xymnovel Chapter 114 Human-like Fish: Italian Underwater Special Operations
Chapter 114 Human-like Fish: Italian Underwater Special Operations
Chapter 114 Human-like Fish: Italian Underwater Special Operations
Alexandria is Britain's largest port in Egypt and its most important base for controlling the Suez Canal.
Although it was the early hours of the morning, the massive port of Alexandria was still lit up.
The naval docks in the port housed major British warships, including the damaged aircraft carrier HMS Helms, the battleship HMS Elizabeth, the battleship HMS Warrior, and the flagship HMS Formidable, commanded by Vice Admiral Cunningham.
Numerous ships of various sizes were moored there; they were the main force against the Italian Navy.
They firmly controlled the Mediterranean Sea.
Lieutenant General Cunningham, the legendary commander of the British Royal Navy, was deeply worried when he received a request from Lieutenant General Wavell of the Middle East Command.
More troops are needed in the Middle East. The chaos in Iraq and the uncertainty in Lebanon and Syria have given Britain a sense of despair.
Has the cabinet decided to send the Australian 8th Division?
Looking at the telegram, Cunningham pondered in a low voice. The Australian 8th Division was a newly formed overseas corps with very low combat effectiveness, even worse than the Indians.
However, sending them to Iraq for training is a good idea.
"Do we need to coordinate with the Indian Ocean Fleet to escort the Australian Eighth Division?"
Hearing his old friend and partner's words, Cunningham nodded.
"Yes, the Australian 7th Division, which previously only had naval support, is making good progress, the British Indian 10th Division has suffered heavy losses, and our old adversary, the Italians, have appeared in Iraq."
"Damn it, the war seems to be getting more and more secretive. The appearance of the Italians means we need to commit more troops, and our forces will be further dispersed."
"Yes," Lieutenant General Cunningham folded the telegram with his hand. "I'll go. You stay in the Mediterranean to keep the Italian navy occupied."
Cunningham nodded.
Neither the two commanders nor the Royal Navy had anticipated that Italy would launch a surprise attack on Alexander.
On the ground of the naval port, a large number of naval patrolmen carried kerosene lamps and patrolled around.
Streetlights were on in many places along the road.
The darkness of the naval port was dispelled, and Alexandria strengthened its defenses after the attack on Haifa Airport.
A naval captain stood near the dock, smoking with his right hand on his holster and a cigarette in his left.
While looking around, his subordinate took out a nut chocolate bar and ate it to replenish his energy. The 24-hour continuous duty also put enormous pressure on the base's garrison.
"Relax, this is Alexandria, not Haifa. There are large armies here, and neither the Italians nor the Germans dare to show their faces in front of us."
The lieutenant stuffed the soft chocolate bar into his mouth, making muffled noises, and casually wiped his hands on his trousers.
"Be careful, those Germans are despicable."
"Yes, I heard that. They actually impersonated Iraqis, but this is Egypt, and those Germans who can't swim can't make a large-scale entry into North Africa."
The captain exhaled smoke, and the kerosene lamp at his feet illuminated the dark sea.
Searchlights occasionally swept across the tower on one side.
The dark sea surface reflected shimmering light.
The captain had been observing by the light when suddenly a hand appeared in front of him.
The lieutenant handed over a chocolate bar. "Here, have one. There are still four hours until your shift ends at dawn."
"I'd rather have a hot coffee." The captain gently pushed the chocolate bar away.
"Germans won't be here; if they are, it will be Italians."
Hearing his subordinate's words, the captain laughed. "I never took the Italians seriously; we've already crushed them."
"Haha." The lieutenant laughed along. The score of 2300 to 3 became a legendary story that the Royal Navy talked about with pride, and also a shameful monument for the Italian Navy.
"Without the Germans, we would have beaten Italy to the point of questioning its existence."
"That's right."
The fact that the two junior officers were smiling at the same time reflects the mindset of countless Royal Navy officers.
"Italians are no good."
"Hahaha!"
Two Italian submarines slowly surfaced outside Alexandria.
They secretly opened the hatch under the cover of darkness.
Then, with the help of scaffolding, a manned torpedo was slowly lowered into the seawater.
Two divers, wearing diving suits and goggles, sat on the torpedo.
The manned fish Maiale had a famous name during World War II: the Italian Pig.
Despite its unpleasant name, it was the world's first manned torpedo.
The ingenious ideas of the Italian military industry are no less impressive than those of the Germans.
If Sean were there, he would definitely yell.
This is an underwater vehicle.
Despite its name, it is not actually a torpedo.
It was a miniature submarine.
Driven by a 1.6-horsepower electric motor, it is incredibly quiet and can reach a top speed of three knots.
Two Italian frogmen, dressed in their gear and wearing oxygen respirators, sat on the torpedo.
Like two knights riding on a horse.
There is also a small driver's cab at the front of the manned torpedo.
As the thrusters were activated, the Italian pig began to dive.
This underwater vehicle is absolutely a revolutionary weapon.
It easily descended to a depth of 13 meters and began to slowly move forward.
Italian frogmen can even navigate using a compass on their instrument panel.
With its electric drive and low noise, this torpedo was the first underwater manned weapon to actually see combat during World War II.
The Italian military industry is actually quite unique. Their weapons are not unadvanced, but rather produced in very low quantities. Many of their weapons are so advanced that even the Germans are amazed by them.
This manned torpedo is one of the best examples.
Two Italian-made boats carrying frogmen sped towards Alexandria in the dark waters.
No one expected Italy to launch a surprise attack.
It wasn't the air force, nor the navy which didn't even have radar, nor the army with its large numbers of personnel; it was just four frogmen, only four frogmen.
Even though it was the most heavily fortified naval port in the world at the time, no one would have thought that the Italians would engage in underwater warfare.
This marks a new chapter in the history of special operations and is of epoch-making significance.
The two torpedoes propelled underwater, and the bubbles generated at their tails quickly dissolved into the sea, leaving no trace.
The torpedo was equipped with a detachable bomb at the rear, and Germany also supplied a large number of C1 bombs.
The four frogmen's hearts were pounding; it was the first time they had ever carried out such a crazy operation.
As time ticked by, the two Italian ships secretly entered the naval port.
They were 15 meters underwater, and the searchlights overhead couldn't spot them at all.
Near the Elizabeth battleship, an Italian pig stopped advancing.
Two frogmen defusing a bomb floated up little by little, their legs paddling as they did so, like two mermaids.
"Are we going to carry out another escort mission?"
"Yes."
Listening to the conversation coming from the shore, the two frogmen held their breath and placed the bomb on the side of Elizabeth's boat.
"You're lucky, the escort mission is easy. We'll stay here and deal with the Italian navy."
"You guys are pretty lucky, Italians are very weak."
"Hahaha!"
Hearing the mocking laughter coming from the shore.
The two frogmen exchanged a glance, as if to say, "These stupid Englishmen are still mocking us."
They were unaware that we had arrived before them, and were even preparing to sink the warship right in front of them.
After installing the first bomb, the two frogmen attached a large amount of C1 to the side of the hull, connected the fuse, set a timer for the explosion, and then returned to the water.
Another group also planted bombs on another battleship, HMS Warrior. With one more bomb left, they searched for targets again. This time, the two groups targeted the aircraft carriers HMS Formidable and HMS Helms respectively.
I have to say they're pretty carefree.
Submerged again, the thrusters were activated, and the frogmen, holding the torpedoes with their hands, moved stealthily underwater, much like special operations in later times.
All of this was beyond the expectations of the British Royal Navy.
Upon reaching the vicinity of the target, two frogmen poked their heads out of the water.
The searchlight beams in the distance were moving, and seeing that the other side's position had changed, they shone them. The frogmen raised their chests and sank down forcefully, leaving only slight ripples on the water's surface.
However, the guard tower, dozens of meters away, could not detect the slight ripples on the water. Their lights swept across the tower, but they found nothing.
The sea remained pitch black, and the occasional bubbles were simply thought to be fish by the British.
As the light above disappeared, the two frogmen placed the last, massive defusal bomb on one side of the aircraft carrier.
Next, they applied a large number of C1 labels!
A sound came from above, and the Italians quickly pressed themselves against the bottom of the boat.
A jet of water flew down from above.
Whoosh!
The frogmen exchanged glances; it turned out a sailor had urinated.
The sound came from above again.
Did you see Sean Wayne's comments from the other day?
"I saw it. He's very famous. He said Free France would lose. I felt bad at that moment. If Free France loses, does that mean it will be more difficult for us to face Italy?"
"Are you serious? You can't be serious, can you? How could Italy possibly beat Britain? They're just a bunch of clowns."
"Hahaha."
"Aren't you done yet?"
"Alright, when we have time off, let's go to a bar and have some fun, find a girl. To be honest, we really hate those Indian soldiers. They harass our female soldiers all the time."
"Don't worry, British women don't like curry."
The sounds from above gradually faded away.
The frogman let out a deep breath.
Their eyes flashed with mockery, saying we were here to be funny, and that they would give us a huge joke tonight.
The two men descended again, activated the thrusters, and slowly propelled the Italian pig forward.
Half an hour later, the two submersibles floated on the surface of the sea, and the submarine began to surface.
The Italian navy erected scaffolding above, and frogmen held the torpedoes, slowly hoisting the Italian pig up.
The night remained quiet, and Alexandria seemed to be welcoming yet another peaceful night.
At 5 a.m., while most of the navy was still asleep, a huge explosion pulled everyone from their dreams back to reality, followed by a second and a third explosion.
Lieutenant General Cunningham jolted awake and rushed out of his quarters, standing on the second floor of the officers' quarters looking towards the harbor.
Huge plumes of black smoke billowed over the Alexandria naval base.
Flames rose, and even the nearby Egyptians were awakened by a thunderous roar.
"Damn it, there's been an explosion and a fire! Put out the fire!"
Alarms sounded at the Royal Navy base in the UK, and large numbers of sailors rushed out of their barracks in light clothing. They were immediately stunned when they saw the flames on the dock.
"How could it possibly catch fire?"
"It wasn't a fire, it was an explosion. We were attacked."
"How is that possible?"
Many soldiers didn't believe it, and the patrolling soldiers were even less likely to believe it.
"We found nothing, so why did a huge explosion occur?"
"Damn it, put out the fire!"
Boom!
The ammunition depots of the USS Elizabeth and USS Valiant were ignited, and massive explosions accompanied by jets of metal raged through space.
The shockwave from the explosion knocked down the approaching navy ships, who stared dumbfounded at the two battleships that had been breached and were flooding with water.
My God.
"What on earth happened?" Lieutenant General Cunningham, wearing a coat, walked towards the dock and grabbed a panicked sailor to ask him.
"General, we've been attacked."
"This is impossible." Cunningham hadn't heard a sound; the explosion was the only thing that happened when he appeared.
"It's true, the Elizabeth is sinking."
"What did you say?" Cunningham's eyes widened. Our Royal Navy's main battleship was going to sink? Not dying at sea, but dying on our own dock?
"And then there's the Warrior, which is already sinking; the Helms, which is listing; and the Formidable."
"What happened to the Formidable?" That was his flagship, Cunningham grabbed the marine's collar tightly.
"The Formidable is also starting to take on water."
"Fuck you, what happened?"
"We don't know."
"Don't know? Is this your answer?"
In London, England, Churchill was in a very bad mood these past few days.
The British Indian 10th Division was defeated by the Iraqis once again.
The small country of Iraq seems to have become a nightmare for Britain.
Lebanon also did not go smoothly. Although the Australian 7th Division successfully landed in Beirut, the French air force was not completely defeated. The Germans interfered, and the French air force in Vichy even sank two warships and damaged six ships.
This was the first time the Royal Navy had suffered a major blow in the Mediterranean.
"Damn it."
"Report."
"Come in."
"Alexandria has been attacked."
Churchill dropped his pen and stared blankly at the communications soldier.
"What did you say? Say it again!"
"Alexandria has been attacked."
"That's impossible," Churchill suddenly laughed. "Who conspired with you to play this prank?"
Alexandria was a major stronghold of the Royal Navy, with tens of thousands of sailors.
Italy wouldn't dare to provoke us; their ground troops are still far from the port.
Who will attack? How will they attack?
Could the German Air Force reach it?
"The battleships HMS Elizabeth and HMS Warrior have sunk. HMS Hermes has not completely sunk after salvage operations. HMS Formidable has taken on a lot of water and needs repairs."
"Hehehe." Churchill couldn't help but laugh. "Are you kidding me?"
"no."
"Fuck you. Two aircraft carriers heavily damaged, two battleships sunk? Are you trying to tell me this is true?"
"Yes."
This is the largest casualty in the history of the Royal Navy.
"That's impossible."
"It's true."
"So who did it?"
"have no idea."
My God, two battleships have sunk, and none of you know who did it?
"Oh my god, is this real?"
A loud shout outside the door startled Churchill, and Lieutenant General Ramsay rushed into the office with a newspaper in hand.
"The Italians say they attacked Alexandria and dealt us a heavy blow."
"An Italian?"
Churchill rushed forward and snatched the newspaper.
This news report, reprinted from the Italian newspaper El País, strongly expresses the Italian Navy's responsibility for the attack on Alexandria.
[Old Mexican: Early this morning, the powerful Italian navy attacked Alexandria, Egypt, and we sank several British warships.]
Never doubt Italy's strength.
Fuck!
Churchill looked puzzled. "The Italians have this ability?"