Chapter 2087 Demolition Action in the Strait of Dover 1

"Will there be a fleet battle?" Prime Minister Asquith asked.

"The Grand Fleet is definitely not allowed to enter the area around Dover Seaman during the day. This is courting death. The German bombs may not be able to wipe out London, but it is absolutely possible for thousands of bombers to severely damage the Grand Fleet. Moreover, I think now Imperial aviation power is simply not enough to support the air defense of the fleet."

"As for the night? There are mines deployed by us and the Germans here. It is very dangerous for a large fleet to operate in such a small area. Mines, submarines, and torpedo boats are all huge threats. You know, the Strait of Dover is the most dangerous thing. The narrow place is only 20 nautical miles, and the formation of the large fleet is more than 10 kilometers, this kind of place is simply impossible to fight, so the two sides can only fight with light warships." Jericho said.

"Well, I don't understand the specifics. Marshal Jericho, I can only say one thing, that is, this time we are facing a situation that is worse than that faced by Marshal Nelson, and even worse than that of the Netherlands during the Anglo-Dutch War. It is still dangerous for the fleet to enter the Thames Estuary, so you and the Grand Fleet must do our best." Prime Minister Asquith said finally.

The so-called professional things must be handed over to professionals. This sentence is absolutely correct, especially as one of the most professional navies in the world, the Royal Navy cannot be said to be number one in all aspects, but in general it is almost There is no short board, even if they encounter some unprecedented situations, they can still respond in a short time!

And anti-submarine warfare is just that! Although the British sea transportation line is still being beaten so badly, but to be honest, if the Germans were not facing the United Kingdom, but another island country, they would have been dragged to death by submarine warfare. Anti-submarine is not just about financial resources. , Manpower issues, but also strategic thinking, coordination and command and many other issues! The British have worked hard for anti-submarine, but now, in order to allow more fleets to enter the port of Dunkirk, they are forced to dismantle all the anti-submarine systems they have worked so hard to build in the Dover Strait.

So now someone has to ask, why is it demolished? The willingness is very simple. The first thing to explain is that although the British army is backed by the port of Dunkirk, it has never been one of the main cargo ports of the British army. After all, in the previous two years of fighting, the German army had approached Dunkirk several times. Kirk, it is also common for the German army's ultra-long-range train gun to include Dunkirk in its range. After all, the German 380MM train gun can hit 40 kilometers when using light bullets...

So before here, it is generally used to transport some urgently needed materials that need to be sent directly to the front line, such as aircraft engines, vehicles or other technical equipment. The area where German submarines often come and go, so the British were cruel and directly laid several anti-submarine systems for the Dover Seaman. As the port of Dunkirk, it is the focus of fortification, except for one In addition to the wide and relatively tortuous channel, a large number of mines, anti-submarine nets, and trawling patrol boats are deployed in the adjacent sea area!

Don't laugh, it's a trawling patrol boat. In the 21st century, some people say that anti-submarine fishing boats are a joke, but the British really tried to use trawling nets for anti-submarine in World War I! And what is even more incomprehensible is that this tactic has succeeded!

There are two main ways for the British to trawl anti-submarine. The first way is single-vessel trawl. Simply put, a large tail about a yard long is added behind the stern. The length of the tow lock between the ship and the trawl is 70 feet. To prevent the trawl net from being entangled with the propeller of the ship if the distance is too short, two 50-ton ballasts are hung on the lower end of the trawl net to ensure the stability of the trawl net. In order to mark the position of the trawl net, the trawl net is not made of glass. of buoys. This trawling tactic is actually not very effective.

It is mainly used for routine patrols in low-risk sea areas.

The second method of anti-submarine trawling is double-ship towing. The two ships hold the anti-submarine net separately, keep the distance between the two sides, and then sail back and forth on the sea like plowing. It is very simple to say, but it is easy to do. It's very difficult, not to mention the cooperation between the two ships, it is very difficult to control the nearly 1,000-meter-long net under the impact of ocean currents, and the English Channel is not deep, and the deepest part of the Dover Channel is no more than 120 feet, maybe at some point the trawl net will be hooked to something like a reef on the bottom of the sea. Halfway through the tow, it is common for the ballast to fall or the glass buoy to fall off abnormally. So, to be honest, this anti-submarine technology is not very effective. It is not very reliable in theory, but it is even less reliable in practice.

But in history, this kind of tactic that is not reliable no matter how you look at it really worked. As early as the beginning of 1915, the trawler cooperated with the destroyer to obtain the first result! On March 4, 1915, the U8 submarine set out from the port of Ostend and entered the English Channel. During the process, the submarine would send reports to the headquarters at regular intervals, and this regular radio contact naturally caused the British People's attention, this time, unfortunately, this submarine was targeted by Room 40 of the British Navy, which is in charge of monitoring the actions of U-boats. Then, on the only way this submarine must pass, a submarine and a trawler blocked got it!

This unlucky submarine was entangled by the anti-submarine net carried by the Bourne at 3 p.m. Then, at about 4 p.m., Surander, the navigator of the U8 submarine, felt something abnormal, and the submarine could not be maintained stably. The depth of the voyage, and the submarine often oscillates continuously. The Germans who realized that something was wrong raised the periscope to observe and found that they were entangled in the anti-submarine net. Destroyed by thrown explosive minesweepers. (Yes, you read that right, the British used anti-mine tools to kill submarines!)

But this time, what the British want to dismantle is the fixed anti-submarine net. At this time, several British Navy ships are preparing to dismantle part of the anti-submarine net outside the port of Dunkirk.

"William, be careful, pay attention to the signal indicator light on the top of the anti-submarine net, and the hollow tube under the indicator light. If this thing comes into contact with water, it will emit thick smoke!" On a small boat, several British navy Officers and soldiers are dismantling the signal indicator lights on the anti-submarine network one by one. This kind of indicator light is said to be a light, but it is actually a kind of smoke generator. The light body is spherical, and there is a hollow tube filled with calcium phosphide under the light When the submarine hits the anti-submarine net, it will tear off the buoyant body and cause seawater to pour in. Then the seawater and calcium phosphide will react to produce thick smoke, and the buoy next to it will go out of the water to mark the position of the submarine.

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