At dawn, after carefully exploring the surrounding waters with a periscope in a certain sea area west of Sardinia, a dark submarine floated onto the sea surface. Given the thin upper lines of the submarine and the plump contour of the lower part, it is speculated from the part where this guy exposed the water surface, its water displacement is at least comparable to that of the light destroyer. The biggest feature of its appearance is the smooth and clean front and rear decks and a tall and solid command platform. The upper part of the podium is also equipped with two protrusions similar to bomber self-defense turrets.

Accompanied by a slight metal friction, the hatch on the top of the submarine's podium opened from the inside out. An officer with thick eyebrows and big eyes quickly drilled out of the hatch, breathing the fresh air from the sea, while standing firmly, picking up the telescope hanging on his chest to observe in all directions.

This handsome and upright Italian soldier is Captain Mattia Siligu, the captain of the Italian naval new submarine "Publius Cornellius Scipio".

The Sura-class submarine to which the "Sepio" belongs is the first underwater high-speed submarine of the Italian Navy and the golden key for the Italian Navy to truly enter the threshold of modern submarines. Its design is to a certain extent imitate the German Navy's U-3001-class diesel-electric submarine. The novel shell design makes it have a maximum underwater speed of 16.5 knots and even slightly higher than its maximum surface speed. The large-capacity battery can ensure that it submarines more than 300 nautical miles at a speed of 5 knots. There are other Italian submarines on the boat. There are no living facilities such as food refrigerators, shower equipment, and advanced sonar and radar equipment. The overall combat and airworthiness performance have made a step-by-step leap compared to previous Italian submarines.

Immediately afterwards, another officer drilled out of the hatch with a strong Sicilian accent: "The radar is starting up and it works normally in one minute, but... I think... the enemy ship may have escaped long ago."

Captain Siligu, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, said in a pure Florentine accent: "What a pity! We fired six torpedoes, but only hit one, which made it run away! If we could hit two, we would definitely be able to sink it!"

In the battle that was held not long ago, the Scipio actually fired 6 torpedoes at the enemy ship, 4 were sound-guided torpedoes launched from the bow of the boat, and 2 were ordinary trigger torpedoes launched from the stern of the boat. The reason for this is that the cost of the I-guided torpedoes is five times that of ordinary torpedoes. The Italian Navy's technical department only issued a limited number of sound-guided torpedoes to the submarine force for cost and tactical considerations. The first batch of Sura-class underwater high-speed submarines that were put into service can carry up to 22 torpedoes. When performing non-war patrol missions, each ship was equipped with 4 sound-guided torpedoes. Italian submarine commanders are accustomed to allocating these precious and rare new torpedoes in the bow ammunition compartment.

When the New United Kingdom and the Austro-Hungarian Empire joined forces to start war against Italy, the Scipio was docked in Benghazi, the Italian Libyan port. Then, receiving the combat order from the Italian Navy Command, and before adding ammunition, it drove to the waters around Sicily to carry out combat cruise missions. Soon after, the New United Kingdom Navy's Mediterranean task force attacked the military facilities in Malta and Sardinia. The Scipio not only did not capture the opportunity to attack the enemy fleet, but was also attacked by enemy carrier-based aircraft. It discovered and attacked the enemy surface ship for the first time, and then shot all the sound-guided torpedoes in one breath, which shows how much Captain Siligu, as the captain, hoped to achieve the first good start of the Italian Navy since the war started!

"Are you sure?" asked the officer with a Sicilian accent, "I don't think two torpedoes are enough to sentence an Irish cruiser to death, because they are exquisitely designed and excellent in manufacturing, and they are not comparable to ordinary warships. Think about it, since 1933, the Irish have lost several warships on the battlefield? The key is... Which country, like them, has a genius ship designer and military commander to be the king?"

Captain Siligu put down his telescope and frowned and reminded, "Hey, Fabrichio, you and I understand the truth, but if this is heard by the Fengjian Supervisor, your future in the army might end."

The Sicilians said indifferently: "I am crazy and crazy, and I will never get involved with you. Besides, you are an excellent graduate of the Livorno Naval Academy and a star of hope that the Naval Command focuses on. As long as you seize the opportunity to make merits in this battle, the future will be limitless. Those supervisors of discipline will not come to find you."

Captain Siligu shook his head and said, "Okay, Fabrichio, leave this kind of thing to those who boast about horses and say, we don't have to do this."

The Sicilian grinned.

Captain Siligu opened the waterproof communication box and pulled out the wired microphone: "Radioman, how is the equipment operating?"

The person on the other side of the microphone responded: "The radar has been turned on and radio communications have been restored."

"Use a password to send out the report I just wrote."

"As for orders, sir!"

When Captain Silicou put down the microphone, the Sicilian teased: "Will the generals and politicians in Rome be happy to learn that we had severely damaged the enemy cruiser? Or is it extremely regretful? They ordered that we only equipped 4 S-i sound-guided torpedoes. If not 4, but 8, 12, the results of this battle would have been completely different."

"Don't worry about them!" Captain Siligu replied, "We are loyal and do our best. As for other things, they are not something we can control."

"This is the essential difference between us and our enemies." The Sicilians muttered unwillingly.

Thinking of the various drawbacks of the Italian military and even political circles, Captain Siligu, who had a bright future, had to sigh helplessly.

By making a password signal by making a "Roman Gendarmerie" type cipher machine, as the radio waves quickly spread to Rome hundreds of kilometers away, the radio duty officer of the Italian Navy Command noticed this important telegram at the first time and reported to the officer on duty. The officer on duty hesitated for a while, and still took the risk of being criticized to wake up the adjutant of the Navy Commander Marshal Dazara. The latter thought about it over and over again, and carefully knocked on Marshal Dazara's door a quarter of an hour later, and then reported the exciting but regretful news to the Marshal.

About half an hour later, the flagship of the Bionkelli fleet, "Emanuele II", which was still hidden between St. Peter's Island and San Antioco, received a telegram from the Navy Command, asking about its movements and hesitated. Bionkelli reported the situation truthfully: his fleet had already advanced to the southwestern waters of Sardinia and sent four light cruisers to carry out the mission of luring the enemy into depth, but the enemy ships quickly withdrew after the shelling. Therefore, he was preparing to recall the four light cruisers and wait for the "Aquila" to meet on the spot.

After finally figuring out the movements of his elite fleet, Marshal Dazara quickly called Marshal Graziani, Chief of Staff of the Italian Army, and reported to him that "an Irish cruiser injured by our submarine was fleeing to the waters of the Balearic Islands under the protection of the marshal. The combat formations composed of "Emanuele II" and "Umberto I" are only a few hours away from it", and asked his navy whether to pursue it at any cost.

Marshal Graziani, who had just woken up from his sleep, hesitated for a while and replied, "In view of the fact that the Spaniards are still waiting and watching for the participation in the war, the Italian Navy's activities in the Western Mediterranean should seize the opportunity of the fighter and strive to achieve a victory that boosts the morale of the army."

Although Marshal Graziani's reply was a bit ambiguous, Marshal Dazara, who regarded "decision to overcome difficulties" and "decisiveness to act decisively" as his motto, interpreted the reply of the Chief of General Staff with a positive and optimistic attitude, and then sent an order to "pursuing the fugitive enemy ship" to the Bionkelli fleet.

Receiving the combat order from the Navy Command, Lieutenant General Bionkelli was worried. The target was two enemy cruisers. Even if their speed slowed down, it would take at least 16 hours to catch up with the speed and position of the two Italian main battleships. At that time, the target had basically left the coverage of the Italian Navy and Air Force aviation forces and was under the effective protection of its carrier-based aircraft. Therefore, if you want to chase, you can only send four light cruisers commanded by Colonel Masina to go forward. If they traveled together, they could catch up with the target in 6-8 hours. Moreover, during this period, the Italian Navy and Air Force fighter jets deployed in Sardinia could also aggravate the injuries of the two enemy ships through air strikes and slow down the retreat, thus causing the four light patrols on their sides to drag their opponents into the combat range early.

Therefore, the "Emanuele II" quickly sent the order to "Chasing the enemy ship at full speed" to the "Duke of Abruci". Colonel Masina replied that he would execute the order without hesitation, and at the same time reminded Bionkelli that as soon as it dawn, the four light cruisers he commanded would be exposed to the sight of the enemy carrier-based aircraft, and would be subjected to fierce air strikes that the main fleet could not withstand. If the Italian fighter jets stationed in Sardinia and Sicily could not provide timely and effective cover, then their pursuit mission might end in vain.

After receiving a telegram from Colonel Masina, Bionkelli ordered the correspondent to send a message to the Navy Command without hesitation, emphasizing that his fleet would be subject to huge threats from enemy naval aviation after dawn, and solemnly stated that "if our fighter planes cannot provide comprehensive cover for the fleet, the 'Emanuele II' and 'Umberto I' may never have a chance to return to the base of Taranto."
Chapter completed!