Chapter 12 missing information

In late May 1993, when the residents of Brielle were just waking up from winter, the divers were already preparing to embark on the "Explorer" for the first voyage of the season.Now, Chatterton and Kohler have begun to publicly refer to the mysterious submarine as U857.They have been asked by many why they continue to survey the dangerous wreck now that they have identified the submarine.They replied that as long as they didn't find clear evidence from the submarine, it was just speculation.They've paid so much, they say, to just come up with a guess. The first submarine trip in 1993 was scheduled for May 31, which is Memorial Day.Chatterton and Kohler drove to the pier where the "Explorer" was docked, and they felt extremely satisfied in their hearts.Chatterton made many important discoveries in submarines and went where no one had gone before.He will continue his work until he reaches conclusions that leave even the world's greatest submarine expert in doubt.

Kohler felt equally satisfied.Two years ago he was the king of wreck items and founder of Atlantic Wreck Divers.His life is only salvaging shipwreck items and picking quarrels and provoking trouble.But when he got to know the submarine and its crew, when he watched Chatterton spend all his dives underwater for research purposes, when he set out to correct the historical record, his behavior changed. , he felt that he was no longer just a diver, but also an explorer, and he was getting closer and closer to his childhood dream. But not everyone likes the change that has taken place in Kohler.During the off-season, Kohler's fellow Atlantic wreck divers denounced him for his infidelity. "You dived with your new buddy, huh?" they asked when Kohler Spring dived with them. "What was it like diving with the guys who put up the iron bars on the Dorian?"

Their questioning really made Kohler uncomfortable for a while.It was these friends who introduced him to wreck diving and who taught him how to survive in the underwater world.Chatterton could see that Curler cared a lot about what those people were saying to him.At such times, he would say to Kohler: "Your friends are going to sail this season, too," Chatterton said to Kohler. "They're going to the 'Oregon,' to the 'San Diego.' Are they trying to find another plate from the 'Oregon' Or trying to find another bowl that was the same one I found before? These are crap, Ricky. It's against the spirit of diving to do that. You won't go with them. If you do, you can't go sub diving gone."

Koehler always replied, "You're right, John. I think I've changed." Koehler has indeed undergone a lot of changes.He started learning to use nitrox in the off-season.He noticed that Chatterton's and Yuga's dives became safe and beneficial after using the gas.He also saw the Rouses die at the bottom of the sea because of an accidental failure to use nitrox.Koehler gave up using air so his dives could become safer. When they arrived at the Brielle parking lot, they weren't surprised to find it was much emptier than usual.If Feldman's death proved that exploring the mysterious submarine was a death-trip, the Rouss' death further confirmed that belief.There is a saying in the diving world that if you board a submarine, there are at least a thousand possibilities to kill you. Even if the depth of the sinking ship does not harm you, the swinging steel bars and tangled wires in the submarine will kill you. .And it's expensive to go out to sea to survey submarines -- $150 to charter a boat.But it's nearly impossible to find monumental shipwreck items there.Besides, the media that once flocked to it have long since disappeared.Divers capable of diving to such depths hope to gain something, so most of them refuse to participate in the survey of the mysterious submarine.

After boarding the "Explorer", the divers shook hands with each other and exchanged their harvest in the off-season.Near midnight, a skeletal figure approached the Explorer from the Bar of Terror.The people on board stared at the figure without saying a word.The man was getting closer, feet shuffling in the mud of the parking lot toward the pier. "It's Bill," someone whispered. Raig's face was sallow and covered with purple bruises.His hair was oily and his T-shirt was filthy.He weighed only 120 pounds, with loose skin on his legs, and only his bulging stomach showed that his appetite was as good as ever.Under his arm was the Indian cowboy sleeping bag he had been using since he was a child. It was the sleeping bag he used when he was at the peak of his power when he went to salvage the ship's clock on the "Andra Dorian".

The divers hurriedly squeezed the best smiles out of their faces. "Hi, Bill," someone said, "The Seeker is beautiful, Bill," someone else said.Everyone on board thanked Chatterton and Cromwell - able and unflappable captains - for taking the ship out to sea when the ship left the dock that night. As the Explorer heads toward the sub, the divers review their plans one last time.Parker and Gato—probably the best wreck diving buddy in the country—go to the diesel engine room.In addition to housing the submarine's massive engines, this cabin also housed the instrument panel, telegraph and other equipment that may have been engraved with the submarine's serial number.So far, no one has been inside the engine room, because the door to the cabin is blocked by a mass of air intake ducts that have come off the sub's upper window.Parker and Gatto prepare to forcefully move the obstacles out of the way.This requires the use of rope and several lifting bags, and is a very dangerous operation.But clearing the access to the engine bay has another benefit.They can have access to the motor compartment next to it.So far, only these two cabins have not been explored by divers.

Chatterton's plan was simple.He still went to the forward part of the submarine—the telegraph and sonar rooms, the captain's quarters, the officers' quarters—where he had already been before.He was going to observe quietly there. "I need to observe," he said to Yuga on the boat. "I need to quietly observe a large pile of garbage, and then I can slowly discern whether there is something different in it. I want to find out what is in the mess." order. I think if I start digging right away, I can only see the pile I dug, but if I just observe quietly, I can see a lot more."

Koehler had a similar plan.During his research in the off-season, he found many photos of submariners, and from these photos, he knew that the crews liked to engrave the submarine's number or logo on their lighters, pocket watches or hats.Like Chatterton, he believed that the important things must be in the forward part of the submarine, because the forward part was where the crew lived and stored their personal belongings.But unlike Chatterton, he wanted to dig straight in.He wished to search the black muck with his hands instead of his eyes.He intended to search for any place where there were no bones of the crew.

The morning sun is like a brilliant alarm clock.Chatterton and Kohler went into the water together, as they had done the previous diving season.Koehler used nitrox this time, which he once believed to be witchcraft that could kill people.But as he sank, he found himself alive and well.At 100 feet, Kohler checked him for nitrogen narcosis.Chatterton noticed Kohler checking himself.Nothing unusual.At 200 feet, Kohler stopped near the anchor line and looked around.With air, at this depth, his field of vision becomes very narrow. "Unbelievable," he thought, "it's like the difference between a pocket TV in the kitchen and a big screen in a movie theater." He gestured OK to Chatterton, who smiled at him. .The two entered the submarine and meandered toward the bow.Visibility is crucial in the forward cabin, which is strewn with the remains of the crew.

Kohler arrived at the sergeant's quarters, which he knew was like a cemetery.Chatterton stopped in the captain's cabin.He hadn't mentioned it to anyone before, but he believed he had a chance of finding the submarine's logbook here.Legible written material has previously been found on older shipwrecks.The logbook will be the most important discovery: the first-hand account of the submarine's mission, goals, hopes, fears, and even demise.If the logbook was still there, only the calmest eyes could tell it from the rubbish.Chatterton calmed down slowly. At first, the debris in the captain's cabin was just as Chatterton imagined it to be a jumble of rubbish.He stood there quietly and began to observe the fragments.Still rubbish.Minutes passed, staring at the fragments in front of him, and finally he found order out of the chaos.

"That thing doesn't look like a splinter," he said, pulling an intact leather boot from among the splinters. "That piece of metal looks smoother than the rest," he thought, and reaching for another pile of debris, he pulled out a flare. "The brown color of that thing doesn't look natural," he hastily stretched out his hand into a pile of wood chips, and he dug out a crew's escape equipment—the breathing and life-saving equipment used by the crew to escape. In just twenty minutes, Chatterton found three important things that he had overlooked in previous dives.There are likely to be recognizable markings on everything, most likely on the escape equipment.While in Germany, Horst.Bredow had suggested that they look for this equipment—the small gas cylinders and rubber hoses that the crew used to escape when the submarine sank.When Chatterton returned to the Explorer, he was full of pride in himself.He hadn't been able to explain why he felt this way, but when he got to 20 feet and saw the dive boat above, he knew why.His trip, which stripped the wreck of its camouflage and recovered important items among the barely discernible wreckage, was what Legg established himself as a diving legend in the first place.It has always been Chatterton's dream to achieve what Legg did.After Chatterton boarded, Legge hobbled over to inspect his salvage.Chatterton could smell him.He put his arms around Ragg and asked him to help take off the wetsuit.It felt so good, Chatterton thought, that the dream of becoming a diver like Legge was finally coming true. Koehler followed Chatterton back to the ship.He removed the gas cylinders and found only a few coffee pots, so he rushed to the changing table to join the others in examining Chatterton's trophies.They soaked boots, flares and escape equipment in clean water to rinse them.Leger took out the leather boots first, and wiped off the dirt on them with a towel.Everyone gathered around, trying to find a name or initials or something on the boot.But the boot was empty—its owner had left no writing on it. Next, Legge took the flare out of the barrel.The crew usually used pistols to fire the rounds into the air when they were feeling down.He wiped it lightly, like Aladdin's lamp, and a line of German suddenly appeared in front of him like a genie.However, these texts only record the manufacturer's name and the specifications of the bullet. Now only the escape equipment remains.The equipment consisted of a brown rubber life jacket, a black crumpled rubber tube, an orange rubber mouthpiece and a thermos-sized oxygen cylinder that the crew could use to breathe in an emergency.Among the three salvaged items, this one was the most severely damaged. Most of the equipment had been corroded by seawater, and the oxygen cylinder had sunk in the middle.Leger wiped the device, the mud gradually fell off, and there was nothing written on it.Legge continued to wipe.This time an eagle and the swastika logo are spotted on the mouthpiece. "Is there a name on it?" Kohler asked. Legge wiped again. "No name," Legge said at last. "Looks like it belonged to one of the crew." Chatterton's hopes drifted over the Seeker's rail and disappeared into the morning breeze. "There's nothing on the three items," he said. "This wreck is so damn tenacious." He put the escape equipment in the freezer. "I'm still going to take it home, clean it, and dry it," he said to Yuga. "Who knows? Maybe there's something on it when the lifejacket dries." Parker and Gato climb up the boat ladder from the water, and they bring good news.The intake duct blocking the entrance to the engine bay had been blown away by winter storms during the off-season.Inside they found several pieces of tools and equipment, each likely stamped with the submarine's serial number.They will have time to review the equipment on their next dive. "How far have you investigated the engine bay?" Kohler asked. "Not much," Parker said. "We got ten feet in. The rest of the place was clear, but we still couldn't get into the motor room. But I think we got deep enough to find what we needed." "Congratulations," said Chatterton, "I think you two can do it." Severe surf and poor visibility caused most divers to abandon their second dive.After Legge weighed anchor, many divers were imagining what Parker and Gatto would make of the engine bay the next time they were back.Chatterton was involved in the discussion at first, describing what he saw in the same cabin on the U505 in Chicago.But while the others continued their lively discussion, Chatterton didn't say a word, just quietly looked at the freezer, thinking about the escape equipment inside.He wonders if there is any message hidden in that broken piece of equipment, and he also wonders why everything in the sub is not as simple as it seems. It was nearly midnight when Chatterton got home.He undid the gear quietly so as not to wake his wife.He took out his escape equipment and walked to his garage.Chatterton's garage, filled with shelves of shipwreck items that couldn't fit in Chatterton's home, is like a museum of his undersea bravery.He found a place to set down the escape device next to a pile of Dorian bowls, silver and china.He estimated that it would take at least a few days to dry the thing.Chatterton went inside and washed his face, then thought, "Parker and Gatto will be the ones to identify the wreck." A few days later, Chatterton came to the garage to check the escape equipment.He was stunned when he reached the door.There were broken tiles all over the floor.Shards filled the walls and ceiling like cannonballs, and a heavy wooden frame was crumbling to pieces. "Someone blew up my garage," Chatterton yelled. "Someone planted a bomb here." Chatterton was dizzy with rage.He found a broom to sweep the ground.Nothing on the garage shelf survived.He found a silvery metal object in a pile of debris. He picked it up. It was the oxygen cylinder of the escape equipment.But it is no longer a closed round shape, but has become flat like a cut toothpaste tube. "Shit," Chatterton yelled, "the oxygen tank exploded. This thing still works. This escape device blew up my garage." Chatterton took a closer look at the flat cylinder.The explosion removed half a century of dirt that would have been difficult to wipe off if it hadn't been for the explosion.Chatterton moved his face closer, and he saw a line of numbers printed on it: 15.4.44. Chatterton immediately judged the significance of these figures.He rushed home and called Kohler. "Ricky, man, that oxygen bottle blew up my garage," he said. "what?" "The escape device. Remember that oxygen cylinder in there? It was still inflated. I put it in the garage to dry, but it exploded. I put it in the garage from the Dorian Totally destroyed. My garage is like a battlefield. But listen: this explosion gives us a clue. The oxygen cylinder has a date on it - 15.4.44 - which is the European way of writing April 15, 1944. This is the date the fluid pressure was tested. This date indicates that the cylinder passed inspection." "That means our submarines have been out to sea since April 15, 1944," Kohler said. "Completely correct." "I'll come over now." Chatterton went back to the garage.He picked up the broom, but couldn't continue sweeping.Now he realizes how lucky he was to find this escape device.He decompressed with the thing for an hour, stared at it aboard the Explorer, placed it next to the gas tank in the van, and moved it to a shelf in the garage.As he waited for Kohler to arrive, two thoughts kept fighting in his mind.First of all, he was more sure that the submarine was U857, because it went to sea in January 1945.Second, maybe they've gone too far—and as crazy as it sounds, it could be that the dead sailors are out to get their revenge. Hours after discovering the garage explosion, Chatterton called Gregory, a historian with the Civilian Air Patrol.Major Weidenfeld called, and Weidenfeld said they had sunk a submarine off the coast of New Jersey in 1942. "Well, Gerry," Chatterton said, "we found a fluid pressure test date that proves that the sub was at sea after April 15th, 1944. That rules out your sinking of the sub." possibility. I am very sorry." After a while, Chatterton could even hear Weidenfeld trying to calm himself down. "Thank you very much, John," Weidenfeld said, "That means you have to continue to study the identity of that submarine." A few days later, Chatterton heard of his friend, "Ace Captain" Carl.Frederick.Motan died at the age of 87.He was not surprised by the news, because Mortan had been ill for a long time.But Chatterton knew that Mortan's death and his confession to Weidenfeld had opened a new chapter in their research.For nearly a year, Chatterton, Koehler, and Yuja believed that the mystery submarine was either U158 (sunk by the Civilian Air Patrol) or U851 (commanded by Motan's colleague Wiengartner).Although they rejected these two possibilities one by one, they already regarded these two people as their friends. Due to the weather and the business arrangement of the "Explorer", it was July 31 that they went to sea again to go to the submarine. According to the last time, it has been more than two months.The boat finally set sail for the sea, and the divers couldn't restrain their inner excitement sitting on the boat.This time Parker and Gato will find strong evidence from the engine bay. Early the next morning, Chatterton and Kohler went straight to the front cabin of the submarine after they entered the water. They always thought that there would be items marked with the submarine number.Chatterton, as before, was ready to quietly observe the debris in the ship, looking for something useful in the jumble of garbage.He found a pair of binoculars in the captain's cabin. "I've been here many times, but never found this telescope," thought Chatterton, "and I can't miss it." Chatterton held the telescope up to his face, some of the optics gone, overgrown with algae.He put the binoculars in his bag.If this is the captain's telescope, then his name is likely etched on the underside of the algae.Apart from this telescope, Chatterton didn't have much to gain.During this period, he kept thinking how poetic it would be to find a telescope under his quiet observation. Kohler continued digging in the sergeant's quarters.He carefully avoided the cabinets where the crew's boots were kept and the places where the crew's bones were piled up.He saw a bowl-like object in a muck heap, and he held it in front of him to examine it carefully.Only then did Kohler realize that what he was holding in his hand was a skull.Mud trickled out of the skull's eye sockets and nasal passages.If it was a year ago, Kohler would have thrown the skull back to the ground in horror.But today, he held his skull and stared at his eye sockets. "I'll try to find out your name," Kohler said. "Your family should know you're here." When it was time to leave the wreck, he gently replaced the skull so that he faced the hatch so he could see his companions. Chatterton and Koller began cleaning the telescope on the ship, but there were no signs on it.The only thing they can do now is wait for Parker and Gato to come back from the engine bay.An hour later, the two boarded the ship's ladder.Parker's backpack was bulging. He opened the backpack and took out a pressure gauge the size of a dinner plate. Chatterton and Kohler had seen it in a book. This kind of instrument should have the serial number of the submarine printed on it.The divers took a closer look.An eagle and a swastika are engraved on the aluminum face of the pressure gauge, along with some explanatory text and numbers.Parker wiped the entire pressure gauge, which almost shattered into powder in his hands.Like the torpedo bay label, this instrument was made by the Germans from cheap metal scraps late in the war due to metal shortages.The discovery had serious consequences: Other instruments in the engine compartment—including identification tags—could be made of this poor-quality metal that would not be able to withstand the erosion of the seabed environment. Ferocious waves forced the divers to cut short their second dive.As the Explorer sailed back to Brielle that night in the black-blue Atlantic waters, few on board spoke.In the wheelhouse, Legge said to himself: "Damn submarine..." Chatterton briefly wrote in the log: "Where should I look next time?" The Explorer made four more visits to the submarine over the next six weeks.Parker and Gatto continue their work in the engine bay.They collected all sorts of pretty, fun things: dashboards, plastic tags, even telegraphs, which were marked with instructions like "stop," "full speed," "dive."But all of these are indicative words, no markers of the wreck's identity.The narrow passage between the two diesel engines is blocked by a giant steel pipe, preventing access to the interior of the engine bay.Kohler believes that this steel pipe is the escape cabin of the submarine. The escape cabin is a vertical steel pipe with a ladder inside. When the submarine sinks, the crew can escape from the submarine from here.Now, the escape pod was stuck between the two engines, also sealing off all space from floor to ceiling, which made it impossible for them to gain access to the interior of the engine bay or the adjacent motor bay.But the damage it did wasn't serious -- if the various items Parker and Gatto salvaged didn't bear markings identifying the submarine, neither did the rest of the technical boat's hold. Chatterton and Kohler stuck to the forward cabin of the submarine.They found all sorts of things—bowls, cups, shoes, gauges—but nothing marked them.Chatterton salvaged two items from the wreck that caught the attention of all divers.One was a surgeon's set, a medical set of stainless steel, found in a place Chatterton had explored many times, accompanied by a schematic printed on fine canvas - in clear red and black printed with ink.But none of these revealed anything related to the submarine's identity. "Take the medical supplies if you like," Chatterton said to the others. "I'll just have this schematic." "My God, John, these medical kits are so beautiful, they're one of a kind," said one of the divers. "You can't give it up." "I just want to find out the identity of the submarine," Chatterton replied. "These paraphernalia are no help. They belong to you." On his next trip to sea, Chatterton found a sailing watch in the captain's cabin—the submarine's chronometer, another major achievement of his.Like the surgeon's set, he had found the voyage list in a well-reviewed place in the captain's cabin.Once aboard, he hoped to find evidence of the wreck's identity on this beautiful thing.But there was nothing but an eagle and a swastika.Chatterton was about to throw the wooden box containing the voyage table overboard. "What are you going to do?" Kohler asked from above. "There's nothing on the box," Chatterton said. "This is a great find! Are you crazy? This is a souvenir of your diving experience!" "It doesn't matter." "Give me the watch and the case," said Kohler. "I know a man who can restore broken things. Give me, and I'll make it adorn your case." "Whatever you want, Ricky." "My God, John, what the hell happened to you?" On the evening of his return to Brielle, Chatterton told Koehler what had happened.At the beginning of the diving season, he felt very optimistic. He was sure that with his research and preparation combined with his ability-his diving skills-he would definitely identify the submarine.And now, four months later and six dives into them, he finds himself haunted by some wild thoughts.For the first time, he began to worry that first-time survey divers would climb up the Explorer's ladder with tags bearing the submarine's number, becoming casual but official submarine identifiers. "I don't care who gets that honor," he told Koehler, "but it means all my hard work is for naught." He worried that he and Kohler had overlooked some important items that later divers found in the most obvious places. "It looked like the crew kept putting things in front of me," Chatterton said, "but it wasn't what I wanted. They were like, 'Hey, let's give him the binoculars. So he'll be gone'." Kohler put down the beer. "Listen, John. We can do it," Koehler said. "If we had to row our own boats out here, I would. I'll stand with you. I believe we Do everything. We're going to keep going. Let me know what you need and I'll help you. We won't back down." Only then did Chatterton truly feel the importance of Koehler to his work.He is a first-class diver, one of the best, and a passionate and creative explorer.But after these, more importantly, he is a man of firm belief.Chatterton looked at Kohler's extended hand, and he knew that this was the most important thing. In a common cause, the two need to understand each other, and having firm confidence is the most important thing.Chatterton took Kohler's hand. "We will never back down." Come fall, Chatterton and Koehler thought they could arrange a trip or two to the submarine.However, Legg had a different idea. He was so skinny that he could no longer drive the "Explorer" to sea. His business began to decline.When a client calls to charter a boat, Legg will say, "Oh, that's a very good request, but how about this: Fuck you! I'm going to die! I don't care about the big smile on your face and your goddamn I have nothing to do with what you want to do! Do you understand? I am dying! Goodbye!" As the season drew to a close, Chatterton discovered to his distress that his mentor and friend were in dire straits. One day in October, Legg was taken to the hospital by his girlfriend with blood dripping from his throat.Years of alcoholism had caused him to develop esophageal varices, a dilated blood vessel in his throat that had suddenly burst that day.The doctor quickly carried him into the emergency room and stitched up his affected area.In the recovery room, the doctor told him: "If you come in 15 minutes later, you will bleed to death. You can't drink anymore, and even if you drink another drink, we will not be able to save you next time." Before he was discharged from the hospital, his girlfriend broke up with him, and she couldn't help but watch him destroy herself.A few weeks later, Legg was released from the hospital.On the way home, he went into a tavern on the side of the road.That night, after drinking an entire bottle of vodka, he died of a hemorrhage in his throat.bill.Legg, the best wreck diver ever, who salvaged the bell of the Andrew Dorian, died at the age of 41. Divers in the Northeast plan to attend a funeral for Leger in Pennsylvania.But his closest friend, Chatterton, was not going to attend, and Kohler couldn't understand his decision. "Why don't you plan to attend Legge's funeral?" Kohler asked. "The guy in the coffin wasn't Bill Legge at all," Chatterton said. "The guy in the coffin killed my friend." "You gotta go," Kohler said. "You gotta say goodbye to your friends." Chatterton couldn't bring himself to attend Legge's funeral.At the funeral, Kohler and the other pallbearers carried Leger's coffin.When he escorted Legge to the cemetery, he found that the coffin was simply too light. "It's like there's no one in there," Kohler thought.All he wished for at this moment was that Chatterton could be by his side. Three diving seasons have passed since the mystery submarine was discovered.Although they have been able to identify the wreck as U857, Chatterton and Kohler have not found stronger evidence since 1991. After winter, Chatterton found that his marriage was in trouble.While he was working on submarines, Casey became a world-class female pistol shooter.Each other's schedule makes the two get together less and leave more, and their interests and hobbies are also completely different.When Kathy questioned her husband's obsession with subs, Chatterton told her: "I'm being tested in life, and what I do with subs is my principle." But neither Chatterton nor Kathy doubted the possibility of their marriage continuing.They still love each other deeply, and both want to leave enough space for each other to be interested.But sometimes, when Chatterton sat at his desk in a daze, he would realize that he and Kathy hadn't spoken for days, and it reminded him of the old days when he was fishing for scallops at sea.At that time, when they operated the excavator to dig scallops, a shadow suddenly fell over them. At this time, everyone would eagerly look for the source of the shadow, because this shadow usually means that a huge wave will threaten the safety of the ship.Now, sitting at home, Chatterton began to feel a shadow looming over him too. At Kohler's house five miles away, the waves were already approaching.In the past year, his wife Felicia has often blamed Kohler for not taking enough care of the family and children.She could understand Kohler's work—his glass company was booming, and he needed a lot of energy.But she couldn't stand Kohler's handling of his spare time.Over the past year, Kohler has spent almost all of his spare time on the mysterious submarine-going diving, researching, meeting with Chatterton, and even going to Washington.Kohler and Felicia have almost daily spats.Felicia told him: "If you give up diving, our marriage will improve." But Kohler was unmoved. On Christmas 1993, Kohler and Felicia separated.Felicia moved to Long Island with her children, and Koehler became a bachelor on the New Jersey coast.But he insists on seeing the kids every weekend. In the first one or two months, Kohler felt that he had regained his long-lost freedom.He dated cute young girls, danced in nightclubs, and read submarine books without interruption.But he misses his children.Weekend parties are never enough.He wants to get back together with Felicia, but he believes that Felicia will definitely ask him to give up diving, which is no different to him from giving up eating. A northeasterly wind in February 1994 froze the beaches of New Jersey.He finally realized that something had to change, that he could no longer tolerate life without children. At the end of February, Chatterton and Koehler received Robert from the Foreign Office.Letter from Coppock.Chatterton, in his bathrobe with a cup of coffee, began to read the letter: "U869... (was) headed to the east coast of the United States (and was) patrolling there... about 110 miles southeast of New Jersey." Chatterton was stunned. U869 was Holenberg's submarine, and it was supposed to be on patrol in Gibraltar. "U869... may not have received (new) orders for it to go to Gibraltar..." Chatterton's heart began beating violently. "Due to weather conditions...it is likely that the (new) order from HQ for U869 to go to Gibraltar was not received by the submarine..." Chatterton's head was starting to spin by now. "Therefore, in the absence of strong evidence that U869 received an order from HQ to go to Gibraltar (plus) the discovery of the knife on the submarine, and the fact that the location of the wreck coincides with U869's previous patrol area, I believe that the wreck is likely U869 Sex cannot be ignored." 查特顿冲到电话旁，拨通了柯勒的电话。 “瑞奇，我刚刚收到了考波克的信，简直太不可思议了。他给我们扔了一颗原子弹，你可能无法相信——” “慢点说！”柯勒说道，“他在信上怎么说？” “他说：U869，就是霍伦博格的潜艇，就是那艘所有的历史书都说沉在直布罗陀附近的潜艇，一开始是在纽约巡逻的。确切的说不是在纽约，是在新泽西南部，就在我们发现的沉船地点！他还说，总部后来又下了命令，让他们到直布罗陀巡逻。但是，听着，瑞奇，我引用他的话'U869可能没有接到要求它到直布罗陀的命令'。” “但是怎么解释那些关于U869在直布罗陀沉没的报告呢？那些报告都是美国护卫舰提供的，”柯勒问道。 “我们也知道这些报告的精确程度不怎么样，不是吗？” “简直太不可思议了，我已经晕了。” “瑞奇，你能在你的办公室和考波克举行一个电话会谈吗？我们必须让他解释一下，他到底从哪里得来的这些信息。” “我马上拨电话，”柯勒说道。 不一会儿，苏格兰场的电话响了起来。考波克只有几分钟的时间可以和他们通话。他告诉他们他的信息来自于截获的U869和潜艇总部的无线电通讯内容。截获的信息原件和由美国密码破译员翻译过来的文件都可以在华盛顿找到。 查特顿和柯勒目瞪口呆地坐在那里。他们以前看到过那些截获的无线电通讯文件，但是他们从没有想过他们的沉船与U869之间有什么联系，因为U869的沉没地点已经有历史定论，就在直布罗陀附近。他们咨询过的所有专家——包括考波特在内——也从没有往这上面想过。 “我明天要到华盛顿去调查一下，”查特顿说道，“所有的来龙去脉都在那里。” 柯勒很想跟查特顿一起去华盛顿，但是他还要打理公司的业务，实在走不开。于是，查特顿和芭布。兰德一起去了，兰德一直参加勘查潜艇的行动，而且对潜艇的历史非常感兴趣。查特顿答应柯勒会将他们研究的进展情况及时告知他，他随身带了好几卷两角五分的硬币以便用来打电话。 查特顿和兰德首先来到国家档案局，他们找出了1944年12月8日——U869参战的日期——以后的第十潜艇舰队的情报总结。管理员拿出一大摞文件，上面盖着“超级”——“高度机密”——的标志。查特顿知道“超级”是什么意思，这是盟军截获并破译出的“爱尼格玛”密码文件。战后几十年里，很少有人知道盟军已经破译了“爱尼格玛”密码并一直在战争期间阅读德军的通讯内容，而现在查特顿和兰德也要阅读这些截获的文件了。 两人仔细查阅美国海军的情报总结。他们找到一份1945年1月3日的报告。海军情报部门截获了一份U869和德军总部的无线电通讯文件。破译后内容为： “据估计一艘位于北大西洋中部的潜艇（U869）接到命令前往纽约东南部70英里的海域。” 查特顿简直不敢相信他看到的内容——这正是他们发现的沉船的位置。他接着向下看，在一份1945年1月17日的报告上，海军情报人员写道： “潜艇正在向纽约驶近。U869（纽恩博格）目前位于佛兰德斯民间空中巡逻队东南部180英里处的海域……据估计2月初潜艇可能抵达纽约海域。” 查特顿查看了潜艇艇员的名单。纽恩博格是U869的艇长。他继续向下看，心情异常激动。在1月25日的报告中，海军监听人员发现U869和总部之间的联系出现了问题： “纽芬兰南部的一艘潜艇正在向纽约驶近，由于命令不明，还不能确定它的具体任务地点，但是德军总部希望它前往直布罗陀……（但是）根据收到的信号，U869似乎仍然继续向它之前的任务地点——纽约——前进。” “真是难以置信，”查特顿对兰德说道，“他们的目的地就是找到沉船的地点。总部改变命令，让潜艇到直布罗陀去，但是看起来U869并没有收到那个命令，它继续向纽约驶去。” “那么，现在，”兰德一边看着文件一边说道，“看看海军接下来说了些什么。” “'考尔'号准备在潜艇报告北大西洋天气时对它进行攻击。” “'考尔'号是反潜战舰队的一架战斗机，”查特顿说道，“海军知道了U869的确切目的地，他们准备在那里伏击。” 查特顿拿着他的硬币卷跑到投币电话旁，他给柯勒打了电话，将他的发现告诉了他。 “不可思议，”柯勒说道，“海军派出一个反潜舰队来阻击U869，但是他们没有成功，甚至根本没有看到它。在1945年，潜艇是根本无法摆脱反潜舰队的围捕的。这个纽恩博格一定是个厉害人物。” The two were silent for a while. “我们根本没有发现U857，”柯勒最后说道，“我们找到的是U869.” “我们找到了U869，”查特顿说道，“它一直就是U869.” 但是如何解释两艘战舰“印第斯科里特”号和“福勒”号在直布罗陀附近击沉U869的报告呢？查特顿和兰德跑到海军历史中心要来了击沉U869的攻击报告。几分钟后，他们看到了这段充满血腥的历史。 1945年2月28日，美国护航驱逐舰“福勒”号用声纳在直布罗陀西南部的拉巴特海域发现了一个不明物体。“福勒”号发射了十三颗深水炸弹，其中两颗发生爆炸，水面上浮起“不明物体”的碎片。“福勒”号又发射了一组深水炸弹，当烟雾消散后，艇员们想用毛巾在水面上捞取碎片，但是只有“一些混合着汽油的黑色泥块，没有发现任何碎片”。驱逐舰在这个海域继续寻找沉没的痕迹，但是没有找到。 几个小时之后，法国的巡逻艇“印第斯科里特”号也用声纳在同一海域发现了不明物体，根据声纳显示“一个巨大的黑色物体浮出水面后又立即沉了下去”。巡逻艇没有找到这个物体，也没有发现任何碎片。 海军情报部门认为攻击没有结果也没有发现有力的证据。他们将这次攻击定为“G”级——没有造成损伤。 但是在查阅过程中，查特顿发现战后的战事评审员很快将“G”级改成了“B”级——可能击沉。 “他们为什么要这样做？”兰德问道。 “我以前见过这种情况，”查特顿说道，“战后的战事评审员们希望赶紧为失踪潜艇拼凑出失踪的原因。这些失踪的潜艇就包括U869.战事评审员们接触不到截获的无线电通讯文件——那些是高度机密文件——所以他们不知道U869驶往纽约。他们查阅了德军的记录，德军认为U869已经驶往直布罗陀了——他们认为潜艇接到了要求他们前往直布罗陀的指令。后来潜艇没有返回德国，德军认为它在直布罗陀附近失踪。战后的战事评审员们看到了'福勒'号和'印第斯科里特'号在直布罗陀附近的攻击报告后，他们认为攻击的目标就是U869，于是将'G'级改成了'B'级，就这样U869的下落就清楚了。” 查特顿又跑到投币电话旁。他告诉柯勒历史记录是错误的。 “我们找到了U869，”柯勒说道，“我们找到了霍伦博格，是不是？” “霍伦博格一直就在那里，”查特顿说道，“想想，瑞奇。如果U869和总部之间的通讯出现了问题，霍伦博格就是负责这件事的人，他是高级报务员。听着，瑞奇，我的硬币已经用完了。但是我告诉你：霍伦博格肯定一直在那里解决他们的通讯问题。”