Chapter 2572： Exposed (1/2)
”God, look at the surface of the sea. What is that? How come there are white traces?” In Lieutenant Totti's telescope, he could vaguely see several long white lines appearing on the surface of the sea. This kind of thing is certainly not a natural phenomenon, after all, who has seen a very neat row of white lines? This is not normal!
”Captain Hellmann, can you come and see?” Lieutenant Totti woke up the German navy observer who was resting nearby. This is the ace watchman of the German High Seas Fleet. He once served on the flagship of the High Seas Fleet, and later retired due to war injuries. Now, because the Americans are paying a high salary of at least $500 a month, this buddy Have come to the far Pacific Ocean.
”White wake?” Captain Heilmann was awakened suddenly, and then he immediately ran to the telescope and adjusted the optical lens skillfully.
”It's a battleship! A high-speed battleship! Their speed is at least 18 knots! An early warning signal is sent to the headquarters immediately!” In less than a minute, Captain Hellmann determined the ship type and speed of the unknown fleet in the distance!
Doesn't it feel very chatty? Does it feel weird? In fact, it is quite normal. At night, many warships are found not because of the warship itself, but because of the wake of the ship when sailing! Especially when a large warship is sailing at high speed, the wake is even longer than the length of the warship itself. Imagine that under the black night, you stand on a high place and look into the distance. Suddenly, a white mark of more than 200 meters long appears on the sea. , And not one, but a few, can this be inconspicuous? And this time the Japanese fleet chose to walk close to the coast, so I'm sorry, the whereabouts of others in the mountain house was discovered by the US army in the first time!
(This is not made up by the author. In fact, in the 2nd night battle, the fleet control speed and the reduction of the wake are all necessary operations. In the famous battle of Sanchuan Junyi in the battle of Savo Island, Sanchuan specialized Order the fleet to slow down and reduce the trail!)
As for why the speed and ship type of the fleet can be judged, it is really knowledgeable. After all, Captain Hellmann has seen it hundreds of times in the war! The wake width of different warships is different, and the length of the wake is also different for the same warship at different speeds. These are all experiences, which can only be understood! Sometimes it's just by feeling!
”Are the ten targets all battleships?” Lieutenant Totti asked.
”At least they are warships of more than 10,000 tons! Just write it like this.” Hellman said anxiously.
”You should know how much disturbance this telegram would cause if it were sent.” Lieutenant Totti still had some doubts about Heilmann's statement. He really didn't expect such a thing to come out tonight!
”I'm responsible.” Hellman said anxiously. ”As a soldier, you must take responsibility at critical moments. This is our duty and honor.” At Heilman's insistence, Lieutenant Totti sent a warning telegram 5 minutes later, but this telegram was not For Benson, it was first to the nearby Sixth Battleship Unit and then forwarded to Benson by the commander of the unit!