The strait ahead gradually widened, and the current slowed down. Dönitz has finally confirmed a result and they have entered Scapa Bay. Dönitz's line of defense of the Channel, which the British thought could not be breached, was left behind by Dönitz, and shipwrecks, bollards, and mines did not play a role in stopping the U34's advance.

Scapa Passage is home to most of the British Navy's home fleet, with the latest Dreadnought-class battleships to be launched, as well as old pre-Dreadnought-class battleships, countless cruisers and destroyers, and more than 120 battleships moored again. General Callahan intended to use these ships to completely block the Germans in the harbor, or to completely wipe out the German High Seas Fleet, which had ventured out to challenge.

Scapa Bay Naval Base is the anchorage of the Royal Navy's main fleet in the British Isles, located in the Orkney Islands, north of Scotland. The location is strategically important at the point where the German sea transport line enters and exits the North Sea.

But like other impregnable fortresses, Scarpa Bay was heavily fortified, and the British stationed a large number of troops here to defend it. On the shore defense, there were hundreds of large-caliber guns, and intensive anti-aircraft fire was also arranged. What happened in Yokosuka was a warning to all the naval powers, especially to Britain, whose navy was everything they could boast of, and Scapa Bay, where most of the warships of the home fleet were concentrated, must not fail. As a result, a third of the locally produced anti-aircraft guns were shipped here to prevent German planes from appearing - although it was unlikely that the biplanes would fly over the North Sea, no one could be sure that China had not sold Germany some mysterious weapons.

It is true that there are no planes that can threaten Scarpa, at least not in the hands of the Germans, but the mysterious weapon that China gave to Germany, the U-boat, can threaten Scarpa Bay.

The plan was approved by Wilhelm II, and as Tirpitz said, even if the attack failed, Germany would lose only one submarine. Once successful, the British Home Fleet will fall into a short period of confusion, and there may be considerable losses, at least to close the gap between the strength of the Home Fleet and the High Seas Fleet, which is worth trying!

And the commander of the submarine force, Major Raeder, wants to add some highlights to his rank, even if he can't be upgraded because of age, he can accumulate combat merits. In addition to this, he wants to prove that submarines are no worse than surface warships, and what better proof of this than the sinking of British battleships?

Dönitz also felt that it was worth it, and he was shocked by the huge fleet in front of him, battleships, battle cruisers, cruisers, torpedo boats, etc., neatly arranged, and the black figure towered like a mountain. It is no wonder that His Majesty the Emperor was so stimulated after participating in the British Navy parade, and whoever saw it would have the idea of not being able to resist. At this time, Dönitz's heart strangely remembered a question -- how did China defeat or even completely annihilate the expeditionary fleet in the War of the Anti-China Alliance?

With the exception of a battleship squadron and two cruiser squadrons that went to the English Channel to assist the army in operations, two destroyer squadrons that went to the North Sea for reconnaissance operations, and a destroyer squadron that went to the Atlantic Ocean to escort ships, most of the ships of the home fleet were concentrated here. The real number Dönitz doesn't know, but there are 26 capital ships and 90 other auxiliary ships, which is probably the largest fleet ever built by mankind, and if you count some of the ships lost by the expeditionary fleet, the size of the warships here will be even larger and terrifying.

So many battleships are their own prey! Dönitz even wanted to dance or sing a song to express his inner joy, but of course, he hadn't forgotten what he was doing. The question is, which one to attack first? Dönitz was eager to eat all these battleships in one go, but the number of torpedoes carried by the submarines was limited, the number of torpedoes fired at each attack was limited, and the attack time had to be well timed - they still wanted to steal a handful and then withdraw, and those British destroyers were not easy to mess with.

Aiming at a huge silhouette by the faint light, judging by the mouth of the wheel, it should be a British capital ship, which looks at least 20,000 tons. And not far from this capital ship, there is also a huge battleship docked, which is the main reason why Dönitz chose to attack here first.

The British were very considerate to dock the battleship detachment and other tactical detachments separately, and dozens of capital ships were all gathered together, saving Dönitz the trouble of adjusting his position. However, due to the darkness of the night, Dönitz could not distinguish the specific type of battleship, so he could only attack one of them - it was always the capital ship, and the hit would be earned.

"Aim at the target!" Dönitz kept his eyes on the scope, focused on his target, and gently gave the first command.

"The torpedo is ready!" The torpedo operator replied.

"Bow torpedo tubes No. 1, 3, 4, ready!" Dönitz continued.

"Torpedoes No. 1, 3, 4!" The torpedo operator replied.

"Launch!" Dönitz gave his first order for the day to attack.

"Launch!" The torpedo operator pressed the button to fire the torpedo.

"Bang!" Everyone in the boat heard the sound of the submarine firing torpedoes, and with the tremor and noise, three torpedoes with bubbles ejected from the front of the U34 submarine and swam quickly towards their targets in the dark night.

After firing three torpedoes in one go, the torpedo mechanics hurriedly began to drain the torpedo tubes in the bow, unscrewed the loading hatch, and pushed the torpedo ammunition that had been prepared long ago.

"One, two, three! Push! The torpedo mechanic below pushed the most comfortable torpedo into the launch tube, and then the leader skillfully closed the torpedo tube hatch and shouted: "The No. 3 launch tube is loaded!" ”

And almost at the same time as him, the soldiers of the other group also shouted: "Tube No. 4 is loaded!" ”

The officer in charge here grabbed the intercom and reported loudly: "Report to the command cabin!" Bow torpedo tubes 2, 3 and 4 are ready! Can be launched! ”

"Is the turn complete?" Dönitz anxiously asked the first mate next to him, who was nervously looking at a pocket watch, imagining the exact time when the torpedo hit the target.

"Report to the captain! The steering is done right away! I'm operating the steering wheel. The helmsman replied loudly.

Dönitz once again pressed his face to the sight and began to carefully observe his target, at first his scope had nothing but the surface of the sea, he had to wait patiently, and sure enough, after only a few tens of seconds, a huge stern entered his field of vision.

He hurriedly continued to confirm: "Aim at the target!" ”

"Confirm that the torpedo is ready!" The torpedo operator glanced at the instrument panel and replied loudly.

"Bow torpedo tubes No. 2, 3, 4, ready!" Dönitz confirmed again.

"Torpedoes No. 2, 3, 4!" Again, the torpedo operator answered.

"Launch!" Dönitz gave his second order to attack loudly.

"Launch!" The torpedo operator expertly pressed the button that fired the torpedo.

"Bang!" Once again, everyone in the boat felt the muffled sound of the torpedo leaving the submarine, and the slight shaking caused by the recoil force.

"Don't stop steering! Keep reloading! Dönitz ordered his submarine to slowly approach the third target, carefully observing the British Navy's reaction with a periscope that could look around the sea.

At this time, his first torpedoes finally hit their target, the British Royal Navy battleship HMS Gorgeous. The officers and men of the battleship were still asleep at this moment, but they were stupefied by the sudden shaking and explosion. All three torpedoes hit the Luxuri, and although they hit different parts, they all destroyed the ship's main isolation mechanism, leaving the ship's water intake uncontrollable.

The sleeping sailors were awakened by the sound of the explosion, and then immediately thought it was a drill, and when they got dressed for business, they found a large amount of icy sea water pouring into the floor, and they could feel the obvious tilt of the battleship. But it was too late, and the sailors who realized the seriousness had only one ending left to escape by jumping ship.

After a few minutes of panic, another capital ship exploded not far away, and the fire generated by the explosion made the surroundings as bright as day, and also allowed many sailors to see the attacked battleship -- the St. Vincent, with a displacement of 22,800 tons, was also hit by three torpedoes, and the battleship, which could withstand dozens of large-caliber armor-piercing shells, could not block the piercing of three torpedoes. It can be seen from this that a fleet cannot have only battleships, nor can it have only torpedo boats, the roles are different, but there is no distinction between upper and lower.

The flames made the sailors look at each other, they had just come out of their sleep, and their brains were still a little foggy - who could explain what had happened? (To be continued.) )