Chapter 742: Playtime

For a moment, the confusion of two phantom submarines filled the mind of the British escort fleet commander. That was a submarine full of mystery and terror. One was already a headache for the Iceland command; now two had appeared, which would surely shock the entire British fleet.

But before he could recover, in the transport fleet that was taking evasive action up ahead, several more ships were hit and exploded. The entire sea surface was like a lit firecracker factory, with huge flames erupting everywhere, sparks flying.

“Transport H12 is sinking, they’ve sent a distress signal! H13 is on fire, that ship is carrying grain, it looks like it can hold on for a while. H30 has broken in two and is sinking fast, its captain is dead,” a radio operator reported nervously, holding several message slips, on the losses from the recent attack.

“Destroyers on the left flank, accelerate forward immediately! Form up in an anti-submarine formation, drive off the German submarines! Even if there are two phantoms, sink them for me! A hundred years of British sea power! We will not yield easily! The spirit of Nelson is with us!” The commander, having come to his senses, roared, giving the order to encircle and destroy the enemy submarines.

“Full speed ahead! Catch up with the enemy submarines! Depth charges, prepare for battle! Adjust course! Sonarman, confirm the position of the enemy submarine! Report its course and speed at all times!” The first officer also gave the basic combat orders for his own ship. This newest American anti-submarine destroyer immediately shot forward as if on adrenaline, kicking up waves as it charged towards the position of the German submarine.

And not far behind this destroyer, an old British destroyer with two funnels was exploding violently. The recent torpedo had caused it immense damage. Seawater was pouring into its hull, and it could no longer be saved.

On the sea further from the exploding destroyer, more transport ships were in chaos. Some unlucky vessels had already caught fire and exploded. The sea was filled with sailors in the water, calling for help. Some were standing on the rails, trying to lower the lifeboats slung on the sides.

The speed of the entire fleet had dropped to an almost standstill. Because there were burning and exploding wrecks to starboard and straight ahead, some ships had begun to turn to port, hoping to avoid these obstacles and increase their speed.

“Avoid those torpedoes! Slow down, quick! Reverse! Hurry!” the captain of a transport ship shouted to his men, watching the burning and exploding vessels on the sea. But his reversing maneuver quickly affected another transport ship that was moving forward not far away. In the end, both ships had to slow down and stop to adjust their course before continuing.

Unfortunately, one of the ships would never have that chance again. The transport on the left, before it had even come to a complete stop, was hit in the stern by a torpedo that had slipped through from the side. The entire hull shook violently, and then, like the other ships that had been hit, it began to sink slowly.

Even more trouble appeared at the very front of the fleet. The destroyers that had gone to attack the German submarines only now discovered that there were two targets in their sonar positioning system, and they were two almost identical targets. They were equally quiet, and both were very fast.

These two targets seemed to be able to sense the approach of the enemy ships and actually split up and fled to either side at an incredible underwater speed. By the time the sonar operators on the British destroyers had identified them as two submarines, everyone was in a state of despair.

“The first wave of attacks had at least 10 torpedoes. This rate of attack can already confirm that it is indeed that phantom! Apart from it, no submarine can have such a fast torpedo reload speed,” a British officer said with a frown, looking at the loss report, a headache coming on.

Another piece of corroborating evidence was soon confirmed. The speed of the submarine that had launched a surprise attack from the right flank had exceeded 10 knots. This speed, which had never been heard of before, could only be achieved by one submarine, and that was the legendary North Atlantic Phantom.

But before the three destroyers pursuing this phantom submarine could catch up and drive it away, the analysis report from the other side was also delivered to the fleet commander. Incredibly, the density of the attack from the front exceeded that from the side. The frontal attack had involved at least 20 torpedoes simultaneously. This density of attack was almost the entire firepower of a wolf pack submarine formation.

What was even more terrifying was that the enemy had split into two groups and fled after the attack. The sonar signals showed that there were only two sound sources, and both were moving at over 10 knots. The destroyers that had gone to the front to carry out anti-submarine warfare were momentarily confused, not knowing what was going on.

This wasn’t two phantom submarines, but a damn three! What did this mean? It represented one piece of information: that the damn Third Reich Navy submarine force did indeed have a new type of submarine, with performance so good it was maddening, and that this terrifying weapon was being mass-produced!

The reason why the superstitious legend of the phantom submarine had been circulating in the British Navy was partly due to rumors and ignorance. On the other hand, it had to be admitted that it was also due to the British Navy’s subconscious unwillingness to see more phantom submarines.

Imagine, if it were really a ghost submarine driven by a demon, then at most Britain would only have to endure the torment of this one submarine. But one day, to find out that this thing was a revolutionary superweapon developed by the German technical department, what price would the British have to pay?

One ship was already a headache. What if there were ten? What if there were a hundred? With so many of these terrifying, uncatchable, and unsinkable weapons appearing on the shipping lanes, could the no-longer-so-powerful British Navy still protect its own fragile transport lines?

What was despairing was that even with so much fear, even with so much praying, the thing the Royal Navy least wanted to see had still appeared before them. The facts had proven very clearly that Germany’s submarine technology had indeed matured and could be mass-produced and equipped by the troops on a large scale.

“Gentlemen! Now, let’s begin the game! Let’s show these Brits what real naval warfare is!” Prien said, putting away his periscope and looking at the two sonar operators. He spoke loudly, “Begin to dive. Depth 110, increase speed to 15 knots, hard to port and change course. Let them hear our sound!”

“Speed 15 knots! Motors, increase output!” the sailor in charge of propulsion replied to Prien’s order. Behind him, the helmsman had already turned the wheel to its limit. The entire submarine swayed slightly due to the acceleration and turning, and everyone felt as if they were stepping on a soft sponge.

“Stern torpedoes, stand by! If the enemy… sonarman, pay attention to the enemy’s sound signal! Confirm their speed and course!” As the submarine’s depth began to change, Prien knew that his advantage was growing. Although he couldn’t tell exactly how many British ships he had sunk, he could still hear the dull sound of explosions in the distance in the sonarman’s headset.

If nothing unexpected happened, Prien’s attack this time would sink at least half of the ships in this massive convoy. Such a result, in the past, could only be achieved at night and with a great deal of luck. But now, the German submarines were carrying out their slaughter in broad daylight, and the British had not even been able to organize an effective counter-attack.

An old-style German U-boat had only four bow torpedo tubes, so to fire more than 30 torpedoes at once, at least eight submarines were needed. Now, the new type of submarine could fire 12 torpedoes at once, so to fire more than 30, only three submarines were needed. This increase in attack density could be described as a world of difference.

That was why Prien had dared to form a wolf pack with five new submarines and launch a surprise attack at dawn, when the enemy was most relaxed. The facts also proved that his attack this time was very successful. At least for now, his attack tactics had inflicted huge losses on the British.

Prien didn’t know what kind of combat record his friendly submarines had achieved now. He only knew that before his own submarine had dived, it had sunk at least one of the enemy’s destroyers and three transport ships. As for the rest, he could only leave it to his comrades on the other two fronts to confirm.

The friendly submarines on the other front, the two new ones at the very front, had also not failed their reputation as ace hunters. To be the first to be equipped with the new submarines, the previous combat records of these German sailors were not simple. Each team was a ruthless character that had sunk at least 20 ships, and taken individually, they were all underwater demons that the British Empire hated to the bone.

This one-sided crushing performance was for these captains and crews who were used to maneuvering against enemy destroyers with old equipment, simply a grand-scale game. They were hunting freely on the vast Atlantic, adding to their combat records as much as possible to become the most powerful hunter.

While the entire British fleet was at its wit’s end over the three simultaneously appearing “phantoms,” on a transport ship on the outermost, port side of the British fleet, a British sailor on lookout duty saw, through the lens of his binoculars, a slender periscope breaking the surface of the water, slowly approaching him from not far away.

He lowered his binoculars, stared wide-eyed at his comrade, and then cursed in the most desperate of voices, “Oh, ****, we’re in trouble this time!”

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