Chapter 18: A Fortunate Encounter

  Storming the new book charts, second update today, brothers smash votes! More votes, more explosive!!!

  Although becoming the captain of a coastal submarine might sound more fulfilling, Zhang Haino still chose to go to an ocean-going submarine with a down-to-earth attitude, so that he could follow and learn from experienced captains for a period of time, which Rader also strongly approved.

  Since Zhang Haino made such a choice and got the help of Tirpitz, the personnel officer in charge of the Navy Department quickly checked for him. There are currently 5 ocean-going submarines undergoing maintenance in Wilhelmshaven, namely U15, U33, U35, U51 and U56, all of which have not exceeded their full capacity.

  Just choosing by their numbers seems a bit rash, so Zhang Hainuo very politely asked the officer:

  "May I know the combat records of these submarines?"

  "Huh?" The officer hesitated for a moment, but after thinking about it, he nodded in agreement.

  "Let me see, U-15, 12 voyages, sank a total of 32 British ships, with a total tonnage of 52,000 tons, it's already an ace submarine! U-21; U-33, 9 voyages, sank 23 ships, with a total tonnage of 39,000 tons..."

  When the officer finished reporting the departure times and combat results of the 5 submarines, Zhang Haino still had no intention in his heart. Although there were two ace submarines with combat results exceeding 50,000 tons among them, the difference between each other was not big. He originally wanted to call Raeder to ask if he knew which submarine could learn more things, but he suddenly remembered that Raeder had mentioned two famous super ace submarines before.

  "I also want to ask, when will U9 and U21 return to Hong Kong?"

  The officer looked at Zhang Hainuo with some surprise, then lowered his head and flipped through the thick booklet in his hand.

  "Unfortunately, U9 just left Hong Kong last week and won't be back for at least a month and a half, as for U21..."

  "What's that? That's the submarine of a madman at sea! Lieutenant, I advise you to go to any other submarine, but never this one!" A military officer who was originally writing with his head down suddenly blurted out this sentence.

  "Ah, yes! That's Crazy Hesson's submarine!" The officer in front patted his own head, "Lieutenant, let this one go!"

  "Why is the captain of this submarine called a madman?" Zhang Haino was somewhat puzzled, and Reddell hadn't mentioned this to him either.

  "Hey, where others dare not go, Heson dares to go; what others dare not do, Heson dares to do. Just look at him, already promoted to be the captain of the royal boat, yet every action is a narrow escape from death!" The interrupting voice still belonged to that military officer who was sitting and writing.

  "Yes, the Irish Sea, that sea area full of mines and anti-submarine nets, he dares to go there too! And from Wilhelmshaven, passing through the English Channel and the Strait of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean, this route is fraught with danger! U-21 sneaked into the heavily guarded anchorage of the enemy, although it sank the British battleships HMS Triumph and HMS Majestic in succession, but was almost caught by the opponent! Tsk tsk, Hessen's submarine didn't sink many ships, but either they were large-tonnage merchant ships or warships. Let me take a look at his boat... The total tonnage of his achievements has already reached 88,000 tons."

  The officer's words stopped abruptly, and his gaze remained on that notebook of his.

  Zhang Hainuo had no choice but to wait patiently. The officer carefully checked for a while before looking up and telling him:

  "U-21 is being repaired in Pola Harbour, Austria-Hungary. Hessen and his submarine seem to have run into some trouble - the propulsion system needs replacing! However, Austria-Hungary lacks the necessary equipment, and new diesel engines can only be transported from here! Lieutenant, you're in luck - the train transporting equipment and personnel departs tonight, if you want to go, it's still possible!"

  "Of course!" Zhang Hainuo smiled and said to the two military officers who were still in a daze inside:

  "Please help me arrange it, I'll go to U21!"

  At the beginning of the 20th century, the railway system in European countries was already quite developed, and even economically inferior Austria-Hungary was no exception. Zhang Haino took a train from Wilhelmshaven and didn't need to transfer along the way, arriving at Pola Harbour, the most important naval base of Austria-Hungary, after two days and four hours.

  Like Wilhelmshaven, this naturally excellent harbour was defended by a ring of forts and batteries. In the harbour lay over a hundred warships of all sizes, but they were unable to intervene in the Mediterranean, as the exits from the Adriatic were closely guarded by the superior Italian fleet, while the even more powerful Anglo-French fleet patrolled the Mediterranean. The Austro-Hungarian main fleet was therefore forced to remain in port like the German High Seas Fleet, existing only as a "fleet in being".

  Take a look at those sailors on the dock and warships who are so idle that you can tell what "bored to death" means.

  Similar to the situation in the North Sea and the Atlantic, submarines were also the most active naval forces of the Allies in the Mediterranean. Although the Austro-Hungarian submarine fleet was considered the elite of its navy, it was limited in scale and equipment, and Germany sent submarines and excellent combat personnel to strike at the transportation lines of the Entente powers in the Mediterranean. Some of these submarines, like U-21, traveled long distances to get there, but most were dismantled and transported by rail, reassembled at Pola Harbour!

  In Zhang Hainuo's imagination, Captain Hessen should have a big beard like many German captains, but when the real-life Hessen appeared before him, he was truly surprised - the so-called "Sea Madman" was only twenty-six or seven years old, and his appearance not only didn't have any rough meaning, but on the contrary, he was tall and slender, handsome in appearance, and dressed neatly from head to toe, even his beard was shaved clean!

  It was only later that Zhang Haino realized that the German sailors gave people a sloppy impression because the submarine had very limited fresh water during navigation, which could basically only be used for drinking. Taking baths and washing faces on the boat were extremely luxurious things. In addition, the space inside the boat was narrow and there was a lot of oil pollution, so the crew members couldn't work in bright clothes like the officers and soldiers on the surface warships. However, after returning to port, the submarine sailors would promptly clean themselves up again.

  "Are you Lieutenant Heino von Finkenstein, the great hero from SMS Seydlitz?" Hessen looked at Heino's papers and the letter of introduction from the Navy Personnel Department, then gave him a lukewarm once-over.

  "Yes, Captain Hersing. I previously served as a torpedo officer on the Sedlitz, and then took a three-month submarine course at the Kiel Naval School. It's an honor to work with you, and I hope you can teach me more!" Zhang Haino stood at attention, trying to give his superior a good impression of being serious, sincere, and capable.

  Unfortunately, Heson did not respond in a friendly manner, but instead coldly folded the letter of introduction and handed it back to Zhang Hainuo along with his military ID.

  "Alright, Leutnant zur See Heino von Finkenstein, I hereby appoint you as the second officer of U-21! Please gather your belongings, I'll have someone escort you to your quarters. There's a lot of work waiting for you!"

  "Yes, sir, Captain Hessen!" Zhang Hainuo took Hessen's coldness as a kind of "initiation" for newcomers, after all, it was impossible to always meet superiors like von Lanzhou, so he didn't take it to heart.

  As for the second deputy captain, it is the third commander on a submarine, excluding the captain and first deputy, but not every submarine has this position, especially when there are not many crew members to begin with. It can be said that Zhang Haino's second deputy captain was basically an "officer apprentice".

  Next, Hessen called a non-commissioned officer from outside and gave him some instructions. After Zhang Hainuo saluted Hessen again, he followed the non-commissioned officer towards the direction of the dock.