Chapter 12: Steady Strides

After Parzich arrived with a lengthy personal letter from Reder, Zhang Hainuo warmly received the head of the Baltic Fleet Intelligence Department. During their subsequent conversation, they quickly agreed on the idea of establishing an intelligence network in Brazil. Parzich expressed his intention to send the first batch of intelligence instructors to Brazil with Reder's support, to assist Zhang Hainuo in training personnel prepared to be embedded in Brazilian government departments. Additionally, Parzich suggested that infiltration targets should not be limited to government departments but should also include important enterprises, especially heavy industrial companies and arms manufacturers.

A month passed quickly, and before returning to Germany, Parzich informed Zhang Hainuo that although his trip had been fruitful, the political situation in Germany remained complex. Therefore, it was unlikely that the Navy's senior leadership would openly provide financial and technical assistance to the Schneider Shipyard in the short term.

Anticipating this issue, Zhang Hainuo reiterated in the letter he entrusted to Parzich to Reder the strong request that this promising naval officer should not disclose this matter to the senior Navy leadership until conditions were more favorable. He emphasized the presence of individuals among them lacking foresight, being stubbornly conservative, and potentially harboring the eyes and ears of Allied countries.

Two months after Parzich returned to Germany, around the end of 1925, a specialized intelligence training group, led by a Navy lieutenant named Norbert, arrived as scheduled. Described by Parzich as a "cunning intelligence officer, familiar with various means of obtaining intelligence, not suitable for leading a large team because of his tendency to act independently," Norbert, despite his independent nature, possessed excellent intelligence skills and experience in training newcomers. Parzich explained in the letter that after the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, the German Navy had downsized significantly, and the intelligence department had shrunk to less than one-third of its former size.

Regarding professional intelligence training, Zhang Hainuo could not contribute much. However, he would not naively hand over the training of these students to others entirely. Two clever sailors were inserted among these students, and typically, the three instructors could only interact with the students during class. Whenever possible, "political classes" were personally conducted by Zhang Hainuo, or occasionally by Hessen or Simon—besides emphasizing that the central task of all missions was to serve the homeland, they continually emphasized that this team was their true and trustworthy support.

As Christmas 1925 approached, UB-901 was officially launched at the shipyard. This submarine, whose main designers and technicians participated in the internal launching ceremony, would require 57 weeks for outfitting. However, its first captain had already been chosen—Hessen, the former navigation officer of U-21. Members of U-21 and U-148 crews, along with 21 sworn former submariners, were currently training with the purchased K-1 submarine from the United States.

As the first submarine designed and built by Schneider Shipyard, UB-901 was relatively small in tonnage, and its overall performance could not match the newly commissioned submarines of Britain and the United States. However, both Zhang Hainuo and the technical director, Dr. Kleist, regarded the launch of this submarine as a milestone—it meant that a complete technical production line had been formed after the various experts, technicians, and shipbuilders hired from various sources had been integrated and adjusted.

During his domestic work period, Dr. Kleist had overseen the design and construction of various U-boats, so UB-901 also bore a strong German style: a double deck, a solid conning tower with a U-shaped spray shield. Utilizing modified engines from the former Germania shipyard production line, two 700-horsepower diesel engines and a self-developed 450-horsepower electric motor were installed. Without the deck gun, the submarine's designed underwater speed could reach 8 knots, which was better than the quality of diesel engines used by the US Navy submarines. Germany's advantage in this aspect was quite apparent.

Although UB-901's tonnage was relatively small, due to the shipyard's advanced torpedo production technology, apart from reducing the density of torpedo tubes, its attacking capability was not much inferior to American K-class, L-class, and M-class submarines equipped with 44-50 mm torpedo tubes.

After the launch of UB-901, it was immediately transferred to the secret submarine dockyard of Schneider Shipyard No. 19 for the remaining outfitting work. Meanwhile, the original dry dock began construction on the next submarine—UB-902, designed and supervised by the young genius designer William Foster.

On paper, this 500-class medium-range submarine had excellent performance. Its power system used two 950-horsepower diesel engines developed by Schneider Shipyard's power department.

In terms of exterior and power design, the K-type submarine had advantages over ordinary German U-boats. Its slender hull was conducive to improving submarine's diving performance. Saddle-shaped floatation compartments were added to both sides of the hull to improve the stability of the submarine on the surface and when using deck guns. Because of the addition of floatation compartments, Foster was able to design an almost circular gun base at the front of the submarine's conning tower, where space was reserved for mounting an 88 mm gun, or even a larger caliber if necessary.

In terms of stern design, the conical contraction, with propellers symmetrically arranged on both sides of the hull's centerline, followed by a cross-shaped arrangement of vertical and horizontal rudders—resembled the design seen on submarines designed and built for the US Navy by the Electric Boat Company. This design was unique to John Holland and could be seen on various levels of submarines designed and built by the Electric Boat Company for the US Navy. This design was unique to John Holland and could be seen on various levels of submarines designed and built by the Electric Boat Company for the US Navy. However, it was contingent upon not installing deck guns and external torpedo tubes.

Regarding weapon systems, Foster's design was straightforward—six 500-meter torpedo tubes with G-7 torpedoes were arranged in a front-four-rear-one layout. Additionally, the aft bridge position would be equipped with two 20 mm machine guns—one upper and one lower—for anti-aircraft purposes. The aft deck could be fitted with an external torpedo tube, which was relatively successful during wartime. It could carry up to 42 torpedoes and 8 mines during mine-laying missions, although carrying torpedoes significantly affected underwater navigation.

Furthermore, UB-902 would be equipped with sonar devices resembling the Y-tube sonar used by the US Navy—an invaluable "gift" obtained when purchasing the K-1, as described in the letter sent to Reder. In return, each of Reder and the American engineers responsible for refitting the submarines was gifted a bottle of fine French wine, while they agreed to keep the sonar as a "surprise for visitors."

In the spring of 1926, after the successful promotion of the all-American coffee, the cost-effective small bags of instant coffee powder, costing less than 1 cent, were about to meet the standard for promotion. Although the taste was slightly inferior to canned coffee, its price and convenience advantages were greater. This product was expected to dominate the offices and workplaces of major cities in the United States. On one hand, Zhang Hainuo discussed coffee promotion matters with Caleb, and at the same time, he took advantage of every opportunity to understand the possible impact of this coffee revolution on Brazil's coffee industry.

Using the dividends extracted from the fund company and All-American Coffee, Zhang Hainuo returned to Brazil, recommended by his old friend Heidwod. Among the elites, he particularly emphasized networking with figures from Brazil's political and naval circles, warmly inviting them to visit the Schneider Shipyard in Salvador.

Shortly thereafter, Heidwod, who had played a significant role in the purchase of river patrol boats for the Brazilian police department, along with some legislators, submitted a report to Congress on coastal smuggling and piracy, strongly recommending the Navy to purchase more coastal fast boats and patrol vessels to strengthen coastal defense. Sixty-ton coastal patrol boats of the 4200 series were to be procured. Four shipyards were allowed to participate in the bidding: Schneider Shipyard and San Andrés Shipyard were the two largest domestic shipyards in Brazil. The Royal Armstrong Shipyard in Britain had previously built the dreadnought battleship "Miras. Gilas" for Brazil, while the New York Naval Shipyard was one of the leading military shipyards on the US East Coast.

Although the other two competitors besides San Andrés were formidable, Zhang Hainuo was undaunted. His main confidence did not stem from the recent connections he had made with dignitaries—Armstrong and the director of the New York Naval Shipyard were stationed in Rio de Janeiro. Nor was it solely due to profit; the main materials were sourced from Brazil itself. Experts and technicians from various German shipyards had rich experience in building motorboats and torpedo boats during World War I. They quickly designed two excellent alternative proposals for the 60-ton coastal patrol vessels.

The final bidding took place on July 10, 1926. As expected, Armstrong and the New York Naval Shipyard both adopted relatively mature designs from World War I, while Schneider Shipyard's proposal had considerable advantages in cost, performance, and construction period, and could enter service without the need for overseas transportation. The Brazilian Navy's Ship Equipment Department announced the final bidding results two weeks later: Schneider Shipyard won orders for six coastal patrol boats and two coastal gunboats. The shipyard was allowed to build the remaining four coastal patrol boats and one coastal gunboat, demonstrating its long-term cooperation with the Brazilian Navy.

Schneider Shipyard attached great importance to the Brazilian Navy's first order. More than 20 experts and technical backbone members, along with a large number of skilled shipbuilders from Germany, joined the project. They adopted a standardized approach similar to that of American shipyards, which greatly improved the construction efficiency of the vessels. This technology could also be used for sectional construction and centralized assembly in submarine construction, a method successfully attempted by Germany and the Soviet Union in World War II. Unfortunately, Germany was under intense Allied bombing at the time, and submarine production did not increase significantly.

Although the Brazilian Navy only placed a "6+2" order, ordering enough components to build 10 coastal patrol boats and 5 coastal gunboats seemed like a gamble. However, the shipyard's decision was made after fully investigating the naval strategies of surrounding countries. Since the late 19th century, there had been a situation of rivalry among the three South American powers: Brazil, Argentina, and Chile. Although these three countries had limited economic resources, they secretly competed in naval construction. Brazil initially led, followed closely by Argentina and Chile, which purchased their own dreadnought battleships. Even many European countries admitted their inferiority in this aspect!

After April, in mid-November 1926, the first batch of three vessels was successfully completed in Schneider Shipyard's main shipbuilding area. Local dignitaries and experts participated in public testing. These rapid patrol vessels, which inherited key technologies from German small torpedo boats during World War I, met the Brazilian Navy's initial requirements in terms of speed, range, and seaworthiness. The large-caliber machine guns and standard machine guns made these coastal patrol boats fully capable of suppressing most smugglers. When they learned that two 450mm torpedo tubes could be additionally equipped, representatives of the Brazilian Navy were full of praise.

One month later, two 200-level gunboats were also completed on schedule. These diesel-powered gunboats had an actual displacement 25 tons higher than expected, but their speed and endurance far exceeded any other gunboat of the same class. The 75mm 43-caliber single-gun manufactured by Bofors performed admirably in terms of range and accuracy, once again winning the praise of Brazilian Navy officers.

While building coastal patrol boats and gunboats for the Brazilian Navy, although there were no new orders from the Brazilian police department, Zhang Hainuo utilized the good relationship he had established with the head of equipment procurement at the Brazilian police department to secure opportunities for annual maintenance and upgrades of existing patrol boats. For this purpose, Schneider Shipyard embarked on another round of expansion and renovation. In addition to the 40,000-ton dry dock under construction, the shipyard already had a 30,000-ton dock, an 8,000-ton dock, a 3,500-ton dock, and twelve 2,000-ton docks. Among them, the existing 6,200-ton dry dock could be used for the construction and repair of light military vessels, and one 5,000-ton dock was planned to be rebuilt and upgraded to a large military and civilian shipyard.

The opportunity for further cooperation between Schneider Shipyard and the Brazilian Navy came from an unexpected event. The "Rioiano" frigate ran aground on a shoal about 200 miles from Salvador, sustaining considerable damage to its hull. Zhang Hainuo volunteered to the Brazilian Navy through the network he had established—Schneider Shipyard was fully capable of repairing such a 3,200-ton frigate that was started in 1897 and commissioned in 1901!

Due to the limited level of domestic shipbuilding, large warships in Brazil were basically sent back to the mother shipyard for repairs. Before the Great War, the Brazilian Navy's large warships were mostly returned to Britain for repairs, such as the "Miras. Gilas" class battleships "Miras. Gilas" and "São Paulo," which were ordered from Britain before the war. They were treasured by the Brazilian government. To avoid unnecessary losses, these two ships rarely participated in cruises. The arduous coastal patrol missions were usually assigned to old frigates like the "Florianópolis" and light gunboats and patrol boats.

The "Florianópolis" was the second of the Fonseca General-class frigates, purchased from the French Le=Shipyard at the end of the last century. The "Fonseca" was sold to Mexico in 1924, and only the "Florianópolis" remained in service with the Navy.

After initially gaining approval from the Brazilian Navy, Zhang Hainuo quickly mobilized two medium-sized freighters and a light barge from the shipyard's fleet, carrying experts and repair technicians to the site where the "Florianópolis" ran aground. A detailed repair plan was formulated: first, plug the leaks in the hull on-site, then tow the ship to Schneider Shipyard and send it into the dry dock for comprehensive repairs. The entire process was expected to be completed within three to four months.

After the "refurbished" detailed report was finally sent to the Brazilian Navy, due to the shipyard's good performance in ordering coastal patrol boats and gunboats, the Brazilian military agreed to entrust the "Florianópolis" to Schneider Shipyard for repairs, and all expenses would be settled in the form of government bonds. Days later, when the newly repaired frigate sailed out of the shipyard, Zhang Hainuo knew from the gaze of the Brazilian naval dignitaries that Schneider Shipyard had finally taken the most solid step on the road to prosperity.