Cape Finisterre is located at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Sea to the British Isles, and there are several routes in this area where British fleets are often seen: many of the personnel and material transport between the British mainland and the Mediterranean forces pass through here. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

The high frequency of shipping led to the threat of German U-boats at the beginning of the war, but after more than two years of competition, the British had long understood how to deal with the threat of U-boats, and all fleets were covered by anti-submarine escort forces as well as possible.

Danger is always with us, and we are well prepared for battle, and despite the losses, the loss rate of ships on this route is still within an acceptable range.

Compared with the British Royal Navy's experience in anti-submarine warfare and effective measures, the east coast of the United States on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean is full of blood! On January 12 this year, five U-boats arrived in the waters of the United States, and achieved great results in a very short time! The U123 alone sank 8 transport ships in three days, totaling 53,000 tons!

Even the German captains did not expect the sortie to go so smoothly, and the captain of the U123, Halgen, wrote in the logbook: "If there are 10 or 20 submarines, I can guarantee that we will achieve even greater results!" ”

It was the first submarines to reach the shores of the United States that achieved impressive results, and on January 15 Dönitz dispatched five more submarines to the east coast of the United States.

The cards in Dönitz's hand are limited, and the transfer of submarines has led to a decline in the number of U-boats on this side of the Atlantic, and it is impossible to draw them from the Mediterranean theater of operations, Gibraltar (this opening in the Mediterranean Sea is a nightmare for every U-boat captain. It's like a spell that's hard to unravel, and it makes it all the more serendipitous for a U-boat to appear so close to the shore.

Throughout January, German submarines sank a total of 48 transports of 277,000 tons in the Atlantic. And since February, the losses on the east coast of the United States have risen in a straight line, and what is even worse is that the anti-submarine forces of the United States have not even seen the wake of the U-boat sailing so far!

German submarines operating off the coast of the United States, due to their small number, did not resort to the famous wolf pack tactics, but carried out single-boat safaris. U-boats usually dive on the seabed during the day in sea areas far away from commercial routes, search for targets in a surface state on the route after nightfall, and once prey is found, they often fire torpedoes close to the minimum range of the torpedo to ensure that the torpedo is not wasted.

As for small ships, German submarines were reluctant to use torpedoes because they were far from the base and were generally sunk by deck guns.

Dönitz used all the forces he could muster, and organized 15 more than 600-ton medium-sized submarines with limited continuous sailing capacity to go to the east coast of the United States in the most fuel-efficient way, and the difficult days for the Americans were still to come.

Compared with the compatriots along the coast of the United States, the opponent faced by the "Fire Dragon" is a bit unusual. As the six Mark 7 depth charges of the "Foresight" were dropped, the two destroyers showed two graceful arcs on the surface of the sea and turned back.

"Captain, the Foresight has not found the exact location of the submarine either."

"300 yards away from the channel just now, 5 on each track, Mark 6 is also used, 250 feet deep, and then blow it up." McNulty said without a wave. At this time, the "Foresight" became on the starboard side of the "Fire Dragon", which could blow up the position where the U-boat was most likely to lurk on the bottom of the sea.

At this time, the communications room reported that the telecommunications signal of the Spaniards had been intercepted, and it was in clear code: anti-submarine warfare broke out 20 nautical miles west of Cape Finisterre. While directing the patrol ship to turn, the Spanish captain was also attracted by the huge action here. Because of the proximity to territorial waters, he thought that he should report upwards, and even the password was useless.

"Leave it alone, we should leave after the bombing."

The two destroyers did not carry enough deep ammunition, 52 each, when fully loaded, but this would have only 30 on the "Fire Dragon" and even fewer on the "Foresight".

Through the telescope, Leonov saw a large white flower on the sea in the distance on the port side and pointed it out to Smith.

"It's a pity, it's the fish. The water pressure of the explosion can blow up a large area of water to kill all the fish, and if it encounters a whale, it is even worse, often half dead. This blockbuster is at least a few dozen tons, and it can be worth a lot of money when it is put on the market. ”

The vice-captain was sorry for the fish, but there were others who felt pity more than him: the Spanish fishermen near the shore in the distance - winter had not yet passed, and it was rare for a period of good weather to come out to work. Tossed by this depth charge, the fish in the nearby waters will disappear for at least half a month!

Another round of indiscriminate bombardment, and unlike the depth charge throwing slots just now, the Mark 6 depth bomb launchers on both sides of the hull were also used: in two dull explosions, two large cylinders with plug rods whistling out about 50 meters, which looked like throwing toys on the bridge.

"Turn around, ask if you found anything in the listening room?"

The veteran listener in the listening room was a little depressed, and he couldn't hear anything for a while after the explosion.

McNulty, who was on the bridge, shrugged his shoulders and said to the navigator, "Write it down in the logbook and send a telegram to report to it." It's a pity. ”

"Is this the end?" Leonov thought to himself.

Sure enough, McNulty ordered to contact the Foresight again, and the captain there decided to give up - neither the location nor the original mission allowed them to be here and the one hiding under the sea, so they had to leave.

"Cruising speed, back to the original route, let's go home."

After saying that, Mr. Major was about to leave the bridge.

Leonov followed and left, without asking why he didn't go ahead and pull out the submarine below, although he would have liked to see the destroyer sink the U-boat.

Walking on the bridge, McNulty said as he walked, "If we want to blow up the Germans, we need to spend it here again, and we have to compete with them for luck and patience." Even dropping all the depth charges can be futile until dark or even tomorrow. It's hard to say at night, the commander below is still very smart, and I can't risk it. ”

Leonov nodded in understanding: McNulty was a brilliant commander who did not have the arrogance and blind self-confidence of officers in the Western world that is often seen in propaganda.

The German captain is experienced and adventurous, and if he continues to stay here until dark, although he now has an absolute advantage on the field, McNulty has tactfully indicated that he may be bitten back by the U-boat.

If you see it, you will accept it, or the task is important, and the major, as the captain of the lead ship of this transport mission formation, cannot take risks.

Leonov parted ways with McNulty at the door of the captain's room, returned to his cabin, and as soon as he entered, he saw the other three staring at him with wide eyes.

"How?"

Shidorenko asked. Everyone had just returned to the cabin after receiving the Major's order, and they didn't know what was going on outside, and even all the watertight doors at the head of the passage were closed. Listening to the dull loud noises one after another, I can only guess in my heart.

"It's nothing, just blow up a school of fish. The Germans hid underneath and did not come out, probably at the bottom of the seat, and the listening room could not be found, and the captain had ordered to leave. He sat down on the bunk as he spoke.

"It's boring." Vasily shook his head.

"It's not the same as land warfare, it's like hide and seek, how can you shoot one by one?!" Pavlov also sat down next to Leonov.

"I'm also playing hide-and-seek, but it's more dangerous than that."

Vasily expressed his dissatisfaction: in fact, everyone understood that the sniper was right. The destroyer is against the submarine, if you can't find it, everything will be fine as long as you leave, the sniper is not fun, if you don't hit, then you have to rely on luck to retreat.

(Tomorrow will return to the Andrey route.) (To be continued.) )