Later, the Imperial Navy Command's own analysis concluded that the first ship had less than a 1 in 10,000 chance of intercepting the convoy and capturing the heavy water. Perhaps this is an exaggeration, because there are too many uncertainties in the operation, and the necessary conditions are not in the hands of the First Fleet, nor are they at the disposal of the First Fleet, and the First Fleet lacks the time to plan and prepare. In order for the operation to succeed, in addition to the efforts of the First Fleet, it depends on luck, and luck is more important than the efforts of the First Fleet.

On the afternoon of 23 July, Pan Zekang arrived at the battleship "Nanning," the flagship of the Third Task Force, and then he met Chang Jianxin. The fleet commander only asked a few simple questions, such as why Pan Zekang had to go to the front line and act with the commando. After receiving Pan Zekang's reply, Chang Jianxin arranged a seaplane for him, and in the evening of the same day, Pan Zekang came to the cruiser "Liqiu", and it was the "Liqiu" who was in charge of commanding the assault team at that time.

"Colonel, do you know how to use a rifle?" An ensign officer of the Marine Corps received Pan Zekang.

"I trained for two months, but that was a few years ago."

The second lieutenant officer didn't mean to joke, and he put down the rifle he had picked up. "You haven't touched a gun in years?"

"That's right, to be exact." Pan Zekang didn't joke anymore, he usually dealt with all kinds of instruments and experimental data. Where is the opportunity to use firearms?

"So, do you know how to use a pistol?" The second lieutenant officer drew his rifle.

"Well, there should be no problem." Pan Zekang looked a little eager to try, but in fact, when he was receiving military training, he only learned how to use a rifle, but not how to use a pistol.

"This is the insurance, and when you open the safety, you have to pull the holster first. Press the bullet into the chamber of the gun, then aim at the target, pull the trigger and you're done. The second lieutenant officer skillfully demonstrated it, then closed the safety and handed the pistol to Pan Zekang. Colonel, you try. Let's see if it's going well. ”

Pan Zekang took the pistol, inadvertently pointed the muzzle of the gun at the second lieutenant officer, and then turned on the safe. "Is that so?"

"No, don't!" The second lieutenant officer immediately took two steps to the side, "the muzzle is facing outward, and then try to feel it." ”

Only then did Pan Zekang notice his movements, he raised his pistol, aimed it at the sea outside, and then pulled the trigger. The gunfire was not very loud, but the huge recoil made Pan Zekang feel very uncomfortable. When the second shot was fired, the muzzle was far away. At the same time, it also made Pan Zekang feel numb in his wrists. The second lieutenant officer gave him a Marine combat rifle instead of a general decorative officer's rifle. The power is much greater, and the recoil is naturally much greater.

"How's it going, okay?" Pan Zekang felt a little proud that he knew how to use a rifle.

"It's okay." The second lieutenant probably did not want to strike at this colonel's officer. "We have to be ready to go at any time in the second half of the night, you should hurry up and take a rest, and after dinner, I will introduce the rest of the team to you."

Pan Zekang nodded, but the second lieutenant officer ignored him and quickly left the aft deck. The colonel's officer poured the pistol for a while. Only when it was completely dark did I go to the officers' quarters. Just came to the "Liqiu", Pan Zekang was a little inexplicably excited. Before that. He rarely went to battleships, and even more rarely used firearms. More importantly, this was Pan Zekang's first participation in combat operations, which was completely inconsistent with his status as a high-ranking technical officer. However, his excitement soon died down.

"I heard that a technical officer was sent over this time, I really don't know if that person will use a gun."

"Whether or not you use a gun, I'm sure the colonel will be scared to the death of a bullet in someone's head!"

"Why, I bet he'll pass out on the spot!"

"Maybe I'll be scared and call my mother!"

……

Hearing the words of the officers and soldiers who were dining in the officer's cafeteria, Pan Zekang felt very uncomfortable, although no one named him, but there was no doubt that the technical officer who came to the battleship was Pan Zekang. The colonel officer first felt angry, and then felt a little inferior, compared to these soldiers who were crawling on the line of life and death, Pan Zekang was not like a soldier, more like a scientist. Although no one dares to deny that the contribution of scientists is not as good as that of soldiers, in this place where soldiers are piled up, Pan Zekang feels that the military uniform on his body cannot hide his true identity.

While no one noticed him, Pan Zekang left the restaurant. Since putting on the military uniform and joining the Imperial Navy, Pan Zekang has not been on the front line, let alone participated in any form of combat operations. He was lucky for those soldiers who threw their heads and spilled their blood on the front line, and he was also contributing to the empire in the rear. Before, Pan Zekang thought of himself as a soldier, but until this time, he knew that he was not a soldier, he was too far away from a soldier, at least in the eyes of those real soldiers, he was not a soldier. This also made Pan Zekang doubt his career for the first time. When he graduated from school and chose to join the military, he thought that serving the country with knowledge was also the most honorable thing, and he has always been proud of it. But now, he felt that his contribution was nothing compared to those soldiers who braved the rain of bullets and rushed into battle.

"Colonel, have you eaten?"

Pan Zekang turned around, and found that Lieutenant Commander Guan Chunsheng, the captain of the "Liqiu", was already standing behind him.

"Isn't it that you don't feel comfortable coming to the fleet and don't have an appetite?" Guan Chunsheng saw at a glance that Pan Zekang had something on his mind, and guessed what Pan Zekang was thinking, but it was not easy to point it out directly. "Actually, it's the same for everyone, I was still seasick when I joined the Navy."

"Seasickness?" Pan Zekang looked at the lieutenant commander with some disbelief, thinking that he was bragging, because no one would believe that the captain of a cruiser would be seasick.

"Of course, I'm talking about when I was a recruit. At that time, I didn't eat a bite for three days and three nights, didn't get a good night's sleep, and vomited all my bile, so I almost didn't vomit out all my internal organs. Guan Chunsheng laughed loudly, "It's definitely not going to be now, but well, everyone has a process of adaptation, isn't it?" ”

Pan Zekang also laughed, at least he was

There was no seasickness after being on the ship, and it didn't count when on the plane.

"You're going to move in the evening, aren't you a little nervous?"

"I'm not partial to you, this is my first time participating in a military operation, if I'm not nervous, then I'm lying."

"There's nothing to be nervous about." Guan Chunsheng leaned against the railing, "Everything has a first time, and when the time comes, you only need to follow behind the marines, you won't be the first to get on the ship, and after the marines control the situation on the ship, they will let you go up, so that there will be no danger." ”

"I'm not worried about danger, anyway, I'm also an Imperial soldier."

Guan Chunsheng laughed. "Don't brag, anyone will be terrified when they go to war for the first time. Don't talk about you, even many veterans will be scared when they go to war. ”

"Really?" Pan Zekang was a little unconvinced.

"Am I going to lie to you? Don't believe me, I've fought less than a hundred, and I've fought fifty times, but now, every time the air raid sirens sound, I feel terrified. Fear is everyone's instinct, this seems to be what a psychologist said, and the real brave is not without fear, but knows how to overcome, how to restrain fear, instead of letting fear affect or even control themselves. ”

Pan Zekang thought about it for a while and felt that this remark made sense. "So, how do I control my fears?"

"Don't think about it. When the time comes, you can do whatever you have to do, and as long as you have something more important in mind, you won't be afraid. ”

"Lao Guan, it seems that you are really a veteran."

Guan Chunsheng smiled and grabbed Pan Zekang's shoulder. "Needless to say, this is my unique secret!"

"So, you got the message?" Pan Zekang also laughed, and at the same time felt a lot more relaxed.

"What's the news?" This time it was Guan Chunsheng's turn to be a little puzzled.

"News of tonight's operation."

"This ......," Guan Chunsheng glanced at his watch. I started to see you here, I just got off the bridge of the commander's ship, and I haven't received an order yet, probably because the time is not yet ripe, what, now you are in a hurry to go? ”

"It's not. I just wanted to finish this task sooner. Pan Zekang shrugged his shoulders, "And I heard the general say that we only have one chance tonight, and if the German submarines don't come to 'help' tonight, then our chances are extremely slim, and the operation may be canceled." If German submarines are going to sneak up on the convoy tonight, we should be informed by now. ”

"Don't worry about that." Guan Chunsheng said as he walked in the direction of the bridge, "Even if the German submarine has taken action now, we will only receive orders in the second half of the night. I advise you to go and get a few hours of sleep. Nourish your spirits. ”

"Can I go to the Commander's Bridge, then?"

Guan Chunsheng looked back at the colonel's officer, who still looked a little nervous, and then laughed. "Absolutely. It's just that I think you should go and rest more. ”

Pan Zekang didn't say anything, and followed Guan Chunsheng towards the commander's bridge. He was really a little nervous right now, and he couldn't sleep at all. At the same time, in the rear, the two commanders of the 1st Task Force and the 2nd Task Force did not go to rest, but stayed in the command cabin, waiting for more news.

In the evening, Dong Jue sent the first batch of four "reconnaissance eagles," and these four reconnaissance planes were to hover around the periphery of the US convoy, in addition to continuing to monitor the movements of the convoy. It was also responsible for searching the surrounding waters to determine whether the German submarine had already taken action. Eight thirty. Dongjue sent a second batch of eight "reconnaissance eagles" to replace the first batch of reconnaissance planes, and will also expand the search and surveillance range.

The "Reconnaissance Eagle" ground radar was originally used to detect warships on the sea, while German submarines generally approached the target at high speed on the sea surface before attacking, and only dived below the sea surface before entering the attack range of the escort warship, and this distance was about 20 to 25 miles. Submarines can not only sail at high speed on the sea surface, but also save batteries as much as possible, so that they can have more advantages when escaping. Although the radar reflecting surface of the submarine is much smaller than that of the frigate, the radar on the "Reconnaissance Eagle" can still detect it. During the tests, the radar on the "Reconnaissance Eagle" was even able to detect a periscope more than ten nautical miles away (it was also this performance that later the "Reconnaissance Eagle" developed a special anti-submarine version). In the circumstances of the time, the detection of submarines 15 nautical miles away was not a problem. Therefore, these "reconnaissance eagles" are patrolling 30 to 35 nautical miles outside the perimeter of the US transport fleet, which is enough +..

After sending out the reconnaissance plane, Hao Dongjue could only wait patiently. Judging from the combat mode of German submarines at that time, if more than a dozen submarines attacked at the same time, these submarines would generally not rush to attack, but would first contact each other after dark to determine the specific location of each submarine, and then launch an attack, that is, the submarine that first discovered the prey would enter first between nine and eleven o'clock to attract the attention of the escort warships, and at the same time lead away some of the escort warships, and then, other submarines entered through the gap in the escort formation and "slaughtered" the transport ships. Because of the large number of US escort warships this time, there will be several submarines in several directions to attract the attention of the escort warships and create opportunities for more submarines. In this case, it takes even more time to liaise and deploy.

On the "Longgan Lake", Tan Renhao could only wait patiently on the remote command. Several staff officers in the fleet who were proficient in anti-submarine tactics and also mastered the ambush tactics of German submarines predicted that German submarines would enter between 10 and 11 o'clock, and if there were still no German submarines after 1 a.m., then it would be basically confirmed that German submarines would not attack the convoy at night, and the operation could be canceled. And before that, anything can happen, and the reconnaissance plane may send back a message at any time.

This kind of waiting is the most unbearable, and Tan Renhao has asked the communications staff officer to adjust the two radio stations to the communication channels used by the reconnaissance planes, so that he can directly receive the report sent back by the reconnaissance plane of the Second Task Force, but until half past ten, not a single reconnaissance plane sent back the report, which also made Tan Renhao a little restless.