Canteen System Assistance Notes

"Commodore, we received a distress signal from the Norwegian tanker Katie Bruvig five minutes ago," Captain Chen Baiqing of the Pandaria saluted Lieutenant Commander Clayden from his seat. "SOS, three times in a row, occupying the maritime distress channel."

For the convenience of management, when the fleet was being refitted in Colombo, all the crew members, including him, were awarded various ranks of the "National Merchant Navy" by the British Navy.

"The message we received described being intercepted by an unidentified vessel and ordered to shut down its main engine." Captain Chen pointed to the radio station in the corner. "But the signal has since become intermittent and very unstable. We haven't been able to obtain the enemy's exact location yet."

He handed Clayton a thin sheet of paper containing the decoded message. The short, anxious message featured three large SOS letters dominating the header. This was followed by three reiterations of the ship's identity and the emergency situation, the "intercepted by an unidentified vessel" message standing out. But soon, the call to report the ship's position became intermittent, forcing the operator to replace the message with numerous dots and punctuation marks. This section consisted of only meaningless phrases like "6" and "East Longitude."

This proves that the other party at least tried to report its own location, but failed. Was it a radio failure? If it was really a call for rescue, then reporting one's own location is a necessary operation.

Even as a rookie captain, Clayden still knew some basic navigational techniques. It was common for shipboard radios to have problems at this time; a broken tube, weather interference, or even operator error could all cause such intermittent transmissions. But another possibility was more problematic—the ship had encountered a disguised German raider.

Lieutenant Commander Clayden's knowledge of naval history far surpassed his command skills. He recalled a World War I battle example he had learned: most merchant ships would surrender when intercepted by German warships, but some would send a telegram to report the enemy and flee at high speed. These ships often ended up being sunk by artillery fire and torpedoes.

At the same time, some German submarines and raiders would disguise themselves as victim ships, luring nearby merchant ships and even naval vessels to approach, where they would then secretly set up ambushes and sink any rescue vessels. Recently, the East India Fleet Admiralty issued a warning, believing that at least two German disguised raiders were roaming the Indian Ocean, waiting to hunt down Allied merchant ships.

What is the situation now?

"Young man, regarding the accuracy of the telegram, can you guarantee it with your professional qualities?" the major turned to the telecommunications team sitting nearby and asked.

Yes, yes, sir! I can assure you! The message has been repeated three times, and I indeed did not receive any information about my position. According to maritime regulations, my ship needs to send a message in response, but due to the radio silence request, my ship has not yet responded!

"So, are they still sending messages now?"

"It's been suspended, sir!" the British guy who loved curry and rice reported loudly, "but they may continue to send messages later."

The lack of position information, the tanker sending a distress signal, the recent warning from the East India Fleet Admiralty... The auditor's caution and the academic commander's handling process began to take effect. Major Clayton looked around at everyone in the bridge and issued his first formation order.

"Yemen Squadron, Indian Ocean, HMS Pandaria, Eight Streets, Shanwei, all ships, attention! Prepare to conduct radio triangulation!" "HMS Pandaria is at flagship position! HMS Eight Streets, HMS Shanwei, Red (port) -120, Green (starboard) -120!" "Ships 7500 yards apart, triangle formation dispersed - Radio room, Huff-Duff in hand!"

"Everyone, take your positions!"

"Yes, yes, sir!"

HuffDuf, or HD-DF, high-frequency radio direction finding, refers to the use of radio antennas installed on the ship's hull to calculate the azimuth of the transmitted radio signal - at this time, the British radio equipment was not yet capable of independent ranging - and once the three warships in the formation were arranged in an equilateral triangle with a known distance, the location of the radio signal source could be achieved by measuring the angle between the two ships.

Since the other party's situation is completely unknown, I should at least first determine the location of the "unknown".

Arranged in a single column, the Pandaria, which was at the head of the queue, sounded the whistle, and the communication lights on the side of the bridge began to flash immediately - the crew of the Eighth Route Army did not use radio communications for the sake of convenience, but maintained radio silence, and manipulated the light signals in a methodical manner to convey the formation instructions to the Eighth Street and Shanwei in the rear.

Then, the last two ships responded to the flagship with a light signal, the whistle. The engines of the two ships increased their power and began to deviate from this small formation: they would be located in Pan Dahe and

The J-Asia is 7500 yards to the left and right of the ship, and forms a general meaning.

An equilateral triangle on .

"Hold the rudder steady and maintain the course! Two-wheeled, constant speed 12 knots."

Following the formation's instructions, experienced Captain Archibald Haddock began issuing rudder and bell commands, directing the flagship to maintain its course. A repetition, resonating with a Chinese accent, soon echoed from the bridge: "Stand firm, maintain course! Engage two-pair, 12 knots constant speed!"

After less than six months of training, the Eighth Route Army's navigator hadn't yet fully assumed command of the ship, temporarily serving as the navigator's assistant. However, they had already become quite proficient in the specific maneuvers. With the combined efforts of the army cadets and sailors, the Pandaria's two Parsons diesel/heavy oil dual-purpose boilers began to output more heat, propelling the somewhat stubby ship slightly faster to coordinate with the maneuvers of its two companion ships.

In the sunny but dark Indian Ocean, three merchant ships that did not look like battleships at all dragged their less flexible bodies and maneuvered towards their positions in an orderly battleship-like formation.

The flagship Pandaria maintained its course, plowing through the sea. The more powerful and slender sardine boat "Eight Streets" was the first to complete the turn and reach its combat position. The fast refrigerated ship "Shanwei" with slightly less horsepower was a little slower. In less than 20 minutes, they arrived at the two endpoints of the equilateral triangle and sent information to the middle with sound and light signals.

"Eighth Street, arrived at the battle position, Red-120, distance 7500!"

"Shanwei, arrive at the battle position, Green-120, distance 7500!"

Acting combat captain Zhong Lihua glanced at the marine clock: the time was 2:20 p.m., and the formation change took less than 20 minutes.

"Comrades! Well done!" He glanced at Haddock, the navigator, who smiled and raised the flat flask in his hand - it was probably filled with rum without water. "Okay, boys!" Major Clayden, who had seen all this, curled his lips and said nothing. "Next, let's wait for good news from the radio room!

—―----―—

The three armed vessels of the Yemeni Squadron in the Indian Ocean maintained their course. In the ship's open radio room, the operator activated the radio positioning device, discerning a rhythmic click amidst the clamor. If there was any, it must be the wail of a desperate merchant ship, or the allure of a hidden, armed hunter.

The 3-meter rangefinder and the spare 1.5-meter rangefinder on the bridge also rotated accordingly. These two newly installed gadgets can provide distance and azimuth parameters for the modified artillery on the ship. They can also measure the distance to friendly ships for trigonometric calculations in the radio room.

However, the radio frequency band just now remained silent - ten minutes, twenty minutes, thirty minutes... The background noise was only endless white noise, as if the SOS signal had never appeared. Just when everyone was beginning to get a little impatient, a rhythmic ticking sound was heard.

"Rhythm signal detected! Pandaria Huff-Duff, target bearing 280!"

"Eighth Street, Huff-Duff, target bearing 282 05!"

"Huff-Duff, target bearing 281 30!"

Two known angles, plus a known side length, and simple trigonometric calculations can determine a unique triangle, not to mention an additional data point for correction. After shaking the calculator, the public radio room quickly reported a number.

"The target is 192000 to 202000 yards from our ship, bearing 280, approximately 97 nautical miles, sir!"

97 nautical miles. Before Clayton could think any further, the decoder from the radio room came over, clutching a telegram paper: "Commodore, Captain, the telegram from that merchant ship!" "Read it out."

"The distress signal transmitted by our ship between 13:40 and 13:55 was sent in error. The unidentified vessel encountered was the merchant ship 'Kasai Maru'. Our ship is in good condition and the situation is normal. The distress signal is cancelled, over. Norwegian tanker, Katie Bruvig. This is followed by three clarification messages. Gentlemen, the signal is clear and correct."

Ah? This...

Chapter 397 Patrolling in the dark night

The dark ocean 97 nautical miles away was suddenly shrouded in a mysterious shadow.

Two messages were sent from the same ship less than an hour apart, but the contents were completely different and contradictory: the first one said that they encountered an unidentified ship.

I was also asked to shut down the host and had to ask for help; and then suddenly

He changed his words, saying that he was in good condition and did not need rescue, and that the previous telegram was a misunderstanding, a well-intentioned mistake.

This is an international rescue channel, how can you do this?

However, the more sailors have been sailing on the sea for many years, especially those who have sailing experience in the Indian Ocean, the more they know that such an outrageous situation is possible.

With the European theater of war engulfed in conflict, and especially with Italy's entry into the war, the entire Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and the waters off Somalia briefly transformed into a volcanic turmoil. A vast number of German and Italian merchant ships, seemingly utterly devastated, swarmed to escape the Royal Navy's interception. Amidst this chaotic tidal wave, besides the hapless unarmed merchant vessels, there were also numerous armed merchant ships, illegal supply ships, raider vessels, and even submarines.

For quite some time, numerous encounters occurred on the western side of the Indian Ocean—some Allied forces captured Axis ships, some Axis forces attacked Allied ships, and two neutral ships mistook each other due to identification and communication problems, each claiming to have been intercepted by an unidentified vessel...

In the area 97 nautical miles away, if the visual conditions were really poor and the communication frequency band was incompatible, and if there was a problem with one party's course or navigation method, then this small mistake would be quickly magnified by the tense emotions and eventually cause such a misunderstanding.

"Radio Room, did the other party send any other messages?"

"No further information, gentlemen. A Japanese merchant ship calling itself the 'Kasai Maru' also sent a message with a similar message: 'There was a mistaken identification between our ship and the Katie Bruweg. Both parties are in good condition and the situation is the same. This has been repeated three times according to the radio format."

"So, how's the positioning? Can you confirm the location of that Japanese ship?" Major Clayden pinched his chin, as if unwilling to give up. "What did Huff-Duff say?"

"Commodore, the radio room's ranging results show the enemy is at bearing 281, approximately 98 nautical miles. Taking into account the positioning error, this is likely where the Katie Bruvig was just now."

---―----

"Gentlemen, I think..."

Faced with a situation unseen in naval history or textbooks, the inexperienced temporary fleet captain quickly became paralyzed. Fortunately, he chose not to act arbitrarily, but instead decisively sought help. The deputy general coughed and cast his gaze towards the men on the bridge. "Gentlemen, I think we may need to discuss this."

He rested his hand on the navigational board and tapped on the Indian Ocean chart, which was held down by the celluloid plate. In the polar coordinate system with the Pandaria as the origin, the positions of the three-ship formation and the unidentified vessel were chalked on a transparent mask. "The unidentified vessel is currently approximately 100 nautical miles from our ship. At our speed, it will take about nine hours to reach us. But this will cause us to deviate from our current course. What are your suggestions?"

Clayden asked everyone about the Pandaria's spacious bridge, which could accommodate a large number of people. The key personnel present included Captain Chen Baiqing, Acting Combat Captain Zhong Lihua, and Navigation Officer Captain Haddock. First Officer Min Yifan had just left the bridge, allegedly going to the radio room inside the ship.

To go or not to go? No one spoke in the bridge for a while.

It was indeed a difficult decision, Major Clayton thought, and not everyone was willing to take the risk - not even himself.

If one thinks normally, anything can happen on the sea. The radio recordings clearly indicate the situation: this was a misunderstanding, perhaps two overly nervous merchant ships mistaking each other. Even if the squadron simply pretended not to hear and passed by, it would be a completely reasonable choice.

If the enemy was a disguised raider, then, in German fashion, it must be heavily armed. This conversation could be a cover-up after she'd completed a kill, or it could be a trap she and her teammates had set—oh, too bad, if that were the case, there would be two raiders. Continuously updating q@q@group@book@collection@81317*5933

Now, forward the radio and direction-finding records to Colombo, maintain course, and depart. The major came back to his senses and opened his mouth: "Then..."

"Then I think this is definitely not a misunderstanding. Merchant ships operate on schedule and can't be easily delayed. A typical merchant ship's three-speed main engine is shut down and then switched back to full power, which takes a lot of time. Those two foreign ships are staying where they are, so it's obvious that something really happened."

Under Major Clayden's astonished gaze, the discussion in the bridge had already become extremely heated.

Captain Chen Baiqing had barely finished speaking when Battleship Captain Zhong Lihua agreed: "From a combat perspective, the Indian Ocean is considered German-occupied territory. The camouflaged raiders are like the guerrillas they're raiding everywhere. What do guerrillas fear most? It must be exposing their position to the enemy. So, what circumstances would make a guerrilla risk exposing their position?"

"Although I'm not sure what 'enemy-occupied territory' and 'guerrillas' mean, for me, it has to be at least a bottle of aged rum. Oh, whiskey is fine too!" "That's about right. At least it has to be a high-value target - Captain Haddock?"

"I'm here, Mr. Battle Captain, at your service."

"I remember that Norwegian was an oil tanker that sailed from the Persian Gulf?" Zhong Lihua asked. "Is its final destination Liverpool, England?"

"Oh, Liverpool, England, to be more precise," said Haddock, a little cynically, but he immediately tightened his flask and pulled a Lloyd's Register from the bookshelf. "Look, a ship with a 5,000-ton empty load, with five oil tanks, can reach 16,000 tons fully loaded. She must have sailed from Iran and is fully loaded with heavy diesel oil—I see, diesel oil! German raiders all have diesel engines!"

"That's why they've been stuck there for at least an hour!" Chen Baiqing clapped his hands, immediately understanding. "Based on that assumption, it makes perfect sense! German raiders can't get supplies in the Indian Ocean, and a tanker is indeed a high-value target. I don't even think the Germans would fire and sink the Norwegian tanker. They might be more inclined to board and capture it. After all, with the tanker by their side, they can operate longer in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans."

The first telegram was most likely a distress call from a merchant ship, while the second was likely a fake message sent by a German warship after the merchant ship was overwhelmed by the Germans. Zhong Lihua nodded. "As for the extra Japanese ship, I think its purpose is to confuse the enemy, just like when we used to conduct disguised reconnaissance and use enemy numbers - naval and land warfare have many similarities."

"Well, that's the same area we fished in before. It's worth a visit. Honestly, even if it's just for that 'Japanese ship,' it's worth a visit, hey."

Clayden had never witnessed such a lively and intellectually charged discussion. Previously, whether in weekend training sessions or aboard the reserve drill ship USS President, the major had been trained to steadfastly obey superiors, adhere to shipboard ranks, and form an efficient, disciplined, and clearly defined unit, like a precision mechanical watch.

This rigid hierarchical structure had contributed to the Royal Navy's dazzling achievements, and he had always believed that only this method could train a strong navy. But now, this rigid thinking seemed to be loosening somewhat - these young, immature sailors and commanders before him were introducing something he had never imagined into this old-fashioned and solid system.

"Well, gentlemen, it seems we are almost in agreement. I agree with the proposal - let's change course and go over there to take a look!" Mr. Clayton announced. He pondered for a moment and began to give orders.

"Captain Nakadai."

"Yes, Mr. General."

It's already past 3 p.m., and while we're turning and accelerating toward our destination, can your team finish assembling and preparing the seaplane? I hope we can launch the seaplane for reconnaissance early tomorrow morning.

"No problem! Commodore, both seaplanes will be ready for takeoff before sunrise tomorrow." "Captain Haddock."

"I'm here! Major, at your service."

"The fleet is currently traveling at 12 knots. The Pandaria and Eight Streets have a maximum speed of 18 knots, but the Shanwei can only reach 16 knots. I understand that a ship's maximum speed doesn't necessarily mean the fleet's maximum sustainable speed. Based on our fleet's speed of 15 knots and the unidentified vessel's speed of 11 knots, please plot on the nautical chart the area they might be sailing at 6:00 AM tomorrow. This is crucial for our aerial reconnaissance."

"Yes, yes, sir!"

"Radio Room, send the merchant ship radio information we received and the Huff-Duff direction-finding results to Colombo in code Z, for the East India Squadron Admiralty to receive.

Finally, Captain Chen - you control the flagship's course and the fleet's turn.

To the last transmission station of the Katie Bruweg."

"Okay, sir."

"Finally!" Lieutenant Commander Clayden, the temporary fleet commander, breathed a sigh of relief. He turned to the loudspeaker on the bridge. The messenger, standing nearby, understood what he meant. He immediately turned on the microphone and blew the whistle. "Everyone! Listen now, listen now, the Fleet Commodore is speaking!"

"All fleets at level 2 defense alert! Boys, get ready! This might be our first battle!"

Inside the Pandaria, in a small cabin next to the galley, First Mate Min Yifan leaned against the bulkhead, watching two comrades work. This was the ship's private radio room, manned by the ship's Marines. Though the two comrades still wore their white kitchen aprons, their sailor shirts were visible underneath.

They all had a cloth badge embroidered on their chests with the words "Electric Detective" embroidered on it. And below the words "Electric Detective" was a line of small characters in both Chinese and English: "Maxwell".

"The results are in, First Officer. It's the Germans. According to the 'radio fingerprint comparison,' the transmitter used in the first received message was different from the transmitter used in the subsequent messages, and the fingering of the two messages is also different. However, the second and third messages have the same characteristics and fingerprints."

"The clarification telegram and the Japanese ship telegram were both sent by the same machine?" asked the first mate.

Oh, they all used the same transmitter, and the operator even deliberately adjusted his keystrokes, but it couldn't escape the sampling and comparison of our confidential equipment." The reconnaissance chef snorted. "But then again, these Germans are truly cunning and insidious. Without this kind of technology and experience, I'm afraid I would have been fooled by them."

"So, the other party's identity is probably clear now." Min Yifan said seriously, "It's a German disguised raider." "Yes, to be more precise, it's most likely the 'raid ship C' mentioned by the British, the Atlantis."

Chapter 398: British Catching Net

The South Indian Ocean is quite hot in February. Under the rule of the subtropical high pressure in the South Indian Ocean, the hot air descending from the sky suppresses the water vapor rising from the sea surface.

The entire sea area turned into a hot steamer.

In this environment, Colonel John Hereward Edleston had the same dream for several days.

Nearly 50 and slightly balding, Edleston is no longer young. His passionate years ended twenty years ago, and now only the maturity, flexibility and stability of middle age remain. As a captain in the Royal Navy, Mr. Edleston has enough leeway to face his midlife crisis. However, in the current war, everyone must obey the overall situation and act according to the will of the state machine.

Logically, this shift in calm, or perhaps even discomfort, would easily manifest in subconscious dreams. However, recently, the Colonel's recurring dreams have always featured a young woman in a Victorian maid's outfit, holding a bouquet of flowers. When he tried to ask her something, she would simply smile and turn away. Although the dream was blurry and gray, he could still glimpse the golden lion logo on a blue background on the hem of the dress.

That is the emblem of the ship, His Majesty's cruiser Shropshire.

Okay, what is this...

Edston opened his eyes and woke up.

The captain turned on the light, and the red night light illuminated the bulkhead of the captain's room. The marine clock pointed to 3:50 in the morning, and the calendar on the bedside table still read February 2, 1941.

He reached out and tore off a page of the calendar.

The horizon outside the porthole was slightly blue, and there was still an hour until sunrise.

Previously, this County-class heavy cruiser joined the escort in Cape Town as a member of the WS5A escort team.

As the convoy approached its destination, Aden, Shropshire turned towards the coast of Somalia. As the flagship of the T Division, she commanded the light aircraft carrier HMS Hermes, the light cruiser HMS Cereal, HMS Cape Town and the destroyer HMS Chudaha to carry out the task of blockading the Italian Somali ports of Mogadishu and Kismayo to prevent the escape of German and Italian merchant ships in the ports.

But as the saying goes, an outbreak of tuberculosis suddenly and unexpectedly broke out aboard the Shropshire. Many crew members developed low-grade fevers, coughs, and night sweats. Shropshire was forced to temporarily relinquish command of the fleet and returned to Durban, South Africa, on January 29th. The patients disembarked, the ship was disinfected, and a brief rest period was arranged. On February 2nd, the Shropshire, re-departed from Durban, reeking of disinfectant, and prepared to cross the Mozambique Channel and return to its blockade position off Mogadishu.

After all, he had been away for so long, and he wondered what might have happened to the fleet. Eager to rendezvous with the fleet, Captain Edleston chose to increase his speed slightly from his economic speed to 2 knots. Based on the results of the charted operation, the Shropshire was expected to return to the Horn of Africa within a week.

The mercury on the ship rose quietly, and the barometer turned counterclockwise. Since Shropshire entered the Mozambique Channel, hot and humid air had spread everywhere, and showers had become common. The moisture of the tropical sea enveloped the turrets and superstructures, and silently poured into the bridge.

It crept quietly along the passages, then sneaked into the hatches, looking for the tiniest gaps in the metal and wood materials, making the chaotic lower deck wet and sticky. Even the constantly turning ceiling fans could not remove the ubiquitous moisture.