Thunder Strikes Back

Chapter 212
In the severely tilted cockpit of the Galaxiwa, Captain Hanarid sat on the highest captain's seat in the cockpit, looking around the southwest sea vigilantly. Since he was wearing a gas mask, it was not convenient for him to use the telescope.At this time, everyone in the cabin was wearing the same gas mask. The fire for several hours filled the ship with toxic smoke and dust. Even the well-ventilated forecastle cockpit detected toxic gases containing phosphorus. So far, the fire alarm Not lifted yet.

Thanks to the huge tonnage and reserve buoyancy of this US-made dock-type transport ship, the warship with its main engine parked is still moving forward.The two tugboats that Salvasia arrived were trying to tow the giant ship due east.In addition, the fighter jets coming from the coastal base are closely protecting her in the air, and the three MiG-2s that chased the Pakistani plane before have returned, and obviously they have not seen even a single hair.Hanaled was a little resentful, what did these Air Force planes do before?But apart from his dissatisfaction, deep in his heart he was still worried about the second attack.What he is afraid of is not the enemy's second air strike. If Pakistan has enough planes, they should all be dispatched in the first attack.What he is more worried about now is the enemy submarine. He knows that there is at least one enemy submarine nearby. He has already experienced it at noon. air/sea search radar.He didn't know when the enemy could achieve such a perfect air-submarine coordination, but now is not the time to think about it.

Another frigate from Mumbai is still 65 nautical miles away, and the anti-submarine defense circle currently served by two frigates and two Ka-2 helicopters is still full of loopholes. The passive sonar of the Tabar, which was 28 nautical miles away, kept finding some clues.However, Kempa Bay is the estuary of several freshwater rivers in the subcontinent, and has special hydrological and geographical characteristics. For passive sonar, it is relatively difficult to determine the nature and location of the target.In fact, the anti-submarine capability of these Russian-designed frigates is weaker than the anti-aircraft capability. They are not equipped with towed array sonar, and the anti-submarine weapons are quite backward; This unguided weapon has little in the history of warfare to prove its worth.

"Ask the E&M chief again, how's the damage control going? And the fire, I'm dying of suffocation," Hanaled said, repeating the question every five minutes.The deputy captain picked up the phone in front of him and asked.After a while, he turned around.

"Okay, it's been resolved. The firefighting team has put out the fire, and the ventilation equipment is back to normal."

The captain pulled the gas mask off his face, he would rather be choked to death than be suffocated by this thing.

"Can the helicopters on our ship take off?" Hanarid then asked the deputy captain.

"I've asked, but it's not working. Our ship is tilted too much, and the helicopter on the back deck can only be fixed with ropes, so it can't take off."

"I have a bad feeling their subs won't just sit idle. Especially now that we're getting so slow."

"It's only a few nautical miles away from our coast. They may not dare to go so deep." Lieutenant Colonel Slim looked west, and the coastal mountains of Gujarat could already be seen here.

"The Pakistan Navy is not some coward. Sometimes they are braver than our sailors. So we can't be too careless."

"Captain, maybe you can narrow the anti-submarine defense circle and let the frigates move closer to us." He had long felt that keeping the two frigates too far apart would make it easier for submarines to sneak in.

"No," said the captain flatly. "If I were the captain of a submarine, I would definitely use the range of the submarine-launched missile to launch an attack, so we have to block it far away."

Dusk was gradually falling on the sea, the captain grabbed the binoculars and looked due west.He could see the dim shape of the Tabar, and further north, the Trisul. The distance between the two frigates is about 2 to 5 nautical miles.It seems that the outline is not very clear.He thought that if the enemy wanted to launch missiles, they would start from that gap.This thought made him feel vaguely worried, and he couldn't get rid of this worry until the engine department repaired the power.

"Damn it, we're like a coffin floating on the sea. The engine department is too slow. Lieutenant Colonel Slim, go to the back and see what's going on."

"Understood sir."

The first officer left the seat and turned around, but before he left the cockpit, two two points floated on the sea level in the distance, at the position Hanaled expected.

The captain realized that it wasn't the Venus that always appeared at dusk, that Venus wouldn't be close to the water, and there wouldn't be two of them.He thought, would he be lucky enough to experience two enemy missile attacks in the same day?He stared at the west without blinking, and saw that the light spots in front of him became four, and the other two were SA-N-4 missiles launched by the Trisur.However, the two missiles failed to intercept the flying fish missiles flying over the sea, and both missed their targets.

Then the ship's alarm sounded, this time it was the warning provided by the frigate in the distance.

"Full port rudder!" shouted the captain.He knew that no matter how tattered the starboard side was, he couldn't take another hit.But how can a warship that has lost power turn around?
The top Phalanx began its automatic search for targets, and its radar quickly found the first target, and then fired a few short bursts.But the barrage did not hit the missile in the distance. The 6-tube artillery made a slight correction, and then fired, and finally destroyed the first missile that flew several hundred meters away, but it was unable to turn to the second missile.A second missile rammed into the warship, entering almost in the same spot where the Eagle Strike missile hit hours earlier.The huge explosion completely tore the starboard side apart, and the turbulent sea immediately poured water into the rear of the warship. This time, there was no way to stop the seawater.

Captain Hanaled immediately felt that the warship began to accelerate and tilt to the right.He knew it was time to give the order to abandon ship; however, before giving up everything, he still had one more wish, he grabbed the communicator and shouted: "Let the escort fleet counterattack immediately and sink the submarine search boat for me. "

Twenty nautical miles away, Latif is rapidly commanding the submarine to dive. Increasing the depth can increase the chance of survival. The huge movement made by the two missiles launched in succession just now will definitely make the most dull sonar monitors determine the submarine's identity. The location, and what came next, he knew very well.

The situation off Kempard Bay is not ideal for evading attacks. The water here is relatively shallow, and there is no geographical barrier that can temporarily avoid active sonar. The enemy will definitely make full use of it.Sure enough, the first wave of active sonar pulses arrived immediately, and hit the hull of the boat with a "ping".All the crew members inevitably heard this sound, and they began to make a last desperate effort as if they had wound up a clockwork.

If dealing with the Indian frigate, which is superior in speed, can still be counted, what worries the captain most now is the enemy's helicopters. As long as they communicate with the frigate smoothly, they can drop a torpedo on their head almost immediately.He didn't know if the Indians had Ka-28 anti-submarine helicopters on duty in the air, but there should be common sense.

The "Hamza" submarine began to slowly turn to the north. Although this AIP submarine did not have to surface every few hours to recharge, its speed was too slow. It can be determined that the enemy ships have followed.The enemy's active sonar makes it difficult to hide, but it's unclear how they will fight back.Latif knew that as long as he persisted for half an hour, the sea would become deeper, and then he would have more ways to deal with the enemy's pursuit.

The enemy's helicopter did not drop torpedoes for a long time, and only a frigate followed closely behind. Some crew members began to secretly rejoice.But Major Latif was not so optimistic.Perhaps, he wondered, the helicopter was dropping a dipping sonar overhead?A bad pilot will indeed drop 2 light torpedoes in the general area indiscriminately, and he can let the torpedoes find their own targets, but not every pilot is so reckless.

"Out of the bay, we can leave the continental shelf and hide on the seabed under the valley. It's safer there. I think their frigates can't catch up with us." Said the navigator, his words were a bit self-deceiving, but it also made the small command cabin The crew inside all breathed a sigh of relief.The active sonar that followed did not mean to stop.Judging from the interval between these active pulses, the enemy ship has come a lot closer.

"Maybe it's a way, but I'm worried that their anti-submarine helicopters will show up." Latif said worriedly.It can be judged from the sound of the main engine of the enemy ship that this is a Karavak III frigate. It is impossible for this kind of ship to have no helicopters.

"Yeah, I'm also worried, but if there is a helicopter, it should have arrived earlier."

"I'm not afraid of them throwing torpedoes indiscriminately, but if a torpedo is dropped overhead, it will be really troublesome." Latif shook his head.He knows that there are a few air curtain bombs in the small launch tube behind the boat that can interfere with the self-guided torpedo, but interference alone is not enough, because the self-guided torpedo is likely to circle back and search again. The best way is to avoid it with an evasive action. The areas it may search.However, due to the low speed and low rudder efficiency of this conventional submarine, the evasion ability is almost zero, which is what he is most worried about.

"Report, there is the sound of an object entering the water at the 207 direction." A non-commissioned officer shouted.

"It's broken." Latif already guessed what it was.

"Propelling the object at high speed, the bearing is 210, and the distance is 15 chains."

As Latif expected, the enemy's helicopter was always in the air, but there was no data link between the Ka-28 helicopter and the frigate carrying it, which made the communication between the ship and the crew take some time, but The pilot finally relied on experience to accurately determine the position of the submarine. He dropped the first light torpedo within 2 nautical miles, and the torpedo found its target as soon as it entered the water.It followed the Hamza.

The submarine was still slowly crawling on the sea floor at a speed of 5 knots, which was already her highest speed.Clinging to the bottom of the sea, the sub made a huge, slow turn while firing gas bombs backwards.At the same time, the helicopters on the sea were still chasing after him, but they did not drop the second torpedo for a long time.There was an experienced Indian pilot on the helicopter, and he knew what the submarine would use in a desperate fight, so he had to make a time difference.

The explosion of the air curtain bomb created a white foam on the sea surface. This foam accurately indicated the position of the submarine under the sea surface. The pilot knew that his judgment was correct and the enemy was evading the torpedo.He called to the nearby weapons operator to drop the second torpedo.

The torpedo dragged a small parachute and fell on the sea surface, making a small splash.Apparently, the submarine was doomed.

(End of this chapter)