books44 Chapter 861 By a twist of fate, two unlucky guys ended up in one group.
Chapter 861 By a twist of fate, two unlucky guys ended up in one group.
"Report! Communication from number 418!" Communications staff officer Xiao Zhang suddenly shouted, breaking the silence in the room.
"Huh?" Staff Officer Xie was taken aback. Why would they take the initiative to contact him at this time?
"418? What are they trying to do?"
"They intercepted our emergency call to the 'Yuejin' and subsequent internal communications with strong signals, asking about the purpose of our use of the highest priority emergency communications and whether we needed assistance. They are currently conducting...adaptive training in the vicinity of the relevant sea area," Xiao Zhang quickly reported.
A glimmer of hope flashed in Jiang Xia's eyes, like a drowning man grasping at a last straw. He looked anxiously at Staff Officer Xie:
"There's a ship here! It's nearby! Send them over quickly to check on the 'Yuejin' and see what's going on!"
Seeing Jiang Xia's almost fiery gaze, Staff Officer Xie forced a bitter smile that looked more like a grimace. He gently patted Jiang Xia's hand, signaling him to calm down, and explained in a strange tone:
“Comrade Xiao Jiang, I understand your feelings. But… this ‘418’, it… it’s not an ordinary ship, much less the kind that can quickly provide support to surface vessels.”
"Not an ordinary ship?" Jiang Xia was taken aback. "Then it is...?"
"It's a submarine," Staff Officer Xie said in a low voice, "and an old-fashioned M-class small coastal submarine. In 1954, we only received two from the Alliance, with a displacement of just over 200 tons and a full crew of only about 40 people."
It is now estimated to be recharging at snorkel depth, which is why it was able to detect our radio signals and make contact by chance.
"A submarine will do!" Jiang Xia was so eager to save the ship that he almost disregarded everything else. "Any ship will do! As long as it can move and travel in the sea! It must have a way to observe the surface, right? It can surely find a way to confirm the location and status of the 'Yuejin', can't it?"
“Observe the water surface? Its periscope is barely visible!” Staff Officer Xie walked to the nautical chart and circled the location of number 418 in red.
Jiang Xia's heart sank, and the hope that had just been rekindled withered again: "Then... then let it use sonar to locate it, right? At least it can find out exactly where the 'Yuejin' is, and then notify it with light signals?"
"Hard to say! The M-class submarine only has an underwater speed of 8 knots, while the 'Yuejin' has a minimum speed of 12 knots. I wonder if we'll encounter it..."
What!
Jiang Xia did a quick calculation and realized that it would take at least four or five hours to catch up with 418.
There's no way we'll make it in time!
Jiang Xia knew when the collision would happen. He glanced at his watch; there was less than an hour left!
Seeing Jiang Xia's anxious expression and considering the enormous risks the "Yuejin" might face, Staff Officer Xie gritted his teeth and said, "...Alright! Let's try anything! Xiao Zhang, reply to '418' to thank them for their concern, inform them that our 10,000-ton trial cargo ship 'Yuejin' has lost contact in this area, and the situation is urgent. Request that, if possible, and while ensuring their own safety and training mission, they try to assist in confirming the approximate location and surface condition of the 'Yuejin' in an appropriate manner!"
Remember, the emphasis is on requesting assistance in observation, not ordering them to intercept!
Staff Officer Xie's emphasis on this point was very necessary.
Because the "418" was based on the M-class (Malutka-class) small submarine built by the Soviet Union at the end of World War II, and was originally designed to perform defensive missions in coastal waters.
Sending it to check the water's condition isn't impossible, but... it's very awkward, and its capabilities are limited.
It needs to surface completely to conduct effective optical observations. Not to mention that surfacing would increase its own risks and violate its stealth principle, in terms of observation conditions alone, on the vast ocean, the low conning tower of an M-class submarine offers an extremely narrow field of vision, making its lookout effect negligible.
Even a slight scratch from the Yuejin would be devastating for a small, old boat that was only one-fiftieth the size of the Yuejin, which was submerged underwater.
But our soldiers' approach to missions has always been to resolutely complete them.
To accomplish their interception mission, do you think they might position the submarine across the path of the Leap Forward?
Therefore, it is essential to clearly distinguish the direction of the command...
……
The command was quickly coded and issued. Somewhere in the distant Yellow Sea, a small and somewhat old steel "black fish" hidden underwater—the "418" submarine—received this unexpected request from the shore.
As the captain read the telegram, a barely perceptible hint of excitement flickered across his normally serious face.
He patted the old instrument panel beside him and said loudly to the officers and soldiers in the command cabin: "Hey, comrades, a mission has come! The boss has been testing 'Hai Liu Zi II' along the coast for a while now, making a huge fuss. We've been holding back for a long time without getting any decent training."
"Now that's a problem. The shore command has asked us to help pinpoint the location of the missing 10,000-ton ship 'Yuejin.' I've decided to treat this mission as a realistic combat exercise! All personnel, take your positions according to Level 1 deployment!"
"Yes!"
Although No. 418 is full of greenhorns, these greenhorns possess a tremendous vitality.
In other words, they were young sailors, eager for glory!
Where do honors come from? From carrying out missions, of course. But they also understand that missions are unlikely to fall to training ships like theirs.
Having been holding their breath for a long time, how could they not immediately carry out a formal mission?
"Surf to periscope depth!" The captain rubbed his hands together, giving himself a thumbs up for his clever initiative.
The tasks, they were all earned through my own efforts!
It was just a tiny, insignificant task!
"Instructor, what's wrong with that! You still say I violated the regulations? If I didn't break them, this task wouldn't have fallen on our shoulders!"
The captain first showed off a bit, then gave orders into the megaphone.
"Follow the training manual for the actions, be precise in the procedures, and be observant! Although our old buddy makes a lot of noise, it's a good opportunity to test our ability to covertly approach the enemy in a real environment."
"Let's go up and take a look, to give our comrades on the shore a clear explanation!"
Inside the cramped submarine, the officers and soldiers immediately began to move about, albeit somewhat awkwardly.
The massive submarine began to smoothly adjust its buoyancy. Although some mechanical noise was unavoidable from the operation of equipment such as the snorkel, every crew member was fully focused and operated with precision. For them, this was no longer a passive mission full of unknown risks, but a valuable opportunity for proactive, combat-oriented training.
Meanwhile, in the communications section of the North Sea Fleet, Jiang Xia clenched his fists, his eyes fixed on the silent encrypted radio and the ticking clock on the wall. The time had already reached 1:02 PM.
Only forty-eight minutes remained until that catastrophic moment from memory.
No...
They don't know when the collision will happen, I need to figure out a solution!
You blockhead, get moving!
……
At the same time, static came from the radio on the Leap Forward. The small loudspeaker that was playing music suddenly crackled with crackling sounds.
"Damn it! Interference! Those Korean brats always pull these kinds of tricks!"
"Captain! Something's wrong! In my experience, this kind of interference means we've entered South Korean territorial waters. We need to confirm our course!"
The first mate put down his binoculars and looked at the captain, who was sitting in a chair with his head tilted to one side.
"That's normal! This route runs right along the territorial waters. Turn off the radio! It's too noisy!"
"No! Captain, the previous captain pointed out in the sea trial report that the Yuejin had a problem with yawing to port. We should confirm the course!"
"Old Chen, don't be too nervous. New routes are always a bit different. They might be planned to bypass the regular routes and test the performance of our new ship."
"I've been watching for a while, no problem. I'm getting old, my energy isn't as good as yours young people, I'm going to the lounge for a nap. You and the second mate keep an eye on things, call me anytime if anything happens."
The first mate looked at the second mate.
The second mate chuckled at the first mate, who was younger than him.
His cloudy old eyes rolled around, and it was impossible to tell what he was thinking.
……