"Sir, we've arrived in Area 27-90!"

"Change one-third of the speed forward!"

"Understood, change one-third of the speed forward!"

In the command cabin of submarine U-47, 1498th Submarine Detachment of the German Atlantic Fleet, the captain of the boat, Captain Heinrich Skick, and his first mate, Sergeant Merher, sang and harmonized. The former www.biquge.info stocky, dark-skinned, neat little goatee, and a very masculine type; The latter has a Chinese face, thick eyebrows and big eyes, broad shoulders and strong shoulders, giving people a shrewd and capable feeling.

When the submarine was running smoothly, Captain Skek said to the sonar soldier who was sitting quietly in the corner: "Hey, Hans, is there any movement on the sea?" ”

The sonar soldier shook his head: "There is no anomaly for the time being. ”

The captain then instructed the non-commissioned officer in charge of the tank operation: "Drain the water slowly and rise to periscope depth." ”

U-1498 belongs to the U-1401 type combat submarine, is the third generation of submarines built and put into service after the last war, the weapon system retains the torpedo tube front 4 rear 2 and the traditional configuration of the front deck gun, torpedo, sonar, diesel-electric technology and seaworthiness have been significantly improved and enhanced, and the combat effectiveness is not the same as the early two-digit numbered U boat.

After a while, the non-commissioned officer operating the water tank began to report the reading on the depth gauge of the submarine: "30 meters...... 25 m ...... 20m ......"

At this moment, the sonar on the boat interjected: "Sir, there is the sound of high-speed propellers in the north!" ”

Everyone was silent, except for Skike, who asked softly, "How many?" ”

The sonar soldier did not answer immediately, but carefully discerned with the help of equipment: "There should be three or four...... There are no large ships...... Slowly decreasing distance......"

"Turn off the engine!" The captain decisively ordered.

The first mate immediately complied, and the slightly noisy cabin instantly fell silent.

Immediately afterward, Captain Skick set his sights on the non-commissioned officer operating the water tank, and after receiving his affirmative signal, he ordered the periscope to be raised.

The periscope observation depth of a medium-sized U-boat is usually within 15 meters, and if it were during the day, it was possible for an aircraft flying nearby to spot a submarine at this depth, but it was night, and the submarine commander had no such concerns.

After the periscope viewing window was lowered, Captain Skek quickly turned around with both hands on the handle, observed the surrounding sea in all directions, and then muttered, "The sea is so dark that I can't even see the shadow of the ship." ”

The sonar soldier hurriedly reported the detection reading: "20 to 22 degrees east-north, 600 to 700 meters away." ”

The captain adjusted the observation position of the periscope and watched for a long time, and after about five or six minutes, he finally saw the trace of the enemy warship.

"It's a group of destroyers of the enemy! Maybe...... Those big fish aren't far from here! ”

"The enemy ship is 400 meters away!" The sonar soldier reminded coldly.

Skike still kept his eyes on the periscope: "Keep your composure, I don't think they have noticed us yet...... There seem to be navigation lights on the sea in the distance, did the sonar find anything? ”

The sonar soldier listened for a moment: "I haven't found them yet, maybe they're out of my detection range." ”

Suddenly, Skike's body trembled slightly: "Damn, a destroyer turned towards us, put away the periscope!" ”

The sonar soldier then reported a series of nerve-wracking numbers: "300 meters away...... 250 m ...... 200 m ...... 150m ......"

Skeeck stood motionless, the dim lamp reflecting his taut face.

"100 meters...... 75 meters...... 60 m ...... 75 meters...... 100 m ...... 150 m ...... It passed us on the starboard side! The sonar soldier deliberately suppressed the excitement in his voice, and at this moment, the crew in the cabin breathed a sigh of relief.

"Wait...... Another enemy ship is approaching, 200 meters...... 150 m ...... 100 m ...... 50 m ...... Damn it! Depth charges! ”

I saw that the sonar soldier suddenly took off the headphones, and almost at the moment when he made a move, an extremely violent explosion was heard from outside the cabin, and the entire submarine shook violently.

At this time, Captain Skick suddenly realized: "Damn, they have already discovered us, what a cunning!" Urgent dive! Everybody go to the bow! Start your engines and go a third of your life! ”

The non-commissioned officer in charge of the submarine landing was busy with the operation, except for the personnel on duty at key posts, the rest of the crew were concentrated in the bow torpedo compartment according to the captain's instructions, which was a small trick to order the submarine to speed up the dive in an emergency.

The first explosion had been extinguished for less than twenty seconds, and the second explosion followed, and the hull shook so violently that people could not keep their balance without grasping the fixtures, and the violent impact caused the boat to have multiple wall lamps and several gate valves on the boat, which could be restored to normal through emergency repairs, but the crew's endurance was pushed to a limit.

"20 meters! 25 meters! 30 meters! 35 meters! The non-commissioned officer eagerly read the numbers of the depth gauge, and the greater the depth of the submarine, the greater the chance of avoiding enemy ship attacks.

In the midst of the crisis, the captain is the person who should keep a cool head, and Captain Skek gritted his teeth and said: "Left full rudder!" ”

"Left full rudder!" The first mate hurriedly made corresponding operations on the rudder.

"Full speed ahead!" Captain Skick ordered.

"Full speed ahead!" The first mate did just that.

Only a minute and a half later, Captain Skek ordered, "Turn off the engine!" ”

By this time, the depth of the submarine had increased to 50 meters, and the sound of the explosion coming from outside the cabin still seemed to be close at hand, but the shaking and trembling of the hull had significantly weakened.

When the engine was turned off again, the mechanical and man-made noise on the boat quickly decreased, and when no one spoke, only the slight gurgling sound of the sea pressing on the hull and the thump of the sounder like water droplets could be heard.

After a while, the non-commissioned officer in charge of the submarine landing whispered: "80 meters!" ”

"Keep diving!" Skic ordered without thinking.

The submarine continued to dive, and the explosion from the outside faded away. It's like a summer storm that suddenly becomes silent, and when you open the window, the clouds have already left, and the fresh rays of sunlight are shining onto the earth, making it feel like a dream.

Then the non-commissioned officer whispered: "100 meters!" ”

Skek ordered: "Stop diving!" ”

By inertia, the well-built German submarine was still moving slowly in the deep waters, and the depth charges dropped by enemy destroyers were still stirring the sea, but there was no doubt that their anti-submarine systems were not omnipotent, especially when it came to targets in deep water.

The sonar crew on U-1498 put back on his headphones, and after a while, he whispered: "There are two enemy ships operating in the vicinity, one moving east and one south. ”

Although the enemy destroyer was leaving, the alarm was not lifted, and it was a full hour before Skike carefully directed the submarine to surface. To become a competent submarine commander, how many ships you sink is not the only indicator, being able to survive one thrilling battle after another is really king.

At about 1 a.m., when U-1498's periscope came out of the sea again, Skike still saw the dark and empty sea, but not long after, he observed an extremely faint green light in the distance, and based on the various enemy reports received during the day, he immediately became acutely aware that it was most likely the navigation light of an enemy ship!

Captain Skick could command his submarine to slow down or stealthily dive, but the sonar once again detected the sound of high-speed propellers within hundreds of meters, and since the enemy destroyer was as alert as a sheepdog, he decided to wait and see if there would be any luck in the day.

Waiting silently is an ordeal for the impatient, and although it was the first time for Skick and his crew to go to war, the close to actual combat drills had allowed them to develop a certain amount of endurance, and when they were still in the submarine school, they were familiar with the stories of the German submarine aces in the last war, and even had the privilege of being taught by them, and almost every submarine ace attributed their success to the calmness and patience of hunters.

In this way, U-1498 lurked quietly in the sea at a periscope depth of about 150 kilometers from Texel Island, and at 2:20 a.m., the sonar on board finally detected an unusual sound...... Low-speed propeller rotation of a large ship in cruising state!

After a quarter of an hour of waiting, Captain Skek saw mountains of black shadows in the periscope field of vision, with their majestic hulls and towering bridges, and in terms of their size, they were most likely giants with a displacement of more than 40,000 tons. These superships are terrifyingly powerful, and they are so powerful that they can defy almost any conventional weapon when they are designed to defend against a formidable enemy.

In the near-inky night vision environment, even if you can only faintly see the outline of the enemy ship, the distance is so close that you don't need to aim too much. Captain Skick held back the excitement and excitement in his heart, and calmly ordered the crew to prepare for torpedo firing. After precise calculations and adjustments by the commander of the weapons, all four torpedo tubes in the bow were in place.

"Torpedo No. 1 launched! Torpedo No. 2 launched! Torpedo No. 3 launched! Torpedo No. 4 launched! Put away the periscope, move forward a third of the speed, fill the tank, and the non-combatants immediately go to the bow of the boat! ”

Skick gave a series of orders with an irrepressible excitement, and everyone on board knew the meaning of these orders very well, and they carried them out immediately without any doubt, and just as the last non-combatant also arrived at the bow cabin, two rumblings were heard on the sea in succession, and the non-commissioned officer in charge of sonar also shouted excitedly: "Torpedo hits target!" ”

The crew high-fived each other, and the greatest thrill of the battle was at this moment, as for whether the target was completely finished, whether they could survive the ferocious revenge of the enemy destroyer, who cared so much at this moment?

(End of chapter)