Konpeki no Kantai::Volume1 Chapter5

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Konpeki no Kantai Volume 1 Chapter 5

Chapter Five: The 8000 Kilometer Undersea Strike of the Fugaku

1

The Deep Blue Fleet greeted the new year 17, seven days after having sortied from the Hawaiian Islands.

Rear Admiral Maebara Issei, for the first time in a while, saw the faint outline of an island upon the sea, though not with his naked eye. When the periscope of the Fugaku lifted out of the sea on the morning of New Year’s Day, it was in the field of view.

The morning sun was just rising, precisely behind the volcanic island. The glittering, golden dawn shone brightly, as if it were shooting him in the eyes...

The view from the scope vanished in the great waves of the ocean, only to reappear.

"You take a look," said Maebara Issei, urging the captain of the Fugaku, Irie Kuichi.

When Captain Kuichi peered through the scope,

"That must be Clipperton Island," he said.

The French island of Clipperton is a volcanic island floating in the eastern Pacific Ocean. It is located at ten degrees north latitude, one hundred and ten degrees west longitude. From Hawaii, it is 5000 kilometers to the south-east. Without consulting a map of the seas, we knew that America was not far away. The coast of Mexico to the northeast is less than 1000 kilometers away.

"Our voyage is on schedule," said Maebara.

The Deep Blue Fleet ran at marvelous speed through the East Pacific, reaching fifteen knots on and under the water, covering 360 nautical miles (670 kilometers) per day.

"Yes. We are still sixteen hundred nautical miles from our target, but the real battle is about to begin," said Irie.

Sixteen hundred nautical miles is about three thousand kilometers.

"We are in enemy territory," nodded Maebara. "From now on, we will have to go underwater day and night."

"Yes sir."

Captain Irie put his mouth to the speaking tube and gave the order: "Lower the periscope."

"Lowering periscope."

"Maintain depth at 50, speed at seven knots. From here on out, the use of underwater recharging equipment is prohibited during daylight hours."

Captain Irie made this announcement as previously arranged.

The underwater recharging equipment charged the battery while the submarine was underwater by taking in air to run a generator. In other words, it was a snorkel developed by our own country ahead of the German Navy.

"Understood. Maintain depth at 50 meters, speed at seven."

"The course will remain the same until further notice."

"Command center affirmative. Maintaining course for Panama."

The voice of Lieutenant Colonel Shinagawa Yajirou, the senior officer, echoed from the command center directly below the control tower.

The ship showed an immediate and sharp response to the tilt of its dive planes. The Fugaku I-601 entered a diving stance, its bow heading underwater. Despite being an revolutionary and giant submarine, the Fugaku’s had outstanding performance moving underwater. This was due to the unprecedented cocoon-shaped structure of the hull.

No, in fact there was a precedent. It was not of this world, but in a prior life. In other words, at the end of the last world war, Japan built the I-400, a ship that could easily circumnavigate the globe......

Displacing 3445 tons empty, but when fully loaded said to actually displace up to 5523 tons, these I-400s were equipped with a unique tube enclosure that could house two to three Seiran attack seaplanes.

Unfortunately, these huge submarines were greeted by the end of the war on August 15, Year 20, without having accomplished anything in the war. However, judging by the admiration given to them by the Americans after the war, our country’s submarine construction technology outstripped theirs.

* In olden days, "Seiran" was the common name for a sudden storm from a clear sky.

As if to make up for the overly late entry of the I-400 class submarines into the war, the members of the Deep Blue Society built yet more powerful new submarines, the I-500, I-600 and the I-700 classes, and introduced them in time for the start of the war...

...This was precisely what the Deep Blue Fleet was all about!

The fearsome power of their attack had already been seen in the Battle of Hawaii on December 7th. The terrible sight of battleships being sunk in the blink of an eye by a simultaneous torpedo attack crushed the enemy Admiral Kimmel’s spirit. And it was what made Admiral Kimmel surrender at once...

But for this mysterious fleet, such things were a piece of cake.

2

It was top secret. The very existence of the fleet was limited to Prime Minister Ootaka and a few others under him. For that reason, the results of their battles were not reported at all. They were quite literally a shadow fleet......

But if I could not go into details, this story would not be able to move along. For the moment, keeping things to the absolute minimum, the Deep Blue Fleet's composition was:

I-601 Fugaku (Flagship)

I-501 Suigami

I-502 Kairyuu

I-503 Soukai

I-701 Otohime (Tender)

The above consists of five ships.

Well......

There were no special events celebrating the New Year, as they in midst of a military operation. The commander, the captain, the navigator and other key personnel of each ship simply stood in front of a Shinto altar placed in an appropriate spot within the ship and clapped their hands in prayer.

Instead, the crews of each ship, numbering from around 110 to 200 each, were allowed to eat whatever they wanted for the day.

In preparation for several months of sailing without stopping at any port, the ship's interiors were packed full of boxes of food everywhere. Canned fruit, yokan... if it could be preserved, they had it all. Everyone celebrated New Year's with smiles on their faces.

Admiral Maebara descended the chimney-like tube from the conning tower, which was filled with four to five people. Once he descended, he was in the command center, which was the battle control center for the Fugaku, where Commander Shinagawa was working hard.

"Salute!"

"Wow, everyone looks like they are having fun," Maebara called out in a friendly manner. "But don't eat too much, or you'll wind up under the care of Dr. Akasaka."

Maebara looked around the control center, which was crammed with instruments. The helmsman, Petty Officer Kusaka, was staring at the depth gauge.

"How's it going? She may be a huge ship, but she seems pretty easy to handle."

"Ah, yes sir!"

<~~11% Completed~~>

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