Chapter 593 Collision 3
November 15th, Cologne Islands.
The port of Hebakriso, located at the southern end of San Cristobal Island in the Colon Islands, is the largest seaport in the archipelago.
It is said to be a harbor. In fact, it used to be a small bay. Due to insufficient water depth, it was not possible to dock large warships here. It was not until Xinhua leased it in the name of scientific research that it spent a lot of money to build a wharf extending to the sea here. The long wharf went deep into the sea from the center of the harbor like a sword.
Today, both sides of the dock were crowded with several warships. Except for three defense-class destroyers and two Tiger Shark submarines, the huge body of Anhai occupied all the remaining space.
As the first generation of multi-purpose light cruisers in the world, the Jinghai class has created a new era of cruisers, but after nearly 20 years of service, it is also destined to age. Even after medium-term upgrading, it has gradually retreated to the second line in the Imperial Royal Navy. Now it is mainly used for daily patrol and waterway protection. .
But it is undeniable that the contribution of the Jinghai class to Xinhua is inimiorable to anything. Even now, many vigorous industrial projects in China have originated from the original Jinghai plan, and many design concepts in the Jinghai class, such as triple ship guns, such as high speed, large endurance, etc., have become Naval design standards.
In the previous counterattack, Dinghai sank. Although Sihai escaped to death after being seriously injured, it was finally abandoned by the navy after returning to China, which became the epitome of Lao Jinghai's life.
Although the three defense-class destroyers were in service much later, they also seemed to be slow in front of the new Weiqing class. Only two Tiger Shark-class submarines that had just completed the reloading and came here to refuel belong to the year of the war.
Two huge tortoises crawled slowly along the harbor. This was a pastime caught by the soldiers of the first battalion of the third regiment of the 4th Division of the Marine Corps stationed here from Isabella Island. Looking at these clumsy big guys, the submarine soldiers who were preparing to set sail immediately became interested and took cameras to take pictures.
"What? Is it time to leave again?
Lin Pengxing patted Dai Jintang and Smarin on the shoulder from behind. After scaring the two submarine captains, he also laughed.
He is the joy of the captain of the navy cruiser. He is cheerful. He walked step by step from the captain of the turbine on the Dingyuan to the position of captain of the cruiser, which can be said to be the most typical old Beiyang civilian officer.
"Yes, I just received the news of S21, and there are more than 30 American cargo ships." Dai Jintang nodded and said, "Dam, this time we are full of oil, just to take their newly dressed torpedoes."
"New torpedo?"
Lin Pengxing only knew that the submarine troops had contracted and refitting on a large scale before, but he didn't know that it was a torpedo. He couldn't help but wonder, "What torpedo? Is it worth pulling you all back with great fanfare?
"Ha ha." Dai Jintang smiled and didn't say much. He pretended to be mysterious and said, "You will know when you go back to Honolulu. I heard that the headquarters has decided that some light cruisers and destroyers will also change this kind of torpedo."
"Part?"
Lin Pengxing was even more puzzled. If there is a new torpedo, it should be changed. Why is it a part?
Simalin, the captain of S25, shook his finger and said, "This kind of torpedo is very unstable and very dangerous. In order to test and explore the use method, we have lost a submarine and a destroyer before, so we went back to change and carried out special concentrated mine training, otherwise it would take so long. "."
"Oh." Seeing that both of them didn't say it clearly, Lin Pengxing also knew that they had rules, so he didn't continue to ask questions. He smiled and said, "Then I wish you good luck. It's better to get a battleship to open meat."
"Ha ha, that's right, you must have to have meat." With a smile, Dai Jintang and Sima Lin quickly boarded the submarine. As the sailors were in place one after another, the cables were quickly thrown away, and the two tiger sharks gradually disappeared into the sea.
After sending his partner away, Lin Pengxing went to check the situation on the ship again. As soon as he got off the gangway, the sound of running made him turn his head quickly, but when he saw the dress of the person coming, he couldn't help but be stunned.
He Wen'an, the commander of the marine battalion stationed here in a uniform, came here. It's strange that he was actually dressed in a uniform. You should know that the marine battalion stationed in Cologne was stationed in the name of the scientific research team, so he usually wears regular clothes, but at this moment, he wears the blue and white combat uniforms of the Marine Corps, which immediately made him feel that something is wrong. He hurriedly asked, "Camp commander, what's so urgent?"
"Captain Lin, this is the emergency telegram I just received."
Lin Pengxing took over the telegram and suddenly changed his face after reading it.
Three Maine-class battleships, two old Pennsylvania-class armored cruisers, and an unknown number of destroyers and other warships! Good boy, it is obvious that the United States is going to swallow the Cologne Islands.
Lin Pengxing is not worried about the 13th Fleet. Although the Anhai and the three defense-class destroyers are old, if he wants to run, he can't stop the double the [***] ship. What he is worried about is the soldiers of the land battalion in front of him, not to mention that the U.S. fleet has been out of Panama Bay for a day and a night, that is to say, it should have arrived. Nearby, these marines could not evacuate immediately, so they quickly looked at He Wen'an.
"It's too late for my big group of people to leave now." He Wen'an shook his head with a smile, as if he didn't keep the rushing American fleet in his heart. He laughed loudly and said, "Besides, the marines haven't given up the island without fighting!"
"There is no island for the Marines to give up without fighting!"
In a short sentence, Lin Pengxing looked at the major of the Marine Corps, who had only been together for a few days. You know, the Cologne Islands could not station more troops because of the lack of fresh water. In addition, the Ecuadorian political axe was worried and obstructed. What was stationed here was just a light camp, which also needed to be covered by scientific research.
More than 1,000 soldiers with mortars and machine guns need to face five tens of thousands of tons of warships, and there must be a large number of U.S. Army soldiers. You can imagine what the result will be! Thinking of this, he immediately saluted solemnly: "Don't worry, with us, the Yankees don't have the energy to concentrate all their firepower!"
"Thank you." After a resalute, He Wen'an ignored the nonsense. He needed to immediately arrange for the troops to retreat in depth and build a defense line enough to persist until the arrival of the support troops.
When the siren sound sounded from all over the port of Hebakriso, the four warships of the 13th Fleet had quickly untied the cables and stood in the bridge, looking at the setting sun gradually going west. Lin Pengxing took a deep breath and sat in front of the chart.
There are 7 large islands, 23 small islands and more than 50 rock reefs in the Cologne Islands. From the perspective of the environment, there is enough room for manoeuvre. Now the biggest question now is whether you can persist until the reinforcements arrive!
Since the warning has been issued, the fleet must have set out, but there are 3,700 nautical miles from Honolulu to here. Even the fastest defense-class destroyer, it will take almost 7 days to get here. Can you delay it for 7 days?
You don't even have to think about the answer, not to mention that I am still a few old warships, so what should I do?
The bow began to deviate from the dock little by little. When Lin Pengxing's eyes swept on the slowly crawling turtle in the distance, his eyes suddenly lit up. How could he forget them? ——
"turn around!"
Dai Jintang pinched his fist hard. He didn't expect to leave the Cologne Islands for two hours. As soon as he left, the Yankees killed the Cologne Islands. Thinking that there were only four old warships in the 13th Fleet, and there were only more than a thousand light infantry on the island, if he lost such a key strategic area because he went back late, I'm afraid he will blame himself for the rest of his life.
"How's the No. 25 boat?"
"The report is turning the rudder behind us, and we should have received the news."
"This boy, keep up." Hearing that Situ Lin also followed, Dai Jintang was relieved. Judging from so many years of exploration, the combat efficiency of a single submarine is far less than that of many submarines. What's more, the scale of the American fleet is still so large that I am really not sure.
"Rise the ventilation pipe, inject water into the No. 1 and No. 2 water cabinet, and maintain the depth." After Dai Jintang gave the order, there was a whirring sound of water in the pipe in the boat. After a moment, the world in the periscope gradually subsided until there was only a shallow horizon left.
Looking at the watch, it's 5 p.m. It takes two hours to return to the port of Black Bakriso, that is to say, it will be the submarine's favorite night battle!
Thinking of this, he immediately handed the periscope to the first mate, and ordered the release of the radio buoy to contact him to see if there were other submarines nearby before he walked to the front torpedo cabin, because the torpedo was the life of the submarine.
In the torpedo cabin, the sailors were beginning to carefully twist the special cover on the torpedo, revealing a pressure gauge and interface in the cover. Another soldier who was already ready immediately pulled out a hose from the bulkhead and connected the interface. After carefully confirming that there was no problem several times, he slowly unscrewed it. The valve.
As the valve opened, several mine hands were all alert. They were not afraid of damaging the torpedo, but because it was too dangerous to charge the torpedo now.
Pure oxygen!
This thing is a hundred times more dangerous than gasoline. When it was tested before loading, the S39, which had just been launched, was pulled to charge the strong man, but it did not expect that the valve was not closed in time after oxygenation, resulting in a leak into the torpedo cabin. It happened that a screwdriver accidentally fell on the steel plate with Mars. As a result, the whole boat was blown up, and dozens of submarine companies Without shouting, he sank to the bottom of the sea more than 300 meters deep.
So when changing clothes this time, in addition to adding oxygen cylinders, more than half of the time are training how to use and precautions. Each miner needs to practice several times, and finally he can get back on the boat after passing the assessment.
Seeing that it began to be oxygenated, Dai Jintang also became nervous. He went to the thunder hand who was concentrating on the pressure gauge to help. He saw the hand on the dial move little by little. One second before slowly crossing the white area and reaching the red area, the thunder hand quickly closed the valve, and then carefully pulled out the tube until the cover was twisted. After the screw pushed the torpedo into the No. 1 launch tube, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
But just after the second torpedo began to be oxygenated, the beads of sweat dripped down again.
Although the oxygenation time is very fast, due to the complex process, it takes 3 hours to fill all 18 torpedoes, so this period will be the most difficult for everyone. When the 13th torpedo has just finished charging oxygen, there was already a shout outside the hatch.
" Captain, there is a sound of shelling!"
(to be continued)