Chapter 487 Soviet Submarine Discovered

When the aircraft carrier formation is sailing at full speed, the sound of the propeller stirring the water, the sound of the bow breaking through the water, the sound of the engine, all kinds of noises are intertwined and increase exponentially. One result of these is the loss of underwater monitoring!

You can't have your cake and eat it too. The US aircraft carrier fleet is not invincible. Although it is powerful at sea and in the air, it is still weak underwater.

Yes, the US aircraft carrier fleet has obvious advantages on the water, but in response, the Soviet Union also developed a series of nuclear submarines to pose a new threat. In order to protect underwater safety, the Los Angeles-class submarine has a huge responsibility.

If the target had not accelerated along with the aircraft carrier formation, it would have been difficult for him to detect the other party! The USS Groton, the seventh Los Angeles-class nuclear submarine, accompanied the Nimitz and protected the underwater safety. When the aircraft carrier formation accelerated, the Groton also followed. However, in order to prevent any accidents, it still released its towed array sonar.

Just when it was planning to patrol around and catch up with the aircraft carrier formation, it discovered a peculiar noise underwater. The sound was somewhat like that of a fish blowing bubbles, but also somewhat unlike!

The sonar operator, who had excellent hearing, listened carefully. The submarine was built using advanced American technology, and the sonar performance was also excellent. The electronic computer compared it carefully, but found that this signal was different from any sound in its own signal library!

But, this sound is definitely not natural! It is definitely a new Soviet submarine!

After reaching this conclusion, the Groton released a communication buoy to inform the mother ship and began the underwater hunt!

The most important task of attack nuclear submarines during the Cold War was to search for enemy nuclear submarines!

Moreover, after the communication buoy is released, the mother ship will definitely dispatch other anti-submarine forces to coordinate anti-submarine operations! Just a few days ago, one of our nuclear submarines was abused by the entire Soviet aircraft carrier formation. The Soviets were really ruthless! They actually dared to use force! They used hundreds of rocket depth charges to blast our submarine up!

The submarine was controlled by the Soviets, and all the secrets on it were obtained by the Soviets. This was another major loss for the United States! Now, the submarine is tied up in the port of Chabahar, waiting for the diplomatic war of words.

At this time, if our side also captured a Soviet submarine, the effect would be different!

The same idea not only emerged in the mind of Groton's captain Battier, but also moved all the senior naval officials, including Jonathan, when the intelligence was sent to the Nimitz aircraft carrier.

Just now, Jonathan wanted to send out Tomcat fighters, but that would only be a deterrent to the Soviet aircraft carrier formation. If things went wrong, they might even enter the air defense circle of the Soviet aircraft carrier formation and be attacked by the Soviets. This kind of accidental discharge of a gun was not recognized by the White House. But now, a new opportunity has quietly arrived!

A Soviet nuclear submarine appeared behind the formation! Although the Los Angeles-class reported an unknown target, there is no doubt that this is definitely a Soviet nuclear submarine! In this case, it is just right to stage a unique anti-submarine competition in front of the Soviet Navy! See how the Soviet Navy responds!

After all, before the Soviet carrier-based aviation matured, the only mission of the Soviet Navy was to protect their nuclear submarines, reach the ocean, and create opportunities for their nuclear submarines to launch ballistic missiles!

"Switch to full anti-submarine warfare, launch the S3 anti-submarine aircraft, and force the Soviet submarines out of the sea!" Jonathan said, "This time, let the Soviets know our true strength!"

The aircraft carriers of the US Navy are the true giants at sea. Relying on catapult take-off, they can make the types of carrier-based aircraft more diverse. In addition to the Tomcat used for air defense combat, the A-7 for ground attack, and the all-round Hornet, they also have a dedicated fixed-wing anti-submarine aircraft S3!

The S-3 anti-submarine aircraft was developed by Lockheed Corporation and is the first carrier-based anti-submarine aircraft equipped with a turbofan engine in the United States. It is used to replace the S-2 anti-submarine aircraft. In addition to being able to conduct continuous search, surveillance and attack on submarines and provide anti-submarine protection for important naval forces such as aircraft carriers and task forces, it can also be used as a refueling aircraft, anti-submarine command and control aircraft, and electronic warfare aircraft after modification. It can be said that this is also a versatile aircraft.

After entering service in 1975, this anti-submarine aircraft has become an important anti-submarine force for the aircraft carrier formation!

Now, after receiving the order, two S-3 anti-submarine aircraft that were urgently lifted up from the side elevators quickly arrived at the ejection position. Four flight crew members were sitting in one anti-submarine aircraft, namely the pilot and co-pilot in the front cabin and the tactical coordinator and sonar operator in the rear cabin. At the same time, two torpedoes had been mounted under the wings and could be used in anti-submarine operations at any time. In addition to the visible external parts, there were also depth charges on the racks inside the belly of the aircraft.

The TF34 turbofan engine roared, and after an emergency catapult, two anti-submarine aircraft swooped towards the target direction indicated by the Groton. They circled nearby and continuously threw down sonar buoys.

Although anti-submarine warfare has a history of several decades, the basic method remains unchanged. Using geometric principles to form an array of long-range sonar buoys is the most effective method.

On the anti-submarine aircraft, the sonar operator was listening carefully. In addition to his sensitive ears, the onboard equipment was also providing the greatest help. The 1832A multi-purpose digital computer of Univank was providing fast calculations for the acoustic data processor, synthesizing and processing the signals from the sonar buoy receiver.

And then, nothing happened!

Generally speaking, Soviet submarines make a lot of noise. After the anti-submarine aircraft takes off, even if the enemy's submarine is sailing at a low speed, the unique noise of the enemy's propeller can be analyzed to determine the enemy's position and movement status.

But now, the signal reported by the Groton was not received at all. The Soviet submarine seemed to blend into the background noise of the sea!

Anti-submarine aircraft continued to fly in the sky, and the tactical coordinators on the two aircraft were constantly switching new tactics, but there was no response underwater!

The Americans were stunned. In the past, their own submarines often stayed on the outskirts of the Soviet submarine bases, playing games with the Soviet submarines. The Soviet submarines were very noisy and could be heard fifty kilometers away. When they were sailing at full speed, the noise was even more obvious. Now it seemed that the Soviets were just playing a joke on them?