Sword of Light: Humanoid Self-Propelled Artillery

Chapter 192 Reinforcements for Tashan
Wang Gensheng knew that Tashan was not easy to defend. In order to conquer Tashan this time, Lao Zi even brought over the largest warship in the navy, the Congqing.

Of course, that's why Wang Gensheng chose the Congqing as the primary target of this patrol torpedo attack. There was no other way, because the Congqing's firepower alone was equivalent to a rapidly moving artillery emplacement.

HMS Kei, formerly known as HMS Arora of the British Royal Navy, was built in 1936 by Portsmouth Shipyard. It had a standard displacement of 5,270 tons and a full load displacement of 7,180 tons. Powered by 64,000 horsepower steam turbines, it had a top speed of 32 knots and a range of 4,000 nautical miles. Its distinctive flush-deck hull and clipper bow design made it renowned for its maneuverability during World War II.

In 1941, it participated in the hunt for the British battleship "Bismarck", serving as the flagship of the K Fleet of the British Mediterranean Fleet, and carrying out anti-submarine and escort missions.

Then, during the Sicilian landings in 1943, he suppressed the Axis defense lines with concentrated artillery fire, earning him the nickname "Silver Devil".

Then, in 1944, he participated in the Normandy landings, providing fire support for the Allies to open a second front.

Then in May 1948, in order to compensate for the six patrol boats lost during the administration of Xianggang, England gifted the "Aurora" to Lao Jing, who then renamed it "Congqing".

This ship became the largest and best-equipped main warship of the Lao-Ji Navy, equipped with eight 152mm main guns, twelve 102mm secondary guns and six torpedo tubes, and was regarded by Lao-Ji as the "ace of the sea".

Four Parsons steam turbines drove the twin shafts, with a total power of 64,000 horsepower and a top speed of 32 knots. It could accelerate from a standstill to 28 knots in 15 minutes, far exceeding the speed of Japanese cruisers of the same period.

Of course, the warships of this period also had quite good defensive capabilities.

Its main armor belt was 63 mm thick, and its deck armor was 38 mm thick, capable of withstanding 203 mm shells. Watertight compartments and torpedo-resistant bulges allowed it to return to port despite being heavily damaged multiple times during World War II.

Although the main guns of the Kei-class battleship were not comparable to those of the Yamato-class battleship, being only 152 mm in diameter, they had a range of 22 kilometers and a rate of fire of five rounds per minute. They were equipped with armor-piercing and high-explosive shells, and there were eight of them.

The secondary armament consists of six twin-mounted 102mm dual-purpose guns, capable of both air defense and anti-ship operations. Therefore, the combined firepower of these eight main guns and twelve secondary guns is equivalent to that of an artillery corps.

Anti-aircraft firepower: Eight 40mm Bofors anti-aircraft guns and ten 12.7mm machine guns form a dense anti-aircraft network.

In addition, the Ching-class cruiser also has six 533mm torpedo tubes capable of launching Mark 14 torpedoes, and its stern is equipped with a depth charge rack carrying 48 Hedgehog bombs.

Of course, as the first country to use radar, the Ching-class warship was naturally equipped with radar, the Type 284 fire control radar with a sea detection range of 25 kilometers and a detection altitude of 15,000 meters, as well as a sonar system, which has early warning capabilities.

The Qing was originally designed as a "cruiser fleet leader," possessing the capabilities of fleet air defense, escort, and shore bombardment. Its high speed and long range made it a "sea vanguard" in the Atlantic and Mediterranean theaters during World War II.

Although in 1949, thanks to the efforts of the commander, the officers and soldiers on the Congqing ship declared an uprising, allowing the commander to obtain the Congqing ship.

However, in 1950, this warship was sunk by planes sent by the Old Man.

Although the Ching-class aircraft carrier possesses decent anti-aircraft firepower.

However, before the invention of anti-aircraft missiles, anti-aircraft firepower was not so reliable. This is why the Congqing was sunk by the old man's plane.

Therefore, in the current battle at Tashan, Wang Gensheng naturally had to prioritize sinking this warship, after all, it was Lao Zi's flagship. If he sank it, then the other ships would not dare to act so recklessly.

However, after receiving the telegram, Wang Gensheng naturally had to head towards Tashan.

Considering the importance of Tashan, since this battle concerns the future of Dongbei and even the entire Dang, it is important to know that if the defense of Tashan fails, then the troops attacking Jinzhou will be surrounded from multiple sides.

And then the Fourth Field Army would suffer heavy losses, which would put the situation in other places at a disadvantage. Therefore, the Battle of Tashan was absolutely not to be lost.

Therefore, after thinking about it, Wang Gensheng took all of the two thousand or so soldiers with him, and the distance from Qinhuangdao to Tashan was one hundred and eighty kilometers.

As for the hidden thousand-ton warship, it was absolutely impossible to bring it along. That warship had virtually no air defense capabilities, and it was such a large target at sea that bringing it along would be like providing a target for the enemy's fighter jets.

Fortunately, the cruise torpedo modified by Wang Gensheng was a small target and there was no need to worry about it being detected by the old fighter jets. After all, although Wang Gensheng had modified the cruise torpedo to be air-breathing, the entire torpedo was still underwater, with only a tube about the thickness of an arm on the surface for absorbing air and for periscope purposes.

Unless you look closely, you won't notice such a small pipe at all.

It's already October, and although it hasn't snowed yet and the Bohai Sea hasn't frozen over, the temperature is only a few degrees Celsius. Driving a cruise torpedo while submerged in such cold water is quite a challenge.

It's important to know that, in order to facilitate the operation of cruise torpedoes and to facilitate escape, the modified torpedo cockpit is not sealed but has access from the sea.

Therefore, driving a patrol torpedo is equivalent to being submerged in the sea. In the first few months, the seawater temperature was still around 10 or 20 degrees Celsius, and it was fine to be submerged for half a day.

But now the temperature is only three or four degrees Celsius, soaking for too long could kill someone.

So Wang Gensheng had no choice but to have the frogman special forces drivers take turns driving, changing drivers every half hour.

The driver who was replaced immediately drank ginger soup and changed into dry clothes that had been prepared in advance.

So, in less than a night, Wang Gensheng arrived at Tashan with two thousand men, four thousand warhorses, and twenty cruise torpedoes.

When Wang Gensheng arrived, people had already begun digging defensive positions at Tashan.

Furthermore, Wang Gensheng witnessed the Fourth Field Army commander personally inspecting the terrain of Tashan. Although Wang Gensheng had not been under the command of the Fourth Field Army commander since the War of Resistance Against Japan, and was now directly under the command of the General Headquarters, he was only a commander of the Hai Army with a single warship.

However, upon seeing the commander of the Fourth Field Army, Wang Gensheng obediently ran up to him, saluted, and said:
"Naval Commander, Wang Gensheng has been ordered by the General Headquarters to assist in the defense of Tashan and is responsible for eliminating any threat posed by naval warships to Tashan!"

(End of this chapter)