Chapter 2654: Murder in the Dark Night 1
The British worked very hard to continue the war between the United States and Japan. After all, at heart, the British are actually businessmen in the skin of gentlemen. As long as the profits are substantial, the war can continue. As a former naval power, it is naturally familiar with how to track this kind of thing. When the Americans are not particularly concerned, it is still very easy to track a certain fleet, so this poor KJ16 transport fleet was Stared.
There is a reason why the British chose such a transport fleet, because a total of 16 transport ships in this fleet are equipped with a large number of military supplies imported by Americans from Germany, including but not limited to optical equipment from Zeiss, at least 150 Wolf tank and related accessories. Thousands of MG machine guns, sonar, various artillery shells and torpedoes, mine fuses, etc., the United States still produces things that are not very neat. And precisely because many of the ships in this transport fleet set sail from all over Europe, the preparation time was very long, which also provided opportunities for the British.
It has to be said that the value of attacking such a fleet is still very great. If it is something that the Americans can mass-produce, then naturally it does not matter. If it is gone, it is gone. Just rebuild it. But if it is imported, That's different. In fact, since the end of the war, with the transfer of a large number of personnel and capital, the production capacity of German military industrial enterprises has also begun to shrink. In the view of the German Army, now is the time to develop a new generation of tanks. As the star Wolf of World War I, It's time to prepare to withdraw from the stage of history, so there are very few new ones. Most of the ones ordered by the Americans are refurbished old ones. There is no way. It would be a pity to throw away something made for hundreds of thousands of marks... ..
However, the Americans naturally knew the value of this cargo. In order to prevent possible attacks from submarines or disguised raiders, in addition to four destroyers, they also allocated an additional cruiser to this fleet. Of course, this cruiser cannot be a high-end product. This light cruiser is actually a product of the pre-dauntless era, the USS Albany. This light cruiser is actually no different from the so-called Yoshino and others, with a displacement of about 4,000 tons, a speed of 20 knots, and six 6-inch guns and four 4.7-inch guns. The defense mode is still dome armor. Although it is considered an antique, it is still no problem against some camouflaged assault ships. Even Germany's strongest camouflaged assault ship during the war can never hope to get an advantage in front of regular light cruisers!
"What's the situation of the fleet now? How many ships do we have?" At this time, standing on the bridge of the Albany, Captain Raymond Ames Spruance asked.
"There are still 4 ships, and they are the last batch. It will take about 3 hours to pass through the entire canal, and the fastest is 2 hours and 20 minutes." An officer said.
"Damn it, these are important military supplies. How did the people from the Canal Administration arrange them?" Spruance cursed in a low voice.
"Actually, there is no need to be nervous at all. From the beginning of the war until now, except for a few submarines, the escorted transport fleet has never been hit. Moreover, the Japanese fleet is said to have returned to the Philippines. It is impossible for them to appear here." said the officer.
"However, our fleet is also in a weak state,
This is the time when some little guys tend to get into trouble. "Spruance said. "Okay, let's not say so much. Order the destroyer squadron to prepare. After the fleet sets off, one destroyer will serve as the vanguard, two destroyers will be deployed on both sides, and one destroyer will be deployed in the fleet. tail. "
Three hours later, the reassembled KJ16 transport fleet embarked on the journey, with 16 transport ships concentrated in the middle and all escort ships surrounding it. In the waters near the canal zone, there are also some American destroyers and torpedo boats patrolling. From time to time, they check whether there is anything unusual in the anti-submarine net or minefield.
"The U.S. fleet did not conduct light control." At this time, the lookout of the battleship Asagiri could already see the lights of the KJ16 transport fleet. The Japanese warship is not far from the target, less than 5 kilometers away from the nearest American transport ship.
"Get closer, preferably within 3,000 meters. Pay attention to maintaining light control and radio silence. We will start from the northwest of the fleet!" Looking at the brightly lit American fleet in the distance, Lieutenant General Sturdy was very worried. Calm, he has already experienced bigger scenes, and today's battle is not worth mentioning!
The Asagiri slowly approached its prey like a predator hiding in the night. During this last leg of the voyage, the Japanese carefully adjusted its course so that in the event of a sudden attack, the artillery on both sides of the battleship could be used simultaneously. effect.
"There seems to be something in the distance?" At this time, the lookout on the cruiser USS Albany was also searching the sea surface all the time. Compared with the day, it is easier to be attacked at night. According to statistics, more than 70% of Japanese submarines are attacked It happened at night. Therefore, at night, the Americans placed more observers on every warship and merchant ship than during the day to guard against approaching submarines in the dark.
"There is something there! It is heading towards us! And the signal light is not turned on!" At this time, the Wrangler transport ship at the edge of the fleet finally discovered the hunter who was already close at hand. The huge body of the Asagiri battleship made the lookout hand Feeling nervous and desperate, it couldn't figure out why there was a large ship coming directly towards the fleet without turning on any signal lights! A feeling of uneasiness and terror arose in his heart, and a moment later, this uneasiness became a reality!
Orange fire suddenly burst out on the sea, and then, shells carrying the smell of death flew towards the nearest Wrangler at a very close distance. The loud roar of the heavy artillery broke the tranquility of the Pacific night, almost Seconds later, a cannonball weighing more than 300 kilograms accurately hit the poor battleship!
With a loud noise, a violent explosion occurred in the middle of the hull of the Wrangler, which had a displacement of only more than 5,000 tons. The flammability of the picric acid explosive used by the Japanese high-explosive bombs fully exerted its effect at this moment, and the fire spread rapidly, dozens of meters away. Tall columns of smoke rose into the sky. Just a few minutes later, the seriously injured transport ship entered its final moments. At the same time, the artillery on the other side of the Asagiri was aimed at another transport ship with a displacement of more than 8,000 tons. Tons of shells roared down every minute, turning it into a floating mass in a short time. Ruins on the sea!
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