"The target is turning! The track is very clear!" Looking at the target position signal fed back by the active sonar, the operator reported in a timely manner.
The wire-guided torpedoes changed their routes in time under control. They corrected their trajectories, adjusted their angles, and continued to rush towards the target.
Just as the captain of the destroyer Lions Empire speculated, the submarine of the Tang Empire had indeed fired all its torpedoes on standby. ""
But it was completely different from what he had guessed. The submarines of the Tang Empire Navy now had no torpedo cabins at the tail. They only had six torpedo tubes on the bow.
Knowing that he had revealed his approximate location, the captain of the Tang submarine was not nervous because he knew that he was fully capable of dealing with two enemy destroyers that had no serious anti-submarine means.
He already knew the approximate performance of the opponent's sonar, and he also knew clearly the opponent's attack methods.
If the opponent is not allowed to advance forward and launch anti-submarine depth bombs above his head, the opponent has almost no way to threaten their new submarine.
…
On the water, the first mate, who had been staring at the white tracks left by the two torpedoes, frowned: he had already seen something was wrong.
"Captain! There's something wrong with the tracks of those torpedoes!" The first mate held the binoculars and checked carefully, reminding the captain next to him to take another look at those torpedoes.
Hearing the first mate's reminder, the captain of the Stickleback once again raised his telescope and looked at the torpedo tracks on the sea. He suddenly realized that the situation was not what he expected.
"Their torpedoes...why don't they seem to be traveling in a straight line?" The captain of the Stickleback finally judged from the position that the torpedo's trajectory was changing.
Logically speaking, their destroyer had already turned. If the two torpedoes were to sprint in a fixed straight line, they would have avoided them and passed by the bow of the ship. But now the two torpedoes seemed to have adjusted their course, and they were still at risk of hitting the torpedoes.
"Is the speed calculation wrong?" The first officer murmured in confusion as he saw that the two tracks seemed to be passing the destroyer from opposite inner directions.
Probably! The captain was reminded like this and realized that the other party might have used a weird torpedo! According to his previous thoughts, the opponent's submarine should logically avoid their destroyer.
But now the other party actually launched an attack! That in itself doesn’t feel right! If something goes wrong, there must be a monster, and the other party must have something to rely on to take the initiative to attack.
The torpedo with changing speed in front of us could obviously be the opponent's secret weapon! If the torpedo suddenly slows down or accelerates, it may cause misjudgment and increase the difficulty of avoiding the torpedo!
It seems that the other party is very confident in this "variable speed" torpedo, so it recklessly launches an attack...
pity! It's a pity that they still underestimated themselves! Avoiding these two torpedoes... is not impossible!
"Be careful of their torpedoes suddenly accelerating... turn back the rudder 30 degrees! Keep the speed!" The captain of the Stickleback corrected the course and planned to throw the two torpedoes to the stern of the ship.
The full starboard rudder was a little risky, as it might hit the two torpedoes, so the captain ordered to turn back to the rudder, intending to make a wide circle and move the torpedoes to the inner circle to avoid them.
Along with their adjustments, the two torpedoes quickly corrected their course. At this moment, they were very close to the destroyer HMS Stickleback.
Standing on the side, the captain of the Stickleback could clearly see the white track turning slightly this time. Because of the distance and angle, this turn is clearer than the last time.
"Their torpedoes are turning! Their torpedoes can target us!" the captain couldn't help shouting. His face was pale and his voice had become shrill.
All the previous speculations were wrong, the opponent's torpedoes were tracking! This thing is the opponent's biggest trump card! They are prey from the beginning, and the real hunter is actually the opponent's submarine!
"Turn! Full right rudder! Keep turning!" The captain of the Stickleback, who already knew it was too late, turned around and ordered loudly. He still wanted to fight to the death. He hoped that the opponent's torpedo turning was just a coincidence.
Or, what if the opponent's torpedo turns a number of times? The opponent's torpedoes have already turned twice. What if those torpedoes can no longer turn?
Unfortunately, even if the torpedo stopped turning, the Stickleback was already inevitable. A few seconds later, the first torpedo hit the stern of the Stickleback, and the sea water raised by the huge explosion instantly engulfed the stern of the Stickleback destroyer.
Immediately afterwards, the second torpedo also hit the stern of the Stickleback, and the two torpedoes completely caused the tail of the Stickleback to disappear on the sea.
A large amount of water suddenly poured into the tail of the Stickleback. The propellers were all damaged, the large shaft was twisted and broken due to the explosion, the oil tank leaked, and the power cabin was flooded...
Because it lost almost all its power in an instant, the Stickleback was unable to even perform damage control. In less than a minute, the broken part of its tail was submerged into the sea.
"Power up the Thunderbolt! Tell them to move forward according to the previous coordinates! Find the enemy's submarine and launch an attack! The opponent does not have enough time to load the torpedoes now! There is no way to continue the attack!" The captain of the Stickleback knew that his ship had already It was over, but the Thunderbolt seemed to have a chance.
"If the other party completes the reloading! Then it's all over!" Their fleet only has a speed of 11 kilometers per hour, which is about 6 knots. This speed cannot get rid of the submarine.
At night... when the visibility is poor, and the enemy submarine launches another attack... the situation will become even more passive!
As long as the opponent has enough turning torpedoes, the entire fleet will be doomed! Including these escort destroyers!
Therefore, in his opinion, the enemy submarine must be sunk today... Now that the enemy's new torpedoes have not been loaded, the Thunderbolt has a very good chance of succeeding.
"Thunderbolt called back: Leave it to us..." The communications officer quickly fed back the news. The destroyer Thunderbolt, which had just followed the Stickleback, had already surpassed the Stickleback and rushed towards the determined location of the enemy submarine.
"The other side has a torpedo that can turn! Send this news! Inform all friendly forces and ask them to be more careful!" The captain of the destroyer USS Stickleback said helplessly as he looked at the sailors who were lowering lifeboats and throwing lifebuoys into the sea. .
After a few minutes, the backup generator stopped working and all the lights inside the Stickleback went out. They lost all power, seawater poured into the hull, and soon the entire destroyer sank into the water.
