Australian Storm 1876

  Chapter 889 T101's decision

The waters near Seattle are tense and full of a strong atmosphere of war. The cargo ships and fishing boats that were flowing endlessly have been rarely seen. However, due to the lack of information in the current era, many Citi cargo ships returning from the Far East did not know about it and went to the Port of Seattle. come.

   There are many mines outside the Port of Seattle. If these unwitting freighters hit it, they will definitely be blown to pieces and die.

   From any point of view, the Washington State government cannot allow this to happen.

   Therefore, a "Montgomery" class protective cruiser flying the Stars and Stripes has been dispatched to patrol back and forth more than ten kilometers outside the entrance of the strait.

  If the cargo ship is insufficient in coal, or must enter the port to unload for other reasons, the cruiser "Montgomery" will send sailors to the ship to search and strictly examine its identity, cargo and destination port.

  After eliminating suspicious factors, the pilots were arranged to follow the reserved minefield passage to guide the freighter into the inner port of the strait to unload the cargo, which was a last resort in wartime.

The "Montgomery" protected cruiser is an old ship built in 1894, with a displacement of 2094 tons, 5400 horsepower, a maximum speed of 17 knots, and is equipped with 9 127 mm guns. It belongs to the veterans of the Pacific Fleet and is also an experimental work of the US Navy. .

  This kind of old ship is invisible in the Atlantic Fleet. Only in the nursing home of the US Navy's Pacific Fleet can you see this very old sail cruiser, which retains a full set of sail structures.

   After 3pm

   A whaling ship from Alaska loaded with whale oil slowly sailed into the strait along the reserved minefield passage under the guidance of the port pilot.

   The weather at this time is gloomy, and it seems that there will be a continuous rain. If the temperature drops sharply, it will be a bad weather with rain and snow.

  The sea was cold and windy, and the wind and waves also increased.

  The officers and soldiers on the protective cruiser "Montgomery" hid their heads in the lee of the ship, and no one wanted to stand in the knife-like cold wind for a long time.

  What they didn't know was that at the moment there were two submarines, one after the other, at the height of the snorkel, following the whalers quietly diving into the strait.

  The two submarines waited patiently for many days outside the strait, and finally got this good opportunity to penetrate.

   In a submarine with a hull number T101 in the back, Colonel Chen Mantun, the captain of the submarine detachment, commanded himself personally. He tightly controlled the periscope with both hands and gave orders from time to time;

   "The left car stops, the right car idles, and the left rudder advances slowly at 15 degrees."

   "Report water depth?"

   "Report sir, the water depth of the strait is 77 meters."

   "Report location?"

   "Report sir, my boat is 3.7 kilometers away from the left bank and about 11.5 kilometers away from the right bank, and the water depth has been reduced to 63 meters."

   "Continue to observe and report developments at any time."

"Yes, sir."

   "Start the left car, start the right car, keep the first gear and drive slowly."

"Yes, sir."

   After entering the strait, there should be no torpedoes laid here. In the ports of Nierbe and Angeles, where the submarine passed, dozens of fishing boats and many freighters anchored on the anchorage were docked in the harbors.

   If mines were laid, it would be a complete disaster for these civilian ships.

The strait is about 16 to 23 kilometers wide and more than 130 kilometers long. At the end, it is a wide water area in the shape of a "T". It reaches Vancouver, Canada's second largest city, less than 100 kilometers north, and about 140 kilometers south. The Port of Seattle deep in Git Bay.

   After carefully maneuvering the submarine for three hours, it was already dark.

At this time, the periscope could not see anything. Colonel Chen Mantun could only risk the submarine to surface, and soon the slender submarine surfaced. In the dark night of the sea and sky, the T101 submarine was completely unable to observe where the T103 boat that had dived in was at all. ?

   Now there are enemies on all sides. For security reasons, T101 submarines dare not use light signals and radio communications, for fear of being observed by fortresses or ports on the shore, so the fun will be great.

   The swells in the strait are very large, and the submarine has only two options: driving or anchoring. If it stops and follows the current, it is easily pushed by the waves to the shores on both sides to run aground.

  Chen Mantun's colonel thought about it, and arranged for the navigator and the deputy captain to take turns looking out on the submarine command platform to guide the submarine to go further.

It continued on for about 8 hours. According to the itinerary, it was almost at the "T" mouth of the strait. At this time, Lieutenant He Guanghui, the deputy captain, who was watching from the submarine command platform, suddenly screamed loudly; "Quick, quick. Stop, and find the enemy fleet ahead, about two kilometers away."

   This cry scared the hearts of all the officers and soldiers into a half beat.

  What does it mean for a submarine to be exposed to the enemy's fleet, and you know with your toes that it will end badly.

Colonel Chen Mantun immediately climbed to the submarine command platform, and looked into the distance regardless of the rain and snow being slapped on his face like a knife. He was immediately stunned, and after reacting, he ordered in a series of voices; Right rudder turned 45 degrees, ready to dive."

   "The right rudder has been turned 45 degrees, and the dive is good."

   "Dive down, prepare to sit and sink."

   "Understood, prepare to sit down."

  Colonel Chen Mantun ordered the dive without saying a word, and then closed the hatch above his head with the co-captain He Guanghui, and slipped down the slide one after another, his face still full of lingering fears.

   is so exciting!

   At the wide T-shaped mouth of the strait, the main ships of the Great White Fleet are all anchored here, and strict light control is implemented. In the harsh weather with rain and snow, the huge black shadows are like mountains on the sea.

  If you don't pay attention, you can't see it at all.

  Fortunately, a coal supply ship was working with its lights on and was supplying a cruiser at the anchorage. The lights reflected the huge and terrifying silhouette of the battleship. The deputy captain, Lieutenant He Guanghui, was lucky enough to find the target 2 kilometers away.

  Otherwise, even if you rush in front of your eyes, it will be difficult to find.

  Look back

   Due to the small exposed area of ​​the submarine on the sea surface, coupled with the extremely harsh climate, the rain and snow on the sea surface, and the low visibility, the possibility of the fleet finding the submarine is very small.

  The sea water gushed into the ballast tank, and the submarine maintained a stable posture and slowly sank to the bottom of the water. Until then, the nervous crew members breathed a long sigh of relief, as if they were relieved from the gaze of death.

   Now the remaining question is; to fight or not to fight?

It is very simple to hit. The enemy fleet is docked 2 kilometers ahead. After aiming at the depth of the periscope, all 4 torpedoes are shot out, and then the spare torpedo on the torpedo rack is pushed and launched at the fastest speed. No matter, play them one by one again. The whole process takes about 10 minutes, and the rest is to escape.

   After thinking about it for a while, Colonel Chen Mantun decided not to fight, but he was ready to fight at any time. Why did he say that?

  The boat T103 sneaked into the strait together. If boat No. 103 started to launch torpedoes, boat No. 101 must also fight to maximize the victory. There is nothing to say.

   In accordance with the operational discipline of the submarine detachment;

  After losing command, the T103 boat can decide whether to attack or not when it encounters a suitable target?

  There are also good reasons for not fighting. Colonel Chen Mantun felt that it was unusual for the U.S. Navy's Great White Fleet to park at the mouth of the "T" bay.

   After thinking deeply, he can probably guess some clues.

  The Great White Fleet, which includes the elite main battleships of the US Navy, can be described as the most important weapon of the country. There should be no mistakes in the line. Normally, it should be docked in the port to ensure safety.

  Why did it temporarily break down at the mouth of the “T” bay?

   Combined with the surrounding geographical environment of the Port of Seattle, the answer is ready to come out.

The Great White Fleet of the U.S. Navy set off from the Port of Seattle in the morning and traveled at a speed of 6 to 8 knots. The distance of more than 140 kilometers was able to travel to the mouth of the “T” bay at about 3 to 4 pm. At this time, due to the severe weather, it rained on the sea. The snow and the poor visibility put the Great White Fleet in a dilemma.

Continue to follow the original plan to break through the strait at night, which means to continue driving for 9 to 10 hours in extremely harsh weather conditions, and also to pass through very dangerous minefields. The moon is a reference, and if it is not good, it will be buried in the minefield.

  For the sake of safety, anchoring in a wide bay with a decent line of sight is an option.

  The 10,000-ton warship is different from a car. It is impossible to stop when you want to stop. When sailing at a slow speed of 6 to 8 knots, you can rush out for a few kilometers if you want to stop.

   There is no advanced navigation equipment in this era, and night flights are especially dangerous. The distance can only be seen by eyes (optical rangefinders at night cannot work). When something is wrong, most of them are too late.

  Accidents are prone to occur in formation sailing in bad weather, especially when the line of sight is poor at night, and there is no emergency that endangers life and death. Strictly prevent large ship formations from sailing at night, especially in narrow straits.

  If there is an accident, it will be a series of collisions.

  If the weather improves tomorrow

  The Great White Fleet pulled anchor and set sail at noon. It took about ten hours to cross the 130-kilometer strait. It could break through the minefield of the strait at about ten o'clock at night, and escaped into the vast Pacific Ocean under the cover of darkness.

   With experience, Colonel Chen Mantun felt that his guesses were inseparable.

   If this is the case, your own submarine will not be able to frighten the snake, and will quietly drag it behind you all the way. Just send a telegram at the right time to notify the large fleet to encircle and destroy the enemy.

  Although his military exploits may have been lost, Colonel Chen Mantun can still clearly understand the issue of right and wrong. He notified the whole boat of his decision, and then commanded the crew to get off.

  The current T101 boat is too close to the enemy formation, so it must move quietly to open up the distance.

   Colonel Chen Mantun is confident in his own judgment;

   Even if the judgment is wrong, it doesn’t matter, it is nothing more than a delay of a few days, and there is no loss.

  T101 boat is now like a mouse that fell into a rice jar. The white rice is right in the mouth. You can eat it whenever you want. What's the hurry?

   (end of this chapter)