When the sun gradually rises above the sea level, a new day begins, and the entire Mediterranean Sea is bathed in golden sunlight.
The Port of Tobruk in Libya is gradually becoming lively. This is the most important military base of the African Corps in North Africa. It not only has a solid fortress, a complete aviation base, but also a port with relatively good facilities. What's more important is its location. Tobruk is neither as far from the Alamein frontline as Benghazi, nor as close as Matruh Port. It is a very favorable support point. Using trucks to transport supplies from Benghazi to El Alamein, the losses and back-and-forth consumption accumulated along the way. It would be good to have half a ton left after transporting a ton of gasoline to the front line. Matruh Port is too close to the front line. British planes come to bomb almost every day, sometimes twice a day. After the port facilities are repaired, they are bombed, and then repaired after the bombing. For several months, almost nothing remains intact. when. Although Tobruk will also be visited by British bombers taking off from Malta or Cairo, because it happens to be in the middle of the two enemy bases, the number of bombers visiting is relatively limited, and the time in the air cannot be too long. In addition, The stationed fighter wing of the 8th Air Force provided effective defense, and overall safety was guaranteed.
The main reason why the port is busy is to process the fuel that was transported to the port three days ago. Most of them will enter the combat readiness tanks through various pipelines. In order to prepare for bombing, the Afrika Korps made great efforts to repair the oil storage facilities after capturing Tobruk from the British, and almost all the oil tanks were placed underground. The other part of the fuel is packed into barrels and sent to the front line by trucks. This is the essential blood to sustain the war.
The task of transporting supplies to and from North African ports has always been regarded as a daunting task by the Italians, who would drag them if they could and escape if they could. But this time not only did Prime Minister Mussolini personally issue a stern order, but the German garrison was also ordered to do so. Marshal Kesselring's order directly dispatched the gendarmerie. The two captains almost embarked on the voyage with sad faces. Although the military repeatedly stated that the route was safe and the air force would provide full escort, the captains were all sophisticated characters. In the past six months, we have heard that too many cargo ships have been raped by the British. The news of the sinking naturally did not take such cheap guarantees to heart. A pair of ears simply filtered out such words, and just set off on time with trepidation. Less than half a day after leaving the port, the captain asked the crew to prepare life-saving equipment and small boats in order to gain the fastest time for escape. Unexpectedly, all the precautionary measures were in vain. The two Italian oil tankers docked smoothly at night and finished unloading their cargo in less than a day. The whole process was completed in one go and without any interruption. The two captains on the tanker were still in a daze when they left the port in the evening. They said that they had never encountered such a smooth supply process. During the two-day and three-night voyage, it seemed as if the British warships, submarines and aircraft had been deliberately avoided. , even when operating in the port, there were no British aircraft to disturb us, which gave people the illusion that we were still in peaceful times.
When Guderian received the telegram from Tobruk, a satisfied smile appeared on his lips. The purchase of 6,000 tons of fuel meant that the African Army's next stage combat plan had the most solid foundation. No one expected this clever counter-exploitation of the unfavorable situation in which the British army had mastered their own codes. Guderian used a typical trick to falsely report the supply time to the British to ensure transportation safety - on the British calendar, The two ships would not arrive until the afternoon of September 6th. The rigid British were so convinced of their intelligence that they did not bother to spend useless time wandering around Tobruk in the first two days.
At this time, less than 60 nautical miles outside the port, two dark and shiny periscopes rose up in unison, observing the surroundings vigilantly, and only after finding that nothing was abnormal, they landed again with satisfaction. Soon after, two iron-gray narrow bodies emerged from below the sea level. These are two T-class submarines belonging to the Second Submarine Detachment of the Royal Navy, with a displacement of 1090/1571 tons (underwater). As follow-up submarines designed to replace O-class, P-class and R-class boats, T-class submarines are Built under the restrictions of the London Naval Treaty, compared with the S-class boats, its tonnage has increased, the number of torpedoes and fuel are more, and the relative design is more reasonable. The seven submarines of the Second Submarine Detachment are all T-class. After the war began, they were formally incorporated into the Mediterranean Fleet.
In order to deal with the two Italian oil tankers, the Mediterranean Fleet Command ordered the Second Submarine Detachment stationed at the Malta base to send effective troops to complete the task. The Second Submarine Detachment carefully studied the combat mission and sent two submarines, Turbulent (Royal Navy hull number N98) and Traveller (Royal Navy hull number N48), to ambush outside Tobruk Port. The combat order It was clearly stated that not only must the enemy ship be completely sunk, but this task must be completed before it enters the port to unload its cargo. To ensure the success rate, the detachment selected an Italian tanker target for each submarine and stipulated that the overall operation would be commanded by Major John Wallace Linton, the captain of the Fury with a higher military rank.
The telegram notified the Italians of their appearance on the afternoon of September 6. Although the Italians generally tend to arrive late rather than early, for the sake of insurance and navigation safety, the Furious and Voyager departed from the Malta base in advance and traveled all the way. They stayed day and night, and lurked after arriving at the designated location in the early morning of September 6. Taking advantage of the opportunity that the line of sight improved in the early morning and the visibility was greatly improved, the two submarines decided to surface in unison. On the one hand, they determined their own positions. On the other hand, observe the surrounding situation.
In the view of Captain Michael Beauchamp St. John, the captain of the Voyager, the order issued by the Fleet Command was carefully considered. Although submarines usually resort to ambush en route, However, because the Italians' clear route is not known, this tactic is likely to miss the target, but the ambush outside the port is different. Unless the Italians do not come to Tobruk, they will definitely not be able to escape. He recalled the solemn face of the detachment commander when he conveyed the order of Vice Admiral Henry Harwood, commander of the Mediterranean Navy: "The Mediterranean Fleet has the important responsibility of ensuring the logistics of the Eighth Army. They are currently working with Guderian's Afrika Korps. In a fierce battle, it is very important for us not to allow the enemy to obtain fuel supplies from above." He secretly made up his mind to send the two oil tankers to the bottom of the sea.
As an important port in North Africa, Tobruk was originally a shipping hub. However, since the beginning of the war and especially after the Italian transport fleet was repeatedly attacked, the entire route is now empty. After searching for a long time, no ship can be seen passing by. , Major Linton was very satisfied with this, because it meant that the difficulty of searching for the ship was greatly reduced. He was very confident about ambushing oil tankers. They had carried out this kind of mission many times in the past six months or so. Since the black room in England used the Turing machine to decipher the German code, all German and Italian troops had military operations in North Africa. The secrets of the operation have been revealed at a glance. The ridiculous Germans still thought that the unreliability of the Italians betrayed them. On the contrary, although the Italians were unreliable in many things, their passwords were relatively durable, at least to the end. It has not been cracked yet. Of course, there is no point in cracking the Italian code. After a series of naval battles such as the Taranto night attack, the Battle of Cape Matapan, and the Battle of Malta, the Italian naval fleet, which was decimated and short of fuel, has basically hunkered down in the base port and refused to come out. .
From early morning to morning, from morning to noon, until the sun set in the afternoon, there was still no trace of the Italian oil tanker. UU Reading www.uukanshu.com The two submarines finally lost their composure. At the beginning, they were able to insist on lurking underwater and strictly followed the plan of stretching out the periscope to observe every hour. However, they became more and more anxious as time went by. They did not wait for the sky to completely darken before emerging from the water again to recharge the battery. Major Linton was more experienced and had a deeper understanding of the Italian temperament. He sent a telegram to the Voyager, asking them not to be discouraged and to keep their eyes open especially after nightfall. Under the comfort of the two officers, the restless morale of the crew gradually calmed down. They persisted in the darkness for a whole night, constantly observing the sea surface conditions to prevent Italian oil tankers from slipping into the port at night, but still to no avail.
The sun rose again the next day, but this time the two submarines did not dive quickly. After staying underwater for so long and not seeing the sun for several days, coupled with the dirty air in the cabin, the ubiquitous engine noise and the stifling heat caused by the Mediterranean climate, the boys could hardly hold it in anymore. The two commanders discussed it via telegram and decided to seize the time to get some fresh air and relax to improve the morale of the crew.
Following the captain's order, the young men climbed out of the hatch with cheers and breathed in the fresh air. At first, the sailors walked in twos and threes on the bow of the ship, and later they even formed a circle to brag and chat. Captain Kemp faithfully performed his duties, constantly looking into the distance through the high-power telescope on the deck. He could see Libyan fishermen fishing near the port, but there was no sign of the Italian oil tanker, and he was convinced that such a large two It is impossible for a tanker to slip under one's nose.
Where did the Italian ship go?
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