Chapter 741: Two Phantoms

At dawn, the sun rose from the eastern horizon, an unforgettable and spectacular sight. The splendor of that moment was intoxicating. For an instant, Prien even felt that he drifted on the surface of the sea just because he loved this single moment, this grandeur of a single ray of sunlight between heaven and earth.

But unfortunately, if it were simply to admire the beautiful scenery, Prien would not be a submarine commander. He would more likely be a sailor on an oil tanker, leaning against the ship’s rail and peacefully watching everything unfold before him. Now, besides watching the sunrise at sea, there were more important things waiting for him to accomplish.

“Signal U-100 and U-99. Have them circle around to the flank of this transport fleet. We will attract the attention of the escorting destroyers in a moment. They need to sink as many ships in the fleet as possible, as quickly as possible,” Prien ordered his first officer.

The first officer nodded and then ducked back into the interior of the submarine. A few minutes later, the two submarines on the right flank of the wolf pack began to slowly submerge, and the entire fleet was immediately enveloped in an atmosphere of combat. The romance of the sun rising from the sea a moment ago had vanished in an instant.

“Now, the time for watching the sunrise is over. The time for killing has arrived!” Prien’s expression turned cold. He also entered the submarine. The last NCO to follow him in helped to secure the hatch. The entire iron ladder immediately became dim, with only a few faint lights illuminating the path into the command room.

“One last telegram! Have the other two submarines prepare to pick off any stragglers from the front!” After giving this order, Prien pulled down the periscope tube from above his head. Opening the handles, he nimbly rotated the periscope, finally aiming the scope, with its targeting reticle, in the direction where the enemy was expected to appear.

Just a few minutes ago, the radar on his submarine had detected this Allied convoy. Judging by its scale, the destroyers and transport ships that had been detected all belonged to a very large transport fleet. And a transport fleet of such a massive scale was undoubtedly the exact target Prien had been striving to find.

Leveraging the performance advantages of the new submarine, Prien had designed a brilliant attack plan. His submarine would first use its high rate of fire to launch a fierce attack on one side of the enemy fleet. After causing panic and confusion, it would begin to move at high speed in another direction. The high-speed underwater travel would give the enemy’s sonar a relatively clear signal, attracting their attention.

When the Allied destroyers left their positions to begin searching for and chasing Prien’s submarine, the submarines waiting at the front would open fire at close range, attacking the entire fleet, further disrupting the transport fleet’s formation, and forcing the destroyers on the other side to have to change position.

Finally, the two submarines lying in ambush on the other side would open fire again, delivering a heavy blow to the entire fleet. Then they would all happily run away, watching the British transport ships sink one after another on the sea.

“Target sighted! To our starboard bow. An old-style destroyer, speed is not fast!” Prien said to his first officer beside him. “11 degrees, correct the submarine’s course! Prepare for torpedo attack! Wait until the range is sufficient! Notify me immediately when the torpedoes are ready!”

“Torpedoes ready!” Not long after, this report came from the torpedo room. The entire power system in the submarine’s command room was fully restored, and many instruments lit up, emitting some beeping sounds. The sonar operator was concentrating, holding his headphones with his hands, afraid of missing any strange sounds.

“Prepare to launch torpedoes! The enemy is in range!” Prien’s eyes had not left the periscope. In his view, his submarine was already very close to the periphery of this fleet.

“Fire!” At Prien’s command, the U-47 immediately displayed its deadly power. Air erupted from both sides of the bow, and then one after another, torpedoes, following their pre-determined paths, rushed towards their unlucky enemies at top speed.

“Enemy contact! German submarine is launching torpedoes! The sound is very close!” a British destroyer’s sonar operator was suddenly taken aback and then loudly reported to the officer beside him.

“Sound the battle alarm! Alert the fleet flagship, prepare for battle!” The officer, hearing his subordinate’s confident report, immediately gave the combat order. Just a few short seconds later, the battle alarm echoed throughout the destroyer, and red lights flashed back and forth in the ship’s corridors.

“Torpedoes! Starboard! Torpedoes spotted to starboard! Change course! Change course!” A sailor who had been staring at the sea surface with his binoculars was alerted by the battle alarm. He soon spotted some indistinct white lines coming from his starboard side and immediately grabbed the phone and began to shout frantically.

The destroyer, with its high speed and smaller tonnage, began to turn sharply to avoid those terrifying, life-stealing killers. As its bow began to change course, this destroyer was lucky enough to dodge the cold arrows shot from a distant corner. However, the old-fashioned destroyer in front of it was not so lucky. With a loud bang, a torpedo accurately struck this warship.

“Damn it! It’s an ambush! A4, A5! You two destroyers, break away from the convoy and go finish off this reckless fellow!” Before the commander of the escorting destroyers here could finish reading his combat orders, in the group of transport ships that had not been able to evade in time, one of the vessels erupted in a huge explosion.

Prien had fired six torpedoes in one salvo, and the rapid-loading equipment in the torpedo room had helped this submarine reload another six with utmost speed. Just as the enemy’s destroyer was turning to come and find trouble with him, he seized the time to launch another terrifying torpedo salvo.

“A torpedo salvo! My God! Such a fast torpedo launch rate! It’s not one of the old German submarines! It’s that phantom!” On the British destroyer, the sonarman, listening to the sounds in his headphones, screamed.

Ordinary German submarines would usually choose to attack at night, because at that time, it was very conducive to the submarine’s concealment and escape. Taking advantage of the chaos caused by their own attack, they would strike a black hand and then flee. This was the essence of the old wolf pack tactics.

In the beginning, the British commander had clearly not panicked. An attack that occurred in broad daylight was actually not a great threat to the entire transport fleet. Without the catalytic effect of the fear of the night, as long as the fleet did not fall into chaos, a few losses could be exchanged for the opportunity to sink a German submarine. This was clearly a relatively worthwhile trade.

Moreover, only a rookie or a blindly arrogant German submarine captain would attack in broad daylight. This also meant that the highly experienced British destroyers could easily sink such a blockhead. Of course, there is an exception to every rule.

Only one German submarine liked to attack in broad daylight, because it was more convenient and faster to aim during the day. Another reason was that when attacking in broad daylight, it was easier to confirm one’s combat results. And this submarine was the nightmare of all British anti-submarine destroyers. No one was willing to mention this ghostly German submarine. Everyone called it the “Phantom,” because no destroyer could ever catch a trace of it.

“My God! The Phantom? Are you sure?” The sonar officer on the British destroyer’s eyes widened, and he asked with some nervousness. After getting a reply, he both breathed a sigh of relief and felt that his luck was extremely bad.

The idea that his luck was extremely bad was very easy to explain. There were at least 70 German submarines cruising the North Atlantic. To run into that legendary submarine on such a vast sea, this luck was so bad it could be described as defying the heavens.

And the main reason for his relief was that, based on past experience, this German ghost submarine only operated alone. Its appearance meant that there should be no other German submarines nearby. As long as they could shake off this troublesome phantom, then for a short period of time, the entire fleet would not be attacked by other German submarines.

However, before he could walk over to the captain, who was not far in front, to report the sonarman’s analysis, a series of at least seven or eight continuous explosions occurred at the very front of the entire transport fleet. The speed of the entire fleet slowed down, because many of the leading ships were burning and sinking.

“Front! Submarine attack from the front! A message from Captain Barker, they have spotted a phantom, right in front!” The sound of the radio room’s NCO shouting reached the sonar officer’s ears. He was stunned for a moment, and an incredible thought popped into his mind: “Could it be, there are two phantoms?”

Because of the successive explosions, the entire fleet’s speed had slowed down. The various transport ships, which had been arranged in a neat formation, were thrown into chaos. Then more explosions sounded, and more transport ships erupted in huge flames. The German torpedoes began to become faster, more accurate, and more effective. The crowded fleet was like a huge target, almost requiring no aiming from the German submarines.

“Sir! The sonar analysis shows that the German submarine on our side is the Phantom! It’s moving at a terrifying speed,” the sonar officer finally decided to report his analysis so that his captain could make the correct judgment.

“There are phantoms on both sides? Didn’t the Germans only have one of those submarines? Can anyone tell me where the judgment went wrong?” the captain of the British destroyer said with a frown and a mournful voice. “Have the destroyers on the left wing get to the front and drive off the enemy submarines. If we let them continue to do as they please, we’ll all be finished!”

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