Reborn as a police officer in South Africa

May 5, 1934, twelve o'clock at noon.

 It has been exactly 50 hours since the "Victoria" sank to the bottom of the sea and hit the seabed, and the staff trapped in the "Victoria" have not yet been rescued.

 As soon as the "Victoria" accident happened, "The Times" carried out a follow-up report in the form of a "Supplement".

In the latest "Supplement", the "Times" published the list of staff trapped inside the "Victoria".

 Among the trapped people, the highest-ranking ones were Captain Oram, the captain of the ship, and Colonel Denny, the representative sent by the Royal Navy.

 The one who has received the most attention is Stanley Bell, the chief designer of "Victoria", and his design team.

 The good news is that the southern African submarine expert Joe John is on vacation in London. After the Royal Navy learned about it, it immediately sent people to bring Joe John in as quickly as possible, hoping that Joe John could help get him out.

"The biggest problem we encounter now is that because the escape hatch is located six meters underwater, heavy cutting equipment cannot be used. If the escape hatch cannot be opened smoothly, it is impossible to rescue the people in the submarine." Royal Navy Home Fleet

Colonel Felton was extremely anxious, and most of the staff trapped in the "Victoria" were Colonel Felton's comrades.

 The safety of sailors is not the first priority for the Royal Navy.

 More importantly, Stanley Bell and his design team.

 The United Kingdom has insufficient accumulation in submarines, and Stanley Bell is one of the few experts in submarines in the United Kingdom.

If Stanley Bell and his team were all killed in this accident, Britain's submarine design capabilities would regress overnight to before the outbreak of the last world war.

“I need the design drawings of the Victoria.” After knowing the news, Joe John arrived at the Portsmouth Naval Base as quickly as possible, changing his clothes in the car.

 Colonel Felton looked troubled.

 The Victoria is Britain's most advanced submarine.

 Jo John is a southern African.

 Although Britain and southern Africa are allies.

 But if you just show the drawings of the "Victoria" to Joe John, then Britain's most advanced submarine will have no secrets for the Southern African Navy.

 “Sorry, I need to ask my superiors for instructions.” Colonel Felton decided to leave the choice to the top brass of the Royal Navy.

 Jo John nodded to express his understanding. This was a difficult decision.

"Hurry up. It has been more than 50 hours since the Victoria accident. The oxygen in the submarine may be exhausted at any time. Can we contact the inside of the submarine now?" Joe John was also worried about the safety of his colleagues. He and Stan

Leigh Bell is an acquaintance and has worked together.

 After the end of the world war, there was a honeymoon period between southern Africa and Britain.

 For Britain, German submarines were the biggest threat. In order to figure out the performance of German submarines, Southern Africa and the United Kingdom had been cooperating for a long time. It was at that time that Joe John and Stanley Bell met.

“The submarine’s telegraph machine is an independent power supply system, and we have always maintained close contact.” Colonel Felton looked embarrassed. This is also the current situation of relations between southern Africa and the United Kingdom.

 The current situation is very embarrassing.

As the sovereign state of Southern Africa, Britain personally drove Southern Africa out of the Commonwealth.

Then the UK discovered that it was not Southern Africa that needed the Commonwealth market, but the industrial capabilities of Southern Africa within the Commonwealth.

 So the British government tried every means to repair its relationship with southern Africa.

The relationship between Southern Africa and the United Kingdom has finally warmed up, but the cracks still exist. No matter how hard the British government tries, it is impossible for Southern Africa and the United Kingdom to return to a state of no grievances.

 “Can I go and have a look?” Joe John didn’t have high hopes, but he still had to help.

 Colonel Felton said nothing.

 Obviously not possible.

If Joe John were an ordinary person, then it would not matter if he went to the scene.

Submarine experts like Joe John can tell a lot just by going to the scene and taking a close look.

 Among other things, the shape of the submarine's shell has a huge impact on the performance of the submarine.

 Submarine experts in southern Africa all know about installing anechoic tiles on the "Dolphin".

God knows whether British submarine experts will install external armor on the "Victoria".

 Don’t laugh, it’s really possible.

 Jo John was speechless.

 That doesn’t work either.

That's not OK.

Then why did you ask me to come?

The Royal Navy hopes to rescue people without leaking secrets.

 So after Colonel Felton asked for instructions, the Royal Navy gave Joe John a drawing.

 Joe John could tell at a glance that this was a drawing of a German U-boat.

 So, the British "Victoria" is similar to the German U-boat.

 At least the structure is similar.

Then the performance won’t be much different.

 Hence, the overall performance of "Victoria" is probably not as good as the "Ghost" in southern Africa.

This also requires ensuring that the performance of British torpedoes is good enough.

 out out out being like an American torpedo that hits Japanese merchant ships like hedgehogs without blowing up a single one, then the "Victoria"'s performance will be useless no matter how advanced it is, it's useless," he said.

 Well, if you look at it this way, there is a tradition that American bombs are unreliable.

  Otherwise there would be so many accidental hits on friendly troops.

  When Joe John got the drawings, it had been more than 55 hours since the accident on the "Victoria".

 The most important thing now is not to get people out, but to find a way to deliver fresh air into the submarine to ensure that the people in the submarine survive first.

"Sorry Mr. John, I can't tell you how long the oxygen inside the submarine can last. I can only tell you that the people inside the submarine are still alive." Colonel Felton was exhausted mentally and physically, and he was also very confused now.

 That doesn’t work either.

That's not OK.

Why did you call Joe John so far away from London?

 Jo John spread his hands.

“There is a way to use a large cutting machine to cut the hull so that the crew inside the submarine can escape smoothly.” Joe John chose violent cutting, which is the simplest and most effective way.

Colonel Felton didn’t say anything. If it can be violently cut, why would you be asked to do it?

The Royal Navy’s intention is very clear. It wants to get the people out without causing too much damage to the "Victoria".

After all, the "Victoria" is a newly built new submarine. It was completely destroyed in the first sea trial, so the Royal Navy has no way to explain to Congress.

“So, it’s not that the large-scale cutting equipment cannot be used, it’s that it cannot be used.” Joe John had a vague feeling that a bigger disaster might happen.

 Colonel Felton lowered his head, not daring to look into Joe John's eyes.

"How long has this been? Are you still worried about whether it will cause damage to the submarine? Which is more important, the people, the inanimate equipment, and the face of the Royal Navy?" Joe John was furious, and the Royal Navy showed it.

His indifference to life is chilling.

 How can the Royal Navy be so indifferent to its designers?

 What about treating your allies?

Suppose that if a world war breaks out again, the Southern African Navy and the Royal Navy fight side by side. If the Southern African Navy encounters difficulties, will the Royal Navy go all out?

 It is impossible to even think about it with your toes.

"There are 125 living beings in there, your comrades-in-arms, and even your relatives. Do you just watch them die of suffocation?" Joe John couldn't bear it anymore. How cold-blooded this must be.

Only then can such a decision be made.

 In fact, the Royal Navy is not cold-blooded.

After Sir Charles Forbes retired due to illness, Cunningham failed in the competition, and it was Roger Keyes who eventually became commander of the Home Fleet.

However, Roger Case has not yet taken office. He was busy running for Congress before, and there are still some affairs that he has not had time to take over. The Conservative Party also needs someone to replace Roger Case and run for Congress. This is another

A confusing account.

So when the "Victoria" hit the seabed, Colonel Felton, who was responsible for handling the matter, didn't know who to report to. The commander of the headquarters did not arrive and no one took the initiative to take responsibility.

current dilemma.

"I warned you five hours ago that the oxygen inside the Victoria is about to run out. Now five hours have passed and the situation has not improved at all. If you don't want to use a large cutting machine, then even if you are on the Victoria

Drilling a hole in the boat can also send fresh air to the inside of the submarine. It has been more than 55 hours since the accident. If the people in the submarine die, you are all murderers!" Joe John yelled, and the Southern African Federation

Compared with the government, the British government and the Royal Navy are hopelessly powerless.

 Yes, it’s just very weak.

　　No matter what you do, you feel powerless, and you feel like you have no choice but to kill the thief.

Even if the advice is correct, there will be people who will find fault with it and hinder it unscrupulously.

Some people are only good at identifying problems and never proposing solutions to problems.

 Because some problems simply cannot be solved.

“Mr. John, drilling holes in Victoria will also damage the structure of Victoria.” Colonel Felton was also helpless. The submarine was scrapped after drilling holes. No one dared to take this responsibility.

However, if all the staff in the submarine die due to a failure of the escape hatch, this is not the responsibility of the Royal Navy, but the responsibility of the shipyard, submarine designers, and even the submarine staff themselves.

 After all, "Victoria" was the first sea trial.

 The submarine staff were also not very familiar with the performance of the "Victoria".

 So if the escape hatch is locked due to the submarine staff's own operational errors, then this has nothing to do with the Royal Navy.

 Time passes little by little.

 60 hours have passed and the escape hatch still cannot be opened.

At the 65th hour, communication with the submarine was interrupted. Joe John forced his way into the Royal Navy Home Fleet headquarters and demanded that a large cutting machine be used to cut the "Victoria" into pieces immediately.

 At the 70th hour, with the intervention of the British government, the Royal Navy finally cut open the "Victoria".

When the hatch was opened, the scene was horrific and all 125 staff members died of suffocation.