After more than half an hour of dull waiting, Lynn's palms holding the rudder were already sweating, and the wounds on his shoulders and legs were painful in turns.

Finally, the only man in the boat with a pipe in his mouth but no smoke spoke: "Put away the periscope, keep course, and go full speed...... Floating! ”

I never thought it was the first time that Lynn felt that the password of "keep the course" was so pleasant, but if it wasn't for the baptism of brutal combat, how could he grow into a combat elite and an excellent squad commander?

"Everybody's doing really well!" The captain's praise immediately reminded Lynn of what the directors said to the actors and crew after completing a set of shots, but there was no sense of comical in her heart. Immediately afterward, he felt someone walk behind him, and when he turned his head, he saw that the man was biting his black pipe, looking at him with a blank face.

Out of respect, Lynn quickly stood up, and the SS non-commissioned officer beside him also stood up.

"You two...... Although it was not very professional, it was very brave just now! When I sat in this position four years ago, I couldn't help but shiver at the first command! ”

For Lynn, such a soft and cordial word of comfort can motivate him more than harsh criticism, and perhaps, he should use his brains more in his usual life, instead of blindly leading the team by leading by example - that is certainly conducive to establishing a good image of himself, but the negative effect is that he has many war wounds that have healed or have not healed, and with the increase in rank and the number of subordinates, this method will not work so much.

Holding the pipe in his hand, he took out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the cigarette holder very carefully, and the submarine commander, who wore the Iron Cross of Silver Oak Leaves, said tactfully: "Actually, it is really helpless to let you share our duties. When we received the order yesterday, we had just returned to Kiel from the Atlantic, and for five weeks the sailors were exhausted. In accordance with the instructions of the Navy Command, we mobilized without rest, and the volunteers who remained were determined and in good physical condition, and we all knew that this trip would be an unprecedentedly arduous voyage, even ......"

"We understand!" Lynn straightened her waist and deliberately replied in a sonorous voice, "Therefore, we want to salute our navy brothers!"

The captain, chief engineer, and most of the crew around him were cold to Lynn's gesture, and the captain himself was only symbolic of the same courtesy. Maybe...... The rebelliousness of the German navy was a valuable asset that had gradually developed since the era of the Second Reich, but it was a pity that spiritual strength did not lead them to victory. What is left to the world is only the sharpness and helplessness of the sea wolf, but also the tragic fate of "Bismarck", "Scharnhorst" and "Tirpitz".

Soon, the submarine resurfaced. Leaving the phrase "start the diesel engine", the captain picked up his pipe, hurriedly took on his waterproof jacket and climbed into the conning tower cabin.

Lynn sat back in his seat, although it was only a temporary job, but after the conversation just now, the perfunctory attitude disappeared, replaced by a heavy and firm sense of responsibility.

At this moment, the chief engineer whispered, "Captain Witters is a very charismatic commander, we have always felt so!" ”

"Chief's last name is 'Witters'?" Lynn asked curiously, the name sounding familiar, but not sure if she had seen it in the list of German ace submarines.

The chief engineer replied: "In the Junkers, the Weister lineage is also a little famous, the chief's great-grandfather fought in two wars against Austria and France, transferred to the navy from his grandparents, and witnessed the rise and fall of the German navy, but ...... Both of the chief's brothers were killed in battle - they were also submarine commanders! ”

Lynn subconsciously turned her head to look at the vertical ladder leading to the hatch, no wonder the guy with the pipe was always smiling, it turned out that he had such a heavy family background on his shoulders.

"It's a shame!"

"Regret? As a soldier, isn't the best destination to be to die in battle? At the end of World War I, in order to prevent their captured ships from being used by the enemy to attack the motherland, the German naval officers and sailors sank collectively in Scapa Bay, and at the end of World War II, with the news of Germany's surrender, many German submarines sailing on the ocean were scuttled by the crews after sending out the radio signal of the "rainbow".

"If war is to be regarded as the only mission of a soldier...... Maybe! Lynn expressed his opinion in a tactful way, but the chief engineer did not understand the meaning behind the words, and he walked to the navigator with a helpless expression.

After the captain went up, as long as the alarm was not raised, everything should be normal on the sea. After about 20 minutes, Lynn got the first normal steering command, and this time he did it without a hitch. After another half an hour, the helmsman returned, and seemed to have recovered a little, but before he could speak to Lynn, he was reprimanded by the chief engineer, but he did not show frustration and sadness, but smiled like a child. Finally, he leaned into Lynn's ear: "Hey, comrade SS, how do you feel at sea?" ”

Lynn didn't like it when others spoke to him in such a strange tone, so he shook his head and said, "Seasickness, stomach pain, slow reaction, and almost reprimanded by Captain West!" Here! The location is returned to you! ”

The helmsman sat down without hesitation, and said with some schadenfreude: "Ha! None of the newcomers escaped the captain's reprimand, but ...... You're not a full-fledged crewman, so he shouldn't be so harsh! ”

"Really?" Lynn felt like she had learned a little more about leading soldiers, but she didn't know if she would have a chance to practice it in the future - the answer would not be revealed until the end of the trip.

As he walked towards the aft torpedo compartment, Lynn deliberately leaned to the left, with the helmsman, sonar and communications corps on their replacements, as if the navigator was alone on the navigator's side, and the square navigation platform was pressed with a transparent plate to press a local map of the world centered on the Atlantic Ocean, the left side to the east coast of the United States, the right side encompassing the entire Baltic Sea, the top was snow-white, and the lower part extended to the Spanish coast and the Strait of Gibraltar. It seems that the submarine's usual range of activities is still dominated by the North Atlantic.

Seeing the chart, Lynn squinted his eyes and tried to find the destination of the voyage on it. From the root of the Danish peninsula to the Stedeing Bay in northeastern Germany, it is already connected by a solid blue line, and from the Settin Bay to the Danish Strait it is half solid and half dashed. Obviously, the solid line represented the submarine's track, the dotted line represented its planned route, and the green dotted line passed through the Danish Channel and went north along the west coast of Norway, eventually extending to the northernmost part of Norway - because of the red and yellow lines along the way indicating such things as danger zones, minefields, etc., Lynn could not see very clearly from a distance, and the light on the platform reflected off the transparent panels, so he had to lean closer to determine what he was seeing. At this time, the chief engineer called "Lynn", and then said calmly: "Be careful of your leg injury, walk slowly, and wish you a good recovery!" ”

There was no way, Lynn turned her head and thanked her, leaving the command cabin with regret that she was only one last step away. All the way, I was thinking about the green dotted line, could it be that the end of this trip was really northern Norway? It is cold and barren, and the most distinctive feature is the naturally formed fjord, where the Tirpitz hid for a long time before being bombed by the British Air Force and sunk in the Lingenfjord near the port of Trothham.

The fjords formed during the glacial period were certainly miraculous and could be used to conceal ships in wartime, but when the war ended, Norway would also return to the Norwegians, and the Führer and these loyal SS troops would be sent there by submarine, could it be that there was a secret base in Norway or northern Finland?

(To be continued)