50s: Starting with a storage ring

Chapter 261 Sea Trials
This time, due to the expanded space, he was actually able to operate remotely, and he no longer needed to make the sailors avoid him.

He could have silently replaced the flour at the bottom of the cargo hold with airplane wreckage.

However, isn't there a saying that goes beyond mere formalities?

To maintain secrecy and to make the report easier to write, he still treated all the crew members to a night of fun.

The comrades who came from New York to provide support were also asked to leave. Of course, there were no dirty jokes this time.

As for any questions from his comrades, he would simply reply: "Pay attention to the confidentiality regulations."

This reason is a catch-all, and its meaning is clear: if you shouldn't know something, don't ask.

After all the people on board had left, Sun Zhiwei buried the 14 planes in the flour pile as planned.

The following morning, as he watched the cargo ship safely leave port, Sun Zhiwei began to consider the real objective of this trip: the Los Angeles-class attack submarine H.

The USS Memphis and USS Omaha, which are currently being outfitted in the dry dock at Newport News Shipbuilding, have completed the loading of supplies.

Over the past few days, submarine crew members have been gathering; they will soon be setting sail.

The submarine's reactor has not yet been started, and all equipment operation and testing are being conducted using power supplied by cables connected from the shore.

The discipline during these sea trials was not as strict as during formal service. The submarines not only had soldiers learning how to operate them, but also a large number of engineers and workers who were always ready to provide logistical support.

Many of the soldiers, engineers, and even workers didn't know each other, and Sun Zhiwei saw an opportunity in this situation.

That night, Sun Zhiwei sneaked into the shipyard's personnel department and slipped a forged worker's resume in the shipyard's archives.

Afterward, he added Bob's name to the list of workers for the sea trial and made Bob's work permit using the shipyard's official seal.

This is a real work permit; the shipyard itself just didn't know it.

Three days before the sea trial, Sun Zhiwei entered the Newport News Shipbuilding shipyard with his new work permit.

At the assembly time, Sun Zhiwei and the other workers arrived at Dock No. 7, where the 'Memphis' was located.

The project manager took the list and began calling out names:
"Quinn Allen," "Here," "You go to the command center."

“Leonard Nelson” “We’re here” “Go to the main engine room.”

“Berendel Davenport” “In” “You go to the battery compartment.”

“Bob Carlson” “Yes” “Go to the engine room.”

After assigning tasks to all the workers, the supervisor put down the list in his hand and said to everyone with a serious expression:

"I'm giving you this final warning: the reactor is starting up today, and no one is allowed to drink or fight on the ship."

“If anyone dares to make the same mistake again, I will definitely deduct their bonus this month.”

As soon as the supervisor said this, the workers started to complain a lot.

The supervisor remained unmoved, ignoring the workers' complaints, but orders had to be carried out.

Seeing that complaining had no effect, the workers had no choice but to obey.

But rules are meant to be broken, and Sun Zhiwei has discovered that many workers have small bottles of liquor hidden in their pockets and clothes.

Meanwhile, the engineers and pilots had already boarded the ship, and someone ran over to urge the workers on this side. The supervisor then ordered all the workers to board the ship.

Sun Zhiwei followed the others into the cabin of the 'Memphis' submarine. Soon, the day's work began; the workers on shore started to retrieve the cables, and all the flybridges connected to the submarine's deck were removed.

After all the external attachments were removed, the submarine's emergency lights came on, and a warning from the command center sounded through the loudspeaker.

"The hatch is about to close."

"The dock is being filled with water. Everyone, please take precautions."

Soon, Sun Zhiwei felt the entire submarine begin to rock, sway, and rise. From the outside, it could be seen that the dock was quickly filled with seawater, and the 'Memphis' slowly floated up.

After the 'Memphis' stabilized in the water, the alarm not only did not fall off, but became even more urgent.

"Attention all crew members, the reactor is about to start up."

Some veteran workers were not worried after hearing the warning, because the reactor cold start takes at least two hours, during which time nothing can be done.

The older workers started calling over the other workers in the engine room to play cards. Although Sun Zhiwei didn't participate, he also went over to watch the fun.

The old worker didn't end the game until the announcement over the loudspeaker confirmed that the game had started.

At this point, the turbine unit is about to begin operation; as soon as electricity is supplied from the reactor, the turbine will start running.

Sun Zhiwei was a new worker and didn't have to worry about the complex operation of the engine; he was only responsible for doing odd jobs for the veteran workers.

Soon, the engine room crew got busy, the ship's equipment started running, and after a few hours of testing, it was time for lunch.

The reactor was downgraded to low power operation, the flybridge connecting to the dock was re-erected, and everyone began taking turns going ashore for meals.

For the next week, the 'Memphis' was in the dry dock undergoing low-power testing, resulting in very low work efficiency and frequent breaks for the engineers.

These days, the supervisor has ordered all workers not to go home and has arranged food and lodging for each worker. Sun Zhiwei has also managed to get a bed.

After a week of testing, the supervisor informed everyone that they would have one day off, and that they would have to leave port upon their return.

Sun Zhiwei realized that he was about to set sail, so he began to use the time he spent out that day to make final preparations.

He secretly used the shipyard's equipment to make some smoke-generating devices, and also found some spare boards and submarine decoration materials in the materials warehouse.

Over the past few days, he has figured out the basic operation of the submarine, which is almost identical to the "foolproof submarine operation procedure" he learned in Qingdao.

He was confident that he could sail the submarine out by himself.

Of course, a long voyage was unlikely, as he was unfamiliar with sea charts and would be unable to cope with unusual situations on his own.

After the day off, everyone returned to the shipyard.

That afternoon, the 'Memphis' slowly sailed out of the dock. It did not go far, but conducted preliminary tests on the sea outside the shipyard.

Forward, backward, turn, reverse, dive, surface—I did each movement several times.

This time, we're right next to the shipyard, so any problems can be dealt with immediately. If we encounter problems in the deep sea, that would be much more troublesome.

After several hours of testing, the 'Memphis' began to head out to sea, followed by a shipyard repair ship.

The other ship, the 'Omaha', is not progressing as quickly as the 'Memphis' and is still in the dock.

As darkness fell, they left the North American continental shelf and headed southeast.

(End of this chapter)