The Rise of the Third Reich

The American destroyer escort finally discovered the rapidly approaching torpedo boat. The 127mm guns that had been firing randomly in the air all turned their muzzles and fired rumble. The dazzling searchlights also shined on the sea, illuminating the S100 torpedo speedboat traveling at full speed on the sea.

Colonel Johnson personally stayed in the narrow cockpit of command boat S115, standing next to the pilot, staring intently at his prey, an Aivats-class escort destroyer, with constant observations in his ears. cabin ranging report.

"11,000 meters!"

"10,000 meters!"

"9000 meters!"

"8000 meters..."

Now all the preparations before the torpedo launch are in place. The two compressed air-propelled T1 torpedoes are ready. You only need to let the torpedo speedboat rush to within 6000 meters of the target before launching!

The American escort destroyer had already reacted at this time, and its two 127mm cannons were aimed at the torpedo speedboat's forward path and bombarded continuously. Clusters of water jets were constantly stirred up by the explosion of the shells. For the S115 boat of more than 100 tons, the water column stirred up by the 127mm shell is like a water wall. But it couldn't stop the speedboat from moving forward at all - this torpedo speedboat was armored. Although it couldn't stop the direct hit of the 127mm artillery shell, the shell fragments hit the front of the torpedo speedboat and could only scratch off a little paint.

Probably realizing that they could not block the German torpedo boats with firepower, the American destroyer escorts began to twist on the sea and performed an S-shaped evasive maneuver. However, escort destroyers do not have the high speed of regular destroyers like the "Fletcher" class - if Captain Johnson encounters a "Fletcher" class that can drive up to 37 knots, he wants to use a 44 knot T1 torpedo to defeat it. It is still very difficult to sink. However, the Aivats-class escort destroyer can only run up to 19.5 knots at the fastest, and it has no advantage at all when encountering the S100-class torpedo speedboat.

Perhaps knowing that a disaster was imminent, the eight escort destroyers targeted by the 16 S100 boats sent out distress signals one after another. Soon, the six "Benson" class destroyers and the latest "Ai" patrolling nearby would Sumner class destroyers rushed to support.

These seven destroyers are all regular destroyers with large displacements. Among them, the "Benson" class has five 127mm high-level dual-purpose guns, and the "Allen Sumner" class has high-level dual-purpose guns, and their speeds are as high as Section 37!

Once they are reunited with the 10 "Evarts" class escort destroyers, Colonel Johnson's 16 S-boats will no longer be enough.

However, at this time, both the 10 "Aivats" class destroyers eager to escape from the torpedoes of the S100 boats and the 7 regular destroyers eager to save friendly ships had forgotten about anti-submarine warfare.

It is difficult for these 17 high-speed destroyers to use sonar to detect underwater targets due to their own noise problems. Therefore, there is a huge gap in the anti-submarine patrol circle around U.S. battleships, transport ships, and landing ships.

The six Type 21 U-boats that had already slipped near the U.S. Grand Fleet quickly discovered this opportunity for a breakthrough.

"Sir, another group of American destroyers has arrived. They are making a lot of noise. They should be sailing at high speed!"

Sergeant Schultz, the sonar soldier on the submarine U-3001, lowered his voice to the lowest level and reported the latest findings to the captain, Captain Manzek.

Because it was late at night and the visibility on the water was very poor, the Type 21 U-boat did not raise its periscope, but used passive sonar to determine the situation on the water.

"Captain," the submarine's first mate, Lieutenant Luce, whispered to Manzek, "you should be able to sneak in..."

"Boom! Boom!" Before he could finish his words, two dull booms came through the sea water and the shell of the submarine.

"It should be a torpedo launched by the S boat!" Lieutenant Luce immediately made a judgment.

"Our opportunity has come!" Captain Manzek immediately made a decision, "Accelerate to the highest speed, and we will rush directly under the Yankee destroyer patrol circle!"

"Yes, Captain!"

"4000 meters! Colonel, the current distance is 4000 meters!"

While the Type 21 U-boat underwater began charging at full speed, the S115 boat on the surface had already rushed 4,000 meters away from an American destroyer escort.

For the 44-knot T1 torpedo, this distance is already very close! The T1 torpedo can glide through the water about 1,350 meters per minute and can hit an American destroyer in less than 3 minutes.

It is really not easy for a 19.5-knot ship to dodge four salvos of T1 torpedoes in such a short period of time!

Colonel Johnson knew that the torpedo boat could no longer move forward. 4,000 meters was already within the range of the 40mm Bofors anti-aircraft gun. If it went any further, the S-boat would be at risk of being sunk.

"Torpedo! Release!" Colonel Johnson took the intercom from the signal soldier on the side and shouted the command that always excited him.

It was not only the mine operators on the S115 boat who received the order, but also the S116 boat that charged side by side with the S115 boat.

As the launch trigger was pulled hard, under the influence of huge air pressure, four 533mm T1 torpedoes jumped out of the launch port, and then like four steel beasts rushing into the water, they opened their fangs and headed less than 4,000 meters away. The prey pounces.

Just as the torpedoes rushed out of the launch port, the S115 and S116 boats also turned to the left and right at the same time, leaving the battlefield as fast as flying. As soon as they completed a big turn, a loud rumble came from behind.

At around 0:00 on August 24, 1944, the 1,360-ton escort destroyer "Austin" was blown into two pieces by two T1 torpedoes launched by the S115 and S116 boats. It sank completely to the bottom of the water in just a few minutes. Of the 156 people on board, less than 30 were rescued.

Just 3 minutes before the "Austin" was hit by a mine, the USS Bebas and the USS Decker, which were in the same class as it (both Avarz-class), were also hit by a T1 torpedo each. However, they were lucky. They did not sink immediately, but struggled on the sea for a while, buying time for the naval officers and soldiers on board to jump into the sea and escape.

…

"Captain, we're probably close to Georgetown Beach."

While the Americans on the sea were busy rescuing their fallen companions, the U-3001 boat had slipped through the warning patrol circle of the American destroyer. However, because the submarine is moving underwater, it is inevitable that it will deviate from the course. Therefore, Lieutenant Schultz, the first officer of the U-3001 boat, can only estimate one position.

"Slow down to 5 knots." Captain Manzek also agreed with his deputy's estimate. "Water tanks 1 and 2 are drained and raised to the height of the periscope."

"Water tanks 1 and 2 are drained and the height is raised to the height of the periscope."

Because it was operating in waters close to the coastline, the U-3001 boat did not dive too deep, so it quickly raised itself to periscope height.

"Okay, now let's see how luck goes..." Captain Manzek raised the periscope himself, and then put his eyes on the periscope's eyepiece.

The sea was still pitch black. After Captain Manzek turned the periscope left and right a few times, a few dim lights suddenly slipped into his eyes.

He suddenly pointed the periscope at the place where the light appeared, and saw only a two- to three-thousand-ton landing ship moving forward while illuminating the channel ahead with dim lights. Apparently this was a landing ship heading towards the beach in Georgetown using the cover of darkness!

"The target has been found, a landing ship, no... not one, there are three, four, five... Oh my God, there are landing ships everywhere on the sea!" Looking at the landing ships one after another appearing in the periscope , Captain Manzek’s eyes were bloodshot.

Although landing ships are not as valuable as battleships and aircraft carriers, there are so many of them that they cover the sea! There are at least dozens of various landing ships here, and the number of American soldiers on them must be tens of thousands!

If they all drowned, then the war would probably end a few weeks earlier, right?

It's a pity that there are not so many torpedoes on the U-3001 boat!

"We have caught a big fish!" Manzek said to the first mate in a voice that could not suppress his excitement. "There are dozens of landing craft up there! If other brothers are here, tens of thousands of Americans will be drowned tonight. "

"Sir, we have 24 torpedoes. We can fire up to 4 salvos within 30 minutes. Each round can fire 6 torpedoes..."

In addition to high underwater speed and low noise (very low noise at low speeds), the Type 21 U-boat also has a unique skill, the hydraulic loading system, which can complete the loading of 6 torpedoes in 10-12 minutes.

"It can't be so wasteful," Manzek immediately rejected his deputy's suggestion. "A maximum of 4 torpedoes can be fired at a time. 24 torpedoes can hit 6 targets. We have to kill 6 Yankee landing ships tonight!"

After saying this, Captain Manzek suppressed his excitement and began to issue combat orders one after another.

Although the underwater displacement of the U-3001 boat under his command is only 1,819 tons, it is small compared to those submarines in Japan and the United States that often have a tonnage of two to three thousand tons or even larger. But in terms of combat capabilities, it can definitely be regarded as an underwater killer.

Moreover, the German Naval Armament Office also designed and produced an electric-propelled torpedo with excellent concealment and accuracy (without generating bubbles) for this submarine that can sail at a high speed of 17.2 knots underwater. If all goes well, by the time U-3001 successfully fires 24 torpedoes and sinks 6 landing ships full of American sailors, the Americans will not even discover its existence!