Problems during the Second World War

1939 10 10 In October, the U-47 submarine of the German Navy boldly sneaked into the Royal Naval Base in Scarpa Bay and sank the battleship Royal Oak in one fell swoop. This successful combat example has become a legendary story in naval history-not only because of its important strategic significance, but also because of the wonderful process of completing this combat mission. The success of the German raid on Scarpa Bay greatly shocked the British government at that time, and they began to realize that they were not invincible at sea, which also triggered a protracted and fierce struggle between the Royal British Navy and the German Navy submarine force in the Atlantic Ocean.

Scarpa Bay Naval Base is the anchorage of the Royal Navy's main fleet in the British Isles, located in Orkney Islands in northern Scotland. This position is just at the crossroads of the German maritime transport line entering and leaving the North Sea, which has important strategic significance. There is no doubt that this base often has some targets that attract German submarines, but like other impregnable fortresses, Scarpa Bay is heavily guarded, especially against possible submarine attacks. During World War I, the submarine UB-/KOOC-0//KOOC-0/6 under the command of Oehms Mann sneaked into Scarpa Bay in June/KOOC-0/9/KOOC-0/8/KOOC-0/8, but it was sunk by lightning, and all the crew were killed. It is believed that any attempt to break through Scarpa Bay requires extraordinary courage and superb technology. In Deng Nici's words, any attacker "needs the boldest and most powerful enterprise". Because they have to face not only the heavily guarded royal navy, but also the unpredictable strong current, which is strong enough to make the submarine deviate from the scheduled route and fall into danger. Deng Nici has always wanted to try to let a German submarine dive into the sea area, which will deal a heavy blow to the Royal Navy, leaving the British devastated in a few years (it takes 3-4 years to build and install a battleship). The German naval intelligence department has done a lot of preparatory work for this, and collected some information about Scarpa Bay through the German Air Force and some submarines patrolling the sea. 1On September 26th, 939, the German Air Force managed to take clear photos of some bases. In September of the same year, the U- 16 submarine patrolling the waters near Scarpa Bay also ventured close to Scarpa Bay and brought back some valuable reports. After carefully studying the above information, the German Navy Submarine Force Command concluded that it was necessary to attack at night, because the current on the seabed was very slow at that time. The next question is to determine who will carry out the attack.

This man is Prien, and he is 3 1 year old. At that time, Prien was a captain with seven years of combat experience. Prien joined the German Navy in 1933 and participated in the Spanish Civil War. In the first combat patrol, he sank three enemy ships with a gross tonnage of 66,000 tons and won the second-class Iron Cross. In Deng Nici's memoir "Ten Years and Twenty Days", Deng Nici recorded his consideration at that time: "I have to make an attempt, and my choice tends to be Captain Prien, who is the captain of the U-47. In my opinion, he has all the personal qualities and professional skills needed to perform the task, which seems perfect. I gave him all the relevant information and told him that he could choose to accept it or give it up ... ". This day was 1939 65438+ 10 1, and Deng Nici gave Prien 48 hours to study the battle plan and make a decision. That night, he took the battle plan home and studied it carefully until late at night. The next day, he decided to accept the combat mission, because he was fully confident of successfully completing the combat mission. The attack date is set at the night of 10, 13 or 14, because the current is relatively gentle at this time.

When the original materials on the submarine were unloaded and replaced with much less supplies than before, the crew on the U-47 submarine knew that this was a very special task. U-47 submarine is an ocean-going submarine with a displacement of 750 tons. The unique saddle fuel tank design in the middle of this submarine ship makes the submarine's voyage reach 8700 miles, which is enough to sail to Britain and even the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. The surface speed of the boat is 16 knots, 7 knots are underwater, and the maximum diving depth is 100 meters. There are four 2 1 inch torpedo tubes at the bow and one at the stern. 88 mm deck gun is installed in front of the deck, and 20 mm anti-aircraft gun is installed behind the fence of the control tower. 1939 10 10 On 8 October, the U-47 submarine slowly left Kiel Port with a full load of torpedoes, followed a well-planned route, sailed to the North Sea via Port William, and turned south there, sneaking to avoid being discovered by surface ships. The combat mission was code-named "P", and the route was worked out in a highly confidential situation, and then Deng Nici personally dictated it to Navy Commander Lei Deer. When the submarine left the port, there was not even any sea ceremony on the dock.

On the night of 10 12, the U-47, which had been sailing underwater for almost a whole day, surfaced and began to correct its course. At this time, the weather gradually changed, and the dense clouds and drizzle in the air made the starlight disappear, making it extremely difficult to tell the course and direction. According to the coastal lights, Prien is sure that he is not far from orkney County. In fact, the submarine did reach a position less than 1.8 nautical mile from orkney County. Prien's estimation is quite accurate, and his superb sailing experience is beyond doubt. The crew of the ship who didn't know the truth even asked Prien, "Are we going to orkney County?" The answer is: "No, Scarpa Bay".

At 4 am, the submarine began to exhaust and dive to a depth of 270 feet.

The situation is clear and the combat mission has been decrypted. Prien told his crew that the next day's task was to enter Scarpa Bay. Since he had to spend almost the whole day underwater, Prien ordered everyone to save air and electricity and not to walk around unless necessary. Then the lighting was interrupted, and the instruments in the submarine control room, the slightly leaking water droplets in the pipeline and the sound of seawater squeezing the hull from all directions became the only noise in the boat.

At 4 o'clock the next afternoon, after the crew finished eating, the tables, chairs and tableware were set and the crew's bunks were folded. In order to avoid the submarine being captured, several crew members installed explosives at the bottom of the submarine. Everyone checked their life jackets and tore off the fleet logo on their hats to avoid being exposed after being captured. Prien ordered the crew to prepare for battle, and the attack was about to begin.

At 7 pm, Prien ordered the submarine to float.

The motor started running at full speed. At a depth of 80 feet, the underwater listener reported that he didn't hear any noise from the sea. When it reached a depth of 45 feet, Prien ordered the periscope to be put away. After observation, night has fallen and the sea conditions are good. At 7: 00, 15, Prien ordered to surface.

So the diesel engine began to run. In the next four hours, U-47 slowly moved to the northwest of Helm Strait with the tide at half speed. In order to avoid passing ships on the sea, submarines often dive into the water, and at the same time, they have to contend with the growing current. There is some deviation in the calculation of the time to enter Scarpa Bay. At this time, there is a strong current entering Scarpa Bay. Like a canoe falling into a torrent, the U-47 barely entered the Cork Strait at night. At 23: 3 1, the submarine began to enter Scarpa Bay, during which the bottom of the hull even collided with the mooring cable laid on the seabed, causing the submarine to turn right sharply and run aground. Because Prien ordered the submarine to semi-dive according to the water depth, the U-47 had to continue to vent to the water tank, so it successfully floated again. The river in front gradually widens and the water flow slows down. In order to prevent submarine attacks, there are many man-made shipwrecks and other underwater obstacles in the channel less than one kilometer wide. According to the information collected before departure, it is extremely difficult to enter Scarpa Bay via the route of Cork Strait, and it is almost impossible to penetrate. At this time, the U-47 submarine is sailing along this route. At midnight 12: 27, Prien wrote in his combat diary: We have entered Scarpa Bay.

Suddenly a bright light hit U-47, illuminating its control tower. The light came from the headlights of a taxi, which happened to pass a road in the seaside town of St. Mary. In the strong light, the crew on the control tower can even see the trucks and sentries on the shore. Everyone is in a panic. It seems that their whereabouts have been exposed and it is inevitable to be attacked. Fortunately, the taxi didn't find the submarine, but turned a corner and continued to drive in the direction of Scarpa Bay. In any case, there is no turning back in the present situation. The current task of the U-47 submarine is to find the target as soon as possible.

Prien commanded the submarine to continue sailing westward, while observing the sea surface carefully. Despite the good view, the submarine sailed slowly for 3.5 miles without finding any ships. In fact, such a situation is an omission of the German naval intelligence department. Less than a week ago, the German navy battleship Gneseno, escorted by the cruiser Cohen and nine destroyers, went to the North Sea to lure the royal naval fleet in Scarpa Bay to attack, hoping that the British fleet would just fall within the attack range of the German Air Force. However, due to the slow action of the air force, the expected royal naval fleet was not found, and the Germans had to retreat. Soon, the British also realized the fragility of Scarpa Bay, so they evacuated the entire fleet from Scarpa Bay and moved their base to the west of Scotland. In this way, Prien lost the opportunity to find the target at this time.

The submarine changed the left rudder to full rudder and continued to sail along the mainland coast. On the way, it found several oil tankers quietly docked on the shore, which Prien dismissed.

Suddenly, a huge shadow of a ship appeared in front of the submarine. Prien ordered the submarine to approach slowly and observe carefully. According to the appearance of the chimney, triangular mast and turret, Prien judged that it should be a "Royal Oak" class battleship. Then another warship was found not far away, which Prien thought was the "Counter Strike" (actually the seaplane carrier Pegasus with a displacement of 6,900 tons).

The former is indeed the Royal Oak, a warship of the Royal Navy, with a displacement of 29,000 tons. The ship is equipped with eight 15 inch main guns, and the armor thickness reaches 13 inch, which also makes the speed of the Royal Oak slow and can't keep up with the new warships in the fleet, so it temporarily stays in the harbor and prepares to anchor again early that morning.

With the help of night cover, the U-47 approached boldly while sailing on the water, and Prien instructed his crew to list the Royal Oak as the primary target. When it was less than 3000 yards away from the Royal Oak, the draft of the submarine was measured as 22 feet. Prien ordered the torpedo tube to be filled with water, and opened the tube cover to prepare for water launch. At 00: 58, after careful aiming, Prien ordered the bow torpedo tube to fire three G7e torpedoes, which successfully entered the water and ran to the target at a speed of 30 knots.

At this time, almost everyone on the royal oak tree fell asleep. The dull explosion after the first torpedo hit did not attract the attention of the officers and men on board. In the early morning 1, another explosion occurred on the starboard side, but there was no fire. Most people go back to sleep without noticing anything unusual. On the U-47 submarine, Prien and the crew thought they had hit a "counterattack", so they quickly turned to 180 degrees to aim at the Royal Oak and fired the torpedo again with the torpedo tube at the stern, but missed. Usually, the German captain in this situation should consider withdrawing immediately, because the other side will sound the alarm and start the search immediately. But Deng Nici chose the right person-Prien ordered the submarine to turn again, quickly filled the bow with torpedo tubes, and the torpedo aimed at the stern of the Royal Oak again.

At 1 h 16 am, all three torpedoes hit the target accurately and detonated. The explosion of the torpedo finally tore the huge hull of the 29,000-ton Royal Oak, and smoke billowed from the sea. The ship sank after 10 minutes, with 24 officers and 8000 people on board, including the commander of the Royal Navy's Second Fleet. Prien watched the Royal Oak sink and ordered to keep quiet and evacuate quickly. For fear of being chased by the British, Prien did not carry out the rescue. In fact, there was no pursuer at this time, and the British almost didn't know the existence of this German submarine. But at this time, the direction of the tide changed, and it became difficult to evacuate Scarpa Bay. 65438+ At 0: 28 am, the submarine returned to the Cork Strait along the original road. Prien announced the result to the crew: sinking one warship and damaging the other. Among all kinds of ships sunk by German submarines during World War II, the Royal Oak ranked third in tonnage, and it was also one of the only two Royal Navy battleships sunk by German submarines, and the other was the baham sunk by U-33/KLOC-0. The other two battleships lost by the British Royal Navy in the Great War, Prince of Wales and Counterattack, were sunk by the Japanese Navy in 194 1 year and 65438+February respectively.

At 2: 00 15, U-47 entered the north sea waters again. Soon, Britain announced that Scarpa Bay had been attacked. 193910 June 14, the British BBC news broadcast is as follows:

... this is BBC local broadcasting.

This is the latest broadcast. According to this morning's report, the commander of the Royal Navy Fleet announced with regret that the Royal Oak was sunk, which was believed to be the work of a German submarine.

At the same time, Britain announced that the invader German submarine had been sunk, which was obviously a joke. On the way back, the crew of U-47 painted an angry bull-"Scappa Bull" badge on the shell of the submarine control tower. This design came from a comic book owned by him and other crew members, and later became Prien's personal badge and the fleet badge of the Seventh Fleet.

1939 65438+1October 17 in the early morning 1 1 44, the U-47 submarine arrived at the port of William, Germany. Navy commanders Lei Deer and Deng Nici are already waiting on the dock. After the crew landed, Deng Nici personally awarded the Iron Cross Medal to everyone, Prien was also awarded the Iron Cross Medal, and Deng Nici himself was promoted to Major General by Lei Deer. On the dock, the crew of U-47 was welcomed by the local people like heroes. In the afternoon, the crew flew to Berlin by special plane and was personally received by Hitler. Hitler personally put on the Knights Cross for Prien, praising the success of this surprise attack on Scarpa Bay as "the proudest record in the operational history of German naval submarine forces". Deng Nici also lost no time in suggesting to Hitler to expand submarine production. Although Hitler still had doubts, he finally agreed to Deng Nici's request. That night, all the crew members of U-47 had dinner with Hitler.