Thunder Strikes Back

Chapter 473 The Most Dangerous Moment

After He Fan finished the call, the whole company has completely completed the tank sealing operation, and now it is the most frightening stage of crossing the river in the dark.It was not the first time they had made an emergency dive since they arrived at Jabuwa, and the last time it was at night; but the last time they crossed the river, they were not in the line of fire, and the tanks were not as severely damaged as they are now.

"Close all the hatches, and prepare to cross the river one by one. On 08, first, test the flow rate, and don't move until we board the opposite bank. 07, you are in charge of observation, and I will contact you at any time."

"07 understands."

The observation arranged by He Fan is actually to watch the movement of the snorkel, and then coordinate through the radio station. If it goes wrong, or there is a problem with the heading instrument, it needs to be informed by the personnel on land; in addition, the possibility of the water depth being greater than expected Existence, once the water surface is too close to the air intake of the third section of the snorkel, it also needs to be reminded by the shore staff, and then give up crossing the river.Scuba diving is easy to say, but in fact it is no small matter, especially the river bottom in the war zone, and crawling on the bottom of the river depends more or less on luck.

"I don't know what's going on on the other side? Could there be something in ambush?"

Company Commander He was actually a little suspicious. He wasn't the kind who was bold enough to sniff out the calmness on the other side. After observing for a long time, he couldn't even see a single civilian. This was actually an abnormal situation. s reason.As a rule, tank diving operations should be carried out at least 1 km behind the battle line, and must be carried out in an area completely controlled by infantry, after certain river surface measurements.But now the order from above came in a hurry. I am afraid that the water will be deeper after it rains. For the time being, we can only rely on drones to confirm the situation.The brutal air strikes have indeed made the Indian Army make great progress in some skills, especially in terms of hiding infrared features and masking contours. The local troops rely on some simple tricks to fool drones, not once or twice.

"Always feel something is wrong?"

He Fan turned the surrounding mirror for the last time to observe the opposite bank. A crack was still clearly visible on the surrounding mirror. Where can the front-line repair shop be able to repair complex optical equipment, but the basic functions can be maintained? After a corporal from the repair company beat him hard with a hammer, he recovered.

"All that has to be said has been said, and now we're going down."

The tank drove slowly down the gentle slope of the river bank and into the water.Immediately, the red lights inside the tank came on, and the driver cautiously steered the tank slowly down the slope into the water, and finally the water submerged the roof, leaving only a vent pipe standing on the water surface, and all the periscopes became The water was chaotic, and the people inside completely lost all vision.Amidst the monotonous sound of the engine running, the cold wind whizzed past the battle room, and now all the airflow had to go from here.He Fan looked around carefully, and found that there were still some small water streams on the inner wall of the turret. It seemed that the sealing was still a problem, but it was not a big problem for the time being.He pressed his ear to the inner wall and could hear the one-way valve bubbling exhaust.

The navigator in front of the driver's eyes is just a simple inertial navigation device. There is actually only a direction mark and a recorded route on it. Simple heading self-drawing can be performed, but not for a long time.It follows a roughly straight course.If everything is correct, the opposite side should also be a flat area, and you can use the power of the tank to climb up. Of course, if there is a sniper with good marksmanship and a good mind on the opposite side, you should know that this is the most vulnerable moment for the tank. The underwater part of the bad snorkel.So at this time, you must count on the annoying weasel to vigilantly observe everything on the other side instead of dozing off.

He Fan had only one tank in the river, and the other 7 tanks stayed behind, waiting for him to make a way out first.However, because the machine guns and barrels were blocked, these tanks were temporarily unable to fire, and the heavy responsibility of covering could only be entrusted to the assault gun group that He Fan despised.

Finally, the chassis of the tank began to lift up slowly, and it was obvious that it had passed the middle of the river bed, and it was almost time to go ashore. He Fan grabbed the handle of the perimeter mirror and leaned on the cold cradle of the artillery, resigned to fate, If there is really a group of experienced guys ambushing on the other side, this is the best time for them to do it.He suddenly felt that the tank began to shake, which was obviously not a good sign, and then he heard the driver scolding, it seemed that the track was stuck somewhere and slipped?After waiting for a while, the driver confirmed that the pointer on the navigator did not move, and the three crew members became anxious.

"Stand back and try again."

For a pile of steel, every excessive movement underwater, including shifting gears backwards or making excessive turns, has a huge risk. One is to lose the direction, and the other is to stall the engine, but now I can only try it up.

He Fan grabbed the communicator and used the submersible antenna connected to the snorkel to ask his companions behind.

"07, can you see our snorkel?"

"I can see that it's about 15 meters away from the river bank, and it hasn't moved for a minute. Is there any problem?"

"Got it, we have no problem."

While speaking, the floor under his feet began to back up and turn, and he could feel the water on the floor covering his feet.

"Turn right thirty degrees and try again."

"clear."

The tank followed its instructions, turned and tried to climb.The reason why he kept the whole team and crossed the river by bicycle was to find a way out for this task that he had no idea about. In fact, in his professional career, he did not cross the river a few times.

The tank stopped and drove forward for a while. The tank began to climb again. It seemed to be fine, but finally stopped again, and seemed to be stuck in another place.

"It seems that the chosen location is wrong. The terrain on the river bank is famous. Continue to reverse and try again."

"Company commander, try a few more times and the navigator will be inaccurate?"

"I have the bottom of my heart."

In fact, He Fan's No. 08 tank should not be the first to test it in the water, because it has been penetrated in many places, including the rear skirt and the engine oil circuit. If these parts leak, it is likely to cause underwater flameout The most extreme puzzle.

"07, what did you see?"

"It's not very good. The water has submerged the middle barrel. It is currently 70 cm below the top barrel. You may be stuck in a low-lying place on the river bed. The water depth is too deep. I suggest you reverse the car and come back."

The commander of No. 07 reminded that according to his judgment, in such a situation, he had to go back the same way to avoid further danger.

"No, we don't have time to spare; by the way, the engine has been surging, how is the one-way exhaust valve working?"

"Bubbles have been bubbling around the underwater area, so it doesn't seem to be a big problem."

With the waste air bubbles released from the one-way exhaust valve on the side of the car body, they burst out of the water, and a single black smoke floated on the river surface. These air bubbles indicated that there was no problem with the exhaust for the time being.

One kilometer away, Li Xiulin also noticed something was wrong, because He Fan had been down by bicycle for a long time, why couldn't he get up?
"Weasel, pay attention to the opposite side. The drone has just discovered a change in the 280 position. If there is a suspicious target approaching, once it has to be intercepted, the tank company is guaranteed to be safe."

"understood."

He turned around, took the telescope away from the snorkel that No. 08 left on the water, and turned to the uneven hills on the opposite side, but he didn't see anything.

He looked up to see a drone flying directly over his head, dropping a bomb.Bombs roared down and exploded behind the knoll.This blow directly blew up the nest, and several Indian jeeps rushed over the hill and rushed towards He Fan's planned landing site downstream. It seemed that He Fan was going to be in trouble this time.

"Shoot. Block 'em."

Li Xiulin shouted, and the turret immediately started to rotate.He struggled to pull the machine gun over the hill and shoot at targets that appeared and disappeared behind the hill, and even if he missed, he thought, he had to draw their attention.But the enemy didn't come at him at all, their goal was He Fan.A shot from the drone did break through the camouflage, but it didn't stop the enemy, it just delayed the attack.

He Fanlian's several commanders were all wearing life jackets and standing on top of the tank. Seeing that something was wrong, the muzzle and parallel machine guns were covered, and the turret seat was also sealed, making them unable to rotate.The enemy rushed to a place very close to the shore, and fired a 40mm grenade at the snorkel near the shore through the obstacle, and the water mist was immediately blown up.

"what happened?"

He Fan, who was worrying underwater, heard the explosion in the surrounding water and realized the danger, but his communication with 07 suddenly ended, apparently the communication wire on the vent pipe was broken.This is the only means for him to understand the external situation, and now that it is gone, he can only rely on guesswork.

"All wear life jackets, back up in an emergency." He ordered.He could imagine that due to his size, the 7 tanks on the opposite bank should all be in a state of being unable to fight back, and he has now become a vulnerable target.Although he still has a life jacket and a scuba respirator, he, the commander of the teaching force, has never actually used such things.

The tank began to toss backward again, retreating a distance from the slope that could not be climbed.

Li Xiulin's gunner aimed calmly and overturned an Indian Mercedes-Benz jeep trying to climb to the commanding height with one shot. Three Indian soldiers were crushed under the vehicle that was turned upside down.However, the Indian infantry who went on and on rushed to the shore under cover, and the snorkel moving back and forth could not be hidden.

At the same time, an Indian sniper ambushing in the village started shooting, and hit the assault gun turret with one shot. The bullet grazed Li Xiulin's head and flew away. He shrank his neck and hid in the turret.Apparently the enemy has been ambushing here for a long time, probably planning to attack halfway, because the drone dropped the bomb, but didn't take it easy; in short, the damn drone, I really can't count on it recently, and I can't always mention it. Enemy situation, now they are out of ammunition again.

"Call the artillery, call the artillery, cover the entire village of Charadia, and the eastern road. I have a reinforced company with heavy firepower in front of me..."

He shouted while watching, a long gun barrel undulating from behind the village building, moving...

"Damn, they have a lot of things hidden."

"Weasel, what are you talking about?" asked the other side of the radio station.

"Wolf den, the enemy has tanks. Commander He must be told to retreat."

He Fan was completely unaware of the situation above the water, and the lack of communication made him have to make a choice independently. Should he reverse the car slowly, or rush ashore all at once?With his personality, of course, there is no retreat, especially since he can guess that the longer he stays in the water, the more dangerous it is. It is not wise to reverse the vehicle. At the same time, he does not know that there are several tanks of unknown models on the other side.

"Stop. Go ahead and charge again. We'll go ashore and kill them all."

"What?" The driver couldn't believe his words.

"Forward! The artillery is loaded with an armor-piercing shell."

The loader squeaked and turned, and finished loading a round of ammunition before the chassis of the chariot raised its head violently.

There were continuous explosions one after another, and the No. 08 tank was like a submarine being pursued.The pilot made up his mind, betting that the Indian would not hit the submerged part of the snorkel water easily, which was not easy.

During the advance of the tank, the thinnest part of the top tube of the three-section snorkel has been hit by fragments several times, but none of them were in danger.But the enemy immediately turned to tactics and began to shoot the water surface around the air pipe with machine guns. After the bullet penetrated into the water, it dragged a string of surging water bubbles and swished past the air pipe.Finally a bullet pierced through the underwater exhaust pipe, and in a blink of an eye the No. 08 tank's conning tower was like a waterfall.

"Don't worry, we can hold on, let's charge again." He Fan roared, the water under his feet had already reached above his ankles.When he found out, the air was still flowing.

The driver pushes the gear lever, forward.The tank accelerated underwater, and the dense machine gun bullets hit the turret in the water from time to time, making a different, more dull puffing sound than usual, which was not the same as the previous sharp impact sound.

This time the tank roared and raised its head high, climbing upwards without any hesitation. He Fan walked under the surrounding mirror through the water, put his eyes on the eyepiece, and prepared to meet the unknown situation.

A gun barrel slowly rose above the surface of the water. The nearest Indian soldier to the tank was ten meters away. He fired an RPG hastily and hit the thickest part of the turret at a bad angle. The jet stream drilled out in the front. One eye, but did not drill through.

The tank rumbled onto the river bank, then fell heavily.It was only then that He Fan saw the situation outside clearly from the misty camera. He found himself plunged into a chaotic battlefield. In the shadow of the village buildings, a T72 was aiming at him.In any case, this blow cannot be avoided.

Just as he was about to face the blow, the supporting fire from the opposite bank penetrated the building and destroyed the T72.But immediately, another T72 on the side drove out of the corner and aimed at him.

"Azimuth 320, urgent target, activate the detonating cord." He Fan shouted.

The driver had quick hands and quick eyes, and pressed the air defense light relay switch (connecting the detonating cord of the muzzle cap at the same time), and a burst of white smoke blasted the water cap tightly attached to the muzzle.The Indian commander on the opposite side thought that No. 08 had opened fire, but found that he was not hit.

(End of this chapter)