Iron Cross

As the sun gradually jumped out of the sea level, a new day began, and the entire Mediterranean was bathed in golden sunlight.

The port of Tobruk in Libya gradually became lively. This is the most important military base of the African Corps in North Africa. It not only has a solid fortress, a complete air base, but also a port with relatively good facilities. More importantly, its location is not as far from the Alamein front as Benghazi, nor as close as the Matrouh Port. It is a very favorable support point. Trucks are used to transport supplies from Benghazi to Alamein. The losses and consumption on the way accumulate. It is good to have half a ton left after transporting one ton of gasoline to the front line. Matrouh Port is too close to the front line. British planes come to bomb almost every day, and sometimes even twice a day. The port facilities are repaired and bombed, and then repaired again. In the past few months, there has been almost no time when they are intact. Although Tobruk was also visited by British bombers taking off from Malta or Cairo, it happened to be located between two enemy bases, so the number of bombers that visited was relatively limited, and the time they could stay in the air could not be too long. In addition, the fighter wing of the 8th Air Force stationed there provided effective defense, so the overall safety was guaranteed.

The main reason for the busy port was to handle the fuel that was transported to the port three days ago, most of which would enter the war reserve oil tanks through various pipelines. In order to prevent bombing, the African Corps took great efforts to repair the oil storage facilities after seizing Tobruk from the British, and almost all the oil tanks were set underground. The other part of the fuel was barreled and sent to the front line by trucks, which was the blood that was indispensable to maintaining the war.

The task of transporting materials to North African ports has always been regarded as a daunting task by the Italians, who would delay it if they could, or escape if they could, but this time not only did Prime Minister Mussolini personally issue a harsh order, but the German garrison also directly dispatched the gendarmerie under the order of Marshal Kesselring. The two captains set out on their 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 shrewd people. In the past six months, they had heard too many news of cargo ships being sunk by the British. Naturally, they would not take such cheap assurances to heart. They simply filtered out such words and set out 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 to buy the fastest time for escape. Unexpectedly, all the precautionary measures were not used in the end. The two Italian tankers docked smoothly under the cover of night and unloaded the cargo in less than a day. The whole process was done in one go without any obstacles. The two captains on the tanker were still in a daze until they left the port in the evening. They said they had never encountered such a smooth replenishment process. During the two-day and three-night voyage, it seemed as if the British warships, submarines and aircraft had deliberately avoided them. Even when operating in the port, there were no British aircraft to harass them, which made people feel that they were still in peace.

When Guderian received the telegram from Tobruk, he smiled with satisfaction. The acquisition of 6,000 tons of fuel meant that the African Army had the most solid foundation for the next stage of its combat plan. No one expected this clever counter-utilization of the British army's mastery of their own codes. Guderian used a typical trick to falsely report the replenishment time to the British to ensure the safety of transportation. According to the British calendar, the two ships would not arrive until the afternoon of September 6. The rigid British believed in their intelligence and were too lazy to spend useless time wandering around Tobruk in the past two days.

At this time, less than 60 nautical miles outside the port, two dark and shiny periscopes rose up at the same time, vigilantly observing the surroundings, and only landed again with satisfaction after finding that everything was normal. Soon afterwards, two iron-gray narrow bodies emerged from below the sea level. These are two T-class submarines belonging to the Second Submarine Division of the British Royal Navy, with a displacement of 1090/1571 tons (underwater). As a follow-up submarine designed to replace the O-class, P-class and R-class boats, the T-class submarine was built under the restrictions of the London Naval Treaty. Compared with the S-class boat, its tonnage has increased, the number of torpedoes and fuel is more, and the design is relatively more reasonable. The 7 submarines of the Second Submarine Division are all T-class, and they were incorporated into the Mediterranean Fleet as a whole after the war began.

In order to deal with the two Italian tankers, the Mediterranean Fleet Command ordered the Second Submarine Division stationed at the Malta base to send out effective troops to complete the task. The Second Submarine Division carefully studied the mission and sent two submarines, Turbulent (Royal Navy port number N98) and Traveller (Royal Navy port number N48), to ambush outside Tobruk Harbor. The combat order clearly stated that the enemy ship must not only be completely sunk, but also completed before it entered the port to unload. To ensure the success rate, the division selected an Italian tanker target for each submarine and stipulated that the overall operation would be commanded by the captain of the Turbulent, Major John Wallace Linton, who had a higher rank.

The telegram notified the Italians of their appearance on the afternoon of September 6. Although Italians generally tend to be 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 let the enemy get the fuel supply 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, 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 Italians were unreliable and 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. 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 trace 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?