Comrade, Your Ingredients Are Too Complicated

At the same time when Huang He set out for the Qilu Military Region, the southern border of the Whale Sea, the Tsushima Strait.

At night, the junction of the sea and the sky does not seem far away, and there is no obvious boundary between the ink-colored sky and the sea level.

At this time, there are six ships gathered in the Whale Sea, and the leading Fletcher-class destroyer is swaying with the huge waves. It first raised high and pointed directly at the sky, then changed its posture and sank its bow, splitting the waves like a peerless sword.

The rest of the ships followed closely in formation. Those ships were of different sizes, and even the style of the crane arm was different from the flagship. However, they seemed to be driven by the same will, and all stubbornly sailed to the west.

"Mr. Major, is our location really still the Pacific Ocean? With such bad sea conditions, I'm afraid the dark trenches of the Atlantic Ocean are no more than this."

"Alas, I have to go on an extra business trip for no reason, and I have to sell the new ship I just took over. Maybe I don't have to face the underwater villain of De San directly, which is one of the few good news now."

"Lord, may your holy angels be with me, and may I not be at the mercy of evil opponents, Amen."

In the bridge, the deputy captain of DD-450 prayed while handling daily affairs. From the resentful tone, anyone could hear that he was dissatisfied with his captain.

It seemed that the words just now resonated with everyone present, and the atmosphere in the bridge became restless again.

If this mission was not personally issued by the commander-in-chief, King and Nimitz, the crew might really protest on the spot.

After this, Gordon Paia Zhongyun sighed silently in his heart. Although he is the current commander of this destroyer, the emotions of his subordinates are really difficult to mediate.

There was no other reason, it was because the duration of this voyage was much longer than expected, and there was no chance to rest between the two sections. The voyage of more than a month had already exhausted all the crew members physically and mentally.

In addition, his Chinese identity was also a thunder point.

Half a year ago, Zhong Yun was just an ordinary captain attached to the Arizona battleship.

In order to actively show goodwill to the Eighth Route Army, Nimitz, the commander of the Pacific Theater of Naval Forces, personally promoted him to a major and ordered him to be fully responsible for the transaction.

Squeezing out the original captain and parachuting in as the new captain. In addition, he and the crew had no experience of training and fighting together, so everyone naturally had some emotions.

What's more, this operation, to put it bluntly, was to sell four destroyers and two transport ships, or to sell the new ships that had just been commissioned to the Republic of China.

Even if it was arranged by the superiors, the soldiers were unwilling.

After a period of wild thoughts, Zhong Yun shook his head helplessly.

Now he hoped that the Japanese would attack so that he could prove himself and establish prestige in a battle.

"Captain Bird, although there are no German U-boats in the Whale Sea, we may encounter patrolling Japanese at any time. This area is not the territory of the old Russians, and no one can guarantee whether the red flag on the ship is still effective."

"Once we encounter a light cruiser or naval aviation under the Combined Fleet, our four destroyers may not be able to escape unscathed."

"So, please concentrate and stay alert. We are still 120 nautical miles away from the scheduled rendezvous point. We will be safe if we hold on for another half a day."

"Received!"

After receiving the order, there were sparse responses in the bridge, and this was still for the sake of the enemy's possible attack at any time.

Obviously, the ugly country crew did not have any expectations for the so-called rendezvous. In their impression, the Republic of China is still the backward country with no self-defense power.

Rely on them for rendezvous? It's better to believe that you are a relative of Tianhuang.

As for the Eighth Route Army?

Haven't you heard that the main force of the Republic of China is not the Central Army?

In this situation, a sense of powerlessness rose from Zhong Yun's heart again.

There is no way. After all, you can't expect everyone to pay attention to the Asian battlefield all the time, especially under the premise that the top propaganda leader is an anti-communist.

Adhering to the concept of being responsible for the team, Zhong Yun walked out of the bridge with a telescope and began to observe the position of friendly forces.

At this time, the four destroyers responsible for escort were deployed in a diamond shape. In a relatively wide sea area, this formation can effectively reduce the interference caused by the propeller rotation of the ships in the formation to the sonar.

In addition, each destroyer is only responsible for one direction, which can greatly reduce the pressure on the personnel on duty on a single ship.

Seeing that the fleet was about to cross the Tsushima Strait, Zhong Yun decisively returned to the bridge and ordered:

"Notify the friendly forces that we should change our formation. The narrowest part of the strait ahead is only 40 kilometers. I don't want to bet that the Japanese are all blind. Now only a single column can keep hidden."

"After sending the signal, all ships except the flagship must maintain radio silence and implement a blackout."

"Let's rush forward in one go and strive to reach the territorial waters of the Republic of China before dawn. As long as we get close to Shandong Province, we will be safe."

Thinking of the brutal record of the Japanese Navy, the middle and senior management on DD-450 immediately put away the idea of ​​making a fuss. Each department performed its duties and sent the orders of its captain to the friendly forces with signal lights.

Soon, the entire fleet became a single column formation with Fletcher as the vanguard, three Bensons in the middle, and two transport ships at the bottom.

The reason why the transport ship was at the end of the team was because the escort formation had to be consistent with the speed and direction of the protected. If the enemy attacks suddenly, the destroyer can quickly deploy a counterattack formation.

Seeing his orders being carried out by his subordinates, Zhong Yun finally breathed a sigh of relief. He walked out of the bridge again with a telescope and began to check for omissions.

"DD-421 and DD-427 are a little off. Send a signal to let them adjust 10 degrees to the left."

"And the two Liberty ships, they are too slow. The Tsushima Strait is more than 200 kilometers long. At the current speed, it is impossible to pass smoothly before dawn."

"Received!"

Since humans invented the ship as a tool, its most primitive and basic ability is transportation.

Throughout the ages, there are countless styles of transport ships. But among these designs, there is a type that has become the cornerstone of the Allied victory in World War II with its huge production, and she is the Liberty Ship.

As one of the strongest auxiliary ships during World War II, any film and television work related to naval warfare will definitely have the presence of this ship, and even the daily supply boxes in World of Warships are transported by her.

The main reason why Huang He specifically asked for the Liberty Ship was to train the supply troops that followed the fleet in advance, and to pit a batch of American ammunition by the way.

No way, it's not that Huang wants to take advantage. Before he completely unlocks the decision-making related to the navy, the ammunition for live-fire training still has to be provided by Ah Chou.

After seeing the signal sent by the flagship, the two transport ships with no curves and the appearance of eggplants cut into strips decisively increased their speed.

As the fine products produced by Henry Zhicheng Shipyard, the functions of the Liberty Ship participating in this operation are stronger than ordinary ones, and the quality is more guaranteed, and there will be no embarrassing scene of breaking into two sections while running.

"I hope everything goes well. I can't wait to see where my grandfather lived."

······

With Zhong Yun's contradictory psychology of expectation and worry, the entire fleet began to cross the Tsushima Strait at an average speed of 15 knots. However, this process was surprisingly smooth, and they didn't even encounter any enemies along the way.

After nearly ten hours of sailing, the sun was about to rise.

Fortunately, the trading fleet was about to arrive in the East China Sea, and it seemed that victory was only one step away.

Just when Zhong Yun relaxed his vigilance, a burst of bad news suddenly came from the war situation center of DD-450. The heart-wrenching roar in the headset made everyone tense like a bowstring.

"Sir! Enemy target appears!"

"Bearing 087 degrees, distance 15 to 20 nautical miles! The radar shows that the enemy should be a destroyer! The other party has not moved for the time being, and it is highly likely that we have not been discovered."

"No other ships have been found so far, nor any land-based fighters!"

After hearing the report from the combat center, Zhong Yun immediately took out the sea chart and began to calculate. When he found that he could not escape the enemy ship anyway, he decisively ordered the deputy captain beside him:

"Turn on engine overload! Set the speed to 36 knots!"

"All personnel alert! Boatswain! Notify all combat teams to go on deck! We must strike first and kill the destroyer before dawn. We cannot let it discover us, let alone let it send the news back to the mainland."

"Everyone's training is for this moment! Revenge for Pearl Harbor and the Arizona!"

Because the escort ship must keep the same speed and course as other ships, under normal circumstances, a destroyer will not easily turn on all the engines.

Alternating between groups can not only slow down the loss of engine life, but also save fuel. It is a very common navigation technique.

But it is another matter before the war.

When the enemy is about to meet, the chief engineer must start all engines. After all, any ship type needs to switch between fast and slow speeds as needed during the battle, whether it is to attack or evade the enemy's attack.

The commanders in the bridge were a little confused for a while when they learned that their captain was going to launch a surprise attack on an unknown destroyer.

But after hearing the two keywords Pearl Harbor and Arizona, everyone felt a surge of blood in their hearts, and they couldn't wait to fight the enemy ship now.

"Turn on engine overload and go full speed!"

"Don't worry about the sonar, the fleet is in the Whale Sea, and the Japanese will not deploy submarines in this sea area."

"War Situation Center, be vigilant! If any surface ship or aircraft appears on the radar, you all need to report to the bridge in time!"

With the unity of the people, the DD-450's attack speed is amazingly fast. In just five minutes, she led two Benson-class ships to rush towards the enemy.

The battle plan formulated by Zhong Yun was also very simple, that is, three destroyers approached in a single column formation.

This formation is simple and easy to command. Even if everyone has not cooperated or trained together before, there is a high probability that there will be no trouble.

When the battle begins, all destroyers will turn on the searchlights together, use the advantage of breaking stealth to attack the F2A with artillery and torpedoes, and deliver a devastating blow before the enemy reacts.

Three against one, can you kill them in your book? The plan works!

······

Facts have proved that Zhong Yun and his team are very lucky.

Due to repeated night bombings by the Air Force Third Division, the focus of the Japanese reconnaissance in recent days has been in the air, not above the sea level.

When the three American destroyers sailed to the sea five nautical miles away from the enemy, the lookout on the DD-450 could even clearly see the outline of the Japanese ship.

However, the opponent's "destroyer" seemed a bit big.

Although he realized that the radar detection results were wrong, he had to shoot the arrow. Inside the bridge, Zhong Yun decisively ordered: "Change the formation! Fire the torpedoes!"

After that, the entire fleet moved to a T-shaped formation to suppress the enemy ships with artillery fire. This was an advantageous position for naval gun battles that had been recognized in the era of sailing warships.

"Swish, swish, swish."

Accompanied by the sound of falling into the water, thirty 533 mm kinetic iron rods rushed towards the enemy at a speed of 31 knots.

Looking around, the entire sea was covered with torpedoes. This spectacular scene, placed in the magic world of the white-haired man, is definitely enough to make any player take their hands off the keyboard.

Seeing that Mark14 was getting closer and closer to the enemy ship, Zhong Yun immediately shouted loudly: "Fire! Sink it!"

After that, the three destroyers turned on the searchlights at the same time, and the fifteen 127 mm main guns fired at full force. At such a close distance, the first wave of shells hit the target directly.

It was not until now that Zhong Yun realized that there was a cruiser in front of them.

But it was not a big problem. The MK12 naval gun had an extremely fast firing rate, and it could even fire 15 rounds per minute in the best state.

Fletcher and Benson were equipped with a special electric ammunition supply system, and the amount of projection was enough to suppress a large ship.

In the face of absolute firepower, the enemy cruiser was instantly covered by dense shells. Not long after, a torpedo also hit the middle of the port side of the enemy ship.

"Continuous damage" + "natural disasters and man-made disasters", even the iron turtle will sink. The turbulent sea water and raging fire put a perfect end to this raid.

······

Witnessing the enemy ship losing its ability to resist, the sailors on the three destroyers all cheered excitedly. Most of them were survivors of the Pearl Harbor incident. Now that they have taken the first step in revenge, how can they not be happy.

Unlike other commanders, as the fleet commander of this operation, Zhong Yun knew that now was not the time to open champagne, and the only thing to do was to sail out of the Tsushima Strait.

After a moment, he ordered again:

"Notify the rear and let the three ships catch up quickly. We have to go quickly, the enemy will definitely send land-based fighters to chase us."

Speaking of the devil, the enemy has just arrived. As soon as the voice fell, the war situation center received bad news.

"Sir, the SC air radar has found two enemy forces. The closest wave is about twenty, a hundred miles away. The number of the second wave is unknown, I guess there are at least hundreds of them."

As soon as these words came out, the bridge suddenly became so quiet that you could hear a pin drop, as if an invisible big hand had pressed the mute button.

Twenty planes are many, but the four advanced destroyers are not without the ability to fight.

But a hundred?

A hundred enemy planes can sink a North Carolina-class battleship. How can they fight with only the 127mm dual-purpose guns, 40mm Bofors and 20mm Oerlikon on the destroyer? (End of this chapter)