Imperial Overlord

While the British air battle was in full swing, the German navy was doing everything in its power to disrupt the British sea line of communication.

Don't think that the German navy really made a tortoise. In fact, within a few months, the German warships including the Admiral Earl Spee used the sinking to mark the tragic interpretation of the German naval battle.

The loss is heart-wrenching, but the victory is naturally huge. As the main fleet of the German Navy was refitted and injured and other reasons, it completely withdrew from the sea battle, and only the submarines of the Third Reich still insisted on fighting in the Atlantic Ocean.

Priyan's U-47 submarine is one of these submarines. The powerful combat effectiveness that these submarines now show has made Churchill, who was the Minister of the Navy, feel the pressure.

Many film and television works have reproduced the submarine warfare of World War II, but the real submarine warfare of World War II, especially the submarine warfare 42 years ago, is actually not the same as everyone imagined.

During this period, German submarines mostly used the method of floating sleep to launch attacks to attack the British transport fleet.

It's not a dive to periscope level and then a sudden torpedo attack that sinks an enemy transport.

Instead, German submarines would swagger up at night and fire torpedoes in the middle of the entire convoy, turning the world upside down.

This also shows from another side how weak the British anti-submarine force was at that time, and how beautiful the combat environment of the German submarine force was.

"Report! Captain! We've got a telegram from an old code...the content...well, you'll have to see it for yourself." shouted at Prien, who was standing above his head.

Hearing his cry, Prien frowned, greedily inhaled the last puff of cigarettes into his lungs, and climbed down the ladder into the interior of the submarine.

"This is a message sent with the old password, because the Navy's order to change the password was issued after we went to sea, so this message should be specially sent to a few of our submarines." The telegraph officer handed a message to Priyan just climbed down the ladder.

The ace captain who sank the battleship Royal Oak took the telegram, opened it and read it carefully.

The content in the telegram was also encrypted, and what it said shocked Prien even more.

"What did it say?" Following Prien, the first officer also climbed into the interior of the submarine. The air here made him a little nauseous, but after a few breaths, he got used to the unpleasant smell.

There is a reason why French perfume is popular in the German submarine force. After all, dozens of big men are crowded together, how can the taste be sour and refreshing.

"It said that a convoy of transports code-named J-18 will pass here in a few hours, please let us intercept the attack." Prien said, handing the telegram in his hand to the chief mate.

Knowing in advance the route that a British transport fleet must pass is a rare situation for the German submarine force.

Submarines can save themselves better than warships on the ocean, and can covertly meet the enemy, just like a natural assassin.

But it also has its own shortcomings, because it has no reconnaissance capabilities and no advanced intelligence equipment such as satellites. It is also short-sighted and cannot find targets that can be attacked in time.

Short legs and short-sightedness restrict the efficient performance of German submarines. This is also the reason why Dönitz invented the wolf pack tactic, which he intends to use to make up for the shortcomings of submarines in intelligence reconnaissance.

Now, the enemy's intelligence has been sent to the submarine commander in advance. What does this mean for submarine tactics?

It seemed to Priyan that a window had been opened to him. The glory of the German submarine force is coming!

At this time, Prien's adjutant also read the telegram, and his face was also full of disbelief.

"British intelligence leaked?" The first question of the first officer was the idea of ​​this matter.

After all, the route of an organized transport fleet is a fairly high level of secrecy. And once the itinerary of this route is determined, the fleet will be radio silent most of the time to avoid information leakage.

But now, the "voyage schedule" of such a British transport fleet is in Prien's hands.

"Let the soldiers on duty go out to get some air, and the officers who come back to check the status of the torpedoes! Get ready to attack!" Prien squeezed the telegram in his hand and gave an order to prepare.

He is not afraid of making mistakes, because the anti-submarine capability of the British Navy is not strong now, and the quality of the soldiers on the anti-submarine ships is not high.

Once something happens, he can get rid of the enemy's pursuit as long as he dives calmly and makes a few circles.

"J-18 transport fleet? It seems that we are about to catch a big fish this time." Prien looked at his busy subordinates and said to himself.

When there was only one cruiser Prinz Eugen left in the German Navy, Prien felt that his submarine was his country's hope of defeating its opponents at sea.

The submarine U-47 got ready to attack in one order after another. And just when they were ready and kept alert to the surrounding sea, the British J-18 transport fleet just appeared in the distance on the sea level.

"Dive! To the height of the periscope! We'll ambush here and wait for them to approach!" Prien gave the order to dive with confidence.

Following his order, the lights inside the submarine suddenly dimmed, and the diesel engine used the last chance to replenish the power of the battery in the submarine. At this time, electricity saving has already begun.

In order to allow the submarine to drive faster underwater and to dive long enough, all the electricity in the submarine is compressed to the limit.

Except for the necessary parts such as the propeller and the rudder at the tail of the submarine, most of the equipment is in a dormant state.

It was so dark that he could only see the outline of his palm and the equipment, and everything in the cabin could only be judged by his own memory and experience.

The light where Prien was located was a little brighter, but not too bright. He felt that his submarine was diving, and the unique vibration proved that everything was going well.

Seawater began to pour into the water storage tanks on both sides of the submarine. Under the action of gravity, the U-47 submarine began to dive little by little, and white waves appeared around it.

As the sea water advanced more and more, the U-47 submarine had only one conning tower enclosure left exposed on the water.

The U-47 submarine is an advanced ocean-going U-boat. This submarine has a full-load displacement of 857 tons and can conduct ocean patrols of more than 7,000 nautical miles.

The front of the submarine has four torpedo tubes, which can launch standard 533 mm caliber torpedoes. In the rear of the submarine, there is a torpedo tube, in addition to which is also equipped with 88 mm anti-aircraft guns and small-caliber anti-aircraft guns.

Just looking at the appearance, the U-47 is the most typical German U-boat, with a beautiful appearance and powerful force.

When the U-shaped submarine sailed, the torpedo cabin was also full of food and other supplies.

But the U-47 had been adrift at sea for a long time, so now it was empty, save for the stout, icy torpedoes lying on the spare torpedo racks where they were stored.

Because it has been prepared for a long time, the four torpedo tubes in the bow have been equipped with torpedoes to attack large ships.

Unlike modern torpedoes, torpedo parameters were manually set during World War II, and after adjustment, they were inserted into the torpedo launcher.

And the submarine is also equipped with a simple launch computing device, similar to a modern ballistic computer. It can calculate the set angle before the torpedo is launched according to some parameters.

Each of the German submarine officers and soldiers has undergone strict military training. They receive subsidies that are twice as high as ordinary soldiers. Naturally, they must have corresponding skills. ~www.readwn.com~ The submarine captain can measure according to simple , as well as the pre-recorded silhouettes of warships, it is easy to calculate the forward speed and heading of enemy ships.

It is precisely because of such a powerful "human computer" that the torpedoes of German submarines can accurately destroy distant merchant ships.

With the passage of time, U-47's enclosure has entered the icy water. It is like a shark, waiting there quietly, waiting for its prey to approach.

The rest is to test the Commander's patience. Because there was still some time before the encounter with the other party's fleet, Prien went to the lounge prepared for him alone, closed his eyes and rested.

Every space on the submarine is very precious. When we first went to sea, the small bed was full of food, and now there is only a crumpled deck of playing cards left in the corner.

The captain's room is not large, and it is even a little depressing in comparison. But in such a small space as a submarine, it is already a manifestation of extreme privilege to have a private space where the curtains can be drawn.

You must know that most submarine officers and soldiers can only sleep in the front and rear torpedo compartments, holding their torpedoes and dreaming about their spring...

As time passed, Prien leaned on his bed, closed his eyes and felt the sultry heat around him.

His small single room is a certain distance from the engine compartment, and the temperature is relatively pleasant - of course, it is only relatively speaking.

"Sir! They're approaching!" Pulling the curtain outside, the first officer's soft reminder made Prien open his eyes at once.

"Prepare to fight! The attack begins!" He opened the curtain, walked through the narrow corridor, and stood in his commanding position.