Munitions Empire
Chapter 1389 - 1389: 1306 Turning Torpedo

"The target is turning! The path is very clear!" The operator promptly reported the position signal of the target reflected back by the active sonar.

The wire-guided torpedoes, under control, timely changed their course. They corrected their trajectory, adjusted their angle, and continued charging towards the target.

As the captain of the Laines Empire's Stingfish Destroyer had predicted, the Great Tang Empire's submarine indeed exhausted all its standby torpedoes.

However, contrary to his guess, the Great Tang Empire Navy's submarine currently has no torpedo tubes at the stern; it only has six torpedo launch tubes at the bow.

The captain of the Tang Country submarine, aware that his general location has been exposed, does not panic, as he knows he is fully capable of dealing with the two enemy destroyers lacking serious anti-submarine measures.

He already has a clear understanding of the performance of their sonar and is well aware of their attack methods.

If they don't let the enemy get close enough to launch anti-submarine depth charges right above him, the enemy almost has no way to threaten their new type of submarine.

...

On the surface, the first officer staring at the white trails left by the two torpedoes frowns: he has already noticed something unusual.

"Captain! Those torpedo trails aren't right!" The first officer, holding binoculars, carefully confirms again and reminds the captain beside him to take another look at those torpedoes.

Upon the first officer's reminder, the captain of the Stingfish once again picks up his binoculars and looks at the torpedo trails on the sea surface. Suddenly, he also realizes that the situation is not quite as he expected.

"Their torpedoes... why do they seem not to be moving in a straight line?" The captain of the Stingfish finally judges from position that the torpedo trails are changing.

In theory, their destroyer has already turned; if those two torpedoes dash straightly, they should be avoided and pass by the bow. But now it seems those two torpedoes also adjusted their course, and they remain at risk of hitting the torpedoes.

"Could the speed calculation be wrong?" The first officer sees the two trails seem to be passing from the opposite inner side, muttering in doubt.

It's very possible! The captain, reminded like this, realizes that the opponent might indeed be using odd torpedoes! According to his previous thoughts, the opponent's submarine should theoretically be avoiding their destroyer.

But now the opponent actually took the initiative to launch an attack! This in itself is strange! There must be something wrong with unusual behavior; the opponent must have something to rely on to launch a proactive attack.

The torpedo with changing speed in front of them is evidently the opponent's secret weapon! A sudden deceleration or acceleration of the torpedo can cause misjudgments and increase the difficulty of evading the torpedo!

It seems the opponent is confident in these "variable speed" torpedoes, which is why they boldly launched the attack...

Unfortunately! Unfortunately, they still underestimated themselves! Avoiding these two torpedoes... is not an impossible thing!

"Watch out for their torpedoes accelerating suddenly... Rudder back 30 degrees! Maintain speed!" The captain of the Stingfish corrected the course, planning to throw these two torpedoes to the stern.

A full right rudder carries some risk, potentially colliding with those two torpedoes, so the captain orders the rudder back, hoping to circle widely and let the torpedoes into the inner circle to avoid them.

As they adjust, the two torpedoes soon also correct their course, and at this moment they are very close to the Stingfish Destroyer.

Standing on the side, the captain of the Stingfish clearly sees the slight turn of the white trail. Due to the distance and angle, this turn is clearer than the last time.

"Their torpedoes are turning! Their torpedoes can aim at us!" The captain couldn't help but shout. His face turned pale, and his voice also became sharp.

All previous predictions were wrong; the opponent's torpedoes are tracking! Damn it, this is the opponent's biggest trump card! From the beginning we were prey; the real hunter was actually the opponent's submarine!

"Turn! Full right rudder! Keep turning!" The captain of the Stingfish, knowing it's too late, turns around and orders loudly, wanting a last-ditch effort, hoping the opponent's torpedo turn is just a coincidence.

Or, what if the opponent's torpedo has a limited number of turns? The opponent's torpedoes have already turned twice; what if those torpedoes can no longer continue to turn?

Unfortunately, even if the torpedo doesn't turn anymore, the Stingfish is already unavoidable. A few seconds later, the first torpedo hits the stern of the Stingfish, the huge explosion instantly swallowing the rear part of the Stingfish.

Immediately afterwards, the second torpedo similarly hit the stern of the Stingfish, with both torpedoes thoroughly making the rear of the Stingfish disappear from the sea surface.

A large amount of water rushes into the stern of the Stingfish at once: all propellers damaged, the main shaft twisted and broken due to the explosion, oil tank leaking, power chambers flooded...

Due to the instantaneous loss of almost all power, the Stingfish can't even conduct damage control. In less than a minute, its fractured rear part has already submerged into the sea.

"Send a message to the Thunderbolt! Tell them to advance according to the coordinates beforehand! Find the enemy's submarine and launch an attack! The opponent now doesn't have enough time to reload torpedoes and is unable to continue attacking!" The captain of the Stingfish knows his ship is doomed, but the Thunderbolt seems to still have a chance.

"If the opponent completes the reloading, it will all be over!" Their fleet only has a speed of 11 kilometers per hour, roughly 6 knots, a speed difficult to shake off the submarine.

Once night falls and when visibility is poor, if the enemy submarine launches another attack, the situation will become even more passive!

As long as the opponent has enough of these turning torpedoes, the whole fleet will be doomed! Including these escort destroyers!

Therefore, in his view, it is necessary to sink the enemy submarine today... Now, while the enemy's new torpedoes are not yet reloaded, the Thunderbolt has a great chance of success.

"Thunderbolt replies: Leave it to us..." The communications officer quickly reported back. The Thunderbolt Destroyer, just following behind the Stingfish, has already overtaken the Stingfish, rushing towards the confirmed position of the enemy submarine.

"The opponent has a kind of turning torpedo! Send this message out! Notify all allies, let them be doubly careful!" The captain of the Stingfish Destroyer, watching the sailors lowering lifeboats and throwing life rings into the sea, said helplessly.

A few minutes later, the backup generator stopped working, and all lights inside the Stingfish went out. They lost all power, seawater pouring into the hull, and soon the entire destroyer sank into the water.