Six Hundred and Nineteenth Magnet

To be honest, Prien felt that either his own life was really good, or the luck of the Japanese was really bad. His submarine carried a total of 16 torpedoes, and he had fought for a full 3 days in a row. 8 torpedoes sank 7 Japanese transport ships.

He even suspected that he had entered the full set of the Japanese, because for several days, no Japanese destroyer came to chase him down. This is simply unimaginable in the icy North Atlantic waters. Prien felt that the Japanese didn't seem to have expected his arrival at all, but facing danger many times developed his cautious style.

"Full left rudder, change course!" He gave the order while looking at the precious chart in his hand. The above is the water depth marking map of the sea area near the occupied area of ​​Australia, as well as the main shipping routes and the mine area arranged by Australia itself. Because of distrust of the German Navy, the Australians only provided detailed maps of a part of the sea area, while the maps of the east coast are still only rough route maps.

However, this "half" map of the waters surrounding Australia has already added nearly 30,000 tons to Prien's record of sunk transport ships. And he didn't even see the shadow of the escorting Japanese destroyer. Compared with the icy North Atlantic, this place is simply paradise.

"It seems that our luck is good." Prien leaned against the chair of the sonar soldier, and said to his first officer with a smile: "I think, at least here, it will take half a year for the Japanese to organize an anti-submarine warning network." Months to go ... we have 10 or so good days to enjoy."

"Isn't it? It's been a long time since I had such a pleasant hunting action." The first officer also said very relaxed. When performing missions in the Atlantic Ocean, he and Prien had to maintain a state of tension at all times, because they were often chased by anti-submarine destroyers of the other side, and even some merchant ships were equipped with weapons, which made them walk on thin ice and could only be cautious battle.

Although the battle near the Arctic Ocean had a short period of time, the Soviet Union's anti-submarine capabilities should not be underestimated. After all, the Soviet Union could organize an anti-submarine barrier in the westernmost part of the country, greatly shortening the anti-submarine defense line. So the good times passed quickly, and hunting in the Arctic Ocean became difficult.

Sometimes Prien feels like a plague. Wherever he goes, he will make the other party feel uncomfortable. He destroys the human body's blood transfusion system like a virus, cuts off the opponent's transportation line, and destroys the "blood" that carries nutrients. Enemies bleed to death. Therefore, his opponents also used the fastest time to find the area where he was active, and then used the craziest means to drive him away to ensure the absolute safety of their sea transportation routes.

After the same lesson happened to others, it will obviously not make a deep impression. After Britain was attacked by German submarines and suffered heavy losses, the Soviets still did not learn to be careful to guard against German submarines; wait until the German submarines let the Soviets remember submarines After the terrible battle, the German submarine commander was happy to find that the Japanese still did not take the German submarine seriously.

There is a profession that prays every day that no one can see him,

This way he can do his job better - this kind of people are called assassins; there are also some people who also pray every day that no one can find them, so that they can get more medals and sink more enemy ships ——These people are submarine officers and soldiers.

If possible, Doenitz really wanted to pat Churchill on the shoulder a few months ago and say: "You can just pretend that my soldiers don't exist, okay?" But these seemingly inconspicuous submarines are in the Atlantic Ocean. Created a record comparable to any fleet.

From the end of 1937 to May 1938, in almost half a year, German submarines sank more than 1.8 million tons of American ships that the United Kingdom had pretended to be British ships, an average of more than 300,000 tons per month. You must know that the total tonnage of German submarines is only 600,000 tons, and they have already destroyed enemies with three times their total tonnage, and their own losses are not large.

In fact, this exaggerated record was not created by the submarine officers and soldiers alone. It also included intelligence personnel in the United States, who provided Doenitz with reliable ship departure information; it also included the butcher reconnaissance aircraft unit stationed in France. , These long-range aircraft flew for more than ten hours to help German submarines confirm the exact location of the opponent's fleet. When the German submarine officers and soldiers finally launched an attack, they were actually sure of winning. This tactic was finally completed with the help of Akado, and it became the standard attack procedure for the Doenitz underwater wolf pack.

But in the Far East, in the vast Pacific Ocean, the German submarines did not have the intelligence provided by the dense, cobweb-like spy network in the opponent's port, nor did they have the specific location of the opponent's fleet provided by the large reconnaissance aircraft that followed them everywhere. Find a way to find the target you are going to attack.

Although there are various difficulties, even though the damage to the submarine may not be able to be repaired far away, the Germans still started their own operations according to the order. They are loyal and rigid to cute, and their rigorous personality makes them have Submarines with an extremely low failure rate also give them an innate military temperament.

Of course, the good news is that there are too many Japanese ships here, so many that people can find the targets they want to attack without having to bother to find them. The Japanese army does not attach importance to submarine operations. If the arms of the ship's cannon can't twist its thighs in front of Faith, then the submarine commanders won't even have a chance to speak. The Japanese did not believe that submarines could wreak havoc on shipping lines, just as they never believed that aircraft carriers could sink battleships.

There are too many Japanese transport ships, including passenger ships full of soldiers and merchant ships, as well as freighters carrying ore, rubber and even slaves. There are even large fishing boats and unsuspecting warships. Such a good combat environment even made the captains of German submarines, who were accustomed to firing at the opportunity, start the bad habit of picky eaters. Prien has let go of two small boats of about 2,000 tons in a row in order to save torpedoes for attacking more valuable targets.

Just yesterday, the captain of a submarine who missed the hunting operation in the Arctic Ocean fired all the torpedoes and was forced to return. This unlucky guy developed a habit in the British escort operations in the North Atlantic, that is, he habitually launched a torpedo when he saw ships without escorts. As a result, after he ran out of ammunition, he found that there was still a steady flow of Japanese ships. Only then did he realize that he had made a serious mistake.

He could only return to the voyage angrily, take his submarine back to the east coast of Australia, replenish 10 new torpedoes there, and then come out to continue his mission-because the torpedo supply ship is still far away in the South Atlantic Ocean, Dönitz He didn't expect the Australian torpedo to be used so quickly. If Akado hadn't reminded him, he wouldn't even remember that the Australian submarine needed ammunition supplies.

Therefore, before the arrival of the new torpedoes, the German submarine force in Australia only had 80 extra torpedoes, 32 of which were "supplies" left by a returning submarine and a malfunctioning submarine, and 48 torpedoes were still destroyers There are also those brought by the supply ship. Because of the need to bring other supplies, the amount of ammunition is really limited.

"Sir! We found a battleship! The silhouette is bigger than a battleship!" The Master Chief, who took Prien's place in the sea search mission, yelled loudly. This was definitely a big fish for them. So he was a little excited. After all, if they sank another battleship, their legend would be even more perfect.

"Bigger than a battleship?" Prien quickly leaned towards the periscope, put his hands on the handle and gently rotated it, and soon saw the huge battleship in the distance! This is a battleship! Prien immediately had a general understanding of the target in his mind. He was now proficient enough to see the approximate tonnage of the opponent at a glance, so he was not confused by the exaggerated superstructure of the Japanese battleship.

A notable feature of Japanese battleships is the tall and cumbersome superstructure. Military enthusiasts describe the bridge design of this kind of battleship as an "illegal building". Taller, it's no wonder Prien's Master Chief would use the adjective bigger than a battleship.

"The silhouette... is a bit like... the Fuso-class!" The Master Chief muttered while flipping through the less detailed silhouette comparison chart of enemy warships. Unlike the detailed comparison chart of British warships, the silhouettes of Japanese warships are much simpler and rougher. Obviously, Germany is not fully prepared for the battle against Japan.

"It's the Fuso class, that's right! That superstructure is really ugly! My God, don't these Japanese have any idea of ​​beauty?" Prien pointed his periscope at the Japanese battleships driving in the distance. , said while frowning. Obviously, he was disgusted by this ugly Japanese warship. Compared with the fairly regular silhouette of the British warship, the Japanese warship was no longer ugly enough to describe it.

"I want to talk more about you, my captain, Colonel Prien." The adjutant asked a little dumbfounded: "First the Barham and the Sovereign, then the Battleship Howe, then the Ukraine, and now Come on... are you a magnet? A battleship magnet that can attract the opposing battleship?"

Prien was slightly taken aback, and then touched the tip of his nose in embarrassment: "Maybe it's my luck?"

"Good luck, Mr. Magnet." The adjutant laughed and teased, and then shouted: "Adjust the torpedo! Everyone, prepare for battle!"