Chapter 617: Magnet
To be honest, Prien felt that either his own luck was just too good, or the Japanese’s luck was just too bad. His submarine carried a full load of 16 torpedoes, and after three consecutive days of combat, he had already fired eight of them, sinking seven Japanese transport ships.
He even began to suspect he had walked into a Japanese trap, because for several days, not a single Japanese destroyer had come after him. This was simply unimaginable in the cold waters of the North Atlantic. Prien felt as though the Japanese had not anticipated his arrival at all, but his numerous encounters with danger had fostered a cautious and prudent style.
“Hard to port, change course!” he ordered, glancing at the precious naval chart in his hand. It was a chart of the waters near the fallen regions of Australia, marked with depths, major shipping lanes, and Australia’s own minefields. Due to their distrust of the German Navy, the Australians had only provided a detailed map of a portion of the sea area; the map of the east coast was still just a rough chart of shipping lanes.
However, even this “half-map” of the waters around Australia had already allowed Prien to add nearly 30,000 tons to his list of sunken transport ships. Moreover, he hadn’t even seen the shadow of an escorting Japanese destroyer. Compared to the frigid North Atlantic, this place was paradise.
“Looks like our luck is good,” Prien said, leaning against the sonar operator’s chair and smiling at his first officer. “I think, at least here, it will take the Japanese half a month to organize an anti-submarine screen… We still have about ten good days to enjoy.”
“Isn’t that the truth. It’s been a long time since we’ve had such a pleasant hunt,” the first officer replied, also very relaxed. When on missions in the Atlantic, he and Prien had to remain on high alert at all times, as they were frequently hunted by enemy anti-submarine destroyers. Even some merchant ships were armed, which forced them to fight with extreme caution, as if walking on thin ice.
Although they had a brief good time operating near the Arctic Ocean, the Soviet Union’s anti-submarine capabilities were not to be underestimated. After all, the Soviets could organize an anti-submarine barrier on their westernmost flank, greatly shortening their defensive line. The good times passed quickly, and hunting in the Arctic also became difficult.
Sometimes Prien felt like a plague. Wherever he went, he made the enemy uncomfortable. Like a virus, he disrupted the body’s circulatory system, cutting off the opponent’s transport lines, destroying the “blood” that carried nutrients, and ultimately causing the enemy to bleed to death. Therefore, his opponents always found the area of his activity as quickly as possible and then used the most frantic means to drive him away, ensuring the absolute safety of their own sea transport routes.
Evidently, a lesson learned by others does not leave a deep impression. After Great Britain suffered heavy losses from German submarine sneak attacks, the Soviets still had not learned to be wary of German U-boats. And after the German U-boats had taught the Soviets the terror of submarine warfare, German submarine commanders were delighted to discover that the Japanese still did not take them seriously.
There is a type of professional who prays every day that no one will see him, so he can better complete his work—this person is called an assassin. There is another group of people who also pray every day that no one can find them, so they can earn more medals and sink more enemy ships—these people are the officers and men of the submarine service.
If it had been possible, a few months ago Dönitz would have really liked to pat Churchill on the shoulder and say, “Just pretend my men don’t exist, okay?” But these seemingly inconspicuous submarines had achieved a combat record in the Atlantic that could rival any fleet.
From the end of 1937 to May 1938, in about half a year, German submarines sank over 1.8 million tons of British and American ships masquerading as British vessels, an average of over 300,000 tons per month. Keep in mind that the total tonnage of all German submarines was only about 600,000 tons. They had destroyed an enemy tonnage three times their own, with little loss to themselves.
This exaggerated combat record was not, in fact, created by the submarine crews alone. It also included intelligence agents far away in America who provided Dönitz with reliable information on ship departures. It also included the “Butcher” reconnaissance aircraft units stationed in France; these long-range planes flew for more than ten hours to help German submarines confirm the exact location of enemy fleets. By the time the German submarine crews finally launched their attack, victory was already in their grasp. This set of tactics, finalized with Akado’s help, became the standard attack procedure for Dönitz’s underwater wolf packs.
But in the Far East, on the vast Pacific Ocean, the German submarines no longer had the spiderweb-like spy networks in enemy ports to provide intelligence, nor did they have large reconnaissance aircraft shadowing them to provide the specific location of the enemy fleet. They could only rely on themselves, using the most primitive methods to find their targets.
Despite these difficulties, despite being far from home where even a damaged submarine might not be repaired, the Germans still began their operations as ordered. They were loyal and so disciplined it was almost endearing. Their meticulous nature gave them submarines with extremely low failure rates and an innate military temperament.
Of course, the good news was that there were simply too many Japanese ships here, so many that one didn’t have to work hard to find a target. The Japanese army did not take submarine warfare seriously. If their carrier commanders couldn’t win the argument against the “big ship, big gun” faction, then the submarine commanders didn’t even have a chance to speak. The Japanese simply did not believe that submarines could inflict a devastating blow on their transport lines, just as they had never believed that carriers could sink battleships.
There were so, so many Japanese transport ships: passenger liners and merchant ships full of soldiers, and cargo ships carrying ore, rubber, and even slaves. There were even large fishing boats and warships with no alertness whatsoever. Such a favorable combat environment had even caused the German submarine captains, accustomed to firing at any opportunity, to develop the bad habit of becoming picky eaters. Prien had already let two small ships of about 2,000 tons pass by, in order to save torpedoes for more valuable targets.
Just yesterday, a submarine captain who had missed out on the Arctic hunt had fired all his torpedoes and was forced to return to base. This unlucky fellow had developed a bad habit during the British convoy battles in the North Atlantic: he would instinctively fire a torpedo whenever he saw an unescorted ship. As a result, after he had expended all his ammunition, he realized that Japanese ships were still passing by in an endless stream, and only then did he realize he had made a serious mistake.
He could only return sullenly, taking his submarine back to the east coast of Australia to replenish ten new torpedoes before continuing his mission. The torpedo supply ship was still far away in the South Atlantic. Dönitz had not anticipated that the torpedoes in Australia would be used up so quickly. If Akado hadn’t reminded him, he might not have even remembered that the submarines in Australia needed ammunition resupply.
Therefore, before the new torpedoes arrived, the German submarine force in Australia had a total of only 80 spare torpedoes. Thirty-two of these were “supplies” left by a returning submarine and a damaged one, and the other 48 had been brought by the destroyer and supply ship. Because they had to carry other supplies, the amount of ammunition was very limited.
“Captain! Warship spotted! Her profile looks bigger than a battleship!” shouted the chief petty officer who was conducting the surface search in Prien’s stead. For them, this was definitely a big fish. He was a bit excited; after all, if they sank another warship, their legend would be even more perfect.
“Bigger than a battleship?” Prien quickly moved to the periscope, his hands on the grips, turning it gently. Soon, he saw the massive warship in the distance! It was a battleship! Prien immediately had a rough idea of the target. He was now so skilled that he could estimate the opponent’s approximate tonnage at a glance and was not fooled by the exaggerated superstructure of the Japanese battleship.
Japanese battleships had a distinctive feature: a tall and complicated superstructure. Military enthusiasts described this design as an “illegal structure.” From a distance, it made Japanese battleships look taller than those of other countries from the same period. No wonder Prien’s chief petty officer had said it looked bigger than a battleship.
“The profile… looks a bit like… a Fusō-class!” the chief petty officer muttered, flipping through a not-so-detailed book of enemy warship silhouettes. Unlike the detailed British warship comparison charts, this Japanese one was simple and crude. Clearly, Germany’s preparations for fighting Japan were also not very thorough.
“It’s a Fusō-class, alright! That superstructure is just too ugly! My God, don’t these Japanese have any concept of aesthetics?” Prien said with a frown, aiming the periscope at the Japanese battleship sailing in the distance. He was clearly disgusted by the ugly Japanese warship. Compared to the relatively orderly silhouettes of British warships, “ugly” was not enough to describe this one.
“What I’d rather talk about is you, my captain, Captain Prien,” the first officer asked, half-amused, half-exasperated. “First it was the Barham and the Royal Sovereign, then the Howe, then the Ukraina, and now another one… Are you a magnet? A battleship magnet that attracts enemy battleships?”
Prien was momentarily taken aback, then rubbed his nose in embarrassment. “Maybe I’m just lucky?”
“Mr. Lucky Magnet,” the first officer joked with a smile, then shouted loudly, “Set the torpedoes! All hands, battle stations!”
Published: 2025-09-11T01:56:28.000+00:00
Last Edited: 2026-01-24T16:36:24.000+00:00
URL: https://www.patreon.com/caleredhair/posts/mtr-c617-magnet-138630577
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