Chapter 220 Nautilus
Midway Island, located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, is a relatively large island among the Polynesian Islands, with a land area of only 5 square kilometers.
Although the US military established a military base on the island in 1903, it was later used as a temporary transit station for military and civilian navigation, but it did not receive the same attention as its geographical location.
As the situation in the Pacific continued to become tense, the United States began to build military airports and submarine bases on the islands starting in 1940.
At this point in 1942, the location of this naval base, which was located on the midline of the Pacific Ocean between the United States and Japan and only 1,200 nautical miles away from Hawaii, suddenly became important.
In the waters near Midway Island, under the water, the USS Nautilus submarine is sailing in shallow water depths.
The captain, Major Rockman, is a guy full of adventurism. Under his leadership, the Nautilus has killed two medium-sized Japanese freighters in this area.
But today Major Rockman's main task is not to attack the Japanese army, because a group of "big shots" came aboard his submarine.
Colonel Evans Carlson, a legend of American special operations, once served as captain of the Roosevelt Guards. He has very high tactical literacy and is the prototype of a series of American blockbuster heroes. At this time, he had just returned from a visit to China and planned to return to the country to do something big.
Captain James Roosevelt, this 35-year-old man wearing glasses was the eldest son of the then US President Roosevelt. He was assigned to Carlson as a staff officer because of a personal relationship.
Behind them was a young man wearing the uniform of an intelligence officer. His father was a Wall Street financier, and his grandfather was once the mayor of Boston. At this time, he had the rank of second lieutenant.
“My ship is now worth more than the Hornet.” Captain Rockman quietly joked to his assistant during the break.
"Gentlemen, we will transfer at Midway Island later, replenish fuel and supplies, then drive to Hawaii, and then arrive at the west coast. I wish you all a happy trip." Rockman said in a tone that he thought was humorous Talked to a few people.
"Thank you! Mr. Captain." Colonel Carlson replied politely, appearing very calm.
"Sir, aren't you happy? We can finally have hot meals." Major Rockman looked at the passengers on his submarine with some embarrassment. He thought he could at least hear some cheers. .
"Of course I'm happy, but I've never been too picky about food. I've been to the northwestern region of China and stayed with the soldiers there for a while. After I came back, even the individual soldier rations seemed delicious to me. Colonel Carlson responded with a smile.
"God, I hope I never have access to the food over there." The major shrugged and ended the topic somewhat boringly.
Ang! ! ! hold head high! ! ! hold head high! ! !
A special alarm sounded in the submarine, and the surrounding atmosphere suddenly became tense.
"Enemy ship found! A Yan-class destroyer! Heading due north, sailing east!" the observer reported loudly through the periscope.
"Emergency dive! Avoid!" Major Rockman made the choice immediately.
If it were normal times, the major with some cowboy plot would definitely fight to the death with the other party, but not today. The special guest on the ship did not allow him to make risky moves.
AH-OO-GAH! ! ! AH-OO-GAH! ! ! !
With the red light flashing, the Nautilus retracted its periscope and began to dive rapidly to a depth of about 150 meters on the seabed. It also shut down its engines and unnecessary equipment and entered a silent state.
Active sonar is off, passive sonar is on.
The sonar operator wears a special headset and uses a pen to continuously outline the opponent's position on the map.
"Baby, I have guests today and I don't have time to deal with you. Let's go our separate ways." Major Rockman muttered silently.
But at this moment, the Japanese destroyer, which was sailing smoothly eastward, suddenly slowed down as if it had discovered something, and then drew a zigzag curve and headed in the direction of the ship.
? ? ? ? ! ! ! !
Why did you drive here directly? ! !
2 nautical miles! 1 nautical mile! 500 meters! As the opponent got closer, sweat began to appear on the top of Major Rockman's head.
In the end, the opponent actually appeared directly above our ship. "Damn it! Has it been discovered?!" the young man behind muttered.
"Not necessarily, the other party has not determined yet, otherwise the depth charges would have fallen. We will continue to wait." The major said through gritted teeth.
He is still waiting for an opportunity. The submarine will not stay still after turning off the engine. It will move forward according to the inertia of the seafloor current. As long as the other party does not move, he will leave the original area after a while.
But the next action of the sonar operator made everyone despair. As the submarine moved, the destroyer above also adjusted its position, always staying on top.
It must have been discovered!
"Damn! The Japanese may have the latest detection technology, and now we have become mice in a bag." The major said angrily.
There is nothing you can do. If a submarine is accurately positioned underwater, it will definitely not be able to outrun the destroyer. As long as the opponent is above them, they will have to be passively exposed to deep-water torpedoes.
After the location is determined, there is no way to avoid it no matter how deep it is, because as long as enough depth bombs are dropped, they will be hit sooner or later.
But after waiting for a long time, the depth charge still hasn't fallen?
What's going on? Is this guy enjoying the thrill of cat and mouse? Not only Rockman, but everyone else became confused.
"Sir, something doesn't seem right. The other party seems to be turning the propeller on and off repeatedly, and the signal interval is very short." The sonar soldier reported with an earphone.
The major took the earphone and put it on the side of his head, and sure enough he heard the special sound of the propeller turning on and off regularly.
This voice…
etc!
Is this Morse code? !
The major pulled out a piece of paper and quickly picked up the pencil on the side, B~U~D~D...
"Buddy, comeup!" (Buddy, come up!)
< br>? ? ? ! ! ! !
What does this guy want to do? ! Humiliate us? Capture us?
But this is an opportunity. As long as they can float safely, although they are still absolutely at a disadvantage, as long as they reach the surface, they have two specially-made 152mm deck guns on the submarine that can pose a threat to the opponent.
If it doesn't work, just run into it, and you can't let the opponent capture it, the major thought decisively.
The people in the submarine quickly reached a consensus, and the soldiers picked up self-defense weapons. Even Colonel Evans Carlson pulled out their sidearms.
The Nautilus began to rise. Just when everyone was about to rush out and fight for their lives, the observer in front of the re-raised periscope spoke first.
"Sir, before you go out, I suggest you come here and take a look."
Captain Rockman leaned in front of the periscope and looked out.
On a destroyer anchored on the water, a group of American soldiers wearing rags were singing and dancing on the deck. A few of them held up a banner facing the sea.
“We are going home!”
(End of this chapter)