A nation's industrial development begins with junior engineers.

Chapter 664 Not one less!

The captain rolled his eyes as he listened to his subordinates shouting.

"Have you been watching too much Star Wars?"

It's impossible for it to self-destruct; the most likely scenario is that it will simply unleash all of the submarine's weapons. The captain, following orders, pried open the submarine's pre-designated target.

However, when I opened the command board, the target was listed as: Sverdlov-class cruiser. Uh, a Russian ship? In the East China Sea, what am I supposed to use to fight it? It's not even a question of whether I can hit it, I can't even see it...

Let's break one down. It says: K-19 nuclear submarine. Damn! Who knows where those Russian submarines are roaming around? Why are all my commands for enemy equipment? And all Russian ones at that? Aren't there any cities or other targets?

Oh, I forgot, we're commanding an attack submarine now, not one of those strategic nuclear submarines like the one Washington is operating...

The submarine captain scratched his head and stuffed the remaining sealed cards back into the secure container. Oh well, might as well give up. Anyway, even the most unreliable officials on Capitol Hill would find a way to rescue this new type of nuclear submarine.

Now that the decision has been made, no one wants to climb up the command tower anymore.

After all, not everyone has the courage to face death. Even if they do, it's unlikely that the people aboard this newly launched nuclear submarine possess it.

"Use the shortwave AN/URC-32 radio to communicate with the base by telegraph, call code RED-101."

"Report! Communication lost! The radio mast and VLF communication antenna are estimated to be damaged!" The communications officer pointed overhead.

The submarine captain slapped his forehead in frustration: "Damn designer..."

Heh heh, you really have to blame their designers. To significantly reduce water resistance, the conning tower of the Thresher-class submarines was reduced to one-quarter the size of other Bald Eagle nuclear submarine models. At the same time, the number of masts on the conning tower was drastically reduced, leaving only a few masts such as the periscope, radio mast, VLF communication antenna, and snorkel. To maintain overall integrity, these masts were all crammed together.

And so, those masts became the very support that the depth charge was wedged over their heads. They were definitely out of the question, especially the periscope; the submarine captain was terrified that if he turned it, the seemingly precarious bomb might use the excuse of "disturbing its rest" to smash it right in his face.

When are bombs most effective as a deterrent?

That's before it explodes!

Furthermore, due to the reduced size of the enclosure, in order to avoid excessively long exhaust pipes and ensure unobstructed exhaust flow, the emergency diesel generator set had to be moved from the engine room to directly below the command platform enclosure so that the exhaust pipe of the emergency diesel generator could directly ascend into the enclosure.

The design is good, but it has the drawback of using silver-fused connectors for its secondary pipes. This method involves placing a silver ring on the pipe joint and heating it, allowing it to seep into the narrow gaps at the pipe joint through capillary action.

Compared to the high-standard welding methods required for construction, this solution is much more convenient and time-saving. The downside is that the "secure bonding rate" is greatly reduced.

Otherwise, the pipes wouldn't have been ruptured by Liu Huaqing's loud bang.

This compromise design and rushed production schedule left the command tower reeking of diesel fuel. Yes, rushing to meet deadlines was a characteristic of that era, and no one could escape it.

There's no other way; if we don't dare turn on the ventilation system, we'll just have to use the fan...

If we don't take action ourselves, this nuclear submarine might end up becoming a giant "gas tank," and all the crew members would suffocate inside this big black fish.

That's why no one noticed when Lao Duan climbed onto the submarine...

At this moment, a group of people were hanging on the ladder in the submarine's command tower, all desperately fanning the air outwards with whatever they were holding.

Let alone humans, even if a mermaid with a fish head crawled out of their shell, they probably wouldn't even give it a second glance...

The nuclear submarine captain, looking at the row of people standing on his conning tower, gave an order with great frustration:

"Deploy the towed antenna! I need to contact the supreme command center!"

"The submarine is filled with oil and gas, so we dare not use electrical equipment..."

"Fuck!"

"Captain! Our active sonar is still usable. It's powered by high-pressure gas and isn't constrained by fuel or gas!"

"God, how did you idiot get on my ship? What's the point of firing up the sonar now?"

"Yes! The corresponding actions demonstrate that after being threatened, our submarine took initiative and did not simply sit and wait for its demise! Instead, it fought hard to salvage national property!"

"Financial Responsibility? (Soldiers may be liable for damages when equipment is lost or damaged while off-duty or deployed. Hmm, another Bald Eagle feature.)"

"Yes!" The submarine's first mate nodded.

"Tsk, what's wrong with your head? You're not going into politics after retiring, are you?"

"Hehe, the Montana congressional seat is waiting for me..."

……

The DD-744, that utterly despicable ship, got really anxious when it saw that behemoth surface.

Colonel Williams, no longer able to play the game of coming and going with our "Four King Kongs," rushed toward the submarine while contacting the base via emergency communications.

At the same time, the lights flashed relentlessly at the four nearby submarines, signaling: "This is a nuclear submarine! If you don't want to start a nuclear war, you absolutely mustn't fire!"

"Nuclear submarines? I'll take out nuclear submarines!"

"No! Captain! This is too serious! We need to report this immediately!"

"What's the point of reporting? It's too far. Our radio has been out of contact with base for a long time!"

The captain of our ship, having calmed down, started scratching his head. The little boy's story had been widely publicized by the bald eagle, and this nuclear submarine in front of him was truly a porcupine. Shooting it down would certainly feel satisfying, but it could very well be the start of Season 3. Besides, if this thing was sunk, who knew how much contamination its reactor would cause? And this was right on our own turf!

If we don't fight, these bastards have violated our territorial waters! We can't let our minds be at ease if we don't fight!

The group of people, each with their own concerns, quickly moved towards the scene of the incident.

Fortunately, the radio, which had been silent until now, started making static, and a roaring sound echoed in the sky.

"Airborne Early Warning System No. 1 is now operational!"

"Comrades, we're back! The radar system is barely usable; is there anything we can do to help?"

"Can you contact the base?"

The captain grabbed the microphone and asked urgently.

"Sure! Digital radios can connect directly to naval bases, and even reach the surface! Our improved digital radios have excellent security!"

The captain was smart and instantly understood what the "safety" that "Airborne Early Warning and Control System No. 1" specifically mentioned meant.

"Transfer me to another call!"

While anxiously waiting for the signal to be restored, the navigator beside me suddenly pointed outside and shouted, "Captain! It's a Seahawk! It's a Seahawk! That bastard is still alive! Hahahaha..."

"Huh? It's sending out light signals!"

"They put an egg on the nose of that submarine? What does that mean?" The navigator scratched his head, questioning for the first time the Morse code he had memorized for years.

But as they got closer, the crew of the Anshan finally understood what the egg on their heads really meant...

"My God... Liu Huaqing... he gave someone a 'top hat and peacock feather'? And it's even jingling!" The captain, who was still waiting for the communication signal, also widened his eyes. Before he could say anything, the radio sounded the "Airborne Early Warning System No. 1" prompt.

"Information channels have been established! Please report the situation immediately!"

"Commander! We've forced out a submarine! A nuclear one! Comrades, we gave it a good 'bomb'!" The captain described the current situation in the most concise language possible.

Did you bring the camera?

"I didn't bring any..."

"Draw it for me!"

"Yes!"

"Wait, this is too big of a deal, I need to take over the capital..."

This is a really big deal.

On a large scale, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications cut off most of the communication transmissions in order to ensure the continued use of communication bandwidth.

Even meetings chaired by the brigade commander were no exception.

Well, actually, the original teleconferencing rooms still retained their functionality; it's just that some ports were manually disconnected.

Who says this is the most complete gathering of people? Didn't you see that everyone is listening to "Teacher Jiang's" debate?

"We absolutely must guarantee the safety of all our personnel! The most important thing is to ensure that everyone on the 'Sea Eagle' is rescued! If this ship really can't be saved, then everyone on board must be evacuated, not a single one can be lost!"

"If even one of them is missing, it won't work!"

"These are the most basic conditions! If you disagree, beat the son of a bitch!"

"However, not at the nuclear submarine, but at that destroyer!"