Netball Fish

At dawn, on the side deck on the right side of the bridge, Jetlica's elbows were supported on the railing, and his waist and spine were bent to an angle of nearly ninety degrees. He held the standard stainless steel cup on the warship, felt the hot temperature of the coffee with his thick palms, his thick eyebrows were not spreading, and his eyes were deep and worried.

"Man, this is not right." The general whispered to his subordinates who also graduated from the Naval Academy.

Colonel Angelo, the current captain of the heavy cruiser "Boston", also held a cup of hot coffee brewed a few minutes ago in his hand. He stood upright, sipped in small sips, making the "Soru" sound when a thick man drank the soup.

"Indeed, it always feels like we have fallen into a huge trap. Last night's events were not the final end. The real crisis seems to be behind, maybe tonight."

"What do you think is the problem?"

"People, plan, psychology, thinking..." Angelo slowly listed several items. At the end, he screened himself: "I think the key is people - someone leaked our whereabouts and the list of cargo carried by the fleet to the Russians, and perhaps handed over the information of senior officers of the fleet to the enemy, so they made correct predictions about our reaction."

"That's right, man!" Jetlica maintained a posture of protruding beyond the railing above her chest, and her head neither raised nor lowered. In this way, her eyes naturally fell on the waves raised by the hull - the water flowed out and exposed the part under the sea to the air like a plow. The azure water turned into broken white waves, rolling, boiling and rippling in the opposite direction, and finally merged into the ups and downs of the blue waves.

"Our current location has deviated from the original route of 120 nautical miles. Although the charts in this area do not indicate reefs and shallows, radar and sonar do not help avoid these natural traps. Moreover, the long-term high-speed navigation greatly accelerates mechanical wear and fuel consumption. Coupled with the psychological impact and hints of the sailors, everything forms factors that are unfavorable to us." The general expressed his analysis with concern.

Angelo said: "After meeting with the Oriskani, we can return to the original route. Including the time saved by driving at high speed before, we will not complete this flight much later than the scheduled time - if the speed is appropriately increased later, it should not be a problem to arrive in France at the scheduled time."

"Time is the same, but the range is much more, fuel!" Jetlica said in a stressed tone, "The normal endurance of the cruiser is enough to continuously cross the Atlantic Ocean, and destroyers will not work. Perhaps this is the purpose of our enemies attacking us in every possible way... Without destroyers, we cannot deal with those submarines alone."

"But judging from last night's situation, the destroyer could no longer cope with the enemy's new submarine." Angelo continued to sip his pure black coffee without adding milk and sugar.

"Sometimes we should believe in professional judgment rather than some appearances seen by the eyes - the appearance of the flying saucer breaks the traditional aerodynamic technology, which is studied by aircraft experts. As professional naval officers, we only conduct rational analysis of the technology in this field. A submarine reaches a speed of 25 knots or even 30 knots?" Jetley paused, "This is impossible...at least for now!"

"You may be right. Tactical clever arrangements can create the illusion of transcending technology," Angelo said. "If this is true, I have to look at the officers of the Soviet Navy. This precise deployment does not look like the style of fighting alone in the Soviet submarines. It reminds me of Denitz's wolf pack tactics, but the Sea Wolf King was recently pardoned and was trapped in a heavily guarded Allied prison for more than a year. Of course, we cannot rule out the possibility that his powerful subordinate officers would surrender to the Soviets. Perhaps there were German advisers on the Soviet submarines we fought with!"

The cool sea breeze easily cooled the coffee in the cup, and when Jetlica picked it up and took the first sip, it was just a little steaming.

"I saw many ships on the sea in the northeast direction!"

In this era when radar technology is becoming more and more mature, the lookouts on the mast shouted loudly and visually discovered one or two hours before the ship's personnel learned the exact whereabouts of the friendly ship. At this time, the officers and sailors seemed very calm. There was only one major officer on the combat bridge holding a telescope and looking in that direction. Some sailors on the deck stopped and looked into the distance, while more people silently did the routine work every morning - washing the deck.

About a quarter of an hour later, Jetlica and Angelo boarded the bridge. Due to the need for ship combination, the speed of the special fleet temporarily dropped to about 10 knots. The 30,000-ton aircraft carrier "Oliscanny" and three escort ships drew an elegant and spectacular arc on the sea surface and inserted the fleet space from the right rear. In this way, Jetlica's fleet not only recovered its vitality from the loss last night, but also greatly improved its comprehensive defense power. The majestic fleet array played a significant role in improving the morale of the crew, and the existence of the aircraft carrier.

It also makes the atmosphere of the entire fleet warm. Every once in a while, blue-gray-painted carrier-based aircraft will pass over the masts of the ship with a crisp roar. They climb to a high altitude slowly, and open a large radius of air alert around the fleet, hovering until the successor takes off from the aircraft carrier deck. Whenever an aircraft is about to land on the aircraft carrier, the crew on other ships will always free up their kung fu to stare at them intently until they land safely. Therefore, there are fewer sad faces, replaced by confidence and eagerness.

While having breakfast, the fleet received a telegram from the Naval Operations Department. All Jetlica's crew were praised for their calmness. The Major General of the Army continued to serve as the commander of the special fleet. The USS Oliscanny and the escort ship should do all their strength to protect this fleet with a special mission. This means that Jetlica has no right to command a higher-level aircraft carrier formation, and the aircraft carrier formation that temporarily joined will not command his special fleet in turn.

The commanders of both sides naturally accepted this arrangement.

With the large-scale reconnaissance and defense provided by the aircraft carrier, the fleet officers and soldiers thought that the enemy would at least restrain their actions during the day. However, before noon, the pulse radar waves that harassed the fleet many times in the past two days appeared again. This time, the aircraft carrier-based aircraft soon discovered an unknown submarine on the command tower surface in the waters near the fleet. The pilot attacked with machine guns and bombs without hesitation. The dark big guy drilled into the water in shame, and the radar wave disappeared.

Although the riot lasted only a few minutes, Jetlica was still standing in front of the sailing platform as if facing a great enemy, staring at the colorful lines indicating the planned route and the actual route. They had a considerable length of lines that were almost parallel. The difference was that the planned route was a complete route from North America to France. The actual route was only half of the Atlantic Ocean, and there was still a voyage of at least six or seven hundred nautical miles to be completed. The general took a ruler to gesture on the chart. If the current course was kept unchanged, the fleet would pass through the waters north of the Azores in more than ten hours, and before that, the ships had just

The fuel stock and turbine maintenance were sent as required. The "Gatling" and "Sigsby" had excellent design endurance and were fully loaded from Norfolk military port. As long as the next range was no longer in circles at high speed, it could still be dealt with. The fast minesweeper "Davidson" that joined the middle route had sailed two thousand nautical miles from Europe, and the fuel stored could only be used for it to complete the voyage at a cruise speed of 14 knots. In the "Oliscanny" aircraft carrier formation, there were no concerns about the fuel of the aircraft carrier and cruiser, and the two destroyers consumed nearly two-thirds of the fuel in their existing range.

"They hope that we will refuel the fuel in the middle of the Azores, so that even if we don't enter the port, the navigation speed will slow down, and the seabed there is relatively shallow. Once the ship sinks, frogmen wearing heavy submersible equipment have the opportunity to pick up what they want from the wreckage of the ship." Jetlica told Angelo, and at this time the White House envoy and Dr. Mante were arranged in the command room on the ship, and those who could listen to their conversation were all the officers on the ship.

Angelo suggested without hesitation: "Then we will go back to the original route, avoid Azores, or sail slowly, or contact the supply ship to refuel in the middle of the journey, or simply let the Davidson leave the team."

Jetlica held her hands behind her back and lowered her head, and said in a deep tone: "It and the marshal were called in our most difficult time. The crew members were extremely brave. Emmons became a victim of the enemy's night attacks, and the crew suffered heavy casualties. If Davidson was allowed to sail alone, he would probably encounter the following enemy submarine. The tragedy might happen again, not to mention that the only one fast minesweeper in our fleet."

"Are we really going to the Azores to refuel?" Colonel Angelo asked unwillingly.

Jetlica turned to Angelo: "Before making a decision, why not listen to the envoy's opinion? We may be able to get a reverse revelation from his words, what do you think?"

Angelo frowned and narrowed his eyes. If the White House envoy was really problematic, not only was the special fleet and special cargo in a difficult situation, but the United States' prospects in this war were also worrying - the allies could successfully defeat Germany and Japan and decipher their communication codes played a very important role. On the other hand, if their core secrets were constantly stolen by their opponents, it would not be surprising that there would be successive defeats on the battlefield.

Under the warm sun at noon, the cold sea water is darker than 40 meters deep below the sea. In such an environment, many submarines with smooth lines and darkness are floating quietly. Slim lines extend from the antennas in the upper part of their command cabin to the sea. The floating objects the size of a ball are like large jellyfish that breathe on the sea. The special materials make their radar reflective area smaller than ordinary periscopes, which means that even the best carrier-based microwave radars are difficult to detect them - unless they do not simply receive radio waves but emit radio signals outward.

Inside these "big black fish", dim lights illuminate the calm and cold faces. Those with beards are difficult to distinguish their age intuitively. Those who are shaved look very young. Their dresses are not completely uniform. Some are dark blue uniforms, some are thick pullovers and gray pants, and some are warm and fashionable military leather jackets. Except for several crew members on duty in front of the instrument, most of them are silently resting their energy. They are not all lying on the bed or in the hammock. Many are in their own combat positions - although there is nothing to do at this time, once mobilizing is needed, they can get into the state as soon as possible.

Lieutenant Colonel Oberste Braun and his deputy captain Captain Dickfield sat back to back in the middle of the command cabin of UA-055 near the periscope, each chewing long strips of venison, a local specialty in Norway. It is as easy to preserve as compressed cookies, and it is much better than military cookies.

"Our fish will come! The Atlantic Ocean is so big, they can avoid us with a slight change of course." Although it was chatting, Deckfield's voice was still low. At this time, the power system was turned off, and the boat was very quiet. Not to mention the footsteps of the crew walking, even the big sergeant in the torpedo compartment could hear it. Speaking with a slightly louder voice may wake everyone on the boat, which was completely unnecessary.

"Yes, this plan was planned and prepared by General Bach in North America for more than a year. The enemy would drill into our net bag like a dizzy bass, and all we have to do is to see the actual net." When the lieutenant colonel spoke, his neatly trimmed beard shaking slightly with his cheeks. The captain's bearded figure showed the rough, generous and resolute character of the Nordic people. If he stood in the sun, his eyes would appear beautiful blue cornflower blue. In fact, this "Braun" and the head of state, Eva Braun, do not belong to the same family genealogy. Instead, it was related to the famous German rocket expert Von Braun. It is said that the IQ of this family is generally higher than that of ordinary people.

"It sounds like you highly respect General Bach. Is he better than the tactical genius General Galgo, who everyone praises?" asked the captain.

Lieutenant Colonel Braun grinned—this was his signature expression: "Just like Marshal Rommel is powerful or Marshal Manstein is powerful, there is no answer to this question. I can only say that the raid on the US atomic bomb research base was planned behind the scenes by General Bach, and at that time General Galgo was just a second lieutenant. Uh, you know, in a major military operation, an officer like the second lieutenant might have led a team to make a great contribution, but overall, he still has to have experienced and accurate judgments to grasp the general."

"If you want to deal with the British or French, it's like attacking the Europa mail ship, you're still very sure of success, but the Americans are famous for their character of steering horses, being straightforward and unrestrained. Maybe they'll change to the North Atlantic route when they see something is wrong?" The captain still seemed to be uneasy.

The lieutenant colonel replied frankly: "This possibility is not without it. Fortunately, our maritime interception is just a plan, and even if it fails, it will not harm the overall situation."

The captain asked curiously: "Uh? Sir, do you mean we have other alternatives, is it a direct attack from the disc or a task force to France?"

"This is the highest level of secret." The lieutenant colonel smiled, "Actually, I don't know either, I just heard about it and analyzed it myself."

The captain was not discouraged, but laughed speechlessly, smiling without any scheming.

After a while, the communications officer with headphones turned his head and whispered, "Sir, the target enters the g79 area."

When Captain Deckfield got up and walked towards the navigation platform, Lieutenant Colonel Braun just muttered lightly: "It's true that he came into our net pocket, and he was in contact in the middle of the night... I really like the Atlantic night!"

The navigator pointed out the corresponding square of g79 on the chart, which was a trick used by the German Navy for many years. A few simple codes can replace the lengthy geographical coordinates. There is no special navigation chart, and even if the communication code is deciphered, the corresponding location cannot be known. The captain immediately said: "In the southwest of ours, the distance is about 160 nautical miles, and they arrive after 8 to 10 hours at their speed."

"Then let's start supper at 5 o'clock!" Braun said at a normal volume. "Everyone should try to eat as much as possible. Tonight will be a busy night."

"Do you want the divers to use this time to perform the last drill?" the captain asked when he moved back to the periscope position.

"No need, let them relax. Just show their daily training level." Braun's answer seemed very confident. Throughout World War II, German surface ships declined from prosperity, and the performance of the submarine troops also experienced great ups and downs, and the naval aviation troops continued to make up. Only the Frogman troops were low-key and indispensable troops in both the Redel era and the Denitz era. Although they did not have the outstanding blasting record of Italian Frogman, frequent ship emergency repairs and even rescued shipwrecks have given them rich experience in underwater work, and the two submersible equipment of light and heavy are also technically excellent and mature.

"Does the torpedo need to be adjusted and recharged in advance?" The captain's careful and meticulous inquiry quietly warmed up the atmosphere waiting for battle.

Calmness does not mean carelessness. The lieutenant colonel quickly replied: "After lunch, the line control device is adjusted one by one, and the chance is only once at most. If you miss it due to equipment failure, you may regret it for life."

"Yes!" said the captain, "but judging from the fact that the UA-32 single boat hit two American destroyers last night, the new line-controlled torpedo is still worth looking forward to."

"I remember when we first equipped the magnetic torpedo, we were also full of confidence. As a result, the influence of the natural magnetic field made them unworkable when they failed. Who can guarantee that the current, temperature and other factors will not help the Americans at critical moments!" Lieutenant Colonel first sighed, and then ordered, "Be prepared for both hands! The first four pieces were two wire-controlled and two triggers, the second round was four pieces, one wire-controlled and three triggers, and the third round was all triggers."

"Will the ratio of the line-controlled type be a little less?" asked the captain.

Lieutenant Colonel grinned: "In submarine cluster operations aimed at attacking a few targets, there is no need for a submarine to pursue absolute hit rate, cover each other, and complement each other to ensure that the cluster success rate is far more important than personal honors."
Chapter completed!