Lieutenant General Tadukkaku Natsumoto reluctantly took the Japanese mobile fleet away from Jakarta and sailed into the Sunda Strait. When formulating the Sumatra counterattack plan, the Navy Command did not seek any opinions from the two fleet commanders and commanders of the Second Fleet, Lieutenant General Nobutake Kondo of the Second Fleet and Lieutenant General Tadukkaku Natsumoto of the First Air Fleet. Based on the strength comparison, the two clearly opposed the plan to send a fleet to enter the Indian Ocean to fight with the support of the shore-based aviation force.

Now the order for combat has been issued. Although the two of them are reluctant, they have to lead the fleet to set off. According to the plan, Kondo's second fleet is responsible for supporting tasks on land and attacking the enemy landing fleet, while Lieutenant General Nagamo commands the mobile fleet to wait for an opportunity to fight the enemy's fleet at sea.

The Sunda Strait is a narrow waterway between Java and Sumatra in the Dutch East Indies, with a width of about 26 kilometers to 110 kilometers. This strait connects the Java Sea and the Indian Ocean in the Pacific. The average water depth is far greater than that of the Strait of Malacca. It is very suitable for large ships to navigate. Therefore, the Sunda Strait has become one of the important maritime strategic channels from the Pacific Ocean to the Indian Ocean, which is parallel to the Strait of Malacca.

In the evening, at the entrance of the turbulent Sunda Strait, the sky was not completely dark. The Chinese Navy 1026 submarine on duty in this area drilled out from under the water and floated out of the water. The submarine was advancing along the west side of Panetan Island toward the Java Sea. Captain Qin Haiming, a captain, came out from under the boat in a wet raincoat, stood on the small bridge of the submarine. Behind him, several crew members on duty also came up one after another. The submarine kept rising and falling with the waves, and every time the fore deck sinks, warm black water splashes hit the bridge.

Qin Haiming, standing on the command tower, looked at the Krakato volcano several miles away from the telescope. The active crater still spits out smoke, and the fiery red magma at the pass is very eye-catching at night. The sea is dark and at first glance, there is no movement at all.

The No. 1026 submarine is one of the eight Smu40 large ocean-going attack submarines ordered by China from the Austro-Hungarian Empire after the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan. This is an improved model of the German 7d/40 ocean-going attack submarine. Its power uses two Steyr 5200 horsepower diesel engines and two 4600 horsepower main propulsion motors. Its performance is better than the German 7d/40 ocean-going attack submarine. When it uses the main propulsion motor submarine underwater, its maximum speed can reach 18.2 knots. Although the range is only 175 nautical miles, it is enough to escape the pursuit of surface escort ships.

Due to the huge increase in the capacity of the battery compartment, the underwater displacement of the Smu40 large ocean-going attack submarine reached 2,400 tons, and its standard displacement was 1,830 tons/2,420 tons. In addition, in order to improve the underwater speed, a fully enclosed bridge was adopted, with a speed of 21.5 knots (surface)/18.2 knots (underwater) and a cruising capacity of 15,300 nautical miles/10 knots.

The large smu40 ocean-going attack submarine continued to optimize the hull linear shape. Only two small upper decks were retained, and the overall hull was streamlined. The military equipment was similar to the German 7d/40 model, and only six bow torpedo launchers were installed, and all deck guns were cancelled. Only a dual-mounted 20mm anti-aircraft gun was retained on the bridge. In addition, two liftable and lowered 6-mounted 210mm rocket launchers were installed on the front and rear decks.

The smu40 submarine is a nightmare for the Allies' current anti-submarine technology. Perhaps their sonar can detect it, but it is difficult to lock its specific position. And thanks to its maximum submarine depth of 220 meters and a high underwater speed of 18 knots, it can easily escape the tracking and attack of anti-submarine warships.

Qin Haiming was indeed surprised by its performance after taking office as the captain of the No. 1026 submarine. Germany and Austria were ahead of the world in submarine technology. This is a fact recognized since World War I, but he did not expect that the submarine manufacturing technology of the two countries could reach its current height. This is simply incredible. With the excellent performance of the Smu40 submarine, if it lurks underwater, with the current technical level of the Allies, it is difficult to find its existence.

Every submarine commander hopes that he can command a submarine like Captain Prien, risking his life-threatening life, sneak into the British Scarpaflo Naval Base, quietly sink the battleship "Royal Oak" and then return safely. The submarine commander became famous in one fell swoop, wrote a legendary story about submarine combat, became a hero that everyone paid attention to, and also became the target of catching up in the minds of every submarine commander.

Unfortunately, the Austrians used submarines very different from the Germans. For most of their time, they regarded the submarine troops as the role of fleet scouts: lurking underwater, monitoring and monitoring the enemy's movements, and then sending reports to the fleet to report the enemy's direction and course. They must not easily attack, and do not give submarine commanders much room for freedom to play. They only allow submarine troops to attack the enemy's transport fleet in a very rare time.

Qin Haiming has not had the opportunity to show off his skills for more than a year since he was the commander of the submarine. He only recently got some chance to sink Japanese transport ships when he entered the South China Sea. Unfortunately, those Japanese transport ships were not protected by escort warships and were easily sent to the seabed. They never had the chance to experience the thrilling scenes of hunting and escape.

The voice of the deputy captain came from below to the small bridge: "The submarine surveillance in Jakarta issued a report 1 hour ago that the enemy fleet had left the port, and the fleet ordered us to keep an eye on the movements in the Sunda Strait!"

"I understand!" Qin Haiming held the receiver and looked at the gloomy night sky. "The visibility is so low, let's just lean on the edge of the volcano! Arrange four more surveillance watches to search the sea surface continuously. Let's turn left, leave the channel, one-third of the horsepower, slow down! Throw the depth-sounding hammer out!"

He shouted on the bridge.

Four crew members got off the bridge, stumbled forward along the slippery front and rear decks to the end, and then threw out the depth-shot hammer.

The submarine has now left the channel, the ballast water has been drained, and the draft of the "Squid" is about 4 meters.

"23 meters on the port side, remember!"

"25 meters on the starboard side!"...

Qin Haiming distinguished the gestures of the crew in the faint light in the evening, and then reported groups of data under the boat through the earpiece. The submarine was undulating and undulating as the waves fluctuated violently, and the crew standing on the deck for measurements watered the waves. The submarine was getting closer and closer to the Krakato volcano. When it entered the shallow water area of ​​15 meters, Qin Haiming stood on the bridge and shouted loudly: "Okay, turn off the engine now and prepare to dive!"

The submarine slid forward for a distance by inertia, and then used a motor to turn the boat head to the north of the channel. The crew on the deck quickly retreated to the bridge and then slid into the cabin below.

"Okay, let's sit down for the time being and raise the periscope!"

The submarine sank to the 15-meter-deep seabed. The seabed here is covered with thick volcanic ash, which will not cause harm to the submarine. Now they are like a rock protruding on the seabed, quietly monitoring the sea surface. Now their location is exactly the depth of the underwater snorkel, and in theory they can always float under such a deep water.
Chapter completed!