I asked you to escape, but you became a soldier in World War II

Chapter 75 Task Force No. 24

"We will leave the port early tomorrow morning. I will ask my adjutant to take you to the escort aircraft carrier so that your living conditions will be better." General Steve may have heard that Lin Chen was a little seasick when he came.

"Okay, I'll follow your arrangements!" Lin Chen also wanted to see the US anti-submarine warfare. This opportunity was extremely rare.

The next morning, staff and adjutants from the Soviet Embassy came to see him off, and Lin Chen successfully boarded the escort aircraft carrier "Nard".

This is a medium-sized escort aircraft carrier converted from a large merchant ship, with a displacement of up to 4 tons. In addition to tanks and trucks piled on the deck, there are two JF "Duck" seaplanes and eight FF "Wildcat" fighters, which also provide air force escort for the fleet.

It is said that this is an aviation team formed by retired pilots in the United States, which shows that the US military has a huge base of pilots.

The commander of the aircraft carrier was Colonel York, an experienced commander. Because his left leg was injured by a Japanese bomb in the Pearl Harbor incident, he had to retire from the navy's front-line forces, but he refused to retire from active service. Considering the heavy escort mission, Admiral Halsey appointed him as the commander of Task Force No. 24.

"Lin, I hope you can stay in your cabin and don't walk around. Leave the escort mission to our American Navy! In about half a month, you will be able to eat Russian bread in the Soviet port." Colonel York hated the Japanese, so he disliked Lin Chen, who was also Asian.

Lin Chen could understand the other party's thoughts, so he didn't care too much.

Fortunately, the formation's liaison officer, Lieutenant John, was quite friendly to him and patiently and carefully introduced to him the specific situation of the formation.

There are a total of 38 cargo ships this time, including two medium-sized cruise ships, six destroyers, and an escort aircraft carrier "Nard", making the escort force unprecedentedly strong.

The fleet needed to cross the North Pacific, pass through the Sea of ​​Japan, reach the Soviet Far East port - Vladivostok Naval Port, and then be transported to the European region of the Soviet Union via the Trans-Siberian Railway.

The days on the ship were very boring. The North Pacific Ocean was relatively calm, and Lin Chen's range of activities was very limited. The other party claimed that it was to ensure his safety, but in fact it was mainly to restrict his freedom.

"Buzz~"

A huge noise came from the east. Lin Chen looked up into the sky and saw what seemed to be a U.S. military plane.

"This is a PBY-5A Catalina seaplane, mainly used for anti-submarine, bombing, reconnaissance, anti-ship, personnel transportation, etc. Its range is much longer than the JF 'Duck' on our ship, so the early air cover mission was given to it, but it can only return after reaching the high seas, and we need to find a way to cover the remaining 2/3 of the journey by ourselves. If the Japanese want to attack us, this is the best opportunity!"

Lieutenant Colonel John explained that he would come and chat with Lin Chen whenever he was free. Lin Chen's English had improved a lot during this period, and the two could communicate directly without a translator. Of course, some obscure words still needed to be confirmed repeatedly.

"This sea area looks calm, but once summer comes, there will be strong winds and heavy rains, and the Pacific Ocean will not be peaceful at all."

"Were your escort missions heavy in the past? How many times did the Japanese submarines launch sneak attacks?" Lin Chen was very curious. "Fortunately, there was no war between the Soviet Union and Japan, so the probability of an open attack on Soviet ships was not high, but the United States and Japan had already declared war, so they would launch sneak attacks on us. It's just that the Japanese submarine warfare level is far inferior to that of Germany, so the threat to us is not that big. Instead, their army aviation is a greater threat to us."

Lin Chen agreed with this. It was estimated that the two countries would keep the news of the Japanese submarine that was sunk a secret. After all, the Japanese submarine had reached the Soviet territorial waters. The Soviet Union was currently at war with Germany and did not want to force Japan into the war.

"Won't their naval aviation come?"

Lieutenant Colonel John smiled and said, "The focus of the Japanese Combined Fleet is in the South Pacific. All of their aircraft carriers are basically there. How can they have the time to send aircraft carriers to attack us? Moreover, the route we chose is just within the combat radius of the Japanese land-based aviation force. Therefore, even if Japanese aircraft come, their stay in the air is very short and the threat is very limited."

He was in high spirits and told Lin Chen about the five routes of American aid to Britain and the Soviet Union. In addition to the one they were currently taking, there were four more.

The first is the Arctic route. It departs from the northern ports of the United Kingdom, passes through Iceland, crosses the Arctic Ocean, and reaches the military ports of Arkhangelsk and Murmansk in the north of the Soviet Union. This route was opened in 1942. Since the northern ports of the Soviet Union are frozen in winter, this route is only applicable in the warm summer.

The second is the Black Sea route. Starting from Egypt in Africa, it passes through the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea to reach the Soviet Union's port on the Black Sea. This route is the shortest, but because the Black Sea port is currently controlled by Germany, this route has been suspended.

The third route is the Arctic Ocean route, which departs from the eastern ports of the United States, crosses the northern part of the Scandinavian Peninsula, and reaches the Soviet Arctic Ocean port city of Murmansk. This route was opened in 1941. Its disadvantages are also obvious. There are many icebergs in the Arctic Ocean in winter, which is not suitable for large-scale transportation. The transportation capacity is very limited. The most fatal point is that there are German "wolf packs" everywhere along the way, and the loss is the greatest!

The fourth route is the Iran route. Starting from the western ports of the United States, passing through the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean, entering the Persian Gulf, unloading at the Iranian port, and then transporting from Iran to the Soviet Union by land. This route was opened in 1942. Its advantage is safety, but its disadvantage is that it is too slow and takes a very long time.

After hearing this, Lin Chen finally understood why the United States and the Soviet Union ultimately chose this route. This is a relatively fast and safer route, and the Soviet Union needed these aid supplies too much.

John was also very interested in Lin Chen's experience and asked Lin Chen many questions. When he learned that Lin Chen had participated in the Battle of Stalingrad, he couldn't help but respect him.

"Those who participated in that terrible battle and survived were basically all top soldiers!"

"I don't dare to be called the King of Soldiers, but one thing is true, that battle was truly horrific. It is said that at Mamayev Kurgan, even the mountains of corpses were not enough to describe the cruelty of the battle." Lin Chen sighed.

"Oh? Why is that?"

"Because the artillery fire from both sides repeatedly bombarded this high ground, the enemy and our side fought back and forth, and the bodies were blown to pieces. It was basically a 'meat grinder!'"

Lieutenant Colonel John was completely shocked after hearing this. It was hard for him to imagine that there would be such a brutal battle.

(End of this chapter)