The lights were dim, the motors were low, and the U-47 submarine was completely submerged and was slowly sneaking at a third of its low speed. Prion clenched the manipulator with both hands, his eyes pressed against the observation port on the other end of the periscope, and as time passed, a fine layer of sweat crept up his forehead.

"Did the Americans send out their main fleet?" Looking at the sea scene presented in the periscope, Prien couldn't help but grit his teeth and whisper. Except for the blue waves that disappeared from time to time, what appeared in his eyes at this moment was a steel warship that looked like a city stretching out; Even from the zero altitude where the periscope is located, there are more than 20 ships sailing proudly in the sea not far away. After a little observation, Prion could conclude that they could never be his own warships. In fact, the U-47 submarine under his command is currently on the patrol line off the east coast of the United States, and the only one who will appear here at this time is the American Atlantic Fleet, which has never appeared before!

"Captain, what are we going to do?" After a long silence and suppression, the bearded torpedo chief Ramos finally couldn't help but whisper. Due to the unique nature of the periscope, the submariners except the captain cannot see the scene on the sea, and in this blank waiting for the unknown, not everyone can maintain a calm attitude without half a bit of psychological pressure!

"Put away the periscope, the main motor stops running; The submarine turned 35 degrees to the left while activating the cruising low-noise motor. The Americans should not have noticed the anomaly yet, and it is necessary for us to get closer to the other side to carry out reconnaissance. Prien looked away from the observation port, and said with a bit of resentment in his words. Under the internal propaganda of the German military. The United States, in alliance with Britain and France, became the world's number one culprit who was bent on destroying peace in Europe and enslaving the German nation. And as an ordinary junior officer. Prien had already fully embraced the German government's positioning of the United States in the midst of this pervasive propaganda. As long as the other party is mentioned, there will be a burst of disgust and hatred in his heart.

Moments later, dozens of members of the U-47 submarine began to move quickly: the raised periscope was lowered underwater without a trace, and the direction and speed of the submarine quietly changed. Through the unremitting efforts of the relevant researchers in the Royal Wilhelm Institute, the performance of the German submarine has undoubtedly made a qualitative leap compared with the last war period: not only the output power of the main motor has soared, but the new cruising motor installed by the submarine has also made the submarine have valuable underwater maneuvering when it is about to fight. For ordinary submarines, when an enemy destroyer is spotted or is subjected to depth charges. The only option is to resign yourself to fate in a deep dive: once the motor is turned on and flees across the sea, the sonar on the anti-submarine ship can easily pick up the position of the submarine, and it is almost impossible to escape the explosion of the depth charge. With the low-noise cruise motor, the German submarine still has the capital to carry out a small range of underwater maneuvers even when encountering the enemy's anti-submarine ships, which is of incomparably extraordinary significance in both escaping and waiting for an opportunity to attack. At present, the reason why Prien dares to continue to go deeper is also based on the technological innovation of the submarine itself!

Although the power of the cruise motor can only be limited to a small amount in order to meet the requirements of low noise, this does not mean that the speed of the submarine in this situation is miserable. The bow deck guns were eliminated and the line was re-optimized for underwater navigation. German submarines have moved away from the traditional concept of "warships that can dive into the water", making a qualitative leap in their underwater performance compared with their predecessors. U-47 under the current command of Prien. A typical product based on this design: with an underwater displacement of 1,030 tons, it is still faster than 5 knots when powered by a 126 hp cruise motor. And when its 2,400 hp main motor is running at full speed, it can reach an astonishing underwater speed of 17.5 knots! Although the latter is not of much significance in the face of anti-submarine destroyers, when facing anti-submarine aircraft or surface ships that lack underwater strike capabilities, the extremely high underwater speed can undoubtedly enable the submarine to quickly escape or occupy an ideal torpedo firing position.

In the silence of the closed cabin, it seemed like an hour every minute; No one in the submarine spoke any more, and even heavy breathing could be heard between them. When the hands in the pocket watch reached the scheduled time, Prien finally breathed a sigh of relief and ordered the submarine to stop and raise the periscope again. The blue waters gradually brighten, and with it, the familiar clear sea and sky. And what shocked Prion was that a group of American battleships in a single formation was already in the water less than 4,000 meters away from him!

"The main turret of the first two and the last one, this should be the latest battleship of the Americans, right?" Prion stared carefully at the small but clearly recognizable outline of the ships in the periscope, and thought to himself. With a slight twist of the joystick, a row of destroyers that all the submarine officers and men least wanted to see came into view; The hulls of these light warships were as slender as swords, and their top speed was still twice as fast as that of German submarines, which had already increased dramatically. Seeing these guys appear at close range, Prion hurriedly temporarily withdrew the periscope underwater, once the small white spray stirred up by the periscope was discovered by the sharp-eyed American sailors, then it was difficult for him to guarantee that he would survive the siege of the opponent's depth charges!

At this point, two different options were already in front of Prien. If he had turned on the main motor at this time, he would have easily grabbed the torpedo launch position with his fast underwater speed of 17.5 knots, and all six 533mm torpedo tubes of the U-47 were concentrated in the bow, and a salvo would almost certainly have hit a torpedo. However, the fully open main motor will also inevitably reveal its position, so it will be surrounded by a cluster of American destroyers. The other option was to lie dormant quietly, and after the American fleet had departed, he would float and radio his observations to his main fleet; Although it is safe to do so, it is clear that there will be no money in your record book.

"Our first task remains to monitor the movements of the American fleet. Rather than risking a sneak attack, passing on information is obviously a more important mission. Prien gritted his teeth and finally made a sound decision. After all, the task of destroying the enemy fleet is to be completed by its own fleet, and if submarines alone could be used to do it, the German Navy would have invested all its manpower and resources in the construction of submarines. Realizing this, Prion did not give any maneuver commands, but carefully stretched the periscope out of the water from time to time to observe the surrounding movements. As he had predicted, the U.S. fleet was at its best: in addition to the new battleships, Prion saw several aircraft carriers. If the battleship needed to be carefully identified by him so as not to mistake a cruiser of roughly the same length as a battleship, the aircraft carrier was immediately recognizable: the tall freeboard and flat deck, ready to judge even from a distance.

Prien, who had been lurking in the water for an hour and poking out the periscope from time to time, also gained enough information. The opponent's new battleships are 4~7, while the aircraft carriers are more than 6, although this number may not be accurate due to the magnification of the periscope and the inherent limitation of the observation range, but it can be concluded that the main force of the US Atlantic Fleet has sailed through the sea area it is responsible for patrolling in clusters. Prion was not surprised by this situation, and the only thing he regretted was that he watched the opponent's large warship pass by not far away without making any movement. If you can take the opportunity to launch an offensive, maybe you have already harvested the prey that is the envy of all your peers!

Just as Prien was lamenting that he had not been given the opportunity to attack, the haunting sound of the propeller turning of the American battleship suddenly intensified; Frightened, Prien thought that his tracks had been exposed, and immediately ordered the submarine to urgently dive to a deep water area under 180 meters, and turned on the cruise motor to carry out the transfer. However, after a while, the terrifying explosion that seemed to be the end of the world did not appear on his head, but the huge roar of the explosion came from the nearby sea, which stretched like a heavy hammer drum. Prion carefully resurfaced the submarine and turned the periscope to follow the sound, only to see that the sea not far away had exploded into a wave more than ten meters high, and several destroyers were constantly throwing depth charges into it, violently ravaging the almost boiling sea area.

"I guess it was a daredevil who launched the attack without authorization, and then the Americans found their tracks!" Seeing this scene, Prien's face twitched, and he couldn't help but curse secretly. It was precisely because of the many unavoidable risks that he was forced to give up the idea of maneuvering lightning strikes and just wait and see what was happening. After such a fuss, the opponent's anti-submarine vigilance will inevitably increase greatly, and it is estimated that he will not be able to do it if he wants to stick the periscope out of the water to observe the enemy's situation!

Angry in his heart, Prion cursed at the recklessness of his comrades, turned his periscope to observe the surface of the sea one last time; However, when he turned an angle, his azure pupils contracted violently. Because he was shocked to find that another group of American battleships had appeared less than 2,000 meters away from him at some point, and the course of the other party was almost just right, just so that his submarine was in an ideal torpedo firing position! (To be continued......)

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