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Text Chapter 476 The Raging Sea (3)

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    There were no returning seagulls, no schools of merry fish, just the snowflakes blowing in my face and the gurgling sound of the anemometer's impeller turning too fast.  The ship's hull was already covered with snow, the railings and steel wires were covered with icicles, and the north wind swept across the deck at a speed of 17 meters per second.

    This is Cape Grenen, the northernmost point of Jutland.

    In the shadow of the seaside cliffs, a fleet of two ocean-going icebreakers and 17 large ocean-going ships stopped in front of tens of thousands of mines planted by Germany.  Beyond the mines to the north is the Oslo Bay, and to the west is the first target that needs to be dealt with, the Skagerrak Strait and the dangerous and rough North Sea.  Standing in front of the chart, Bingwen looked a little dazed. In the year of 1911, when he boarded the gunboat with Yang Qiu's surveillance order, he imagined countless times in his dreams that he would be in position to command a powerful fleet across the four seas.  Now he is finally here, but his first task is to lead the fleet across the strait and sail back to the motherland through many dangers.

    The mine deployment information Hakan brought was very detailed.  Judging from the picture, there is a continuous z-shaped channel a hundred meters wide among these densely packed scary little things.  The width of 100 meters is enough for any ship to pass, but the problem is that the location of the anchor mine is not static!  In the past, the German Navy had specialized minesweepers to clean or inspect the mines every once in a while, but since the Kiel Port riots, the German Navy has completely given up on this work, so even they themselves do not know whether the mines are still in place.  Even in situ, it is very dangerous to pass through a minefield in such sea conditions.  As long as there is a little negligence, the storm will cause the hull to shift hundreds of meters, and strong winds and blizzards will also block the view of the deck, making visual inspection extremely difficult.

    "No time! The fleet's maximum speed is only 13 knots. If we can't enter the Norwegian coastal canyon before tomorrow morning, we are likely to run into the British patrol fleet and submarines." Hakan glanced at the rapidly darkening sky and said solemnly:  "As a commander, you must overcome any emotion, even if it requires sacrifice!"

    His deep words were like drums at dusk and morning bells waking up Bingwen.  He nodded firmly: "Send the signal. Double the number of personnel on each ship's deck to observe the sea surface, and prepare the machine guns to break mines! All personnel outside must secure themselves with ropes to avoid falling into the sea." He looked at Hakan and finally said:  "Turn on the anti-collision lights. Let our ship take the lead and pass at a speed of 6 knots. Each ship should keep a distance. If there is an accident, avoid by yourself to the right to avoid blocking the channel!"

    After the order was issued, the anti-collision lights of each ship gradually turned on. The observers wearing thick cotton clothes rushed to the deck in the wind and snow, and fixed their bodies with hemp ropes.  For not daring to sound the whistle.  Therefore, the top of the mast of the ocean-going icebreaker Bingwen was listed as No. 1 flashed for a moment, and then he took the lead in getting out of the canyon and diving into the minefield.

    The wind and snow kept blocking the portholes. In order not to obstruct the view, everyone had to send people to clean it every few minutes. However, even so, the visibility inside the bridge was still less than one thousand meters, and it was necessary to rely on the exposed deck personnel to convey information.

    Hakan has taken the initiative to take over the helmsman's job and placed the minefield map in front of the helm.  Since I didn't dare to turn on the searchlight, I could only use an anti-fog flashlight to check the surroundings, so the speed was limited to 6 knots.  Two-meter-high swells kept hitting the steel hull. Every time a strong wave came, everyone suddenly felt worried.  This kind of wave cannot challenge the steel body.  But no one can predict whether the waves are carrying terrible mines.  The engine roared in a low voice, and dozens of small beams of light ran back and forth. From time to time, some people slipped and fell, but everyone had completely forgotten the severe cold and stood in the night wind with their eyes wide open.

    The first zigzag bay finally passed, and the second one arrived in an instant.  The navigation bell went around in circles, and everyone had only one thought left in their minds: rush over!  You must rush over!

    Every ship fell into silence. Strong winds and swells caused the hull of more than 10,000 tons to tilt around. Several ships were rolled away and entered the minefield.  An overseas Chinese sailor kindly brought two cups of hot cocoa, hoping to keep Bingwen and Hakan away from the cold.  But he was roughly pushed away by two people at the same time.  How far is it?  The night and blizzard made the reference objects disappear. Even Hakan could only roughly guess whether he had walked out of the minefield based on the time and speed. When the pointer turned to 11 o'clock, he suddenly felt as if he had escaped from a void.  Turn the wheel!

    "Passed, passed!" His action made all the nervous crew jump up, but before Bingwen could turn around to look at the fleet behind him.  A shrill scream suddenly came from outside.

    "10 o'clock positionsubmarine!"

    Screaming is like a thunder!  Everyone felt their eardrums roar violently, and Bingwen and Hakan immediately raised their binoculars to take a look.  In the darkness to the southwest, a long and thin black shadow rose and fell with the waves.  At this time, there is only one country that can deploy submarines here.

    A British submarine!

    As an army officer, Liu Mingzhao¡¯s first thought was to fire back, but Bingwen held him back!  ?The brain is running like lightning.  He first looked at the frowning Hakan out of the corner of his eye, and then made a decision that no one expected: "It didn't dive down, which means it probably hasn't identified who we are yet. Firing can only alert them.  It would be bad if it attracts its mate, so I thought we might as well just hit it!"

    "Collide?!"

    Liu Mingzhao¡¯s head was a little dizzy. It¡¯s not like it wouldn¡¯t sink if hit on land.  But Hakan thought this method was very good, and looked at Bingwen approvingly: "We are an icebreaker, and the structure is much harder than that of a submarine. There are ice-breaking cones under the water on the bow (early icebreakers have jagged ice-breakers under water similar to the collision angle).  ice pick), I think I can give it a try!¡±

    Liu Mingzhao didn¡¯t understand sea navigation at all. Seeing the emergency, he said simply: "Bingwen, you make the decision."

    "Okay!" Bingwen was also very straightforward and immediately ordered: "All deck personnel return to the cabin, use the stern anti-collision light to send a signal, and tell the back to prepare. Immediately close all the watertight hatches on the bow and prepare for collision!"  "With his words, the entire icebreaker became busy.  All the watertight hatches on the bow of the ship were immediately locked, and the lookouts patrolling on the deck immediately got into the cabin and hugged the fixed objects around them. At this time, Bingwen issued the second order: "Increase the speed to 12 knots, and move the bow of the ship to 12 knots."  16 degrees north, if they signal. Just say we're going to Oslo."

    While Bingwen issued the order, the British submarine in the distance did not respond.

    "Major Power, I think you should come and take a look at this." Grom turned and called the captain to check out the target he found.  He is the first mate of the British Royal Navy submarine No. S21. To be honest, he hates this job!  This damn weather made the submarine look like a big ice cellar. Since it could not submerge for a long time, it had to float on the surface and endure the bumps of the wind and waves.  What's even more annoying is that those guys on the sea have already fled back to enjoy the bonfire and sumptuous food, but they left themselves here to starve and freeze.  But just when he was complaining and wondering whether to persuade the captain to return to the voyage.  Several small beams of light that suddenly appeared caught his attention. In the beams of light, a gray shadow could be vaguely seen heading towards here.

    "Is it a Norwegian ship?"

    "I don't know, it's too blurry. But the speed doesn't seem like a warship." Grom handed the periscope to Captain Bauer, who put the lens on and observed it carefully.  Due to the heavy wind and snow, the snowflakes stuck to the periscope lens and affected the vision, so Captain Ball decided to go up and have a look: "Open the enclosure door, I want to go up and have a look."

    After Captain Ball finished speaking, he handed the periscope to Grom and put on his thick coat to get up and take a closer look.  As the hatch opened, a stream of colder air suddenly entered the boat.  Grom subconsciously asked: "Captain, do you need to prepare torpedoes and guns?"

    "The war is over, Grom." Captain Ball smiled confidently and said one last sentence before climbing up the ladder: "Send a light signal, ask for their identity, and ask them to stop for inspection."

    "Okay, captain." Grom replied and asked the signal soldier to play the light signal.

    The signal light at the top of the periscope began to flash repeatedly, and Bingwen and others' hearts suddenly reached their throats. This meant that the other party had discovered them.  Liu Mingzhao immediately looked at him.  I got a nervous reply: "Keep moving forward, heading 230 degrees, keep the speed unchanged, and reply after entering 1500 meters."

    The icebreaker continued to move forward, as if it had not seen the light signal. This made Captain Ball and Grom, who were watching through the periscope, feel something was wrong. Seeing that the icebreaker had been brought closer to 1,500 meters and was about to react, the other party finally had a reply.  .  "We are the Norwegian Poseidon, heading to Bergen, requesting passage." Grom read the light signal.  He quickly took out the photos of Norwegian ships from the navigation table, turned to the page of the Poseidon freighter, and compared it with the gray shadow in the periscope.  Judging from the appearance, the two are indeed quite similar. They both have three chimneys and have the same displacement. However, the shape of the bow and stern always gives them a feeling of similarity.  At this time, the icebreaker with the pseudonym Poseidon had quietly moved closer to one kilometer, and its bow maintained the same course as before.  The light signal was played again: "We are slowing down, congratulations on your great victory."

    This string of lights made Grom and Captain Ball laugh unconsciously, and they saw each other begin to slow down.  The bow of the ship also began to gradually deflect, as if it wanted to stay in the same direction as the submarine, making it easier for the sailors to board the ship for inspection, so they all breathed a sigh of relief, and many people took this opportunity to prepare to go to the deck to take a breath.  Grom also stretched hard, and looked at it again before picking up the hat.

    But just this glance made him stunned!

    "Full left rudder! Full speed!"

    With a loud shout, the steering wheel was suddenly knocked to the bottom.  The power cabin quickly opened the several steam valves that had been locked just now, and the high-pressure steam rushed into the steam turbine with a roar, driving the impeller to rotate rapidly.  A distance of several hundred meters cannot allow a ship to reach a speed of 6 knots.Ships with a capacity of more than 4,000 tons are increased to full speed.  But Bingwen never thought about loading the submarine at full speed. In that case, no matter how hard the icebreaker was, the bow steel plate would be torn. He just wanted to use maximum horsepower to rush towards the opponent, and then use the ice pick to gently  Rub it¡­.

    A 4,000-ton icebreaker with a solid structure actively "wipes" a submarine with a displacement of only 220 tons and the weakest hull and an unsuspecting submarine at a speed of 8 knots using jagged ice-breaking cones. The result is completely unimaginable!

    Amidst screaming, cursing and shouting, Grom and all the British sailors felt a sudden jolt under their feet, and then the pressure water pipes in the submarine burst.  The creaking sound of steel friction was so terrifying, and seawater began to pour into the submarine violently. Within a few minutes, they completely lost consciousness, even those who boarded the deck early and fell into the sea due to the collision.  Might survive this temperature.

    The violent friction also made Bingwen and everyone on the icebreaker sweat. Seeing the submarine disappearing quickly, they didn't even bother to check the bow damage, so they sent out a string of lights and ordered the fleet to go north at full speed!.

    (To be continued)

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