50s: Starting with a storage ring

Chapter 832 A Freebie

After an emergency discussion, the captains of the 10 speedboats decided to pool all the remaining fuel in their respective tanks onto one speedboat.

Then, gather all the crew members onto the only speedboat and sail away from the nearby waters at a slow speed of 3-5 knots, waiting for the escort ship to come to their rescue.

After Sun Zhiwei finished his tampering, he watched as the other anchored speedboats used kayaks to transport people to the torpedo boat beneath him.

This choice was, undeniably, a good emergency measure. If Sun Zhiwei hadn't been there, they could have avoided being captured this way.

The Wasp-class torpedo boats have 21 crew members, while the Wasp-class missile boats have only 17 crew members, making a total of 190 crew members in the torpedo boat formation.

Now, they have all been concentrated on the Hornet-class torpedo boat where Sun Zhiwei is located.

Sun Zhiwei observed from the unfolded space that, due to the large number of people, many sailors could only stand on the deck of the speedboat, while only officers could go down to the interior cabins and corridors of the speedboat to sit down.

If the ammunition depot where Sun Zhiwei was located hadn't been locked, people would probably have squeezed in; the corridor outside the depot is now full of people.

If they used the remaining fuel to travel at low speed, they could cover another few dozen kilometers, hoping not to be discovered by the enemy during this time.

Unfortunately, that's impossible. The Van Speck-class frigates are equipped with Dutch medium-range air/surface search radars, which can detect targets at a range of several hundred kilometers.

They have now spotted 10 speedboats floating on the sea. Although they don’t know why these speedboats are floating there motionless, the frigate is still rapidly approaching.

On the speedboat side, all personnel were present, and the only torpedo boat started its engine and began sailing north at a speed of 5 knots.

Their situation has been reported to the escort ships that are rushing to the scene. The escort ships are also accelerating, but they are still far away, so they will have to wait.

Seeing the speedboat setting off, Sun Zhiwei, who was in the ammunition depot, thought for a moment and then sent a telegram to Dong Haoyang, instructing them to collect the nine abandoned speedboats first, and that he would bring back the remaining torpedo boat that had escaped.

Half an hour later, the 001 and 002 frigates arrived at the area where the monkey speedboat formation had anchored.

They quickly sent men to collect the nine speedboats and attached them to the stern of the frigate with cables.

The fleet's soldiers were overjoyed to have acquired four torpedo boats and five missile boats for free. Just then, the radar detected that the torpedo boat that had escaped had turned back.

The soldiers on the two frigates quickly prepared for battle, while only Dong Haoyang and a few other high-ranking officers watched expectantly as the torpedo boat slowly approached.

Sure enough, the torpedo boat stopped after getting closer and swerved to the side. At the same time, their familiar voices came through the public channel of the radio.

"Dong Haoyang, it's me. Send someone to pick me up. This speedboat is out of gas."

Upon hearing Sun Zhiwei's voice, Dong Haoyang was overjoyed: "Received, boss. Wait a moment, the rescue speedboat will be here soon."

Soon, the frigate's own rescue speedboat was launched and quickly brought Sun Zhiwei aboard the 001 frigate.

After Sun Zhiwei boarded the bridge of the 001 frigate, the first thing he looked at was Ji Yongjia: "Old Ji, how are you? Are you injured?"

"Boss, I'm not injured. This time, I failed to protect Ship 004. Please punish me."

"What's the big deal?" Sun Zhiwei waved his hand dismissively. "You were just trying to complete the mission. If the equipment breaks, we'll just get better ones. As long as everyone's safe, everything else is negotiable." On the way here, he had already learned in detail about the previous battle from Dong Haoyang.

Sun Zhiwei was also terrified when he learned that Ji Yongjia had risked his life to lure the MiG-21 fighter jets to low altitude.

If Ji Yongjia had made even the slightest miscalculation, the entire crew of ship 004 would have sunk into the sea; it was indeed a very risky situation.

However, he also understood Ji Yongjia's concerns. If he were to explicitly state his intention to use himself as bait, there would be two problems: firstly, there wasn't enough time, and secondly, he was afraid that people would object.

In short, the outcome was good, so he did not embarrass Ji Yongjia in public, but instead praised him.

But I'll definitely teach him a lesson in private later, so he doesn't develop this habit.

Sun Zhiwei did not like this kind of risking one's life; the lives of soldiers are precious.

As a wealthy person, one should try to solve problems with money rather than risking the lives of soldiers.

The battle summary will definitely mention that there is still one enemy that has not been dealt with, namely the Petya-class corvette that was lost at the rear.

别佳级护卫舰满载排水量1180吨，最大航速32节，主武器是2座五联装406毫米鱼雷发射管和4座回转式深弹发射装置。

Its main capabilities are torpedo anti-ship and mine anti-submarine warfare. Its only armament consists of two twin-mounted 76mm naval guns, and it has virtually no anti-aircraft firepower.

If they had an air force, they could easily destroy this thousand-ton-class frigate. However, they currently only have two frigates and one submarine, so directly confronting it would be risky.

Therefore, he immediately initiated a radio conference with the captain to inquire about their methods for dealing with the Beja-class corvettes.

After receiving intelligence about the Bejia-class corvettes from Sun Zhiwei, the captains all felt it was a pity that their side lacked air power; otherwise, this battle would have been much easier.

Finally, everyone discussed and came up with a tactic.

That is, the 003H submarine will provide radar guidance in front, utilizing the missiles of each ship to carry out beyond-visual-range missile attacks, directly rendering their torpedo attack capabilities useless.

However, such tactics are obviously very expensive. A single Tomahawk costs millions, and a Seacat costs hundreds of thousands. If this wave is launched, the enemy's frigates will definitely not be able to withstand it, but they will not gain much.

Sun Zhiwei proposed a new tactic: to utilize the newly captured torpedo boats to stage a fake ship seizure.

"Just now, while I was dealing with the last torpedo boat, it sent a distress signal to the Petya-class frigate."

"The enemy's escort ships are unaware that we have captured this last torpedo boat, and it is now heading this way."

"I have an idea: we could send men disguised as sailors from the Monkey family waiting for rescue, and then launch a surprise landing when the frigate gets close to the rescue, and seize the frigate."

"That torpedo boat was originally carrying 190 people, while the entire crew of the Petya-class frigate only numbered 98, scattered across various posts on the frigate, and most of them were unarmed. Our chances of success are very high."

(End of this chapter)