Part 3 This situation continues until… It was the year 1961. Former admiral Teme Sejko, until then, was accused of hostile activities, arrested and then executed (in fact he died during torture). The Central Command of the Naval Combat Fleet is headed by the Minister of Defense Beqir Balluku himself. He calls Dashamir Ohri to the command and transmits the order of Enver Hoxha who categorically orders as follows; "Soviet blood will not drip here in any way. In the meantime, you must take all measures to protect the submarines from everything, especially from sabotage. You must take care that no submarine hijacking by the Soviets takes place. From today , you are ordered that you and the forces you lead will no longer be doubles, but real sailors in the technique, which is deployed on our base your property and not allowing any incident to happen! 
As you can easily imagine, the situation is even more strained after this order! The Albanian forces were greatly encouraged after receiving this order. Inevitably, in order to find a solution, Albanian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Halim Budo, authorized directly by Enver, and his deputy Hito Çako meet in Tirana with representatives of the Soviet side, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Firjubin i who carried Khrushchev's orders directly and was accompanied by the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Admiral Kasatanov. After two days of a fierce negotiation battle with arguments, counter-arguments, facts and various claims, it was finally decided that the four submarines as well as their accompanying 450-seat floating base "Tomorri" remained with the Albanian fleet while the Russians took with them the eight submarines that they had then brought as well as the floating base for them of 700 countries. Before this meeting, Albania rejects at least the remaining of the Pashaliman base as a base of the Warsaw Treaty! The exit from this treaty would not be long in coming! Since the beginning of March, the Albanian forces have switched to standby number one! No one is home anymore! Everyone sleeps a few hours and with clothes and weapons ready! Hisni Kapo, following Enver Hoxha's order, instructs Commander Dashamir Ohrin: "Dashamir, if you are hot-tempered, don't take your weapon with you. There must not be a drop of Soviet blood, because that is what they want. Let them return dead, but know that your cold-bloodedness will serve the people very well". From the Albanian side, it is not without reason that there is a possible attempt to hijack a submarine from the Soviet side. The Soviet sailors often address those Albanians as "submarines Soviet and they have no reason to leave it to the Albanians!" 
Outraged, Commander Ohri protested to the Soviet admiral, denouncing such an incident that had just happened, but the latter calmly replied that: "You must understand that they are ours and there is no way they can become yours and where you are caught for the meeting in Tirana, which met the deputy. our foreign ministers, it is not an argument". At 23.00 on June 4, 1961, the Albanian commander of the base, Dashamir Ohri, was informed that the Soviet soldiers were destroying everything such as letters and secret documents that the Albanian side had and this was the most open provocation to the Albanian side! At this moment he is alone! He has on his shoulders the direct order of Enver Hoxha as well as the instruction of Hysni Kapo and all the Albanian soldiers have their weapons without ammunition to avoid a possible confrontation with bloodshed consequences! He has to make a decision…and he makes it! Without asking about protocols or diplomatic tact, a storm arrives in the cabin of the Soviet commander Riballko and without even knocking on the door, he says openly: "Comrade admiral, your people have destroyed everything for us. This is something intentional, but we also do not want you we give you the opportunity to play so easily. I, as the Albanian base commander, who you know is in Albania, am declaring that within 30 minutes, if you do not take measures to restore the situation, then you will answer for what will happen here"! He comes out pulling and slamming the door disrespectfully and immediately starts organizing Albanian guards everywhere. Their quick steps are felt everywhere and Albanian soldiers prevail everywhere. The floating base and the submarines are fought first and the Albanian soldiers are ready to the point of death not to let them go. From the hills around, infantry and artillery are ready to open fire! 
Sensing the situation immediately, after twenty minutes, the Soviet admiral, Commander Riballko, calls his counterpart, Commander Ohrin, and says to him: "Comrade Ohrin, to avoid any incident between the people that you and I command, I ordered that all the sailors and " All our troops should withdraw to the barracks and not have any contact with you. I believe that it is better for us to separate with respect." commander Dashamir Ohri tells him that he congratulates him that they managed to understand! Since June 5, everything was Albanian. On June 6, 1961, the Soviet army left the Pashaliman Military-Naval Base anyway under the target of cannons. The Ghost of Sabotage It would be quite illogical if it did not exist as a ghost, the shadow of the fear of possible sabotage! In fact, Komarov, somewhere had expressed "friendly in confidence" that "Whatever may have been done in the submarine, know that it was done without my knowledge"! The detailed inspection of the submarines begins immediately. Nothing suspicious is found in them, but the depth of 30 meters and strictly no more is set as the diving limit anyway. It was like the pressure that hangs over people's heads from the presence of a ghost that no one sees but everyone knows is there! When the time came for the intermediate repair of the submarines, from the more than fine control of the Chinese specialists, holes were found in their hulls! In three of the four submarines! The fourth was the submarine where the Russian crew was missing and also, the entrances and exits to it are strictly controlled only by the Albanian side. IN THE PLACES At the end of 1960, the Soviet Navy gave the Albanians, according to the agreement, four submarines, "C-241", "C-242", "C-358" and "C-360" as well as the base floating "Vladimir Nemčinov" which was later named "Tomorri". 
The submarines were medium type, project "613", model "Whiskey" It is 75 m long, 6.3 m wide, 14 m high. In water, on the surface, plus up to 5 m depth. Supplies: 124 tons of diesel, 14 tons of oil, 100 tons of batteries, which had a total of 124 cells weighing 600 kg each, 9 tons of water, 2 tons of food. Crew: 8 officers 22 non-commissioned officers 60 soldiers Torpedoes 12 eight forward and four aft Torpedo Length 7 m Weight 1 ton Maximum throwing distance 10 km Warhead with 450 kg tritol 20-22 underwater mines Floating Base Floating base "Tomorri". Weight 5200 tons Accommodation with all conditions for 450 people Secret 22-day cruise outside Albanian territorial waters! After the break with the Soviet Union, while the issue of submarines was still hot with the extraordinary pride it caused to the Albanian people and the army and at the same time the shame it caused to the Russian politicians and the army, Khrushchev did not hesitate to ironically publicly that "without us, now that Albanians will sink, they won't be able to get out again!" Beqir Balluku, comes to the base for a visit and shortly afterwards, found alone with the base commander Dashamir Ohri, asks the latter: – Did you hear Khrushchev's statement? – Yes – he answers – How do you think we can answer? – the minister asks – With concrete action – the commander of the submarine brigade answers without hesitation – We will show this soon! – he added with the pride and confidence of a soldier sure of himself and those under his command. In addition to the irritation of the moment, on the other hand, this also resulted in the instigation of an idea to do something that could show not only the Soviets but also the world what the Albanian navy was capable of, more specifically, the submarine brigade. The soldier, the commander of the submarine brigade Dashamir Ohri, was more than aware of what he declared! It was based on his sailors, on the proud mentality of the winner of Pashaliman's entire force, above all, it was based on a person who, perhaps, could not be found at that time in all the submarines of the world, a commander whom SH. BA and the Soviet Union could only dream of having their own! He was Aleko Pojani, the commander of one of the submarines, a passionate about the underwater world as much as the famous captain Nemo and an extraordinary talent, the man who was born to be a submarine captain! He was only 21 years old! Thus, based on these, the way is opened for the realization of the plan that Dashamir Ohri had thought! A journey as daring as it was unimaginable for the time and the Navy, for the submarine brigade that was still in its infancy in history! The bold idea was to undertake a journey of no less than twenty days in absolute cold war conditions! Passing first in Greek waters off the coast of Kefalonia, southern Italy's Gargano and off the coast of Dubrovnik and then back to base! A very brave journey because they could easily be understood and destroyed! A very difficult journey because they would stay under water for more than a few days with all the consequences that this caused, both physical and psychological! Commander D. Ohri, had earned the rank of submarine commander since 1958 and planned to make the trip with the first submarine in which he was appointed as its commander at the arrival of submarines before being appointed commander of the submarine brigade. It was the next submarine on standby for a week, so ready to sail. The presence of Aleko Pojani as a commander in it was one more reason to undertake this bold attempt… …and the plan begins and comes to life! It conducts inconspicuously a detailed inspection of everything as well as the readiness of the crew. This is due to the fact that they guarded against the possibility of a Russian agent being present at the base. None of the subordinates know anything about the departure. Not even his family. It was known that they would sail but when and where…no one can know. Only commander Dashamir Ohri knows and… the waxed envelope reached from "above" that holds the secret inside it! In the case of deconspiracy, it is assumed that they would be destroyed as soon as they crossed the Albanian territorial waters! The day before they leave, he goes to the Ministry of Defense and meets with the Commander of the War Fleet, Abdi Mati, reporting to him about the journey he would undertake. Normally, only Abdi Mati, Petrit Dume as Chief of the General Staff and Beqir Balluku as Minister of Defense would learn this. The next day he returns to the base and before departure he stops a little in Vlora, from the family but without telling anything about the trip! Just mention the word "service"! He doesn't even tell the Base Commissioner Mihal Zhamo and the Chief of Staff Petri Muftiu! The trip took place at a time when the cold war was perhaps at its peak. June 1969. Two were his peak moments. While crossing the channel of Otranto, it may be somewhat comical as the whole crew laughed on the way back but, the submarine enters an area full of fishing lines and drags with it the hooks and drums that accompanied them resonating strange sounds which disturbed the crew inside her. The whole journey was carried out at a depth of about 60 meters and after diving deeper, the sounds are heard again! Only after they get up in the technically called "positional state of the submarine", i.e. one meter under water, do they open the hatch and when they get out they see what happened… The second case which cost a lot psychologically because it required strained nerves in maximum and an extraordinary coolness occurs when the submarine was sailing secretly in Gargano Bay in Italy. Suddenly, the periscope observer reports that a large Italian warship is approaching them. While they were sure that they had not been spotted, the battleship continued to come right over them, and for a few moments the panic of the idea that they had been discovered prevailed! There were moments that give you the feeling that time has frozen and the bile beats so hard that you feel that you are beating rhythmically! Moments when time freezes and minutes of anxiety resemble hours! The moment gave undisputed priority to the warship in a possible battle! Radio communication was excluded from the trip because the entire Mediterranean was a giant, technologically perfect radar network of NATO forces, and Italy and Greece were part of this pact. It would be enough for a communication attempt and the NATO planes would be on top of the submarine in no time! The submarine moves to a depth of more than 100 m, deviating from the course from which the sound came in the sonar, that is, the course of the warship which, passing over them, continues towards its route without understanding anything about the presence of the Albanian submarine under it! Everyone took a deep breath but it was a moment they would remember for the rest of their lives! It was all in all an exhausting trip! From the technical side, it required maximum concentration, suffice it to say that the submarine has…five rudders! Two in front, two behind and the central steering wheel! The periscope observer, even though he was tired, continued his task even with one eye blindfolded, and there were not many of them who changed often to let each other rest in turn. There were only two sailors! All the while without surfacing! And this is more precisely understood as a trip where the internal temperature prevailed at 43 degrees and all were in underwear and often without them! There came a point when the physical fatigue and vomiting became unbearable! Then came the skin infection due to the lack of water to wash. It's enough to touch a little rust somewhere and then wipe off the sweat! Everyone was entitled to four liters of water a day…Beards had become an integral part of their portraits! 60 people continued their task with very few cubic meters of air on board covered by high temperature and dirt! Often even being forced to stop to verify the antenna signals of the enemy coastal location and not move from there for more than a day. During the 22 days of this journey, they all lose about ten kg of weight… The submarine returns to Pashaliman successfully fulfilling the task, making an extraordinary journey considering the circumstances as well as being part of a modest military fleet and without a lot of experience! This caused the surprise to the point of disbelief mainly of the Soviets and NATO when it was found out later! It was a journey between the seas where the zone of influence of NATO and the Warsaw Pact ended or began, and dozens of ships and surveillance systems scoured the Mediterranean seas! This is undoubtedly the most golden moment in the past history of a naval combat fleet of a small country like Albania! Of a country, once small but with great men! Aleko Pojani! For his colleagues, maybe he was not known to everyone with the epithet "Captain Nemo", but of course everyone remembered the famous German admiral, the commander of U-boat submarines, Karl Denitz! To deserve the same comparison means that you are born for the sea, the submarine, and Aleko Pojani was probably a unique case in the world. His temperament was perfectly twinned with that of an excellent pilot that instead of a compliment we call him "crazy"! This became evident when he was a student at the naval school in Baku, Azerbaijan. He asked with his desire to study submarine officer. On the day he entered the submarine for the first time, he entered of his own free will and…he was taken out against his own will! You stayed inside for so long! He was only 21 years old when he became a submarine captain on board! Something for which the world archives of that time, but also before and after, must be rummaged through to find such a case! He was brave as we said above as an aviator and the way he used the submarine, how he played with it, how he provoked its function in complexity, doing very difficult exercises, such as rapid diving, underwater navigation with negative buoyancy, rudder lock, malfunction differences in the maximum headset and all this at great depths and with a combat metal mass of about 1200 tons. The submarine in these training settings hums, vibrates and is part of the command "game" to push the nerves to the most frightening limits, as only an aviator in the air can do when he "zaps" his plane! For him, the 1,250-ton "mechanism" was like a toy that he knew every screw and played with! In 1962, on a one-day training trip 4-5 miles from Sazan, he performed the "quick dive," the exercise of going from above water to underwater in 38 seconds. Unfortunately, a motor sailor in the V bar had left the fuel tank taps closed, which should have been opened previously to equalize the pressure at the depth above 30 m, which is known to reach a depth of 30 atmospheres . After the submarine quickly sinks under this pressure, the tank explodes and the fuel spills. It is precisely the word "different", the word that every submarine crew member wishes never to hear in service, i.e. the diagonal position of the submarine when it begins its free fall towards sinking, its imbalance! The submarine immediately went unbalanced from eight to eighty meters and only its captain, Aleko Pojani is not confused but manages to collect the submarine from its crazy flight towards destruction by interrupting the navigation and directs the submarine from the angle of inclination using for this a maneuvers given by the intuition of the skilled sailor, the high-pressure air of the engines to achieve balance… The former commander of another submarine, Jak Mandrea, says that not only he but also all the other military men of that time still believe that one cannot find a captain with any great experience, from the entire world fleet, to do what Aleko Pojani did in those moments when he saved more than 70 people from certain death as well as the vehicle, the submarine from destruction… It was only 24 years old with only three years of experience as a submarine commander! It was a summary as much as I could find messing around, of a golden but short history, of which we are still proud and today we miss it! It is not that I have stolen something from the rights of the newspapers in the sense that everyone is free to seek and bring to fellow human beings, events and documents for which he feels his obligation to transmit to them, making them proud! Just as under this feeling and not for personal gain, the journalist Fatos Veliu took the interview from the former legendary commander Dashamir Ohri, precisely when the latter was in his last moments of life in the hospital and did not take with him all that was written here ! As the former submarine commander, Mr. Jak Mandrea tells about his former colleague Aleko Pojani! While we are still a nation in search of identity, not only have we not given the deserved place in history to some people like Dashamir Ohri and Aleko Pojani, but we don't even have much knowledge about them! At least until this time. END _________________________ Collected, prepared, Arian Muraj! This long article in three parts was published for the first time on July 23, 2013 on the page "Albanian Cinema" (Facebook), the original link is here: https://business.facebook.com/notes/355825785629935/?__cft__[0 ]=AZXXn1fn81W797ZzRjqgLhNjrXGr2ZayhxOMlQp0Xqm0TH0E_uEmrsKiX3zJIE8E8gfdjB4QM33N7u92pA5IakHsj4v7Vsb1nA0-Bk83idSdx7i5K-gikW4tWP90gSfTfqUpRrBne5wY37T5t Hrc03yEqeaTgRV_gmARqSpvMgW-lOsTReCdgd0JhItvEivc00E&__tn__=%2FTH-R Follow us: Blog: https://albaniancinematography.blogspot.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ksh.faqjazyrtare Dailymotion: https:// www.dailymotion.com/kinetografiashqiptareartisporti YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDRYQ5xCyGkfELm3mX8Rhtw
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