Film and Television: Starting from the Journey to Guandong

Chapter 133 Submarine

In the navy, submarines are one of the most important types of ships.

Submarines first showed their strategic and tactical value in World War I, but their birth was much earlier than World War I.

Submersible designs have appeared many times in documents as early as the 16th century.

A book from 1562 describes two Greeks who were rewarded by Holy Roman Emperor Charles V for performing a feat of "driving without getting wet" while seated in a wooden submersible.

In 1578, the British mathematician William Borne designed a submersible that used water bladders to control buoyancy.

In 1620, Dutch engineer Cornelis Dreiber designed and built the world's first truly submersible submarine.

This is a miniature submarine propelled by human wood pulp and looks like a large football.

Dreiber's submarine used a buoyancy control device similar to that of Borni's, which controlled ascent and descent by injecting water into a sheepskin bladder.

The submarine designed by Dreiber already has some prototypes of modern submarines. It can accommodate 12 sailors and can dive to a depth of 3-5 meters.

However, Dreiber's submarine did not cause much repercussions. For nearly a hundred years, the submarine disappeared from the literature as if it did not exist at all.

Although some submersible designs were produced during this period, most of them were unreliable and their appearance was far from modern submarines.

In 1690, French physicist Denis Papin, who invented the pressure cooker, proposed a submersible design that looked like a giant pot, which didn't look very reliable.

It was not until 1718 that a Russian carpenter Yefim Nikonov submitted a design drawing of a submersible to Peter I, and it was built with the support of the Tsar.

In 1724, Nikonov built the submarine he designed, but it sank during the trial due to loose sealing. He almost died.

Although Peter I did not blame him and continued to provide support, after Peter I's death in 1725, the matter went nowhere.

It is worth mentioning that this submarine was originally expected to be used as a submersible rod minecraft, but it has never been equipped with weapons.

A new invention is often the first to be applied in the military, and this is the case with submarine technology.

Fifty years after Nikonov's defeat, the first military operations using submarines took place during the U.S. War of Independence.

In 1776, American carpenter David Bushnell built an oval-shaped one-man submarine, the Turtle, and successfully nailed a mine to the bottom of the British battleship Eagle.

Unfortunately, the mine failed to explode because no underwater explosion test had been conducted.

The following year, Bushnell also planned to use Turtle to attack the British battleship Cerberus.

It was even more unfortunate this time. When the Turtle was approaching the Cerberus, the mine accidentally touched a British small boat, and it exploded.

This bombed small boat was the first ship in history to be sunk by a submarine. The four sailors who were killed became the first people to die in a submarine.

In 1797, the genius inventor Robert Fulton submitted a submarine plan to France, and the result was the Nautilus submarine completed in 1800.

The Nautilus was propelled by sails when it surfaced, and the propellers were turned by humans after diving.

It is worth mentioning that the basic structure of the Nautilus is all metal, and its outer shell is made of copper for rust prevention.

In order to solve the breathing problem, Fulton arranged a compressed air tank in the boat, which can be used underwater for 4 hours by 2 crew members and 3 lighting candles. This also makes the Nautilus the first truly fully underwater ship in the world. Submersible submarine.

The successful trial of the Nautilus in 1801 basically established the prototype of modern submarines. Submarine technology also experienced tremendous development after entering the 19th century.

Among the two world warships, in addition to battleships and aircraft carriers, the most feared naval ship is undoubtedly the submarine.

The elusive submarine often launches surprise attacks at times and places where the enemy least expects them, and the success rate is very high.

In the 19th century after the Nautilus, submarine technology ushered in great development.

After the launch of the Nautilus, there was a submarine craze in Europe and the United States, and various countries rushed to trial-produce human-driven submarines.

During the Civil War, Confederate naval engineer Horace Henry built a 1863-ton microattack submarine in 7.

The submarine sank during its first trial on August 8, killing five people.

It was picked up, modified and continued for sea trials. As a result, it sank again on October 10, and this time eight people died - including the builder Henry himself.

After all, this submarine has not been abandoned. Not only was it picked up for its third voyage, it was also given an official ship name - the H.L. Henry, to commemorate the dead builder.

On February 1864, 2, the Henry's final voyage began.

This voyage was unexpectedly smooth. Not only did there not be any mechanical problems, but it also quietly sneaked up to the Union Army USS Hosatonic docked in Charlestown Harbor and sank the more than 1000-ton warship with a rod mine. Unfortunately, What's more, he also sank to the bottom of the water.

It is generally believed that the Henry was the first submarine to sink an enemy ship, and the Hosatonic was the first warship to be sunk by a submarine.

It is worth mentioning that the Henry was discovered in 1995 and was raised out of the water as a whole in 2000.

Shockingly, this nearly 150-year-old mini-submarine is quite well preserved.

When scientists opened the hull of the boat, they were surprised to find that the bodies of the crew were basically still at their posts. Therefore, these people probably died of suffocation rather than drowning.

People speculate that the Henry lost power and sank to the bottom of the sea most likely due to the explosion. There was no leakage in the hull at the time.

In the era when the Henry was born, the appearance and structural characteristics of submarines around the world were basically finalized, but how to obtain power has always been a difficult problem.

Unlike surface ships, submarines cannot use their engines when submerged, so early submarines were powered by manpower.

Also in 1863, the French completed the Plongel, the world's first submarine that could travel without human power.

This submarine not only has a "super large" displacement of 381 tons, but can also be driven by 53 cubic meters of compressed air. It has an underwater endurance of 5 nautical miles and a speed of up to 4 knots.

After the electric drive was invented, people quickly installed this propulsion system that did not require air on submarines, thus giving birth to the first batch of electric drive submarines.

In 1889, the first torpedo attack submarine, the Spanish Pilar, entered service. This 80-ton submarine completed the first submarine-launched torpedo test in human history in 1890.

It is worth mentioning that during the late Qing Dynasty, an official named Chen built a human-powered submarine at the Jinmen Manufacturing Bureau in 1880.

According to the journal "Yi Wen Lu" at the time, the submarine was built by the official surnamed Chen himself. He only used the machines and tools of the manufacturing bureau, and found the materials and personnel himself.

Regrettably, there was no news about this submarine after its successful trial. It was probably blocked by the incompetent Qing Dynasty.

What made submarines prosperous was undoubtedly Germany's use of unrestricted submarine warfare during the First Station period, which for the first time allowed the world to see the power of submarines.

However, before the outbreak of One Station, Britain and France were the major submarine users.

By the beginning of the 20th century, submarine manufacturing technology had become increasingly mature, and many countries were manufacturing submarines and equipping them for their navies.

The submarine is powered by a steam engine or internal combustion engine when sailing on the surface, and the battery is charged at the same time; when it is sailing underwater, it is powered by the battery.

Before the outbreak of the First World War, there were approximately 280 submarines in service by the major participating countries.

The largest user of submarines is France. The French Navy is equipped with 76 "Nava" submarines. This submarine has a displacement of 200 tons, a length of 34 meters, a width of 3.8 meters, a surface speed of 18.3 kilometers per hour, a diving speed of 10 kilometers per hour, and a endurance of 640 kilometers per hour. 4 kilometers, equipped with four 450mm torpedo tubes and carrying a crew of 14.

In addition, the French Navy has also equipped three experimental submarines.

战前，其他主要参战国在役的潜艇数量如下：英国73艘、德国28艘、俄国22艘、意大利22艘、丑国18艘、霓虹12艘、奥匈帝国5艘。

Most of these submarines displace hundreds of tons. Their main attack weapons are torpedoes, and they are also equipped with artillery for surface naval warfare.

Although the number of German submarines does not have an advantage, the Germans realized the power of submarines and formulated a plan to vigorously develop submarines.

In May 1914, a German report stated that during wartime, the most important task of German submarines was to destroy Britain's sea lines of communication. To achieve this goal, Germany needed to deploy 5 submarines around Britain.

Although Britain was the second largest submarine user after France before the outbreak of the First Station, it did not pay enough attention to the role of submarines in the war.

A 1912 report by the British Admiralty concluded that the possibility of submarines attacking merchant ships was very low because submarines had a small space and were unable to handle trophies and captured personnel.

The UK understands the role of submarines in war from the perspective of international law.

International law stipulates that neutral merchant ships are inviolable; if an enemy merchant ship is found to be carrying contraband, the merchant ship must be taken to the home port for disposal.

Submarines obviously don't have this capability.

Uncle Qiu, the then Secretary of the Navy, also asserted that German submarines would not attack unarmed merchant ships and that a civilized nation would never adopt such a barbaric approach.

He also said that if Germany really did this, it would prove that Germany was a pirate country, which would arouse public outrage in the international community and cause many neutral countries to declare war on Germany.

It was precisely because Britain underestimated the combat effectiveness of submarines and overestimated the German war civilization that Britain suffered so much from German submarines in World War I and almost ran out of ammunition and food.

On August 1914, 8, Germany deployed 6 "U"-type submarines in the North Sea. However, due to a lack of experience in submarine operations, the first wave of submarine attacks failed to work. "U-10" was attacked by the British cruiser "Birmingham" Collision and sinking, "U-15" sank to the bottom of the sea due to its own accident.

On September 1914, 9, the "U-5" submarine commanded by German Navy Captain Otto Heching sank the British cruiser "Pathfinder" in the Firth of Forth.

All 268 soldiers and an unknown number of civilians on board were killed except for 54 who were rescued. This was the first case of a submarine sinking an enemy ship in one station.

In November 1914, "U-11" sank the British cargo ships "Malachite" and "Captain" in the English Channel.

One thing to mention here is that every time he attacked a merchant ship, the captain of the "U-21" Otto Heching always asked the crew of the merchant ship to evacuate before sinking it to minimize the harm to civilians. Killing.

In January 1915, "U-1" broke through the English Channel densely covered with mines, sneaked into the Port of Liverpool, and bombarded Barrow Airport near the port.

This month, it also sank the 3100-ton British coal ship Ben Cruchan and two small cargo ships.

After conducting a series of attacks deep into the British hinterland, the "U-21" skillfully passed through the British interception and blockade and returned safely to Wilhelmshaven, Germany.

Subsequently, "U-21" moved to the Mediterranean and supported the Austro-Hungarian Empire in resisting the attack of the British and French forces in the Battle of the Dardanelles.

On May 1915, 5, in order to cooperate with the landing operation, the British battleship "Triumph" with a displacement of 25 tons was shelling military fortresses along the coast of the Ottoman Empire.

At 12:20, the "Triumph" discovered the periscope of "U-300" about 21 meters away from the starboard side, and immediately ordered to fire in the direction of the periscope. However, while firing, it was hit by a torpedo launched by "U-21". The Triumph tilted and sank to the bottom of the sea. Although the British destroyer HMS Chelmer came to the rescue, 78 crew members were still killed.

After sinking the "Triumph", "U-21" continued to search for prey on the battlefield.

1915年5月27日上午6点45分，奥托·赫兴下令向英国排水量1.6万吨的“威严”号战列舰发射鱼雷，伴随一声巨响“威严”号倾覆，49名船员丧生。

“U-21”1913年2月8日下水，10月22日开始服役，排水量824吨，长64.2米，宽6.1米，水面航速每小时28.5公里，潜水航速每小时17.6公里，装备4具50厘米鱼雷发射管，1门8.8厘米火炮（1916年起又增加了1门火炮），搭载29名乘员。

The "U-21" commanded by Captain Otto Heching carried out a total of 11 combat missions, sinking 36 merchant ships and 4 warships, with a total tonnage of 12 tons, and damaging 2 ships. The submarine was intact.

In 1918, "U-21" was withdrawn from the front line to perform training missions in the rear.

After Germany surrendered on February 1919, 2, "U-22" was ordered by the Allies to sail to the Port of Harwich in the North Sea in the United Kingdom. It took on water and sank on the way. At this time, the crew officially surrendered.

The reason for the sinking of "U-21" has always been a mystery. Some people speculate that the German surrender forces deliberately sank the submarine and did not want it to become a British trophy.

On October 1914, 10, the British submarine "E18" discovered several German destroyers while patrolling the North Sea and was looking for a suitable attack position.

At that time, the German submarine "U-27" was also patrolling in the sea area. After discovering the "E3", it followed up. When it was about 3 meters away from the "E270", it launched a torpedo, which accurately hit the target, followed by a huge explosion "E3" It sank to the bottom of the sea, killing all 31 crew members.

"U-27" became the first submarine in the history of human warfare to sink an enemy submarine.

The German submarine "U-27" was launched on July 1913, 7, with a displacement of 13 tons, a surface sailing speed of 878 kilometers per hour, a diving speed of 31 kilometers per hour, and a range of 18 kilometers. It is equipped with four 1.56cm torpedo launch tubes, and one 4cm torpedo tube. Artillery, carried a crew of 50, and the submarine commander was Captain Bernd Wegener.

On October 1914, 10, "U-31" achieved another brilliant record and sank the British aircraft carrier "Hermes".

In 1915, "U-27" sank 10 British, Norwegian and Spanish ships.

On August 1915, 8, while patrolling the southern waters of Ireland, "U-19" intercepted a cargo ship "Nixia". After boarding and inspecting the submarine, submarine personnel found that the cargo ship contained ammunition and donkeys destined for the French front line. He ordered the people on board to leave in lifeboats and prepare to sink the cargo ship.

At this moment, a ship flying the flag of the United States appeared on the sea visible to the naked eye, and a signal was sent to take in the people who left the "Nixian".

"U-27" suspended the sinking of the "Nexian" and sailed towards the ship flying the American flag to prepare for contact.

About 550 meters away, the American flag on the ship suddenly changed to the British Royal Navy flag. It turned out that the ship was the British submarine hunting ship "Baralon" disguised as an American merchant ship!

Before the "U-27" could react, it was sunk by 34 intensive artillery shells fired by the "Balaron". The entire crew of the boat was either buried on the bottom of the sea with the submarine, or was shot to death by British troops.

Hans Roze, captain of the German "U-53" submarine, performed 13 missions in the First World War, sinking 87 merchant ships with a total tonnage of 22.4 tons, and damaging 10 merchant ships with a total tonnage of 4.6 tons. , and also sank a U.S. destroyer.

On the battlefield, Luo Ze is both a fierce killer and an elegant gentleman.

Before sinking a merchant ship every time, he always asked the people on the ship to move out, and boarded the ship to check that no one was stranded before firing and sinking it; for enemy warships after they were sunk, he also tried his best to rescue those who fell into the water.

"U-53" is a small submarine. It was launched on February 1916, 2. It has a displacement of 1 tons, a surface sailing speed of 902 kilometers per hour, a diving speed of 32 kilometers per hour, and a range of 17 kilometers. It is equipped with four 1.7cm torpedo launch tubes (a total of 4 torpedo), two 50 cm guns, and carried a crew of 7.

On December 1917, 12, "U-6" discovered the U.S. destroyer "Jacob Jones" while patrolling the English Channel. After finding a suitable attack position, Rosse commanded "U-53" at a distance of 53 meters. A torpedo was launched, and the "Jacob Jones" was unable to avoid it and was hit on the starboard side. The power system of the "Jacob Jones" was completely destroyed and it was unable to send a distress signal. Captain David Bagley ordered the ship to be abandoned.

Eight minutes later, the "Jacob Jones" sank vertically into the sea with its bow pointed upward. During the sinking process, the depth charges on the ship exploded, killing 8 people.

The "Jacob Jones" became the first destroyer sunk by Germany when the United States entered the war in April 1917, and the "U-4" became the first torpedo sunk target from the longest distance in the world. submarine.

After the "Jacob Jones" sank, 38 surviving crew members called for help at sea. Rosser commanded the "U-53" to risk being attacked by surrounding enemy ships and surface to rescue those who fell into the water, and rescued two seriously injured people. Ugly sailors rescued him on his submarine.

Then a distress signal was sent to the U.S. naval base in Queenstown, reporting the detailed coordinates of the shipwreck site, and leaving most of the medicine, fresh water and food carried on the submarine to the U.S. surviving crew members. Only after everything was arranged Leave.

Admiral William Sims, the commander-in-chief of U.S. naval forces in Europe, later wrote: We admire Rozer for being so polite in such a dangerous situation, and to this day, we are still willing to shake hands with him.

After the Battle of Deland in May 1916, Germany realized that the decisive force to win the naval battle was the submarine, not the surface fleet.

If submarines could sink 60 tons of ships every month, they would prevent neutral ships from going to Britain and force Britain to surrender in six months.

In December 1916, German submarines sank 12 ships with a total tonnage of 154 tons. According to this estimate, Britain would run out of ammunition and food by July 48.7!

On February 1917, 2, German Emperor Wilhelm II ordered the full implementation of "unrestricted submarine warfare"!

At this time, Germany had 105 submarines operating on the front line. German shipyards stopped building main battleships and built all submarines.

During the first stop, Germany built 330 submarines. After the armistice, there were still 176 operational submarines.

Germany gained a lot from "unrestricted submarine warfare". In February 1917 alone, German submarines sent 2 ships to the seabed (including an American ship), with a total tonnage of 291 tons.

In March, German submarines sent another 3 ships to the bottom of the sea (including 355 American ships), with a total tonnage of 4 tons.

1917年2月24日，法国“阿托斯”号客轮在地中海被德国潜艇“U-65”击沉，船上载有950名华夏劳工，在遇难的754人中就有543名华夏劳工。

According to later statistics, during the war, more than 3000 Chinese laborers died in German submarine attacks on their way to the European battlefield. This was also a reason for China to declare war on Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire in August 1917.

Germany also considered that the expanded range of submarine attack targets due to "unrestricted submarine warfare" would inevitably harm the interests of the United States (the United States was a neutral country before April 1917), because at that time many American merchant ships were traveling to and from the United Kingdom. It will inevitably draw the ugly country into the battlefield.

But Germany's wishful thinking at that time was that Germany would win the war quickly. Even if the United States joined the war, it would be too late. Britain had already surrendered by then.

Germany's "unrestricted submarine warfare" was so effective that many neutral ships no longer dared to sail to Britain, resulting in a severe shortage of British war supplies and people's daily necessities.

At that time, in order to save fuel, the British Navy stipulated that the sailing speed of warships should not exceed 37 kilometers per hour.

It stands to reason that everyone would think of escort. In ancient Rome, there was a precedent of warships escorting merchant ships.

At that time, it was not that Britain did not want to escort merchant ships, but that it did not have the ability.

The British fleet mainly blocked Germany and prevented the German fleet from entering the high seas. It could no longer provide escort warships.

In 1914, the beginning of the war, Germany lost 5 submarines, 3 of which were sunk by mines, 2 of which were rammed and sunk by warships, and none of which were sunk by enemy warship weapons.

In the middle and late stages of the war, Britain relied on submarine hunters disguised as merchant ships to sink 15 German submarines, but 24 of its own submarine hunters were sunk by German submarines at a heavy cost.

However, Britain's participation in the war brought a turn for the better.

In May 1917, 5 destroyers dispatched by the U.S. arrived in the United Kingdom. With these destroyers, the United Kingdom implemented a comprehensive escort system from May 24, curbing Germany's "unrestricted submarine warfare" offensive.

With the escort, the German submarines had no choice but to attack lone merchant ships or search for prey in unescorted waters.

According to statistics, the loss rate of merchant ships without escort is 10%, and the loss rate after escort drops to 1%.

从1917年5月到一战停战，前往英国的商船共有9691艘，只损失了115艘；从英国出发的商船共有7391艘，只损失了52艘。

In anti-submarine warfare, the most outstanding achievement is the large-scale laying of mines.

At the beginning of the war, the British laid 4 mines in Helgoland Bay.

In 1918, the United Kingdom laid a minefield in the 370 kilometers long and 40 kilometers wide sea area between Norway and the Orkney Islands. A total of more than 7 mines were laid.

Although mines only sank 46 German submarines during World War I, mines had a huge deterrent effect. They prevented German submarines from rashly crossing minefields and provided certain protection to the Allied nations' homeland and ships from the front line.

Anti-submarine nets are also commonly used in anti-submarine warfare.

An anti-submarine net is a net made of fine steel wire with buoys on it, and is laid out in the water like fishing.

When a German submarine hit the anti-submarine net, the buoy sank and the alarm system was activated. At the same time, the anti-submarine net also entangled the submarine.

Later in the war, depth charges also posed a huge threat to submarines.

The water pressure-sensing depth bomb developed in the UK is very accurate and can be set to explode at six depth levels between 31 meters and 183 meters.

At one station, 43 German submarines were sunk by depth charges.

Sonar was introduced in the later stages of the First Station, and although it was less accurate, it also played a certain role in anti-submarine warfare.

The British used aircraft towed sonar to search for German submarines, and then dropped depth charges to attack the submarines.

In 1917, 135 aircraft sorties were launched from the British mainland for anti-submarine warfare and 85 attacks were carried out;

In addition, British airships discovered German submarines 36 times and attacked them 15 times.

From May to November 1918, British aircraft and airships conducted more than 5 hours of anti-submarine patrols, but most of them cooperated with surface warships. Only the German submarine "U-11" was sunk by a single British anti-submarine aircraft.

Using submarines to fight submarines is also productive. During World War I, British submarines sank 18 German submarines, and French submarines also sank 1 German submarine.

German submarines sank 8 British submarines, 1 French submarine and 1 Italian submarine.

According to incomplete statistics, during the entire First World War, German submarines sank 5282 merchant ships with a total tonnage of 1228.4 million tons, killing at least 15000 civilians.

Germany lost 178 submarines and 5087 submarine crews were killed.

The result of the confrontation was that for every German submarine lost, 30 enemy and neutral ships with a total tonnage of 7 tons were sunk. The submarine's combat results in the first station were several times that of the second station.

Uncle Qiu, who later became the boss, wrote in his memoirs:

“The Battle of the Atlantic has been the dominant factor in the entire war from beginning to end. We must never forget for a moment that everything that happens on land, at sea, in the sky, or anywhere else is ultimately tied to the outcome of the Battle of the Atlantic.

That terrible, never-ending journey of suffering - we are often in extreme difficulties and frustrations, and always face invisible dangers. Finally, accidentally and dramatically, he embarked on the bright road. "

And specifically stating that the only thing in the war that really scared me was the German Navy's submarines!

This is indeed the case. After Germany gave up the "Sea Lion" plan (that is, the landing operation against the United Kingdom), German submarines have always been the main threat to the United Kingdom.

The strategic height reached by this naval tactic in the second station may be comparable only to China's "guerrilla warfare behind enemy lines".

Compared with the Pacific War, the battle in the Atlantic lacked the splendor and masculine beauty, but was always filled with a mysterious and gloomy atmosphere. "Wolves" appeared in the Atlantic, and submarine warfare and anti-submarine warfare ran throughout the entire war.

Strictly speaking, it was not a naval battle, but a protracted maritime war, consisting of countless battles and battles, with numerous successful examples.

What made the majestic British Empire feel the pain of defeat was not the fierce and devastating lightning assault of German tanks, nor the overwhelming and indiscriminate bombing of German aircraft day and night.

It was the German submarines' operations to break diplomatic ties with sea transportation. When the German submarines' activities were at their most rampant, they almost cut off the Atlantic route that was vital to Britain, and almost firmly strangled the British Empire by the throat!

Let the UK truly feel the pain of failure!

This contest between breaking and maintaining diplomatic relations is not only a strategic battle of wits and courage between the senior generals of both sides, but also a competition in weapons, equipment, and technical levels. It is also an all-round competition in the tactical literacy and combat will of the officers and soldiers participating in the war!

This desperate battle around the sea lines of communication lasted for five years and eight months, throughout the entire war, and had a huge impact not only on the outcome of the war, but also on the development of the post-war navy.

The Atlantic Ocean is located between Europe, North and South America, and Africa. It is shaped like an S, wide at both ends and narrow in the middle. The widest point from east to west is about 3700 nautical miles (approximately 6800 kilometers). The narrowest width near the equator is only 1500 nautical miles (approximately 2800 kilometers). ); it is about 8500 nautical miles (about 15700 kilometers) long from north to south, with a total area of ​​9336 square kilometers, equivalent to half the area of ​​the Pacific Ocean, and is the second largest ocean in the world.

The strategic position of the Atlantic Ocean is extremely important for Europe. The developed European and American countries along the coast have advanced science and technology and developed economic power. They account for a large proportion of the world economy. They also have strong military strength and have a strong influence on the international political situation. influence.

In terms of resources, in addition to abundant marine resources, coastal countries in Latin America and Africa also possess many strategic resources, which have always been coveted by great powers.

The Atlantic Ocean has a long history of navigation and can be said to be the center of world maritime shipping. In the early twentieth century, the Atlantic Ocean's maritime cargo volume accounted for 75% of the world's maritime cargo volume.

On the eve of the outbreak of the Second Station, Atlantic Ocean shipping cargo volume still accounted for 70% of the world’s shipping cargo volume.

At that time, there were four strategic maritime transportation routes in the Atlantic Ocean, which had a profound impact on world politics, economy, and military.

The UK has a merchant fleet with a registered gross tonnage of approximately 2100 million tons, accounting for 6600% of the world's total merchant ship tonnage of 31.8 million tons.

The total mileage of British maritime communication lines exceeds 8 nautical miles (approximately 14.7 kilometers), the annual maritime cargo transportation volume reaches 6800 million tons, and about 2500 ships sail on the sea every day.

There are two main maritime lines of communication between the UK and other countries around the world. One is the North Atlantic route, which connects Europe and America and leads to the Pacific Ocean via the Panama Canal;

The other group is the Mediterranean-Suez Canal-Indian Ocean route, which connects Mediterranean countries, Africa and the Indian Ocean.

The North Atlantic route, in particular, is the most important lifeline for the United Kingdom and is directly related to Britain's survival. Therefore, the British Navy devotes almost all its energy to ensuring the safety of these two sea routes.

战争爆发时，英国海军编有本土舰队、地中海舰队、远东舰队和后备舰队，总兵力19.5万人，作战舰艇主要有战列舰12艘、战列巡洋舰3艘、航空母舰8艘、重巡洋舰15艘、轻巡洋舰49艘、驱逐舰119艘、护卫舰64艘、扫雷舰45艘、潜艇69艘，总吨位约130万吨。

The main force is deployed in Scapa Flow to control the North Sea exit, protect the vital North Atlantic route, and cover light ships responsible for anti-submarine escort missions.

The British Navy has a wishful thinking that, with its strength far exceeding that of the German and Italian navies, it can effectively ensure the safety of maritime transportation by adopting a convoy system similar to that used in major world warships.

Germany is based on the Achilles heel of Britain being an island country that relies heavily on maritime transportation. Its naval strategic attempt has been to destroy British maritime transportation as its main goal from the beginning.

However, the strength of the German navy is far inferior to that of the United Kingdom. It has a battle fleet, a reconnaissance patrol fleet and a submarine fleet, with a total strength of about 16. The main combat ships include 2 battleships, 3 battlecruisers, 2 heavy cruisers, and 6 light cruisers. ships, 22 destroyers, 20 frigates, and 57 submarines, with a total tonnage of approximately 35 tons.

Strategically, although Dönitz's idea of ​​focusing on the development of submarine warfare was clearly demonstrated in the map operation exercises in 1937 and 1938, the German Navy still insisted on focusing on the development of surface ships until the war began. Faced with the facts, the focus gradually shifted to the development of submarines.

When the war broke out, among the 57 German submarines, 18 were in standby waters of the Atlantic Ocean, 6 were in standby waters of the North Sea, 25 were moored at bases, 4 were undergoing sea trials, 1 was being used for experiments, and 3 submarine was being used for experiments. There are ships undergoing routine maintenance.

It can be said that the German navy did not have enough power to cope with the war. As Dönitz admitted during his trial in June 1945, we had been defeated as early as the outbreak of the war because Germany did not do anything at sea. Very well prepared for war.

On August 1939, 8, Germany had already begun preparations for war. Dönitz ordered five submarines of the seventh detachment to set off from Kiel, and five submarines of the sixth detachment to set off from Wilhelmshaven to the Atlantic Ocean in order to prepare for the war as soon as possible. Attacks can be carried out immediately when an outbreak occurs.

On August 8, the United Kingdom also realized that war was imminent, and the coastal defense aviation began to conduct anti-submarine patrols over the North Sea in accordance with the wartime contingency plan.

On August 8, the German High Command issued the No. 31 Combat Instruction, stipulating that the task of the navy was to carry out war-breaking operations with the United Kingdom as the focus.

On September 9, Germany attacked Poland, and the Second World War broke out in full force.

At this time, of the 57 submarines currently in service in the German Army, only 22 were suitable for ocean warfare, 35 of the remaining 11 had not yet completed preparations for war, and 24 were small submarines that could only operate in the North Sea.

In addition, the submarine base is far away from the combat sea area, so there is not enough power to carry out group operations, and it can only carry out single-boat breaking operations and mine laying.

Although due to various reasons, German submarines did not achieve impressive results in the early stages of the war, they did commit three major events that were sensational at the time.

The first was to sink the "Athena". On September 9, the day Britain declared war on Germany, the German submarine U-3 discovered the ship in the waters west of the Hebrides.

The "Athena" was a 13500-ton passenger ship that regularly traveled between Britain and the United States. There were 1102 passengers and 315 crew members on board at the time.

Captain Lemp, the captain of the U-30, observed through the periscope and saw that it deviated from the normal merchant ship route and implemented a blackout. He determined that it was a British armed merchant ship and immediately determined to sink it.

At 1200:30 p.m., at a distance of meters, U- fired three torpedoes at the ship, one of which hit the ship. The violent explosion almost broke the "Athena" in half.

The captain immediately ordered an SOS distress signal to be sent and organized the people on board to abandon ship and escape.

At this time, Lemp realized that this was an unarmed passenger ship. He knew that he had caused a big disaster and immediately commanded the submarine to leave the scene.

At about 9 o'clock on September 4, the "Athena" sank to the bottom of the sea. It was the first ship to be sunk in World War II. 112 people died on board, including 85 women and children, 28 of whom were civilians. Ugly nationality.

On September 9, U-30 returned to the base. Lemp gave an oral report to Dönitz. Dönitz was worried that the U.S. Congress would use this as an excuse to join the war, so he ordered the logbook to be destroyed and kept strictly confidential.

The sinking of the "Athena" caused the death of 85 innocent women and children, which aroused unanimous condemnation from the British, American and even world public opinion. However, Germany denied it and claimed that it was deliberately sunk by the British in order to frame Germany. Also dragged into the war.

For a time, the sinking of the "Athena" became an unsolved case. It was not until the end of the war that the truth came out.

In order to avoid the recurrence of similar incidents, Dönitz ordered that no passenger ship should be attacked unless there was a special order, even if it was escorted by warships.

The second was to sink the aircraft carrier "Valiant". After the "Athena" was sunk, the British believed that Germany might have begun unrestricted submarine warfare. In order to ensure the safety of the Atlantic route, the British Navy dispatched aircraft carriers to perform anti-submarine missions. "Royal The "Ark" headed to the northwest waters, while the "Brave" and "Sports God" headed to the southwest waters.

At dusk on September 9, the aircraft carrier "Brave" was covered by four destroyers and conducted anti-submarine patrols in the waters west of Ireland.

After receiving the report of the discovery of a German submarine, the "Brave" immediately took off carrier-based aircraft and dispatched two destroyers to search.

Soon, just as the 22500-ton fleet aircraft carrier was landing the returning carrier-based aircraft, it was discovered by the German submarine U-29. The captain, Captain Schuhart, immediately decided to attack, and the boat quickly broke through the British warning circle. , launched two torpedoes at the "Brave", and both torpedoes hit.

Just twenty minutes later, the "Brave" exploded and sank. 1200 of the ship's 514 officers and soldiers, including the captain, Captain Jones, were killed.

The U-29 was immediately counterattacked by a depth charge from a British destroyer, but the boat successfully escaped the attack and returned safely.

The third was the most glorious sneak attack on Scapa Flow among the three major events. Scapa Flow is located in the Auckland Islands in northeastern Scotland, bordering the Mediterranean Sea to the east and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. It has an extremely important strategic position and is the most important anchorage of the British Navy's Home Fleet. base.

The British army has very tight defenses at the base. Six of the seven entrances to Scapa Flow are equipped with anti-submarine nets and minefields. The seventh entrance, Kirk Strait, has a narrow channel, fast currents, and dense reefs, forming a natural obstacle. .

Therefore, the British army did not deploy anti-submarine nets and mines, but to prevent accidents, the British army sank three old ships on the waterway as early as World War I.

(End of this chapter)