Chapter 1432: His face was not exposed, but his butt was exposed

However, the development of the matter was quite different from what Li Wanbing had expected.

After the Brave slowed down, the Xingzhou, thinking that the opponent was not going to continue competing in speed, also reduced the output power of its engine.

But there really is no technology that can shorten the time of this process.

Soon, the distance between the two warships began to widen again.

It's just that the position relationship has been swapped.

It was not until nearly ten minutes later that the Xingzhou finally switched back to low-speed cruising mode.

At this time, the two sides were about to lose visual contact.

"It seems that our advantage lies in the fact that gas turbines have higher absolute power and can achieve higher maximum speeds for a longer period of time, but in terms of the flexibility of power output, they cannot be compared with electronic control systems."

Lin Xi has already started his routine summary:

"The good news is that modern ships... except perhaps submarines, no longer need to seize favorable attack positions in advance, so tactical mobility is not as important as it was in the era of artillery and torpedoes. Instead, the ability to travel long distances at high speeds is more valuable..."

Vice Captain Tian Baoyuan suddenly appeared at this time, and brought a thermos cup from somewhere, sitting next to the captain and added:

"But we also need to consider the range corresponding to high speed... I just checked the working parameters of the engine. Although the thermal efficiency of the QC300 is significantly higher than that of the LM2500 and GT25000, the fuel consumption at high speed is still not optimistic... At least on paper, there is still a certain gap compared with the WR-21 next to it."

Li Wanbing also joined the topic:

"Regarding the fuel consumption level of the WR-21, I remember the chief engineer mentioned it to me. He said that he had seen some information from the 606 Institute before. It can be maintained at a level comparable to that of a diesel engine within a speed range of about 60%, that is, except for ultra-high and ultra-low speeds."

“I’ve heard about this, too.”

Tian Baoyuan unscrewed the lid of the cup and blew gently inside:

"However, the QC300 is still relatively conservative in terms of technology. It does not use the complete intercooler heat recovery technology like the WR-21. In addition, due to the difference in transmission methods, it is normal that it suffers a little in terms of thermal efficiency... Fortunately, it is said that the subsequent improved models will use the upgraded model QC300IC, which will solve this problem to a certain extent."

As early as when the 052C was still in the design stage, the 701 Institute had already proposed two ideas for further upgrading: one was a relatively simple upgrade of armaments, and the other was a more drastic change including widening the hull.

Ultimately, thanks to the stable performance of QC300 after being installed on the ship, the latter, which has greater risks but also greater benefits, finally won the favor of the Navy and moved from conceptual plan to specific design ahead of schedule.

The number of 052C ships built therefore remained at two batches, totaling 8 ships.

The subsequent third batch was directly adjusted to a newer and improved model.

However, plans are plans, because the construction of the first 052D ship has just started not long ago, front-line commanders like them can only hear some speculations and rumors about the specific subsystem parameters of the new ship.

The three of them chatted back and forth for a while, but found that although they had reduced their speed to 12 knots, the Brave behind them showed no sign of catching up.

On the contrary, the distance is further widening.

It was not until this time that they finally noticed that the speed parameter in the target status column marked for the Brave on the electronic chart had dropped to an almost undetectable 2.5 knots.

Generally speaking, if a warship is traveling under its own power, it is impossible to reach such an outrageous speed.

The speed will only drop below 5 knots when entering or leaving ports, inland waterways, or being towed by a barge.

"Navigation Department, visually confirm the situation of the Courageous!"

Lin Xi was the first to react.

For low-speed targets below 10 knots, sea-surface radars sometimes give data with large errors due to data accumulation problems.

Although the probability of this happening is very low, and the new equipment on the Xingzhou has never encountered a similar situation, it still needs to be considered carefully.

However, before the navigation department responded, the voice of sonar squad leader Jiang Desong was heard in the ship's communication system:

"Report, we found..."

His tone was hesitant, as if he was extremely uncertain about his own judgment.

But he continued:

"The sound signatures of the Courageous' propellers turning and the engine room working...all disappeared."

This sentence caused the three people around the electronic chart to look at each other in confusion:

"All disappeared?"

Even though the Type 45 has eliminated the complex gearbox, and even though the WR-21 gas turbine can maintain extremely weak vibration and noise at medium and low loads.

But it is impossible to completely eliminate the sound produced by the friction between the propeller and the sea water.

unless……

It really doesn't turn.

"The British stopped their ships?"

Tian Baoyuan was stunned.

The ocean here is more than 500 meters deep, and there is obviously no condition for anchoring. However, stopping a ship in the high ocean is actually more troublesome than sailing at high speed.

The ship needs to rely on its own power to fight against the waves and currents to prevent it from drifting away.

Not to mention that the Courageous had no corresponding thrust device at all, the situation reported by the sonar team alone did not meet the characteristics of a real ship stop.

"or……"

Lin Xi made a bolder guess:

“They lost motivation?”

……

At the same time, the bridge of the Courageous was in chaos.

About half an hour ago, the engine department suddenly reported that the working parameters of the two WR21s were found to be abnormal at the same time, the temperature of the high-pressure compressor part increased, and the turbine began to accelerate without any warning.

Usually, this is a sign of a fire caused by a leak of hot gas from the combustion chamber.

But the possibility of two engines catching fire at the same time was so low that Captain Baram had to suspect that there was a sensor failure.

It was this split second of hesitation that made him miss the chance to give the final order.

Less than 10 seconds later, the entire ship suddenly lost power. Not only were the displays on the entire bridge dark, but even the power system lost energy supply.

The destroyer suddenly slowed down at a rate that was perceptible to the human body, and was soon overtaken by the Xingzhou, which had not yet realized that something was wrong.

Baram subconsciously picked up the communicator and wanted to order the gas turbine to be restarted.

But the impact of the power outage was far greater than expected, and even the ship's communication system failed.

This means that not only the gas turbine, but also the diesel engine serving as emergency auxiliary power has stopped working.

Just like an aircraft engine, it is impossible to restart a gas turbine without an APU or external energy supply.

"Fxxk..."

The captain slammed the communicator aside in annoyance.

He had been in the Navy for nearly thirty years and had never encountered such a complete ship-wide shutdown.

Logically speaking, even if the gas turbine and power control system fail completely, the diesel auxiliary engine should have an independent power supply system to maintain the basic operation of the entire ship's equipment.

But BAE Systems was apparently overconfident when designing the Type 45 and integrated the diesel engine into the integrated power system.

And no separate power supply backup is reserved.

Balam had no choice but to turn around and give orders to the signalman, and ran to the engine room to inquire about the situation.

But he changed his mind and decided to go there in person.

The efficiency of delivering messages back and forth by running errands is too low, and the displacement of 7500 tons may not be small among warships, but it is still no different from a small boat in the face of the ocean.

It is quite dangerous to drift on the sea for a long time without power.

A few minutes later, Baram and Essen arrived at the engine control room one after another.

Then, they heard the chief engineer report a piece of news that made them devastated:

"Both gas turbines and two diesel engines have stopped working. The cause of the failure is still unclear... We have tried to restart the equipment several times, but we were unsuccessful because the integrated power system lost its function."

Balam was completely numb:

"What about the battery pack?"

In the darkness, the chief engineer's voice trembled:

"It was also locked because of a power failure, and it was unable to supply power to the diesel engine..."

Apparently, the Courageous is currently stuck in a vicious circle.

To restart a gas turbine or diesel engine, the integrated power system must first be started for control.

In order to restart the integrated power system, it is necessary to first start the gas turbine or diesel engine to supply energy.

The captain felt that his blood pressure was off the charts and he might faint at any moment.

But he still forced himself to ask:

"Is there any remedy?"

The chief engineer was silent for a moment, then replied:

"As long as we input energy from the outside and start the integrated power system, at least the diesel engine can maintain normal operation."