Standing on the control tower of the Kent-class heavy cruiser HMS Suffolk, Joseph encountered the first emergency situation in a year of patrolling.
He is a commodore of the British Royal Navy, leading a small formation consisting mainly of a heavy cruiser. His usual task is to go around the colonies and show off the naval power of the British Empire.
But this time, he had just finished a colonial tour and encountered a slightly different situation.
A major staff officer under Joseph came to him in a panic not long ago and handed him an urgent report, claiming that an unidentified warship had appeared ahead. For the small formation under Joseph, this was not the case.
Just kidding.
Is this a French warship? Or a German one? Or perhaps it is a second-rate navy from Denmark, the Netherlands and other countries.
However, no matter what, the formation in Joseph's hands cannot give people sufficient confidence. After all, they only have one heavy cruiser and three destroyers. Such a formation is fine for patrols to declare force, but it can be used for big fights.
It's a bit forced.
"According to the statistical information from the League of Nations, our formation will be the only one passing through this sea area today, and other countries do not have patrol routes that overlap with ours." The staff major reported anxiously.
"Why panic? The lack of statistics does not necessarily mean that the other party will threaten us. I don't think any country now has the courage to go to war without declaring war against the Royal Navy." Although the matter was urgent, he graduated from the Portsmouth Naval School with honors.
Joseph, who graduated, did not appear panicked.
Calmness is a basic quality that every commander of the Royal Navy should possess. Even if the sky is going to fall in the next second, the commanders of the Royal Navy should not panic.
This is the foundation for the British Empire to dominate the oceans and the tradition of the Royal Navy!
Looking at this staff officer who lost his composure during the unexpected incident, Joseph frowned and secretly decided to turn around and kick this waste out of his formation and transfer him to land to watch the harbor. The British Empire's fleet did not need cowards.
"Pass my order, each ship will follow the flagship and move towards each other at a constant speed. I want to see what the beginning of this unidentified warship is?" Joseph, as the formation commander and captain of the Kent-class heavy cruiser, quickly
Orders were given.
"Right rudder for 150 seconds and move forward at a constant speed."
"The ships dispersed and kept a distance of four thousand meters from the flagship."
Immediately, under coordination, this fleet, with a heavy cruiser as its flagship, changed direction and moved closer to the unknown warship in the distance.
Joseph made this decision not because of courage and curiosity, but because of his positioning of his own responsibilities!
In Joseph's eyes, the formation he leads is by no means just a vase used to show off its power. It has sufficient strength and mission!
Under the restrictions of the Washington Naval Treaty, the Kent-class heavy cruiser was equipped with four twin-mounted 203mm main gun turrets and four 102mm main gun turrets by sacrificing protective armor (the waterline protective armor belt was only 25mm).
In addition, the Kent-class heavy cruiser is also equipped with 8 Royal Admiralty-type boilers and 4 steam turbines, with a total power of 80,000 horsepower and a speed of up to 31 knots.
The warship under his feet had such firepower and speed, and the only thing Joseph could worry about was the defense of the Kent class.
Coincidentally, at the beginning of 1938, all Kent-class cruisers were equipped with an armored belt 1.8 meters wide and 110 mm thick, and the ship commanded by Joseph was no exception.
Therefore, today's Kent-class heavy cruisers in this small formation are no longer the "lame" that had firepower but no defense, but a "super heavy cruiser" that is slightly closer to the battleship level in a sense.
On the other hand, if Joseph pretended not to see it today and allowed the unknown warship in the distance to leave, then the Royal Navy would have lost a potentially vital piece of information, and for himself, a naval quasi-marine,
In the future, it will also be a failure of responsibility.
Even if you get closer, you might fall into a trap. The British Empire does not lack such a small formation. If you sacrifice yourself, you can discover some kind of potential threat and find out a country's influence on the British Empire.
If you have a bad plan, then this sacrifice will be a sure-profit deal.
What's more, the other party may not appear here just to ambush you. It's also possible that you just ran into a secret sea trial of a certain country.
"General, the other side only has one warship!" As the distance got closer, the major staff officer who gradually saw the true identity of the unidentified warship Lushan came to report to Joseph again. This time, he lost all the urgency he had before.
Obviously, the major already understood that his side would not be at a disadvantage. He was even a little ashamed of himself and felt humiliated by his previous panic. For a moment, he actually forgot about the person standing behind him, but
The British Empire is the most powerful empire in the world on which the sun never sets!
Unlike the French who pride themselves on being the number one army in Europe, the British Empire's vision is not limited to Europe. The British Empire's confidence in intervening in the world relies on the world's number one Royal Navy!
As a member of the Royal Navy, the Major found that he actually had nothing to worry about. Is there any other country that has the ability to challenge the British Navy?
He was just distracted by today's unusual turn of events. He could guarantee that he would never behave like this again next time.
With a smile on his lips, Joseph closed his eyes and nodded, saying calmly: "I understand."
Joseph had actually noticed the changes in the major's staff. However, at this moment, Joseph had no intention of paying attention to him.
Originally, the impression of this staff officer in Joseph's mind was not bad. During the monotonous maritime patrol time of the previous year, the staff major had many daily exchanges with Joseph to pass the time. In the chat, the staff officer had many
The seemingly unique insights left a good impression on Joseph.
But I didn't expect that when encountering such an unexpected situation, the usually bombastic major would appear so...
Perhaps, the navy of the British Empire has not experienced the flames of war for too long. Too many officers who graduated from military academies, although their official positions are getting bigger and bigger, their knowledge is still in books. And those who experienced the artillery and fire of the last war
The bloody generals are getting older...
Joseph suddenly felt that as a destroyer captain in the last world war and experienced the magnificent Battle of Jutland, he had an extremely heavy responsibility!
"General! It looks like the opponent is a new type of battleship, a model we have never seen before!" The major reported again, interrupting Joseph's thoughts.
"Battleship?" Joseph slowly opened his eyes, looked at the unidentified warship approaching in the distance, and frowned slightly.
If it is a destroyer or a cruiser, then Joseph can easily conclude that he encountered an ordinary sea trial of a new Norwegian, French, or German ship. But it does not matter, even if it is a cruiser
, and there is nothing worthy of the attention of the British Empire.
However, a new battleship appears here secretly, what does it mean?
This may be because a certain country has begun to think about challenging the British Empire, and has begun to secretly take action.
France? Or Germany? At present, the only two countries that have the strength and possibility to challenge the British sea power. However, France has been very close to the British recently, and internationally, Britain and France have also become allies that advance and retreat together. So,
The only possibility left is that the Germans were secretly building battleships.
Thinking of this, everything made sense. The Germans were secretly developing their navy, but they happened to be encountered by a patrol formation of the British Royal Navy. In this way, it seemed that he had made a contribution, and Joseph secretly felt proud.
"Report! General, we found that the other party seems to be flying the St. Andre flag of the Soviet Navy." The annoying lieutenant colonel came to report again.
Bang! It was like a slap in the face. Joseph's self-righteous judgment was completely wrong, and it didn't even touch the edge.