Australian Storm 1876 - Chapter 1054

Chapter 1054 The Incident of the Peony Flower

The submarine flexibly submerged into the sea like a large dark gray whale, lurking in the direction of the ship, containing infinite murderous intent.

The “Peony Flower” cruise ship is an 8,600-ton ocean-going liner manufactured by Songjiang Lixin Shipyard. It has been in operation for 4 years. It specializes in the route from the Ocean Empire to Europe via Somalia. It has a rated crew of 1,622 people, including 231 sailors and service personnel. .

This trip to Europe was chartered by merchants from Britain, France and other countries, sending 1869 indigenous laborers recruited in Sumatra to France to the port of Artest de Beek near Bordeaux in southeastern France.

Here, indigenous laborers will be sent to the front line as supplementary soldiers after a short period of physical recuperation and military training.

As for the Somme Hell or the Verdun Meat Grinder, it’s hard to say.

Due to the outbreak of the war in Europe, German elusive submarines frantically attacked passenger ships and freighters belonging to the Allied countries, the Pacific Insurance Company, the powerful Pacific Insurance Company of the Ocean Empire, the Queensland Insurance Company, Victoria Maritime Insurance Company and other large companies have canceled the European route marine insurance, Asia-Europe passenger transport Routes have been greatly affected.

At the same time when the freight is busy, the one-way passenger traffic from the Ocean Empire to Europe is extremely deserted. The number of cruise ships has been reduced from more than a dozen cruises per month to less than two now, and the number of people is still pitiful.

There is no big reason, no one wants to go to Europe at the risk of death.

Look back

As long as they arrive in Europe, whether it is a passenger ship or a freighter, they can return a boat full of refugees. There are French, Italians, a small number of rich Russians and British, and most of them are women and children.

At this stage, the general Ocean Empire private shipping companies basically only transport passengers and cargo to the Hampton port on the east coast of North America, and the rest of the voyage is transported by ships from the participating Allied countries.

The most    is only transported to the entrepots of the Yasore Islands, which has caused the entrepot trade of the Yasore Islands to rise like a rocket. There are large and small freighters parked in the harbor, and the business is very hot.

It is only 1450 kilometers from the Azores to Lisbon in Portugal, and only 1720 kilometers from the port of Bordeaux in southwestern France, which can be reached in three days.

The “Peony Flower” cruise ship is one of only two passenger ships left. Now there are very few indigenous laborers in Sumatra, and this trip may be suspended.

The reason why    dares to venture into the war zone is due to the high freight costs on the one hand, and on the other hand, the cruise ship “Peony Flower” relies on a speed of up to 23 knots per hour, and the submarine cannot catch up with such a fast speed.

a few months ago

Sending indigenous laborers to Europe is a big business. Not only do more than two dozen ocean liners participate, but there are also many freighters carrying passengers, and the business is booming.

rough estimate

In just over half a year, more than 300,000 Sumatran male indigenous laborers were imported into Europe, which was highly appreciated by the Allied camp and strongly supported Europe’s war of resistance against aggression.

The cruise ship “Peony Flower” was running at full speed and galloping across the sea at high speed, unaware that danger was approaching.

Under the sea

The German submarine U-152 maintained the depth of the periscope and has quickly detoured to the direction of the cruise ship “Peony Flower”, watching the large prey step into the ambush circle.

The air in the submarine was dirty and hot, and many German sailors were still sweating in short-sleeved shirts, but under the command of the captain, they were operating the equipment with enthusiasm, and no one made a sound.

“Turn 12 degrees to the right rudder, go forward three times, the torpedo is powered on and checked, ready to launch.”

“Fill the torpedo tube with water and connect the high pressure gas tank.”

“Maintain current course, advance two, report readiness.”

“Report sir, the torpedo is powered up.”

“The torpedo tubes are well filled with water.”

“Connect the high pressure gas tank.”

“The course remains.”

“Ready to launch.”

A series of combat posts quickly reported that two huge torpedoes had entered the launch tube for standby, and the submarine U-152 bared its fangs and was ready to shred the prey that stepped into the ambush circle.

At this time, Lieutenant Claymond in the hydrophone room looked a little abnormal, and the export report reported: “Sir, according to the hydrophone monitoring, the incoming ship belongs to a passenger ship of 8,000 to 10,000 tons. Please indicate whether to continue the attack.”

In this era, no advanced sonar equipment has been invented. The equipment in the hydrous room is very simple. The principle is similar to the stethoscope used by doctors, but it is much larger.

However, experienced officers can use the disturbance of the propeller and the sound of the ship splitting the sea to show a well-defined underwater sound picture in their minds to determine which type of enemy ship is.

In order to save fuel, ocean-going cargo ships mostly use low-speed steam turbines. The blades are large and the speed is slow. The sound is thick and dull, even if a coolie staggers forward with a sack.

Warships do not consider saving fuel, and most of them use high-speed steam turbines, which require small size, high output power, and high speed. Just like athletes with strong feet, every step is vigorous and powerful.

Ocean cruise is based on between the two. Although it uses a low-speed steam turbine, the gear ratio is increased through the gearbox to increase the speed of the propeller. The propeller is relatively small, and the sound is like a woman with quick footsteps.

The difference between these sounds is clearly discernible in the ears of experienced water listening officers, and there is absolutely no mistake.

The German Navy Chief of Staff Herzendorf proposed to implement unrestricted submarine warfare against the United Kingdom, which was unanimously approved by Military Minister Ludendorff and Foreign Minister Zimmermann, but Kaiser Wilhelm II was still hesitating and did not officially approve it.

The range of strikes prescribed by Kaiser Wilhelm II himself in accordance with the current German naval warfare regulations;

For example, in the combat waters near the North Sea, when encountering an enemy passenger ship, you should first check its nationality and whether it is transporting combat personnel and military supplies, and then attack it after confirming that it is correct.

The reason for this regulation is that submarines cannot guarantee the safety of the crew of the sunk passenger ship at all. There are too many people to be rescued, and it is easy to cause a humanitarian disaster.

And such regulations

caused insurmountable difficulties for the German submarine commander. Based on the existing technical means, it is difficult to find out whether the passenger ship is carrying soldiers or military supplies, and it must be boarded and captured.

And the cruise ship is very fast, like a nimble swimming fish. Once it finds the submarine surfaced, it immediately flees, and it can’t be caught at all.

in submarine

After Lieutenant Claymond in the water listening room reported, the eyes of the German officers and soldiers involuntarily converged on Captain Hans, the captain. At this time, Captain Hans’s face twitched involuntarily, then his eyes became firm, and he replied in a deep voice ; “Audio room is required to determine whether the enemy ship is fully loaded?”

This is indeed a little difficult, but not impossible to judge.

Because the unloaded ship travels on the sea with a shallow draft, the ship rises and falls in the waves, and is repeatedly beaten by the waves, which will make a clear cavity roar.

The more cargoes    are loaded, the quieter the sound. A fully loaded ship is like a big rock egg, and there will be no such hollow sound.

For passenger ships, it is more difficult to judge, and it is often judged from the characteristics of the draft and the water sound emitted by the propeller.

If the propeller is fully loaded, the propeller will push the water backward, which is determined by the original ship design. Only in this way can the power of the propeller be maximized, showing the characteristics of continuous and powerful underwater sound.

If the propeller is not loaded, the propeller is small and half exposed on the sea surface, the bow is high, the stern is low, and the water that pushes back is downward to the sea surface, and the water sound characteristics are completely different.

Cruises are not only for people, but also for cargo to achieve maximum utilization efficiency and economic benefits.

Lieutenant Claymond is a rigorous German. After listening carefully, he reported in a positive tone; “Report sir, the ship is fully loaded.”

“Okay, no passenger ship is fully loaded to the French port, so it can be judged that this is a fully loaded troop carrier, and everyone is ready for battle.”

“Listen to my command; release the number 1 torpedo tube torpedo. Release the number 2 torpedo tube torpedo.”

The German submarine U-152 gave a violent shock, and then another, two huge torpedoes were launched under the strong push of high-pressure air, and swooped towards the target.

“Recycle the periscope.”

“Water tank No. 3 and No. 4 are filled with water, water tank No. 1 and No. 2 are filled with water, and the right rudder dives at 30 degrees. Prepare for collision and avoid explosion.”

fired two torpedoes, Hans let go of the periscope grip on his hand, closed his hands up and closed, and issued a dive command.

The submarine   U-152 quickly dived from the depth of the periscope, submerged into the rough North Sea, and disappeared.

about three minutes later

There was an earth-shattering explosion on the sea, and a huge orange-red fire group wrapped the entire bow of the “Peony Flower” cruise ship. into two halves.

Then there was another violent explosion, which easily shredded the thin hull of the cruise ship. In just a few minutes, the cruise ship with a displacement of 8,600 tons disappeared on the sea.

two days later

August 28

A news that shocked the world spread to the mainland of Ocean Empire Australia. A cruise ship “Peony Flower” belonging to Ocean Empire was sunk by a German submarine near the North Sea, 376 kilometers away from the French coast.

The ship was full of 2,100 passengers and sailors, all of which were killed, with no survivors. Among them, 1972 were citizens of the Ocean Empire, 64 were British, 27 were French, 14 were Fuso, 11 were Dutch, 6 were Spanish, 4 were People’s Republic of China, 1 was Vietnam, and 1 was American.

Once the news of    appeared in the newspapers, it immediately aroused public opinion in the whole society. Many citizens of the Ocean Empire only discovered at this time that the war was around.

The “Peony Flower Incident” was like a loud slap in the face, waking up the proud citizens of the Empire. After a brief period of surprise, confusion and confusion, their anger erupted like a landslide.

Anyone who violates the empire will be punished even if they are thousands of miles away.

The resounding oath made by today’s sage in the “Wool War” still echoes in his ears. The great power ambition accumulated over and over again cannot be tainted, and the emotions of ordinary citizens are instantly detonated.

the next day

In the Red River Valley metropolis, Beilun, Songjiang, Qingdao, Melbourne, Tianshu, Samarinda and other cities, parades of 10,000 citizens broke out. Emotional people took to the streets with big slogans, demanding that the empire make no A tough response to compromise.

“World Journal”, “Melbourne Chronicle” and other mainstream newspapers and periodicals, wrote in bold and large fonts on the front page;

War, war, the empire needs to pay back a war to the Germans.

Hundreds of millions of people, war is coming.

(end of this chapter)