Outside the Davao Bay in the Philippines, when night once again enveloped the sea, waves suddenly appeared on the calm sea surface, and a gray-headed thing surfaced. A moment later, several people appeared on the submarine's narrow hull. While breathing the air with the smell of the sea, they observed the harbor in the distance with telescopes.

"Charles, did you write your sailing diary today?" asked Richard, the captain of the Grouper submarine.

"I wrote it, just like yesterday's diary, everything is normal, and the Japanese fleet shows no sign of action." Charles said carelessly. The Americans are still very concerned about the Japanese joint fleet in Davao Bay. Basically, they can guarantee that one to three submarines will be dedicated to conducting reconnaissance missions outside the port. They are not responsible for attacking merchant ships. As long as they can keep an eye on the port, they can pass the news back when the Japanese joint fleet attacks, they will win. As for entering the port to investigate? The Americans

It’s not that I haven’t tried it, but in the attempt to enter the port, the US Navy has lost two submarines. One was stranded because it was not familiar with the hydrological conditions, while the other one hit a mine formation. So the US submarine force responsible for the reconnaissance is just outside the port during the day, carefully observing the waterways entering and leaving the port, while floating out of the water at night to relax, and at the same time communicating information with other colleagues on radio. At least 5 days have passed such a dull day.

"By the way, do you feel something is wrong?" Captain Richard said to his first mate after lit a cigarette.

"What's wrong? Everything is normal now. Every day is so boring. We cat in this sea day after day. Then when the next wave of submarines arrive, we go back to replenish supplies and repair, so many people call us salary thieves." Charles's words revealed a little dissatisfaction. Other submarine troops hunted Japanese transport ships like ghosts. They were called devils by the Japanese, and what about themselves? What's the reason for stalking all day? Moreover, stalking is quite dangerous. Japanese anti-submarine ships and seaplanes patrol nearby waters continuously, and even at night. In just two days, the submarine of the Grouper's class, the Flagfish, was sunk because it happened to be a full moon that night. The breathable Sailfish was secretly leaned over by a Japanese destroyer. After a brief artillery battle, the Sailfish decisively knelt...

"A week ago, we observed a special ship entering the port. It seemed to be called the Mamiya, which used to be a cruise ship, but was later converted into a supply ship by the Japanese Navy, which specializes in food supply." Captain Richard said.

"And what? Is there anything strange about this? It's just a supply ship. It's very common." Charles's words were very plain. Compared to this supply ship, he was more concerned about when he could see the Japanese battleship or aircraft carrier, and then sneak over and kill him!

"First of all, I want to correct your mistakes. This ship is not common! Because the entire Japanese Combined Fleet only has such a high-speed supply ship dedicated to transporting food! And generally, unless it is a long-term mission, it rarely accompanys the main fleet for a long time. He usually travels between the Combined Fleet base and the Japanese mainland." Captain Richard said.

"Secondly, the actions of this ship are generally very regular. They usually dock in the port for no more than 5 days. In other words, they will return immediately after unloading the cargo on their ship. However, so far, we have not observed the departure of the ship." The captain continued.

"Are you a little suspicious? Maybe the Japanese want to stay for a few more days? Or the weather was bad a few days ago. If the Mamiya left the port that day, it would be normal for us to find it. Even under the circumstances at that time, even if a Japanese fleet went to sea, we probably wouldn't be able to discover it. There was a heavy rain that night, and we didn't get air-floating all night, and the bad weather lasted for 3 days!" Charles said angrily.

"If you assume that your statement is correct, then there is another problem now. As a supply ship that does not perform combat missions, why does the Makura have to leave the port on a bad night? We will not lose it during the day, because although the visibility is a bit bad during the day due to weather problems, the Makura's hull of up to 18,000 tons, the huge superstructure, two huge cranes at the beginning and end, and more than ten small cranes on both sides of the ship's side give it a very high recognition."

"And the most important thing is that this Magong is burning coal! Even if the morning fog is taken into consideration, the black smoke rising into the sky will still be very conspicuous. So, we can now be sure that the Magong did not leave during the day. What is the purpose of the Magong leaving at night? Especially when the situation in Shanghai is not good at night, this is not in common sense." Richard asked back.

So, in just a few words, Richard revealed the hidden problems of the only special grain ship in the Japanese Navy. If the food ship is still in the port, then time is not up to par. After all, the headquarters of the Joint Fleet still has its own material procurement channels and food processing capabilities. Large grain ships like the Mamiya generally transport materials to fleets deployed in the far sea. The Mamiya's complete food processing and transportation capabilities can provide considerable guarantees to the belly of the officers and soldiers of the Joint Fleet! Such behaviors that come directly to the base of the Joint Fleet are probably just to transport some scarce supplies produced in Japan. In theory, it should not be for so long.

If the ship has already gone out, the problem will be even greater. There are at least two American submarines patrolling in this sea area. Whether it is day or night, such a large ship with a displacement of nearly 18,000 tons is still coal-burning. It is difficult to run out of the narrow waterways and not be discovered by the US fleet. And even if there is no stalking at the door this time, as long as the Magua releases radio waves at the sea, the American submarine that has been cruising in the waters near the Philippines may realize the existence of the other party through radio reception equipment. Perhaps due to distance issues, direction finding and distance measurement cannot be achieved, but qualitative analysis is also possible!
Chapter completed!