Chapter 9: Sunken Ships ABC

Hessen and his U21 set sail, offloading most of the food and freshwater from the boat, leaving behind three crew members to assist Zhang Hainuo's team in repairing U148. They took with them over 10 tons of fuel, 6 sets of diving equipment, and the two best swimmers under Zhang Hainuo's command.

Zhang Hainuo stayed behind because the "secret base," U148, and the remaining forty or so people needed someone authoritative to manage them. Edvin had good relations with the crew, but he wasn't enough to handle unforeseen events.

After seeing off U21, Zhang Hainuo immediately divided his crew members: Giselle and a dozen other crew members were responsible for repairing and inspecting U148, while Edvin led a group to handle surveillance and patrol duties. The remaining crew members stayed at the temporary campsite near the submarine, ready for action.

After arriving at the island, Hessen had conducted detailed surveys and proper arrangements: a lookout post was set up at the highest point of the volcanic island, over fifty meters above sea level, providing a vantage point to monitor activities within a dozen or so nautical miles.

Although it was just a small volcanic island, activities such as writing, reading, or playing cards felt more stable here than on the submarine. That afternoon, the breach in U148 was repaired, and following Zhang Hainuo's orders, the crew members covered the protruding parts of the submarine—periscopes, deck guns, and machine guns—with waterproof canvas. They then began their respective leisure activities at the temporary campsite. Some chatted, some played cards, and a few enthusiastically engaged in a game of marbles.

After Hessen departed, Zhang Hainuo took out his sketches and records for further study. It was quite impressive to have produced so much data temporarily after the end of the battle. Time didn't allow Hessen to measure the depths of those shipwrecks again. Nevertheless, relying on his experience and knowledge of the Mediterranean, he eliminated some locations that were almost certainly in deep waters. However, there were still thirty-nine remaining, nine of which were near the Aegean Sea, while seven were temporarily set aside due to their proximity to the Egyptian coastline.

Including the fuel extracted from U148, Hessen's U21 carried a total of 15 tons of fuel. Under favorable sea conditions, this could sustain the UBIII-type submarine for a voyage of 1600 to 1800 nautical miles. However, considering the return journey and the weather conditions for the next week, Hessen decided to first search for the three shipwreck sites near the island of Crete.

With that in mind, Zhang Hainuo retrieved the records regarding those three shipwreck sites and silently recited their information:

"Battle occurred on March 4, 1918; Location: Northeastern waters of Crete Island, at 35°36'24''N, 26°03'45''E. A 4,000-ton merchant ship, escorted by a destroyer, was sunk. Ship name unknown, two funnels, no auxiliary sail. Relatively new, estimated to be built around 1910 in southern French shipyards—a steel-hulled wooden cargo ship!"

What kind of cargo would be on such a merchant ship?

Zhang Hainuo didn't know, and it was hard to guess. During the war, Britain and France continuously mobilized manpower and resources from their colonies in Southeast Asia. This included rubber, minerals, especially industrial and military raw materials. There were also finished or semi-finished military products produced in colonial factories, and it was possible that the cargo included Indian laborers!

Regardless of what was on board, the time of the ship's sinking was somewhat reassuring—even if it was pounds or francs, paper notes in a fixed state wouldn't disintegrate after eight months in seawater. And barrels or bottles of alcohol, porcelain, glassware, as long as they didn't break during the sinking, had a very good chance of being preserved.

"Battle occurred on March 20, 1917. Huh? Hessen seems to like coming to this area in March! Location: Northeastern waters of Crete Island, at 35°29'18''N, 26°26'24''E. A 3,000-ton armed merchant ship, sailing alone, was sunk. Ship name: 'Arrogant,' with two funnels and one auxiliary sail. The ship was of average age, estimated to be built around 1905 in Egyptian shipyards—a steel-hulled wooden cargo ship!"

An armed merchant ship?

In Zhang Hainuo's impression, an armed merchant ship was a merchant ship equipped with several cannons. Although no one made strict requirements for armed merchant ships, such ships typically didn't have a slow speed. The sturdier the hull, the better. Coupled with an experienced captain and a brave crew, they could navigate areas where enemy submarines lurked without naval escorts.

Compared to regular merchant ships, their biggest advantage lay in their "armament." Several 100mm or even larger caliber guns were enough to drive away submarines daring to surface. Or they could attack unarmed enemy merchant ships—during the early stages of the war, German armed merchant ships were used as raiders. However, due to the overwhelming strength of the British overseas fleet, this surface raiding action was eventually replaced by submarine warfare. Over twenty years later, Germany's rulers in the early stages of World War II were also keen on using surface vessels for attacks and breaking trade, but the stark contrast in naval power between the warring parties ultimately led these elite raiders to a lamentable fate.

What cargo would be carried on board an armed merchant ship? Perhaps similar to regular merchant ships, or it might be transporting military supplies. If Zhang Hainuo were a savvy spy, he might be able to obtain this information from the enemy. Unfortunately, he was just an ordinary submarine commander, so he could only continue to pray for Hessen's good luck.

"Battle occurred on September 25, 1915, quite early! At that time, I hadn't even come over here yet!" Zhang Hainuo muttered softly to himself, his gaze lingering on the corresponding ship's sketches and the annotations below:

"Location: Eastern waters off Crete Island, at 35°11'34''N, 26°41'27''E. A 4,000-ton fast cargo ship, named 'Flying Fish,' with three funnels and no auxiliary sail. The ship was relatively new, estimated to be built around 1910 in British or Egyptian shipyards, a steel-hulled wooden cargo ship with a speed of over 20 knots!"

That's a fast ship!

Whenever fast ships were mentioned, Zhang Hainuo would recall the several merchant ships he encountered during his first Atlantic sortie while commanding U171. Though these fast ships weren't as swift as birds, their high speeds often left submarines insufficient time to get into torpedo firing positions after detection. If German submarines intended to surface for gun combat, they would have to bear the risk of encountering disguised anti-submarine vessels!

A fast cargo ship of small tonnage, if not used as a short to medium-range passenger liner, would typically be used to transport urgent cargo. After all, under the same voyage distance, higher speed meant consuming more fuel, and transportation costs would correspondingly rise!

(PS: Disguised anti-submarine vessels were not unique to World War II. As early as 1915, Britain used such ships to sink German submarines. During World War I, disguised anti-submarine vessels were equipped with cannons, machine guns, and some even had torpedo tubes. When encountering submarines, these vessels would stop sailing, and the crew would pretend to panic, attempting to abandon ship. When the enemy submarine, in a surfaced state, entered the effective weapon range, they would suddenly open fire or launch torpedoes. Sometimes, disguised anti-submarine vessels would tow a submarine underwater to execute a surprise attack. From 1915 to 1917, British disguised anti-submarine vessels sank a total of 12 German submarines.)