72 – Episode 72 Shock and Fear
During World War II, there was an incident called ‘Scapa Flow’ infiltration.
Major Gaunter Prynne, the commander of U-47 at the time, infiltrated Scapa Flow, the home port of the British fleet, which was considered ‘impregnable’, and sank the Revenge-class battleship Royal Oak.
The shock of this incident caused Britain to tremble with ‘U-boat phobia.’
It was a time when there were only a few U-boats on the ocean, but the British acted as if the sea was covered with U-boats.
For that reason, it was important to create a ‘symbolic criminal record.’
I ordered the Admiralty to attack Scapaflow.
“It is unreasonable to send a submarine to Scapa Flow. “How about the coast of England?”
The Navy promised to attack the British coast if it had to.
Wouldn’t that only frighten the British people, like when a battlecruiser crashes down? If that’s the case, let’s hit London.
‘Now that I think about it, that might be okay.’
To be honest, infiltrating the impregnable Scapa Flow was a mission that could only be achieved through luck.
On the other hand, London was much easier than Scapa Flow.
To begin with, London is a place where private ships come and go, and the Thames River alone, which borders the Port of London, has a depth of 20m. If you were to infiltrate at night, it was a depth you could easily go into.
Is it the enemy capital or Scapa Flow?
The answer was there.
From Noble mtl dot com
“Attack London.”
By U-boat.
I ordered the Navy to attack London.
*
London, the heart of the British Empire, has rarely been threatened since the Middle Ages. It would be an exaggeration to say that there were none, except for the case where the coast was robbed by the Dutch general Michiel de Reuter during the Third English War.
The British were confident that the Germans had no chance of touching London despite the World War. Even if there were, the extent of airships crossing the sky was the limit of what they could imagine.
“This place is still the same.”
U-21’s captain, Captain Otto Hersing, steered the ship toward London with the periscope raised. As the world’s busiest sea, ships came and went in the sea off London constantly even though it was nighttime.
It was an atmosphere that could not possibly be considered a war.
“Isn’t it leisurely? Thanks to you, I no longer have to worry about mines.”
The captain handed the periscope to her commander and marked the ship’s position on the map as a rule of thumb. Comparing it with the map, I found that the mouth of the Thames River was not far away.
“Even if I get in, I’m worried about getting out.”
Even the captain, who used to come and go in Ireland, England’s front yard, as if it were his home, couldn’t help but feel his heart pounding in front of the world of London.
“How about sailing on the water?”
“Are you saying this openly?”
“I’m risking my life anyway, so I guess I should at least gamble.”
It wasn’t wrong.
Water navigation was much faster than underwater navigation. If she timed it right, she might be able to escape before the mouth of the Thames was sealed.
The commander and captain took turns looking at their pocket watches and the periscope.
“It’s 9 o’clock.”
“Let’s go.”
As soon as the captain’s command was given, U-21’s diesel motor began to run vigorously.
The target distance to London was expected to be approximately 25km in a straight line, and the actual navigation distance was expected to be over 35km. Considering the submarine’s underwater speed of approximately 9.5 Knots, she would have reached the distance in two and a half hours, but such speeds were difficult to achieve in the river.
The speed of going against the river and the battery consumption had to be taken into consideration.
The captain estimated the time to reach London to be about 5 hours.
Of course, when you come down, the speed of the water will be added to the water navigation, so 1 hour will be enough.
“Slowly rise to the surface. The water will become shallower.”
Although the depth of the Thames River in eastern London was approximately 20m, it was not a comfortable condition for submarines to operate.
That’s it.
The captain furrowed his brow at the sound of scraping the floor.
“It would be a good idea to empty the ballast a little more.”
“To a depth of 15m.”
When the seawater in the tank was emptied, the submarine rose to a slightly higher position.
The captain carefully rotated her periscope and looked around for sympathy. She saw nothing other than fishing boats, the yachts of wealthy people, and a few patrol boats keeping watch around the harbor.
Because she implemented a lighting control system, the surroundings were relatively dark.
Occasionally, I could see cars going up and down the road, but that was it.
“These guys are also sloppy. “If you observed properly, you would have recognized the foam produced by the periscope.”
“If that were the case, we would have been caught in the net.”
The manager’s joke was not a joke. If the fishing boats really set up their nets, the submarine would be stuck and would be dead.
Surprisingly, truly unexpectedly, U-21 went up the Thames River for more than 25km without any problems. She may have made this hole with the confidence that she wouldn’t dare break in, but it was enough for a cat thief to get in.
Finally, the submarine arrived in the heart of London. If she fired her guns, she could also shoot London City Hall.
“What about torpedoes?”
“I’m ready.”
The captain calculated her angle, then pressed her hat on.
“The attack will begin in 10 minutes. Rise.”
“It rises.”
U-21’s hull rose to the surface in less than 20 seconds. Luckily for the rising submarine, no one was paying attention to her.
The captain grabbed her telescope and climbed onto her bridge.
When I opened the hatch, I felt the fishy and foul odor unique to the Thames River.
“3 Minutes left?”
The captain took out her binoculars and scanned her surroundings. She happened to see a place worth targeting.
‘Royal Albert Dock.’
It is an important infrastructure facility in the UK.
It was a suitable place to destroy a torpedo.
If there had been proper naval guns, an attack on the Greenwich Observatory could have been considered, but the naval guns mounted on the ship were unsuitable for an attack.
Of course, even if I had it, I didn’t have the courage to shoot it. The only way to escape is if it takes a long time to mistake the torpedo attack for an accident. A few toy gunshots couldn’t have traded her survivability.
The captain closed her hatch and went down with great agility. It took her less than a minute to calculate the confirmed coordinates with a compass and a protractor.
“Fire.”
“Fire!”
At the same time as a dull impact sound, four 500mm torpedoes were fired at intervals toward the dock lock gate.
“Submarine.”
There was no need to check criminal records.
The moment the torpedo was launched, their work was almost done.
The captain was about 2km down from the scene, and then she intended to flee to the water port.
Wow.
A faint shock wave from afar indicated that something had been hit.
The captain looked around while holding the periscope.
Perhaps because it was not long after the torpedo exploded, the surrounding area was still dark.
‘Do we still think it was an accident?’
There was ample possibility.
Even after 2km down, the British people showed no special reaction.
‘I didn’t notice.’
But it was only a matter of time before the enemy noticed. Now was the time to boldly run away.
“Rise.”
“It’s rising!”
As soon as U-21 surfaced from underwater, she began reaching top speeds unimaginable for a submarine.
The speed on the water is 15.4 Knots, and the water speed of the Thames River adds 4 knots. The submarine cruised on the water at a speed of over 19 knots and ran straight through the heart of England.
“Let the manager handle the coordination.”
The captain could not let this moment pass by.
He opened the hatch, climbed up the bridge tower, and took in the view of London through a telescope.
Flashing and sparkling.
Lately, lights appeared here and there and began to sweep across the riverside.
But it was clear that she did not know the location of the submarine.
‘I hope I don’t get caught in the estuary.’
If Britain were not stupid, it would try to set up a blockade at the mouth of the river.
If only she could get out before then.
‘We will become heroes.’
The captain took out the cigar he had received from the submarine squadron command before going on operation and put it in her mouth. The taste of cigarettes being smoked in the middle of England was indescribably fascinating.
“The distance is about 3,000.”
From a distance, a patrol boat with many lights on was coming towards us.
It would have been nice to be able to load her torpedoes, but as the ship had been emptied as much as possible for this operation, she had no spare torpedoes.
‘I guess I’ll have to hope I’m lucky.’
The captain threw down his cigar and then picked up his telescope.
It was not yet known whether Lady Luck would be on their side.
*
London, England, was shaken by a submarine that entered the center of the city, fired a torpedo at the dock, and then escaped. She would have understood if she had been hit by a torpedo at a military port, but after she suffered a terrorist attack in the center of the capital, everyone could not help but be devastated.
“I’m sure you didn’t carry the wrong luggage, right? “Where in London was attacked?”
“Royal Albert Dock.”
“Royal Albert Dock is the heart of London. If the naval gun had been fired, it would have hit Whitechapel. “Is Jim mistaken?”
“Yes, that’s right, Your Majesty.”
George V’s anger reached the sky.
My anger did not cool down at the thought that if I had been careful, naval guns would have been fired at the British Museum or Buckingham Palace.
“Prepare for retaliation immediately! At the cabinet level!”
Although it is called a constitutional monarch, the authority of the King of England was different from that of a typical constitutional monarch. They had authority but did not use it, and if they exercised influence informally, they could use considerable power.
Just like now.
“I understand, Your Majesty.”
The new Prime Minister, Andrew Bonnerau, bowed politely.
He, too, was filled with the desire to repay the Germans who had committed such a cute act.
“Anyway, it’s an offensive that has to be done. “I guess I’ll have to move forward now.”
The Prime Minister decided to launch a large-scale offensive in Verdun, both to help France and to retaliate against this incident.