Chapter 46 The Shadow of Death

March 4, 1947, Norfolk Military Port, East Coast, United States.

At dusk, the setting sun, the blood-red light reflects the sky red. This scene always makes new people admire and veterans feel. The vast ocean is full of challenges and hope, and it is also the place where countless heroic souls return.

As the end of work is approaching, Pier 4 is still busy and busy. The loading and unloading workers hired by the US Navy are lifting all kinds of goods on the heavy cruiser parked near the pier, including baskets of fresh vegetables and fruits, bags of flour and potatoes, boxes of candies and wine, and of course, guns and ammunition that allow these war machines to exert their lethality.

"Be careful, these are all dangerous goods!"

A group of beautiful officials in white naval uniforms stood on the dock and watched the workers hang huge tubes one by one on the warship. There were two of these big guys with canvas outside. They were hard and heavy metal objects in the touch. There were no text signs on the cover cloth. Each of them was more than one person tall, and they were so wide that adults could not embrace them even with their arms spread. The hook design on the top made the crane able to steadily carry them one by one.

One of them was hung up. However, from the time they left the ground and landed safely, the officers stared at them almost intently, as if they were afraid that there would be an excellent magician hidden nearby, and people would be dislodged if they didn't pay attention. In addition, some workers also noticed that the guards around the dock were particularly strict today, and the guard posts had more than doubled, and rare armored vehicles appeared at the intersection, and there was no airplane above the port for most of the day.

"The last one!"

The foreman's shouting raised tone made the workers who were rushing to get off work cheer up. Seeing the last metal cylinder hanging safely onto the huge and slender warship next to the dock, the naval officers present finally felt relieved.

The loaders and unloaders on the docks began to disperse, but the front and rear decks of the warships were still busy everywhere. Because they did not have special cargo holds like cargo ships, the sailors needed to move these supplies to specific locations in a category - food warehouse, freezer compartment, sanitation compartment, ammunition compartment and other vacant compartments. Large canvas-covered canvas were directly placed between the main chimney and the sub-bridge of the ship's surface where traffic boats and lifeboats were originally used to shelve traffic boats and lifeboats. They were placed on one side, each with steel cables as thick as wrists. It seemed that even hurricanes that overturned the warships could not separate them.

On the open bridge above the armored command tower, two senior naval officers of similar age were silently watching the busy scene on the ship. They were slightly shorter, with round faces and thick eyebrows wearing the collar of the US Rear Admiral, taller, wide faces and crotched noses wearing Navy Colonel accessories.

Turning to look at the dispersed workers, the Rear Admiral slowly said: "I hope this will be a calm voyage!"

The colonel's eyes also followed the workers' backs. Some of them looked back from time to time, but they couldn't tell whether they were curious or peeping, perhaps both.

"With the established route and speed, we will arrive in France next Monday. In such a short time, even if the enemy learns the news and makes plans, there is no time to deploy." The colonel said half of the analysis and half of the comfort. If the enemy had already deployed the troops and waited for a suitable opportunity, then a few hours would be enough to complete the most deadly deployment.

The heavy-looking Rear Admiral barely accepted his companion’s inference and asked affirmatively: “Can you be ready before 8 o’clock!”

The colonel looked at the watch and replied: "The order was prepared before 7:30. Now at 6:40, the main goods have been in place. There is definitely no problem at 8:00."

The Admiral then turned his gaze to the front of the bow. Next to the adjacent dock, four new-looking destroyers were moored in front and tail. To the west, there was also a very beautiful light cruiser parked, with American star and striped flags floating on their masts.

He stood there for nearly twenty minutes without saying a word. When the workers completely dispersed, there were no ordinary workers on the dock. The Major General of the Army said: "Send a flag signal: 8 %% and leave the port in a predetermined escort formation."

The Navy Colonel conveyed the order without hesitation, and then asked the less emotional fleet commander: "How about getting rid of supper before %?"

"No appetite," replied the Rear Admiral, "I'll eat some light today."

"The main course comes to your favorite asparagus roast foie gras. You won't be able to eat fresh foie gras after leaving the land." The Navy Colonel said as he walked. They had no idea that someone was using optical equipment to peek at the flag-tongued signals from the heavy cruiser through several kilometers. It won't take long to get the information about their fleet's departure time to pass on to the submarine lurking in the eastern United States. They are not the Soviet attackers that the US side is worried about, but the Great German Empire forces who are better at sea attacks.

While the sailors were still busy outside, the kitchen of the heavy cruiser's restaurant had already smelled full of fragrance. When the two chief officials, the White House envoy, the Fleet Chief of Staff, the flagship mate, and the accompanying engineer were in place, fresh and tender dishes were served on the dining table. These beautiful officials in white naval uniforms had dinner and chatted. Starting from the fact that all the goods were on board, the officers and soldiers were not allowed to leave the ship, and external personnel were prohibited from boarding the ship. The relatively closed environment also made them completely open up.

"Dr. Mante, how many tons of these big guys are equal to? I heard it is calculated in tens of thousands of tons?" the first mate asked curiously.

The accompanying nuclear weapons engineer Dr. Mante is an old man wearing glasses as imaginary. He is a middle-aged man in his forties and strong body. This time, he also includes an emergency technical team to ensure the safety of special cargo during the voyage and eliminate possible accidents.

"Well, their detonation technology has been further improved, so the same material is much more powerful than the ones that hit Japanese people in the early days, and it is estimated to reach 50,000 tons."

"Fifty thousand tons per? Oh, my God, if they explode at the same time, it will be enough to erase Norfolk and New York City from the map!" The surprise sentence of the Fleet Chief of Staff Hantening blurted out, and after he finished speaking, he realized that it was inappropriate.

At this time, the White House envoy, who is neither a diplomat nor a representative of the political garrison, spoke: "Don't worry, they are like shells, and they will explode only if they install fuzes and trigger them correctly. It's okay if you use a hammer to hit and hit them hard. I'm right, Dr. Mante?"

"Very right," replied Dr. Mante, "they are even safer than the stored shells, because the enemy's shells cannot inspire them, and I heard that the possibility of encountering Soviet ships on the Atlantic is almost zero."

"Yes, it's almost zero." The special White House envoy smiled and took the ball he had just kicked out. "The powerful allied navy sealed the poor little Soviet navy at their ports, and they were not as good as the Germans at the role of submarines."

"Be careful in everything!" Captain Colonel Angelo's intention to say this was not like maintaining his subordinates, but rather to what the White House envoy just said, "nearly zero" - non-naval personnel easily expressing their opinions on the professional issues of the navy is both impolite and unauthorized, which can easily cause unnecessary misleading to others.

"What the Colonel said!" The White House envoy responded quickly. In order to change the topic, he kicked the ball to the doctor again: "It doesn't matter because of the violent shaking caused by the wind and waves!"

"The 'fat' and 'little boys' who bombed Japan were sent from the mainland to the Western Pacific base by sea. The voyage was even longer. The Japanese submarines were very active back then... Don't worry, under normal circumstances there would be no problems." Dr. Mante replied confidently.

"Mr. Leghall!" said General Jetlica, the commander of the fleet, to the White House envoy, "As far as I know, the Army had previously used B-29 to transport these terrible Pandora boxes from home to Europe. Why did we look for the Navy this time? Aren't we more time and risk on the road?"

"This is indeed a very interesting question, and I want to know the answer." The White House envoy, who looks about forty and looks so sleek, shrugged and said that he is really powerless.

"Maybe it's because this season is not suitable for long-distance flights across the Atlantic, and the safety is not high." Dr. Mante gave his personal opinion in some way.

"To be honest, if an airplane transports a large bomb, even if there is an accident, it will lose more than a dozen crew members. There are more than 2,000 people in our fleet. If we really encounter such an unfortunate situation, all of them will die!" The general's expression was so serious when he spoke, and only the White House envoy pretended to be cold humor.

"Hope this is the last time, what do you think of Mr. Leghall?" Colonel Angelo said unanimously.

The White House envoy replied awkwardly: "Uh... I hope so... haha!"

After dinner, the officers were all returned to their posts. Dr. Mante was going to the ship to check out the "big killers". The White House envoy followed behind his butt. At 8 o'clock, the major general's flag and the fleet commander's flag were raised on the mast of the Baltimore-class heavy cruiser. One heavy cruiser, one light cruiser, and one light cruiser, and four destroyers formally formed a fleet of four destroyers. Then the light cruiser was in front, the heavy cruiser was in the middle, and the destroyer followed. The six warships slowly sailed away from the Norfolk military port where the light was on the light. The biggest advantage of sailing at night was that it was not easy.

It attracted the attention of external personnel, especially to avoid conventional reconnaissance methods. Although it is the east coast of the United States, the navy and coast guard forces have been on high alert in nearby areas for nearly a year, since they were in war with the Soviet Union, foreign submarines have often appeared offshore the United States. Photos of Soviet-flagged submarines being discovered in the waters near Boston once caused a large-scale panic. After leaving the port, the US fleet extinguished the signal lights, and accompanied by the sound of water waves gradually moving away, they quickly disappeared into the vast night.

Four hours later, the US fleet sailing towards Europe at a speed of 20 knots was eighty nautical miles away from Norfolk's homeport. The sea was calm and the radar screen on the ship was full of ripples echoed, which meant that there was nothing on the nearby sea surface, and everything was going quietly as if it was imagined by the top leaders. At the watchtowers and combat duty positions of each ship, the US Navy officers and soldiers wearing white military uniforms were still paying close attention to the situation on the sea.

The hour hand moved from 10 to 11, and the minute hand quickly reached the 30 position. Just when the senior officers were on the ship for the last time that day, a panic suddenly rushed out of the radar control room of the flagship "Boston". The communication officer quickly found the fleet commander and captain who were heading to the stern of the ship, and reported in a daze: "I found...the pulse radar wave...the wavelength is about...50 cm..."

Upon hearing this, General Jetlica and Colonel Angelo looked at each other, but their first reaction was not to sound the battle alarm, nor to speculate whether this encounter was accidental or internal leakage, but to determine the other party's orientation as quickly as possible and increase the speed to bypass the dangerous area, leaving the difficult underwater attackers far behind.

The group hurried back to the combat bridge, and a follow-up report came from the radar control room: "The source of the pulse wave is located 32 degrees northeast, about 40 nautical miles away."

Immediately afterwards, the radio department intercepted the communication radio waves transmitted from close range, and the content could not be deciphered.

A few minutes later, the Boston issued a light communication signal that "the enemy submarine was discovered in the northeast, and each ship was accelerated to 28 knots, and the course was 30 degrees southeastward." It reported this emergency situation and the course adjustment of the fleet to the command center at the Norfolk base.

Every ten minutes next, the detection instruments on the ship could still detect the existence of pulsed radar waves, and the reverse calculation of the wave source position was moving south slowly. Even at the highest surface speed of the submarine, it was impossible to intercept the US fleet at this time. As time went by, every officer and soldier in the fleet were unwilling to sleep. The officers and sailors on the four destroyers were particularly nervous. All the guns, cannons and deep bullets were on guard. Due to the great impact of the sensitivity of the sonar at the high speed of the ship, the radar was unable to determine the target under the water. Many sailors spontaneously strengthened to the observation guard post, in order to detect the incoming submarine as soon as possible when they were attacked.

The property has passed, and the scattered alarm sound of "discovering torpedo" has not been heard, and the reverse-recalculated pulse radar wave source has gradually been thrown to the back. Once it exceeds 30 nautical miles, the submarine radar will be difficult to play a role in surface detection - unless the opponent greatly improves the submarine radar based on the existing technology.

"General, go and rest first. I'll stick here. If there is an emergency, I will send someone to wake you up."

In the battle bridge of the "Boston", Colonel Angelo took the initiative to propose a replacement.

In a rational case, General Jetlica should accept this suggestion, and his first reaction was indeed the case. However, before the man could leave the combat bridge, the radar control room found a report of the second set of pulsed radar waves in front of him, which made him sleepless.

"It's really damn. That guy informed his accomplices about our changes in location. Now the Soviet submarines on the Atlantic are probably gathering with us!" The general frowned and analyzed.

"The fleets on the Atlantic Ocean frequently traveled, why did they target us?" Angelo himself asked the question, and he quickly found the answer - "They knew we were carrying..."

The general sighed heavily. Since receiving the order, the worries finally became a reality. He immediately asked Dr. Mante and the White House envoy to call: "We are targeted by the enemy, and there are probably many submarines waiting for us in front!"

"The situation is so serious?" The White House envoy was greatly surprised. Dr. Mante had no comments or suggestions in this case.

"I have reported the situation to the Navy Operations Department, and the plan cannot be implemented." General Jetlica's tone seemed unquestionable. Although he did not even see the enemy at this time, the burden of the eight atomic bombs made him quickly make a decision - as for whether he would turn around and retreat by the two sets of pulsed radar waves in the future and become a laughing stock of his colleagues because he was scared to retreat by two sets of pulsed radar waves, he didn't care about that much.

"If the Navy Operations Department orders the fleet to return immediately, I have no objection, but if the Operations Department gives you the power to make a decision in the war, I suggest you carefully consider the risks of advancement and retreat." The White House envoy said without any force.

"What does it mean?" General Jetlica asked with some anger.

The White House envoy said quickly: "I wonder if you have ever thought that if the enemy determines that the fleet is equipped with nuclear weapons and uses radar to determine our location, will it adopt various corresponding plans - including our turn and return to Norfolk!"

"Then let's go to Boston! Go to Philadelphia! Even to Florida!" General Jetlica was obviously determined to make the fleet turn around. The only thing that could stop him was the order of the Navy Operations Department.

"Bring two atomic bombs back to the port on the east coast of the United States? Then you'll be hit by the enemy!" The White House envoy shook his head fiercely.

General Jetlica retorted: "So what if you take them back to the United States? Once we arrive at the port, we will unload them and seal them to a safe place. Didn't Dr. Mante say that the bombings could not detonate them?"

"Ordinary shells cannot be used, but what if they are an atomic bomb? Even if it is the smallest equivalent!" The White House envoy turned to Dr. Mante, General Jetlica and Angelo, who was not rashly involved in this quarrels, also turned his attention to the Doctor.

The doctor, who has been calm since boarding the ship, had already widened his eyes at this time. He replied tremblingly: "The atomic bomb detonates the atomic bomb... God, this will indeed erase the port where we dock, and no one within a radius of hundreds of kilometers can survive!"

General Jetlica almost staggered and fell in surprise, then turned to look at Angelo, and looked reluctantly at the White House envoy.

The envoy gritted his teeth and said word by word: "Either return to the east coast of the United States, or use his speed to avoid enemy interception. The worst case scenario of the latter road is that we are all buried at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean or bring disaster to Europe."

General Jetlica hesitated, and no road was what he wanted.
Chapter completed!