Chapter 52 The final route (Part 1)

"Azores? Oh, if it is because of fuel, I think we can notify our agency in advance to negotiate the corresponding affairs. As soon as the ship enters the port, the correct fuel can be added, but one thing is that the oil-deficient destroyers must go there on their own. As the commander of the special fleet, general, you have the power to make such a decision, and the government will not hesitate to pay for this extra fueling move."

After some careful consideration, White House envoy Leghall answered.

Jetlica, who came to seek advice, looked at each other and paused a little longer than before when his eyes met.

"This is a wise idea, and one thing is that if the enemy's high-speed submarines lurk near Azores, they are likely to follow the refueling destroyers to find us," Jetlica said.

"Due to their surveillance and harassment of us over the past three days, do you think they will not be able to find our trace?" Leghall retorted. The bad situation in recent days has indeed provided strong support for his views.

Angelo couldn't help but argue: "You think so based on their judgment of having a high-speed submarine? If this unknown underwater combat tool does not exist, the circular aircraft that guides the submarines to track us from beginning to end, and the fighter on the Oliscanny is enough to keep it away, the situation will be very different!"

Leghall was about to fight back, but Jetlica said in a yelling tone: "Col. How can you use your personal speculation to criticize the envoy's full view of the full position? I really don't think this is what a rational officer should say."

On the word "reason", Jetlica emphasized his tone. Colonel Angelo immediately understood what his boss meant and lowered his head ashamed: "You are right, General... I'm so sorry, Mr. Envoy, I'm almost crazy by the enemy these two days. I'm very irritable. I hope you don't mind!"

The burly captain apologized in such a humble manner that the envoy Leghall swallowed the rebuttal words he had just prepared and responded politely: "With my position and the tasks I undertake, I should not have participated in such an important military decision. Now I am just giving some reference opinions in my personal capacity. From a professional perspective, it is inevitable that the colonel's opinion is unquestionable. In the current confusing situation, it is much more labor-saving to say the idea directly than the roundabout discussion."

"I personally agree with Mr. Envoy's opinion." Jetlica immediately said bluntly, "but now part of the fleet is under my jurisdiction and part of General Nicken of the Oliscanny. The mobilization of multiple destroyers will inevitably be coordinated by both of us. By the way, Mr. Envoy, as far as you know and believe, how likely is it that our U.S. Navy's communication password is deciphered by the enemy?"

The envoy Leghall responded with a shrugging and pouting, "I can't say this. After all, the Soviet Union was our war ally and received a large amount of equipment from us, including military radio stations. They should have a very good understanding of the structure of our communication facilities. In theory, the possibility of deciphering our communication secrets is much easier than that of the Germans who did this in the past. But as far as I know, the Navy improved the communication equipment after the war, improved the communication secrets, and updated the password book every two months, so..."

"I understand what you mean." Jetlica gave Angelo a look indifferently, and then said to the envoy: "Talking with you always brings a lot of things. On behalf of all the officers and soldiers of the fleet, I have to thank you for your help. Oh, and Dr. Mante, our special cargo is still stable, right?"

"As stable as a stone." Dr. Mante, who was sitting at the table, finally said the first sentence from the beginning of the conversation until now.

Jetlica gently placed his hand on the right shoulder blade of the doctor and said with a smile: "In this way, even if there is a direct encounter with the enemy, my soldiers and I can go into the battle without any scruples, right Doctor?"

"The theory is indeed the case. In order to minimize the possibility of an accident, I have asked your sailors to help strengthen the cylinder and piled up two layers of sandbags outside. If the enemy really attacks, you and your sailors can be assured and boldly beat them up!" Dr. Mante's answer was abnormally complicated.

Jetlica nodded: "Okay, I know it in my heart. I guess you are the same, Mr. Colonel?"

"Yes, I know it." Angelo replied.

"I'm really sorry to delay the two of you for so much time. Colonel Angelo gave me a good reminder before, saying that although the cabins arranged for them were the most stable on the ship, it would be unfavorable to safety when encountering battles, so I asked the colonel to re-arrange two rooms, which were located behind the two-inch armored compartment. Look, it's so wide... There is also a 4-inch hull armor outside through the empty fuel tank. Even if the waterline is attacked by heavy torpedoes, the impact there is similar to the armored command room. If you don't mind... You can go directly to the new room to rest! The sailors will send your luggage over later, and Dr. Mante's technicians have also adjusted their residence accordingly, putting safety first!" Jetlica said while observing the reactions of the two.

“You’re so thoughtful.”

Envoy Leghol and Dr. Mante readily accepted the arrangements of the ship in similar languages.

Jetlica made a "please" gesture, and Colonel Angelo was already walking quickly to the cabin door and opened the door. The sailors who led the envoy and the doctor to the new cabin were already waiting outside.

When he walked to Jetleyka, Envoy Leghol suddenly stopped and whispered: "Well, Lord General, I have some important information on the table in the room to prevent the sailors from messing them up without their knowledge - in fact, they also involve some secrets, I want to clean up myself, I wonder if I can?"

"certainly!"

Jetlica put one hand in her top pocket and gave a positive response in a very easy-going manner. He then turned to the colonel and said, "The Envoy needs to go back to the room and pack some private luggage, and let the sailors wait at the door. The Envoy will do whatever he says."

Leghall nodded and greeted: "Thank you very much!"

Jetlica smiled slightly: "Honor is over!"

The two followed the sailors along the passage, and Jetlica closed the door of the command room with her backhand and said to Colonel Angelo: "What do you think?"

"It's really suspicious!" the colonel replied with a serious look on his face.

Jetlica had no choice but to express his helpless expression: "Even if he really has problems, we can't come up with conclusive evidence. Besides, if the White House's heads knew that we had bounced through the envoy's residence and private luggage, it would probably cause an uproar and cause us a lot of trouble. So if we could safely transport special goods to France along the way, we could only let him get off the ship and perform the subsequent tasks."

In the United States, which claims to be "the most democratic", the struggles in the military and political circles are no less than Hitler's dictatorship and the once highly centralized Soviet Union. If capable officers are not good at communicating and cannot seize the opportunity to perform, they are likely to be hang out in secondary positions when they retire, and this is not the worst. If the person in power in a key position is guilty of outstanding achievements, even if they have won outstanding achievements, they may be blamed for a failure without subjective errors, and thus retreat to the second line or even retire early. The examples that happened before and after the two world wars have fully proved the dark side of this least democratic side.

Angelo was a little surprised at first, but after careful consideration, he could only express his helplessness: "A smart enough person will not let us catch the handle easily. I hope that the sinking of Emmons and the injury of Anthony are all the losses suffered by our voyage, and there will be no more!"

Jetlica looked at the conspicuous behemoth on the sea through the porthole. The Essex-class aircraft carrier "Oliscanny" can also take off at night to fight, but the fleet commander did not expect ordinary piston fighters to shoot down enemy UFOs in a night interception operation. Before this, various rumors about the Ras Amos incident were enough to compile a fascinating science fiction novel, tasks that heavy anti-aircraft guns and land-based fighters could not complete, and what about ship anti-aircraft guns and naval carrier-based aircraft? I have seen it with my own eyes

After the magical performance of the UFO, Jetlica felt like she met the Martians in Wells' "Star Wars". The science fiction story that caused widespread panic due to the radio serialization described a group of invaders from Mars. Their aircraft could not be driven by cannons and could not be caught up with the planes. Fortunately, the equipment of the Martians was more destructive. They could easily melt or eat the Earthlings, leaving almost no trace when they left. The UFO they witnessed only used their superb flight skills to psychologically interfere and deter them.

At 1:40 pm, the signal to adjust the course and speed was sent from the Boston. If experienced sailors were sitting in the closed cabin, they could detect the slowdown of the speed and the deflection of the course, but for those who did not sail at sea all year round or did not conduct in-depth research on navigation, it was almost impossible to make such a judgment. Following Angelo's instructions, the sailors who helped Envoy Leghol and Dr. Mante carry the luggage revealed to them the situation of the fleet adjusting the speed and course. When they were sending afternoon tea, they intentionally or unintentionally revealed that the three destroyers left the fleet and headed towards the Azores. Neither of them made clear statements, nor did the fleet communications department detect unknown radio waves emitted from the inside.

On the nautical chart in the command room, the fleet's route is deflecting back to the original planned route. It is a route without reef vortexes and is far away from the busy commercial channel. It is a shortest distance from the Portuguese Azores, the primary transit supply station in the Atlantic Ocean, which is one hundred and twenty nautical miles, exceeding the detection range of normal land-based radars. Ordinary civil aircraft will not fly as far north from the archipelago.

Before another cloudy dusk arrived, Jetlica's fleet had already embarked on the "right path". It seemed that everything was moving in a good direction: since being attacked by carrier-based aircraft, the enemy's submarines did not float to the surface again to detect using backward long-wave radar. The UFO was almost 20 hours away from the last appearance. The three poorly fueled destroyers did not really leave the team, but set a distance from the main fleet to implement warnings on the periphery. After the fleet's speed slowed down, their anti-submarine sonar began to work normally again...

"It's an air raid alarm!"

The sharp-eyed officer immediately saw the signal from the "Oliscanny". Jetlica felt the muscles on his face twitching involuntarily. He quickly looked at his watch at 6:00. Before the sky got dark, is the final battle about to begin?

Someone opened the door of the armored command room, and the roar of the plane came from the sea clearly. The large aircraft carrier accelerated and turned to the northeast, which was in the direction of the wind. Within ten minutes, eight of the best F6f fighters of the US Navy flew away, while the fighters hovering over the fleet took off about an hour ago.

"UFOs flew from the east at high speed, and the distance during measurement was 60 nautical miles and an altitude of 4,000 meters."

Knowing that the terrifying guy was extremely fast, the radar officer used "measurement time" when reporting. When he spoke, the target might have reached less than 20 nautical miles.

As the main aircraft carrier in the US Navy, it is not surprising that Essex-class radars with better equipment performance are all facing a great enemy. Jetlica stood calmly in front of the porthole at this time.

"I hope we've taken the right route." He murmured to himself.

In the sky, eight f6fs that took off urgently raised their heads and climbed high up with their agile figures. The pilots in the cabin were well equipped, and each buckle was in the right position, and there was no panic in a hurry to go into battle. Facing the rumored unparalleled opponent, the young eyes showed a firm expression, but perhaps the face behind the mask was full of nervousness at this moment.

"Altitude 4000 meters, intercepting head-on, rocket preparation!"

In the cockpit of the long aircraft, the pilot with golden color on his sideburns sent combat instructions to his partners. At this time, their communication channel was not blocked by various noisy noises like some rumors. Except for the slight thunder sounds generated by the current, all they heard were familiar sounds. He steadily opened the rocket launch cut-off, glanced forward through the sight, but the target had not appeared, but just a moment later, a panicked sound came from the headphones:

"God, it's above us...flying over, flying over very quickly!"

The blonde pilot looked up subconsciously and turned his head with difficulty. He could not see other artificial aircraft in the sky with orange clouds. Before his neck was sprained, he quickly turned his gaze back in front: "Calm down, Johns, are you sure you saw it?"

"Yes, sir! The appearance is like a metal hat. It rushed over in the blink of an eye. It is estimated that its speed is 1,000 knots!" The nearly screaming voice had calmed down by now.

"Even if there are really a thousand knots, it is not faster than our machine gun bullets! Don't worry, guys, the radar on the ship is staring at it... Eagle Eagle, I am Az, please provide the target position..."

After the same frequency of inquiries were issued, the blonde pilot frowned.

"Az, wait for a moment..."

After this response, I felt that there was only half a minute of space, and anxious emotions were growing rapidly.

"The target is 45 nautical miles west of the fleet and is turning south."

Hearing this incredible reply, the blonde pilot seemed to hear a gasp. He silently spit out dirty words and pretended to be calm and order: "Team a follows me to the south, Team b goes north, guys, all eyes are wide open, this guy is so fast!"

Flange deflection is a necessary process for traditional powered aircraft to change the direction of flight. When the fuselage leans right, the blonde pilot turns his head to look at the sea. The fleet on the sea looks very thin because it lacks three destroyers' short-range guards. One large aircraft carrier, three light and heavy cruisers, and one destroyer, may be able to deal with attacks from the air and the sea. If the enemy launches an attack from underwater...

Whether the commanders were fatal negligence or hard to get, a pilot had no way to guess. When he saw more fighters climbing up at low altitude, there were at least a dozen fighters waiting to take off the deck of the aircraft carrier, he felt a little more at ease.

"It appears, at 10 o'clock, the distance... is it fired a rocket? It is recommended to fire a rocket immediately... Oh**! It is really outrageously fast!"

The stand-up show that became a pilot in the headphones, and the rest were searching for the target traces at this time. With the neck twisted at an almost extreme angle, the blonde pilot barely glanced at its figure. With the design of the F6f flight cockpit, it should not be so difficult to search. The speed beyond the conventional is one aspect. Its shallow paint is like a white wave on the vast ocean or a kingfisher among the green leaves. If you don't pay attention, you will completely miss it.

After a pause, the voice just continued on the channel: "I think it certainly doesn't have 1,000 knots. I encountered German rocket fighters in several missions in early 1945. This guy was about the same speed as them, maybe slightly faster, at most between 500 and 600 knots!"

Just a quick glance, the blonde pilot who led the team could not determine the speed of the target. He was so lucky that he had never encountered German jet or rocket fighter on the European battlefield that he could not make a comparison. However, the responsibility of the fighter leader still made him make a quick decision: "I agree with Charlotte's speculation. Everyone should prepare rockets and machine guns, and wait for it to fly over us again, launch rockets at three grids in front of it, or machine gun bullets at two grids in front of it. It is impossible for things loaded with thick steel plates to fly so fast!"

The pilots responded one after another, feeling the restless blonde pilot closed his eyes and calmed down, then put his fingers close to the rocket's launch button, and waited for the target to appear again. But what made him regretful and a little relaxed was that the command and communication personnel of the mothership quickly reported that the target had evacuated eastward at a high speed. Yes, evacuate instead of escape.

ps: The joint represents 1 nautical mile hour as a unit of speed, that is, 1.852 kilometers per hour.
Chapter completed!