(Figure 5-1-1) On December 8, 1941, Japan launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, marking the full-scale outbreak of World War II.
We went up to the bridge and saw through binoculars two Japanese naval motorboats heading towards Hongkou, one towards the "HMS Peterel" and the other towards the American "USS Wake". We roughly knew what was going on and immediately notified the radio room to prepare. Each Japanese motorboat was led by a naval lieutenant commander and filled with marines in sailor uniforms; judging from the gold staff rope on the lieutenant commander's dark blue uniform, I guessed he was probably a staff officer in charge of intelligence. 
(Figure 5-1-2) At midnight on December 8, 1941, Japanese troops arrived by motorboat to take over "HMS Peterel".
Upon seeing this, the surrounding Japanese ships immediately opened fire. The Japanese officers were taken aback and hurriedly raised their signal guns and fired a signal flare into the sky. At this moment, the Japanese marines on the motorboats also swarmed onto the ship to forcibly take over. Those of us on the deck jumped into the water to escape. Japanese ships rained down gunfire and shells. The "HMS Peterel" also suffered a series of self-destructions inside its cabins. In less than two minutes, the "HMS Peterel" had sunk to the bottom of the river with all the people on board, including the Japanese officers and soldiers sent to take over.
I have read some accounts that the Japanese officers fired signal flares to order the Japanese ships to open fire and sink the "HMS Peterel" displaying the samurai spirit of the Kamikaze pilots. This is unfounded. What I saw on the scene was that the Japanese officers fired signal flares to order the Japanese ships not to fire. The Japanese gunners, upon seeing the flash and hearing the explosion, instinctively assumed that the "HMS Peterel" had opened fire and immediately returned fire. This would have disrupted the Japanese intelligence authorities' plan to take over the "HMS Peterel" and the cipher machine. No wonder the Japanese officers were in such a hurry to fire the signal flares.
This misunderstanding also stemmed from our lack of proficiency in using explosives. We later learned that destroying a cipher machine didn't require so much explosives. Based on the case of the "HMS Peterel", MI6 headquarters in London established "Department Q" to specifically develop self-destruct technology, ensuring that the incident of sinking a ship to destroy a single cipher machine would never happen again.
That same morning, Japan also sent troops to take over the US Navy river gunboat "USS Wake". Unlike the "HMS Peterel", the takeover of the "USS Wake" went very smoothly. The ship was later renamed "Tatara" and served in the Japanese Navy. I even boarded it in Shanghai, which I will mention later. After Japan's surrender, the ship was transferred to the Republic of China Navy and renamed "Taiyuan". I also saw it in Shanghai and Wuhan afterward.
(Figure 5-1-4) Japanese troops entered the Shanghai International Settlement and marched past the HSBC Building.
As soon as the "HMS Peterel" exploded, I jumped into the water. The Whampoo River in December should have been freezing cold, but strangely, I didn't feel anything. After falling into the water, I saw several sailors swimming towards a nearby Norwegian merchant ship, while others swam towards the Bund. At this time, a civilian boat was sailing upstream. I noticed that it was heading towards my seaplane hangar, so I quickly swam to the side of the boat and clung to it, using the boat's silhouette as cover to pass through the blockade of Japanese warships. It was still dark at this time, and as long as you leave the area illuminated by the Bund lights, it is not easy to be discovered. When the civilian ship passed the hangar, I left the ship, swam ashore, found the key from the hiding place, opened the hangar door, changed into clean clothes, and started the engine to warm it up. The necessary supplies and fuel were prepared in advance, and I was ready to leave at any time, because I had long expected this day to come. I opened the hangar door first, then boarded the plane and let it slowly drift out of the hangar. By then, it was getting light, and the sounds of gunfire could be heard intermittently from the Bund. I had no idea what the consequences of taking off at this point would be. I could only believe that this Supermarine S6 racing plane, with its speed exceeding 300 knots, could outrun any Japanese aircraft that might pursue it. Of course, even the fastest plane can't outrun bullets and cannon fire!
(Figure 5-1-5) Paul Draken pilots a Super Marine S6 aircraft at high speed to escape the pursuit of Japanese Zero fighters at the mouth of the Yangtze River.
I floored the accelerator and drove to top speed. I knew that the Zero was known as the fastest fighter at the time, but no one knew its true top speed. I saw in the rearview mirror that they were also revving up to catch up, but they were always a step behind and falling further and further behind. Therefore, I guessed that the Zero's top speed should not exceed 270 knots. After a while, I could no longer see any planes in the sky.
(Figure 5-1-6) Paul Draken's aircraft lands on the Ming River in Kian'ou, Fookien for refueling.
It was afternoon when I reached the Hong Kong coast. In the distance, I could see thick smoke rising from Kai Tak Airport, and the runway was littered with the wreckage of planes. There was no doubt that this was caused by the Japanese bombing raid that morning. I planned to land on the water near the airport, but as soon as the float touched the surface, a barrage of gunfire came from the direction of the airport. A volley of machine gun bullets shattered my tail fin, and the plane went out of control, spinning in the water. Fearing it would explode, I immediately pulled open the canopy, jumped into the water, and swam away as fast as I could.
(Figure 5-1-7) Paul Draken's aircraft was destroyed by ground fire while landing in the waters of Kai Tak Airport in Hong Kong.
To this day, I still don't know which bastard of a British anti-aircraft artillery unit at Kai Tak Airport shot down my S6, mistaking it for an enemy plane. I swam ashore and called the Hong Kong intelligence group for assistance. By then, all cars and ferries had stopped operating. Fortunately, they had a patrol boat provided by the Hong Kong Navy. So I walked to the bow of the Kowloon Ferry, boarded the boat, and crossed the bay to the pier in front of the intelligence group. I was covered in oil and soaking wet, looking quite disheveled. I wanted to take a shower and change quickly, but as soon as I entered, almost everyone surrounded me and asked me about the situation in Shanghai. After I finished telling the story of the "HMS Peterel" I sighed and said, "It seems we won't be able to celebrate Christmas in Hong Kong!" I can't believe I was right. Hong Kong Governor Mark Aitchison Young surrendered to the Japanese on Christmas Day, 1941, beginning three and a half years of darkness for Hong Kong. However, some people in the intelligence group were still unconvinced: "Hong Kong is not Shanghai. We now have a brigade of Canadian troops as reinforcements, and Chinese troops in Canton are also being mobilized. It should be possible to hold out for several months or half a year!" "Hopefully so, but we can't ignore the worst-case scenario!" I said to the team leader in Hong Kong. "If you allow, I'll immediately go to the Navy to discuss the technical issues of evacuation. Of course, I'll need to change out of these clothes first!" I had long seen that Britain was only defending Hong Kong for appearances' sake; their real focus was on Singapore. Therefore, the troops deployed to Hong Kong were very few. Although two battalions of Canadian soldiers were sent as reinforcements, they were all inexperienced recruits and could only play a symbolic role. The Hong Kong government was hoping for assistance from the Chinese army, but I had little confidence in that!
(Figure 5-1-8) Paul Draken went to the Aberdeen Naval Pier to discuss the escape with the Second Torpedo Boat Squadron.
"I plan to requisition your speedboats to escort intelligence officers to mainland China if things become untenable. They know too many secrets; we absolutely cannot allow them to be captured by the Japanese." I stated bluntly, "If you are not willing to cooperate, you will have to scuttle like the HMS Peterel!" "This..." the torpedo boat squadron officer said, "Have there been any orders from above?" "Your superiors?" I said, "Your superiors will be traveling with you!" The superior I'm referring to is actually Chan Chak, a Kuomintang vice admiral and former commander of the Canton Navy. He was the same man who fought against Chen Tsitang in the 1930s. He later had his left leg amputated due to illness and now resides in Hong Kong, representing the Kuomintang in handling "Hong Kong affairs." The reason I believe he is the most suitable candidate is because he has considerable influence along the Canton coast. If we want to land safely there and then transfer to Chungking, we absolutely need his intervention. What exactly constitutes "Hong Kong affairs"? Outsiders may not know, but our intelligence team knows perfectly well: it's smuggling! Chan Chak, when he was the fleet commander in Canton, secretly engaged in large-scale smuggling, which was actually quite common during the warlord era in China; because maintaining an army requires money, and if the government doesn't provide it, where does the money come from? Of course, they have no choice but to smuggle! Especially since Chan Chak had ships and was close to Hong Kong, smuggling between Canton and Hong Kong using warships was incredibly profitable! When the Sino-Japanese War broke out, by the end of 1938, the mainland coast was blockaded by the Japanese army, leaving only Hong Kong as an access route. However, the Hong Kong government dared not offend Japan, so this channel was not open. At this time, China urgently needed strategic materials, and Chan Chak's "talent" in smuggling could be used for the country. This is why he was sent to handle "Hong Kong affairs". Chan Chak used the excuse that if the Japanese army attacked Hong Kong, the Chinese army could attack from behind the Japanese army to save Hong Kong, so that the Governor of Hong Kong had to turn a blind eye to his smuggling activities. This is also the reason why some people in the intelligence group had illusions about the Chinese army. However, the Japanese were unwilling to have such a large gap in their blockade of China, and frequently requested to send personnel to Hong Kong to "assist" in combating smuggling. This put the Governor of Hong Kong in a dilemma. Therefore, our intelligence group was responsible for coordinating with Chan Chak's side, and we worked together to stage a show for the Japanese. The Chinese were quite talented in this regard, always managing to make the Japanese grit their teeth in hatred but unable to find any evidence. However, previously, this work had been handled by my colleagues in Hong Kong, and I had never met Chan Chak in person. Now that I had come up with this plan, there was no time to lose. I immediately used my connections within the group to arrange to find Chan Chak at "Wah Kee Hong" above the Asia Building, which was his office where he had set up his trading company. The communication between the intelligence team and Chan Chak was top secret to both sides. When he heard that it was me visiting, he immediately dismissed everyone else and closed the door to talk to me alone.
"Paul Draken? I've heard of you!" Chan Chak, limping along with his prosthetic leg, came forward and examined me closely. "It seems like you've been behind the scenes in my struggles with Canton these past few years, haven't you?"
"Admiral Chan, you flatter me! I'm just a low-ranking officer in the Royal Navy, how could I possibly have such abilities?" I retorted, not to be outdone. "But it seems that Admiral Chan, you've been involved in the smuggling between Canton and Hong Kong these past few years, haven't you?"
"Hahaha! Heroes emerge from among the young! In these extraordinary times, we need extraordinary people like Lt. Cmdr. Draken to help us break through the encirclement. Am I right?" Chan Chak lit a cigar. "I'm older than you. If you don't mind, you can call me Uncle Chak like they do."
"Uncle Chak is brilliant! I came here today precisely to discuss this matter!" I spread out a nautical chart of the waters near Hong Kong and said, "I must send the intelligence team to Chungking before Hong Kong falls. I think the ideal route is to break through by speedboat to land here, and then travel overland to the rear. I need your assistance for this route."
"That's right! You need me along this route. The local guerrilla commander used to be my subordinate." Chan Chak pointed to the sea route on the nautical chart from Hong Kong Island to the mainland coast and said, "Not only this route, you need me for the entire route! Don't forget I'm a vice admiral. I know this route better than anyone. You want to play cat and mouse with the Japanese destroyers? Do you think your young submarine captains are up to the task?"
He's absolutely right. Smuggling at sea requires the ability to appear and disappear stealthily, and I have no objection to that!
"In fact, the Governor of Hong Kong had talked to me about this before. I was unsure at first, but now that you've mentioned it, I'll just call the Governor and say I agree!" Chan Chak said.
"That's wonderful! We'll ask Uncle Chak to be the commander of the breakout torpedo boat squadron!" I stood up, saluted, and said, "Uncle Chak, I know you used to command the Grand Fleet."
"It's my honor!" Chan Chak said. "My adjutant, Lt. Cmdr. Tsui Hang, will handle the liaison work for the details."
Chan Chak opened the door and called his adjutant in. I saw a tall, handsome young man walk in and shake my hand. He was Tsui Hang (or call him Henry), who had served as a ship captain after the war and rose to the rank of Rear Admiral in the Republic of China Navy. After retiring, he ran a large business in Hong Kong and served as a member of the International Olympic Committee for many years.
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