Fred stared blankly at the direction in which the British fleet was retreating, swallowing his saliva silently.
In fact, the Italian submarine "Barilla" led by Fred appeared here just to monitor the French fleet in Oran Port and report Darlan's every move to the country.
But these days, there has been little movement from the French, but a huge uninvited British fleet frightened Fred to death.
Although with the fanatical idea of "Long live the New Roman Empire", Fred mustered up the courage and finally ordered to catch up and launch a torpedo.
But there was no choice, the speed of the British fleet was too fast. Fred's Italian submarine tried its best to catch up, and of course the torpedo failed to hit the target.
"Adjust the course! Full left rudder, 45 degrees!" After the attack failed, Fred did not choose to continue pursuing and launching torpedoes, but immediately gave the order and ran away.
After all, a torpedo is an expensive weapon, and it would be a waste if it misses and is fired randomly.
The lives of the officers and soldiers of this submarine were even more precious. At least, Fred believed that since the target could not be caught up, there was no need to risk continuing to pursue it.
Anyway, their superiors did not order them to intercept the British fleet here and sneak attack the British warships.
This submarine is like a police dog used by the Kingdom of Italy to watch the French fleet. Why bother to help cats catch mice and meddle in other people's business?
Fortunately, the ship's trumpet turned around. The surface displacement of Fred's Italian submarine was only a few hundred tons. It was like a small leaf on the vast ocean, and it could turn very easily and quickly.
Compared with those large battleships that can weigh tens of thousands of tons, Fred's submarine is too small. In front of those battleships, a submarine is similar to a 3-year-old child in front of an adult.
Fortunately, those British warships seemed to be attracted to a certain place and had no time to notice anything strange behind them, completely ignoring the existence of Fred and the others.
Now, after turning around, Fred found that this huge British fleet had disappeared without a trace, and the Italian submarine was not found at all.
Fred didn't know exactly how many battleships and anti-submarine destroyers this British fleet had. But he knew that such a huge fleet was definitely not passing here to deal with their small submarine.
"Don't be afraid, we no longer need to load torpedoes into the ship." After Fred gave the order casually, he leisurely pointed the periscope in the direction in which the British fleet was leaving.
It seems that the other party should have gone very far. At this time, it seems that there is really no need to be so nervous.
In Fred's eyes, we Italians never worry about things we don't need to worry about.
Hearing what his captain said, the torpedo launcher also breathed a sigh of relief, left his post, and ran to drink some water to relax.
The submarine has submerged and hid again, and the British fleet has also moved away. At this time, no one has to pretend to be sitting upright even if the boss does not ask for it. I am afraid, except for those Germans who are stubborn to the point of rigidity, no one is so disrespectful.
Know how to adapt.
"By the way, let's raise the submarine later and send a telegram to the country to inform us." Fred said after thinking for a while.
Since he was here to perform a reconnaissance mission, it was necessary for Fred to send the new things he detected to the country.
The sudden appearance of the British fleet made everyone panic. However, after confirming safety, Fred, who calmed down, quickly remembered his responsibilities.
He is a dignified submarine captain of the Italian Navy, commanding an entire submarine crew and holding the rank of major.
Although he failed to rush to those surface battleships to shed blood for the Kingdom of Italy, he still did an equally good job of hiding under the water and secretly sending some information back.
In fact, Fred prefers his current position to commanding surface combatants.
In this era, the anti-submarine means of all countries are still very backward.
Correspondingly, commanding a submarine is extremely safe!
What else is more important than safety? We romantic Italians are not stupid enough to make fun of our own lives.
"Major, why did we wait until we sent the report back home?" Fred's men asked in confusion.
Looking at his subordinates who were not yet enlightened, Fred smiled slightly and explained to them: "Go up now. What if we encounter a British destroyer coming back? Can we fight it?"
A group of subordinates looked at Fred with eyes full of admiration at this moment.
What is a good commander? This is a good commander!
For the safety of subordinates, putting safety first in everything is a model for our Italian military officers.
"Yes, my commander!" the radio operator replied with respect.
"Okay, get ready to surface in 15 minutes!" The operator picked up the kettle, took a sip of boiling water that tasted a little bit spoiled, and nodded: "Now let's maintain a dive depth of 50 meters and be on guard for a while."
The sky began to gradually brighten, and the morning sun filled the sea with warmth.
In the sparkling waves, a graceful Italian submarine gradually emerged from the water.
Otherwise, Italy is a romantic nation. Even their slender submarine and the patterns on the ship are much more pleasing to the eye than those German submarines that only focus on function and do not pay attention to beauty.
As the captain of this beautiful submarine, Fred pushed open the top cover of the submarine, stuck his head out, and greedily breathed in the fresh air on the sea in the early morning.
Out of caution, or fear of death, Fred stayed below the water after discovering the appearance of the British fleet. Although in the end he mustered up the courage, and under the glory of the great leader Mussolini, ordered the launch
A torpedo. But essentially, Fred loved life.
Now, taking advantage of the break to surface, Fred greedily breathed in the fresh air from the sea surface, and at the same time, he also allowed the inside of the submarine to replace the large amount of stale air that everyone had exhaled overnight.
After breathing in the wonderful fresh sea breeze, Fred asked leisurely: "How is it? Have you spread the news back to the country?"
"Don't worry, Captain, the message has been sent back." The transmitter, who had climbed out of the submarine and also ran to the bottom of the submarine for ventilation, nodded and said: "The fact that the British fleet passed our patrol area has probably been reported to the generals now.
In front of us."
"That's enough." Fred stretched out contentedly: "We have completed what we should do. As for how to deal with it next, it depends on the arrangements of Deputy Prime Minister Rossi, the acting leader."
Because of Mussolini's visit to Germany, Italy's current military arrangements are now under the charge of Deputy Prime Minister Rossi, who enjoys Mussolini's trust.