In the autumn of 1936, Fang Yan successfully dug up the 93 oxygen torpedo, which was regarded as the crystallization of the highest technology by the Japanese Navy, from Yamamoto Isoroku, who came to Germany to seek aero engine technology, and since then, the torpedo power of the German Navy has also made a huge leap. On the eve of the outbreak of the war, in addition to the original 610 mm used on warships and the 450 mm light torpedo for aviation, the German Navy also equipped submarines with a large number of 533 mm medium-caliber torpedoes, which also became the sharp fangs of underwater sea wolves.

Because the field of view of the submarine itself is far inferior to that of surface warships due to the limitation of its own altitude, and its relatively rudimentary optical sighting equipment is far from being able to accurately locate distant targets like the large baseline rangefinder on a warship, the engineers of the German Navy chose to sacrifice its maximum range at the beginning of the development of this medium-caliber submarine-launched oxygen torpedo. The G7e torpedo had a maximum range of only 5.5 km at a speed of 50 knots, about a quarter of the ship-fired 610 mm torpedo, and even so, this range was much higher than the normal attack range of a submarine, which was more than enough for submarine warfare.

When a torpedo reduces the amount of fuel and liquid oxygen it can carry, it means that it can leave more space and weight to fill the explosives. The G7e torpedo was loaded with a staggering 550 kg of Hexanite high explosives, which was a full 60 kg more than the 610 mm ship-launched heavy torpedo! Such terrifying power that even the Bismarck-class battleships, which the German Navy was most proud of, could not resist. As for ordinary merchant ships with thin and brittle structures, it is even more impossible to have the slightest suspense: as long as they are hit by this torpedo, they will definitely die!

Since the charge of this torpedo is twice as much as that of a normal torpedo of the same caliber, when it attacks a merchant ship at a shallower depth, it will naturally explode into a magnificent storming wave. Phoenix, the inexperienced captain of the U-74, suffered a big loss in this regard. Although he had already ordered an urgent dive. But the enraged officers and men of the British destroyer did not give up, and they vowed to blow this daring thief to pieces with depth charges, in order to avenge the bloody revenge of the sinking of their merchant ship just now!

If it was only the U-74 submarine present at this time, then her fate would indeed be worrying. But now there are 4 German submarines around, and seeing that their companions are in a worrying situation, how can they let go of this attacking merchant ship. A chance to save Zhao by encircling Wei to attract the attention of the enemy's escort warships?

Ten minutes later, just as the British destroyer rushed to the area where the incident occurred, ready to use the combination of sonar + depth charges to teach the German submarine how to behave, there was a loud noise in front of the British fleet that shook the sky. The crimson glow of the fire, mixed with the waves of the water, soared into the sky, like lava spewing and a tsunami collapsing. The cargo ship "Conch," with a registered tonnage of 3,700 tons, was disconnected from the middle part and blown in two in an instant, and disappeared with more than 4,000 tons of ore and nearly 20 crew members in a few breaths. The British officers and men on the destroyer seemed to have been struck by lightning, and in their anger and anxiety, they wondered what they should have done to attack the German submarine in front of them. Or should we go to the front of the fleet to calm the crisis there?

"That Schepke, that guy can be trusted." Krezimer, who saw this scene through the periscope, hooked the corners of his mouth and said without hesitation. As the temporary commander of the battle, he knew the location of each submarine, and he could easily identify the attackers based on the location of the explosion of the British merchant ship. Schepke, who commanded the U-100, was the backbone of the submarine force in the early 30s, and it was precisely because he knew his composure and reliability that Krezimmer arranged him to the front of the British fleet to intercept him.

"Captain, don't we have to look for a target to attack?" I could hear the faint sound of explosions coming from the sea. The rough-faced torpedo chief couldn't hold back his thirst, and couldn't help but say to the young captain standing in front of the periscope. Krezimer's bright eyes showed a look of excitement and madness. "Finding targets on the periphery of the fleet requires a very wide range of maneuvers, and how many ships can be sunk in one night?" I'm going to rush straight into the heart of the British fleet and then launch a fierce attack on these merchant ships! ”

"What?" Rao was already aware of Krezimer's extraordinaryness, but when he said this, it still made all the crew feel a tremor from the bottom of their hearts. No one doubted his decision, though. On the contrary, the atmosphere in the fighting compartment gradually climbed to an extremely high level, driven by his infection. With the roar of diesel engines, the U-99, which was moving forward in a surface state, rushed forward at a high speed of 16 knots. Krezimmer is convinced that in the current situation. The British crews had already focused all their energies on the areas under attack, and would never have noticed that another submarine was taking advantage of the cover of night to kill them in the center.

The night breeze blew, and the sea darkened again after a brief moment of brightness, except for the searchlights on the British escort destroyers, which turned brightly in all directions, illuminating the churning waves. The lights were both looking for survivors of sunken merchant ships and for debris and oil stains that might appear on the surface of the German submarines. In retaliation for the attack of the German submarines, 2 destroyers dropped depth charges one after another on the suspicious seas; If there is oil and other debris on the surface, it is the best indication that the target hatch is ruptured and buried on the bottom of the sea. However, to the great chagrin of the British officers and soldiers, there were no foreign objects on the surface of the sea.

What made them even more anxious was the successive emergencies elsewhere in the fleet. Following the left and front of the flotilla, two submarines were attacked on the right, which put the two destroyers in a serious adversity. Abandoning the submarine being tracked at this time and heading to the other side is tantamount to undoing your previous efforts; However, if they did not go, how could the merchant ships on that side resist the attack of the wolf-like German submarines? The British destroyers soon became exhausted, and in the end they failed to do anything except to catch a few lucky ones who did not sink with the ship.

At 1:18 a.m., the U-99 finally sneaked into the center of the fleet. There was a brief silence on the sea, and both German submarines and British destroyers were doing their best to find their targets. At this time, the British fleet had already sunk five merchant ships, and the huge explosions that occurred one after another made every sailor who witnessed the tragedy tremble for fear in their hearts. However, what they did not expect in any way was that the sinking of these five ships was only a prelude to a symphony; Soon, the most glorious chapter will begin with the U-99, which penetrates into their ranks.

"Boom!" The British fleet, which had been silent before, suddenly exploded into a dazzling huge fireworks, and the terrifying power of more than half a ton of high explosives exploded, tearing all the obstacles encountered in front of them into thousands of pieces. In the bright light of the explosion, Krezimer, 600 meters away, clearly saw through the periscope his first victory: the enemy ship had a registered displacement of about 8,000 tons, and it looked like an oil tanker.

After capturing the enemy ship with a camera mounted in the periscope, Krezimmer immediately ordered the submarine to turn and leave the damaged ship alone: even an empty oil tanker with huge reserves of buoyancy would never survive the bombardment of such a super-torpedo! Compared with the excitement of the other crew members, Krezimer, who had penetrated into the center of the enemy team, was a little more steady and calm: while the oil tanker was burning, he had already selected the next target to be illuminated two kilometers away. Krezimmer put away the periscope and ordered the submarine to turn in the direction of the enemy ship; The British destroyers were now so busy on the periphery of the fleet that they would not be able to take care of themselves in a short time, which would be enough for them to launch a new attack.

In general, a submarine attacking a surface target needs to be in a favorable position: if a torpedo is fired from the rear of an enemy ship, it will be much easier for the enemy ship to avoid the torpedo than if the submarine is ambushed from the front. However, this massacre tonight, the German submarine on the hunting side did not have this problem at all. Due to the speed of the submarine-launched oxygen torpedo, and the current sea surface visibility is less than 800 meters, the German submarine was already in a close-to-face situation when it found the target. At this time, Krezimmer was faced with this situation. When he calculated the time and raised the periscope out of the sea again, a hazy shadow of the ship had already appeared in the black sky and sea, only about 600 meters away from him!

"The submarine turns right 2 compass points, and the upper fish **** on the right side of the bow is ready!" Krezimer's voice trembled slightly, and nothing could make the officers and men of the submarines who had been in the closed and dark cabin for a long time excited and invigorated by the prey at the mouth of their mouth. After tonight, they will definitely be able to get enough rich results, which not only means a wealth reward, but also means that they will get that glorious pride and honor!

"Launch!" With the command of the captain holding the stopwatch, the torpedo man suddenly pulled the corresponding lever; The torpedo, weighing more than 1.7 tons, was fired from the bow of the U-99 and swooped down on the merchant ship ahead at a racing speed. Krezimer's gaze did not take his eyes off the periscope, but he turned it in a different direction: he wanted to use the fire from the explosion to continue his search for the next target. (To be continued.) )