just entered service.

Compared with the island-stuffed Southwest Pacific, the Eastern Pacific Ocean is a place that all captains don't like, because it is really empty. Except for a few islands that can be hidden near the coast of South America, the vast expanse sea is almost blank.

This is especially true for submarines. The emptiness means that it is difficult to hide. What's more, under the mutual squeeze of the equatorial warm current and the west wind drift belt, the water surface is calm but the underwater surging is very serious, and there will even be an extremely dangerous jump effect.

Many years ago, there was a gray shark here who did not pay attention to the current. As a result, it offset the channel and hit the reef. If the captain had not ordered to start the escape in time, and the submarine was only 30 meters away from the water, and there was a submarine support ship nearby, they might not have thought of going back in their life.

But even so, he still lost seven sailors who did not escape, and the captain who decisively let the sailors go first and opened the drain valve by himself and failed to escape from the torpedo tube in time.

And even if there was no accident, even the tiger shark with a range of 7,000 nautical miles would not usually come here, because the empire lacked a base here in the past.

The endurance of 7,000 nautical miles is only an ideal state. In fact, no warship can run the maximum endurance. In addition, it is impossible to sail in a straight line after sailing. It is necessary to maneuver frequently. From Hawaii to Cape Horn, it is more than 8,000 thousand nautical miles, so it used to be a forbidden area for submarine soldiers.

But since the Empire leased the Cologne Islands, there have been more Imperial Navy warships to operate here. Although it is a small base, and most of the fresh water needs to be transported from Ecuador by two special oil and water vessels, the oil and daily necessities stored there can still be brought to the sailors who have been on missions for a long time. To help.

As the main channel for the empire to connect with South America, and the route of the United States to Australia and the New Pacific, it has become the forefront of the confrontation between the empire and the United States.

The Prime Minister and the Chief of General Staff have repeatedly issued warnings about the entry of U.S. troops into Australia and the Southwest Pacific, and the two [***] ships have clashed from time to time, but the United States seems to be determined this time and still ignores the delivery of supplies and troops to Australia.

The more the United States is like this, the more people feel that they are going to intervene in Europe, because Germany has initially gained the upper hand after the fall of Paris. As long as it can achieve results on the eastern front and force Russia to withdraw from the war, then this battle will be won.

This situation is terrible for the Allies, so Britain began to lobby the United States to join the war, but the United States itself is not without worries. The Imperial Marine Corps stationed in Colombia has always been a thorn around the Panama Canal, and the empire's naval power in the Pacific Ocean have made the United States not afraid to be distracted. That's why the declaration of war has not been declared for a long time.

Of course, this is just Dai Jintang's guess that no one knows what the United States thinks, but as an emperor, especially the best honored submarine force with three hearts, must be prepared all the time.

But I heard that the Germans have also done something with three hearts recently, which makes Britain very shameless.

Dai Jintang sniffed and smiled self-deprecatingly. How he wished he had completed this feat! Unfortunately, because there was no declaration of war, we could only watch the British and American fleet passing under their eyes like locusts at this time.

"It's probably just a Mars!"

After saying to himself, Dai Jintang took a few breaths hard. The smell in the submarine was uncomfortable, and it needed to be hidden, so it usually did not surface during the day, and only at night could he stretch comfortably.

After returning to the surface of the water, the submarine-29 immediately accelerated to 12 knots. Although this speed is not as fast as that of surface ships, it is not slow among submarines around the world.

The sailors who nested for a day began to get out of the deck. As long as there were no strong winds and waves, or other circumstances, the captain would allow everyone to come up to get through the wind.

and the captain of the ship were squeezed into the shell. Dai Jintang carefully studied the route with the chart. According to the plan, they will return after cruising to Cape Horn. Due to the frequent activities of British [***] ships in the Magellan Strait recently, they need to be very careful.

But after the discussion between the two, there were suddenly bursts of restlessness on the deck. As soon as Dai Jintang raised his head, his eyes were stabbed by the mast lamp more than ten kilometers away--

"General, the Chinese sent a telegram. Four British cruisers were found 300 nautical miles south of the Fernandez Islands, sailing north along the Chilean coastline."

On the Charnhorst, who was lurking on the island of San Ambro West Australia and preparing to attack the British and French transport ship, Lieutenant General Spee, who was just about to go to bed, rushed out of the bridge like lightning. During this period, he seemed to feel that he was much younger. After killing in the Indian Ocean, he was "busy" on the east coast of Australia a few days ago. It's too much fun.

What makes him happier is that Paris was occupied by the army half a month ago. France has retreated all the way, and there is even a sound of surrender. Yesterday, the Dresden and Leipzig successfully played with themselves. Counting the Emden and Leipzig, which still contain the enemy in the Indian Ocean, they have six cruisers. The ship has not lost to any Anglo-French cruiser in the Pacific Ocean.

He also knew that if it hadn't been for the intelligence support of the Xinhua Empire and the logistical help of others, he would have been buried in the sea. However, recently, the British seemed to be in a hurry. They joined hands with France to send more than 20 warships and cruisers to the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, and three invincible battlecruisers in ten days. Before leaving Portsmouth Harbor, it is very likely to deal with yourself!

Months of sailing have made six of its cruisers in urgent need of maintenance. Now dozens of warships in the Indian Ocean are coming east, and with the three newly sent invincible class, the pressure has suddenly increased several times.

After returning to the bridge, Spee quickly pulled the information from the staff, and the corners of his eyes suddenly showed joy.

He was thinking about giving the British some more lessons before the encirclement was completed, diverting their attention and returning to the southwest to use the base of the Xinhua Empire to maintain and maintain the fleet. Unexpectedly, the British sent a generous gift.

The Cape of Good Hope and the armored cruiser Monmus, the protected cruiser Glasgow, and the auxiliary cruiser Otranto.

Four cruisers, the British are too arrogant!

Spee snorted coldly and measured it with a compass. After calculating the distance, a cold light flashed in his old eyes: "Let the Leipzig set out immediately and lead the British here!"

Spee's fingers hit the sea outside Cape Coronel.

(to be continued)