Chapter 48: Nightmare comes true

When the first ray of sunshine in the early morning came, General Jetlica, commander of the U.S. Navy Special Fleet, had been standing on the wet combat bridge for a long time. The radar antenna on the mast was rotating tirelessly, and on the high observation deck, the observers on the ship also used high-power telescopes to warn about the situation on the sea surface - there was no abnormality, even a small unknown floating object did not appear, but this did not mean the danger was lifted. General Jetlica, who had not been asleep for a night, supported his heavy eyelids, and the originally bright eyes were only a pair of dull eyes.

As leather boots stepped onto the steel gangway, the fleet staff officer, who was agile but tired, quickly walked onto the battle bridge: "Sir, the friendly ships Davidson and Emmons approached the fleet from the front, and are expected to meet in an hour and a half."

The two Benson Graves-class destroyers were converted into fast minesweepers as early as World War II to clear minesweepers in the fleet landing operations for their landing ships. A learned and social naval general like Jetlica was very clear about the actual situation of various ships in their country. They improved their protective performance while installing minesweeping equipment, but the naval guns and air defense firepower were only considered to be fair, and in the early days they were only equipped with conventional radio equipment and "heedgehog" deep bomb launchers.

At the end of the war, redundant ships were piled up in the military ports of the United States, and what awaited them was the fate of being sold or dismantled. The war against the Soviet Union changed their fate. The ships above the destroyers successively installed fire control radars and enhanced anti-submarine capabilities. The comprehensive performance of the Benson Graffs class was a little worse than that of the Fletcher class, and the analysis of the White House envoy Leghall was really a bit "shocking". In Jetlica's view, the addition of two ordinary escort ships was far from enough to improve the situation of this fleet.

"The envoy and the doctor are resting?" the Rear Admiral asked lightly.

"Yes, sir, they ate some bread early in the morning and went back to the cabin, while Colonel Angelo was in the radar room." The staff officer reported what he knew without hesitation...

Angelo is a captain from the communications department, and his radio technology is better than ordinary officers. He went to the radar control room to study the l-wave pulse radar waves intercepted last night. The l-wave radar can be used for long-range target detection, but the detection accuracy is relatively poor. The US and British troops were generally equipped with more advanced centimeter waves and even microwaves (the US Navy's SG-1 surface search radar). During World War II, the radars equipped by German submarines were mainly located in the L-wave band. It was not until the end of the war that the British centimeter wave radar was seized and copied, and they obtained new radars with higher accuracy. However, until the end of the war, the centimeter wave radars of German submarines were still in the test stage, and no data showed that they had been put into batch installation.

Germany did not invest practical equipment for the Soviets, which was very common after World War II, but General Jetlica now has neither the mind nor the conditions to figure it out. What he cares most about is the safety of this fleet and special cargo. But strangely, the mysterious radar wave that was noisy overnight has never appeared since dawn, as if all this was just a illusion for people at night.

Seeing that the general did not speak but looked at the sea with a serious expression, the staff officer asked carefully: "Don't you eat something?"

The general said in a deep tone: "I don't want to eat it yet."

The relationship between superiors and subordinates is also different. The staff officer is not good to say much, and he is worried that the communication and command department on the ship will have new situations to report at any time, so he walked down the bridge silently.

Jetlica's deep and melancholy eyes searched aimlessly on the sea surface in front and on both sides. At this time, many people in the fleet were as nervous as him, fearing that if they were not careful, there would be a terrible torpedo track approaching, or a high-speed aircraft that could not be shot down by the legendary mission weapons. However, as time went by, this worry never became a reality. About an hour later, two small gray dots appeared on the sea surface in front as scheduled. The twists and turns of the night made the officers in the fleet not careless at all. They contacted and confirmed it after finally determining that it was their friend ship - two fast minesweepers fought in the Baltic Sea for more than half a year, and this trip was back to the local area for a rest. Although the sailors were as determined as they were, in the face of this special situation and had received orders from the Navy Operations Department, they had no choice but to join the escort queue.

For the two friendly ships that were first to reinforce, General Jetlica arranged them on the left wing of the fleet without much consideration, thus forming an asymmetric and strange escort formation.

Until noon, Jetlica's dark circles became more and more obvious. However, relying on her long-term naval career, Colonel Angelo personally organized radar and radio technicians to measure and calculate the radio waves received last night and determined that the wavelength of the pulsed radar wave was 55 cm, which was consistent with the radar signal intercepted by the British cruiser in the "Europa" cruise incident. Although the other party's communication radio waves could not be interpreted for a while, from the encoding rules and the frequency of the radio waves used, it can be preliminarily judged that they belong to the Soviet military password telegram.

After reporting all these situations to the Navy Operations Department, the fleet received optimistic news: the Essex-class aircraft carrier "Oliscanny" who had sailed from the United States to Europe in advance turned around to support. When the afternoon tea was over, the special fleet could enter the effective combat radius of its carrier-based aircraft. Another escort fleet sailing in the middle of the Atlantic also temporarily dispatched a light cruiser and a large destroyer to come. Consoled by these news, General Jetlica finally decided to go back to the captain's room to sleep, and restore his energy to wait for the challenge of the night.

Colonel Angelo, who was acting as a temporary fleet commander, relied on cigarettes and coffee to refresh himself, had not yet straightened out his ideas, the radar control room reported that the l-wave pulse radar was found.

The surface search radar of the cruiser "Boston" can detect submarine periscopes within 5 kilometers and metal floating objects the size of sampans within 15 kilometers. However, this time, no foreign objects appeared on the radar screen, which means that the detector cunningly took advantage of the size difference between the two sides and the technical limitations of radar equipment. Angelo stomped his feet in anger and cursed his ill-gotten opponents: "Those bastards who are treasures with primitive equipment, timid weasels!"

The weasels did not dare to fight with people head-on, but they were not very brave. In order to find out the true face of their opponents, Angelo directly ordered the "Vincent" to eject the water reconnaissance plane as the acting commander to investigate the radar wave source position calculated by the counter. On alert, the water reconnaissance plane and the pilot on the light cruiser were on standby at all times. After only a few minutes, the white "water bird" took off with a slight buzzing sound.

General Jetlica had just gone to rest, and Angelo did not intend to send someone to disturb him before he found out. However, White House envoy Leghall and nuclear weapons expert Dr. Mante had already returned to normal after lunch. After carefully checking the "special goods" that were firmly fixed in the position of the special container, they came to the battle bridge together. Seeing that the atmosphere was wrong, Leghall's expression had returned to normal last night, he asked severely: "Is there something happening again?"

"Well, it's similar to last night, and the northeast direction is far beyond the sight range. We just sent a water reconnaissance plane, and I believe that the answer that troubles us will be found soon." Colonel Angelo's hope for this was more confident than he said.

"Listen - just hearing, the Germans developed a super-high-speed submarine before the defeat, and the submersible speed in the water was faster than any surface ship. If Hitler gave him one or two years, the situation of the Atlantic Battle would be reversed and the Germans would win the war." Although the Envoy Leghol tried his best to keep himself from subjective inclination, his tone still made people feel that he was deeply worried.

"I have also heard of this. I originally thought it was a rumor as ridiculous as the Aryan divine power, but last night I heard you talk about the UFO and the photos taken by intelligence personnel. I suddenly felt that I should re-examine the technological power that Nazi Germany once had." The colonel replied with some frustration.

"Maybe the fact is that we have won the competition in the field of atomic bombs, they have made breakthroughs in motivation or other aspects, and from a technical perspective, it is completely possible," Dr. Mante interjected.

Colonel Angelo had no choice but to speculate: "I hope the Soviets would not be so efficient in digesting these technologies."

"It is said that when Germany was defeated, many core experts fled to Switzerland and Spain, and some fled to South America and lived in seclusion among German immigrants." As a White House envoy, Leghall's biggest mystery is that he always has so many "speaks".

Colonel Angelo felt comforted when he heard this. He took the opportunity to ask: "There is a saying that Hitler did not die in the basement of the command headquarters in Berlin, but fled Germany on a submarine to the secret base located in the polar region?"

"It's just said that." Leghall raised the corner of his mouth, which was a cold smile with extreme doubt.

The colonel also wanted to scrape his heart and find out the questions he had been curious but had no answers, but the communications officer in the cabin below interrupted his thoughts.

"Sir! The reconnaissance plane reported that a submarine was found about 30 nautical miles northeast. They threw bombs at the submarine but failed to hit it, and the submarine escaped."

"It's indeed a submarine!" Colonel Angelo gritted his teeth, "Hey! He didn't hurt it. It would be great if there was an aircraft carrier providing air support!"

"Don't plan to send a destroyer to search for traces? Use a deep-water bomb to force it to float?" The White House asked in the tone of a layman.

The colonel shook his head: "If the one who monitors us is just a submarine, its speed is already so fast that it is difficult for us to track it. If there are many submarines, it will be useless even if you focus on one. Moreover, it is a recognized fact that the German Xxi-class submarine has excellent silent technology."

The envoy looked to the northeast with a vague understanding: "What should we do next?"

"Do you have no advice on this question?" Colonel Angelo asked back.

"What does it mean?" Envoy Leghol turned around in confusion.

Seeing that the other party's reaction was a bit strong, Angelopin raised his hand and said, "I don't mean anything to disrespect you. I just think your analysis last night was very exciting, and your thinking was far more open than any of us. Now we have at least figured out one situation, that is, our opponent is monitoring us with submarines. We still have some advantages during the day. Once we get to the night, the situation will be very unsatisfactory."

Leghall sighed: "I have no idea, the things that were just long last night that bothered me, suddenly found the inspiration to get the knot, that's all."

Colonel Angelo seemed a little disappointed with this answer: "You suggest that we do not turn around and return to the country. We will do it. It will take two days and two nights at the fastest from here to the continent. The key is two nights - the enemy is likely to launch an attack that we cannot resist."

"But time is making us stronger, isn't it?" Leghall cheered up.

"Yes, there are two more rapid minesweepers, and aircraft carriers that may join the fleet tomorrow morning... The best time for the enemy to do it is probably tonight. Do you think they want to sink us directly, or will they forcibly snatch the special cargo we carry?" The colonel asked. After last night's discussion, he would rather rely on White House envoys rather than those professions of naval staff in combat affairs.

"Sinking us means reducing two atomic bombs transported to Europe, which is of little strategic significance. They have stolen the technology of the atomic bomb last year. In addition to the captured German physicists and some related equipment, they should have the ability to make atomic bombs, but there are not enough industrial facilities for refining and enriching uranium, and the speed of making atomic bombs is not fast enough. They may urgently need the bomb bodies we transported, plus the detonation equipment developed by ourselves, which can be used to increase the deterrence against allies." The envoy Leghol said the more he looked more painful, as if the spy on the truth made him suffer huge pain in the depths of his soul. His originally upright face also had many folds due to his frowning posture.

"I have a different view on this." Dr. Mante habitually touched his bald head. "The Soviet Union's heavy industry technology and scale are very developed, and there are uranium raw materials in the local area. There is evidence that they have indirectly controlled the Norwegian uranium mine with rich uranium content. From a time perspective, it is entirely possible that they have already..."

Before he finished speaking, Dr. Mante realized that Colonel Angelo and Envoy Leghol were completely attracted by other firms. He turned his head slowly and looked in the direction they were staring at. A seaplane with a pelican-shaped body was flying lightly at a low altitude on the rippling sea surface. This was just the first impression. If you look closely, you could easily find that the seaplane was swaying left and right, as if it was being followed by enemy planes in air combat. He had to try to swing his body to avoid the bullets. When the high-speed moving silver aircraft slightly far away reflected in his eyes, Dr. Mante's pupils were dilated, and his mouth opened, revealing the crooked and smoky yellow teeth.

"Oh God..." Colonel Angelo had faint syllables in his mouth. Although he had heard of the Phantom of the UFO in Ras Amos from his colleagues, the impact and shock brought by his own eyes were still unparalleled. Moreover, it was not like the "glorious light of the sun" described by people. From a distance, it looked like a silver-gray painted fighter, but without the traditional vertical tail wing and the tiny tail wheel, and could not see the rapidly rotating propeller. In the sun, it came and went freely, and its movements seemed to be unbound by any known principle of inertia. Against its wide and flat body, the seaplane ejected from the "Vincent" was like a pitiful and helpless chicken, panickingly looking for a place to hide.

"Sir! The radar detects the rapid approaching of the high-speed aircraft from the northeast, and... the reconnaissance pilot reported that he was being pursued by UFOs and asked the fleet to launch an anti-aircraft shelling. He will lead the opponent over the fleet. He said there is no need to worry about his personal safety. Let us use shells to tear the terrible demon to pieces!"

The communication officer below seemed to be deeply stimulated by this sudden situation and the pilot's tone. His words were actually a little incoherent. The three people on the combat bridge tried to exchange eyes, but this simple intention was missed because of the inconsistency of the movements.

From the scene, the water reconnaissance plane was obviously targeted by the other party on the way back to the fleet. Suddenly, seeing such a strange guy appearing behind him, the pilot was immediately panicked - he might not have thought at all about what kind of threat this high-speed aircraft would pose to his fleet. If the fleet is in trouble, what's the use of even taking his life?

After a moment of hesitation, Colonel Angelo finally yelled and ordered: "Roll out the air defense combat alarm!"

Before the alarm sounded, the beeping buzzing sound of the aircraft engine had quickly approached. The huge gap in speed made the followers easily pass by the white reconnaissance aircraft. It ignored the existence of dozens of large and small anti-aircraft guns of the fleet and rubbed unscrupulously above the mast. The surprising thing was that there was a bright red five-star spray on the disc-shaped body!

The enemy situation had just appeared, and the crew members on duty were still turning their muzzles in a hurry, and the decks of each ship were full of busy figures. When the first anti-aircraft gun opened fire without receiving the flagship command, the disc-shaped flying object had already flew thousands of meters away. At first glance, its speed was faster than the shells. How could this make the panicked gunners feel?

On the battle bridge of the heavy cruiser "Boston", three people with far-fetched identities stood in a daze. Many of the hearings one day became real scenes in front of them, and they could no longer express their true feelings in their hearts in words. Recalling the analysis and speculation by Envoy Leghol last night, the worst prophecy seemed to be becoming reality step by step. Colonel Angelo, Dr. Mante and Leghol themselves were all frozen there.

*
Chapter completed!